This is 3 good reasons to move to Cuenca Ecuador and the last reason is a good reason to move to Cuenca RIGHT NOW! Watch the video to find out why we say "right now" on number 3. And of course there are many great reasons to move to Cuenca but these are our three for right now. :-)
Welcome to Gringo Good Samaritans, integrated with our 8 years of living in Cuenca Ecuador and traveling the world. We create informative videos and articles helping people come to awareness of what's happening in our world so they can enjoy their retire early lifestyle with their families, healthy, happy and free!
Showing posts with label MOVE TO CUENCA ECUADOR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MOVE TO CUENCA ECUADOR. Show all posts
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Expats in Margarita Island, Venezuela Moving to Cuenca, Ecuador - VLOG
Expats living in Margarita Island, Venezuela, considering moving to Cuenca Ecuador. What do we think?
Hello Friends!
For 6 years now we have posted great information about crucial insights that provide the other side of living abroad. From us, you'll get REALITY. We are now making exclusive videos for those people who want a deeper understanding of life in a developing country; to find out more about visit us on Patreon.
Hello Friends!
For 6 years now we have posted great information about crucial insights that provide the other side of living abroad. From us, you'll get REALITY. We are now making exclusive videos for those people who want a deeper understanding of life in a developing country; to find out more about visit us on Patreon.
Friday, July 7, 2017
7 Things You Can Count On When Visiting or Moving to Cuenca Ecuador
Whether you are vacationing or moving to Cuenca Ecuador permanently, you can always count on certain things to come about during your time here. This is the stuff not usually addressed but things you really would want to know for a safer more comfortable stay.
1. You can count on something in your newfound adventure in Ecuador to not go the way someone said it would.
This will happen again and again. Why? Well it happened to us too like this. Before moving to Cuenca Ecuador we asked a couple of resident expats some questions. The answers we received seemed satisfactory at that time, until we actually moved here and saw with our own understanding that we did not get complete information. It was someone else’s experience.
2. Surprised about how different everything is.
We can read about all of the cultural difference of a country until we’re blue in the face but it does not become a reality for us until we experience it firsthand. Culture shock does not have to be bad thing when we think about why things are done differently.
Example: At first glance when we see the tall walls with spikes or glass shards and electrical wire around the homes, we think there must be “a lot of crime” but in reality that is not the case at all. Without the protection of a tall wall and electric wire, that home would be the one invaded first, while the ones with the protection have virtually no crime. It’s sort of an oxymoron but it is just how it is.
3. Gringo gouging and targeting
No gringo will be singled out from being told a higher price; it’s just part of the game. Newcomers may not even know they’re being asked a higher price and they just pay. This is exactly how a small persentage of a population can raise prices; that small percentage of gringos stand out like a sore thumb.
It’s amusing when a vendor tries to gouge us and we quote a lower price; for example, a vendor isn’t expecting to be haggled with and they shrink back with slight hesitation and then smile and start playing the negotiation game. But inside their head their thinking, “oh someone whose lived here a while and knows the prices”.
It has become increasingly apparent to us that more and more local sellers of goods, services and rentals do not like to negotiate prices with gringos, especially in the touristy areas. This is a phenomenon that happens because only a small portion of gringos are willing to haggle for the REAL price, everyone else pays right up. We walk away until we find one that will work with us.
4. Dashing rather than walking
One of the potentially perilous challenges of foreign living in most places is that pedestrians need to be careful walking across streets. We’ve never read the drivers manual for Ecuador but we’re thinking that it should say that pedestrians have right of way at crosswalks. Not so however, be prepared to dash for the other side and especially if there is a lot of traffic, even at crosswalks. Most drivers do not stop at stop signs either, so before you start walking across that street make sure no car is barreling around the corner first.
5. Altitude breathlessness
For most people breathlessness and maybe a headache can be expected for the short term until you get used to the thinner air. You might initially think you will not feel as thirsty in Cuenca’s mild weather but due to the altitude you will need more water, so drink plenty of water so you don’t dehydrate which can make headaches worse. Longer term effects of living at high altitude can be found in this study.
6. Barking dogs, crowing roosters, mooing cows
Most neighborhoods in Ecuador have dogs that bark throughout the night. This can be a good thing if the dogs are protecting the neighborhood but a bad thing if they’re just stray dogs barking at each other. In Cuenca we had both barking dogs and mooing cows in the morning. The mooing didn’t bother us too much and we eventually got used to the dogs barking. Some expats have reported crowing roosters in the wee hours of the morning. Btw, there is no Cuenca neighborhood that is immune to barking dogs.in most cases.
The real issue on this is that most of Ecuador’s towns are designed as you would see a high density area, with real estate crammed together into small spaces. Some neighborhoods in Cuenca have passed laws that require neighbors to report each other for noise violations. However when it comes to dogs, many people actually need them for security. We did. Therefore, these laws do not appear to be the panacea that they might have originally seemed.
On the contrary, it is turning Cuenca Ecuador into a mini u.s.a. with its myriad of laws and over regulation of people. Not exactly the lazzesfaire paradise you were led to believe.
7. Expectations not materializing
This is a biggy because of our dear Retire Abroad Magazine writers (RAM) that love to raise people’s expectations and a recent phenomena, the pumping bloggers do it too.
The more we expect something to be a certain way, the more we become disappointed when it doesn’t pan out. We believe that this is one of the main reasons, people come here and then leave a year or two later. We could say they never should have bothered coming however, we believe that if they left with good-will then it's good they tested the waters and had the experience and perhaps just because of that it's quite okay they came and lived for awhile in Cuenca Ecuador.
These are just some of the things you can count on when you get here. There’s more but we’re not counting. All we're doing is balancing out all the glowing reports that omit the things that people ought to know before they come here. Like saying Cuenca Ecuador is a "magical" place. Its fine to ‘be positive’ and see the glass ‘half full’ and all that, but there is a point where, well, you’re hyping it.
If you would like to add, use the comment section below.
If you liked this article, we think you will like these too.
Hello Friends!
For 6 years now we have posted great information about crucial insights that provide the other side of living abroad. From us, you'll get REALITY. We are now making exclusive videos for those people who want a deeper understanding of life in a developing country; to find out more about visit us on Patreon.
1. You can count on something in your newfound adventure in Ecuador to not go the way someone said it would.
This will happen again and again. Why? Well it happened to us too like this. Before moving to Cuenca Ecuador we asked a couple of resident expats some questions. The answers we received seemed satisfactory at that time, until we actually moved here and saw with our own understanding that we did not get complete information. It was someone else’s experience.
2. Surprised about how different everything is.
We can read about all of the cultural difference of a country until we’re blue in the face but it does not become a reality for us until we experience it firsthand. Culture shock does not have to be bad thing when we think about why things are done differently.
Example: At first glance when we see the tall walls with spikes or glass shards and electrical wire around the homes, we think there must be “a lot of crime” but in reality that is not the case at all. Without the protection of a tall wall and electric wire, that home would be the one invaded first, while the ones with the protection have virtually no crime. It’s sort of an oxymoron but it is just how it is.
3. Gringo gouging and targeting
No gringo will be singled out from being told a higher price; it’s just part of the game. Newcomers may not even know they’re being asked a higher price and they just pay. This is exactly how a small persentage of a population can raise prices; that small percentage of gringos stand out like a sore thumb.
It’s amusing when a vendor tries to gouge us and we quote a lower price; for example, a vendor isn’t expecting to be haggled with and they shrink back with slight hesitation and then smile and start playing the negotiation game. But inside their head their thinking, “oh someone whose lived here a while and knows the prices”.
It has become increasingly apparent to us that more and more local sellers of goods, services and rentals do not like to negotiate prices with gringos, especially in the touristy areas. This is a phenomenon that happens because only a small portion of gringos are willing to haggle for the REAL price, everyone else pays right up. We walk away until we find one that will work with us.
4. Dashing rather than walking
One of the potentially perilous challenges of foreign living in most places is that pedestrians need to be careful walking across streets. We’ve never read the drivers manual for Ecuador but we’re thinking that it should say that pedestrians have right of way at crosswalks. Not so however, be prepared to dash for the other side and especially if there is a lot of traffic, even at crosswalks. Most drivers do not stop at stop signs either, so before you start walking across that street make sure no car is barreling around the corner first.
5. Altitude breathlessness
For most people breathlessness and maybe a headache can be expected for the short term until you get used to the thinner air. You might initially think you will not feel as thirsty in Cuenca’s mild weather but due to the altitude you will need more water, so drink plenty of water so you don’t dehydrate which can make headaches worse. Longer term effects of living at high altitude can be found in this study.
6. Barking dogs, crowing roosters, mooing cows
Most neighborhoods in Ecuador have dogs that bark throughout the night. This can be a good thing if the dogs are protecting the neighborhood but a bad thing if they’re just stray dogs barking at each other. In Cuenca we had both barking dogs and mooing cows in the morning. The mooing didn’t bother us too much and we eventually got used to the dogs barking. Some expats have reported crowing roosters in the wee hours of the morning. Btw, there is no Cuenca neighborhood that is immune to barking dogs.in most cases.
The real issue on this is that most of Ecuador’s towns are designed as you would see a high density area, with real estate crammed together into small spaces. Some neighborhoods in Cuenca have passed laws that require neighbors to report each other for noise violations. However when it comes to dogs, many people actually need them for security. We did. Therefore, these laws do not appear to be the panacea that they might have originally seemed.
On the contrary, it is turning Cuenca Ecuador into a mini u.s.a. with its myriad of laws and over regulation of people. Not exactly the lazzesfaire paradise you were led to believe.
7. Expectations not materializing
This is a biggy because of our dear Retire Abroad Magazine writers (RAM) that love to raise people’s expectations and a recent phenomena, the pumping bloggers do it too.
The more we expect something to be a certain way, the more we become disappointed when it doesn’t pan out. We believe that this is one of the main reasons, people come here and then leave a year or two later. We could say they never should have bothered coming however, we believe that if they left with good-will then it's good they tested the waters and had the experience and perhaps just because of that it's quite okay they came and lived for awhile in Cuenca Ecuador.
These are just some of the things you can count on when you get here. There’s more but we’re not counting. All we're doing is balancing out all the glowing reports that omit the things that people ought to know before they come here. Like saying Cuenca Ecuador is a "magical" place. Its fine to ‘be positive’ and see the glass ‘half full’ and all that, but there is a point where, well, you’re hyping it.
If you would like to add, use the comment section below.
If you liked this article, we think you will like these too.
Hello Friends!
For 6 years now we have posted great information about crucial insights that provide the other side of living abroad. From us, you'll get REALITY. We are now making exclusive videos for those people who want a deeper understanding of life in a developing country; to find out more about visit us on Patreon.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
2011 Case Study: How Cuencanos Feel about Influx of Foreigners - UPDATED 2016
Update 2016: We first published this post 4.5 years ago. The case study was conducted in December 2011 when the gringo population in Cuenca was reported to be around 500. However, there was also a huge influx of visitors arriving in Cuenca at that time as well; it was right after International Living announced Cuenca as being "best retirement city in the world".
We recommend downloading and reading the full thesis. Once on the website there is a PDF download on the right hand side of the page.
Source: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/29/
University student, Denise M. Bustamante from Scripps College conducted a case study on the retired expatriate community in Cuenca, Ecuador", interviewing nine Cuencanos about how they felt about the migration of gringos into Cuenca Ecuador.
What her data suggests is consistent with what we've been observing and reporting on this Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog. Now you can read it again from a University student who conducted this case study.
...below is a snippet from her thesis.
"In addition to the language barrier, other negative aspects associated with the presence of expatriates in Cuenca include increases in the cost of living and their arrogant attitudes. The presence of an expatriate community in Cuenca contributes to a rise in costs because their incomes are higher than that of the locals and they are willing to pay these high prices. Jennifer, the former real estate agent, mentioned that many landlords prefer renting their property out to foreigners because they pay more money, they are punctual with their payments, and they take better care of property than the locals. Sara, a professor at the University of Azuay, has a friend who is the only Cuencana in her apartment building. Each month, her landlord pressures her to sell her apartment because he is aware that he can make a larger profit by leasing it to a foreigner at a steeper price."
"Data suggest that Cuencanos resent the impenetrable language barrier and their cultural disengagement. The Cuencanos responses also indicate that a deeper understanding of the country and culture is necessary on behalf of the retired expatriates to facilitate their integration into the existing culture rather than trying to create an exclusive subculture within Cuenca".
One expat in her study pointed out, "Many of the retired expats arrive in Cuenca, buy or rent their luxurious skyscraper apartments and stay there. It's as if they are watching life happen on their big screen TV and they do this without even realizing it.
Update 2016 - This of course was said back in 2011 when the expats moving here were afraid to live outside of the gringo high rise buildings, gringoland neighborhood. However, we changed that misconception of being afraid when we moved into an Ecuadorian neighborhood and detached house in June of 2011. By 2012 expats began living all over the city instead of just in the high rise buildings located in Gringoland.
Today most of the gringos still prefer to live near the downtown area (Westside) and walk to a grocery store. Some things are just not going to change.
Update 2016 - On
the one hand, the foreigners have fanned out throughout the city,
however, whether this has resulted in a “blending in” or “living local”
is questionable, since it appears that price increases on everything
have also ‘fanned out’.
Source: Bustamante, Denise M., "Amenities Migration: A Case Study on the Retired Expatriate Community in Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador" (2012). Scripps Senior Theses. Paper 29.
This
is only a small portion of her case study. Miss Bustamante also
interviews twelve expats to Cuenca on how they feel about living in
Cuenca, Ecuador. To read the full thesis, click here.
Update 2016: On the flip side, there were also University students that had to interview expats that had moved to Cuenca. It is our understanding that for their graduation thesis, the students had to choose either interviewing Cuencanos about how they felt about expats or interview expats about how they felt about Cuenca and its people.
Update 2016: Our family was interviewed by three University young ladies one day in Park Calderon. They asked us questions such as "do we work", "are we retired", "How old are you", "Do we speak Spanish?" "Do you like Cuenca?" They asked, “what do we like about Cuenca” and other questions you can find in this video. After the interview they said we saved their life as they had to present the video to their teacher.
Until we write again, here are a couple of articles that back then addressed the issue of living in a house versus high rise condo in the gringoland neighborhood.
We're an expat family of five living in Cuenca Ecuador. We vlog and blog about what its really like to live here and in Latin America. We have numerous experiences to share. We'd love for you to come along and enjoy the adventure with us!
We recommend downloading and reading the full thesis. Once on the website there is a PDF download on the right hand side of the page.
Source: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/29/
University student, Denise M. Bustamante from Scripps College conducted a case study on the retired expatriate community in Cuenca, Ecuador", interviewing nine Cuencanos about how they felt about the migration of gringos into Cuenca Ecuador.
What her data suggests is consistent with what we've been observing and reporting on this Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog. Now you can read it again from a University student who conducted this case study.
...below is a snippet from her thesis.
"In addition to the language barrier, other negative aspects associated with the presence of expatriates in Cuenca include increases in the cost of living and their arrogant attitudes. The presence of an expatriate community in Cuenca contributes to a rise in costs because their incomes are higher than that of the locals and they are willing to pay these high prices. Jennifer, the former real estate agent, mentioned that many landlords prefer renting their property out to foreigners because they pay more money, they are punctual with their payments, and they take better care of property than the locals. Sara, a professor at the University of Azuay, has a friend who is the only Cuencana in her apartment building. Each month, her landlord pressures her to sell her apartment because he is aware that he can make a larger profit by leasing it to a foreigner at a steeper price."
"Data suggest that Cuencanos resent the impenetrable language barrier and their cultural disengagement. The Cuencanos responses also indicate that a deeper understanding of the country and culture is necessary on behalf of the retired expatriates to facilitate their integration into the existing culture rather than trying to create an exclusive subculture within Cuenca".
One expat in her study pointed out, "Many of the retired expats arrive in Cuenca, buy or rent their luxurious skyscraper apartments and stay there. It's as if they are watching life happen on their big screen TV and they do this without even realizing it.
Update 2016 - This of course was said back in 2011 when the expats moving here were afraid to live outside of the gringo high rise buildings, gringoland neighborhood. However, we changed that misconception of being afraid when we moved into an Ecuadorian neighborhood and detached house in June of 2011. By 2012 expats began living all over the city instead of just in the high rise buildings located in Gringoland.
Today most of the gringos still prefer to live near the downtown area (Westside) and walk to a grocery store. Some things are just not going to change.
Update 2016 - On
the one hand, the foreigners have fanned out throughout the city,
however, whether this has resulted in a “blending in” or “living local”
is questionable, since it appears that price increases on everything
have also ‘fanned out’.
Source: Bustamante, Denise M., "Amenities Migration: A Case Study on the Retired Expatriate Community in Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador" (2012). Scripps Senior Theses. Paper 29.
This
is only a small portion of her case study. Miss Bustamante also
interviews twelve expats to Cuenca on how they feel about living in
Cuenca, Ecuador. To read the full thesis, click here.
Update 2016: On the flip side, there were also University students that had to interview expats that had moved to Cuenca. It is our understanding that for their graduation thesis, the students had to choose either interviewing Cuencanos about how they felt about expats or interview expats about how they felt about Cuenca and its people.
Update 2016: Our family was interviewed by three University young ladies one day in Park Calderon. They asked us questions such as "do we work", "are we retired", "How old are you", "Do we speak Spanish?" "Do you like Cuenca?" They asked, “what do we like about Cuenca” and other questions you can find in this video. After the interview they said we saved their life as they had to present the video to their teacher.
Until we write again, here are a couple of articles that back then addressed the issue of living in a house versus high rise condo in the gringoland neighborhood.
We're an expat family of five living in Cuenca Ecuador. We vlog and blog about what its really like to live here and in Latin America. We have numerous experiences to share. We'd love for you to come along and enjoy the adventure with us!
Saturday, May 28, 2016
After Move to High Altitude I Had to Change My Diet to a Fat Soluble High Mineral Diet
Changing environments can cause health setbacks in some people over a long period of time and is why I had to change my diet to a fat soluble high mineral diet and my health improvements have been amazing.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Fellow Blogger Leaving Cuenca Ecuador after 4 Years
This morning one of our sons gasped when he opened up a popular gringo portal and saw all of the ads for furniture and appliances for sale. “Wow, there’s more stuff for sale on here today than I’ve ever seen before!” He remarked to me.
Does it mean there are lots of gringos moving away from Cuenca? It can mean that and it can also mean lots of people happen to be leaving Ecuador’s winter so they will arrive to their spring and summer in the USA. People move around and things happen in trends and cycles.
We’ve also noticed a decline in people coming to Cuenca Ecuador and we figure this is the slow down cycle. There is a slow down cycle that occurs every year around this time. As soon as it appears Cuenca’s influx of foreigners is beginning to slow down, a new pick up cycle begins and more foreigners will be arriving than ever before. We’ve witnessed this phenomenon for years ourselves with book sales and website traffic.
On another note, we just learned of a fellow blogger who moved to Cuenca in 2012 and has lived here for four years and she is moving back to Nevada. Why? She has many reasons, one of which is the altitude being too much on her health as it has spiked her blood pressure which we all know can be dangerous. She has many reasons for leaving, all very sound reasons, especially the one about higher prices here on many things. Read all of her reasons for leaving Ecuador here, which most of them we have already touched down on in different blog posts.
The only real way to be able to know for sure if there is a slow down or pick up of foreigners moving to or leaving Cuenca is to get the latest information from the (Ministerio de Relaciones y Movilidad Humana) Ministry of Relationships and Human Mobility which is an arm of the Ecuador Ministry of Foreign Affairs as they are the ones who process the VISA paperwork and have actual statistics.
My son, still on the popular gringo portal then started reciting off some of the prices for the used appliances. Buyers, be careful with that; some of the stuff on this gringo portal are way overpriced but most of it is spot on for lightly used stuff.
Ah yes, Foreigners move to different areas abroad and enjoy an adventure for a few years and then go…somewhere else.
Until we write again, take a look at some of these articles about foreigners moving to and leaving Ecuador.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
Does it mean there are lots of gringos moving away from Cuenca? It can mean that and it can also mean lots of people happen to be leaving Ecuador’s winter so they will arrive to their spring and summer in the USA. People move around and things happen in trends and cycles.
We’ve also noticed a decline in people coming to Cuenca Ecuador and we figure this is the slow down cycle. There is a slow down cycle that occurs every year around this time. As soon as it appears Cuenca’s influx of foreigners is beginning to slow down, a new pick up cycle begins and more foreigners will be arriving than ever before. We’ve witnessed this phenomenon for years ourselves with book sales and website traffic.
On another note, we just learned of a fellow blogger who moved to Cuenca in 2012 and has lived here for four years and she is moving back to Nevada. Why? She has many reasons, one of which is the altitude being too much on her health as it has spiked her blood pressure which we all know can be dangerous. She has many reasons for leaving, all very sound reasons, especially the one about higher prices here on many things. Read all of her reasons for leaving Ecuador here, which most of them we have already touched down on in different blog posts.
The only real way to be able to know for sure if there is a slow down or pick up of foreigners moving to or leaving Cuenca is to get the latest information from the (Ministerio de Relaciones y Movilidad Humana) Ministry of Relationships and Human Mobility which is an arm of the Ecuador Ministry of Foreign Affairs as they are the ones who process the VISA paperwork and have actual statistics.
My son, still on the popular gringo portal then started reciting off some of the prices for the used appliances. Buyers, be careful with that; some of the stuff on this gringo portal are way overpriced but most of it is spot on for lightly used stuff.
Ah yes, Foreigners move to different areas abroad and enjoy an adventure for a few years and then go…somewhere else.
Until we write again, take a look at some of these articles about foreigners moving to and leaving Ecuador.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
5 Rules for Getting Your Way with Ecuadorians
Behaving ugly will not get you your way in Ecuador. It might in the U.S but here, no. Admittedly, we’re all human and make mistakes from time to time because we're not able to hold our patience at the moment due to other pressures, and some of us might behave kind a ugly, but only for the moment and we realize we are not being nice and we change our stance the next time around.
However, some of us are just ugly all the time. Ugly people end up leaving Ecuador because they brought ugliness with them, are generally already unhappy and stressed and therefore it is mirrored back to them.
First Rule – Don’t Be Ugly
We shouldn’t behave ugly; instead we should behave kindly but assertively. Have you ever heard the saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar”? It’s true. When you are sweet as honey the flies literally come swarming towards you with gusto. What happens when you are ugly like vinegar? People stop listening.
Of course we shouldn’t behave phony either; we must remember to behave with people in the way we would want for them to behave with us.
When we need to talk to Ecuadorians about anything, we first greet them with kindness and then ask about their family. We usually find something endearing and genuinely positive to say about that person or family. Ecuadorians generally are, especially when it comes to family, commendable people. This is not done out of fake flattery or praise so we can get our way, but is the way people are actually supposed to behave towards one another in life…something that too many folks have forgotten this day and age.
Instead of behaving nasty and rude when we don’t get our way, behave like a decent person. Explain your situation and get your point across with assertiveness not aggressiveness; big difference here. We do need to be assertive; otherwise we are more apt to be taken advantage of. Next…
Second Rule – Compromise
I learned this about marriage but it extends to all relationships. If the ‘give and take’ aspect of a marriage is unequally balanced the marriage will fall when storms come. Sure, one spouse can take up the slack for awhile but that gets tiresome after awhile.
Imbalance in a relationship just means someone is going to get the short end of the stick. It may work for a time, but after awhile it will wane. Life is all about give and take and there is no “real” relationship without fair compromise.
This is why gringo gouging does not work with principled people,
no matter how much money they may have. It’s not about the money, it’s about the principle! It works when you are a tourist because it is expected that you will pay more, but a full-time resident should not have to pay more for food, rent and services!
Compromise by buying more or by going to that same seller…explain to them this is what you will be doing if they don’t gouge you on the price. Compromise = Give and Take. Next…
Rule Three – Be Nicely Persistent
Recently we spent hours and days over a period of weeks and months trying to get a letter and some packages that we have not received from the Ecuador postal system. We’ve learned a lot from this. We learned nothing is what it seems. Talk is cheap and that actions speak a whole lot louder than appeasing words ever could. This is not meant to be disparaging but reality of how it really is.
The two girls in the Cuenca post office keep telling us to be patient (6 months later) and that it is Quito’s postal systems fault why we haven’t gotten our letter sized parcel and that it is the customs office fault why we have not received our packages. We have been patient, that’s the whole point. Just because we’re tenacious doesn’t mean we’re not patient.
We are persistent and they need to know that. We’re not going to go away. Perhaps they think that after 6 months we’re going to forget about our important mail. We’re kind, we smile, we even hug them, we never yell and scream; we’re never ugly but we are persistent and we are going to be coming back!
We have learned while living in Ecuador is that ‘hoping for change’ instead of ‘trying to change’ is all we can ask for. I just want my mail. Such a normal sounding request. Well then, what's the problem? Please give me my mail. The mail belongs to the recipient, not the post office.
We stopped buying things we need and we just go without. You can do that when you set your mind to it. Next…
Rule Four – Don’t Act Superior
We all know that no human, no matter how much money, power, or skin color they have is superior to another human being; that’s just downright egotistic thinking. I learned that a long time ago in first grade, when public schools actually taught ethics and values. Am I really that old?
Rule Five – Live and Let Live or Be Unhappy Trying
Until we write again.
You might try these articles too.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
 |
| My way or the highway! |
However, some of us are just ugly all the time. Ugly people end up leaving Ecuador because they brought ugliness with them, are generally already unhappy and stressed and therefore it is mirrored back to them.
First Rule – Don’t Be Ugly
We shouldn’t behave ugly; instead we should behave kindly but assertively. Have you ever heard the saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar”? It’s true. When you are sweet as honey the flies literally come swarming towards you with gusto. What happens when you are ugly like vinegar? People stop listening.
Of course we shouldn’t behave phony either; we must remember to behave with people in the way we would want for them to behave with us.
When we need to talk to Ecuadorians about anything, we first greet them with kindness and then ask about their family. We usually find something endearing and genuinely positive to say about that person or family. Ecuadorians generally are, especially when it comes to family, commendable people. This is not done out of fake flattery or praise so we can get our way, but is the way people are actually supposed to behave towards one another in life…something that too many folks have forgotten this day and age.
Instead of behaving nasty and rude when we don’t get our way, behave like a decent person. Explain your situation and get your point across with assertiveness not aggressiveness; big difference here. We do need to be assertive; otherwise we are more apt to be taken advantage of. Next…
Second Rule – Compromise
 |
| Let's work together and bridge the gap! |
I learned this about marriage but it extends to all relationships. If the ‘give and take’ aspect of a marriage is unequally balanced the marriage will fall when storms come. Sure, one spouse can take up the slack for awhile but that gets tiresome after awhile.
Imbalance in a relationship just means someone is going to get the short end of the stick. It may work for a time, but after awhile it will wane. Life is all about give and take and there is no “real” relationship without fair compromise.
This is why gringo gouging does not work with principled people,
no matter how much money they may have. It’s not about the money, it’s about the principle! It works when you are a tourist because it is expected that you will pay more, but a full-time resident should not have to pay more for food, rent and services!
Compromise by buying more or by going to that same seller…explain to them this is what you will be doing if they don’t gouge you on the price. Compromise = Give and Take. Next…
Rule Three – Be Nicely Persistent
Recently we spent hours and days over a period of weeks and months trying to get a letter and some packages that we have not received from the Ecuador postal system. We’ve learned a lot from this. We learned nothing is what it seems. Talk is cheap and that actions speak a whole lot louder than appeasing words ever could. This is not meant to be disparaging but reality of how it really is.
The two girls in the Cuenca post office keep telling us to be patient (6 months later) and that it is Quito’s postal systems fault why we haven’t gotten our letter sized parcel and that it is the customs office fault why we have not received our packages. We have been patient, that’s the whole point. Just because we’re tenacious doesn’t mean we’re not patient.
We are persistent and they need to know that. We’re not going to go away. Perhaps they think that after 6 months we’re going to forget about our important mail. We’re kind, we smile, we even hug them, we never yell and scream; we’re never ugly but we are persistent and we are going to be coming back!
We have learned while living in Ecuador is that ‘hoping for change’ instead of ‘trying to change’ is all we can ask for. I just want my mail. Such a normal sounding request. Well then, what's the problem? Please give me my mail. The mail belongs to the recipient, not the post office.
We stopped buying things we need and we just go without. You can do that when you set your mind to it. Next…
Rule Four – Don’t Act Superior
We all know that no human, no matter how much money, power, or skin color they have is superior to another human being; that’s just downright egotistic thinking. I learned that a long time ago in first grade, when public schools actually taught ethics and values. Am I really that old?
Rule Five – Live and Let Live or Be Unhappy Trying
- Don’t forget, we can catch more flies with honey than we can with vinegar, so be the honey. Smile a lot, all the while behaving assertively gentle and persistent.
- Expecting things to be different is an unhealthy way to look at undesirable aspects of life abroad, instead, take each day as it comes. The more we expect the more disappointed we will become.
- Never take what someone says written in stone, just see it when you see it and then you’ll know it to be true. Patience is a virtue, even though sometimes you may be waiting for nothing to materialize.
- We realize that a character flaw, such as telling fibs or lies to appease you with words is done out of kindness rather than harm. There is so much of this in Ecuador and South and Central America that we just smile, laugh, have fun, and take it all in, all the while not considering a word of it.
- We’re the foreigner in a land that is foreign to us and many of us are used to doing things a certain way or having things done a certain way. But we’re the new guy in town and if we want to be happy, live and let live then we need to tolerate a different way, not push our way into town. If we can share a better way because it was asked for, that is altogether a different story.
- Following any or all of these rules does not necessarily mean we will get our way, but it does mean we behaved kindly, principled and respectfully, which is really all we're after here.
Until we write again.
You might try these articles too.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
Monday, September 21, 2015
2 Great Rental Deals in Ecuador Today! Cuenca and Salinas - $300 and $250
1. SALINAS. Nice and cozy house, fully furnished in residential area. 1 car parking space. It has an open plan living-dining and kitchen area with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Includes TV and full appliances and in excellent condition. Approximately You can rent this for $300!
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| kitchen dining room |
 | |
| bedroom |
 | |
| living room |
***
2. For only $250 a month you can rent this house in Banos. It has 3 bed with closet, and 3 baths. It has Living room, kitchen, with laundry room. It has a parking space for one car and patio.
 |
| street view |
These
homes are available as of today! We work hard to find you the best value
deals according to size, location and price. If you are interested in a
rental abroad, take
a look at our Assistance Packages and choose the one that fits your
needs; Then tell us what you want and need in a rental, and we'll provide the priceless protection for your smooth
transition abroad from Gringo Good Samaritans.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
The Good, the Great and the Best of Cuenca Ecuador
10 great things we still enjoy about living in Cuenca Ecuador.
1. You can’t escape the beauty of the mountains in Cuenca. They surround the city and provide the city with a beautiful back drop. Waking up in the morning and seeing the Cajas Mountains outside your living room window is a blessing.
2. Inexpensive lunch - Going out to lunch and the tab coming to less than $6 for two people and you get satisfied! Where else can you do that in the world? We know there are a few other cities where it’s possible, but we live in Cuenca Ecuador!
3. Inexpensive dinner – Going out to dinner and the bill coming to less than $12 for two people. Where else can you do that in the world? Ditto again! You gotta love it here!
4. The big time travel magazines have now listed Cuenca for 2015 as number 6-9 on the Best Places to Live Scale, but it’s still our number one paradise!
5. Not owning a car is a wonderful asset because we walk where we need to go and that makes us healthier, freer, and happier. Woo, what a burden off our shoulders.
6. Transportation system capable and inexpensive in Cuenca. On the days we need to go somewhere when our legs don’t feel like taking us, the buses and taxis are both inexpensive and a wonderful option. Who needs a car in Cuenca?
7. Freeing ourselves of everything that was burdening us in the US. The high cost of living, unclean food, car ownership, property taxes, nosy neighbors, government intimidation and intrusion; all things that were a burden to us is not here in this Cuenca paradise!
8. Cleaner, fresher food we can afford! We eat fresh fruits and vegetables to our hearts content and we’re healthier because of it. It is great to have the abundance of fresh produce at reasonable prices! Eating healthy is a number one blessing for us.
9. Natural health foods – In El Centro natural health food shops abound. They might not always have what we need, but they will order almost anything we want, if they can get it shipped here. And in any one of the four Mercados located in Cuenca we can buy fresh herbs.
10. We never get overheated and we never get cold when walking for miles in Cuenca. The weather is perfect for walking and enjoying all that this city has to offer and is another reason why we are still enjoying our life in Cuenca.
If you liked this article we think you will like these ones too!
We're
an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We
live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a
chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five
weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
1. You can’t escape the beauty of the mountains in Cuenca. They surround the city and provide the city with a beautiful back drop. Waking up in the morning and seeing the Cajas Mountains outside your living room window is a blessing.
2. Inexpensive lunch - Going out to lunch and the tab coming to less than $6 for two people and you get satisfied! Where else can you do that in the world? We know there are a few other cities where it’s possible, but we live in Cuenca Ecuador!
 |
| Brown rice Almuerzo - Quinoa Restaurant |
3. Inexpensive dinner – Going out to dinner and the bill coming to less than $12 for two people. Where else can you do that in the world? Ditto again! You gotta love it here!
4. The big time travel magazines have now listed Cuenca for 2015 as number 6-9 on the Best Places to Live Scale, but it’s still our number one paradise!
5. Not owning a car is a wonderful asset because we walk where we need to go and that makes us healthier, freer, and happier. Woo, what a burden off our shoulders.
6. Transportation system capable and inexpensive in Cuenca. On the days we need to go somewhere when our legs don’t feel like taking us, the buses and taxis are both inexpensive and a wonderful option. Who needs a car in Cuenca?
7. Freeing ourselves of everything that was burdening us in the US. The high cost of living, unclean food, car ownership, property taxes, nosy neighbors, government intimidation and intrusion; all things that were a burden to us is not here in this Cuenca paradise!
8. Cleaner, fresher food we can afford! We eat fresh fruits and vegetables to our hearts content and we’re healthier because of it. It is great to have the abundance of fresh produce at reasonable prices! Eating healthy is a number one blessing for us.
 |
| Fruits & Vegetables $20 bucks! |
9. Natural health foods – In El Centro natural health food shops abound. They might not always have what we need, but they will order almost anything we want, if they can get it shipped here. And in any one of the four Mercados located in Cuenca we can buy fresh herbs.
10. We never get overheated and we never get cold when walking for miles in Cuenca. The weather is perfect for walking and enjoying all that this city has to offer and is another reason why we are still enjoying our life in Cuenca.
If you liked this article we think you will like these ones too!
We're
an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We
live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a
chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five
weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Why All the Posts about Panama? That's Not What I Signed Up For
We Are Based in Cuenca Ecuador & We Travel and Blog about It.
A reader asks: Why All the Posts about Panama on Your Discover Cuenca Blog; that’s not what I signed up for?
Why do we post about Panama on our Discover Cuenca Ecuador Blog? Well, because we visited Panama. Our home base is in Cuenca but we do travel occasionally and of course we’re going to write about our adventures on our blog.
We often travel to the Ecuador coast a couple times a year and we write and make videos about the coast also. We travel to Quito every once in a while and we post about Quito. Now, we traveled to Panama and so we thought our readers would like to know about Panama; not only that but in some instances it’s good to make comparisons so our readers can get an idea of some of the fact differences between the two countries.
We also encounter quite a few people that, although they’re traveling to Cuenca Ecuador, have expressed an interest in discovering other areas, and Panama has come up a few times in conversations.
The nifty thing about getting our posts in your email is you can read the title and elect NOT to click on the post if you are not interested. We have written an article or made a video about Cuenca at least every other day for four years, so we have a lot of information and videos about Cuenca on the blog that you probably have not seen.
We also have a MOVING TO CUENCA section and a WHAT'S CUENCA LIKE section on the Discover Blog.
To get the most out of the blog information and if you are looking for something specifically, we suggest doing a quick search using the search bar located on the right hand side of the blog to bring up any information you are looking for about Cuenca.
Here's 194 (Exclusively Cuenca) Ecuador Videos
If you are looking for specific information about Cuenca, the DIY Cuenca Landing Guide covers among many other things, some of the finer point details on saving money when you first arrive in Cuenca, and of course, you can always email us with your questions and we’ll be happy to answer if we can. Until we write again…
If you liked this article, we think you will like this one too.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
A reader asks: Why All the Posts about Panama on Your Discover Cuenca Blog; that’s not what I signed up for?
Why do we post about Panama on our Discover Cuenca Ecuador Blog? Well, because we visited Panama. Our home base is in Cuenca but we do travel occasionally and of course we’re going to write about our adventures on our blog.
We often travel to the Ecuador coast a couple times a year and we write and make videos about the coast also. We travel to Quito every once in a while and we post about Quito. Now, we traveled to Panama and so we thought our readers would like to know about Panama; not only that but in some instances it’s good to make comparisons so our readers can get an idea of some of the fact differences between the two countries.
We also encounter quite a few people that, although they’re traveling to Cuenca Ecuador, have expressed an interest in discovering other areas, and Panama has come up a few times in conversations.
The nifty thing about getting our posts in your email is you can read the title and elect NOT to click on the post if you are not interested. We have written an article or made a video about Cuenca at least every other day for four years, so we have a lot of information and videos about Cuenca on the blog that you probably have not seen.
We also have a MOVING TO CUENCA section and a WHAT'S CUENCA LIKE section on the Discover Blog.
To get the most out of the blog information and if you are looking for something specifically, we suggest doing a quick search using the search bar located on the right hand side of the blog to bring up any information you are looking for about Cuenca.
Here's 194 (Exclusively Cuenca) Ecuador Videos
If you are looking for specific information about Cuenca, the DIY Cuenca Landing Guide covers among many other things, some of the finer point details on saving money when you first arrive in Cuenca, and of course, you can always email us with your questions and we’ll be happy to answer if we can. Until we write again…
If you liked this article, we think you will like this one too.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Are Mainstream Retirees Adopting a Foreign Persona When Moving Abroad?
Some people move to Cuenca Ecuador or any other foreign retirement destination and they become different people; for the first 6-months to a year, they seem to behave in ways that is not normally understood "back home". Behaving “out of one’s normal character” when moving to a foreign land could only mean one thing; they have adopted a "new persona".
Being a "new persona" could be alright when we’re a visitor or guest because everything is wonderful; the people, the food, the culture, the laid-back slowness of everything, even the traffic, noise, or smog seems almost unnoticeable, who cares, right? Everyone becomes enchanted with their new paradise; no one is immune to it.
However, once we are permanently living in a place AS A RESIDENT that means we are no longer a guest or a visitor; it means we are not on vacation anymore; it means we’ll need to interact on a daily basis with the local community and businesses, and go out into the environment to buy groceries, take a taxi, go to the bank, or enjoy a local event, dine out for a meal; you know, the usual mundane parts of life...it is only after around the 6-month mark most people begin to notice the world around them once again and let go of the new persona they adopted when they first got here.
In Cuenca Ecuador we are personal and up close to this; we see how enchanted newcomers can get and some of them have been here longer than one year.
1. Socializing with our Next Door Neighbors - Because we’re new to an area, we think we want to go spend our days socializing with our next door neighbors.
For instance, when we first moved here, our Ecuadorian next door neighbors would often invite us over for events they were hosting; they were very friendly and kind and really curious about us. At the same time we were also curious about the local culture and customs. For the first three months of living here, we got to know them and they got to know us. Early on we realized that these particular Ecuadorian neighbors liked to drink too much and they pushed the drinks, and so we had to stop going there.
We’re still friendly with each other in passing-by but with our different values and lifestyles, we could never be very good friends with them and we certainly would not want to go “plant ourselves on their front porch” as they probably think we’re boring people for not enjoying a drink with them.
If we do not know someone very well we believe, or perhaps we “hope” we can be really good friends, especially when we’re the foreigner in a new city. Newcomers want to feel as if they “belong” to the community. But many times, once we get to know someone on a more personal level we realize that we have absolutely nothing in common. No matter where in the world we choose to live, we still must choose our friends wisely.
As foreigners, our only responsibility to the local population is to be respectful, and not “overly friendly” or “overly anything else”.
2. We Behave TOO Trusting. For some reason our "new persona" tells us that we can trust all the people in the new land we retired in because we're the foreigner. Here’s several ways we might behave too trusting.
A. We allow anyone into our home. Of course we understand things need repaired and Internet installed, however when service techs and repairmen come into your home, it is a good idea to move out of eye view anything of value, if possible. Out of sight out of mind does work; its amazing.
As far as allowing strangers into our home, we have to be discerning. What would you do if you were back home and a stranger rang your doorbell? The rule for us is: if we don’t know you, we aren’t going to let you into our home, or open the gate!
B. We hire anyone off the street, without references or credentials? In N. America this trusting behavior is unheard of. But abroad it happens all the time?
C. We sign contracts and agreements we do not understand and in languages we cannot read. This is a common occurrence in foreign lands.
D. We believe everything we are told. When we first moved here, we believed what many of the people said, only to find out that some of them we’re lying to us! For instance, we believed a real estate agent about a rental house with only a built-in stove top when she said, “Yes the owner will add a built-in oven to the rental home”. We even asked her again to make sure this was going to get done. Well, wouldn’t you know it; the landlord didn’t want to add the oven, so we decided not to take the rental. When we asked for the deposit money back, she wouldn’t give it. We asked her three times for the deposit money, but she would not budge. She is one of the few real estate agents we quit bringing business to because of the unethical practices.
E. We get pick-pocketed - Part of our new persona is the fact that we are not aware of our surroundings like we should be because after all, we're enjoying the beauty of the new place we are in, or we are concentrating on something else that takes our attention from the thieves who are eying us out....and oops, there goes our cell, iphone, purse, etc, you name it.
F. Some of us enter into business relationships without truly knowing the person. Sometimes we can’t always know a person too well before entering into a business agreement, such as signing rental leases; in those cases you absolutely NEED to hire someone you can trust to help you, especially if you do not speak the language well.
These are all aspects of being too trusting and allowing naivety to
control us because we’re outside of our "usual persona".
3. We give overblown praise and flattery. One thing that is readily apparent is how some of us over-flatter or exaggerate our feelings with the locals. It is way over-done. We see a lot of this on public forums, blogs and websites because the poster wants to be noted for being the perfect foreigner to the local population; and that’s fine as long as it is genuine.
I don’t know about you but in the states people do not act like that to anyone, unless of course they want something. So it seems to us, when we see it going on here, it seems a bit contrary, inconsistent and usually way overdone.
All of the above scenarios happen daily in countries where unsuspecting foreigners reside. Truly, most of us wouldn’t act like this if we were still living in N. America but the enchantment that believing we're in the "paradise" of “name your city” makes us behave off our normal guard most of the time.
Back home we’re on guard; we check every single credential and reference before we hire someone or allow them into our home. But here in Cuenca the "paradise enchantment" has overtaken us for about 6-months to a year. Only when the spell wears off do we begin to tell others about some of the negative encounters we have had while living abroad. “Name your country”.
Disclaimer: Most Ecuadorians can be trusted; but it does seem some of the ones that are dishonest, unethical, or not to be trusted are the ones that work with foreigners in some capacity. We’re just saying to take heed and get to know someone well before allowing them into your private life. When you find one you can trust COMPLETELY, treat them well because you have found a gem that is worth keeping.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! We travel the Ecuador coast often and we recently spent five weeks adventuring off the beaten path Panama. Enjoy the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog!
Being a "new persona" could be alright when we’re a visitor or guest because everything is wonderful; the people, the food, the culture, the laid-back slowness of everything, even the traffic, noise, or smog seems almost unnoticeable, who cares, right? Everyone becomes enchanted with their new paradise; no one is immune to it.
However, once we are permanently living in a place AS A RESIDENT that means we are no longer a guest or a visitor; it means we are not on vacation anymore; it means we’ll need to interact on a daily basis with the local community and businesses, and go out into the environment to buy groceries, take a taxi, go to the bank, or enjoy a local event, dine out for a meal; you know, the usual mundane parts of life...it is only after around the 6-month mark most people begin to notice the world around them once again and let go of the new persona they adopted when they first got here.
In Cuenca Ecuador we are personal and up close to this; we see how enchanted newcomers can get and some of them have been here longer than one year.
1. Socializing with our Next Door Neighbors - Because we’re new to an area, we think we want to go spend our days socializing with our next door neighbors.
For instance, when we first moved here, our Ecuadorian next door neighbors would often invite us over for events they were hosting; they were very friendly and kind and really curious about us. At the same time we were also curious about the local culture and customs. For the first three months of living here, we got to know them and they got to know us. Early on we realized that these particular Ecuadorian neighbors liked to drink too much and they pushed the drinks, and so we had to stop going there.
We’re still friendly with each other in passing-by but with our different values and lifestyles, we could never be very good friends with them and we certainly would not want to go “plant ourselves on their front porch” as they probably think we’re boring people for not enjoying a drink with them.
If we do not know someone very well we believe, or perhaps we “hope” we can be really good friends, especially when we’re the foreigner in a new city. Newcomers want to feel as if they “belong” to the community. But many times, once we get to know someone on a more personal level we realize that we have absolutely nothing in common. No matter where in the world we choose to live, we still must choose our friends wisely.
As foreigners, our only responsibility to the local population is to be respectful, and not “overly friendly” or “overly anything else”.
2. We Behave TOO Trusting. For some reason our "new persona" tells us that we can trust all the people in the new land we retired in because we're the foreigner. Here’s several ways we might behave too trusting.
A. We allow anyone into our home. Of course we understand things need repaired and Internet installed, however when service techs and repairmen come into your home, it is a good idea to move out of eye view anything of value, if possible. Out of sight out of mind does work; its amazing.
As far as allowing strangers into our home, we have to be discerning. What would you do if you were back home and a stranger rang your doorbell? The rule for us is: if we don’t know you, we aren’t going to let you into our home, or open the gate!
B. We hire anyone off the street, without references or credentials? In N. America this trusting behavior is unheard of. But abroad it happens all the time?
C. We sign contracts and agreements we do not understand and in languages we cannot read. This is a common occurrence in foreign lands.
D. We believe everything we are told. When we first moved here, we believed what many of the people said, only to find out that some of them we’re lying to us! For instance, we believed a real estate agent about a rental house with only a built-in stove top when she said, “Yes the owner will add a built-in oven to the rental home”. We even asked her again to make sure this was going to get done. Well, wouldn’t you know it; the landlord didn’t want to add the oven, so we decided not to take the rental. When we asked for the deposit money back, she wouldn’t give it. We asked her three times for the deposit money, but she would not budge. She is one of the few real estate agents we quit bringing business to because of the unethical practices.
E. We get pick-pocketed - Part of our new persona is the fact that we are not aware of our surroundings like we should be because after all, we're enjoying the beauty of the new place we are in, or we are concentrating on something else that takes our attention from the thieves who are eying us out....and oops, there goes our cell, iphone, purse, etc, you name it.
F. Some of us enter into business relationships without truly knowing the person. Sometimes we can’t always know a person too well before entering into a business agreement, such as signing rental leases; in those cases you absolutely NEED to hire someone you can trust to help you, especially if you do not speak the language well.
These are all aspects of being too trusting and allowing naivety to
control us because we’re outside of our "usual persona".
3. We give overblown praise and flattery. One thing that is readily apparent is how some of us over-flatter or exaggerate our feelings with the locals. It is way over-done. We see a lot of this on public forums, blogs and websites because the poster wants to be noted for being the perfect foreigner to the local population; and that’s fine as long as it is genuine.
I don’t know about you but in the states people do not act like that to anyone, unless of course they want something. So it seems to us, when we see it going on here, it seems a bit contrary, inconsistent and usually way overdone.
All of the above scenarios happen daily in countries where unsuspecting foreigners reside. Truly, most of us wouldn’t act like this if we were still living in N. America but the enchantment that believing we're in the "paradise" of “name your city” makes us behave off our normal guard most of the time.
Back home we’re on guard; we check every single credential and reference before we hire someone or allow them into our home. But here in Cuenca the "paradise enchantment" has overtaken us for about 6-months to a year. Only when the spell wears off do we begin to tell others about some of the negative encounters we have had while living abroad. “Name your country”.
Disclaimer: Most Ecuadorians can be trusted; but it does seem some of the ones that are dishonest, unethical, or not to be trusted are the ones that work with foreigners in some capacity. We’re just saying to take heed and get to know someone well before allowing them into your private life. When you find one you can trust COMPLETELY, treat them well because you have found a gem that is worth keeping.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! We travel the Ecuador coast often and we recently spent five weeks adventuring off the beaten path Panama. Enjoy the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog!
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Welcome "Happy Expats", Moving from Las Vegas to Cuenca Ecuador!
Today we're talking with a nice expat couple who just moved to Cuenca. They share a little bit about their first month here. These two are a really happy couple. You can sure tell they are really enjoying their new life in Cuenca.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! Enjoy the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog!
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! Enjoy the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Experience 4 Fabulous Years in Ecuador with Frugal Frank and Family
Today's video is comprised of a select few of our videos using snippets of comments about our life in Ecuador, of eating in different restaurants, and of traveling to other parts of Ecuador, and basically just enjoying our frugal, happy, and healthy life in Ecuador in the last 4 years. Enjoy the video.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! Enjoy the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog!
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! Enjoy the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog!
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Cuenca Ecuador in November 2014 - Oh My, Tarantula on My Back Porch!
This is our end of the month hodge-podge of short clips put together for the month of November 2014.
We're an Expat Family of Five Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! Enjoy the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog!
We're an Expat Family of Five Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! Enjoy the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Live Entertainment on the Cuenca City Bus in Ecuador
Here is some more live entertainment on the city bus in Cuenca Ecuador. You never know what type of musical groups you're going to have on the buses. Many of the street entertainers are from Peru, Columbia, and Argentina. Not sure where these guys were from but the music was interesting.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
What is Cuenca Ecuador Like in April 2013
What is Cuenca Ecuador like in April? Well, here is our month of April video captions. It was another great month adventuring around in the city, meeting new expat arrivals, and enjoying the beautiful weather. Last week we experienced five days of clear blue skies; it was amazing! You would of thought we were in an Idaho summer. Well, maybe it wasn't quite that warm in but it sure felt like it. Enjoy Cuenca in April 2013!!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Cuenca Ecuador Renovations:This is the Stairs Leading up to Calle Larga
Cuenca Ecuador is becoming more beautiful by the day. New roads, bridges and parks are being updated and renovated everywhere in the city of Cuenca. One of the three sets of stairs leading up into the city from Doce Abril recently was renovated. Madre Parque was just updated with many new facilities, new underground plumbing has been put in all over in downtown just recently. Cuenca is a work in progress but slowly Cuenca is becoming a more livable and enjoyable city.This video is of the NEW stairs leading up to Calle Larga.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
WEBCAM of Juan Jaramillo Street in Cuenca Ecuador
As we were sitting on the balcony of Govinda's restaurant enjoying lunch we thought we'd just set the camera down and record the happenings on the street. This gives viewers a Birdseye view of what the streets are like during the day in El Centro of Cuenca. Remember when we told you the transportation system was good in Cuenca? Well, now you can see if for yourselves. In this video, in a span of just a few minutes three buses came by and dropped off passengers and picked up passengers. You never have to wait long for a bus and that's good, especially when its raining. To the right of the video is a street vendor selling fruits and veggies.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Parque de la Madre Grand Opening in Cuenca Ecuador
(April 28, 2013)
Cuenca's new Parque de la Madre is an 8 million dollar renovation project located in the downtown area along the river on Avenue 12 of April (Doce de Abril). The downtown area really needed a nice athletic park like this one. It has a running/jogging track, bike lane, basketball court and lots of nice playground equipment for the children. It's a beautiful park. This video is the grand opening of the park where many events are happening over this weekend.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Best Rental Prices in Cuenca Ecuador! $300 Dollar Cuenca Rentals!!
We are pleased to share with our readers the BEST RENTAL PRICES IN TOWN - THIS WEEK ONLY! These are LOCALLY priced rentals so better act fast...they will be gone.
Click here to view photos of these great priced rentals!
BTW, if you would like to be alerted of special rentals like these in the future, please sign up to the $300 Dollar Cuenca Ecuador Rentals for all the updates sent to your inbox as they come in!
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