Expat Life

Ecuador taught me about the popularity of the Latin Mass in North America

July 8th, 2015

By Christopher Lux I had never been to a Latin Mass. I had never wanted to go. Though the Latin Mass has been growing in popularity among U.S. and Canadian Catholics, it always puzzled me that anyone would want to go to a Mass they couldn’t understand. That all changed for me in Ecuador. Last...

The choice for expat parents: Online home school vs. bricks and mortar school

July 7th, 2015

By Melina Marks For English-speakers thinking about moving overseas with kids, school is an extremely important factor to consider. If the new destination is a place like England or Ireland, school really shouldn’t be an issue because of language. But what about a place like Ecuador? There is a wide variety of schools here to...

On the Tomebamba riverfront, Mayu mixes casualness, a real bar scene, a youthful format, and craft beer with a touch of New York

July 6th, 2015

By Sylvan Hardy When Paúl Arias moved back to Cuenca at age 15, he couldn’t forget the view of the Manhattan skyline across the bay from Beyonne, New Jersey. “I grew up in Jersey, thinking about New York, and when you do that you think a lot about food,” he says. The New York and...

New CuencaHighLife feature includes listings of Cuenca restaurants and hotels

July 5th, 2015

Have you ever wanted to try something new for dinner but were overwhelmed by all the new dining options? Are you planning your first visit to Cuenca and don’t know where to stay? CuencaHighLife has the answer. Our new full-service directory of Cuenca restaurants and hotels offers expat reviews, location maps as well as valuable...

Is Loja really the next great expat destination? The author of a new Loja blog shares her thoughts and experiences about her city

July 4th, 2015

Editor’s note: Diana Jesuroga started her blog about life in Loja in May and has been busy since then answering questions about her city. One of the reasons for all the questions is the hype Loja has received from such retire-overseas websites as International Living and Live and Invest Overseas suggesting that it will soon...

Canadian researcher says that despite good intentions, Cuenca expats help sustain a racist class system that oppresses poorer Ecuadorians

July 2nd, 2015

By Liam Higgins According to Canadian university professor and writer Matthew Hayes, Cuenca expats are unwittingly promoting a racist caste system established centuries ago in Ecuador by the Spanish. Hayes’ analysis appears in the article, “’It is hard being the different one all the time’: gringos and racialized identity in lifestyle migration to Ecuador,” published...

Faces of Cuenca: Luis Arias, seller of alpaca clothing

June 30th, 2015

Twentyeight-year-old Luis Arias works at the Otavalo market selling homemade alpaca clothing. For 35 years this family has been in this line of business. Luis is married and has one child. Motivaion: “Trabajo por que me gusta lo que hago y como es nuestro artesanias. Elaboramos todo clase de artesania. Trabajo dia a dia para...

Coconut Oil: Does it have magical powers or is it just too good to be true

June 26th, 2015

By Susan Burke March, MS, RDN, LDN, CDE Recent news reports have touted coconut oil as having a bunch of “surprising” health benefits. It seems that some “experts” are claiming that it can boost immunity, influence hormonal health, control blood sugar, help with weight control, slow aging, and reduce your need for antioxidants, and even...

Catcalling in Cuenca: Worse here than in the U.S. but not welcome anywhere

June 24th, 2015

By Melina Marks Catcalling is known by women all over the world, but what is it like here in Cuenca? From my experiences, catcalling here is much more aggressive than in the States. In the States, typical comments simply consist of “hey girl” or just “damn.” When it comes to actions, Cuenca and the States...

CuencaHighLife’s 2015 Cost of Living Survey shows that prices are rising – no surprise there – but it also reveals some new expat trends

June 23rd, 2015

CuencaHighLife’s 2015 Cost of Living survey revealed one strong trend and provided information that seems to contradict the conventional expat wisdom about another trend. We compared results to a similar survey taken two-and-a-half years ago, in January 2013, as well as to a short survey on home ownership in 2009. The survey, taken in early...

Correa made the right decision to withdraw his controversial tax proposals; now at a crossroads, the question is what will he do next?

June 17th, 2015

By Sylvan Hardy Rafael Correa made the right decision Monday night to pull the plug on proposed legislation that would have raised taxes on inheritances and capital gains. He realized he was in danger of losing the battle for the hearts and minds of Ecuadorians. Although he blamed his opponents for twisting the facts about...

Returning to America for our first visit since becoming expats … and thinking about the Ecuadorian who roasted a guinea pig in Prospect Park in Brooklyn

June 15th, 2015

By Christopher Lux On Saturday morning, a concerned resident in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, called 911 to report a man “mistreating a squirrel.” The man, in fact, was merely roasting a Guinea pig. When the police arrived, the Ecuadorian was cooking the animal on a 4-foot wooden skewer over a park barbecue. As...