rkg695
Canadian expat in Ecuador
Forum posts
159
Contacts
1
About me
Canadian
Lives in Cotacachi, Imbabura
Speaks English, sarcasm, bad french or pardonez moi - Quebecois, mi lecciones de espanol estan en progresso
Registration: 15 May 2022
About
Occupation
I am Retired.
My expat journey
Cotacachi, Imbabura, Ecuador
Adapting to Mañana, embracing Tranquilo, Cringingly getting a taste for Cuy? Yeahhh, NO
Retired and ready to start wearing socks with sandals, insisting on senior discounts even though I?m too young to qualify, and complaining about the government full-time!
Living near a minimum of angry expats emulating Yosemite Sam. Living with local mestizo and Kichwa who are giving me a chance to torture them with my Spanish. Picking fruit!? Off of trees! Who wouldve thought?! Growing a garden that doesnt die off for 6 to 8 months a year from Frost! Not getting frostbite! Being able to eat ice cream in the winter time and not have people look at you funny. Not getting frostbite eating ice cream in the winter!
Ummmm? I have to walk at least 10 WHOLE minutes to find the first of 200 panederias in town? 10 minute there, 30 minutes back.
Roatan, Honduras
Living part time working a project site, on a tropical island, sweating profusely enough to render rum and pineapple juice a non-inhibiting and acceptable alternative to drinking water. Oh yeah, and managing a design project for a resort Village on the side of a mountain, on the tropical Island, and working every day until dark so never seeing a beach the entire time. Sparking new life in my tired brain gaining experience in civil engineering, natural wetlands water and sewage treatment systems design; How to dig a moat and call it a lagoon. How to import Italian sand, on a Chinese barge, across the Pacific Ocean, through the Panama Canal, lose 40% of it to El Nino, spread it over a muddy bog and call it a beach. Sweating profusely, cursing the fact that I am Irish and just will never tan dammit!!
design and project manager, construction inspections, building and environmental science educator, adapting Canadian standards of construction, sustainability, and environmental practises for projects in a developing nation.
Rum and pineapple juice. The locals; Mestizo and Garifuna. Swimming with manta rays and parrot fish.
The angry ex-pats emulating Yosemite Sam. Sweating profusely.
dun laoghaire, it is nowhere near Dublin, Ireland
honestly, I went there in the spring loved it so much I had to go back in the fall. Didnt live there but I really LIVED there, yanno?
Occupier of pubs, connoisseur of Guinness and shepherds pie, maker of my own bed to lay in?
Everybody there looks like death warmed over and talks funny, and they look and sound just like me.
Its green, its wild, its a palace, and its in ruins and its all beautiful.
The landlady at my bed and breakfast kicks butt at 12 pin bowling and cooks a mean bangers and mash.
The music. The humor. The Guiness.
If you fall off your barstool they wont pick you up, but then again they wont step on you. So? theres that.
Various? Vancouver, B.C, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
8.5 Months in the womb, the next 2 years perpetually crying, eating, pooping, repeat.
Skip forward to age 12, lasted 6 weeks in boy scouts. Can I tie a friggin knot? No! Does baking brownies count for anything? Jobs: mowing lawns, doggy poop scooping, washing dishes, weeding gardens, cleaning houses, painting houses, hydrovaccing to excavate between houses, designing houses? gawd, gotta get outta the house once in a while!!
Skip forward to age 30, lasted 1 year, 6 months as a beaver scout leader, learned to tie a knot. Tried babysitting age 40 veteran marching band colour-guard performers, grumbly, coffee-withdrawn, havent matured beyond age 13, 40 year olds. Soon realized I really do like dogs better.
Survived 10 years mentoring in design and building science, and briefly flirting with the idea that I could have the temperament to become a college teacher of recently graduated highschoolers, but quickly realizing why we have gun control in Canada. Forgot how to tie knots.
Interweave through all this a 27 year career in architecture, whose highlight was a totally unrelated trip to Ireland, where I found myself during a Guiness brewery tour in Dublin and discovered that beer actually doesnt suck! but also realizing my mother had been totally leading me astray insisting that coffee with irish cream is an acceptable breakfast power drink? joking ma!
Baker, cashier, deli dude, Michaels craft store manager (the worst one, they finally sat me at a craft table teaching fingerpainting to the kids (No seriously), draftsman peon / ammonia blueprint machine slave extraordinaire, Architectural designer and building scientist, design project manager and mentor, building inspections and progress / building system evaluations, hydro-vaccing excavation dude, pandemic house cleaner (gag, OMG yall are disgusting in the privacy of your own homes!), and finally covid retired.
Trees (green), rivers (wet), mountains (high), great friends (a few pretty high), hot springs, craft beer, rodeos, free pancake days, indigenous and metis culture and food, sunshine, meeting chief David Crowchild, chinooks turning winter to Summer in a day, the bittersweet belief as a 3 to 8 year old that my mother was moonlighting as the queen of England! (seriously! She was a dead ringer for Queen Elizabeth, aged 30 to 40)
My mother was not the queen of England! What a joke that wouldve been on the English though, my mothers Irish, just imagine the fu**ery she couldve gotten up to messing with them. Still, their greatest accomplishment is mushy peas (& The whole British empire thing? but there is a whole lot of history there hopin to be hushed up now innit), so we will give them a free pass for now. Also, its bloody cold, notwithstanding the chinook winds turning winter to summer in a day, but then again there is the puddles. and head colds. and migraines.
Activity
Retirement Visa Income Requirement Triples by cccmedia
Ecuador has tripled its income requirement for a single Expat seeking a Retirement Visa.The requirement had been slashed during The Situation from $800 to $425 per month .. prior to the latest hike.The change has been reported in recent weeks by the ...
@pjorgensen997 ... the amount is based on the average monthly income for Ecuador set by the government; at the moment that amount is $460/ Month... • The amount for the retirement visa therefore is 3x that amount > $460 x 3= $1380 • the ... Read More
Rent control by memorris122
We are renting in Malacatos. Is there a rent control board in Loja Province? Thank you.
@memorris122 I honestly don't think that's a thing that exists here… Read More
Prediction: Existing Homes Price-Tags Will Rocket 30-45 Percent Higher by cccmedia
Raised EC tariffs on construction materials, home furnishings and appliances will cause the value of existing homes to rise 30-45 percent, according to an analysis published prominently by Gary A. Scott. He is an Ecuador blogger, ...
@AmericanoNorte I completely agree, and I would actively discourage foreigners from pricing Ecuadoreans out of the market, and out of their livelihoods… It's not ethical. In any case it's not how Ecuador real estate works. Real estate ... Read More
Trouble On the Coast and Mafia Carnage by cccmedia
Off-shore and airstrip drug activity along the Ecuador Coast is so bad in Manabí Province that radar may be installed shortly on private property.By presidential decree, property owners in parts of the province will be subject to the ...
@cccmedia Oy... it's muy tranquillo in Cotacachi 🤷🏼♂️💜🌺🇪🇨🌈🪶♾️ How a place feels has a lot to do with attitude 😂 Read More
Trouble On the Coast and Mafia Carnage by cccmedia
Off-shore and airstrip drug activity along the Ecuador Coast is so bad in Manabí Province that radar may be installed shortly on private property.By presidential decree, property owners in parts of the province will be subject to the ...
Re: "Scenes of a beleaguered capital."I don't know that - what I as a Canadian see as >anxiety and fear addicted< American news sites - are the best source for an accurate and calmly objective view of what's going on in Ecuador… (I ... Read More
Tourist visa 90 visa extension process by timstocker
Looking for information on the current tourist visa/ 90 visa extension process. For the last 4 years we are in Ecuador on a tourist visa arriving in October/November and have always applied for the 90 day extension the day after our tourist visa ...
@timstocker please read the notifications for most recent discussions; this topic is under discussion in the posting immediately preceding yours:https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1056868 Read More
What will happen after the first 3 months visa visa-free entrance? by Behnoodkalani
Hello everyone, my wife and I are Iranians who are interested in moving to Ecuador. As far as I know, we can enter the country for 3mounths visa-free, but I don't have any idea how we can extend our permission to stay longer or get a visa without ...
@Behnoodkalani Yes, that is correct - maximum 180 days through tourist/visitor visas. And apart from the independent income and education visas you mentioned, also correct; Ecuador encourages investment in the country, as well as establishing ... Read More
What will happen after the first 3 months visa visa-free entrance? by Behnoodkalani
Hello everyone, my wife and I are Iranians who are interested in moving to Ecuador. As far as I know, we can enter the country for 3mounths visa-free, but I don't have any idea how we can extend our permission to stay longer or get a visa without ...
@Behnoodkalani 🤗 Bienvenidos a Ecuador 💜🌺🇪🇨 ... Actually, you will be automatically be granted a 90 day tourist visa upon successfully entering Ecuador. This 90 day period will be digitally linked and ... Read More
Is this true of North Ecuador and Cota? by Jean-Robert145156
What is the truth to this statement. Stated by an expat in Cuenca FB group."You need to account for water availability and potability as well. Cotocachi and other places north haven't got potable water so you need to buy it. They also don't always ...
@Jean-Robert145156 😂 WT Heck! Disinformation / false-rumour alert:NO; Cotacachi, and the towns and cities of Imbabura province (Otavalo, Atuntaqui, Ibarra, etc.) are fortunate to have beautifully clean, and volcanic rock filtered water. In ... Read More
Trouble On the Coast and Mafia Carnage by cccmedia
Off-shore and airstrip drug activity along the Ecuador Coast is so bad in Manabí Province that radar may be installed shortly on private property.By presidential decree, property owners in parts of the province will be subject to the ...
Ecuadors security authorities announced that during the December festivities, the National Police and the Armed Forces will carry out joint operations as part of the "Security Block" plan. There will be surveillance in commercial areas and tourist ... Read More
Whats the story on Baños de Agua Santa? by Jean-Robert145156
Out of all the cities in Ecuador I ve looked into real estate to see whats available, Banos is the first to come up empty. Anyone have the scoop on that area? I m drawn to the plentiful options of outdoor activities. Is that place a hot spot and ...
@Jean-Robert145156 It's a bustling community of 20,000+ that nearly doubles it's population in the high season, with limited options. Once the property is purchased and rented out it's readily and eagerly snapped up by the large volume ... Read More
Trouble On the Coast and Mafia Carnage by cccmedia
Off-shore and airstrip drug activity along the Ecuador Coast is so bad in Manabí Province that radar may be installed shortly on private property.By presidential decree, property owners in parts of the province will be subject to the ...
Of particular interest as a sidenote to these reports is that former president Correa has implicated himself in the background dealings and organization of the corruption in Ecuadors government, military, prison officials and police. This by ... Read More
Living abroad and in need of my medicine by dixieman55
I am currently living in Colombia and am going to be taking a month long class to get certified as a teaching English as a forigen language. The medicine that I have been taking since the 1980s is banned in Colombia and I need to leave the country ...
@workingwithcoffee ... thank you for that. Saved me from a rant that was building in response lol. It's very important to discuss your personal health condition, and any challenges, with a professionally trained medical expert with a holistic view ... Read More
Power shortages by cccmedia
Electrical power outages lasting up to three hours each may be expectedthrough the rest of December according tothe Ministry of Energy.The outages are the result of low waterlevels in Ecuador's rivers and allegedlypoor preparations by the ...
@Ed Heade ...let's hope. However mother nature changes her mind like the direction of the wind. we'll have to wait and see…Although NOAA’s latest forecast now suggests El Niño may be over as soon as April (?), a month earlier ... Read More
Power shortages by cccmedia
Electrical power outages lasting up to three hours each may be expectedthrough the rest of December according tothe Ministry of Energy.The outages are the result of low waterlevels in Ecuador's rivers and allegedlypoor preparations by the ...
💜🌺💜💜🇨🇴💜⚡️🔌 Gracias a Colombia 💜Energy Minister reaches agreement with Colombia to continue power transfers at a lower cost; The day before Ecuadorians face an extra ... Read More