Is Ecuador the new American dream?

Dom,

“So, where you from?” I asked.

“Gambia,” the guest in my hotel responded.

“Wow, Gambia, I thought, where the heck’s that?” I thought.This young guy I was chatting with was obviously an immigrant, fresh off the plane, about to try his luck inEcuador.  Just like i was 3 years ago.

You see, Ecuador is the NEW American dream, a place where you can truly come with nothing and hit it big.

So let’s look at what America was and what Ecuador now is:

Accessible to newcomers.  While the US has long since “shut it’s doors” to new immigrants from developing countries, Ecuador remains wide open for about anyone from anywhere in the world.  Foreigners can easily own land and businesses and have the same rights as the locals.

Low taxes.  This was one of the main reasons Europeans left in droves for America, a place that was once a place with a much lower tax burden, just like Ecuador is now compared to North America.  Income taxes (many pay under 10% of their income), property taxes (usually under a few hundred dollars a year per property).  You name it, they’re LOW in Ecuador!

LOTS of opportunity.  Literally, ANTHING you want to do, any business you put, chances are Ecuador needs it.

Cheap land.  With the Oklahoma land rushes a thing of the distant past in North America, land is still cheap inEcuador, its where i bought my first house for $14k 3 years ago when I could only have dreamed of buying something back in Montana, the last place I lived in the US.  For me, it’d be depressing living in a place like Canada or Australia or California where young people can only DREAM of owning their own property without a 30 year nuse mortgage around their neck.

Low labor costs.  Before Ecuador I lived in China where i worked at a factory and I can tell you those guys in inner China don’t make a whole lot less these days then the minimum wage worker in Ecuador.  For instance, my colleagues in China made around $300 a month while in Ecuador the minimum wage is about $350 a month.  Still low for sure, breeding lots of entrepreneurial opportunities.

Low lawsuit concerns.  In the US, its well documented people sue like it’s their job, in some cases it is.  I for one would be paranoid about opening a business there while in Ecuador the inefficiency of the legal system actually prevents most cases from even happening as most settle differences out of court.