Cost of living in Ecuador in 2022

Local living in GYE. Own house, but I know there are no half-decent rentals nearby for less than $500.

Expenses for a family of 2 with no pool, only a few pot plants, only one 10-year old car and zero luxuries:

Around $40-$60 for electricity. Around $10-$15 for water. $54 for Internet.

Health: $71 for IESS insurance per person and around $43-$182 for basic private insurance with a cheap company. (Price depends on your age. After a threshold age it doubles). Going through the private insurance, consultations can be anywhere from $6 to $42 each depending on the doctor. You DON'T want to rely on IESS insurance only.

Mobile: $14 with Tuenti. Sometimes I'll buy a $20 combo to top up my minutes.

CAR:

I WFH and only go out to cover basic needs, so I only spend around $30-$60 in gasoline. Car insurance is around $450/year with a cheap company. Once-a year car maintenance can be up to $300 (Ecuador streets and roads are not the best for your car). Yearly "matrícula" and "revisión" total around $124, but it's much more for newer cars.

During the worst of the pandemic we only ate homecooked meals, and our groceries were around $200-$250 a month. Nowadays we usually have lunch at a cheap "almuerzo" type vegetarian restaurant for $3.50 each. A full Ecuadorian-style lunch in a mall is at least $4.99-$5.99 (Combo completo in American Deli. Includes potato soup, arroz con menestra and chicken/beef, and a small glass of lemonade).

Guayaquil, being hot, dirty and one of the 50 most dangerous cities on Earth, is not a place for "leisure activities", so I consider grocery shopping as leisure.

Property taxes for a Quito condo.

Like Gantorig's family, I own my residence -- a one bedroom condo in Centro Histórico, Quito.

I paid $28,000 plus attorney and closing costs for the condo in 2005 (pre-construction price).  This qualified me for a permanent residency visa.  (I understand the minimum property value to apply for a visa is now over $42,000.  A personal residence or a financial CD is the popular choice.)

Since 2013 when I took occupancy of the completed condo unit, I have been paying $32 a year in property taxes on the condo.  That's not a typo -- $32 a year.

I also pay $30 a month for a parking space in the complex's underground parking lot for my 2016 Chevy Sail.  The property taxes on the vehicle have been dropping as the car ages .. and are currently about $15 a month (paid annually) for a recent year.

My utility costs are in line with Gantorig's (in Guayaquil).

cccmedia in Quito

I see I overlooked another recurring expense related to my Quito condo.

I pay $29.20 per month for the community fee, which covers 24-hour security at the 'vigilante' station .. and maintenance of building exteriors, courtyards and shared facilities.

cccmedia

Newbie...

This forum is a great resource. I would like to try out Ecuador for a number of months before deciding if I want to live there long term. As someone who follow a meat based diet (zero plants), my main concern is  availability  and cost of different cuts of beef,  organs  and fat/suet (I guess there's no lamb). What can I say, I got spoiled in the US and Spain. I looked at grocery stores on line etc but the info is limited. So I would appreciate an info on this matter. Also, how involve would it be to rent a a furnished studio (full kitchen) or one bedroom apartment, short term and what are the requirements?

Final question. Is it true that Covid vaccination is mandatory for those living in Ecuador as oppose to tourists? If that is the case, I will need to look for another country. Thanks!

Dear Praxis,

Welcome to the Ecuador forums of Expat.com ...

A good site for comparing prices in the world's

cities is www.numbeo.com ...

Residents of Ecuador do not have to comply

with covid tests or protocols.  The possible

exception is the wearing of masks on

airplanes and other public transportation.

I flew back to Quito from Lima, Peru, on

Wednesday of this week .. and noticed that

even mask-wearing was not being enforced

in my section of the plane.  Some individuals

were voluntarily wearing tapabocas.

cccmedia, resident of Quito

Meatless in Ecuador.

Large supermarkets in big cities, for example

MegaMaxi in Quito, have plentiful vegetables

and even meatless lasagna in the frozen section.

There is an organic veggies section at MegaMaxi.

There is a meatless restaurant near my condo

in Quito.  Meatless meals can be ordered at

Indian and Chinese restaurants in the city and

probably other international eateries.

Quito's meatless offerings should not be a

dealbreaker for you, in my opinion.

cccmedia in Quito

@cccmedia

I think Praxis wants to know about MEAT, not meatless, in Ecuador (unless I misread the question and I read it three times).  MEAT is available in abundance in large "Megamaxi" supermarkets.  It seems the prices are similar to in the U.S., but I don't look real closely because I don't do the pricing-shopping.  I just casually glance at MEAT items.  And, if I'm not mistaken, I've seen lamb for sale in the Megamaxi located in Centro-Norte (the "modern" part of the city) supermarket. 

There's no longer any requirements for mask-wearing coming into Ecuador nor going from Ecuador to the U.S.  Also, there's no longer COVID-testing requirements when going to/from the country.  I don't remember whether I had to show my vaccination card the last time I went to/from the U.S.  It seems I have to show them everything!

There are apartments in coastal cities that are rentable for six month periods.  We had one for six months.  If I remember correctly, there was no American oven but it had a four-burner stovetop.  I imagine there are other apartments where the kitchens have ovens in coastal apartments.  Oh, we also leased an apartment for six months in Centro-Norte in Quito and it had a conventional as well as, a microwave oven.  At that point in time----about two years ago----Quito had a lot of vacant apartments for rent for six month leases.

Meaty in Ecuador.

There's plenty of meat in Ecuador, although

I personally stopped eating beef before 1990.

I still do chicken, seafood, pork (once a week

for pork).

I don't trust the markets that lack refrigeration.

MegaMaxi's offerings I consider safe.

Also, anything that's marked down in price --

I assume it'll be barely fresh for about

15 minutes.  Pass.

MegaMaxi has costillas that can easily be

cooked on an indoor grill.  That's often

my choice for weekly pork.

I don't cook chicken.  When I consume chicken,

it's usually from Gus (rhymes with moose) or a

rotisserie place.

Langostinos have become a large part of my

protein, especially when traveling.

cccmedia in Quito

I became a pescatarian about 2 years ago, although the fish usually consists of encebollado or tuna out of the can. Other proteins come from bean dishes made in an genuine and rare (for Ecuador) Instant Pot, as well as milk, eggs (2 a day, hardboiled), Greek yogurt, and protein powder, which I usually add to smoothies or the yogurt.

P.S. Toss the arroceras.

@cccmedia

I ran a search and found your comment. For some reason I didn't get a notice.

You wrote that resident's don't need to get tested. But what about the vaccine? Was it mandatory or optional? And what about none residents who want to check out the country first? I guess I can look it up on the official government site.

Thanks again.