Category: Ecuador Q&A

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!

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I see it everyday.

Folks arrive in Ecuador with stacks of $100 dollar bills only to be surprised NO ONE will take them.

Why?

Well, for many years Ecuador has had a problem with fake $100 bills floating down from Colombia. So most merchants are afraid to accept them.

Also, almost no one has change for big bills, not even $20s in Ecuador.

Even local banks will NOT change your $100 bills if you don’t have an account there.

Exchange houses are also out of the question since Ecuador uses the US dollar.

After living here for a few years now, I’ve only found one place nationwide that will reliably accept your $50 and $100 bills…

The big box supermarket stores in the major cities of Ecuador.

So before you head deep in the countryside, hit up that MI COMISARIATO, SUPERMAXI or MEGAMAXI.

Any of those as long as you buy something, even a candy bar, work just fine.

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“But I was told if I bought a first-class bus ticket i could take as many bags as I wanted under the bus free.” A friend of mine recently implored at the Quito bus station on his way to Loja.

“Nope, sorry, thats not correct.” The bus attendent flatly stated.  

He and his wife had about 20 bags.  And they had been given bad information, but it was too late, in order to avoid this issues we were recommended to get to adtmoving.com and hire their service if we needed to ship something else.  

Like many these days, they were moving to Ecuador. The local moving company Minneapolis provide high quality moving tools and services paired with our well trained local moving staff for an unparalleled experience.

Final destination: Vilcabamba.  

Touch-down point: Quito International Airport.  

You see, Ecuador only has two international airports… Quito and Guayaquil.  

Once you get your things from your home country to Quito or Guayaquil, what are your options?  

How can you move your things both cheaply and securely once in Ecuador?  

Here’s the best 6 options I know about:

1. Airline checked bags.  When connecting domestically, the local airlines only allow one checked bag of 20 kilos (44 pounds) and one carry-on of 8 kilos (17.5 pounds).  Another option can be using storage units Illawarra to keep your fragile and personal stuff safe.

After that, you have to pay $1.50 extra per kilo and maximum you are allowed only a second checked bag with TAME.  With Aerogal, you can have more checked bags but there is still the $1.50 per kilo excess fee.  

So with the airlines, for an extra 20 kilo bag you are looking at $33 to move it to your final destination in Ecuador with the help from local movers.  

For moving your household items, you can visit the following URL to find highly experienced moving professional, who can help provide you the best services for all your moving requirements – https://nzvanlines.co.nz/moving-to-new-zealand.

2. Airline Cargo.  Or just outside the airport in Quito or Guayaquil you can mail the bags through TAMEs Cargo department paying $.70 per kilo.  No limit to how many bags you can send.  They arrive the same day if sent in the morning. So that same 20 kilo bag would cost $14.  

LAN, another domestic Ecuador airline provider, does not provide cargo services except from Quito to Guayaquil or to the Galapagos.

3. SERVIENTREGA.  You could also mail that same 20 kilo bag via a nationwide service called SERVIENTREGA for $15 for the same 20 kilo bag or $17.50 for a 50 pound bag.  The difference is Servientrega delivers your goods to a specific address anywhere in Ecuador door-to-door.  And if they cant find the address you can still track the bag with a tracking number and go to the nearest office for you and pick your bag up.  The nearest SERVIENTREGA office to the Quito airport is in the next small town over about 15 minutes from the airport called PIFO.  In Guayaquil, Servientrega has offices right next to the airport heading towards the bus station.  Usually the package arrives the next day after mailing.  

4. The Ecuador Post Office.  Ecuador does have a postal service that is getting more reliable called CORREOS ECUADOR.  But you can only send packages or bags within Ecuador with a max limit of 30 pounds.  Not doable for this situation.  

5. The Local Bus Lines.  Another option would be to do like most the locals do and send your bags as cargo with the bus lines in Ecuador.  Pick a bus line with your desired destination and send it with them under the bus.  They give you a receipt and then the person you name as the recipient will need to go and pick the bags up upon arrival.  For instance, if arriving to Quito, the bus line LA LOJA with offices diagonal to the Hotel Marriot offer cargo service from Quito to Loja for $10 per bag up to 80 pounds.  The bus line Reina de Camino was the cheapest I found to ship bags from Quito to Manta for just $6 per bag up to 60 pounds.  They have their cargo offices on 18 de septiembre and Manuel Larrea near the Parque Ejido.  

The PANAMERICANA bus line with offices near COLON y AMAZONAS in Quito ship cargo to Cuenca for $8 per bag.  For many other destinations in Ecuador Id go straight to the cargo docks at the enormous Quitumbe Bus Station in South Quito.  

6. The Freight Companies.  Another interesting option would be to send your bags with the local movers or freight trucks in Quito although it is not necessarily cheaper than shipping with the bus lines.  There is CITAL on Eloy Alfaro in North Quito which goes to Loja, Zamora and other destinations in the far south of Ecuador daily from Quito… the cost is $10 per 50-60 pound bag to ship with them.  And there is ORTIZ, currently the cheapest option I know of to get numerous bags from Quito to Cuenca, at just $4 per 50-60 pound bag.  

So what did my friends do?  

They paid the $10 per bag to ship their excess bags under the bus.

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