After just returning from my second 3week trip touring Ecuador I’m torn between a costal town or Cuenca. Leaving Canada I don’t want to be cold. Cuenca was lovely the week I was there. Met some expats and locals that were all very friendly and welcoming. I was surprised how clean and modern Cuenca is. It’s definitely all I think about this past week as I’m out shoveling the sidewalks again for the 2nd time today already. I was going to wait to retire in 4 years but I’m thinking I’ll never hold out that long. Now I’m thinking that I’ll pack it in at 60. Two more years!! Ugh! Have a great day you two!
Lol. Yup. Our 5 year plan went to 2. Your difficulty with choice is common. Many expats have started in one and went to the other. Even tho we picked the small town coast it sounds like you should start in Cuenca and visit the coast when you need the heat and beach time. Many people do that and the opposite. We also know people who own homes it both. Lol. Lots of solutions. For me the temp in Cuenca is just a tad to cool. We were there for two weeks. First week sunny and very pleasant. 2nd week more clouds and dampness. I was cold. But great modern city, safe,clean wonderful place.
@@KrisandMike we follow you on RU-vid, love your videos and already love this country. My husband retire in a few months. We think about Ecuador. Hope we will meat there some English speaking people to make friends. Looking forward for the trip!
Lol. Ya we like it too. It funny but both Kris and I gravitate to more original house design with big wow factors which of course makes them more expensive. 😂
Well.... Since I hand mop our floors, Mike's 2nd house, (the gazillion square feet one), is out lol! Great video and I agree that the eco house would be the one :)
Great video! I live in Manta, actually like it, but the heat and humidity is a little excessive for me. But, I haven't been here for a winter yet. I'll be looking in Cuenca and Quito. Love the new high-rises they are building in Quito. So European. Check out the Iqon project or Epiq at La Carolina park. I know it's not the type of lifestyle you like but so cool and such a cool area. I think some of your viewers might appreciate a Quito real estate tour. Curious if your videos have sparked any Canadians to make the move?
Thanks. Yes many great places to live in Ecuador. Most people who watch our channel are considering getting the heck out of Canada or the US for many different reasons. We get a ton of questions and meet people regularly.
Hey there. Great video. One question and one thought. Q: often house prices in Ecuador include furniture. Did these prices include that? And a thought: I know this video was really about the houses themselves, but in reality of course the choice of which house to buy also is hugely influenced by what the surrounding community is like. Would be cool to get a sense of that too. See you in April! - Jay
What a great question. The short answer is no. We touch on it many times. I could write a book on the answer as it's personal and complex. Essentially try and look at the overall picture of any country and look at overall risk, not just crime etc. Secondly look at that risk weighed against all the positives. Without an exploratory trip this is virtually impossible. How you see things will be different from how I see things or what articles and news say. If you are looking for something specific to ask let me know. Thanks.
Exactly and you need to weigh all that against all of the positive things and it's very hard to do that from outside the country. You need to have an exploratory trip to take in exactly the influence of the cartels and crime and all of the positive things. We've talked to numerous people on their exploratory trips who have traveled the country from one end to the other and the vast majority of them find the country very safe and don't even see the influence of the cartels. Having said that, obviously it's a huge problem and I'm not trying to minimize it. It's just something that you need to weigh into the overall picture of going from one country to another. For example, United States and Canada for that matter. Have a huge number of issues right now. Many of them very very serious both financially as well as crime related and drug related. It's a complex issue and it really depends on each individual and how they see and weigh each item. That's why it's important that the more personal experience the person has, the more accurate they will view the issue. Anyway, take care
Can you please give me any information about the EXACT Spanish name of the "property tax" in Ecuador? How do they call it, what is the official name for that? Thank you very much!
@@KrisandMike Are they providing any "service" for this IBI in return, I mean any maintenance, garbage removal, or anything else, or this is the same system as it is in Canada, they just collecting the money from us...