Expat Life
By Sylvan Hardy Uruguay has become the only country in the world with legal, regulated, recreational-marijuana sales, the world’s first and only state-run marijuana marketplace. An omnibus marijuana law was passed in 2013, of which two major elements have gone into effect. First, individuals are now allowed to grow up to six plants (17 ounces)...
By Dr. Lee Dubs You can find a lot of articles that tell you that Ecuador is the perfect place to retire. Plenty of writers encourage you to move to Ecuador, and many want you to make that move for reasons of their own. Some even use words like “thousands” when wanting you to believe...
[Editor’s Note: Pets are important to many expats. The following article is an excerpt from Expats in Ecuador: Life in Cuenca Second Edition by David Morrill and Deke Castleman. It mainly deals with bringing pets with you to Ecuador and was written about a year ago, so some of the facts might’ve changed. We’d appreciate hearing from anyone...
By Deke Castleman and David Morrill Although most expats get by without a car in Cuenca, many own one. You’ll find prices for new cars to be about 20%-30% higher than in the U.S. For used cars, the markup is can be even higher, since most Ecuadorians can’t afford new cars. Also, we’ve observed that Ecuadorians...
Ecuador finds itself in a familiar position in International Living’s 2015 Global Retirement Index, released on Friday. The index rates it the world’s number one retirement country for the fourth time in seven years. International Living’s index rates countries based on eight categories including cost of living, real estate and rental prices, climate, infrastructure, health...
By David Morrill Angel Salvador Ortega stowed away on a banana boat out of Puerto Bolivar in 1994 and was on his way, he hoped, to being an illegal alien in the U.S. when his fortunes took a dramatic turn. Life was hard in his native Oña, a town of 3,000, set in a dry...
By Mark Johnson I’ve met quite a few single expat men and women who have packed up life in the UK and headed overseas to search of a new life and who are desperately seeking new love. In many cases there’s a happy ending. A man or woman, perhaps jaded by the career ladder, or...
Saying that the system that provides tax refunds to residents over the age of 65 has been abused, the government said Wednesday it plans to reduce the number of deductible items. The new rules will only affect value added tax (VAT) refunds, not those for real estate, utilities and transportation. Ximena Amoroso, director of Ecuador’s...
National Assemblyman Gabriel Rivera has introduced legislation that would streamline the process for obtaining an Ecuadorian driver’s license, a move that could save expats time and money. Current rules require all applicants applying for a license to take 33 hours of driving lessons. The lessons are administered by private companies that provide the cars. Rivera’s...
The Special Foods of Cuenca 10 Alfajores 11 Aguardiente 11 Ají 12 Almuerzo 12 Babaco 14 Café 14 Canelazo 15 Ceviche 15 Chaulafán 16 Chicha 16 Chifles 17 Chirimoya 17 Choclo 18 Churrasco 18 Cuy 19 Encebollado 20 Empanada 21 Espumilla 21 Fanesca 22 Granadilla 22 Granizado 23 Guanábana 23...
Introduction 1 Who Are We to Write This Book? 3 PART ONE: ATTRACTIONS AND DOWNSIDES CHAPTER ONE: Why Expatriate To Cuenca? Why Expatriate? 6 Why Cuenca? 6 The Rush to Cuenca 8 The Nature of Duality 11 CHAPTER TWO: Climate Why Can’t I Get a Reliable Weather Forecast? 14 Here Comes the Sun? ...
Introduction 1 A Note About Cuenca 2 How This Book Is Organized 3 Why We Wrote This Book 4 Similarities and Differences with English 8 Part One: Learning at Home Chapter One: What To Expect from the Spanish Adventure Acquiring a First Language: How We Learn 10 Learning a Second Language at an Older Age...