Expat Life

By Sylvan Hardy It is a welcomed but often overlooked phenomenon on the Cuenca restaurant scene, and one that has transformed the experience of eating out over the past five […]

By Viktoria Vidali Much has been written about the “expat experience,” often in bulleted or numbered prescriptions, but we humans are not programmable like computers,and even when following good and well-meaning […]

By Wendy Jane Carrel Cuenca, aside from being a UNESCO Heritage Site with beautiful colonial buildings and a unique history, offers unexpected and pleasant surprises if you’ve lived here a […]

By Sylvan Hardy If the Shamuí restaurant, or Shamuico Espai Gastronomica as it is formally known, seems misplaced, you can blame it on a family migration to Spain two decades […]

By Wendy Jane Carrel Moving to Ecuador? Already here and planning another move? Below are 12 housing recommendations with an eye to long-term health and safety no matter your age. […]

By Viktoria Vidali High-school and family reunions, alumni gatherings, birthdays, anniversaries, cultural holidays, or the chance meeting with an old friend—such are life events in which we retell stories and […]

By Susan Schenck Most people are aware that they need to cut back on sugar, or at least choose their poison carefully. Sugar is so bad for the health of […]

British citizen James Jackson, 71, does not have the right to vote in his home country, a victim of a law preventing Britons from voting at home once they’ve lived […]

By Karla Freeman Now that you’re an expat, how do you plan a life in Cuenca? Do you try to do the same things you did in your home country? […]

By Wendy Jane Carrel From Paris to Muscat, and Guadalajara to Zanzibar, I’ve enjoyed finding my first meal of the day. When I visited Cuenca 20 years ago, and then […]

By Viktoria Vidali Editor’s note: Viktoria Vidali has been a piano teacher, publisher, TV and documentary producer, photographer, and executive director of an environmental and educational nonprofit organization. Her first […]

By Julie Freeman I had never heard of the term “part-time expat” until recently. In my mind, one would be either permanent expatriate … or not.  But it seems the […]

By Karla Freeman When I arrived in Cuenca and began scouting grocery stores, I walked around wondering, “Where is my Trader Joe’s? I miss getting everything I need in one […]

by Larry Schunk This is a hidden gem that serves a terrific lunch buffet for just $3.75. Alma Bendita means Blessed Soul and I find this place a blessing indeed! […]

Editor’s note: Karla Freeman, expat, traveler, tango dancer, writer, currently lives in Cuenca and is the author of Creating Magic in Midlife: 101 Questions and Answers to Reinvent Your Work, […]

Editor’s note: Viktoria Vidali has been a piano teacher, publisher, TV and documentary producer, photographer, and executive director of an environmental and educational nonprofit organization. Her first children’s book, Francisco […]

By David Morrill When I got my new U.S. passport in December, it also meant I needed a new Ecuadorian residency passport visa stamp. How hard can this be, I […]

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 […]

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 […]

[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 […]