ECUADOR'S *NEXT* EXPAT HOTSPOT! (Loja Ecuador Pros & Cons Video) 

Doing so now!

I love to living in Ecuador that’s my dream.

Do you use a water tester to know for sure the quality of the tap water in Loja?

Thanks for sharing! 😊👍🇪🇨

Que maravilla! The only way I could live in a city again is with so much nature so near. And the music and arts sound like the other part of heaven, thanks, lojano! I wasn't considering EC until now, it's the first perfect mix I've seen, of all the places they've showed us.

Glad you enjoyed it! Loja is super clean!

I agree and compared to any city I've been to, Loja has an amazing amount of civic pride. JP did a great job capturing this.

Great suggestions!

Thanks for the info! We stayed in an old building in El Centro. We didn't feel comfortable drinking the water there, but it's nice to know you can drink it in some of the newer places.

We don't drink the water anywhere in Ecuador

Si es potable el agua pero igual yo hierbo diario 3 lts en Quito por si acaso 🖐️

The issue is that it is not chlorinated when it leaves the treatment plant.

Water is good in Loja ECUADOR and in the mayority of cities, the water is better than the water in USA. IN USA water has 100 chemicals lo be purified and also in USA ALL the water is processed in the same place drinking water and sewage full of poo.. so it has so many chemicals.. people from other countries are the ones who come sick from their own countries.. so you so called tourists should be careful.. and take care of yourselfs when you go to other countries and then blame the country that is hosting you . When I go to USA CANADA. and europe.i don't drink tap water . because I know how it has been processed and it is not good for the body.. that is why so many people have so many more. Than poor countries incurable diseases. When I go to your country I drink bottled water and also I boil tap water .thanks. . not culpen Al agua de ECUADOR . El agua de ECUADOR es mas saludable que el agua de sus paises.USA por EJEMPLO purifica en el mismo lugar el agua para el toilet y el agua para beber .con 100 quimicos lo que Les causa enfermedades incurables LAS eztadisticas EZTAN ahi para que analicen. En ECUADOR el agua es mas pura. Son ustedes turistas que vienen ya enfermos de sus paises. Si van a algun lugar son USTEDES que tienen que adaptarse Al lugar el DICHO dice CUANDO en Roma hacer lo que Los Romanos hacen.. there is a saying. WHEN IN ROME DO WHAT ROMANS DO.. THANKS gracias 😁😁👍

Thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊👍

We were cold all the time too. That is why we moved to Malacatos. And the garbage trucks are actually a different melody.

Loja it’s a big city! Let’s make this straight!

We plan on doing the same thing.

EC is much more affordable than Portugal.

@@AmeliaAndJP Yes, it sure is.

Glad you enjoyed it!

We can record private drivers who won’t take years off your life 😁 liveabroadnow.com/referrals/ecuador-private-driver-referral/

@@AmeliaAndJP Thank you! I will definitely look into a private driver next time I need to travel in Ecuador.

That AirBnB was great and the host was super helpful! Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Dogs are a real problem here. We heard that the mayor some years ago tried to restrict them to some degree but was not successful

I have found in Cuenca, the residents use dogs as a pseudo burglar alarm and it is really maddening at times. I had to move from a beautiful apartment because of the neighborhood dogs barking constantly.

@@patnewman1 The best investment I made to ensure a contented retirement here was bringing Bose noise-cancelling over-the-ear headphones. 😀 Worth every penny when EC noise level is at an 11!

Glad to help! The landslides are usually cleared quickly, unless they're really bad. Then they can take weeks or months. The road between Vilca and Cuenca was closed for several weeks earlier this year. Buses and taxis took people to the landslide, then they had to walk with their luggage to the other side where other buses and taxis were waiting. Not ideal.

The info suggesting the tap water isn’t drinkable is false. Loja has very good water. Yes, we drink it.

I recommend you look at Santa Elena and the valleys of Sangolqui or Quito, they are at a not so high altitude, at 2350, although loja is at 2100 and malacatos and vilcaba 1400.. The city of Ibarra at 2000 meters with a bine health system and many long-lived people.

We are thankful to be elsewhere 👍

Glad it was helpful!

If you are young, blanket is ideal, lots of beach experience and sun

We hate plastic bottles! It’s hard to believe they’re still allowed!

Gracias 😊

Glad you liked it!

Great! We really liked it!

El agua de grifo es de buena calidad

We’re mainly referring to expat oriented events, activities and restaurants run by English speakers. Cuenca is like a cruise ship with tons of things to do and a large variety of great food. Loja is more utilitarian.

There were more vegetarian options than vegan, but still limited compared to Cuenca.

Great suggestion!

You can drink the water. Loja has great water.

You and Amelia are living the life I wanted. Many thanks for showing us colorful and modern LOJA. Is footwear there reasonable in price or similar to the US?

Glad it was helpful!

We think that’s a great advantage! It’s too easy to speak English in Cuenca.

Be advised that Lojanos love spanish diminutive suffixes…such as aguaita for agua, cuentita for cuenta, lechita for leche, amorsoski …and on and on for a lot of nouns. You will even hear some English words used in this way such as babycita, punkincita and whiskoski. You also hear the word ‘buenaso’ here almost exclusively and nowhere else in Ecuador, denoting the friendly final, satisfactory end to almost any conversation or transaction.

@@briscoedarling3237 sí, lo sé, yo soy ecuatoriano y también hablo en diminutivo a veces jaja ... A veces también se omite la última vocal como "tomates" por "tomats"

I’ve heard Loja is considered to have the most correct Spanish spoken in Ecuador. Not too sing songy like Cuenca, not too much dragging or the Rs like Quito and other Sierra regions and no aspiration of the S like Guayaquil and the rest of Coastal Ecuador.

We shared a first look video about Loja 2 weeks ago. This is a pros & cons video.

@@AmeliaAndJP Yes, I’m sorry. I went and looked at your library and found the other one from two weeks ago. I should have done that first, I suppose.

It’s a 4 hour drive in a car. There are lots of buses, but they take longer.

Holly, I see that JP hasn’t responded to you yet so I’ll give you an answer based on when I used to live in Loja from 1973 until 1977, there was a bus service every day from Loja to Cuenca and vise a versa, as to the name of the service I can’t recall.

@@thomashowison8598 Thanks Thomas, I appreciate your help.

Most produce is not organic because they use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. However, there are a lot of organic options and it’s growing in popularity 👍

Haha! 😂

There are retirement homes, but most expats prefer to hire in-home care. You can hire a full time nurse for around $500/month and 24/7 care for around $1500/month. They will also do shopping, cooking and cleaning. We interviewed a company that provides these services. They’re a bit more expensive than hiring individuals, but they provide a turnkey solution and manage everything. VIP Home Healthcare of Cuenca Ecuador ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-r1LpQeJWo_U.html

I can’t eat gluten in the US, but never have a problem w it in Europe or S America. Maybe it’s psychosomatic. Maybe it’s bc we have exploded the gluten content of our wheat.

​@@DurangoC probably the glycosphate pesticide on American wheat which is banned everywhere else. USA food supply is basically poisoned

It seemed very safe to us. Lots of kids playing and walking by themselves. Loja rarely makes the news for crime.

I walked in many of the parks with a large telephoto lense without any problems, though no city is completely safe

The coastal accent almost counts as a different dialect. It is very hard to understand. The sierra is very similar in the different areas, but Cuenca has a more singsong accent. We think it’s very pretty, but other Ecuadorians make fun of them for it. There are a lot of Venezuelans in EC who speak machine gun Spanish so they may be mistaken for Ecuadorian. In general, Ecuadorians speak more slowly than any other Spanish accent we’ve heard, which makes it a great place to learn the language.

@@AmeliaAndJP I love the sounds of Spanish and yes it is more singsong. The English spoken language, at least by North Americans is hard sounding and at times grating. It is frustrating trying to speak Spanish and sounding very English. Working on rolling those r's. LOL On the other hand, I'll take American music any day over Spanish songs.

Loja is reported to speak the closest to Castilian of all of Ecuador and the Lojanos are very proud of this distinction.

@@dianamayfield5615 Exactly. I just made a comment about this somewhere else in this video. I will repost it here. I’ve heard Loja is considered to have the most correct Spanish spoken in Ecuador. Not too sing songy like Cuenca, not too much dragging or the Rs like Quito and other Sierra regions and no aspiration of the S like Guayaquil and the rest of Coastal Ecuador.

@@AmeliaAndJP ​ It’s true. Venezuelans for the most part sound more similar to costeños than everyone else in Ecuador but their accent is still noticeably different which instantly give them away as Venezuelan to most Ecuadorians. They have a strong Caribbean influence in their speech and mannerisms, which stand out to the average Ecuadorian.