For most expats, who move to
Ecuador; the cost-of-living, a nicer climate, and beautiful and diverse scenery
are many of the pluses that attract folks to make a move to Ecuador, and
particularly to Cuenca. Closely aligned
with the advantage of a lower cost-of-living are the advantages afforded to
expats who enjoy international traveling. Thanks to the money saved by not living in the
states, expats with a comfortable income can afford to do a good deal more international
traveling while living in Ecuador.
I have lived in Cuenca for
over four years now. While Cuenca is my
home, it also serves as a way-station as I travel to other destinations. Along with one or two trips a year to visit
family in the U.S., I also traveled the last two years to other countries
in South America and in Europe.
Last year I enjoyed a long
weekend in Mancura, Peru. I intend to shortly
visit Lima as well, and enjoy some of the gastronomical delights of the city with a reputation for some of the finest
gourmet restaurants in the world. Eventually, I would like to visit Medellin,
Columbia, which has been a favorite tourist destination with many expats who live
in Cuenca.
Last year, I also spent a
total of five weeks in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and
enjoyed both cities immensely. The food in
Brazil is outstandingly good; and from my experience, the Brazilian beef is
superior to that in Argentina. Later in
the year, I rendezvoused with my brother and his wife to enjoy a couple of
weeks in New Orleans, with its Cajun and Creole foods, and its evening’s of
jazz and blues. This year, I recently
returned from a month in Italy; visiting Rome, Florence, the Tuscan
countryside, and Venice. I had
extraordinarily great weather, and only a half-an-hour of rain the entire trip.
For someone like myself who relishes art and architecture, city-planning,
history, and food. What more could I ask from an extraordinary month in Italy?
If I had been living in the
states, the high cost-of-living compared with Ecuador would have prevented me
from doing the amount of traveling I am currently enjoying. This differential
would also hold true even with the elimination of the cost of trips back to the
states to visit family. International
traveling advantages are just another point which some potential expats may
want to consider, if they haven’t already, as among their reasons for a
possible relocation to Ecuador.
