For five years running (2009 - 2013) Cuenca Ecuador had been named the best city to retire in the world! Is the travel press magazines tired of pumping Cuenca Ecuador? It sure does look that way. Bogotá Colombia is now getting ranked better than Cuenca on the retirement press scale, at least on paper. In fact, Cuenca is now like at number nine with countries such as Portugal, Turkey, Colombia, Mexico, and Belize being ahead of Cuenca. That’s strange.
The International Travel and Living Magazines are now touting Portugal as the best country to retire for 2015/2016? What happened to Cuenca, Ecuador? Wow…in just a few short years the travel media has put Cuenca Ecuador away in the closet, pushing it way down on the list of “best places to retire”, touting Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Istanbul, Turkey and Medellin, Colombia with better living environments than Cuenca? That’s even stranger, seeing as these places can be ridden with violent crimes and most of these places are not cheap.
These cities may have some good things about their living environments, but in today’s world, they are not safer, cheaper, or have better healthcare than Cuenca, Ecuador. Sorry folks but this is just getting crazy! Both Istanbul and some areas of Colombia and Mexico have civil unrest, guerrilla attacks, random bombings and kidnappings, but according to the travel magazines they’re safe for 60’s and 70’s age group retirees?! Really STRANGE.
Portugal seems ok and might be worth a look.
Reality of Life in a Crime-Ridden City
How to make a crime-ridden city safe? Perhaps if the gringos stay safeguarded within gringo enclaves and seclude themselves from the local population to feel safe, but even then those places have issues that make them insecure, at best.
It’s funny how we justify the safety of an area just because we think it is a place we want to go live. Cuenca Ecuador is probably becoming one of the safest cities of its size in all of South and Central America! At least you don’t have to seclude yourself up in a gringo enclave to be and feel safe! But still you have to be on your guard and instill certain guidelines within your lifestyle, no matter where you live in the world.
Where in the world do they come up with these silly “best places to retire lists”? You know, we don’t have to go on, as we have written about this already many times on the Discover Cuenca Ecuador blog. But as a final note let us point out the obvious.
NOTE: Remember, they either buy property in the cities they are naming as best place to retire, and/or they affiliate with real estate offices on a business/profit sharing basis. One travel abroad pumper CEO admitted they bought property in Algarve, Portugal and Medellin Colombia. Talk about vested interests. At least they were transparent about it.
Until we write again…
If you liked this article, you’ll probably like these 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!
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!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Monday, January 4, 2016
Moving Abroad (Ecuador) ONLY Because It’s Cheap? UPDATED
This is part 1.
Update: 2016: When we first wrote this article we'd only been living in Ecuador for 5 months...wow that's almost just a long vacation. Read on to find out any changes and updates in Cuenca in the last 4.5 years.
We’ve written on this subject before, but we have to say it again because we think it is important. Are you prepared for a move to South America?
This blog post is not going to be talking just about moving to Cuenca but South America and Latin America in general. Why? Because all Latin America culture is going to be pretty much the same way of life, such as how they do things, how they live, how they prevent crime and how they will behave toward the foreigner.
Manana Land is Latin America
Any Latin American culture is going to be manana land. Being here for five months now, we’re getting used to this “way of life” and really try and go with the flow of things—we put it behind us rather than complain about it. It can be a little frustrating when you’re waiting for paper work to get processed but it’s not about your paperwork but about when they get around to processing it.
You can’t get angry about it because it’s not in your control to control—you’re in their country now and that means getting used to the way they do things. If this kind of laid back lifestyle annoys you then no Latin America country is going to be compatible with your personality. If you don’t want to put up with manana land, probably the best countries to live are North America or Europe but there goes your great cost of living.
UPDATE 2016 - We've lived in Cuenca going on five years and have actually adapted to life here. We've written our fair share about, processing paperwork, getting a document notarized and trying to find certain items for a project because at the time it was worth writing about so we could let folks know how things are done here...but it's starting to just seem normal now...and that is because we now know what to expect. And that is the key to adapting; do not expect anything and then you won't be disappointed.
Motto: Do not expect things to be a certain way and accept things the way they are.
Internet
When waiting to get your Internet connected, you may wait up to two to four weeks. They may say that they’ll be out on a certain day, but never show up, or never call to say they can’t make it. HINT: Although if you know someone here who can go down to the Internet Company with you it may get them to get on the ball and connect your Internet sooner.
UPDATE 2016 - about Internet Service: the service is much, much better now; they even come out within a few days vs. sometimes not at all.
Deliveries
If you’re waiting to have anything delivered like furniture or appliances, you may not get it delivered on your time schedule. If you’re having furniture custom built, here again, you may wait for weeks or months for them to finish your furniture. These things are all just a part of the Latin American way of life. No worries though, manana does come, even if it’s later than sooner.
Update 2016 - we have found that if we call them and keep reminding them about it they will respond quicker.
Wild Goose Chase
This has happened to us on several occasions. When we have asked for directions to something we are looking for, even if they don’t know where it is, they will act like they know where it is and give you directions somewhere, but not to where you are going. This can be exhausting if you’re walking on foot, which both times we were walking downtown and led to not the place we were actually looking for. But at least it is good for your health. Be prepared to be taken on a wild goose chase at least once while living here.
Update 2016 - this has not changed 2016 (LOL)
Taxi cab drivers usually know where most hotels, hostels, major stores restaurants, and government offices are, but some don’t. Just the other day an expat friend of ours told us that when she was taking a taxi, the driver all of a sudden stopped the cab and told her to get out of the cab. She thought it was really strange and later she was told that when the taxi driver does not know where a certain place or address is, he’ll just tell you to get out of the cab, rather than admit he doesn’t know where the address is.
Crime Prevention in Latin America
The other day while we were out shopping, we briefly met up with some retired gringos visiting Cuenca. We talked with him and his wife for a brief period of time and they seemed like nice people, until we asked him how they liked Cuenca. He adamantly shot back with “I hate it!”
We were mildly shocked at such a response. Usually when you ask someone how they like it here they might have a few complaints or they absolutely love it here. But in this case it was an adamant, “I hate it”!
We asked him why he hates it here and he said “the security”. At first we all just looked at him with blank stares, not really understanding what he meant. And then he blurted it all out. He said he hated the tall walls around the homes and the tall locked gates, and the security guards all over town with sawed off machine guns, and broken glass for some of the roofs, and always having to be on guard to protect your things, and lada, lada, lada. At the end of his rant about how he hates the feeling of having to always be fearful living here, we noticed he was pretty agitated.
We cordially said our goodbye’s and went back to our shopping. After listening to this man’s frustrations we realized that he and his wife did NOT do their homework. It was a good thing they were just here on a 3-month visit (typical tourist visa) because he clearly was not a happy camper.
This type of visitor or mover to Ecuador, who does not do their homework is probably quite typical. What the problem is they simply read a few articles from a popular travel magazine about how “wonderful” moving to a certain hyped up city abroad is and they jump on the band wagon and come here with blinders on. Basically this retired couple was going through the process of culture shock because they didn’t know what to expect when coming here—they weren’t prepared!
Anyone who does their due diligent research will know that any Latin American culture is going to be like this as far as crime prevention goes, whether it's Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, or Costa Rica. They all have bars, gates, tall walls surrounding your home, broken glass roofs, and security guards with scary looking loaded weapons, at least in certain neighborhoods.
Update 2016 - we hardly ever see the sawed off shot guns anymore; it's now regular rifles and pistol. I think they were just too intimidating for some tourists and they are doing away with them. And most of the tourist police only carry batons and maybe tasers.
Funny thing is there is more violent crime in many smaller cities in the states than there is violent crime in Cuenca! You have to be aware and security conscious anywhere you live, just about. Here you do have to worry about petty theft; there you have to worry about petty theft and violent crime. Not to say that violent crime does not happen here, because it does, it just means there is less of it.
Crime prevention techniques seem and look dramatic here because it is dramatic, but it is what works for Latin America. For an example, the house on the street that does not have a tall gate, tall walls, and a whole house alarm system will get broken into while you are away and your valuables will get taken. This is because that house is a target—it’s the most vulnerable house on the block!
Update 2016 - this still holds true today. Cuenca will never do away with tall cement walls and gated bars around the homes, at least not in this generation. It's just the way it is and we must accept it for what it is.
No, you won’t see guards with sawed off shotguns in North America, and no, there are no bars on the windows or tall walls surrounding homes, or cut-glassed roofs in North America but this does not mean that an armed robber will not break into your home while you are sleeping and rob you blind, or if you’re a woman alone, rape and beat you. This kind of violent crime happens in the states everywhere. Both rape and armed robbery is almost nonexistent in Cuenca.
The point is, if you don’t like dramatic security prevention, or if it makes you “feel” more fearful, then perhaps Latin America is not for you. You may be better off finding a nice small secluded town in Kansas somewhere where you won’t have to worry about personal security, maybe a sleepy little town like Hutchinson, Kansas.
Do Your Research
It’s funny how people watch a few retire abroad videos and read a few articles from the retirement press that hype up Ecuador and then think that Cuenca or some other city in Ecuador is “thee place” to live. It may very well be “thee place” to live for certain types of people, but are you that type of people? Maybe you are and maybe you aren’t.
Only you can figure out if you and your family are that type of people, and you do that by being diligent in how you decide on the best place to live is.
The most important thing to remember when trying to figure out the best place to live is: understand that the best place to live will never be the best place to live if you are not a happy and content person to begin with.
On the opposite end of that spectrum: if you are content person within yourself then you can pretty much bet that you’ll be happy living just about anywhere.
Update 2016 - when you first get here there will be mild shockers, whether you adapt or not remains to be seen but we think it starts with moving abroad for the right reasons and not for the wrong reasons. Wrong reasons for m0ving abroad might be because the new place you are moving to is cheap and you think you'll have a better life...maybe you will and maybe you won't. But moving abroad because you heard it is cheap might not be a reason to keep you here.
If you liked this article, you might like to read 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!
Sunday, January 3, 2016
I Want to Move to Ecuador So I Can Be in the Middle Class Again
If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the world belongs to you." Lao Tzu
Did you know that some foreigners from North America move to Ecuador to live in luxury? What does that mean? Well, in a nutshell it means that people’s retirement money doesn’t go as far as it used to, or they don’t know how to make it go further, and because of that they have had to give up certain standards of living they’re used to having.
Then they hear that Cuenca Ecuador is cheap and they think they can come here and (with their retirement money/pension) live in luxury. But that is not altogether correct any more than the idea that moving to Ecuador will allow you to live in the middle class again.
We have toured some of the nicest apartment complexes (just built) in Cuenca and what is viewed as “luxury” here is actually just standard construction, perhaps in the middle-end of North America but it certainly is not luxurious. So not to burst anyone’s luxury bubble; it’s not what you think. However, you will pay up for what is termed “luxury”. See the article at the end of this post.
Sometime ago there was an article posted in the Cuenca chatter; the article was talking about how some of the gringo buyers of the “in construction phase” condominium units were demanding certain finishes to be made to their high rise apartments to U.S building standards. To make a long story short, the gringo’s demands were not met and some of them became very ugly and sue happy when the developers did not provide them with their demands of U.S standard finishes. We don’t really know how it ends because the article doesn’t really state, but interestingly enough, today in Cuenca there are about seven condo buildings located throughout the city that will not sell to gringos because they complain too much, are too picky, and want to sue when things do not go their way; this from the developers, not us.
We tell you all this because these are the same type of high rise buildings that are built all over town that are for rent and for sale and they are not luxurious; they are just nice, some of the units are nicer than others, but nothing more. So if you are in the luxurious crowd moving to Cuenca or are moving here to find your middle class, don’t have too high of expectations. Some gringos may find that paying $750 to $1250 for a condo termed luxury is not up to the standards they are accustomed to back home in North America and they might be disappointed.
The middle class in most developing countries is not the majority and the middle class in Cuenca is not the same as what we are used to in North America. Finding a middle class in Latin America is just another glamorized statement used by the travel abroad magazines to get people excited about moving wherever they happen to be pumping that month.
They know that North America is decaying politically and morally and becoming more expensive for pensioners to make ends meet, and is why they love to tout some of these developing countries as having a high middle class, but it is not what they make it out to be; it is not what you think it is. Ecuador is a developing country with a GDP per Capita of $11,000 annually. Compare that to the USA of $54,000 GDP. Source: List of Countries by GDP (PPP) Per Capita.
We need to understand that “middle class” is partly an attitude of the mind and partly learning how to spend the money we have. If we don’t have either of these things then we will feel as if we have lost something we once had. Perhaps we become discouraged and think that “going somewhere else” will make us feel better.
"Happiness is not having what you want. It is appreciating what you have." Unknown
Moving abroad to another place labeled as cheap is not the total solution; it can be part of it but if you don’t like it where you move to because everything is different or if you aren’t living on the money you have, wisely, where does “middle class” get you?
What are other people that are considered “middle class” in North America doing? Did you know that most millionaires that had to work for their money got that way because they were frugal and didn’t spend everything they earned. We could list hundreds of wealthy folks that live frugal but comfortable lives; we’re just saying “middle class” is an attitude of the mind.
In all truth, moving to a developing, foreign land based on the need to feel better about one’s life is a really poor reason to move abroad. And sadly, it is exactly this type of people that move to a touted, hyped up, temporarily cheap city abroad and end up leaving because they are basing their move on a feeling. They won’t make it here.
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." Denis Waitley
We have to change our way of thinking to feel good about our life and living standards. Feelings cannot be met simply by moving to a South American country. In fact, if anyone is having financial problems now or if you feel like you aren’t living the standard of life you think you should where you are living now, then you should FIRST take care of that concern within yourself BEFORE uprooting your discontented life to a foreign environment. Bringing discontent with you to a totally different environment, totally different middle class, totally different culture can only compound problems within you. Happiness comes from within not from without. No place in the world is going to change that.
“No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.” – Barbara DeAngelis
Source: Keep inspiring me Quotes
Source: INC Online Magazine
Until we write again…
Related Articles
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!
Did you know that some foreigners from North America move to Ecuador to live in luxury? What does that mean? Well, in a nutshell it means that people’s retirement money doesn’t go as far as it used to, or they don’t know how to make it go further, and because of that they have had to give up certain standards of living they’re used to having.
Then they hear that Cuenca Ecuador is cheap and they think they can come here and (with their retirement money/pension) live in luxury. But that is not altogether correct any more than the idea that moving to Ecuador will allow you to live in the middle class again.
We have toured some of the nicest apartment complexes (just built) in Cuenca and what is viewed as “luxury” here is actually just standard construction, perhaps in the middle-end of North America but it certainly is not luxurious. So not to burst anyone’s luxury bubble; it’s not what you think. However, you will pay up for what is termed “luxury”. See the article at the end of this post.
Sometime ago there was an article posted in the Cuenca chatter; the article was talking about how some of the gringo buyers of the “in construction phase” condominium units were demanding certain finishes to be made to their high rise apartments to U.S building standards. To make a long story short, the gringo’s demands were not met and some of them became very ugly and sue happy when the developers did not provide them with their demands of U.S standard finishes. We don’t really know how it ends because the article doesn’t really state, but interestingly enough, today in Cuenca there are about seven condo buildings located throughout the city that will not sell to gringos because they complain too much, are too picky, and want to sue when things do not go their way; this from the developers, not us.
We tell you all this because these are the same type of high rise buildings that are built all over town that are for rent and for sale and they are not luxurious; they are just nice, some of the units are nicer than others, but nothing more. So if you are in the luxurious crowd moving to Cuenca or are moving here to find your middle class, don’t have too high of expectations. Some gringos may find that paying $750 to $1250 for a condo termed luxury is not up to the standards they are accustomed to back home in North America and they might be disappointed.
The middle class in most developing countries is not the majority and the middle class in Cuenca is not the same as what we are used to in North America. Finding a middle class in Latin America is just another glamorized statement used by the travel abroad magazines to get people excited about moving wherever they happen to be pumping that month.
They know that North America is decaying politically and morally and becoming more expensive for pensioners to make ends meet, and is why they love to tout some of these developing countries as having a high middle class, but it is not what they make it out to be; it is not what you think it is. Ecuador is a developing country with a GDP per Capita of $11,000 annually. Compare that to the USA of $54,000 GDP. Source: List of Countries by GDP (PPP) Per Capita.
We need to understand that “middle class” is partly an attitude of the mind and partly learning how to spend the money we have. If we don’t have either of these things then we will feel as if we have lost something we once had. Perhaps we become discouraged and think that “going somewhere else” will make us feel better.
"Happiness is not having what you want. It is appreciating what you have." Unknown
Moving abroad to another place labeled as cheap is not the total solution; it can be part of it but if you don’t like it where you move to because everything is different or if you aren’t living on the money you have, wisely, where does “middle class” get you?
What are other people that are considered “middle class” in North America doing? Did you know that most millionaires that had to work for their money got that way because they were frugal and didn’t spend everything they earned. We could list hundreds of wealthy folks that live frugal but comfortable lives; we’re just saying “middle class” is an attitude of the mind.
In all truth, moving to a developing, foreign land based on the need to feel better about one’s life is a really poor reason to move abroad. And sadly, it is exactly this type of people that move to a touted, hyped up, temporarily cheap city abroad and end up leaving because they are basing their move on a feeling. They won’t make it here.
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." Denis Waitley
We have to change our way of thinking to feel good about our life and living standards. Feelings cannot be met simply by moving to a South American country. In fact, if anyone is having financial problems now or if you feel like you aren’t living the standard of life you think you should where you are living now, then you should FIRST take care of that concern within yourself BEFORE uprooting your discontented life to a foreign environment. Bringing discontent with you to a totally different environment, totally different middle class, totally different culture can only compound problems within you. Happiness comes from within not from without. No place in the world is going to change that.
“No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.” – Barbara DeAngelis
Source: Keep inspiring me Quotes
Source: INC Online Magazine
Until we write again…
Related Articles
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!
Saturday, January 2, 2016
DIY Cuenca Ecuador Landing Guide-UPDATED Eighth Edition!
We just want to remind our readers that we strive to keep our DIY Cuenca Ecuador Landing Guide UPDATED with relevant, current information. We just published our eighth edition of the guide with some new current information and a few changes that have happened in the last 6 months, since the last update. We offer both the PDF eBook and the print version of the guide from Lulu.com. Right now Lulu is offering a coupon for 15% off on all PRINT books through January 3, 2016!
 |
| Lulu coupon code: RESOLVE15 |
When ordering the book it will ask if you have a coupon code, simply add this coupon code: RESOLVE15
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!
Friday, January 1, 2016
10 Tips of the Trade When Looking for Rental in Cuenca Ecuador
It really is all about value; and frugal folks know that because being frugal does not necessarily mean, and usually doesn’t mean, buying the cheapest product or service on the market. If you want to save money every month on your rent then there are a few things we must keep hush-hush. Why? When little ears know what you want in a rental the price suddenly goes up and up and up and up…and then where is “value”?
1. Don’t let it be known you want to be walking distance to Supermaxi or Coral – There is no need to tell the agent you want to be close to a grocery store. Eight times out of ten, you’ll actually be walking distance to a grocery store in Cuenca, unless you live in the country.
2. Don’t let it be known that you want to be near El Centro – Did you know that anywhere within the city of Cuenca, you can grab a taxi for a few bucks or a bus for $0.25 cents and be in the historic district?
Most Gringos Have the Same Rental Requirements
It’s all over the Cuenca chatter: The immigration office handles 10 new applicants from North America a day! That means there are ten new people who need a house or apartment to rent just in Cuenca! That’s 70 people needing a rental in one week in a city of just 500,000 people. And did you know that most gringos have the same rental requirements? What does that mean for Cuenca? It means higher prices and less value.
3. Don’t let it be known that you want a river or city view – Have you ever seen the ads that say “river view” or “on the river Yanuncay”? Are they renting you the river or the apartment? Gee whiz!
Let’s stop right here! You’re probably wondering how can I have all of the above things in a rental if I don’t let the agent or facilitator know what I want? That’s easy. Just keep looking and usually you will find something you are looking for, or close to what you are looking for. Gone is the $300 home with green space, river views and walking to a nice park and grocery store because that’s what everyone wants. That house is now at about twice as much!!
It’s not reality to have everything you want on your rental list and at the price range you are looking in. We understand you want to rent a nice, clean, bright and airy place but too much pickiness above that will surely cost you. The “cost you” part doesn’t make Cuenca cheap anymore, does it?
4. If you are renting for 6 months or less, we say forgo the river view! It is funny, foreigners move here for three months and demand a river view. Are you going to stay cooped up in your apartment all day or go out exploring Cuenca? Views cost money and are impractical at best. Views do not make the apartment any more comfortable and not having a view does not make a nice, clean, airy apartment less inviting either. Sometimes an apartment just happens to have a view but because we didn’t demand it, the price stays in line with what it should be.
5. If you do not have a dog, then definitely give up the yard idea. Seriously, this is no joking matter. Espacio verdes (green spaces) cost money in Cuenca Ecuador! If a house on the Cuenca Ecuador rental market today happens to have a small green space then it’s going to be overpriced! Sadly, that is what it’s come down to.
6. Renting in a certain neighborhood, plus wanting to have all the gringo requirements mentioned in this article, will surely cost you a higher rent and most-likely will take a lot longer to find. Better not be in a hurry.
7. Be willing to rent in any area of Cuenca as long as the neighborhood is good. We know the good neighborhoods of Cuenca and the not so good neighborhoods. Not being picky about what neighborhood (sector) of Cuenca you live in will surely open up a lot more variety and options to the renter, which means more value in a home. The southeast side of Cuenca has less gringos living there but some of the nicest and newest homes are in this part of town and the river!!
8. If calling an ad out of the paper and you don’t speak Spanish very well or have a thick gringo accent, find a local Ecuadorian to call the ad for you and get the “real price” to the local market. You wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve called on house ads that raised the price once they found out it was for a gringo. We have even had Ecuadorians say “You’re a gringo, so it will cost more for you”.
9. Always negotiate the price – This one is a sure thing. We should negotiate even if the ad doesn’t say it is negotiable. Don’t be bullied because you are a gringo.
10. Know what the contract says – Make sure you know exactly what is stipulated in the rental agreement because you might need to make changes. You do want your deposit back when your lease is up, right? Then nine times out of ten the lease will need to be changed. It’s all in the wording and if you don’t know what to look for you might just get gringoed.
Until we write again...if you like this article you might like these ones too. Happy 2016!
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!
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| Cuenca Ecuador |
1. Don’t let it be known you want to be walking distance to Supermaxi or Coral – There is no need to tell the agent you want to be close to a grocery store. Eight times out of ten, you’ll actually be walking distance to a grocery store in Cuenca, unless you live in the country.
2. Don’t let it be known that you want to be near El Centro – Did you know that anywhere within the city of Cuenca, you can grab a taxi for a few bucks or a bus for $0.25 cents and be in the historic district?
Most Gringos Have the Same Rental Requirements
It’s all over the Cuenca chatter: The immigration office handles 10 new applicants from North America a day! That means there are ten new people who need a house or apartment to rent just in Cuenca! That’s 70 people needing a rental in one week in a city of just 500,000 people. And did you know that most gringos have the same rental requirements? What does that mean for Cuenca? It means higher prices and less value.
3. Don’t let it be known that you want a river or city view – Have you ever seen the ads that say “river view” or “on the river Yanuncay”? Are they renting you the river or the apartment? Gee whiz!
Let’s stop right here! You’re probably wondering how can I have all of the above things in a rental if I don’t let the agent or facilitator know what I want? That’s easy. Just keep looking and usually you will find something you are looking for, or close to what you are looking for. Gone is the $300 home with green space, river views and walking to a nice park and grocery store because that’s what everyone wants. That house is now at about twice as much!!
It’s not reality to have everything you want on your rental list and at the price range you are looking in. We understand you want to rent a nice, clean, bright and airy place but too much pickiness above that will surely cost you. The “cost you” part doesn’t make Cuenca cheap anymore, does it?
4. If you are renting for 6 months or less, we say forgo the river view! It is funny, foreigners move here for three months and demand a river view. Are you going to stay cooped up in your apartment all day or go out exploring Cuenca? Views cost money and are impractical at best. Views do not make the apartment any more comfortable and not having a view does not make a nice, clean, airy apartment less inviting either. Sometimes an apartment just happens to have a view but because we didn’t demand it, the price stays in line with what it should be.
5. If you do not have a dog, then definitely give up the yard idea. Seriously, this is no joking matter. Espacio verdes (green spaces) cost money in Cuenca Ecuador! If a house on the Cuenca Ecuador rental market today happens to have a small green space then it’s going to be overpriced! Sadly, that is what it’s come down to.
6. Renting in a certain neighborhood, plus wanting to have all the gringo requirements mentioned in this article, will surely cost you a higher rent and most-likely will take a lot longer to find. Better not be in a hurry.
7. Be willing to rent in any area of Cuenca as long as the neighborhood is good. We know the good neighborhoods of Cuenca and the not so good neighborhoods. Not being picky about what neighborhood (sector) of Cuenca you live in will surely open up a lot more variety and options to the renter, which means more value in a home. The southeast side of Cuenca has less gringos living there but some of the nicest and newest homes are in this part of town and the river!!
8. If calling an ad out of the paper and you don’t speak Spanish very well or have a thick gringo accent, find a local Ecuadorian to call the ad for you and get the “real price” to the local market. You wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve called on house ads that raised the price once they found out it was for a gringo. We have even had Ecuadorians say “You’re a gringo, so it will cost more for you”.
9. Always negotiate the price – This one is a sure thing. We should negotiate even if the ad doesn’t say it is negotiable. Don’t be bullied because you are a gringo.
10. Know what the contract says – Make sure you know exactly what is stipulated in the rental agreement because you might need to make changes. You do want your deposit back when your lease is up, right? Then nine times out of ten the lease will need to be changed. It’s all in the wording and if you don’t know what to look for you might just get gringoed.
Until we write again...if you like this article you might like these ones too. Happy 2016!
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!
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