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Residency and Living CostsThis forum post has messages dated from 08/17/10 through 04/21/11, please be sure to read all the messages. If you feel it is old or outdated, please follow up with a question or comment and someone may be able to update it, or reply with newer information if you have it.
| Residency and Living Costs We lived in Ecuador for 20 Months before returning here for family reasons. Do not believe that it is as cheap as people indicate. The recent article about Cost of Living in Ecuador glosses over many essentials. Food is not all that cheap unless eating solely "local" type dishes. Rent is reasonable, but good meat is hard to get and expensive. Beer and Coke is cheap. Lawyers are outrageous. We still have two blocks of land in Mindo and two Villas to sell in Salinas, where for example it cost over US$700 just to have electricity connected and a year later we were still on temporary wiring only. Don't forget you will need to lower your living standards as well, medicine is expensive, medical doctors somewhat erratic and roads etc not usually very good. A lunch at Fridays will easily set you back US$40 without trying. The two villas have been advertised for sale on this site AND are officially valued at more than is required for you to get permanent residency. Again, there are lots of "helpers" around the place who will help you through the residency procedure AND charge you the earth for doing something you can easily do yourself with a little free advice. Beware of everyone, especially those who call you "friend" as that means they want money for helping you.Generally it is a good and quiet place to live and if we had our way, we would still be there now. BK |
| "'Fridays'?"
Who on earth would go to Ecuador to eat at Fridays?I think rather than suggesting one LOWER their STANDARDS, they need to change their culture. Eating locally grown, harvested, and cooked food will not only help your budget, but your health and the local economy too. The last place I want to hang out in a foreign country is at some place owned by a monolithic American corporation! I would tend to agree though that many seem to underestimate the costs of living in various places. |
| "Residency from investment, who knows the current rules?"
OK, I have read that you can get residency in Ecuador by investing 25K dollars (or is it actually 30K or more?) in housing and also other types of investments. Does anyone know the limitations of this option?For example, can the real estate qualifying investment be undeveloped land? if you buy a condo, do you have to live in it as your residence, or can you rent it out or let it sit, while living somewhere else in Ecuador? I don't think you can buy anything most people would like to live in in Cuenca for example for 25K these days. can you just deposit the qualifying money in some kind of fixed CD instrument in an Ecuadorian bank account? If so, what interest can be expected? can you simply purchase the required qualifying amount in equity shares in an Ecuador corporation? Or perhaps local utility bonds, etc. If so, how would one find good research information on the best investment outlets for that? The stock purchase idea sounds rather bad as what happens if the stocks plummet, then you don't have your required qualifying assets anymore. Thanks for any information on these or related topics. |
| "Residency, Costs, General Comments"
$25, 000 in land. You don't have to live on it, but you have to take possession by visiting it at least once. Have witnesses or give power-of-attorney to someone you trust. You have to stay in Ecuador for 18 months in the first two years.$30, 000 for a company you set up. $25, 000 in a CD that pays, right now, about 6%. These are the ways attorneys and realtors want you to know about. There are many others. 'Free' advice is worth what you pay for it. I see alot of people who come to Ecuador who listen to drunks in bars, or listen to free advice on the internet that is just plain wrong, or applicable to different situations at other times, or different provinces. Is this how you'd get legal advice in your home country? Many times realty companies and/or attorneys pay people a finders fee to find them new gringo clients; to be your friend, or comment favourably on blogs about them. Proceed with caution. Some of the things I've seen are beyond unbelievable in preying on the naive. Stay here 6 months before buying anything so you can find something appropriate for yourself and find someone you can trust. They're here. The people of Ecuador are wonderful, but the culture is different and there's alot of misperceptions about gringos. Don't make yourself an easy 'mark' for the unscrupulous. They're few and far between, but YOU as a gringo have a giant target painted on your forehead. Ecuador is MUCH cheaper than you are used to for almost everything. I have no idea where the assertion that medicine is expensive came from. I have a medication I take that's $45 in Canada ($80 in the US). Here, $2.65. From what others have told me, that's a typical example. There are 4 tiers of medical care. The bottom tier is free. The top is cash payments, or $110/month. Govern your expectations accordingly. If you pay the $110/month, the care is top notch. What's 1, 000's of dollars in the US, is dozens, or at most, hundreds of dollars here. I can't imagine paying $40 for a meal. In Vilcabamba, the most expensive meal I can imagine is $20 if you're an extreme alcoholic glutton. But then, Vilcabamba is a rural area, but it's a tourist town so there's lots of great restaurants. If a piece of land does not have electricity, it takes 5 minutes to call the electrical company. They will give you a quote for installation. Electricity is a basic right in Ecuador. The first 200 meters of installation are free. That's how it works in the province of Loja anyway. Take care of this as part of your due diligence before you hand over your money. Your attorney or realtor should have taken care of this issue for you. There are a number of other checks that should be made. Using a 'friend' or buying directly from an owner without a professional, with a reputation to protect, can be fraught with potential problems. Same in your home country. I think I addressed the most outrageous comments in this thread... I'll be notified of any further comments on this page by email and respond when I see them. Ecuador is a free country. But the price of this freedom is personal responsibility. Disclosure: I manage a realty company in Vilcabamba. We have an on staff attorney who takes care of residency matters in addition to realty matters. |
| "Thanks Glenn For the info"
I'm planning on retiring in Ecuador in about two years..... I will be 61 at the time, so I'll be a year away from collecting SS..... I was wondering if I could use my pension as a dedicated source of income to fulfill $900 monthly residency requirement..... My intention is to purchase property soon after I move there but don't want to feel rushed..... Thanks, Pete |
| "Pension as Income"
Yes. Government cheques are the best way to prove income. |
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