Another good question. I have spent many months of my life happily living in Guayaquil. The city doesn’t look like much at first but it can really grow on you!
Now, you do have to pay special attention to where you live in Guayaquil, there are certainly some rough areas!
The rich locals prefer to live just outside of town, across the bridge in a yuppy area called Samborondon… urgh… Not my thing. If I wanted that I’d just stay in the States.
But I also want to be safe, so for me, the areas that still have character and life yet are still safe are the middle class areas of Sauces (kind of near the airport) and Urdesa (near the Mall San Marino).
Urdesa is a little quieter, both are very well located and close to everything… shopping, entertainment, sports.
I don’t recommend you live in the south of the city, or the city center near “Las Penas” or the beautiful boardwalk, “El Malecon”. During the day they are beautiful and reminiscent of Lisbon, Portugal…but at night the area gets a little shady.
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