My name is Angel and I am 44 years old

jessekimmerling wrote:

I am yet to encounter any place in Ecuador that was wheelchair friendly.

Jesse has a good point.

When you visit -- and you pretty much must visit Ecuador before moving here -- seriously look into the Expat-friendly Mariscal Sucre sector of Quito.  There's a lot of level ground there.  Some residential buildings have elevators.  Just avoid directly re-locating onto a 'smokey' bus route.

At my condo complex in Centro Histórico, it's actually possible to enter the building and get to my hallway on the third floor without encountering a single step if you know the right elevator to take.  However, the streets around here are on inclines, and the hilly nature of my sector and many others might mean you would be restricted as to where to live in Quito.

Also, the buses and many bus stations are not equipped or suitable for a wheelchair passenger.  The good news is that taxis are cheap and readily available in Mariscal.

cccmedia in Quito

cccmedia wrote:

The investment visa to which mugtech referred and the pensioner visa are extremely popular among U.S. Expats in Ecuador.

You and your husband (as dependent) might qualify for the pensioner visa if you get a government income of at least $900 a month due to your disability.  Add another $100 per month to that minimum if your son is also a dependent per your pensioner-visa application.

If your family chooses the right location -- probably Quito or Cuenca -- and promotes it well, there could be a market especially during U.S. tax season for a CPA's services.  Some Expats might prefer to have a local accountant they could meet with personally in Ecuador rather than use distant services based in the U.S. 

You might be wise to query about the visa ramifications of such a plan for your son, with an experienced EC attorney.  For instance in Quito, Sebastian Cordero.  scordero(at)gcabogados.com

cccmedia in Quito

It would be difficult for a wet behind the ears accountant with little or no international tax experience to create a book of clients in Cuenca, where there are already seasoned tax preparers.  There would be computer and software startup and continuing costs, plus many economic refugees have simple or even unrequired tax returns.

Angel2018 wrote:

He just doesn't believe you can get by for a month on $800-$900. And I get quite a bit more than that per month.

I don't live in Ecuador, haven't for many years, so I will let others comment about the costs (which should be moved to a new thread since this is for intros of new members, and which using the search box, you can find many discussions about costs).  But I will give you these links, you can practice your Spanish, it gives some average costs for apartments (and of course you can pay less, or more) and minimum salaries.  Most native Ecuadorians in Ecuador do get by on $800-$900 and mostly less.

http://preciosmundi.com/ecuador/precio- … a-salarioshttp://www.trabajo.gob.ec/el-salario-ba … 4-dolares/

Angel2018 wrote:

He doesn't specialize as a tax accountant. He deals with invoices, putting stuff in the computer and payroll right now. He is going to school full-time and working full-time in the corporate office for Goodwill of America. Started at an internship and then they offered him a job. I wonder if there would be any jobs dealing with sort of stuff. He doesn't care too much about the money (within reason) He said he likes to work mostly by himself and with numbers.

So he is more of a bookkeeper than an accountant.  Don't think he can get a job Ecuador doing book work by himself, such a job would go to a native citizen.

suefrankdahl wrote:

I think being in a wheelchair is more of an issue than money...why Ecuador

Wish staggering around drunk was still that entertaining for me

It was more of a way to decompress after Afghanistan than drunken entertainment. Nothing like waking up dehydrated and hung over under the Ecuadorian sun on a lonely north coast beach to snap one back to reality. I'm lucky I wasn't eaten by crabs.

Angel2018 wrote:

Should he gear his studies differently? I am sure he studies it all since his degree will be accounting....

The considerations mugtech mentioned are valid -- startup costs, specialized knowledge that a typical newby accountant might not normally have, the existence of experienced tax preparers in Cuenca.

Your son would need to direct his studies/preparation toward assisting Expats in fulfilling their tax obligations in the U.S.  Quito, which has a smaller percentage of Expats than Cuenca, still looks like the better venue for an arriving CPA.

Studying Spanish during the next two years might be an additional focus for him, especially since the Cancillería may require him to pass a Spanish-language accounting test if he seeks a professional-class residency visa.

cccmedia in Quito

Angel2018 wrote:

my husband ... doesn't believe you can get by for a month on $800-$900. And I get quite a bit more than that per month.

Those numbers are EC government-ministry minimums for Expat pensioners, and do not necessarily reflect actual costs of living.

So your husband may be right.

Still, if you are receiving more than that as you say, you may be fine.

A couple could live comfortably on about $1,500 per month in most EC cities, although Cuenca costs have been rising faster than most places in La República.  And that figure does not take into account medical needs, travel, unanticipated special expenses, nor startup costs, for instance, furnishing an apartment.

cccmedia in Quito

SAEQuito wrote:

Professional services in Ecuador are much different than in the USA!  Additinally, wages are generally very low, so I don't know that your son would be happy here. Ecuador is wheelchair friendly, surprisingly so.

Welcome to the Expat.com Ecuador forum, SAEQuito.

It's my understanding that your clubhouse location has changed from the Jorge Washington sede listed in your profile, to Mariana de Jesús y Ulloa.

cccmedia in Quito

jessekimmerling wrote:

I am yet to encounter any place in Ecuador that was wheelchair friendly.

Yeah, they don't roll so well in the sand anyway!

Angel2018 wrote:

He doesn't specialize as a tax accountant. He deals with invoices, putting stuff in the computer and payroll right now. He is going to school full-time and working full-time in the corporate office for Goodwill of America. Started at an internship and then they offered him a job. I wonder if there would be any jobs dealing with sort of stuff. He doesn't care too much about the money (within reason) He said he likes to work mostly by himself and with numbers.

Assuming an offer of employment from a Ecuadoran employer (required for a work visa I believe), the likely salary will be low compared to U.S. standards.  Think along the lines of 25% to 30% +/-.  What makes Ecuador an excellent place for economic refugees to live in retirement makes it a horrible place to earn a living.

jessekimmerling wrote:

I am of the opinion that Ecuador is a great place to start a business. It's not a sue happy society, like the US. Labor laws are strict, but wages are low and profit margins for many industries are huge. There is a reason so many Ecuadorians run small businesses rather than punching a time clock.

I bow to your superior knowledge JK, but your statement that low wages is the reason so many Ecuadorians start their own business would not apply to an expat coming to Ecuador.  Example:  an experienced, licensed journeyman electrician in the U.S. likely makes between $26 and $32 an hour working for a contractor.  Obviously, less experienced helpers and apprentices make half that amount.  An experienced Ecuadorian electrician building a high rise in Salinas or Quito might make around $750 a month, right?  $800?  Say, it's even as much as $1,000 a month. So, while a local can duplicate this salary and possibly do better working for himself or herself, don't you think that a U.S. electrician (ignoring work restrictions and other barriers), in my example, would not likely be able to come close to replacing his or her U.S. monthly salary of, say, $4,500 to $5,000 a month?  Just saying that expats generally cannot expect to come down and duplicate their income working in their profession and that the difference in pay would be hard to offset by lower costs of living, which I think are principally in the cost of housing.  Just my thoughts, which I'd appreciate hearing from you and others on.

AmberFenton wrote:

Degrees and diplomas from other countries are Not accepted, so fluent Spanish is a must to pass the equivalence tests.

Naturally, an Expat electrician or an attorney needs to know Spanish to pass the EC equivalent of an electrician's certification exam or a bar exam.

However, the Ministry does accept diplomas from hundreds of colleges and universities worldwide for the purpose of applying for a professional residency-visa.

cccmedia in Quito

AmberFenton wrote:

I have read various comments about Cuenca, and from the sound of it, a young person would die of boredom.

Cuenca has the busiest Expat calendar of any city in Ecuador.  To see what's happening in the Expat community there, visit the GringoTree, GringoPost and Cuenca Highlife websites.

cccmedia in Quito