I am a woman and not any more concerned here than I would be anywhere else in the world. In fact, I feel safer here than I probably would in many other places. That said, if she will be here in Ecuador alone, be sure she is living in a place where she will feel safe — a building with a security code entry, etc. Has your friend done much traveling? If not, she needs to come and see for herself. As a whole, Latin America is very safe. I don’t want to sound like Ann Landers, but may be another issue at work here.
By the way, you don’t say how old your friend is, but I’ve noticed a trend of far more older (over 60) single women moving overseas than single men of the same age. Those single expat women here are very independent adventurous. They socialize a lot and see to be enjoying themselves immensely.
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