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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