Some Types of Gringos Learn They Must Leave Ecuador

1. Handicapped people: Totally agree. Walking here is hard even for non-handicapped people. Sidewalks are really irregular. But then again, in Dallas there are no sidewalks at all in some parts.

2. Funny enough, even luxury hotels in the US can be dirty. Search "Inside edition hotel" on YouTube.

3. I'm an angry punctual Ecuadorian. My way of dealing with people is always asking "¿Exactamente a qué hora? Dime una hora exacta y yo estaré ahí (o te espero) exactamente a esa hora. No me des una aproximación. Dame una hora exacta, para ponerlo en mi agenda. Tengo otras cosas que hacer antes y después. Si no llegas hasta las XX:XX, puedes venir entre las YY:YY y las ZZ:ZZ, o al día siguiente." I always give people precise "time windows" and very clearly tell them that I'm not available outside those windows.

4. I hate irresponsible dog owners, but it's getting a lot better in Guayaquil. Nowadays you don't see street dogs in my neighborhood. Only cats. I believe dogs are still a problem in Quito. BTW, Chileans often boast about their country being the best in the region, but the problem with street dogs in Chile is at least 10 times worse than in Ecuador. They're everywhere, even in the steps that lead to public buildings.

5. A lot of Spanish words are so similar to their English counterparts that I sometimes find it difficult to believe people can't guess them. Of course, reading Borges might take all your life, but getting to a conversational level is no problem.

6. Seems pretty obvious to me in any place.

7. I'm a picky eater and part-time vegetarian. But I've learned to find something to eat everywhere.

8. Tours can be fun... With other local people. 

9. Again, seems pretty obvious to me. Moving is one of the top most stressing things for a person.

I'd add: Ecuador is not for you if you expect anything to be the same as in the US. You should not only accept things will be different, you should look forward for things to be completely different.

gantorig wrote:

Ecuador is not for you if you expect anything to be the same as in the US. You should not only accept things will be different, you should look forward for things to be completely different.

10.  Ecuador is probably not for you if you like and expect to receive mail.

I haven't received anything via Correos del Ecuador since 2019 .. and the 'vigilante' at the front entrance of our condo complex says nobody is receiving any mail via the Ecuadorian postal agency.

cccmedia in Quito

Pretty much the only postal service we trust is Servientrega, but I've mostly used it to send/receive MercadoLibre purchases.

Correos used to be a nice way to bring small things from the US through the 4x4 small package system. But president Correa put a $42 tax on those small packages, and I believe this killed Correos. Funny enough, he put that $42 tax saying only "pelucones" purchased things online, but the truth is that we actually do that to save money. The real pelucones either pony up local prices or travel to the US or Belgium and do the shopping in person.

My husband is glad that there is no postal service in Ecuador. He is retiring from USPS in June. He's told everyone at his branch that we are moving somewhere with no mail.

Actually I think he wants to move to Ecuador so that I will quit ordering from Amazon. ☺️

Seriously after traveling around Ecuador the last couple of weeks during an exploratory trip, I understand why mail delivery would be a money losing proposition. Homes located where there are no roads, or washed out roads, etc.

nancyjo95 wrote:

I understand why mail delivery would be a money losing proposition.

Wait until you try to find addresses in cities. Here in the north of GYE most people just send their location via WhatsApp to help you find their addresses. Either that, or they give you a confusing series of instructions that only make sense for them.

Nowadays the only pieces of paper left in my mailbox are electrical and water bills, once a month. The bank stopped sending physical statements years ago.

pelucón, pelucona    (slang)              big shot, big wig
nm    ..      nf

male plural...   pelucones


Source... wordreference.com

11.  Ecuador may not be right for U.S. Expats who are tearing their hair out over banking requirements.

Under the IRS's FATCA requirements, Expat overseas bank accounts that at any moment contained more than $10,000 US have had to be reported to the U.S. taxing authority.

More and more USA banks have forced Expats whose sole personal address is overseas either to establish a U.S. address (P.O. Box not allowed) or else close their bank accounts. 

The banks would rather lose Expats' business than comply with FATCA compliance  burdens*.

Just today I received an email from Wells Fargo Bank.  If I do not establish a U.S. address in addition to my sole address in Ecuador, the bank will take steps to close the account after 60 days.

Many other U.S. banks had already closed or threatened to close Expat bank accounts.  Their names are easily Googled.

cccmedia in Quito


*FATCA stands for Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act, which was passed and signed into law in 2010.  Aspects and implications of FATCA are too complex to be explained in this post .. and may be Googled at fatca wikipedia or just fatca.

What? That's crazy. I don't fully understand the banking needs of American expats in Ecuador, but, if it is of any help, you can also get a Wise account with US bank details. It's even better if you use an European address when creating your account, because Wise accounts created with US address have more restrictions, including the inability to use your card in Bolivia.

A major annoyance in losing my Wells Fargo account will be the loss of my Wells debit card.  Due to delays in receiving my replacement debit card from my other USA bank, which card expired this month, I need to find a replacement for the Wells card.  I have just messaged my international equities brokerage to see if they can issue a debit or credit card.

cccmedia

gantorig wrote:

What? That's crazy... [You can] get a Wise account with US bank details....

Gantorig's suggestion seemed to be a promising one.

However, according to wise.com, the only country on my continent where I can be a resident, open a Wise account and get the card is Brazil.

--

My U.K.-based brokerage messaged me back saying there is a requirement for U.S. citizens to have a U.S. residential home-address in order to get the brokerage card, so that option is also kaput.

--

My simplest option may be to use my Banco Guayaquil (Ecuador) card.  I don't like using the card when I am traveling outside Ecuador (which has been often) because the Banco website is user-unfriendly.  However, I can see that using the Banco card as a backup may be the best option under the circumstances. 

cccmedia in Quito

Yeah, I have no idea why Wise is so restrictive with people from the U.S. BTW, I'm blessed with having a BofA bank account that I opened as a tourist years ago. I just told them (the bank employee) point blank that I was just passing by but wanted the account in order to withdraw my PayPal earnings. They made me fill some papers, provide a local address and phone number (my aunt was with me and they were ok with me giving her info), and to this day this bank has me registered as a non-resident who lives outside the US. Zero problems. But then again, I don't keep a lot of money in it. Never more than a few hundred. Whenever I need a code to access my account I just choose the "code via email" option so I don't need to bother my aunt.

Even Ecuadorians and Mexicans can get a Wise card with a little bit of ingenuity. They just switch the address to one in either Spain or Portugal (Wise won't verify residency in those countries), have a friend receive and activate the card in the country of your fictitious residency, and then there are two options: Either have that friend come to Ecuador with your card (first video), or just order a "replacement" card, which should come to any country you're in (second video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ2G09Ho7zMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIGminC2E4w

Some videos have shown it's possible to link your PayPal account to your Wise US bank details so you can withdraw to Wise, but you need to talk to PayPal support and they might be unwilling to do so. You might need to be persistent and get them on the phone instead of a chat. I had to be persistent when I asked them to link my PP account to my BofA account. They didn't want to do it.

BTW, Banco Guayaquil has a huge security/usability hole: It relies on SMS verification. This is dangerous because anyone can clone your SIM card and literally walk into a bank and walk out with a replacement debit card linked to your account without talking to anyone (It's all done with a self-service machine that only asks for a code sent via SMS  ). It's also a usability problem because you can't get verification codes while traveling. I believe you can tell the bank you'll be traveling and then they might send you the codes via email.

Banco Bolivariano, on the other hand, does not rely on SMS, but instead uses OTPs generated in the mobile app, and which can only be accessed by typing a PIN first.

I haven't yet done this,  but banking issues for expats might be a good reason to buy some cheap desert land in the US.

In some states, it might be sufficient to establish a domicile. Many of those desert states have no income tax.

Perhaps combined with an LLC and/or trust.

Gantorig wrote...

Banco Guayaquil has a huge security/usability hole: It relies on SMS verification. This is dangerous because anyone can clone your SIM card and literally walk into a bank and walk out with a replacement debit card linked to your account without talking to anyone (It's all done with a self-service machine that only asks for a code sent via SMS  ).

---

Banco Guayaquil had a self-service ATM inside their Garcia Moreno branch (my 'sucursal') for many years.  Several weeks ago, they removed this indoor ATM without explanation.  Whether this machine used to dispense debit cards based on cloned SIMs or link a debit card to a savings account I do not know.

cccmedia in Centro Histórico, Quito