Posts:
Traffic, like cholesterol, causes blockages and is rarely discussed thoughtfully, being treated instead as a sudden affliction brought on by strangers or too many recent arrivals. We complain about it as if it arrived yesterday, when in fact traffic is a long-term...
Charlie Larga first heard the Beatles properly on a sunny afternoon on a cricket field when he was twelve, with blue skies overhead and the thin white vapour trails of Pan Am jets crossing and recrossing on their northern routes to America, drawing temporary...
By Randall Morrison Regardless of what country you move to, you'll face problems and challenges that expats face the world-over. On the other hand, there are problems that are specific to the country, some of which are deadly serious. Moving abroad is a huge decision,...
Somewhere in Florida, a budget spreadsheet stated that $2.32 a day was enough to feed a grown adult 2,800 calories daily in 2023. Three meals every day for a fixed menu with choices ruled out, and this is not some kind of joke. It is a real number attached to real...
For most newcomers, the first months in Cuenca feel unusually vivid. The historic center looks like a postcard. The churches feel monumental. Every walk around Parque Calderón feels intentional, as if you are participating in something meaningful simply by being...
By Jackson Holtz Mindfulness meditation is a stress-management practice with ancient lineage that cultivates nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, often by directing attention to the physical sensations of breathing. Initially inspired by centuries-old...
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read, disagree, agree, and comment. Charlie Larga and the staff here at Larga Towers appreciate the range of views here, even when they are sharply opposed. One point I would like to clarify is this: for roughly twenty...
There is a profound question that occasionally occurs to me while walking to buy bread, not metaphorical bread or lifestyle bread, but actual warm edible bread within five minutes of the front gates of Larga Towers, bought with small change and carried home in a paper...
Cuenca is one of the few places left where modern life and old life still share the same room without arguing, so you can be sitting in a kitchen with a plastic dish rack, a two-burner stove, and a refrigerator that looks as if it was purchased shortly after the first...
This series was never really about cafes, routines, or where people spend their afternoons. Those were simply the visible signs. What it explored instead was what happens after the early excitement of expat life quietly fades. When Familiarity Replaces Novelty Many...
by Mark A. Mahoney, Ph.D., R.D.N. A past column a couple years ago spoke to the importance of some basic lifestyle suggestions for improving one’s quality of life. As we transition into 2026 it is important to reiterate many of the suggestions from the past which...
By Jolene Wilson-Glah Behind an inconspicuous green door on a quiet street just outside el Centro lies a refuge few people know about — but which saves lives every day. In a city where nine out of ten women experience some form of gender-based violence, whether...
By Sylvan Hardy Over the years, I've heard from dozens of prospective North Americans who tell me about the dream home they hope to find in Ecuador. A man from Georgia asked what he would pay for a house with a detached garage with an apartment above, set in the...
By Steven Rigney I don't have a car in Cuenca. Don't want one. I find that this is a common sentiment among many expats. Undoubtedly, this has a good deal to do with the favorable economics of the public transportation system as well as its efficiency. But it also...
Executive Summary: This column has been released from Larga Towers for readers who are United States citizens. If you are not one, you may stop reading HERE to save your valuable time. For the rest of us, the strange truth is that you may owe no federal income tax at...
By Sylvan Hardy Almost every expat arriving in Ecuador has heard the pitch: You can hire a maid, gardener, or cook in Ecuador for a fraction of what you would pay in North America or Europe. This is true, although the cost has gone up in recent years. What you don’t...
It rarely looks dramatic. There is no farewell message. No public explanation. No final gathering. One day, someone simply stops showing up. They are still in Cuenca. You may see them at the market, on a side street, or passing through a familiar neighborhood. But...
Back in Florida I lived in a small county seat city where my monthly water bill could bring a grown man to the brink of despair. One hundred and fifty dollars for the privilege of washing dishes and clothing, taking a shower, and flushing a toilet. I often wondered if...
I wish that Sherlock Holmes was still alive — not that he ever was — because the fact is often stranger than fiction, and Holmes would surely have been called in to examine the case of the Nobel Necklace. The matter is this: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina...
By Lauren Covino-Smith Before our family relocated to Barcelona to start our expat life, I would listen in awe to my husband share stories of other expat families. At the time, Tony worked in the Global Mobility industry and was responsible for coordinating the...
Week of September 20
Ecuador turns to industrial power cuts to protect Mazar and keep homes from going dark.
Ecuador raises its 2026 growth forecast, but El Niño could spoil the outlook next year.
Cuenca retirees challenge medical and therapy changes at IESS senior center.
