Sure. Well the cost of living in Ecuador is much cheaper than Uruguay, in Ecuador a lunch starts around $2, a bus $.25 and liveable properties start around $35k. Everything is more expensive in Uruguay but not quite as expensive as in the States.
Plus, Ecuador uses the dollar…which means you won’t get daily raped by credit card and ATM companies whenever you spend money from accounts in the States.
Quality of life is pretty subjective, but Uruguay is a pretty sterile place, depends what you’re looking for, Ecuador has more character.
Clarity of Ocean… both have Californian style beaches with golden sand and dark water, not the Caribbean prototype.
Crime rates… I’d say Uruguay is a bit, only a bit safer these days, but you could go years in Ecuador without incident. Just use taxis at night instead of walking in the big cities of Quito and Guayaquil. Exact crime rates I’m not aware of at the moment.
Ecuador has very affordable health care… please see the article I wrote here for more.
As for real estate opportunities… Ecuador is where its at, at the moment. Its closer to the US, warm year round and deals starting around $35k can still be found in desirable areas.
hope that helps… Dom
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Interesting comparison. When I was doing comparisons of various countries, what made Ecuador stand out for me was the reasonableness of their minimum for investment visas (25k). I checked out Panama and I think it has a minimum of 100,000k. I think Peru may have a 25k minimum, but information about the process seems scarce in comparison to Ecuador. The fact that Ecuador uses the dollar greatly simplifies things as well.
the use of the dollar is a BIG plus I think few people really realize… if you live in a country that uses a currency other than the one your savings is in… EVERY time you withdraw money from an ATM you get raped by the exchange rate!