Safety and rentals in Vilcabamba or Loja area

GGZ8 wrote:

I plan to arrive  there in couple of months, my destination at present would be  either Vilca or Loja;   About renting a relatively safe place, if anyone has rental information sources, would you pls. share it?     I am a retired Christian woman and want to be on budget if possible.

Welcome to the Ecuador forum, GG.

A retired Christian woman from the northern U.S. arrived in Vilcabamba four weeks ago after hooking up with a new "friend" over the Internet for a $200 a month rental.

When she arrived in Vilcabamba (elevation 5,000 feet), she had already experienced worrisome breathing and consciousness problems upon arrival at the new airport outside Quito (7,700 feet).  In Vilcabamba, she experienced tremendous fatigue and continual sweating.

The supposed new friend turned out to be a lying Internet scammer who took what the new arrival described as the last of her money and did not provide the social contacts that had been promised.  At last word two weeks ago, the Expat was trying to move to another city or town more conducive to her health.

The point is not to dissuade you from moving to Ecuador, but to avoid relying on Internet contacts  in setting up your rental in advance.

Our author-member Lily Ann Fouts has a new book out on renting in that area of Ecuador which is available at amazon.com ....  Read it on Kindle with the free Kindle reader Amazon offers.

Lily Ann and I both recommend you get boots on the ground and commit to nothing more than a hotel room before you get to Ecuador.  She has more recommendations in her book.

cccmedia in Quito

GGZ8 wrote:

is the altitude there agreeable even to people with some hypertension issues....health care facilities/cost ?  Are there any difficulties for those on tourist visa to open a bank account?

Most Expat retirees who come here to the EC highlands are able to adjust successfully, although uphill walking at altitude is almost always a challenge at first.

Even for a healthy person, however, it is impossible to predict how or whether they will adjust to high altitude.

Expats of retiree-age need to think long and hard before relocating to an Ecuador location other than metro Quito or Cuenca, where the best medical care is available.

Expats with legal residency may participate in the government IESS healthcare program at $73 per month, currently without regard to pre-existing conditions.

Ecuadorian banks typically require that you present the EC identification card to open an account.  This cédula is available to Expat newcomers who have obtained a residency visa, not to tourist-stamp holders.

It may be possible to find a bank that does not require the ID card.  However, they will likely have additional hoops to jump through.

You can qualify for the residency visa and the card with $800 per month Social Security or pension-type income, or an investment of 25K in a bank CD here.  Plus the usual government fees.

Plan on paying for your routine expenses with your existing credit or debit cards, including ATM withdrawals for cash purchases, until you are truly settled.

cccmedia in Quito

Since I will be going there eventually, keep me posted please on what you find. I will provide you with whatever we hear from our end re moving to Ecuador. My wife and I are looking at ocean locations only for now. Cheers!

Roberto

In the meantime, Rollly, you can visit existing threads via the Search Expat.com box.

For instance, the thread Anybody Living in Vilcabamba or Loja....

                                                                         .

Thanks so much, ccc.  appreciate  your genuine concern and effort to help.  I will read the book .    Sadly costal EC are high in crime rate I heard.  Quito and Cuenca are too high(altitude).      If you have traveled to south east Asia, how was your experiences compared to EC?  GGZ

GGZ8 wrote:

I do not want to settle on the  coastal EC due to crime rate being high from what I read. I hope that lady is doing better by now.   Have you traveled south east Asia, and if you did, how would you compare your experiences there with EC?

Guayaquil (Ecuador's major port and largest city) has quite a bad reputation for crime, and some of the northern coast (near Colombia) has drug-trafficking problems, but I think the rest of the coast is OK (from what I hear/read).

The only SE Asia country I've lived in is the Philippines; also been to Thailand, but only for a couple short visits. Ecuador is far, far superior as a retirement spot to Philippines, in my opinion. Much cleaner, much better infrastructure, less corruption, more temperate climate.

Thanks. BobH.  One advantage would be friendly English speaking people, I read.   What about the crimes ?  GGZ8

You're right -- Philippines does have the language advantage (people are friendly in both places, I found).

I personally experienced no major crimes in either place. I had a cheap digital camera pickpocketed in Quito, and there was an attempted break-in once at my apartment compound in Cebu City. Nothing huge or frightening, and the sort of things that can happen anywhere.

I made many trips to Quito and Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, before deciding on Quito.

If my sole criteria had been food and lack of crime, I would have chosen Thailand.

But the weather is brutal everywhere in Thailand at least nine months of the year.  Only November through January are mild in Chiang Mai.  Bangkok is hot and humid every month.  I decided I could not live in Thailand year-round.

Ecuador also has the advantage of a language you have a decent chance to learn to speak correctly and write.  Also mentionable....for many North Americans you can get to Ecuador in a reasonable time period, not 20-24 hours it took me from an East Coast airport to Chiang Mai.

I loved visiting Thailand, but you had to thread the needle -- wintertime only and only in the north.

As for the crime issue, in my experience in Quito it is predominantly non-violent theft and I have never seen a weapon pulled.  I can live with occasional pickpocketing when the benefits of living here are as good as they are.

Although I never sought personally to get a Thai residency visa, my research indicates it would be a lot more difficult to obtain visa or residency rights than it was for me in Ecuador.  Thailand also has property ownership restrictions that reduce its attractiveness as a long-term choice, although I understood that it was possible for an unmarried foreigner to buy a condo.

cccmedia in Quito

GGZ8 wrote:

Sadly coastal EC is high in crime rate I heard.  Quito and Cuenca are too high (altitude).

If you're feeling frustrated about Ecuador, I am not surprised.  If you rule out the highlands for altitude and the coast for crime, you have eliminated virtually all the Expat-friendly areas.

But don't be too hasty about the coast and its supposed crime rate.

Guayaquil is bad news for crime, and too hot and humid to boot.  It's not even on the Pacific Ocean, but about 90 minutes away by ground transportation.

But except for the areas near the Colombia border that Bob mentioned, crime should not be deterring folks from the EC coast.

I suggest re-checking your research, and let us know the source of any reporting that claims there is too much crime on the coast.

cccmedia in Quito

cccmedia wrote:

Ecuador also has the advantage of a language you have a decent chance to learn to speak correctly and write. 
cccmedia in Quito

Not sure what the blackjack dealer calls a decent chance, but based on what I have heard very few expats of retirement age who are learning Spanish from scratch become very proficient at it.  They, myself included, have enough trouble remembering things in their native language let alone starting over in a new one, which is why a large expat community like Cuenca is the only way to live for many.

Medical facilities on the coast reported to be poor in quality by Western standards.

suefrankdahl wrote:

Medical facilities on the coast reported to be poor in quality by Western standards.

You might want to read  "Our Ecuador Retirement Part 2" by Donald Murray
Mid 60's heart problems, decided to leave EC coast for Mexico because of the health facilities.

Just how bad is crime in coastal areas such as Palayas? I may not have spelt it correctly, but this small community is on the ocean, has a little town and is about 1hr. 20 min drive to airport.

Roberto

Rolllingstone wrote:

Just how bad is crime in coastal areas such as Palayas? I may not have spelt it correctly, but this small community is on the ocean, has a little town and is about 1hr. 20 min drive to airport.

Roberto

You can find some information on this blog (about 23 hits) by backing up one level so you are in the Ecuador forum and entering Playas in the search box.  At least several of the posts will discuss at least a bit about the tourist town of General Villamil Playas, commonly known as Playas.

For those who can learn a language entering retirement, Spanish is far easier to learn than Thai for multiple reasons.

1. Spanish and English share common roots.  Ipso facto, many words are identical or similar in spelling.

2. Many in the Western world learn Spanish words from the influx of same into common usage from Latin countries in this hemisphere.  Taco, cerveza, señor, señorita, padre, casa, hasta la vista.

3. The Thai language uses five aural tones to build words, which Thai school children have drilled into them, but for retirees from the West, it's one in a thousand who can get the tones right most of the time.

cccmedia in Quito

cccmedia wrote:

For those who can learn a language entering retirement, Spanish is far easier to learn than Thai for multiple reasons.

1. Spanish and English share common roots.  Ipso facto, many words are identical or similar in spelling.

2. Many in the Western world learn Spanish words from the influx of same into common usage from Latin countries in this hemisphere.  Taco, cerveza, señor, señorita, padre, casa, hasta la vista.

3. The Thai language uses five aural tones to build words, which Thai school children have drilled into them, but for retirees from the West, it's one in a thousand who can get the tones right most of the time.

cccmedia in Quito

I would add: Same alphabet.

What do you know or friends know about Bahia de Caraques ? I have been making many inquiries about ocean towns and apparently Playas is not at all desirable because of the filthy garbage locals leave on the beaches for the ocean to deal with. Is Bahia a better location? Who might be able to answer this for me. Thank you!   Muchas gracios!
Roberto

This is a Vilcabamba and Loja thread, not about beach towns.

Please post beach remarks on an existing beach thread or start a new thread.

Roberto:

Here's a thread with some good info about Bahia de Caraquez:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=470986

Here's the Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%ADa … %C3%A1quez

And CCC's right -- if you post a thread with your questions, and put 'Bahia de Caraquez' in the headline, that's the best way to get people knowledgeable about that area to notice and respond. People from Bahia may not even read this thread, because it doesn't apply to them.

Please excuse me as I am still learning to navigate this site. Where do I go to create a new thread? Tks

Roberto: Sent a private message -- let me know if I wasn't clear.

Rolllingstone wrote:

Where do I go to create a new thread?

Scroll back up to the topic title of this thread.

Click on the button there that says Post New Topic.

When you arrive at the ensuing page, type in the name of your new thread.

Just below that, start posting on the new thread.

cccmedia in Quito

Thank you very much Ccc and Bobh .   Years ago, I had a Thai room mate at  UH , Hawaii once and even then, I never could get interested in learning their language,  not to mention the letters.  I agree with you that  other than safety and abundant fruit/food with cleaner environment( all important factors),  without special mission purpose, I would look for somewhere else.  I 'm on lisinopril, a BP med  + Armour thyroid)   without any serious incident so far,  trying to heal myself naturally in a healthier place.     So, does that mean most of expats in Cuenca/Quito are free of BP issue?   I don't know what type of natural supplements are available in EC  since they are taxing a lot on imports.  Is there any resource available?    do they accept credit card O.K.( at least now) ?    Best Regards, GGZ

GGZ8 wrote:

does that mean most of expats in Cuenca/Quito are free of BP issue?   I don't know what type of natural supplements are available in EC  since they are taxing a lot on imports.  Is there any resource available?    do they accept credit card O.K.( at least now) ?    Best Regards, GGZ

One of my meds is lisinopril as well, but there´s not any way that I nor any of the other layman/Expat retirees can reliably conclude that Expats in Ecuador are free of high blood pressure issues.

Any meds or supplements I have sought in my years in Ecuador have been available.  Some stores at the big malls accept credit cards, many stores do not.

cccmedia in Quito

Helo Rolllingstone. I see your looking for ocean side.  Checkout goodlifeinecuador   on facebook. Lots of reliable info from xpat married to a local lady who has answers.  Good luck and fill free to ask... Enjoy

I was born in Macara and grew up in Loja, so i know quite well the area, anything you need to find out just give me a shout, my email address is **************

Oh i live in London-UK at the moment, making money really, no other reason for being on these shores

Jorge. Guarderas V.

Your e-mail addrress has been blocked I guess for privacy issues.

But I would like to know:  is it true that in Loja the houses do not have what we call yards, or gardens, that there is nowhere to put out your cat to take its own walk or play with flowers?

HelenPivoine