Considering a move to Banos, Mindo or elsewhere in Ecuador

Hello, my wife and I are also considering Banos for our upcoming move to South America. We are hoping that it is the kind of place where we can cultivate our interests in the environment, yoga/meditation, indigenous culture and organic farming (small scale). I suppose we could be considered new age hippie types but really we are just younger (31 & 36) city people who are looking for a new experience away from the United States where we can learn to live a more simple lifestyle and understand what it is like to see the world from a non American perspective. We also do not want to live in a big city, we are looking for a place with less than 100,000 people, preferably 20,000 - 50,000.

Based on what I've read, I like that Banos is a tourist destination for adventure sports. My thought is that we will get encounter some younger English speakers who are passing through, but still have a chance to create community with local Ecuadorians. We don't want to find ourselves only hanging out with other expats. I also am excited to participate in some of the adventure sports. The beautiful landscape is appealing, also the proximity to both the Jungle and Quito (we'd like to be less than 5 hours from a major city/airport). We also prefer the mountains to the coast.

Based on this basic description, do you think that Banos would be the kind of place that we could find community, primarily with locals, but also with expats? Do you have any other recommendations of places that you might recommend for us? I don't think that Vilcabamba is for us but the area around Mindo looks pretty nice. I am looking forward to your feedback. Thanks!

Bill