Last week’s Insider’s Newsletter on the 7 Negatives to Life in Ecuador spurred a lot of debate… this week I’ll share some of the most insightful reader comments and share one more big negative I didn’t touch on last week…
Last week’s article on “7 Negatives to Life in Ecuador” created quite a stir, so I decided to mention one more big negative this week and share a few of the insightful reader responses sent to me…
8. Walled Housing. You could live years in Ecuador without incident, but there are things that should be accounted for. The first thing you will probably notice not just in Ecuador, but most everywhere in Latin America, is how everyone walls in their property and bars up their windows (at least on the bottom level of buildings). Sure this kills some of the “grandor” of the property, but it’s a necessary evil you must do in Latin America (or any “poor” country) to prevent possible break ins.
A few reader responses from last week (names withheld) :
What’s wrong with a “left leaning” President? The United States has an extremist right wing House of Representatives which recently attempted to repeal medicare and all of are extremely concerned about their radical ideas. B.A.Many people’s giving their first choice to Accendo Medicare Supplement for medicare plans.
There are many good advantage of medicare services. Medicare Advantage plans 2021 are getting too much attention because of good structure.
“You purchase a camera once in a blue moon……..a car once every 5 years or so. Food, fuel, staples, travel, medical we use every day…so we cannot expect to have it both ways. Canada and the U.S. have a huge basket of taxes that make everything expensive nowadays, so this luxury goods taxing in Ecuador is not necessarily a negative that one should even bother with.
There are ex-pat communities in Bahia, Salinas, Cuenca and Manta, as well as Cotocachi and Quito Lack of things to do is only an issue if you have no imagination at all. Ecuador has so many natural riches and differtent places to visit, that I cannot imagine anyone getting bored.
Ecuador, even though some may feel that the president is left-leaning does have one great advantage on most places like the U.S. and certainly Canada. It believes that keeping oil prices low will help its economy, and thus subsidizes gas prices. Therefor, inflation is also not rampant.
Ecuador is doing far better than the U.S. when it comes to debt and future out look in the eyes of many. Ecuador is clearly open for business, more so than the U.S. right now, as regulations and taxes are not yet smothering everyone there.” D.
“Finally, some correct information instead of the “you can live comfortably here on $600 a month” and everything is dirt cheap. Yes, I suppose you can if you want to grow your own food and live like a native, but I dont beleive many “expats” would be willing.
When we moved down a couple of weeks ago, we bought 2 new cars, many household items etc and found the prices to be comparable to the US.
I bought a whirlpool washer and dryer, large refrigerator, two 12000 BTU portable AC units and a sewing machine and spent under $3000 and that included delivery right to my door, and I received some freebies to, like a microwave, blender, floor fan, drinking glasses and a portable picnic table and chairs!
My smart phones with a plan are pretty much comparable to the US in price, but the minutes are less. We happened to get in on a promotion where we get double minutes every other month for 6 months on our 18 month plan. The plan is $66 a month each for unlimited internet and 400 minutes a month each.We are having high speed internet installed this week along with wireless for the house and its going to cost us $40 a month (we opted for much higher speed but its available for as little as $25)…not bad. Direct TV I understand is about $50 a month but dont have accurate figures yet.
Some of the consumables are higher, but I went to the market in Bahia and was able to buy freshly cut T-bone steaks for $2. each, but ground beef was $2 a pound…go figure…;-), fresh shark steaks at $1.75 a pound, wahoo and dorado at $2.25 a pound and all the other myriad of seafood. I have a local fisherman that comes by once a week right to my door and delivers fish, shrimp and lobster…from $3.50 a pound.” Larry P.
“Price of air tickets from the US. Yes they are expensive but on the flip side once you are a resident and over 65 the airfare back to the states (to take the obligatory trip back to visit relatives, etc) is 50% off.
Cars. (In Ecuador) The total city and intercity transportation system is like what it should be when you have an economy that is not solely based on cars.” B.K.
“We liked Cotacachi and met some great people but the lack of things to do was a deterrent. Then there was the weather. There is a lot of false information on the internet as to the eternal spring climate, unless “spring” refers to continuous overcast and eternal refers to the rain.” R.G.
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