Living and working in Cuenca

Hello again

As a follow up, I meant to qualify a little more.

Our criteria for a good neighbourhood for living would be - safe, outdoor space/parks, school for our 4 year old, culture - ideally all walkable
Our criteria for the restaurant (hopefully can be the same area) - mix of locals, expats and tourists. We plan a good quality, affordable priced deli/cafe/restaurant

I am particularly concerned about the reports of pollution in Cuenca.  If this really is bad, are there any other cities/towns with what we want.  We want mild weather too of course - no hot humid heat and no cold.

Many thanks

Paul

Hello Paul.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Hope other members will be able to advise you soon.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Hello Paul,

I think you should visit the city first, take a look and find out about a Visa for you and your family.
You need permits and arrange a work visa or investment visa.
For this you need a lawyer. I can find out what kind of documentation you need and how much it has to be the investment or I can contact you with a lawyer.

If you just decide to move here, get a tourist visa valid for 90 days and then, before the time expires you should initiate the tramit for the Resident Visa.

There's many areas in the city with good quality life and good for a restaurant, too. Downtown is the most polluted area, other areas are good.
Also is quite easy to find a good size home and use part of it as a restaurant, many people do this.

Good luck with your adventure and if you have more questions, just post.

Vinny

Hey Paul, let me know what you decide, I still live in the U.S. but want to check out all areas for a retirement place, would love to drop in an find out how it all goes together for you and your family. Plus, I love Mexican food, okay, I love food period! Please keep in touch.

Kurt.....

A good Asian cafe with a nice atmosphere would be most welcome in Cuenca.  Most of the existing places are little hole-in-the-wall joints for takeout only.  A light rail system is planned for downtown that will eliminate many of the fume-spewing buses.

If you are planing on buying a place,be aware not to buy from a co. call (moderated) building all type of builgs.,they are very irresponsable,my brand new apart. has cracks on it and they just want to wash their hands off . wont even come to see them to see what could be the problem.Be carefull when investing in a real estate purchases

Yes, it happens many times. And once is constructed and you buy it usually the arquitect, builder doesn't care if something goes wrong.

I knew of a couple of brand new houses with leaking problems.

Vinny

Thanks Vinny;i just hope people will be carefull and check with others expats for references...............take care.........Sergio

Hi Sergio,

Could you please concentrate on the initial topic.

" any advice on the best areas to love and work in Cuenca."

Thank you.

hi Christine,it is the same topic,[Moderated] and its engineer are very irresponsable and people are moving to Cuenca to start a new life or start a business,:i bought an apartment brand new that has construction problems and you don't want me to report it so other people will be aware! Lets do the right thing and do what we can so people can move there with the least amount of trouble and avoide some headaches if they can.
Thanks.   Sergio

sreyes wrote:

hi Christine,it is the same topic,[Moderated] and its engineer are very irresponsable and people are moving to Cuenca to start a new life or start a business,:i bought an apartment brand new that has construction problems and you don't want me to report it so other people will be aware! Lets do the right thing and do what we can so people can move there with the least amount of trouble and avoide some headaches if they can.
Thanks.   Sergio

I totally agree Sergio, these scammers need to be taken down for unscrupulous behavior. I take it the codes for electricity are very lax to non-existent in that country? I really appreciate your truthfulness, after all, aren't there enough shady people in the world? Thanks again for that information, I will definitely check any structure out from top to bottom is I decide to move that direction. I do know what to look for as I've been doing that type of work most of my life.

Kurt.....

Thanks Kurt,just a bit of info for people to be aware and avoid problems if they can..........we move other places to enjoy life and the fruit of out labor.....having to deal with major headaches should be the least of our worries.....take care ......Sergio

Hi Sreyes,

I think it will be a good idea if you start a new topic about this issue and other expats can comment about their experiences.
Also it will work to know in witch architects, construction companies you can trust or not.
Maybe it will be a good way to change the way construction business is done.  It is sad but ecuadorians are not use to complain for bad services.

Vinny

sreyes wrote:

Thanks Kurt,just a bit of info for people to be aware and avoid problems if they can..........we move other places to enjoy life and the fruit of out labor.....having to deal with major headaches should be the least of our worries.....take care ......Sergio

Sergio and Kurt, your expressing sentiments and expectations that are not compatible with living in Ecuador and most third world countries. You moved to Ecuador to reduce your living cost and to expect the same level of services and consumer protections is unrealistic.

eddstaton wrote:

A good Asian cafe with a nice atmosphere would be most welcome in Cuenca.  Most of the existing places are little hole-in-the-wall joints for takeout only.  A light rail system is planned for downtown that will eliminate many of the fume-spewing buses.

Placed it here as I didn't want get involved with construction.  There is place here that I like called Coffee Tree.  It has an outdoor part and one can sit outside and eat/drink and people watch.

The elimination of buses will be a real plus.  There were a bunch of places like that in Guatemala City and we enjoyed going to them.  Would like to see a nice Asian restaurant too.  Good luck.

fdmcg wrote:

sreyes wrote:

Thanks Kurt,just a bit of info for people to be aware and avoid problems if they can..........we move other places to enjoy life and the fruit of out labor.....having to deal with major headaches should be the least of our worries.....take care ......Sergio

Sergio and Kurt, your expressing sentiments and expectations that are not compatible with living in Ecuador and most third world countries. You moved to Ecuador to reduce your living cost and to expect the same level of services and consumer protections is unrealistic.

Really?!!! I am not expecting the US, I am expecting third world! Doesn't mean we should settle for shoddy workmanship anywhere we go in the world. If I'm going to pay someone, I figure they should do what they get paid for, that goes for anywhere, third or fourth world included! If they can't do the job, they should never have bid it and if they can't perform, then they should be exposed as should anyone who figures us for easy money.

Kurt.......

Kurt01 wrote:

[If I'm going to pay someone, I figure they should do what they get paid for, that goes for anywhere, third or fourth world included! If they can't do the job, they should never have bid it and if they can't perform, then they should be exposed as should anyone who figures us for easy money.

Kurt.......

Kurt, it is not our "easy money" they are after, it is the nature of the Ecuador market. Ecuadorian consumers as a group place little value on quality. Everyone wants to know the "ultimo precio" insisting on negotiating to the last penny. As a result, trades do the least amount necessary to make a sale. There are tradesmen with excellent skills if you have the patience to find them, compensate them fairly for their workmanship and cost of quality products and treat them as professionals. In the end, you get what you pay for.