Newbie Here

Koz wrote:

1   What is a ballpark cost to move to Ecuador from the USA with just a few suitcases?
2  What are the top 5 things I should bring for apt/flat/House life?

3 My next attempt will be to figure out the classifieds. Thank you, Koz

1. A round trip coach ticket from Miami to Guayaquil, nonstop, typically runs $500 to $600 on American Airlines. For me, this is the best value. I usually can get a ticket on frontier or allegiant to Miami for $40 to $80. Bags not included in the quotes.

2.  You can find lots of suggestions by searching the forums.
I'll be bringing a new router on my next trip because I need a good wifi connection for my business. in general, technology is 2x to 3x as expensive as the USA and also a few years dated. I will also be bringing a new coffee maker because I couldn't find a model I was satisfied with in Guayaquil's malls.
There's no shortage of everyday, average quality consumer products in Ecuador. The markets are full of stuff. Some brands will be familiar, others are only sold in Ecuador or LatAm
3. In addition to the classifieds on this site, you will find many more listings on OLX and MercadoLibre

Koz wrote:

Thanks for the help cc....

What is a ballpark cost to move to Ecuador from the USA with just a few suitcases?

Dear Koz,

When I moved from the USA to Quito five years ago this week, the cost of the move itself was simply a one-way plane ticket.  I brought several extra suitcases of stuff so the price of the ticket may have been an extra $100 .. but I'm sure it wasn't much as travelers often are accommodated on international flights re luggage costs.

I stayed in a hotel for several days and then at the now-defunct South American Explorers clubhouse for ten days until the condo I purchased in El Centro was ready for occupancy. 

I found out this week that the municipality's valuation for my one-bedroom condo has risen fifty percent higher now .. than it was when I purchased in pre-construction circa 2005.

cccmedia

lebowski888 wrote:

A round trip coach ticket from Miami to Guayaquil, nonstop, typically runs $500 to $600 on American Airlines. For me, this is the best value. I usually can get a ticket on frontier or allegiant to Miami for $40 to $80. Bags not included in the quotes.

A good site to find fares and airline timetables for your routes is www.cheapo.com ...  It's an easy site to navigate.  You can input special needs such as layover cities, flexible dates and one-way vs. roundtrip travel.

cccmedia

Koz wrote:

What are the top 5 things I should bring for apt/flat/House life?

Bring precious, small personal items and anything you suspect you might not find in Ecuador. 

Also, bring three months worth of your medications so you won't be rushed in dealing with meds issues upon arrival in Ecuador.  Bring prescriptions to assist your new doctor.  He or she will probably have no trouble finding the correct names of the meds for Ecuador .. if you supply the original scrips.

Things some folks like or need that may be hard to find in Ecuador, especially outside the biggest cities...

1.  electric toothbrush (usually available at the Maxi stores)

2.  feather duster

3.  Velveeta cheese

4.  Apple sauce

5.  high-quality laptop PC.  I bought a Latin-America-made PC in Ecuador, only to find that I hated it.  I then bought a pricier MacBook Pro (made in USA) at a Quito mall.  I love it!  I use the HP occasionally if the MacBook is in the shop for a couple of days.

The flatscreen TV and large appliances I bought in Quito have been fine.

cccmedia

Thank you both for the great informative. I appreciate your time and thoughtfulness. I may be putting the cart before the house though, as I don't know anything about the paperwork or process to become a resident. I do have a passport, but what are the steps to achieving residency? Also, your opinions on doing the process yourself or getting legal representation?

PS: ccc- looks like you dig Elvis, do you sing?
PSS: Lebowski, Where do you get Allegiant from? I use them regularly from Vegas

Cccmedia famous for singing Elvis songs on the King's birthday in Quito, not sure if he has modified his schedule since his relocation.

I had a hunch... good on ‘im

The avatar photo, singing in Elvis garb, was taken at a monthly Expats meetup in 2013 at the South American Explorers clubhouse in Quito. 

The Explorers went out of business, at least in Ecuador, a couple of years ago, but before that I performed The King's classics every so often at the clubhouse. 

Also in that época, I performed as an Elvis tribute artist at Inter------- Karaoke Nights .. and outdoors in a couple of Quito's public squares, in Gringolandia and El Centro.   The Plaza Foch appearance was on Elvis's birthday, January 8th.

My favorite moment performing in Quito was belting out 'Jailhouse Rock' accompanied by a live band on Karaoke Night.  The band knew the music because the Spanish-language version, Rock de la Cárcel, is popular among the locals in Ecuador.  My regular equipment included a portable speaker, a microphone and background-music CD's from the U.S.

In 2013,  I performed two Elvis hits on stage with a live band at the biggest casino in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  It was a serendipitous happeninig -- I just showed up dressed as Elvis at the casino .. and the band performing in the main lounge that night knew the music cold.   The bandleader saw the costume and impromptu called me up on stage to start singing.

As Mugtech suspected, I have cut way back on the singing since dedicating a lot of my time to traveling, most recently in Colombia.   The tribute-artist thing started for me when I was working as a blackjack dealer at Fortune Valley Casino outside Denver, Colorado.  The management encouraged the dealers to dress in costume for their shifts on Hallowe'en and the adjacent weekend in 2009 and 2010.  So I ordered an Elvis wig, the sunglasses and instrumental CD's including "Sing Like the King."  I learned the lyrics to 20 Elvis hits .. and away we go.

For Hallowe'en 2011 and 2012, I performed in a slightly modified costume in the 'back of the house' for my fellow employees of Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.   Management there did not allow us to appear in costume on the casino floor.

cccmedia in Ipiales, Nariño, near the Ecuador-Colombia border

That sounds like some good times. I hope you continue with your singing. I know how cool that feels. The event in Vietnam must've been magical, man. I do some of the same, only Sinatra style. You know, some family summer gigs, an American legion bit, some open air flea markets and of course, karaoke. Gotta love it. By the way, what was your source for background cds here in the states? I mostly use a backing track outfit online from the UK, but would love to find some specific cds or even digital sets.
Anyway, I hope you're having a great time out there. Thanks for sharing.
Later,
Koz