Wandering With Bill

Most people who go to Ecuador take the airplane route. There is a large line of unimpressive hotels and hostels next to the airport with a nice view of Quito from the roof. However, if you take the plane to Colombia and then travel south by bus, it´s much cheaper and a very pretty ride, but most of all you get to experience South American buses.

South American buses are notorious for their lack of schedule, “losing” luggage, overcrowded seating, but especially for the sellers who randomly come onto the bus at the many stops.

The Ecuadorean buses, however, are not really anything like the Colombian or Mexican counterparts. In the latter countries, you get a lot of vendors who walk onto the busses selling fruit, snacks, sometimes books; items of traveler necessity and they then disembark.

Crossing into the mountains of Ecuador however is a different experience. On Ecuadorean buses, a whole range of vendors tend to board the bus and then ride it for the duration or, at least until the next main stop, selling their products the entire time.

Travelers on these buses will be offered anything, from dried fruit, to collections of homemade movies, to blessings, to candy bars, to herbal pills.

A common sales pitch is to use pious and long, sorrowful stories of having fallen on hard times, to try and encourage passengers to untie the purse strings.

These vendors are not only tolerated by the bus drivers, but even welcomed. Vendors are allowed to ride for free, and are allowed to use the on-board TV to display their movies.

One of the most interesting products I ever saw were herbal pills that claimed to promote general health, guard against prostate cancer and boost the sex drive. This vendor sold more of his product than most.

Tips For Bus Travel In Ecuador

Keep a flexible schedule: Especially when travelling through the mountains, it is not uncommon for rock falls, breakdowns or accidents to block the roads and cause long tailbacks. If this happens, don’t get flustered, buy a drink from the next vendor and stretch your legs in the road while the blockage is fixed.

Guard your possessions: Generally speaking, bags kept in the hold will be safe from theft or tampering. However, bags left in the overhead rack or under your seat may be vulnerable to pickpockets. Keep anything of value within sight, and on your person while you sleep.

Check arrival times: Try to avoid arriving in a new town in the early hours of the morning. Taxis may be scarce and the bus terminal may be a long way from the closest hostel or source of reliable information.

Don’t be shy when booking Galapagos Island cruises. This part of the world is one of the most iconic in the world, so book your Galapagos Island tours ahead of departure to ensure a brilliant vacation.

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Another article came out recently by Reuters Yahoo front page about how a couple can retire on $600 a month in Cuenca Ecuador. Let us make something perfectly clear. You CANNOT retire on $600 a month in Cuenca Ecuador, doing it the way that most expats are doing it now. This couple leased an apartment almost two years ago…we want to see $200 a month downtown apartment, overlooking the river today in Cuenca!

In the Yahoo article the couple mentioned they rent an apartment for $200 a month overlooking the river in Cuenca; Yeah, maybe back in 2010 when they found the apartment. Finding this kind of a deal now for a two bedroom is gone in the downtown area, and especially if it is furnished.

If any Ecuadorian or gringo real estate Agency would like to call us on it, go for it, and please let us know where in downtown Cuenca we can actually rent a two bedroom furnished for $200 a month. We’ll be thrilled to tell our readers about it.

So can you retire on $600 a month? The answer is yes and no. read on.

Here’s what’s happening, the hype of these articles gets everyone (mostly those people on a retirement pension) all excited and they quickly come to Ecuador…then after several months they realize, “I can’t retire on $600 a month; my rent is $400 right now; my food bill is $100 a week; my Internet is $40 a month; entertainment is $60 a week; and my transportation costs are over $100 a month!! What a bunch of hype about cost of living in Cuenca Ecuador, I can’t retire on $600 a month, my living costs now are almost $1200! I should have never believed that magazine article!!”

This is true; living like that you cannot retire on $600!

But the truth is a couple CAN Retire on $600 if they are FRUGAL and do things the way we do and have been doing and advocating all along on this blog.

We’ve been reading and hearing about more and more expats who have come to Cuenca and are disappointed because they believed all the hype about cost of living in Cuenca Ecuador. It’s sad, but this is what happens when we don’t look at the whole picture and do our due diligence research.

Our readers email us weekly with high priced rentals and real-estate because they cannot believe their eyes. They want to know if the high prices they are seeing in Cuenca are true (Yeah it’s true). The first things out of their mouth is, “Oh my gosh; I can just stay here where I’m at in the U.S for that price!”

If these magazines and websites are going to talk about the low cost of living in Cuenca Ecuador then they should at least have the facts to back it up and to show people how to do it. Our family of five adults lives on less than $1,000 a month in Cuenca Ecuador. So then it is entirely possible one or two people can live on $600 if they are willing to follow our guidelines? YES IT IS…you just need to know the ins and outs of going local in Cuenca Ecuador.

Here’s the thing, we have not met any expat couples here in Cuenca yet that are actually living on $600 a month, and the reason being is THEY don’t know how or THEY don’t care to know how. Folks are rushing down here and doing things the way they are used to in North America, but this is South America!

We keep reading in articles about how a couple is living on $600 a month but where are they? All we hear and read about is expats complaining about all the hype of Cuenca, and they are leaving Ecuador. Many others are renting $600-$750 a month apartments!

They lease high priced rentals in gringo gulches, and buy properties from greedy real estate agents that have upped the price by 50%, they buy food in the Americanized grocery stores, never taking the bus or walking anywhere outside of the center, and so on and so forth. Nope, $600 is NOT going to happen doing that.

We just found (Two days ago, March 10, 2012) another beautiful home; it’s 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, three story in a nice and quiet Ecuadorian neighborhood for $200 a month! Now, it did take some considerable searching, foot work, knowing some Spanish, and humbleness (Frank quickly lets people know we are not rich and we are not going to pay gringo prices) to find this house.

This big, beautiful home is nicer than the one we are in now and bigger and with a nicer back yard, for $50 less a month! Oh and guess what else, we didn’t even have to negotiate the price with the landlord because $200 was the real price!? This landlord did not try and gringo us, so we quickly gave him a $200 deposit on it for our friends who are moving to Cuenca this month.

We also found last week in our searching, a small, but nice three bedroom one bath apartment for $180 a month in a very nice Ecuadorian neighborhood just a few blocks from the Coral Centro. It takes due diligence (time and effort) just like we’ve been telling you all along, to find these local priced rentals but they are out there. These are all private parties, no real estate agents!

So you see, with doing some leg work (literally) and talking to local people, moving away from the city center, and walking around and calling all of the Spanish ads, you’ll find the right priced rentals in Cuenca.

If you decide to move to Cuenca and live at the local pricing structure, you can’t bring your North American way of doing things here and get the $600 a month way of living, it isn’t going to happen. People come here and just go to rental agency or real-estate Company or look at the English language ads or websites and get an apartment or house. No wonder they are paying exorbitant prices. These types of agencies and English language ads are geared just for the so called “rich gringo” that moves to Cuenca. Is that how you want to move here? Well you don’t have to.

If you’re going to move here, then move here, don’t live like a tourist on vacation.

Start by walking around, interacting with the Ecuadorians, then read the Spanish ads and use Google translate, never give up and keep looking, be willing to walk away at stupidly over priced rentals and be sure to let them know it is waaaay over-priced for Ecuador!

The bottom line is real simple: If your ideal retirement haven is living in a gringo gulch with 24 hour security guards stationed, taking taxis everywhere you go, shopping at the malls, eating out in the International restaurants and grocery shopping at Supermaxi, then you could just as well find your paradise Cuenca anywhere you care to go, the world is a large place; Cuenca is not that special in the global view of things, really, it’s just a South American Andes mountain town.

But if your goal is to relocate and restart your life in a new land–then living in an Ecuadorian neighborhood, away from the city center, taking the bus or walking, taxi only sometimes, shopping and being frugal at the Mercado’s and Coral and cooking your own international food and or patronizing the Ecuadorian restaurants –can help you make Cuenca –be that place.

It’s really up to how you live. The old North American dream of prosperity and liberty can be yours but you might have to change some of your habits and integrate yourself with the local culture. No one can certainly tell you how to live, but if frugality and immersing yourself into the culture of Ecuador sounds like something you want to do then most of the Ecuadorians will welcome you here with open arms.

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Ecuador is off the typical tourist track but still presents multiple vacation options. The Pacific Coast provides relaxing beaches while the Amazon allows for combining ecotourism with active sports from hikes to whitewater rafting/kayaking in Tena. Lastly, for history buffs, both Quito’s old town and Cuenca give a glimpse into Ecuador’s colonial past.

Eclipsed by higher profile South American tourist destinations, such as Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, Ecuador borders on Colombia and Peru. It is a relatively small country, approximately the size of the US state of Colorado. Notwithstanding the latter, Ecuador, with eleven national parks, has varied terrain from its western coast to rainforest and majestic mountain peaks/volcanoes, including well-known Cotopaxi and Tungurahua. As to indoor activities, besides museums and architectural sites, for those who like to shop, Ecuador, the home of the “Panama” hat, offers an array of goods to purchase from silver and leather to local handicrafts.

An Andean nation, Ecuador’s capital, Quito, was one of the original UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At more than 9,000 feet above sea level, Quito has a temperate climate earning it the name of the “city of eternal spring” although it lies just 15 miles south of the Equator. The second largest city in the country, it still retains a well-preserved old town centered around La Plaza Grande and containing the Palacio del Gobierno and cathedral. Nearby is another top sight: the San Francisco Monastery.

Beyond such traditional tourists’ spots, the city, itself, includes great vistas from the hilltops in residential neighborhoods. Tucked nearby are many informal, neighborhood restaurants.

Ecuador’s Pacific Coast is dominated by its largest city and major port, Guayaquil. With its riverside boardwalk, Malecón 2000, featuring multiple restaurants and shops and its contrasting nature and eco-preserves, Guayaquil is more than just the launch pad for points west. In addition to its 21st century offerings, its “La Rotonda” adds historical context as it commemorates the meeting of South America’s two most famous liberators, San Martin and Simon Bolivar.

As noted, Guayaquil is also a major departure point for those westward bound primarily heading to Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, 600 miles at sea. Named for the large tortoises found there, the Islands have a colorful history having been partially populated by pirates four centuries ago. In contrast, today they are a popular destination for ecotourism. The number of rare species of animals and plants are the major draw which in the early 19th century prompted a visit by Charles Darwin. Restrictions apply in keeping with conservation efforts so you must plan ahead to join one of the small boat tours.

Cuenca, Ecuador’s third largest city, still bears the imprint of the past with cobblestone streets and colonial architecture. However, its most noteworthy public building dates from more recent times. The large multi-domed “New Cathedral” was completed in the 20th Century while the “Old Cathedral” now serves as a museum.

Close by Cuenca is the Ecuadorian Amazon which spans six provinces. Tours frequently start at Baños for visitors in search of pink dolphins, howler monkeys, three-toed sloths and oversized rodents.

Overall, an Ecuadorian vacation offers something for everyone from leisurely historical and cultural tours to active more adventurous outdoor sports and ecotours at an affordable price. In addition, Ecuador’s distinct weather zones provide a choice for those who like the tropics to head for the beaches or rainforest or for those who want to flee the heat to enjoy Quito’s moderate climate. Lastly, Ecuador has retained the distinct flavor of the Andean region while still being accessible to international travelers.

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Ecuador is located between Colombia and Peru in South America and has a long coast line on the Pacific Ocean. The country’s capital is Quito and is the second largest city in the country. Guayaquil is the biggest city in Ecuador and home to a major sea shipping port; the Port of Guayaquil. Other shipping ports in Ecuador include the Port of La Libertad, the Port of Manta and the Port of Puerto Bolivar.

If you are ocean shipping to Ecuador, you can ship household goods and personal effects duty free if you are a foreign diplomat, Ecuadorian diplomat or a citizen of Ecuador returning after completing some type of official assignment for an international organization that is recognized by the Ecuadorian government.

If you are a citizen of Ecuador returning to the country after having been away for at least one year with legal residence abroad, including a resident visa from the country from which you are returning, you are also allowed to ship household items back to Ecuador at no charge. If you are not a citizen of Ecuador but are a foreigner with an immigrant visa or a foreigner to the country with a non-immigrant working visa, you may also likely qualify for free shipping on personal effects.

When shipping personal items to Ecuador, please note that only one item per article is allowed. If you try to ship additional items, you may be required to pay certain duty fees, fines and taxes. Your items may also be at risk of confiscation.

If you are returning citizen, you are not eligible for duty free importation if you have been in Ecuador for more than thirty days during the past year of residence abroad.

The timing of your cargo shipment to Ecuador is important. Your shipment can arrive up to 60 days after your arrival in the country.

If you are shipping cargo to Ecuador and you do not meet the qualifications detailed above, you may be subject to pay certain import taxes (approximately 43% of CIF value, as calculated by customs officials in Ecuador).

When shipping to Ecuador, it is necessary to obtain a transportation insurance policy in Ecuador. This is for customs purposes and does not replace the coverage of regular door to door shipping insurance issued at origin.

If you are moving to Ecuador and are shipping household goods and personal items to Ecuador, your shipment may be inspected. If it is valued at over $4,000 it should be inspected at origin before arrival in Ecuador. Verification of this inspection is important.

Required Paperwork when Shipping to Ecuador

In order to get through the customs clearance process in Ecuador, you will need to get some important documents in order. Before you ship cargo to Ecuador you should plan to have a sworn declaration of your items stamped by an Ecuadorian Consulate at origin. It is extremely important that you provide a detailed and complete list of the household goods, personal items, equipment and other items that you are shipping. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

For non-resident visitors to Ecuador, you should plan to have a valid work contract available. If you are a resident returning to Ecuador, make sure to have your resident visa from the country where you have been living for a year or more.

If required, you can obtain a Migratory Certificate from the Migration Police prior to presentation of your customs declaration.

The following documents are necessary when shipping to Ecuador:

1.Original passport with stamped visa
2.Verification certificate (if applicable)
3.Transportation Insurance Policy issued in Ecuador

With the exception of foreign diplomats, a detailed physical inspection at the port of entry is mandatory when shipping to Ecuador. Please note, if non-declared items are found during inspection of your cargo shipment, this will be considered a felony and will be punished.

Restrictions when Shipping to Ecuador

If you are shipping to Ecuador, there are tight restrictions on a number of products and items including the following:

•Drugs or narcotics
•Food items
•Pornographic material
•Live plants
•Firearms and ammunition
•Tires
•Certain Household Appliances that operate with compressed gas containing CFCs or with fluids type R-12 or R-502 are strictly prohibited. This includes some refrigerators, freezers and dehumidifiers, etc.

There are some very specific restrictions on alcohol and cigarettes.

Shipping a Car to Ecuador

Typically you are not allowed to ship used vehicles to Ecuador unless you are a foreign diplomat. If you want to ship a car or other vehicle to Ecuador, the vehicle should be brand new.

Before shipping a car to Ecuador, your car will need to be inspected at origin. This is a requirement, even if you are shipping a car in a container with other household goods and personal items. In addition, before shipping a vehicle to Ecuador, you must obtain an import permit prior to shipment.

Duty fees for vehicle shipping to Ecuador are around 65% if the CIF value.

There is a lot to think about before shipping by sea to Ecuador or some other South American destination or shipping port worldwide. A professional cargo shipping company will direct you through all the rules and regulations, paperwork and logistics, pertaining to your shipment to Ecuador. Choosing the right international sea shipping agency will help make your experience with international shipping to Ecuador much easier.

Based about 30 miles north of Miami, Florida, Cargo Experts was formed by a team of moving professionals and cargo shippers who are committed to delivering outstanding customer service as they take care of all the details involved in your overseas cargo shipping. Cargo Experts and has many years of experience in international cargo shipping. Get a free estimate for your international shipment. For more information about international cargo shipping services, including information about shipping to Ecuador and other locations worldwide, call toll free at 1-866-994-7822.

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Head to Ecuador for a wonderful and incredibly family-friendly holiday which in a relatively small area offers a whole diversity of experiences from rainforest to riding among volcanoes, kayaking into mangroves, and snorkelling with sealions.

Ecuador’s temperate highlands make the perfect starting point for your family adventure as you can reach some truly spectacular rural locations in the shadow of beautiful volcanic peaks within an hour or so from the airport to get your holiday off to a relaxing beginning, even when travelling with smaller children. You can arrange a bespoke itinerary that combines some fantastic horse-riding for all levels, whether for several days or just for a few hours, from a gorgeous family-run traditional working farm or hacienda with a whole host of other activities from colourful Indian markets, walks, cycling, and checking out what’s going on at the farm.

The perennial fascination of exotic creatures big and small from insects to snakes and monkeys does not fail to engage children of all ages, whether you head to the cooler cloud forest with your little ones only a short drive from Quito or whether you venture with your teenagers deeper into Amazon basin rainforest to spend a few incredible and illuminating days with local tribes in the heart of their ancestral home. Family-friendly riverside jungle lodges can offer specially designed forest walks with great guides as well as lots of fun activities from making animal models and pictures to learning the essential skills on how to become a forest naturalist, such as recognising animal calls and spotting minute insects! Swim in waterfalls, go fishing for piranha, and get face-painting with natural dye, known as achiote!

When you are ready for some time to relax by the coast after all that exploration and active adventure, then why not try the less-developed villages and towns around Machalilla National Park. Kayak along the coast looking out for dolphins, check out the Panama hat weavers at Montecristi or try your hand at making jewellery and local handicrafts. June to November sees a migration of humpback whales offshore for some amazing close encounters en-route to a ‘mini-Galapagos’ at Isla de la Plata, the only other place in the world where you can see waved albatross and also blue-footed boobies, sealions, and frigate birds. This coast is wonderful for even younger children reached by an easy road journey from Guayaquil via a chocolate factory or a short scenic flight to Manta.

Alternatively of course, you can combine the beautiful highlands and rainforest with the stunning Galapagos Islands on a fabulous experience of a lifetime aboard a beautiful cruise vessel. If you have a larger family or want to take the grandparents too, then talk to us about private yacht charter. If your children love making new friends, then we can recommend some wonderful cruises with special family departures, designed to keep all ages happy on-board and onshore!

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You can retire in Ecuador and live a much richer lifestyle than you would back home. Here is where you can watch your retirement check go further. Enjoy beautiful tranquil beaches, lush tropical rain forests and the snow-capped mountains of the Andes. Ecuador is the quintessential essence of budget retirement in paradise.

With an average temperature of 75 degrees, Ecuador boasts the best of all worlds. And it is one of the cheapest places to retire. Here you will find all the amenities you are accustomed to such as cable, cell phones, medical care, fine restaurants, nightclubs and supermarkets. And since Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as currency, there is no need to worry about fluctuating dollar rates.

Cost of living in Ecuador

•Cable is less than $29 a month.
•Electricity averages about $15 a month and propane usage is approximately $10 a month.
•Weekly grocery bills for two is less than $70.
•Bus service is a quarter and a taxi will run you about $3.00.
•A two-bedroom apartment overlooking the Andes is less than $250 a month. The view is free. Rent in the capital of Quito is approximately $400. A little higher than that if you choose the coast.
•Enjoy a gourmet meal for two with desert and alcohol for $20.00.
•Seek first-rate medical care at one of the private hospitals where a specialist will run you about $30 for an extended visit.

If you are having a hard time making ends meet on your social security check, then retire in Ecuador. Where you can live in comfort and have enough money left over to enjoy sightseeing, exploring jungles and waterfalls or surfing and mountain climbing. Of course, you could always whittle away the afternoons relaxing in your hammock and watching the sun set over the Andes.

Where you spend your golden years is up to you. If you are tired of scrimping to come up with enough money to pay your electric bill, it is time to look for other options. Remember, nothing will change unless you do something different. Retiring in Ecuador can be the answer to your problems. Learn to live a different pace, where you can discover a quality of life unmatched for less than the cost of a mortgage payment.

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Cuenca is known for having a mild climate, especially given its location at about 8,200 feet (2500 m) above sea level. The average daily temperature is about 58° F (~14° C) and the average monthly rainfall is 2.3 inches (58 mm). The ‘rainy season’ is said to be between January and May, with the heaviest rains from March through May. But for those of us who lived in or traveled through Cuenca recently, it seems the ‘rainy season’ lasts nearly all year.

So why hasn’t Cuenca lived up to its ‘moderate climate’ reputation recently? If you ask the locals about it, they will say the weather has been unusual lately, but aren’t really sure why. Is it the effects of climate change? Some say yes, but others point to La Niña.

La Niña which means ‘little girl’ has the opposite effect of El Niño (‘little boy’). El Niño is a relatively well-known western Pacific weather pattern caused by an increase in the sea temperature, which creates higher air pressure. El Niño is often associated with heavy storms and catastrophic weather for the regions affected (mainly North America, South America, Australia, India, and Indonesia). However, El Niño could be seen as a ‘good thing’ for beach and sun lovers in Ecuador and Peru: El Niño usually causes unseasonably warm and dry weather from April to October on the Ecuadorian and Peruvian coasts.

La Niña, the lesser known pattern, is often called the ‘anti-El Niño’. As the nickname suggests, La Niña indicates a cooling effect in the sea waters, leading to lower air pressure. This, in turn, causes weather effects in Peru and Ecuador such as more rainfall and heavier rainfall. In fact, in 2008, La Niña was blamed for devastating flooding and the heaviest rains Ecuador had seen in more than 25 years.

So how does all of this effect Cuenca, which is an 8 hour drive and over 8,000 feet above the Pacific coast? A climate forum held in January of 2011 stated that La Niña was indeed occurring, and listed the following predictions for each region of Ecuador:

•”Region Litoral” (Coastal): unstable weather conditions, presence of rain and showers of varying intensity, with greater intensity to the north and interior.
•”Region Interandina” (Andes): scattered showers of varying intensity in the region, especially in the Andes highlands.
•”Region Oriental” (Eastern/Jungle): variation of moderate to severe rainfall, with greater presence on the slopes of the mountains.
•”Region Insular” (Galápagos): moderate winds and occasional showers, especially on San Cristobal Island.

Whether the increase in rain lately is due to an overall changing climate (read: global warming) or a temporary weather pattern such as La Niña, only time will tell. Whatever the cause, the rain showers in Cuenca rarely last all day; you can usually count on at least having a bright and sunny morning. So whatever time of year to choose to visit Cuenca, make sure you take advantage of those beautiful Cuenca mornings-and take an umbrella for those unpredictable afternoons!

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Ecuador is cheap, no doubt about it.

Those who think life in Ecuador costs about the same as other Latin American destinations like Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, or the Dominican Republic are mistaken.

Of course, how much you spend greatly depends on your personal spending habits, and a little on the area of the city in which you live.

But Ecuador is a land where a dollar still goes a long way, and people still cherish their pennies.

Food, transport, medical and housing costs are all considerably lower than in most of the western hemisphere.

Food:

A 3-course plate lunch in a local restaurant in the street costs around $2. Many small, local families do all their grocery shopping for the month for under $150-200. (Of course, knowing how to shop, finding the deals, and shopping a lot in local markets.)

Even the international fast food chains have adapted to Ecuadorian prices. For example, in Pizza Hut, you can buy a personal pan pizza for $1.50, and in KFC you can get a plate lunch with rice, beans and chicken for $1.75.

Transport:

Thankfully, with plentiful taxis and public transport, Ecuador is one of those countries where you truly don’t need a car. I have never waited longer than 10 minutes for a bus in the street, nor has it took me longer than 6 minutes to flag down a taxi.

This automatically eliminates the costs you incur for car insurance, repairs and parking.

A city bus costs a whopping $.25 cents and inter-city buses cost around $1 per hour traveled. So, in other words, you can go from one end (Colombian border) of Ecuador to the other (Peruvian border) for around $17.

Taxis within one of the major cities usually costs around $2-3 for a short 10-15 minute ride.

Medical:

The level of care is surprisingly very high in Ecuador, and particularly within the private clinics, hygiene is placed at an even higher premium than in some clinics I have visited in the US.

A standard doctor consultation costs around $25. A teeth cleaning starts around $40, and to fill a cavity starts around $20.

Full coverage medical plans for seniors start around $87-180 dollars a month (depending on personal circumstances).

Housing:

Both costs to purchase and rent are relatively low in Ecuador. To rent a small, 1 bedroom apartment in one of the major cities starts around $150-200 a month. To rent a luxury, furnished one bedroom suite-apartment in a nice area of Quito (for instance) is starting around $400 (and up).

Purchase prices greatly depend on the area and property type, but you could find a small apartment, already-built starting around $30,000 almost everywhere in Ecuador.

Oh yea, and did I mention that in Ecuador you also never have to worry about exchange fees, because Ecuador uses the US dollar as its official currency.

So hop that 4 hour flight from Miami, Ecuador awaits you.

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Retire in Ecuador is becoming more and more popular with Americans and others who want the good life without spending a fortune. It is very easy to live and live very well in Ecuador for under $2,000 a month. One couple reports a monthly budget of $660 a month. Let’s just say I am skeptical of figures that low, $1500 is cheap enough with absolutely no skimping.

The Andes is the most prominent geological feature of Ecuador. When you combine mountain living with the fact that Ecuador sits on the Equator…spring time all year round is the norm. Want it a little warmer, there are several beach towns that offer very affordable real estate.

Having said that real estate is cheap to purchase I would advise against buying on the first trip. It is much more prudent to rent first…then if you decide that particular town is not your first choice you can then purchase a home or apartment. Don’t be fooled by the hurry, hurry spiel of realtors…take it easy enjoy the process…what is the rush?

Quito,the capital of Ecuador, offers life at 9,000 feet. It is one of the prettiest colonial cities in the Americas and offers all you would expect in a city of almost 2 million people. English is widely spoken and you have a myriad of restaurants, museums and art galleries to attend. The new International airport is soon to be open that will make travel in and out of Ecuador a breeze.

The smaller Cuenca (500,000 people) is becoming a favorite of expats. Cobblestone streets, church plazas are everywhere in a town known for its arts and culture. Cotacachi and Vilcabamba are 2 other fairly good sized towns with a thriving expat community.

To retire in Ecuador has certain perks for the retiree over 65: 50% off public transportation: 50% off airfares and half price tickets to sporting events and cultural events to name just a few. You may live a bit longer in Ecuador as a result of the clean mountain air…an added benefit.

So come on down and explore the possibility to retire in Ecuador…year round spring time in the mountains and warm, beautiful Pacific beaches await you.

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Here are some fun & Interesting Facts about Ecuador

The ‘Republic of Ecuador’ is the official name of the country.

Spanish is the official language of the country. However, other languages such as Quechua and other indigenous languages are widely popular here.

Roman Catholics are majority in religion here.

Mestizo, Amerindian, Spanish and Blacks are main ethnic groups in Ecuador.

Since January 2001, US dollar has been accepted as the official currency of Ecuador.

Quito is the capital city of Ecuador.

The country has the system of ‘Presidential Republic’.

On 24th May 1822, Ecuador gained independence from Spain and from Gran Colombia, on 13th May 1830.

The highest point of the country is Chimborazo Volcano, at 6310, while the lowest point is considered as the space formed by the Pacific Ocean.

The country has a wide number of active volcanoes.

The county is mainly segregated into four geographical regions, namely The Coastal Area (Litoral), The Andean Highlands (Sierra), The Amazon (Oriente) and The Galapagos Islands.

Ecuador shares no boundary with Brazil in South America.

The largest city of Ecuador is Guayaquil. It is also considered as a major port and a leading commercial center.

Ecuador is a smallest country in the Andean highlands.

Ecuador has about 10 percent of the population from European descent, and rest of them represent indigenous cultures and mixed ethnicity.

The main industries of the country are petroleum, food processing, textiles and metal work.

Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, is in Ecuador only.

The country has been named after equator in Spanish.

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