Cost of living in Ecuador - 2017

In his previous post, DD Agency wrote that Dad pays about $2.00 US a day for breakfast .. and cooks twice a week -- with dorado fish costing $1.50 a pound.  Total $60-80 a month:  "Does that make sense?"

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Makes sense if he skips two meals a day five days a week.

The government does not do end-of-the-month refunds on desayuno nor on mercado purchases, regardless of one's age or cédula-status.  (Tax on some items may be refunded with proper paperwork and receipts, up to a stated limit.)

cccmedia

Fresh dorado is only $1.50 a lb in Manta?

Sounds like your not going to make it there. Your lifestyle consists of much more than the average retiree. You might want to check out Thailand or Vietnam. Good luck.

Haha. Funny. If you saw my father he clearly never misses a meal. I think Ecuador ranked #3 on Forbes list for Intl retirement. I have to say its pretty accurate. "There's a new best country in the world to retire, according to the experts at International Living (IL), an authority on global retirement and relocation opportunities. In its Annual Global Retirement Index, Mexico — one of the most popular countries among U.S. expats — has edged out last year's No. 1, Panama.

But truth be told, Mexico (which was ranked No. 3 in 2016), Panama and Ecuador are within a hair of each other in the new International Living rankings. “There's just a tenth of a percentage point difference in their total rankings,” said Dan Prescher, an International Living senior editor who lives with is wife Suzan Haskins in Cotacachi, Ecuador."

Regardless of the article I would have to say it is a great place to live, eat and retire. No complaints. Some of his friends are moving to Colombia (Cartagena, Cali) but for now he is staying put. If I had to move today I would favor Panama due to my lifestyle. Good luck to everyone who makes the leap like my father did. He's is happy with his Magic Jack, Pilsener and the Beach.

@Sophems.........well, I have to give you credit. You are the poster child for adaptation and resourcefulness........Maybe you picked the wrong country? Panama has most of that stuff that you hunger for.....If not on the local market, then in PriceSmart...I tell you what.......Lets trade for 3 months......You come live here in my upcountry cool weather (surrounded by rivers and waterfalls) Vilcabamba type environment and drive my car, and I will take over your place and your car and then we will both know, hahaha........becuz until you live in a place, and drive there, and shop there, deal with the locals ,  there is no way you can know it.......But Panama is for all practical purposes an American stepchild.......patterned after the American system to a great extent....Its a hybrid really.......very much like living in Puerto Rico, (before the hurricane)......low taxes, global open port........most everything in the market place.......and very eazy and cheap to buy thru Amazon or eBay and ship it down tax free........That kine stuff is just not a problem here.........But there are other kine problems...........too numerous and complex to mention......

dumluk wrote:

That kine stuff is just not a problem here.........But there are other kine problems...........too numerous and complex to mention......

Such as Panama becoming more and more "a police state" .. and prices "climbing fast."

Source:  Dumluk's self-introduction, in which he explains his interest in a possible move to Ecuador

Yes, both of these things are true factors........In Panama City now there are cameras all over the roads and intersections........like London......The police checkpoints are nowheres near as bad (except for holidaze) as during the Martinelli era, but this is the ONLY thing which has improved under the Tortuga, Varela.......

Can we clarify that statement "dorado for $1.50 lb"?  That is for dorado entero right? The whole fish, not fileted? If it is as I assume $1.50 for dorado (mahimahi) entero then that would be the same as here in Panama.......But here, the fishin aint been so grand........Seems to be a scarcity of fish in the last year.....Nothing like before.......

One of the things that is nice about Ecuador is that it doesn't price anyone out. And if people are objective they will understand this when reading posts. There's room for everyone and every budget, the only issue are the lies that claim one can live an "upper class lifestyle", on whatever amount is advertised.

And that is just not true.

Yes, you can live inexpensively and well!  I avoid the supermaxi like the plague unless I am buying meat or seafood ( about once every three months if I am having guests for dinner). I eat mainly local fruits, vegetables, pasta and cheese- think vegetarian pasta pesto, quesadillas, mushroom/ cauliflower, or carrot and ginger soups, etc..
     I am also an avocado addict, and at 2-3/ $1, I am in heaven . My grocery bill, including wine, rarely hits the 100/ month level, and is usually 60-80.   I buy almost all of my fruits and veggies from the small mercadolibre and street vendors where I live. There is usually a guy with a pick up truck full of either mangos, watermelon or pineapples around too. Breakfast is usually a smoothie with strawberries, bananas, granola, and yogurt, which is quite filling and tasty.  If I am in the Santa Clara area, I occasionally pick up some nice multi grain bread from Camari, olives and Parmesan from Bolivar, and wine from Bolla D' Oro. There is also a great place for nuts and spices in that area.
    I buy my coffee at Aguila de Oro near Plaza Grande. Fabulous stuff at $6/lb.
   Combination landline/ internet is $35/ month, electricity around 25/ month, and water rarely exceeds $5/ month.
    I have a yearly membership at a rock climbing gym ( great exercise!) which includes 2 yoga classes / week for 390/ year, and there are also free yoga classes on Sunday's in Parque Carolina. An acro yoga group also meets there on Sundays.   
   I own my home, so I cannot comment on rent.
    Btw, I live in Centro Historico, Quito in a great, authentic Ecuadorian neighborhood. It is great for my Spanish, and some of my neighbor's and I get together for a language exchange , which is quite fun.

Impressive! You can eat that cheap and good in Quito......2-3 avos for one dollar? That is stellar. Im paying $1 a piece for them here in Panama, and a month ago in Nicaragua they were selling for 80 cordobas which is almost $3 a piece, granted big ones....and out of season.....I did notice 4 yrs ago when I was cruising Ecuador that at least in Quito supers there was european/american quality whole grain bread available......which is not here in Panama......The best we got here is a Bimbo multi grain mix product for almost $3.....I start the day off with costa rican cafe and a smoothie too........How much does one medium size pineapple cost there in the open market or the street vendors in Quito? I found Ecuador to be very inexpensive, but that was 4 yrs ago.....I think much has changed since then.........I was eating fresh fish dinners every day all up and down the coast for around $4 a plate.........I doubt if you can still do that??

I can't comment on fish dinners on the coast, since I'm in Quito, but as I write, there is somebody right outside my door selling mangoes 10/$1.
   I do know that a lovely trout dinner near Mindo is now around $6.

Prolly have to wait 6 months for somebody on the coast to comment......Dont evne bother....I will be there soon enuff to see for myself how things have changed.........Its just amazing how fast a latin developing country can go from bueno, bonito y barato to overpriced and over rated.....and cutting their own throat........it boggles the mind......

dumluk wrote:

It's just amazing how fast a latin developing country can go from bueno, bonito y barato to overpriced and over rated..... and cutting their own throat ....... it boggles the mind.

Earthquakes, floods, demonstrations, volatile oil prices, dropping a couple of ranks on the retirement index, the downfall of some politicians -- the combination has not been kind to Ecuador over the past couple of years.

But "cutting their own throat"?  Really?  That's pretty strong .. and deserves explanation.

What have you noticed about Ecuador, Dumluk, from your listening post in Panama that would actually qualify as "cutting their own throat"?

cccmedia

Hmmmm........where shall I start? Howz about the serious uptick of crime and even violent crime in Ecuador? How many times on different forums have I read in the last year or two about violent home invasions? Even in or close to Vilcabamba? All the robberies in Quito with the taxis participating......So you cant even trust a numbered taxi now in the city? aND then we move on to the general cost of living.......Prices of everything, (with the exception of buses maybe) have gone waaay up.....I see the prices of things in general in Quito quoted on this same forum and I have to laff.......They are absurdly high......How did they get that high? City pressures?  High taxes supporting bloated bureaucracies? Costa Rican style.......Anything imported from another country subject to inordinately high taxes.......Whether its a pair of Levis, or Merrill tennis shoes, or a bottle of Panamanian rum, or a Chilean wine......All more expensive, a lot more expensive than Traders Joes in Calif........high price of autos, draconian traffic laws and enforcement, and rediculous multas (Pana style) Police not responsding or doing what they are paid for.....and therefore a lack of faith and confidence in the police........Correa was hugely popular when I was there.....and with good reason.....I thought he was the best in the west along with Mujica in Urugruay.......And now the poor bipolar exprez cant even go into a restaurant without being booed and chased out in a hailstorm of insults........Crazy how its changed in just 4 short years.......But Im still goin back for another trip very soon........gotta see for myself........And also check out the Peruvian coastline right below the Ecuadorian border. Been hearing good things about that area........My Dutch buddy here in Panama says Mancora is like heaven compared to here........

As an active consumer living in Quito, the price of many consumer goods have decreased from 2016 to 2017. This is a result of several factors, one of which is the lifting of "salvaguardias" last June, which were put in place prior to 2016. Hopefully this trend of prices decreasing continues. The press is all over this because they compare prices here to our neighbors. But yeah, appliances are cheaper than 2016, TVs, and many other things. Groceries have been stable because as been pointed out in the 2018 thread, inflation was very low in 2017.

dumluk wrote:

Whether it's a pair of Levis, or Merrill tennis shoes, or a bottle of Panamanian rum, or a Chilean wine...... All more expensive, a lot more expensive than Traders Joes in Calif.......

But Im still goin back for another trip very soon........gotta see for myself........And also check out the Peruvian coastline right below the Ecuadorian border. Been hearing good things about that area........My Dutch buddy here in Panama says Mancora is like heaven compared to (Panama)........

Hundreds of thousands of tourists descend on the little Pacific Coast town of Máncura (MAHN-koo-rah), Peru, population about 9,000, not far from the southern Ecuador border, year round.

If you visit Máncura, Peru, bring your surf board and your Visa Card... because the ocean waves are mighty .. and at Ernesto's Dive Shop, they don't take American Express.

cccmedia

Correction:  Correct spelling/pronunciation is Máncora -- MAHN-kaw-rah -- as we discovered later on this thread.

Ok, but why is it spelled Mancora everywhere else including Google?   https://www.google.com/search?source=hp … gHoztjlCs8
Havent had Amer Express for years, but it can be an advantage in some parts of the world......

dumluk wrote:

why is it spelled Mancora everywhere else including Google?

If you google the name, you will see that most of the top sites available spell it correctly as Máncura.

The exception I found is TripAdvisor's site, which leaves off the accent mark.

cccmedia

The only place Ive seen it written as MANCURA IS your post Cc........Heres another one:  https://www.vogue.com/article/mancora-p … estination

I stand corrected.  It's Máncora, Peru -- MAHN-kaw-rah.

I put in a correction above as well .. at the bottom of the first post where I mentioned it.

When you get to Máncora on your upcoming trip, Dumluk, please send us an e-post card about the place on a different thread.

Posters, please note that the topic of this thread on the Ecuador forum is Cost of Living in Ecuador - 2017 .. and somehow we got transported through a twilight zone and derailed into Correct Spelling of Máncora, Peru - 2018.  Note that this forum now has a new thread on Cost of Living in Ecuador - 2018, which appears to be a more timely venue for further discussion of the cost-of-living concept.

Let's now post comments on the appropriate threads so as not to confuse or disrupt the Home Office in the Mascarene Islands, where the annual Typhoon Season is currently underway in the Indian Ocean.

cccmedia