INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL ADVANTAGE FOR ECUADORIAN EXPATS

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.