We’ve arrived in Ecuador and some of my first takeaways are things I expected but were interesting to see and experience first hand.
First, the views while traveling over Andes from Guayaquil were breathtaking. The mountains rise up forever and dart down drastically. Clouds create a mist across the roads in places and my driver had to manually wipe the windshield a few times with a cloth because the windows were open.
Once we arrived in Ecuador we discovered a mercado or market right next to our temporary housing. The mercado has extremely fresh fruits, meats, vegetables, and a dozen or so small restaurant shops with shared seating. We also found a local bakery and most breads are 20 cents each. Our first dinner was three chicken empanadas for three dollars total.
Overall we are surprised by the low prices for most everything. Meals for us usually are no more than $3 each adult. A couple pounds of tomatoes or onions are $1. After a couple days we reworked our budget and believe we will come in come in a couple hundred dollars cheaper a month than we expected to spend. This means our plan has a 100% success rate when we run it through a Monte-Carlo simulator. Some things that are more relatively expensive are paper products like 4 bath tissue rolls being $5 and a roll of paper towels being $2.
Another thing we found was long-term housing. We will be on the fourth floor of an apartment building which means we have an amazing view of the surrounding mountains which is a big luxury. The apartment is a simple 2 bed and 2 bath but is perfectly located in a sector of the city call El Virgil which has daycares, restaurants, cafes, and is a very desirable area especially by expats who want to walk the city. The apartment is $440/month and is furnished. The same apartment in even rural America would be multiples more expensive.
An expected and realized negative of the city is the state of the driving culture. With every driver we have rode won our ride through the Andes at times the driver used and needed to use all the lanes of the road. They float from lane to lane finding the quickest way to get through an area. I’m more of a patient and orderly driver that tries to maximize being predictable and driving safely. It reminds me of Korean driving somewhat and it will be one of the reasons I probably don’t end up buying a car here for some time. Also cars are one of the items that are more expensive here in Ecuador because of the import taxes. In addition, most taxis cost only a couple dollars for a 15 minute ride.
Overall we are ecstatic with our decision to move here. The low cost has to be experienced to really believe it. It opens up some amazing lifestyle decisions that would not be available if we had stayed in the states like private school, gyms, and cheap fresh food.
Millionaire Librarian 