My wife and I just returned from a three-week trip to the States to visit our family. We babysat the grandchildren, ate some wonderful meals out, and purchased clothing and other provisions to bring back. We have lived in Cuenca, Ecuador for three-and-a-half years, and with each journey (there have probably been more than 10 by now) we come to appreciate more and more how fortunate we are to embrace the best of both worlds.
Location is a huge part of success in business…particularly when you’re dependent on foot traffic. When Cody Leigh Brown of Montana decided to set up a tea shop in Ecuador, she chose Cumbayá, a fashionable suburb of Quito, as her location. It just happens to be home to the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, where more than 5,000 students are enrolled.
When I first arrived in Ecuador in 2001, a local friend told me that "money is made in Guayaquil and spent in Quito": Guayaquil being the commercial center of Ecuador and Quito the country’s governmental center.
Our journey to Ecuador started a few years ago. First the bottom fell out of the U.S. economy...and the equity in our home vanished in a few months. Then I had my second heart attack and lost my job—just about the time that retirement was looming.
Out of all the countries International Living writes about, one in particular shines. It’s topped our Global Retirement Index—our pick of the 22 best countries to retire in the world—five years in a row...has a temperate climate year-round...offers a higher quality of life at an affordable price (cost of living can be as low as $900 a month)...and has a city, town or village to suit every taste or budget.
Oh boohoo! A lot of my family and friends back in Wisconsin were complaining on Facebook about the winter they had this past spring.
Where is the best beach town in Ecuador to hang your hat? Well, that depends entirely on the lifestyle, climate, and environment you’re after, of course. Because not every beach town is created equally. That’s especially true in Ecuador, where every journey along the country’s 530–mile long Ruta del Sol coast, from the border with Peru northward to Colombia, takes you through several diverse eco-systems.
When we told our closest friends that we were retiring to Cuenca, Ecuador their first words were, “Wow, that’s really thinking outside of the box!” When it came right down to it, we were trying to figure out how to survive on my husband’s pension from UPS and pay for our medical insurance premiums without both of us having to work full-time until we were in our mid-seventies.
The Peace Corps advertises itself as the "toughest job you'll ever love." It's true—I loved that experience enough to extend my two-year commitment for a third...but I never imagined just where that experience would lead me when I got off the plane in Quito, way back in August 1982. Fast forward 13 years and you would find me opening my own bagel business.
Much has been written in International Living by me and others about the tangible benefits of living in Cuenca, Ecuador—the low cost of living, the temperate climate, the lovely colonial architecture, excellent medical care, and cultural amenities plus modern conveniences.