Living in Ecuador

mikehartfl wrote:

I'm Michael and my wife and I are considering Ecuador as a place to retire.  We hear all the good things.  What are the challenges and/or problems?

Dear Mike,

Welcome to the Ecuador forum.

On the coast:  earthquakes, including one of 6.0 magnitude yesterday (June 30, 2017) 19 miles off the coast near Bahía de Caráquez.  Hundreds died last year in The Big One.

In the highlands:  some folks have trouble adjusting to altitude due to shortage of oxygen.

Major cities:  pollution on bus routes.

Everywhere:  no sign the new administration will re-open the casinos, which closed in 2011 and '12.

cccmedia

I will give you a short list of the challenges I faced and was oblivious to when I moved here.  First of all in my town, most people don't have hot water in their homes.  Some attach an electrical heating device to their shower heads, with the wires exposed and wrapped in black electrical tape.  We refer to it as a suicide shower.  The toilets here aren't great and I learned in an embarrassing way, that you don't flush toilet paper, you throw it in a garbage can by the toilet.  Power outages are just random and go on for hours. Depending on your wife's complexion, she may not be able to find makeup here.  That may be different in the bigger cities though.  I would suggest a water filtration system for sure, as the water in my town is disgusting.  If your wife colors here hair, she should bring plenty with her.  I have had horrible experiences with that by professionals cause my hair is just different.  If you have pets, bring meds, plenty of heartworm pills and food.  The dog food is aweful and my dogs were having major health problems and I bought the best here. Parties and loud music can start randomly at 11 pm and the music will last until 7-7:30 am.  Just things that you have to adapt to and can take time.  Prepare yourself ahead of time and choose where you live carefully.

mikehartfl wrote:

I'm Michael and my wife and I are considering Ecuador as a place to retire.  We hear all the good things (and there are many).  What are the challenges and/or problems?

The main challenge is establishing a life here and the obstacles can be the language, developing a social life, health, acquiring things that were previously cheap and effortless, hobbies, activities, entertainment, and so on. There's this mindset that some people develop prior to moving here in which they imagine a better life. Ironically they don't have a clear plan in achieving such a “better life”, but rather go about it whimsically as if it is just going to happen when they move here. Some of this stems from the misconception that Ecuador is very cheap, and that they can acquire a much higher standard of living which is a fallacy. This in itself is a big challenge, and worsens when a person becomes isolated because of language and inability in developing a social network.

So ask yourself what kind of life do I want, imagined or not, and then ask yourself a follow up question, how can I achieve that life.

Thanks for your insight.  Some things we had not thought about...but now will

Yes, I found it disgusting and unsanitary the way toilet paper is handled here.  I purchased a house that I rehabbed and installed new toilets with proper plumbing so I could flush small amounts of toilet paper down.  One definitely needs to be careful not to stop up toilets here since it is a major plumbing job to remedy the problem unlike in the U.S.   The toilet and the tile flooring could be destroyed.
Plumbing is done differently here in general where even the toilet is cemented to the tile floor.  One needs to have some knowledge of  how things should be done to instruct and supervise the work.  Of course, I am sure that the expensive builders might know how to install plumbing as we do in the U.S.

asante209 wrote:

Plumbing is done differently here in general where even the toilet is cemented to the tile floor.  One needs to have some knowledge of  how things should be done to instruct and supervise the work.  Of course, I am sure that the expensive builders might know how to install plumbing as we do in the U.S.

My toilet is not cemented to floor, it has two screws, with nicely concealed covers for each screw. You get what you pay for, and people complaining about living in poor quality residences, well that's what they paid for. The plumbing at my residence is superb.

My point is don't generalize.

That is true, I rehabbed my house and had it done to U.S. specifications.  If it seemed that I was generalizing, it is because of my observations in this house in Centro Quito.  I also purchased my own supplies to make sure of what I was getting.

You better stay on top of everything just like if you were scrambling eggs.......dont think you can walk away from a project and have it done the way you want.....Even if you just explained it previously...........Unfortunately, you do learn not to trust so easily.......and you do pick up a certain measure of paranoia...........haha.........