Hello everyone.
I have been reading about increasing crime in Ecuador and I would just like to relate my experiences of crime in the last ten years. I have had my car broken into 6 times, my wife had her car stolen and burned, I was assaulted by youths and punched in the face (needing three stitches a week before my wedding), my parents had their house broken into in the middle of the day, the gas station attendant a half block from our house was dragged to his death under a car, and the wife of my dentist was brutally murdered in a home invasion.
Needless to say I will be leaving Ecuador. Oh wait, I don't live there yet, I live in Canada, about an hour from Vancouver. It's east to get caught up in blogs and forums, reading about crime and feeling increasingly worried about your safety. Crime happens everywhere, and if you have not experienced it, it can be difficult to deal with. In North America we have an expectation of safety, and shedding that expectation can be hard to overcome when we move to a different country.
My wife and I will be leaving here soon and bound for Ecuador. We know that there is a good chance that we will be victims again, we are just more aware and try to shrug it off and not let it affect us.
How safe does everyone feel living in Ecuador? Scale of 1-10. 10 being totally safe and 1 is paranoid.