Category: Ecuador Q&A

I didn´t believe it when I heard it.

In fact, even though it´s not my main business in Ecuador, I´ve helped over a dozen people get their residency visas to live here in Ecuador.

And the last couple I helped just 3 months ago in mid-December.

The last several I´ve helped it just took one day.  So I just charged a daily fee ($150).

One day.  In and out, file submitted.  Approved in two weeks.  Come pick up visa, get cedula (Ecuador ID card).  Stay in Ecuador as long as they want.

It really is that simple.

But now, as of 2015, I confirmed in the Quito immigration office talking to the officials a few days ago in March, it´s just got a bit harder.

Specifically harder for Americans, or people from the States, who want to live in Ecuador.

Americans now need a state-wide police check AND a federal FBI level check, which sometimes can take months to attain.

Before, a simple police check from your local town would suffice.

Easy… actually it was WAY too easy.

And easy to game the system if you know what I mean, so maybe this change is ultimately good for Ecuador but for us people applying to live here it just got a bit more complicated.

So why just for Americans?

Well, the new requirement officially states, people from countries with a federal government need both the state check AND federal police check, but really, as one friend who does this for a living tells me, they are only applying this new visa requirement to Americans and Canadians (for now).
Better time than ever to consider getting a second passport!

Now, how to find the best-priced properties in Ecuador? For that and more subscribe to my weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time:

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This week I´m checking in from Miami, FL.

First time I´ve been in the USA for a bit over three years since moving full-time to Ecuador.

And now, it´s quite clear to me what is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper or easier to find in the USA compared to Ecuador.

What to bring with you to Ecuador?

1. Laptops.  In countries like the USA, lap top computers are not just cheaper than in Ecuador, but the variety is much greater.  For instance, want something specific like an i7 processor?  Best buy in USA and bring to Ecuador.  Maximum 2 allowed per person.

2. Cell phones.  There are very strict import regulations in Ecuador on cell phones thus jacking up the local prices.  Best bring from USA.  You can bring a maximum 2 down per person per trip.

3. Apple products.  Apple computers, iphones, ipads and anything else Apple is best brought from USA.

4. Footwear.  Name-brand shoes like Nike tennis shoes can be double the price of the same shoe found in USA.  Moral of the story, bring down!  summer walking sandals are often MUCH less expensive in USA, too.  Bring, the local Ecuadorians already know this! Speaking of summer walking, Ecuador Summer is one of the hottest in the World, make sure to visit riverfronttimes.com and learn more about portable air conditioner units.

5. Cosmetic products like specific facial creams, make-up.  Again, these products can be hard to find or double the price in Ecuador.

6. Lingerie.  The good, name-brand stuff, even Victoria Secret, can be double or triple the price in Ecuador.

7. Name-brand jeans.  Levi, Tommy, all that can be triple the price in Ecuador, and even still, when buying in Ecuador you are never quite sure if what you´re buying is REALLY authentic.  Know what I mean?

8. Designer sun-glasses.  Much cheaper in USA.  But the cheapies for $8 that break in a few weeks can be found in Ecuador.

9. Projectors, DVD players, other specialty electronics.  These type of products can be hard to find or simply double the price in Ecuador.

10.  Video game systems, i.e. XBox 360, PlayStation.  Often these systems can be over double the price of similar systems found in USA, plus, the games are much cheaper if bought in USA.  Personally, Id buy both the system and games cheap in a pawn shop in USA, then bring down.

11. Musical equipment.  A Keyboard in Fry´s of Las Vegas costs $99, the same keyboard is over double the price in Ecuador.  Nuff said.

12. Fishing, hiking and other extreme sports equipment.  Its not the price here, its that these type of specialty items are simply hard to find in Ecuador.  Best to bring.

13. Security equipment.  Systems like security cameras and other specialty home or personal security equipment are best brought from the Security Info.

14. Baking equipment.  Specialty items like cookie-cutter molds, mixers and other items related to baking can be non-existent or far more expensive in Ecuador.

15. Designer jackets, leather, pleather, etc.  More variety and cheaper in USA.

16. Specific food spices and sauces.  For instance, stadium-mustard with that unique flavor is hard to find in Ecuador.

17. Liquor.  Things like Tequila and many other liquors can be much cheaper in USA compared to Ecuador, but you can only bring up to 3 liters per traveler according to this recent article from the Ecuador customs (Aduana).

18. Big-screen TVs.  MUCH cheaper in USA, a 32 or 40 inch TV is often half the price in USA at a place like Walmart compared to Ecuador.  While a 32 inch, flat-screen LED Sony in Ecuador starts around $440, the same TV or similar can be found in USA for around half that or less!  But according to the Ecuador customs, you can only bring ONE TV up to 24 inches tax-free per traveler unless you´re bringing one down in your one-time-only tax-exempt shipment from USA after attaining residency in Ecuador.

What NOT to bring to Ecuador?

Almost as important as what to bring is what NOT to bring, in my hotel near the airport in Quito I meet a lot of foreigners everyday that haul things to Ecuador unnecessarily due to the fact that they are readily available or cheaper in Ecuador.

Like…

1. Sheets, pillows and bed linens.  One set of sheets for a double bed in Ecuador start around $18 and are of good quality.

2. Towels.  Dont bring towels, they are cheap and plentiful in Ecuador.

3. Furniture.  Ecuador has some very nice and reasonably priced furniture.  Most are happy acquiring here.

4. Sweaters, hats. Also plentiful and reasonably priced in Ecuador.  Alpaca is the norm.

5. Belts, wallets, other leather objects.  Also cheap and readily available in Ecuador.

6.  Designer lamps, lighting.  Ecuador also has some beautiful designs not available in USA.

7. Jewerly.  Ecuador has some very nice, unique gold, silver and other options available at reasonable prices.

8. Peanut butter.  It´s a myth peanut butter is hard to find in Ecuador.  Actually in any big box store like Supermaxi you can find it.
Now, how to find the best-priced properties in Ecuador? For that and more subscribe to my weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time:

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Oh, man.

I’ve been avoiding this question ever since I started this blog a few years back.

Yet, this is the first thing people ask me, how did a guy from Cleveland, Ohio end up in Ecuador?

Lie every time.

OK, maybe not “lie” but I always give a very vague, “blow off” answer like, “came to visit, liked it”.

I think many expats have reasons for moving abroad which aren’t exactly “bragging material”.

My reason was probably a lot different than yours, too.

So, do you want the long or short answer?

The short answer goes back to why I moved abroad in the first place… the women.

At age 22 when I left the USA for good… going out, partying, dancing, drinking, and dating primarily occupied my mind.

Of course, as I’ve gotten older my reasons for living abroad do and have changed, I’m not proud of that original reason, but in high school I got no love, man. Picture a young guy dressed for a party walking through sand dunes in the desert. Definitely graduated high school a virgin. It was rough.

College was better, though.

But my dating life really took off when I graduated and moved abroad. It pays to be different than the local norm, what can I say?

But the long answer of why i moved abroad and also chose Ecuador is more complex.

I was invited to Ecuador initially by an Ecuadorian friend I had made living in Madrid, Spain. He picked me up from the airport and we went to a friends house where a national soccer game was on and I just meshed right in with his group of friends. I was 22. And MAN Ecuadorians that age know how to party!

From day one I was already enamored with the fun-loving, welcoming Ecuadorian people.

Then I left Ecuador and lived in other countries in Latin America and Asia, but I kept coming back to Ecuador to visit.

Then, I read something online while living in the Philippines about how to sell e-books online for cash, so i wrote one on Ecuador real estate, where I saw potential (back in 2008-09).

And it sold.

And because of it I started a blog on Ecuador while not even living there, just based off my past visiting experiences. And it grew until one day I was sitting in China in 2011 thinking, what am I doing here? Let’s go back to Ecuador and grow this thing… Ecuador was just beginning to be touted as the NUMBER 1 retirement destination in the world by many international publications.

So I came back.

This last time you could say the reason was this blog, then with an Ecuadorian friend I started a business in Guayaquil, bought some property, sold it, bought some more. Then, started a business on my own in Quito.

Snow-balled from there.

So my reasons for moving to Ecuador changed over time, which will probably happen to you.

Now, the reason I STAYED here primarily was for my blog and as I see it more opportunity than the USA offers me.

Before I left the USA, my only real job in the USA was as a telemarketer for a mortgage company in Oceanside, CA for about one month and a half, now a days is easier to get a mortgage, with the help of tips from sites as Top 10 TN that help people getting their own mortgages. And more to know more about mortgage from MortgageRight. I hated it. You see, i majored in something vague and the only opportunities I saw for myself in the USA were sales, real estate agent, sell insurance or financial advising. Moreira Team we shop your loan with over 22 different lenders and banks to make sure we deliver on our promise to get you the best deal.

To me, all that just looked like that phone I had to stare at when i tele-marketed. Putting on a tie everyday and pushing the iron-coffin to work everyday in rush hour wasn’t for me.

Down here I’m the star quarterback!

Literally, as the leader of an American Football club in Medellin, Colombia (before I lived in Ecuador) I discovered guys in soccer countries mostly throw like girls. They never developed that skill-set, and I was the de-facto quarterback with the rifle arm (compared to them). In the USA I was never the quarterback.

And of course, I met someone special. But I also LOVE the food, the mild warm climate, the laid-back people, and of course the low cost of living. I like the foreigners that travel here too, usually the more adventurous ones compared to the fanny-pack-wearing-Cancun-resort-types.

I don’t think moving here just cause it’s “cheaper” is a good reason in and of itself. But hey, not like my initial reason was any better!

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“Oh sh*t.” I thought as I looked at my friend who I was driving to south Quito main bus terminal.  

Now, anyone who knows Quito knows don’t go to south Quito.  

Its rough.  Locals joke with reason,  ‘go into south Quito and you’ll come out naked.’  

In fact, there’s only one reason I can think of to EVER go to south Quito, and thats to go to the main bus terminal in Quitumbe, where we were going.  

And it was 10pm at night, pitch black.  

I pulled the car over and told my friend, “man, sorry but we are really lost.” 

Should I even try to ask someone for directions in my broken Spanish or is that not a good idea?  I thought.

As we sat there pondering what to do next, among the shadows we saw this figure, it looked like a baby.  A baby selling something.  As it noticed us and started walking towards us my ecuadorian friend from Guayaquil pulled out his phone and opened the WAZE app.  

He said, hey look at this… my friends and I use this all the time.  Its a free GPS with great, detailed maps of Ecuador.  Just plug in where you want to go and it will tell you how to arrive and where you are.  

“And we better get out of here cause that baby is about to rob us,” he finished.

So we did just that and plugged in the Quitumbe Terminal and zipped out of there, and a guided U-turn, and two rights later we were at the bus terminal saying our goodbyes.  

The road detail complete with street names of WAZE, even deep in the ghetto of South Quito, is amazing.  And even the smallest towns on the coast appear too.  

Other users called Wazers even upload info about police stops and traffic problems in real time.  

And its much better than buying GPS hardware like a Garmin for which you then need to buy an Ecuador map chip which may or may not be out of date.  

Plus, try pulling out a Garmin while walking in the middle of the street.  Think not.  Talk about looking like a tourist.  

Or just pull out your phone and open Waze and you can get a quick look at where you are and where you need to go.  Very nondescript!

And its free!  

And by far the best maps of Ecuador I have found!  

So go download Waze to your phone and check it out before you come to Ecuador!

To learn where to find more free maps of Ecuador subscribe to my weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time:

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