Ibarra is known throughout the country as La Ciudad Blanca (The White City), due to the many whitewashed buildings that line the cobblestone streets. One might think the city lacks color, but nothing could be further from the truth. Brilliant sculptures rise from traffic circles and murals brighten up many a street.
There are a growing number of people who have realized that retirement dreams can come true by moving abroad. Ecuador is one of the countries seeing an uptick in retired expats—many of whom have settled in the mountains of this equatorial nation. Here are five reasons why moving to Ecuador’s highlands could be right for you.
Two years ago Rob Hamm and Tracey Krause along with their two children relocated from Winnipeg to Cotacachi, Ecuador. Their goal as a family was to experience a new culture, travel, and learn a new language—which they've successfully done. But, there was a catch. Rob and Tracey are only in their 40s and still needed to earn an income to support their family.
There's a lot to love about Ecuador—the amazing biodiversity; great weather; the low cost of living. And in the larger cities like Cuenca, where I live, the excellent medical care and cultural amenities are an added bonus. I've been kept up to date on the miserable winter in the States through Skype conversations with my two children. Right now I'm looking out the window at blue skies and am looking forward to yet another day with temperatures in the 70s.
When Gary and Kathryn Kelly, both in their 50s, moved to Ecuador from Sargent, Texas, in 2011, they expected this would be where they spent their retirement years. They bought a house at Punta Carnero Beach, about 10 minutes' drive from the popular Ecuador beach resort town of Salinas, and began refurbishing it.
When Jo realized I was serious and that our move was a matter of weeks away, she said something I heard more than once before leaving the U.S: "I could never do something like that!" Of course, people have different reasons for thinking that way. And I'll grant you, our move to Ecuador wasn't what's called "normal."
Tucked into the western slopes of the Andes, 40 miles north of the capital Quito, the Intag Valley possesses that rare kind of climate in which nearly any plant will thrive. Farmers haul in harvests of everything from papayas and passion fruit to carrots and corn. Surrounding their scattered tracts of farmland is a dense jungle of towering palms, broad-leafed ferns and twisting vines. You’ll find more species of orchids than you can count, and a huge variety of bromeliads.
This thick cover acts as one of the few remaining intact habitats for elusive pumas, jaguars, and other smaller felines. The endangered spectacled bear also calls the Intag home along with hundreds of varieties of exotic birds. As the condor flies, this cloud forest valley is not far from the market town of Otavalo. In fact, it's only 35 miles away by road. But for years now that one-and-only road has been a narrow, mountain-hugging dirt track accessible only from the towns of Otavalo or Cotacachi.
"Don't worry, you won't have a problem finding a place to stay," said my friend as we drove into General Villamil Playas (commonly just called "Playas"), the closest beach town to Guayaquil. "The hotels here never fill up." He should know. He owns a condo in Playas and drives there easily in just over an hour from his home in Guayaquil to spend weekends and holidays at this beach town on Ecuador's southern coast, named by some as the "sunniest beach" in the country.
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