Newby living equador

I don't know about the health care and whatnot but this covers the $ portion down to all the specifics i copy and pasted this
it is not my own I was pretty impressed with the book keeping though.

When considering a retirement city/country, one of the first questions people ask is:
 

What's the cost of living in Ecuador?

Of course, this isn't a simple question. Some people eat chicken, others prime rib. Some couples require a one bedroom unfurnished apartment, where others want a 4 bedroom house completely furnished.

Some of the ads online promote the cost of living in Ecuador at $660/month. And no doubt that's true – but what is this life like? Will you be happy or will the shock of such a drastic lifestyle change take away the pleasure of living abroad?
 
So obviously, the cost of living in Ecuador is subjective.
 

As a family of three (and a dog) here is our current cost of living for Cuenca, Ecuador. We live simply, but not too simply. All costs shown are monthly. Costs are based on renting a house/apartment and not having a car.

Housing: $211 – $575. We spend $341.17

$180 - $500 Rent. We pay $280/mo for a 4/bedroom, 2.5/bath house that's just a few years old. We are just minutes from the center and live on a quiet cul-de-sac in a very safe area. We own our own furnishings and appliances.
 
$25 - 40 Water/Lights. We pay $30.67. Tap Water $7.38 / Lights $23.29
 
$6 – 35. Gas/Drinking Water. We pay $30.50. You could drink the city water, and save the cost of buying water, but we don't. Gas - 3 tanks at $2.00 ea= $6.00 / Drinking Water - 14 bottles at $1.75 ea = $24.50. The prices for both of these are delivered. Official gas (propane) price is $1.60/tank.
 
Transport: $30-100. We spend $40

$0-$30. Buses. We spend roughly $30/mo. Cost is $0.25 (yes twenty five cents) per ride. We spend an average of $10 each within our family. That's 40 bus trips/mo (one way of course). While it's possible to avoid taking a taxi (depending on where you live) it would be impossible to avoid both taxis and buses.
 
$0-100. Taxis. We spend roughly $10/mo. Our taxi rate is quite low. Because we live on the bus route, we seldom take taxis. Because of the location of their home, or their lifestyle, others might find themselves spending $50-100 per month. An average taxi ride is $2.00 to $2.50.

We take an occasional trip to some of the surrounding towns. This isn't really part of our monthly budget, but it wouldn't affect it even if it was. A bus going to Chordeleg costs $0.60 per person and is about an hour ride.
 
Food: $200-600/mo. We spend $300.

We spend roughly $300/mo for 3 people and our little dog. There are three options: Supermaxi (the American styled supermarket - 3 locations), Coral (the non-American styled supermarket - also 3 locations) and the open markets. The biggest factor in pricing is: imported or local. Coffee, rum and cookies made in Ecuador are a fraction of the equivalent imported products. If you require your favorite brand, you'll pay for it. Local brands are both great and inexpensive.
•
Chicken: $2.31/kg - entera (means whole) - comes with organs, feet and head

•
Beef: $2.87/kg ground beef.

•
Fish: $2.00/lb from the Feria Libre (the largest open market in the city).

•
Apples: $1.80/kg. Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Royal Gala all imported from Chile.

•
Pineapple: $0.69 - $1.25 each. Depending on season and size.

•
Carrots: $0.87/kg. Large and sweet

•
Onions: $0.82/kg - white or purple

•
Bananas: $0.33/kg

•
Plantains: $0.40/kg green or ripe

•
Honey: $2.37/jar of 750ml

•
Coffee: $3.42 / 400g bag

•
Ecuadorian Bottle of Rum: $4.37 - 750ml.

•
Ecuadorian Beer: $0.50/bottle.

•
Rice: $2.00 for kg bag - either white or brown.


Miscellaneous: $25.99 - $500.00. We spend $226.26
•
$6-20/mo each. Cell phones. We pay $32/mo. We have three phones (one each). We currently have a pay-as-you-go style cell phone plan with Movistar. A $6 credit on each phone will last my wife and daughter all month. I spend around $20. This include taxes, texts, everything. A basic model Nokia phone with a chip is $40.

•
$19.99 - $80.00 Internet. We pay $34.26. We are currently using CentroNet, a division of the local power company. We have a modem mounted on the roof that received a wireless signal from antennas near the community of Turi. The speed is 740kbps.

•
$0-$200. Entertainment. On a typical month, we spend only around $20. There are so many great things you can do for free here. There are outside concerts, people watching, museums and countless parks. A movie (ripped DVD) costs just $1.25-$1.90. You can go for coffee for $2.00 and lunch at a seafood restaurant costs $10 (for all 3 of us, with a non-alcoholic drink). Or you could spend $45 for the same meal for 3 at a more expensive spot.

•
$0-$200. Miscellaneous. We allow $140/mo Things always come up, so it comes from this amount.



So, what's it cost to live in Cuenca, Ecuador?

So, hypothetically, an expat couple could expect a cost of living between $466.99 – $1775 per month. As a family of three we spend: $907.43 / month, or just under $11,000 / year.

Excluded from this amount are vacations, expenses back home. Things like life insurance and our post office box. But these are minimal.
 
Vacations and travel: We don't include this into our monthly budget. The great thing about Ecuador is that either a beach vacation or a jungle adventure is just a few hours away.

GA Boy,
I want to thank you for the post you added. I have asked many of the same questions and have recieved many answers. You confirmed all of the answers I had recieved. I and many others appreciate the time you took to post exact numbers.
There are quite a few of us in the US that are close to retirement and are seeking a less expensive way to live a good life. I have done my homework on health insurance after retirement and normal costs of living in the US. I can quote you that the cheapest health insurance for my wife and I is almost a thousand a month. Yep, thats right. And the cost of gasoline, electricity, water, car insurance, house insurance, etc... Makes the costs of living very high for people with fixed incomes.
So Ecuador looks to be a haven.
Of course, as they say, "Your not in Kansas anymore", you will have to adapt to another way of life, another language, etc.... I have lived overseas before and after the honeymoon period I stayed mad at things not progressing as I though they should. But after a while you slow down too. Dont sweat the small stuff, a great man told me. It applies to many things.
I am at this moment packing things to put in a portable building I bought to keep if I decide to return to the US. If not, well I see a garage sale in the future. I hope to have a portable building garage sale eventually.
Thanks again for the honest and informative post.

GA boy, thanks for the info. I'm coming to Cuenca and at some point might hit you up for details on which sections of Cuenca would be good to live in for me, who wants to ride my bike to town and have a garden at home.

John
[email protected]
bobzimway on Expat.com

Excellent post.  Heres some more information about Ecuador at

atruetalltale.wordpress.com

Thank you GA Boy.  This aligns w/the research I've done, but you've included so much detail that's really helpful.  My plan is to visit early  next year for a month or so and decide on a location.  Maybe I'll get lucky and find a great furnished rental on a nice, quiet cul-de-sac in the city like you did.

I like Bob's idea as I like quiet and I'm a Master Gardener, but I understand fruits/veggies are plentiful, cheap and organic.

Thanks again.

Sheila

bikerlady617 wrote:

I understand fruits/veggies are plentiful, cheap and organic.

Cheap and plentiful yes, but I don't think most of the food is organic.  When hiking and riding on the bus, I often see people walking down the rows with sprayers on their backs spraying the crops.  I once walked through a potato field and the leaves were freshly covered in blue chemical.  We also have a specially organic market once a month in Quito, which leads me to believe the rest of the markets are not organic.

Thanks for the info.  Maybe I'm now more liking the idea of renting a furnished house with a garden outside of Cuenca and riding into town.  Easier said than done, huh?  Well, one can dream.

Blue stuff you say?  Ugh!

Sheila

Blue stuff was probably ground up Smurfs. Kinda like Soylent Green, lol.

Thanks GA Boy for all the info on living in Ecuador.  As a single person with no financial obligations other than a visa card, it sounds like with my pension and social security, I should have no problems making it in Ecuador.
Now, if I can just get over the crime problems in Ecuador,  living there should be a great fit for me.  I live in Tampa,Florida, so I'm used to crime problems, but such things like express kidnappings by taxi's, etc. and busses being robbed are not an issue here.  My main  concerns would be traveling outside Cuenca to the beaches, etc.  I don't want to feel like I have to stay in Cuenca in order to feel safe.
For me, making it financially is not a concern, but the safety part is huge.  Obviously expats stand out.  Here in Tampa, nobody would see me as someone that has a lot of cash.

Not yet living in Ecuador, I'll leave that concern to those who do and can better respond although I will say I've done a lot of research and never heard of anything like you've described.  Have you checked Lonely Planet and/or State Dept alerts?

I do have more questions for GA Boy regarding his detailed col listing now that I've had a chance to go over it.  1)  I did not see an entry for cable TV.  Would you be willing to share?  2) Food was entered at $300/mo for a family of 3 which seems a bit high as USDA/gov estimates food costs for a family of 4 in the US at $246/mo.  Regarding food:  how difficult is it to find gluten-free?  That's an issue for me. 

Lastly, you mentioned health ins. which I'm guessing is an issue for a young family, but I'm wondering about health ins., particularly for a retiree.  Do most retirees not carry Medicare since it doesn't cover outside US and get Ecuadorian or go w/o?  Maybe that's a question for another thread.

Thanks again for any and all assistance.

Sheila

Bikerlady,
Did I read that right that the food cost for a family of 4 in the US was $246?
You do realize they are also the same gov that tells you the estimated gas mileage on vehicles.
I myself was never able to feed my family on that amount, even 15 yrs ago. Unless you eat a lot of beans, and I dont believe anyone could stand the gas cloud around the family.

Check out latinamericacurrentevents.com.  Thats where I got a lot of info on crime in Ecuador.  It's a real eye-opener on crime in that country.  Something to think about.

Oh, and I have checked out state dept. info., and that's not all that great. Your are right that the best info is from people that have actually moved there but I'd rather know now before a move than move there and find out.  You might also want to check out nationmaster for more info. and info from the united nations.
Many people that live in a country say nice things about that country because they have an agenda.  Not all the info on these sites are unbiased.

Txsbigfoot wrote:

Bikerlady,
Did I read that right that the food cost for a family of 4 in the US was $246?
You do realize they are also the same gov that tells you the estimated gas mileage on vehicles.
I myself was never able to feed my family on that amount, even 15 yrs ago. Unless you eat a lot of beans, and I dont believe anyone could stand the gas cloud around the family.

You are so right.  I am single and spend around $200 for food for just myself, and I don't eat that much.  The only way a family could maybe live on that amount would be if they lived on a farm, grew most of their food, and had chickens, pigs and cows.

About safety in Ecuador. I believe that if you don't act foolishly by being an easy target we should be fine. I dont want to go to a place like the Omega man was in. But I do not plan on taking a stroll at midnight in semi empty places. There are tons of places here in the US I would not go, or live in. Crime is getting worse every day in America. And we just keep building new prisons. And turning them loose.
I cant blend in as I am a white guy that is 6'4 and 350. No way amigo. And I had no problem with locals when I worked overseas. I have tons of friends I get emails from daily.
I plan on going and making the best home and life I can without worrying about getting abducted, robbed, etc....
I plan on using my head and keeping out of bad situations, and not doing dumb things.
I will not just wish I had gone.

Txsbigfoot wrote:

About safety in Ecuador. I believe that if you don't act foolishly by being an easy target we should be fine. I dont want to go to a place like the Omega man was in. But I do not plan on taking a stroll at midnight in semi empty places. There are tons of places here in the US I would not go, or live in. Crime is getting worse every day in America. And we just keep building new prisons. And turning them loose.
I cant blend in as I am a white guy that is 6'4 and 350. No way amigo. And I had no problem with locals when I worked overseas. I have tons of friends I get emails from daily.
I plan on going and making the best home and life I can without worrying about getting abducted, robbed, etc....
I plan on using my head and keeping out of bad situations, and not doing dumb things.
I will not just wish I had gone.

I couldn't agree with you more.  I have done a lot of traveling in Mexico and most countries in Central America and never had any problems despite all the warnings I read about traveling in those areas.  That's why I am planning a trip to Ecuador soon.  You are right about the rising crime in America.  If you compare the crime stats in America vs. Ecuador and most other countries, America is one dangerous place to live.  Except for homocides, the good ole usa ranks way above other countries in all other categories. Fortunately, I am hispanic and 5'9, so blending in on appearance would not be a problem for me, unitl I open my mouth. lol

Palmlady,
I loved Mexico also. But I am afraid to go back to Ixtapa. One night my wife and I rode a cab back to the hotel. I was scrunched up in the front seat of a Nissan Sentra and as we got closer to the hotel I started fishing around in my left shorts pocket to get some centavos. I could not find any and in the dark cab I started feeling around on the left side of my seat. I felt change on the console right next to my shorts pocket and figured it had slipped out. I scooped the change back into my pocket in the dark and when we stepped out I handed him the fare and a tip. He sped off. While we were walking to the hotel entrance I reached in my right pocket to get the room card and found a whole bunch of change. I always keep my change in the left pocket, but I remembered I had a hole develop in them so I switched. I thought, oh shit. I looked back for the driver but he was nowhere to be seen. Everytime we came out of the hotel after that I snuck out and kept the lowest profile I could. I am sure he is still pissed at the grande gringo who stole his tips.

Sorry, it might be Palmman. not Palmlady