Where to live for 6 to 9 months

[MIKE RIDDELL]

I’d like to rent a furnished house/condo. I’d like english TV, high speed internet, be able to walk, probably golf and play tennis. And be able to travel off to other places and take breath-taking photographs of landscapes, animals and birds, and people.

Can I arrange a place before I go?

[SUZAN HASKINS]

Mike, how long do you want to rent? If it’s only for a week or month, that’s one thing. But if it were me, and if I were looking for a long-term rental, I’d wait until I got to Ecuador before arranging that. Stay at a hostal or get a short-term rental while you look. That way, you’ll be sure to get closer to what you are looking for.

You’ll find info about both rentals and properties for sale at http://www.viviun.com or http://www.quito.en.craigslist.org. And if you’re looking for short-term rentals, I’ve had good luck with http://www.vrbo.com.

[MIKE RIDDELL]

Suzan, I’ll be renting for the whole trip which will be 6 to 9 months. It’s an exploratory trip, so my intention is to have a nice place to live, then go exploring around Equador.

So given that I should do a short term rental (the http://www.vrbo had some) how do you find long term ones when you’re there? Can I get english speaking help for that? Obviously I’m feeling slightly uncertain about picking a place to live, not speaking Spanish, and traveling down for an extended visit without “fixing” some things up first.

[SUZAN HASKINS]

Mike, have you decided where you want your base to be? Let me know and I’ll see if I can point you in the right direction.

[MIKE RIDDELL]

Suzan, I don’t know and that is part of the justification for an extended explore trip. I live on the water now, and love it. But the Sierra region ( I’ve been reading your other replies) would probably be good too. And I could try an 3 or 4 month stay in 2 locations.

What options would you recommend? I’ve lived in many parts of the US, and now live in the state of Washington. And a chief part of the trip is to get to where there is sunshine.

If you need more info, ask away.

[DAVID DONNELLY]

Mike, you need to review the visa information. From my understanding, non-residents can stay a max of 6 months … so if you’re planning more than that, you’ll probably have to apply for residency. Nothing wrong with that, but it means you need to get your documents lined up before you come.

[SUZAN HASKINS]

Mike, your tourist visa is good for 3 months and you can extend that once for 3 months. After that, you’ll need to explore longer-term residency visas. In the rolodex on the Ecuador Insider website you can find resources for attorneys and others who can help with visa information. I’m not sure how to guide you in your research — check out the itineraries in the Travel Section. Do you want to be where there is an expat community? How big of a city do you prefer? How close to a major hospital do you want to be? I think a lot of your questions will be answered if you poke around on this website. But if it were me, I’d put Quito, Cotacachi, Cuenca and Vilcabamba on my list in the Sierra. (Cross off Cotacachi and Vilcabamba if you don’t like small villages. Cross off the other two if you don’t like big cities…or leave Cuenca on if a mid-size city is okay.) On the coast, there are LOTS of small towns, but the only sizeable cities are Salinas and Manta.

[MIKE RIDDELL]

Suzan and David Donnelly thanks…this method has been quiet successful in helping me out!

So I’m now at 6 months, do not need expats or large city, so I’m looking at Cotacachi and Vilcabamba in the Sierra, and small towns on the coast. I’ll continue my review of info on the site and web. My thoughts are 1) friendly 2) place with sun, fun to be in, and ability to walk, maybe tennis 3) place to leave from for exploration and photographic trips, and 4) a place that when I get up in the morning I can look out and be mesmerized by what I see.

If you have additional thoughts and inputs, I’d appreciate them.

[SUZAN HASKINS]

You will find all of those except the “maybe tennis”… and then you’ll “maybe” find it. 🙂

You’ll like Cotacachi and Vilcabamba.

Small coastal cities I particulary like: Ayangue/Ayampe, Puerto Lopez, Canoa. But I’d suggest you check out Salinas…it’s not all that big. Same with Bahia de Caraquez. (You’ll find tennis in those spots. And one place I’ve not been is Playas. It’s on my list to check out in coming months…

[DAVID DONNELLY]

Mike, I’ve just finished listening to the recordings of the recent seminar in Quito, and one big thing that I got out of that is that Loja merits inclusion on the list. Sounds like it’s slightly lower and thus warmer than Cuenca, maybe half the size, a little more remote, but has two universities, good medical facilities, and lots of art and music. It seems to not yet have much expat presence, although I’ve got a suspicion they’re just quieter than the ones in Cuenca.

It’s certainly beautiful — get on youtube and search “loja”

Dave

[SUZAN HASKINS]

Yes, I’d agree. I didn’t mention Loja as it might be a bit intimidating if you don’t speak Spanish. And right now, the airport is close for remodeling so it will take some doing to get there. If I were you, I’d go on to Loja from Cuenca by land — hire a driver or get a van shuttle or take a bus. it’s about 4 hours from Cuenca. There are very few expats (maybe a handful) in Loja. But I found it to be a beautiful city, and I’d like to spend more time there. And yes, because of the lower elevation, it is warmer than Cuenca. The climate is ideal, really…

[MIKE RIDDELL]

Suzan,

I’m interested in pursuing Vilcabamba as a place to live for at least the first 3 months. Is there an english speaking contact there I can talk to about housing?

[SUZAN HASKINS]

Mike, contact Bernie Uhe: bernie@huilcorealestate.com.

[MIKE RIDDELL]

Suzan,

I’ve emailed with Bernie and he responded that he has none. But he gave me another name who sends out occasional newsletters which include rental properties; I’m on his address list now but so far no rental properties. Time will tell.

So maybe rentals are scarce. Do you have name(s) in Cotacachi? It wouldn’t hurt to be making more connections as the place may make a difference. Cotacachi seems like a nice place too.

[SUZAN HASKINS]

For rentals in Coatacahi, ask Larry Smith: lsmith9287@gmail.com or Susana Guerra: susana.guerra.7771@facebook.com and ask to be put on Jack Moss’ email list: intheandes@gmail.com.

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