Ballenita and Punta Blanca

Dear Denham,

You may be moving too fast.

As far as I can tell, you moved from Canada to Costa Rica (Tamarindo) and it's not all you hoped for.  No indication from your introduction or your English-language post that you have spent time in Ecuador.  According to the intro, the languages you speak do not include Spanish.

Ipso facto, abide by the number-one rule for new arrivals to South America....

Don't buy or build on property here until you have lived in the target area for at least one year.

cccmedia near the Colombia-Ecuador border

My English is not perfect so my questions are not long. We still live in Canada, we have abandoned Costa Rica for many reasons and I would love for people who had have experiences in Ballenita or Punta Blanca to share those experiences with us.

I'm more interested in why you abandoned Costa Rica.

I give both Punta Blanca and Ballenita high ratings for livability and long-term investment value, relative to the broader Ecuador market. There are a few caveats.

You might not notice as much high-season, but in the off-season, both can feel a bit isolated, especially Punta Blanca. PB is basically a vacation resort community for Ecuador's wealthy set. Ballenita is more of a mix and, although expats live in both, the expat community in Ballenita has better helped forge a relationship with the locals and each other, forming a more familiar community feel.

Budget is an issue, with both likely seeming "cheap" relative to the USA or similar nations, but if you are buying on a budget, Ballenita offers more options. The relatively new central Province national bus station lies within Ballenita, but is only a short drive from Punta Blanca. Local buses run along the central road for both communities, if that is a factor for you.

For local entertainment and more diverse dining options, you'd have to go South to nearby Salinas, or north to Montañita, with the latter being roughly 45 mins away. For major entertainment, dining and cultural options, either locale has ready access to the main road to Guayaquil, although the latter has never been my particular cup-of-tea.

Bottom line and there is no need to share the first point, but you should have a very clearly defined idea of what you are hoping to achieve in terms of lifestyle with this move,  You should come in and check out the area first, with ZERO idea to buy, or even rent long-term, until you at least sense if the area is right for you. I would allot, bare bones minimum, a full week in each locale, just for a "first sense" feel. Do your research real carefully, before accepting offers of "assistance" or, even worse, "professional" services, as the latter often aren't either.

By way of full disclosure, I am a global real estate investment professional, active in both regions.