Cuenca, Ecuador vs. U.S.A. - lots of Mexico similarities

Very entertaining blog post...you'll note lots of similarities. Cheaper there than here, but the food situation alone would rule it out for me (guinea pig as the epitome of haut cuisine? no thanks):

http://danoinec.blogspot.mx/2012/09/here-vs-there.html

I read his whole blog yesterday, thanks for putting him up on FB, K. It's a great blog and it was fun reading his attitude changes through the 2 years he's been an expat.

For me. . .it's the food too. Guinea pigs roasting ENTERO (!) on an open fire does not whet my appetite either. Also, it just looks cold there. And grey. So many buildings are colorless compared to Mexico and I much prefer the indigenous and cultures of ancient Mexico to Ecuador. Would love to visit some day tho.

Did you notice the beaches!!! ewwwuu No comparison.

Good blog to read if you want to know about retiring in Ecuador.

Yes, have had friends (you know them - Mark and Nancy - who've spent extended time in Ecuador and looked seriously not just at Cuenca but many other places and they came to much the same conclusion: too cold, dismal food compared to Mexico (but that applies to Costa Rica, Guatemala and pretty much anyplace else in Latin America, though Ecuador is especially dismal). Plus as we age I think many underestimate what it takes to move to a place where you truly have to "go native" linguistically - all the movies, TV, cultural stuff in a place like Cuenca (or anywhere outside of gringo bubbles like Lakeside) is 100% in Spanish and for the locals. Still what an incredibly cool place to visit!

coffeeguy wrote:Yes, have had friends (you know them - Mark and Nancy - who've spent extended time in Ecuador and looked seriously not just at Cuenca but many other places and they came to much the same conclusion: too cold, dismal food compared to Mexico (but that applies to Costa Rica, Guatemala and pretty much anyplace else in Latin America, though Ecuador is especially dismal). Plus as we age I think many underestimate what it takes to move to a place where you truly have to "go native" linguistically - all the movies, TV, cultural stuff in a place like Cuenca (or anywhere outside of gringo bubbles like Lakeside) is 100% in Spanish and for the locals. Still what an incredibly cool place to visit!

Bogata is the place for food in that area. Like Europe very much it is...yum yum yum.

Z

Bogota is in Columbia.

David wrote:Bogota is in Columbia.

Yes thank you for that breakthru information. Go rearead
Coffeeguys post he said the food suck everywhere and
listed other countries where it sucks. I just posted a city
in the area that doesn't suck. The food in Bogata is as
good as the food in Mexico. I said Bogata because I only
know Bogata not the rest of Columbia. They didn't allow
me to leave Bogata as this was back in the dark days but
the food was great. I just couldn't go for a walk without
two guys with big bulges on there chests. Didn't stay long
as they shoved me on another plane to go put another
board in some computer somwhere.

Z

Zed:

Wouldn't it have been easier and shorter to just admit that you made a mistake?

I know a guy who's been doing the perpetual travel thing for most of the past decade, spending extended periods in Mexico, Thailand and Colombia (Bogota mostly). He's got a Colombian girlfriend so he's not exactly an objective observer, but he says the food in Bogota is very good and the women the most beautiful, but still pines for the moles of Oaxaca and Puebla and Mexican street food. I believe Peru is also a culinary hot spot now, with some world class restaurants.

Antigua, Guatemala has an EXCELLENT restaurant scene.

For an overview, go here:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g295366-Antigua_Sacatepequez_Department.html

Of course that's not close to Ecuador either! What's the point? Might as well say there are good restuarants in Tokyo!

We've moved on from Cuenca to culinary hotspots for expats.

Well then add Singapore, Chang Mai, and Phuket.

Not a lot of expats in that part of the world, no??

I have a friend who lived in Ajijic for 17 years and moved to Cuenca Ecuador several years ago and is perfectly happy there. The housing and food is cheaper than Mexuico and the Hospitals just as good too.

I saw a documentary on Cuenca a couple of years ago. It looked nice and loioked like Mexico to me.

A friend who is in Los Cantates was impressed with Quito when they visited there with Cantates.

binky wrote:Not a lot of expats in that part of the world, no??

You're joking, right? Or maybe not.

I do know that Ecuador is way, way more corrupt than any place in Mexico...except maybe the border towns. I am not sure how the immigration process is however...and it might be abit more friendly than what everyone is trying to figure out right now. As for food...nothing like GDL and Chapala...honestly...those little rats roasting are not tasty. Hey..it is really about the people and weather in Lakeside Chapala....nothing else like it anywhere.

plumlake:

Please keep drinking the Kool-Aid and don't even dare to take off those rose colored glasses!

plumlake wrote:I do know that Ecuador is way, way more corrupt than any place in Mexico...except maybe the border towns.

How do you know that, Plumlake?

Zedinmexico wrote:

David wrote:Bogota is in Columbia.

Yes thank you for that breakthru information. Go rearead
Coffeeguys post he said the food suck everywhere and
listed other countries where it sucks. I just posted a city
in the area that doesn't suck. The food in Bogata is as
good as the food in Mexico. I said Bogata because I only
know Bogata not the rest of Columbia. They didn't allow
me to leave Bogata as this was back in the dark days but
the food was great. I just couldn't go for a walk without
two guys with big bulges on there chests. Didn't stay long
as they shoved me on another plane to go put another
board in some computer somwhere.

Z

That would be Bogota, Zed, I have never heard of a food haven called Bogata.

Trailrunner wrote:I read his whole blog yesterday, thanks for putting him up on FB, K. It's a great blog and it was fun reading his attitude changes through the 2 years he's been an expat.

For me. . .it's the food too. Guinea pigs roasting ENTERO (!) on an open fire does not whet my appetite either. Also, it just looks cold there. And grey. So many buildings are colorless compared to Mexico and I much prefer the indigenous and cultures of ancient Mexico to Ecuador. Would love to visit some day tho.

Did you notice the beaches!!! ewwwuu No comparison.

Good blog to read if you want to know about retiring in Ecuador.

Precisely Trailrunner, guinea pigs roasting by the open fire do not ring my bells either.

Cold and gray, not too good.

Visiting, well Montevideo and a cruise around South America for my 20th wedding anniversary cured me of South and Central America for life. Especially the Falklands part. Two and a half weeks on a smallish boat made me claustrophobic as well. Even the massive volcano in Chile was dullish. The glaciers had turned to ice cubes in Southern Argentina.

Our stop off in Buenos Aires at the beginning was less than exciting. It had deteriorated badly since we were first there shortly after their initial financial crisis.

We were similarly unimpressed with both Valparaiso and Santiago, where we elected to finish off in grand style. This did not come to pass, although a few parts were quite nice.

Sooo, unless you are Uber rich and can afford to visit some wealthy family with a massive ranch, and food flown in daily a la Club med, I'd give it a miss. Obviously we did not fall into that category.

binky wrote:Not a lot of expats in that part of the world, no??

Actually I have a friend living in Phuket and he says there is a sizable expat community. Beautiful beaches, tourist destination....

yes Thailand has many expats from many different countries. I have a cousin who lives in Taiwan and goes to Thailand when he misses the French expat community.
My Australian friend tells me they are quite a few Aussie there as well and so on...

I spent several months in Nong Khai, Thailand but found the visa situation to be a bit tedious. I was lucky in that I could cross the Friendship Bridge into Vientiane, Laos for a new Thai visa... a two day trip. However, I eventually moved to Cambodia. You can ask for the Business Visa upon entry ( $25.00 USD ) and then apply for an extension once inside the country. At the time I was there you could buy a three month, six month, or one year visa extension. A one page form, one photo and your passport. Four or five days later you have your new multiple entry visa. Most of the expats I met in Thailand and Cambodia were from Western Europe and Australia. I spent a year and a half there teaching and had a great time.

E-raq wrote:

Zedinmexico wrote:

David wrote:Bogota is in Columbia.

Yes thank you for that breakthru information. Go rearead
Coffeeguys post he said the food suck everywhere and
listed other countries where it sucks. I just posted a city
in the area that doesn't suck. The food in Bogata is as
good as the food in Mexico. I said Bogata because I only
know Bogata not the rest of Columbia. They didn't allow
me to leave Bogata as this was back in the dark days but
the food was great. I just couldn't go for a walk without
two guys with big bulges on there chests. Didn't stay long
as they shoved me on another plane to go put another
board in some computer somwhere.

Z

That would be Bogota, Zed, I have never heard of a food haven called Bogata.

And that would be Colombia, Zed.

Back to Cuenca... my interest was piqued earlier this year so I bought a book about it on Amazon Kindle... yes there are some amazing parallels to Ajijic (eternal spring, mountains, sky) but here are the things the book claimed that made me rule it out 100% for me:

1. You pretty much have to fly to and from the US. No quickie 12-hour car ride back to Texas. The flights are not cheap.
2. You get to bring in only two suitcases and the clothes on your back.
3. If you want to import a car, it has to be brand new, and the duty is 100%.
4. If you want to bring any household goods, they have to come by shipping container which is $5000 (and I think the duty is again 100%).
5. Bureaucracy, crime, poverty, etc. seems about 10x what it is here.
6. Internet, phone, services in Cuenca are good but goes to almost nothing at the city limit.

That's what I can remember off the top of my head. Do your own research and draw your own conclusions.

Merry