New members of Ecuador forum, introduce yourself here – 4th quarter of 2015

Hi,
This will be a long planning exercise but I love planning! My wife and I visited Ecuador last August. Spent 4 weeks in 4 different cities. The first goal of our trip was to enjoy vacation, learn spanish and also have a look at potential place to retire.
We loved the Montanita area, visited a few places and bought a land in Olon, 2KM north of Montanita.
It is a gated community but doesn't require building right away. We plan to retire only in about 5 years so this is why planning will be long but fun! Until then, we will read a lot, visit hopefully once a year and see what can be done before our arrival. We don't plan to build until we actually move there, rent something for a year and supervise the construction.
If you have any information about Olon for us, please share. It will be nice to know some people before we move to this paradise!!!
Jean-Pierre & Josee

Hi!  My name is Martha.  I am new to Expat.com.  I am a 59yr young divorce woman.  Coming to EC Nov 4th to Dec 11, 2015, to see if Cuenca is were I want to live in 2 yrs when my youngest son finishes University.  I speak Spanish fluently.  Does any one need a translator on the Spanish post?  I can help translate if you would like. Thank you for all the help I have been give on the Expat.com.  You are making this visit so much easier due to the bog. 
Thank you all.   Martha

MGLuke wrote:

Hi!  My name is Martha.  I am new to Expat.com.  I am a 59yr young divorce woman.  Coming to EC Nov 4th to Dec 11, 2015, to see if Cuenca is were I want to live in 2 yrs when my youngest son finishes University.  I speak Spanish fluently.  Does any one need a translator on the Spanish post?  I can help translate if you would like. Thank you for all the help I have been give on the Expat.com.  You are making this visit so much easier due to the bog. 
Thank you all.   Martha

Nice! Great of you to make such an offer Martha, I hope your trip is fabulous.

Welcome to the Ecuador forum, new member Randy, aka Powers76, of Washington, D.C.

In order to conform to the Mauritius Mandate by which only new-member introductions should be posted on this thread, the Home Office has moved Randy's first post to the thread titled Fielding Your Questions -- New Members Want To Know....

Over there, we discuss Randy's interest in meeting members during his trip to Quito .. and his thoughts about a possible vacation home here.

To access that thread, type the word Fielding into the search box atop this page, and then click on the search icon to the right of the box.  When you get to the Fielding thread, scroll down the first page .. indicate page 3 .. and then scroll down to one of the latest reports on page 3.

cccmedia in Quito

Good ! another single woman on the aventure of moving to Ecuador ! Congrats !!

Thanks I am really exited & hoping to meet some really fantastic women in Ecuador.  I will be (I think) moving to Cuenca in 2 yrs.  I will be there for a month + this Nov.

I move to Ecuador on the 29th.  So count in one more woman.
HelenPivoine

I'm confused.  Is this thread for new members?  That's what I thought, and I saw posts by several single women on here, so I asked if there were any single moms, like me, and my comment wasn't posted and I was told to start a new thread.  Are the threads so specific that a new member, who's single, and happens to have a child can't meet other new members who may or may not have children themselves?

I´m glad you asked for clarification, 'Mom, because this issue may have been unclear to other members as well.

The Home Office in the Mascarene Islands long ago decided that this thread should be reserved strictly for the introduction of new members.

The question you earlier submitted for comments is a valid topic for discussion and certainly you're welcome to interact with other moms and members.  Just not on this intro thread.

You can start a new thread by going to the top of the page and clicking on New Topic.

Or you can post on an existing thread.  A good way to find one is to type Single Mom or another phase into the Search Expat.com box atop this page, and then click on the search icon to the right of the box.

By the way, congratulations on being promoted from New Member to Active Member.

cccmedia in Quito

Pardon my ignorance, CCC, but, I didn't know I had switched from a new member to an active member.  Is that why I can't post on the newbie thread?  I thought I WAS a new member and couldn't understand why I couldn't inquire about other new members.  I only came to the newbie thread because I read the statement on here somewhere that some of the other blogs can be quite contentious (which I have definitely found to be the case), and that if you're new and have questions, the newbie blog might be better.  I guess I still considered myself new since I'm still very much in the fact-finding stage of my move to EC.

I'm glad to be able to clarify this point, 'Mom.

Your status as an Active Member is unrelated to the Mauritius Mandate, which restricts posts by members on this intro thread to new member introductions-only.  The only permissible exception I know about is occasionally to clarify the intros-only rule.

Your upgrade to Active Member is an acknowledgment of your participation on the forum.  Besides confirming your full use of the PM messaging function, the upgrade does not impact your activities on the forum in any way of which I am aware.

cccmedia in Quito

Okay, thanks

Hello,
My name is Allayne and hope to settle in Cuenca, EC soon---within 3 to 4 months.

Single, starting over. 

I hope to meet many of you at expat events when I am in Ecuador.

hi i am new one here from kochi ,I am planing to migrate Ecuador my profession is administration can i get jobe there

ratheesh.kumar79 wrote:

hi i am new one here from kochi ,I am planing to migrate Ecuador my profession is administration can i get jobe there

No

Hello everyone! I´m Marcelle, 45yo, mom of Vitor. I am Brazilian, currently living in Brazil but after spending 13 years in British Columbia, Canada, I am finding it hard adapt to life back in Brazil. Things here are so crazy, that I definitely feel that I need to move and re-start somewhere else. I am a Canadian Citizen as well, but moving to Canada is not a plan at this moment, and I heard great things about Ecuador and would like to hear more about it. I am quite interested in Cuenca. I have got a degree in Chemical Engineering. I graduated in nursing as well while living in Canada and was an RN there working in emergency and ICU. Does anyone how it is to work as a foreign nurse in Ecuador? It´s my wish to continue working as a nurse. Anything you are willing to share with me about Ecuador and/or Cuenca it will be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Marcelle

marcelle_bc wrote:

Hello everyone! I´m Marcelle, 45yo, mom of Vitor. I am Brazilian, currently living in Brazil but after spending 13 years in British Columbia, Canada, I am finding it hard adapt to life back in Brazil. Things here are so crazy, that I definitely feel that I need to move and re-start somewhere else. I am a Canadian Citizen as well, but moving to Canada is not a plan at this moment, and I heard great things about Ecuador and would like to hear more about it. I am quite interested in Cuenca. I have got a degree in Chemical Engineering. I graduated in nursing as well while living in Canada and was an RN there working in emergency and ICU. Does anyone how it is to work as a foreign nurse in Ecuador? It´s my wish to continue working as a nurse. Anything you are willing to share with me about Ecuador and/or Cuenca it will be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Marcelle

RN = fluent Spanish required

Buenas Dias to all,  my wife and I came to Cuenca, Ecuador to "visit".  We had sold everything. Said "chow" to our
grandkids and to the land we once called home, America.  After one week in a hotel in downtown, we rented in a
highrise on the 8th floor.  Great view and met a great friend.  During this time we took Spanish lessons for 3 mo.
Favorite word- poco.  Our next move was to Checa which is located 20 min. out of Cuenca.  This was a drastic move
to be two of a few who spoke English.  We met yet another group of awesome Ecuadorians.  We now have moved
to Carpanche which means 'end of the road". Is it????? yes.  We have a soccer size backyard.  Planning on big jardin,
pollos, canejos and yes a cute dog.  Trying to keep a step ahead of U.S. govt. decisions to issue or not the Social
Security checks.  Politics have become our pastime in a very changing world.  We do trust God to take care of us
and He has placed us here in a very awesome country.  We have many plans and many dreams and would like to
connect with like minded people who love God, love one another, love the people and are interested in making
life more meaningful in many ways.  Rollando & Carolina

Thanks! I´m working on my Spanish!

marcelle_bc wrote:

Thanks! I´m working on my Spanish!

Best of luck in all of your efforts.

Rollando & Carolina,   We're coming to visit from Nov. 9th to the 20th with the idea of possibly moving to the Quito area also.  We are very like minded people and would love to meet you, but we'll be on a tour.  We'll be in Cuenca around the 17th and/or 18th, but don't know how much time we'll have on our own.  Also, I don't know exactly where we'll be staying, but could find out.  God bless you.  I hope you'll be very happy where you are and that God will lead us to where He wants us to be.

Hi
I'm seriously considering moving to Ecuador and have done some research on the Internet.
Would like to hear from Aussies living there to get the real gossip.
Cheers

Hi, My name is Wendy.  My husband is Tom.  We are coming to Ecuador to explore, specifically Quito and travel points from there.   We have spent time in Cuenca and surrounding areas in the past, and always wanted to come back and explore further.  For now, we are keeping our home in the US, and exploring places that interest us.

Tom is retired, and I am working some remotely while we explore.  When we visited Cuenca, we enjoyed meeting the expats who had moved there.  We hope we can meet expats in Quito to learn from them as well. 

We are also interested in meeting locals.  Are there places where locals are friendly (and not just looking to take male money from you)?  If so, where in Quito / when?

Jaime and judy zamora.  arrived about 2 months ago.  we are both American.  Jaime was born in Cuenca and  lived the the States for 50 years. Planning to retire in Cuenca.  We would like to meet Americans and and know where to go to find others like us. Restaurants  and bars etc.  thank you., jaime and judy

Hi, my name is Kris.  Husband Lee and I are on the final countdown to an exploratory trip in February (and I'm so excited!).  I've been researching alternative retirement options for over two years, and Cuenca increasingly appears to be the right starting place for us.  Reading all of the blogs and forums has been so helpful and interesting, as we can see how others have fared and what roadblocks they have experienced.   I finally convinced Lee to take a "look-see" trip, and we will be in Cuenca for the entire month of February. 

Lee has been speaking low-level Spanish for 50+ years (he estimates first grade level).  I've just begun a travel Spanish course and am trying to get the basics under my belt before we arrive.  This is also a little dental tourism trip, as I stumbled across a holistic (biologic) dentist with particular qualifications that I had been seeking that turned out to be located in (drumroll, please) --- CUENCA!  We'll see, but I'm not a believer in coincidence. 

We're also looking forward to linking up with expats while we're there, people who have been down this path.

Thanks,
Kris

Hello everyone,

I just joined expat.com and discovered the Forum. I'm always interested in helping prospective expats with straight answers about Ecuador, especially Cuenca.

I moved here - sight unseen, but after lots of research - from Seattle two years ago, and love it. I tell people I have zero regrets and have had no unpleasant surprises.

It IS different, though. You have to come prepared to accept the ways of this second-world country, and not expect things to be done anything like in the U.S. Especially bureaucratic processes. It recently took me nine months to get my driver's license! If you can't laugh at it, you're going to be miserable.

I hear a lot of nonsense in the cafes from Gringos sitting at nearby tables, and could stand to not set the record straight on many things. So I wrote a book entitled: "Relocating to Ecuador - Eyes Wide OPEN: Quick reading, bulleted do's and don'ts that the author wishes had been available to clarify things before his own move to Cuenca." It addresses a multitude of the *street-level* details of living here that contribute much to quality of life and sense-of-well-being. It's available on Kindle or in softcover at Amazon if you're interested: amazon.com/gp/product/1515332993?keywords=relocating to ecuador&qid=1448912176&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

And I would be happy to answer follow-up questions you might have.

I hope to see you in Cuenca one of these days.

Best regards,

Terry Roberts

Hola,

So I made it to Vilcabamba a month ago, with my Canadian kitty.  We arrived in the first torrential rainstorm of the season and the walls of my cabaña had water running inside and poolling on the floor.  Things have improved considerably since my bleak mood of the firt night and now we are just one plus kitty of the locals.  However, I am considering moving closer to Malacatos, because of the sheer number of extranjeros at El Centro on any given day, while the local people are either out working their fields or tending their stores.

Not all extranjeros have been friendly, but most of them are OK.l  There are the nutters, which I expected to run into, and the young hippies taking Ayawasca with local shamana, etc., but this I expected also.  There is a large contingent of retirees, like me, and most of them appear to live out of town and either walk or drive in, depending on their fitness and their wallet.  It is rather difficult to meet them because they live so far out, some of them.  But then again, I live 3 km out of town and enjoy the walk in.

Enough said, life goes on a nd the rainy season can be beautiful.  The only thing that I regret is that for the past two years, Vilca has evidently been 5 degrees warmer than previous decades.  HOpefully it will revert to cooler temps at some point.

troberts010150 wrote:

I'm always interested in helping prospective expats with straight answers about Ecuador, especially Cuenca....

I hear a lot of nonsense in the cafes from Gringos.... So I wrote a book entitled: "Relocating to Ecuador - Eyes Wide OPEN: Quick reading, bulleted do's and don'ts that the author wishes had been available to clarify things before his own move to Cuenca." It addresses a multitude of the *street-level* details of living here that contribute much to quality of life and sense-of-well-being.

Welcome to the Ecuador forum, Terry.

Since this thread is reserved for introductions only, please consider starting a new thread called Relocating to Ecuador.

That way you may get questions and responses as you desire.

Members might want to learn more about your drivers-license-acquisition journey.

cccmedia in Quito

Thanks for the great advise Terry.
I will take this with other advise on board and start doing some research on learning Spanish and retirement programs.
Cheers
HJG

name, rank, serial number. That is it!   

Hello, I am efrain crespo 26 years old and I am from Venezuela.. I got here to Ecuador already and I am looking to meet some people from other cultures, would like to know where do you meet? I am at quito now.. Greetings to all!!

Welcome to the Ecuador forum.

I'm PM messaging you some contact information for groups that are holding holiday events in Quito for Expats and Ecuadorians.

If anyone else needs this information, please send me a PM.

cccmedia in Quito

Good morning!

My name is Nils. I will be arriving in Cuenca on January 14th for an extended stay (1-3 months) as I explore South America and research retirement options. This forum has already been helpful as I read former posts. I look forward to future interactions with the group.

Nils