Seven more days until my adventure in Ecuador begins!

I’ve been awfully busy the past month and a half researching the pacific coastal towns of Ecuador trying to learn as much about the entire area as possible. Some very long days and nights googling weather patterns, fishing (that should have been #1!), cost of living, apartment and house rentals, medical care, transportation, entertainment, safety issues, government stability,  I could go on and on.  It’s all the things that you have to know in order to make a semi-informed decision on where it is in the country that one would be healthy and safe and live a good life.  I’ve also been plotting the route that I will take after landing in Guayaquil on November 1^st.  My flight on COPA Airlines begins in Cancun at 7:05 November 1st with a place change in Panama City, Panama and ending in Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Airport in Guayaquil in southwestern EC at 5:30pm.  Not sure yet if I'll be spending the night nearby or heading to my 1st destination which is Salinas, right on the coast.

I’ve joined a couple of Facebook expat sites too and have really enjoyed meeting people who already live there, spend a lot of time there, or, like me, are contemplating moving there.  They are a fountain of great information, both the good and the bad of living there, and I look forward to meeting them when I go boots on the ground.

Anyway, what exactly does one look for in moving to a foreign country?  First, where in the country do you want to make your home?  The country has four main geographic regions:

• La Costa, or "the coast", which comprises the low-lying land in the western part of the country, including the Pacific coastline. (My selection)
• La Sierra, or "the highlands", is the high-altitude belt running north–south along the center of the country, its mountainous terrain dominated by the Andes mountain range.  A lot of expats live in this belt.  Not sure if it’s the majority but it seems to be.
• La Amazonía, also known as El Oriente, or "the east", comprises the Amazon rainforest areas in the eastern part of the country, accounting for just under half of the country's total surface area, though populated by less than 5% of the population.
• La Región Insular is the region comprising the Galápagos Islands, some 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean.

Many of the expats live in the Sierra region in Quito (the capital of EC) and Cuenca.  Both are located above 8,000 feet elevation.  Me, with my breathing problems, I’d be dead in a week, so they are immediately excluded from contention.  Plus you know me and my fishing so you know my 1^st priority for a home.

The government is relatively stable, they use the U.S. dollar as their currency, and healthcare is very good in the major cities with American standards hospitals.  Normal everyday medical and dental needs are pretty darn cheap compared to America and you can buy a pretty cheap insurance plan to supplement that.

Safety is an issue everywhere in the world and it is not any more dangerous in EC.  As with anywhere you need to keep a “heads up” when you are in the street.  Keep you money in several pockets and don’t carry more than you need.  Hey I’ve been all over the world so I already have that heads up and, knock wood, I’ve never had a problem.  Of course I have my “don’t f*ck with me” face on when I’m in sketchy areas too.

Transportation is really good here, and cheap.  From what I’ve been told most buses are $1 an hour for chicken buses, similar to Belize.  They also have a good selection of 1^st class buses and vans for those longer trips..  A couple of the cities even have light rail.  So the last 2 are step up from Belize.

Food costs are low.  Fruits and veggies bought in the local markets are ¼ the cost of Belize and the U.S. There are also several large supermarkets that have much more variety than the markets (tiendas) in the smaller towns.

Real estate costs are very affordable in EC but are on the rise because of all the foreign nationals moving there.  Prices of course depend on what geographical area you live in, with the coast being the highest it seems.  I’ve seen new condo listings in the Andes for around $80K.  That doesn’t matter to me though because I don’t want to own anything. I plan to rent either and apartment or small house.  Some of the prices I’ve seen for that on the coast range from $250-$500 depending on how close you are to the center of town.  I’m not citified and I want quiet so I’ll be looking at the lower end of the scale.  A nice yard to garden in would be nice too so that I can save on food costs.  Between that and fishing I can really save!

Ecuador is a BIG surfing destination and hosts quite a few annual events.  Whale watching is a very big thing too.  Mostly humpbacks and you don’t even need a boat.  Lots of museums and cultural events too.

The weather varies depending on the area that you live in and the season of the year.  While the equator runs through EC it is not as hot as you would expect because their weather is affected by an Antarctic current, which flows north.  They have a rainy season along the coast, much like Belize, but because the seasons are opposite (being in the southern hemisphere) so the rainy season is December to May instead of May to October.  Most days are cloudy along the coast during the winter also.  Nothing that I can’t handle though because I’ll still never see snow or freezing weather again!

So anyway there is so much more that you need to research in order to make that decision but the best way is to have boots on the ground and actually experience it.  I’ll be traveling the coast for the entire month of November.  I have a list of about 15 towns that I’d like to see and I’ll narrow that down to 2 or 3.  I plan to go back for 60 days in the January to March timeframe to spend a greater amount of time in those places to see if living there is what I expect it to be. I may also revisit a town or 2 that I visited in November to try them on for size. The reason for coming back and spending time is that too many people go on holiday and fall in love with a place, run home and sell everything, and move back.  Big mistake for a lot people! You have to be able to live with customs, languages, foods (lack of usually), bugs, bad water, etc. that are different from what you are used to. There are quite a few stories here in BZ of people who’ve moved here and spent a lot of money building their dream beach home only to hate the place after spending a couple of months here.  If you talk to anyone who’s made the move they will always caution you to come back and spend “quality time” living where you think you might like to live and to rent, not buy, for the 1^st year to see if living in that country is all it’s cracked up to be.  You all know me and my journey to, and living in, Belize.  I’ve really loved it but sometimes it’s not been pretty. Remember my night in jail?  I know my brother Dave does!  You have to take the good with the bad and hope that the good side weighs down the scale.  Being flexible in any situation is really important.  So, again, spend time, and in different seasons, to get a true feeling for what life in a country will be like before you make that big leap. For me there is nothing more exciting than meeting people of a different culture and learning what their life is all about.  Of course a few expat friends thrown into the mix is always a plus!

I’ll be blogging my way along the coast to give you a feel for the country and the trials and tribulations of operating in a country where you don’t speak the language…yet.  My friend Sheila will be traveling with me for about 2 weeks too so I’ll let her add her 2 cents to the mix so you get a woman’s perspective of the country.

Five more days before I leave for Cancun for my flight to Guayaquil EC and a new adventure.  I'm really excited!