New members of the Ecuador forum, introduce yourself here

MikeGB wrote:

We are not supposed to carry on a conversation on this particular blog. This blog is for introductions only. If you wish to ask more questions you are supposed to create a new blog entry.

Dustin, Mike is right about starting a new thread, and he's doing such a good job advising you on a topic of interest to many that I hope you WILL start one.

To do so, click on the New Topic icon at the top of the page.

cccmedia in Quito

finnogorman wrote:

I want to retire in a lively place where I can take Spanish classes as well as yoga...

Welcome to Expat.com Ecuador, Finn O'Gorman.

Either Quito or Cuenca would be an excellent choice for Spanish classes, provided you're suited to the altitudes (Quito 9200, Cuenca 8300).

Large cities such as these that attract international visitors and residents are sure to offer yoga classes.

cccmedia in Quito

Father tom wrote:

is Cuenca really 8300 ft altitude? Slc is 4,000. Any info would be appreciated.              Thanks,joan

You can believe everything cccmedia tells you, he is channeling Elvis, the king of rock and roll.

Don Samaniego wrote:

I read that as Venezuela sinks, Ecuador's Rafael Correa rises as anti-U.S. leader in Latin America. If this is the case, how can Americans feel secure there?

He likes US$$$, has nothing against USA citizens who choose Ecuador over the USA.

Don Samaniego wrote:

All the same, one would think that his dislike for America could and would be manifest in the actions of other Ecuadorians who have seen the prices of things rise beyond their means.

If you are only go to places that like the USA you will be not leaving the USA any time soon.
Sounds like you could write a book, call it  "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas"

JasonDC wrote:

I've been living outside of the US in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for a year and a half now, and my girlfriend and I are looking to relocate to Ecuador in the next 1-2 months.

We were looking at Cuenca but now leaning towards Quito....

Our plan is to spend a few months making sure we like it, then sign up for Spanish classes because we don't speak much Spanish (and we will need it) and it will give us a visa to allow for a longer stay. And after such a long time in Asia, it will be nice to get out of the tropics for a change!

Welcome to Expat.com Ecuador, Jason.

I visited both Chiang Mai and Quito many times before deciding to move to Quito (in 2012).  Quito's weather is preferable -- none of that brutal everyday heat that you get in northern Thailand from February through October.

While I learned a few hundred words in Thai, I have found Spanish much easier to master at an intermediate level because of the common Latin roots with English, and the common alphabet.

Since you're going to be here for some months before deciding, consider taking Spanish classes from the start.  It will enhance your stay and possibly help you decide if Ecuador is right for you.  Quito has many good language schools.

FYI, once you submit your visa application for permanent residency, you are permitted to stay in-country indefinitely during the visa processing.

cccmedia in Quito

JasonDC wrote:

Thanks for asking. We'll use our 90 days on entry to get settled and find an apartment, and then, since we need to learn Spanish anyway, we'll sign up for Spanish classes at a school which will also get us a 6 month visa. But after 9 months, I don't know what we can do. We're almost certainly going to be looking at how we can get permanent residency beyond that. And are open to all suggestions. Have you got any pointers? Thanks a lot.

That may not work exactly as you are forseeing it.

(I have zero knowledge for Philippine passport holders)

For US citizens you may visit for 90 days as a tourist without a visa. After that you may apply for another 180 day temporary visa.

But in order to get a residency visa (in order to live in Ecuador) you must round up a number of notarized and apostilled documents from your home country, including a police report going back 5 years, and submit them with the residency visa application.

And of course to apply for a residency visa, there are different categories of residency visas, and you would need to fulfill the requirements and qualifications, along with submitting all of the necessary homeland documents.

You can get started here: https://www.expat.com/en/guide/south-am … uador.html

The link is a sticky on this forum, but almost none of the internal links in that link work. In fact a lot of the Ecuadoran government websites are wildly out of date, contain little useful visa information, or don't work at all. The Ecuador visa offices/consulates/embassies/Foreign Ministry don't seem to ever answer emails either.

I think you need to ponder this avenue of emigration very carefully before letting your dreams run too far away.

I can assure though, that they will not issue a residency visa based on your ability to speak Spanish.

In general most countries are looking for either investors, or working persons with skills not domestically available. You need to be offering Ecuador something it needs in order to qualify for a resident visa.

JasonDC wrote:

after 9 months, I don't know what we can do. We're almost certainly going to be looking at how we can get permanent residency beyond that. And are open to all suggestions. Have you got  any pointers?

Frankly, Jason, this important topic is too complex to handle on the New Members thread without further annoying the Home Office.

So we are creating a new thread called "Brainstorm With Jason So He and His Girlfriend Can Stay in Ecuador."

To navigate over there, type 'Brainstorm With Jason' into the Search Expat.com box at the top of this page, and then click on the search icon to the right of the box.

cccmedia in Quito

finnogorman wrote:

Hi, new member Finn O'Gorman here again. I'm appreciating all the info on this forum, especially cccmedia's breadth of knowledge and advice. As I mentioned previously, I'm focusing diligently on finding a city to settle in. Having just spent several days there, I have already eliminated lovely Loja from my list because I want a bigger, more lively place. So I guess Cuenca will be next to visit and then Quito. I would love to meet up with any residents of either city to hear about their experiences. Coffee's on me. I'm Irish, been travelling el mundo since I retired 2 years ago and am really keen on making my nest soon. So would love some contacts. And if I'm supposed to be doing this under a New Topic, or if I've breached forum etiquette, I expect someone will advise me.

Congrats, being #4 on a cccmedia list is a great accomplishment
Perhaps you could put your request on a Cuenca thread.

LAFitz wrote:

I'm really sorry...although not surprised that your plan to visit/relocate to Ecuador has been negatively influenced by the posts on this blog.  I am moving to Ecuador myself in April.  However, I will not allow comments posted on any blog to deter me and would advise you to take what you read here with a huge grain of salt.  And here's why:  I lived in Buenos Aires from 2004 to 2008 and only discovered ex-pat blogs after settling in to experience life in Argentina.  And I'm so glad I did!  You see, the tone of the vast majority of posts there ranged from whine-y ("It takes more than an hour to ride the bus across town and they just raised the cost from 20¢ to 30¢) all the way to Ugly American-ish (Why can't these people speak English?)  On the other hand, through a combination of attending expat activities and connecting with Argentinos in museums, clubs, even on the bus, as opposed to sitting in my flat and posting blog comments, I quickly built a large circle of friends including Americans, Germans, Slovoks, Brazilians...and of course, Argentinos. 

This time around, I did sign up for this blog hoping to connect with potential new friends and neighbors who were as excited about integrating into the Ecuadorian community as I am.  But no such luck!  It's the same old, same old.  Certainly not all but far too many postings that can be summed up as "I'm so disappointed that Ecuador is different from the US." Furthermore, it seems that legitimate inquiries for information by those considering the move are either ignored or met with an irrelevant comment. 

Case in point: I posted the simple question, "Are you aware of any active expat communities along the coast?"  What I got in response were comments about why living on the coast was not a good idea (heat and humidity, crime, infrastructure...and of course, lack of shopping malls) and promos for checking out Cuenca and other mountain towns.  What I did not get was an answer to my question.

So my advice is to take anything you read here from the source...in my opinion, way too many people with too much time on their hands. If you decide to come to Ecuador, stop reading and/or posting on the blogs, and instead, make a commitment to venture out into the community with the objective of building a social network with whom to share an extraordinary adventure. That's what I'll be doing from the get go come April!

Please do not pollute the New Members thread by ranting about others supposedly making too many complaints, how nobody correctly responded to your question about Expat events on the coast, and how Expats have too much time on their hands and should stop posting on blogs.

The correct etiquette is to reserve this thread for the introduction and welcoming of new members. 

Agendas such as yours should be presented on a new thread that you would initiate.

cccmedia in Quito

LAFitz wrote:

I'm really sorry...although not surprised that your plan to visit/relocate to Ecuador has been negatively influenced by the posts on this blog.  I am moving to Ecuador myself in April.  However, I will not allow comments posted on any blog to deter me and would advise you to take what you read here with a huge grain of salt.  And here's why:  I lived in Buenos Aires from 2004 to 2008 and only discovered ex-pat blogs after settling in to experience life in Argentina.  And I'm so glad I did!  You see, the tone of the vast majority of posts there ranged from whine-y ("It takes more than an hour to ride the bus across town and they just raised the cost from 20¢ to 30¢) all the way to Ugly American-ish (Why can't these people speak English?)  On the other hand, through a combination of attending expat activities and connecting with Argentinos in museums, clubs, even on the bus, as opposed to sitting in my flat and posting blog comments, I quickly built a large circle of friends including Americans, Germans, Slovoks, Brazilians...and of course, Argentinos. 

This time around, I did sign up for this blog hoping to connect with potential new friends and neighbors who were as excited about integrating into the Ecuadorian community as I am.  But no such luck!  It's the same old, same old.  Certainly not all but far too many postings that can be summed up as "I'm so disappointed that Ecuador is different from the US." Furthermore, it seems that legitimate inquiries for information by those considering the move are either ignored or met with an irrelevant comment. 

Case in point: I posted the simple question, "Are you aware of any active expat communities along the coast?"  What I got in response were comments about why living on the coast was not a good idea (heat and humidity, crime, infrastructure...and of course, lack of shopping malls) and promos for checking out Cuenca and other mountain towns.  What I did not get was an answer to my question.

So my advice is to take anything you read here from the source...in my opinion, way too many people with too much time on their hands. If you decide to come to Ecuador, stop reading and/or posting on the blogs, and instead, make a commitment to venture out into the community with the objective of building a social network with whom to share an extraordinary adventure. That's what I'll be doing from the get go come April!

Hi i think your post is absolutely wonderful and Spot On ( I have a Brit Friend whose lingo I'm starting to pick up LOL).  You should definitely make your decision based on your experience during your Exploratory trip, which everyone really should take prior to moving their lives to another country,  I currently reside in Los Angeles and plan to take a Look See trip to Ecuador in a couple of years.  i use these blogs/forums etc to keep up on the current activity/political atmosphere etc in Ecuador.  So far I have not read anything that would deter me from my current plan.  I plan on initially landing in Cuenca to get my "feet wet" then I will begin exploring the rest of the country as Cuenca sounds too big and a little too Westernized for what I am looking for but again that is just from what I have read online.  I may find it to be a perfect fit.  Anyway enjoy your new adventure.