New members of the Ecuador forum, introduce yourselves here - 2021

Coxhere1 wrote:

Was I being disrespectful?

Not at all.  We don't expect every new member to
immediately know the ins-and-outs of this arcane rule
that pertains only to this members-introduction thread.

That's why I used a few smileys, to make sure
everyone was staying in good humor.

cccmedia

rodrigoleivacastellanos wrote:

Hi, my name is Rod. I was born in Quito, but lived in California for nearly forty years. I retired a few years back. Plan to stay in Ecuador till I find a better place.

Dear Rod,

Welcome to the Ecuador forums of Expat.com ...

I found the "better place" comment in the citation above to be provocative.

Since we can't really discuss it here (this thread being devoted to new-member-introductions-only and all), I have created a new thread that is reachable with a single click off the Ecuador forum welcome page.

Its title is Rod Will Stay Until He Finds a Place Better Than Ecuador.

cccmedia in Quito

petrolhead wrote:

However, just reading cccmedia's post strongly suggesting living there for a year before entering into property purchase has somewhat thrown a curve ball into my plans 

I'd be a single woman moving and living off my savings so to rent for a year would deplete some of my finances, and then nothing to show at the end of it.  Surely a couple of months would determine the decision factor?  Or am I being naive 

No, you are not necessarily naive, it's just that you know very little about Ecuador and how things work there (and how they DON'T work there).  A mistake made buying the wrong property in the wrong location could last forever.  Or at least until you die - you might never be able to sell it and recoup anywhere near the price you paid.   You could do a search in the Ecuador forum and on the internet, for the Las Olas development and read about what turned into a nightmare for many people just hoping to have a nice quiet retirement...
https://www.expat.com/en/searchresult/s … hcmNoPTE-/

Buying the wrong property would deplete your finances even more than a year's rent.  You might find the idyllic mountainside property is subject to mudslides.  Or the area is high crime.  Or every morning before dawn there is a loud cacophonous racket that lasts many minutes as the nearby animals awaken.  Or your wonderful city apartment that appeared perfect, leaks when it rains.  And the neighbors have non-stop music blaring all night long on the weekends and often during the week.  Or running water may not be available when you want it, and electricity outages are frequent.  Or there is a once-a-year festival that turns the area into chaos for a week or two.  Or...any number of things that would most likely reveal themselves in a year's renting.

Here are two articles that may help you:

https://storyteller.travel/buying-property-in-ecuador/https://cuencahighlife.com/buying-prope … d-to-know/

But in just that one sentence, "Wait at least a year before buying any property", is encapsulated the best advice you could get.  Don't be one of the horror stories that people point to!