In this video we talk with six Ecuadorian business owners, living in different parts of 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!
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!
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
6 Facts Showing Rent & Housing Prices Have Increased Considerably in Cuenca Ecuador by Foreigners!
Once again we bring you the real nitty gritty about expat life in Cuenca Ecuador. Each year the same question is asked "How many foreigners live in Cuenca" and each year for the past 10 years the same answer of a few thousand (4000) is conjured up just out of the blue.
What this does is gives those who for one reason or another need to believe that foreigners don't raise prices while they go around spouting off that a few thousand foreigners could not possibly raise housing markets, rental prices, or any prices for that matter. Their persistent and dogmatic forum postings say things like:
I
am so fed up with unsubstantiated claims (Gringo urban myths) that
4,000 gringos supposedly drive up prices for everybody in a city of
500,000. How does this make economic sense??? Somebody explain this to
me with facts.
 |
Ok, who's common sense should we use: how about the official office of the 'Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) that processes and registers the visa paperwork!? Moving on...
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores
1. [Aunque para la Cancillería es halagador que los extranjeros prefieran Cuenca a los países desarrollados de los que provienen, el crecimiento de dicha población “necesita ser regulado”, según Humberto Cordero, secretario del Viceministerio de Movilidad Humana.
Según un estudio de la Universidad de Cuenca, los extranjeros prefieren zonas cercanas al Centro Histórico, a no más de 15 minutos de distancia en vehículo. Esto ha hecho que las propiedades en dicho radio de acción aumenten considerablemente de valor.]
This from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Translated for non-Spanish Speakers
[The ministry of foreign affairs is flattered that foreigners prefer Cuenca Ecuador, a developing country over their own country for retirement; however the MOFA states that the growth of the population needs to be regulated because of substantially higher housing prices.
A study by the University of Cuenca shows that foreigners prefer areas near the historic center, no more than 15 minutes away by car. This has caused the properties in that range to increase considerably in value.]
SOURCE: The Cuneca Ecuador Study (2010 - 2011) of the Impact of Foreigners to Cuenca Ecuador - Click PDF for the 2011 study of the Impact of Foreigners to Cuenca Ecuador to get an idea of what the new study involves. (Can't find the new 2015 - 2016 study online, if there even is one)
2. Cuenca has 12,000
gringo/permanent residents now according to the 'Ministry of Foreign
Affairs'.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (who better to get the facts from than the OFFICIAL office that processes the residency visas, uh?)
[Según el último registro del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, los estadounidenses que viven de forma permanente en la ciudad superaron los 8.000 habitantes; junto a europeos y canadienses sobrepasan los 12.000 residentes extranjeros.]
Translated for non Spanish Speakers
At the last registry of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of north Americans (U.S) who live permanently in the city exceeded 8,000; with Europeans and Canadians the numbers surpass the 12,000 foreign residents living in Cuenca Ecuador.
Notice the "El Tiempo" article says...AT THE LAST REGISTRY OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. Unlike the forum opinions attesting actual figures to some University study, these facts come directly from the official government offices that have a registry of all residence apps.
Is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs registry files mistaken? Could there still only be 4,000 gringo residents living in Cuenca years and years later? Please read the article yourself at the source: El Tiempo Newspaper
And
how is it that year in and year out these nay-saying doubters throw
around the same number of year round residents that was being touted ten
years ago? After many years, they’re still using the same number.
Read on.
The last paragrpah of the article in El tiempo the MOFA states:
[Since 2012 the number of foreign residents increased by 1,000 people per year. The trend continues, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
But just for fun we'll play the game with all the naysayers. Let's suppose there are still only 4,000 permanent residents living in Cuenca. So what! There is always a new influx of gringos coming that need to rent houses and apartments. Do you get that?
According to the MOFA there are 10 new applicants a day processing permanent resident visa paperwork in Cuenca immigration. That's 50 per week, 210 per month and yearly that's approx. 2060 visa requests, not counting for the last part of the holiday month of December. If only half retain residency (that's a full 1000 per year that would be leaving) that would be more than 1,000 new residents each year residing in Cuenca! Which coincides with the MOFA statement of 1,000 new residents each year!
[Since 2012 the number of foreign residents increased by 1,000 people per year. The trend continues, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
It
doesn’t take many gringos who demand what he or she likes, river views,
near to El Centro, walking to store, no stairs, pets, a yard, etc…when they all ask for
similar cookie cutter housing, for landlords and real estate agents to
get wind of it and raise prices on their homes that have these
amenities!! But all the gringos have these same demands! Now do you see?
It’s not that hard or difficult to get.
3.
Listen and read what other expats are saying, that have lived here for 3
to 6 years, about rental prices. Are large groups of gringos lying
about rental prices doubling, or is it what’s really happening? What or
why would a large group of people get from lying about something like
this anyway? Please see our video "What's it Like Living in a Tourist City Like Cuenca".
4.
In 2011 a taxi driver told us not to pay more than $250 to $300 dollars
for a 3/3 house. Should we not believe the local who has lived here
all his life, or should we believe the stumped gringo(s) who only just
moved here 6-months ago?
4
years later: Look online, look in the paper, ask around and you’ll soon
discover that the $250 house has vanished. Now the new price for a
decent house (same value as the $250 house) is between $450 to $700
dollars rental price. You can get a whole lot of house in a lot of parts
of the world for that. See Cuenca Ecuador Rental Market Compared to 8 others Countries.
According
to Numbeo the cost of renting in July 2014 was showing 50% higher than
Medellin. Now, 8 months later it is showing a 72% higher rental market
than Medellin. And this is according to 46 renters who live in Medellin
and 46 renters who live in Cuenca. Who better to talk about rental prices than the renters themselves!!!?
(top) July 2014 screenshot taken from Numbeo.com
(top) February 2015 screenshot taken from Numbeo.com
The facts are everywhere, but some gringos show perplexity and wonder how just a few thousand gringos can
raise prices that they don’t believe it. A doubting Thomas will never
believe until something happens to them to show otherwise. Just because
Thomas doubted, did not change the fact that his Lord was standing
right in front of him.
6. Returning Ecuadorians (with money to spend) were descending upon Cuenca in the thousands.
These wealthy Ecuadorians have been living in the u.s for more than
half their lives, working and saving, and now many of them are returning
to their homeland of Cuenca. Many of them live in gringolandia because
they are gringos. They call themselves that.
Okay,
now that you know some of the facts, let’s do some more considering.
When we reverse the process, or let’s say, put our self in the landlord /
agents shoes, we just need to ask ourselves this: If all the gringos
and all the returning Ecuadorians went back to the u.s tomorrow, who
would the landlords rent their $600 and $700 houses and apartments to?
The
majority of (Cuenca) Ecuador are wage earners and small mom and pop
business owners. Are they going to rent a house in Cuenca for $600? No,
they probably are not going to rent anything over $300 dollars unless
one of the earners in the home is a doctor, lawyer, professor; you know,
a wealthier Ecuadorian.
Are
the majority of renters in Cuenca, doctors, lawyers, and large business owners, or are they wage earners and small mom and pop business
owners? CIA world fact book says the latter. So then we must ask the
question again, who is going to rent all of the houses and apartments
that were typically priced at the local rental rate of $250 to $300 back
in 2011 that are now typically $500 and $700? Still stumped? It is
not rocket science.
Many
times because of unbelief for one reason or another, we just have to
step outside of ourselves to see something, you know, “get it”, even if
it is right under our noses.
Until we write again, you might like to read these related 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!
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
BEST PLACE to RETIRE: After Comparing Cities Abroad Is Cuenca Ecuador Still Out on TOP?
We like to let people know “what it’s (really) like” to live abroad. Intentionally omitting facts to make something sound a certain way could result in misleading someone.
In the old days, if you were hyping benefits to the 'fluffy' level, it was considered 'puffery', i.e. exaggerated or false. Glamorizing a city is no different; all this does is throw people off when they go to visit a place because they start out with too high of expectations.
We talk and write about such things as the parasites, machismo behavior and misinformation about Cuenca and everything in between. Our picture is real! It’s real because we observed it and experienced it ourselves and we have no vested interests keeping us from blogging about it.
We have no agenda whatsoever, except…to let people know the real nitty-gritty of life abroad.
Why We Debunk (New) Best Place to Retire in Favor of Cuenca Ecuador
Its comical how we think that going to another country is going to not have anything negative about it because it’s the (new) best place to retire in,“paradise”. Let’s take a detailed look at why we debunk the new best places to retire in favor of Cuenca Ecuador.
We’ve done our share of traveling, having traveled to different parts of Mexico many times, British Virgin Islands a couple of times, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and now Panama.
1. Crime
When we went to Panama for five weeks we thought we were going to a country that had little crime. Why? Because you never hear about it! Crime in Panama’s expat communities is considerably played down, almost like it doesn’t exist…it is a phenomenon how people sweep such important issues under the rug. It’s getting really dirty under that rug and we’re sweeping it out!
Cuenca Ecuador is probably the safest city of its size in all of Latin America. Sure there’s thievery but nothing like Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia...and now just lately we're hearing that the border city of Peru is crime ridden too. Cuenca (not other areas in Ecuador) has minimal violent crime against foreigners at this time and that is a plus for retirees who need to be able to walk the streets and sleep with peace of mind.
In Panama, Mexico, Colombia, DR, and Costa Rica crime rates have gotten out of hand, especially against foreigners. And many of the new best places to live on the ten best places list are crime ridden as well. Lower crime is why foreigners choose Cuenca Ecuador over Boquete, Panama.
2. Renting
Sure Cuenca’s rents have risen substantially but so have rents in all of the other Latin American cities too. What we’ve noticed about rents in general in places talked about over the internet or heavily visited by tourists is that they always gravitate to the same level or resistance. See if this is not so.
We’ve done some research and written about it before. The level of price resistance for rental pricing frequently seems to be very consistent. You will hear the same figures over and over, and how could that be? After all, these are totally different places in different countries.
3. Garbage Collections
Disorganization is common and usually visible in the garbage collection. This is where Cuenca Ecuador shines, they do a very good job of keeping the streets free of loose garbage. This cannot be said unfortunately of other areas in Ecuador and other Central and South American countries.
Garbage pick-up in Cuenca and Quito is excellent! Not only is it excellent but there is no garbage on the streets anywhere, and if a piece of garbage is on the streets, the locals in the orange and green jumpsuits come to the rescue and clean it. Cuenca is the cleanest city (from garbage on the streets) we’ve ever been in, in Latin America! Cuenca has garbage pick-up even during holidays!!
4. Sewage issues
Panama has a sewage problem along the Balboa boardwalk. During certain hours in the morning (best time to walk) when the tide is out, it reeks of waste. We had to avoid walking on the boardwalk during those two hours when the tide is out because the stench was so unbearable. This is where the $2000 dollar a month ocean view apartments are located. Still, it doesn’t add up.
Sewage runs into the ocean and its causing a big mess, a big stench, and it’s certainly not what you paid for. Don’t think this kind of things is contained only to Panama. Latin American countries frequently have the same third world sewage issues.
5. No RESTROOMS
Cuenca Ecuador is no exception. When I first landed, and was walking around downtown, it quickly became apparent that there was a lack of public restrooms. At first I thought it was just because I was new and didn’t know where they are located. Later I realized that it’s a combination of factors that puts me at a disadvantage. One is, that I’m walking, and therefore it takes longer to get to a restroom in the first place.
Walking and having to go is not like driving and having to go. In hotter countries such as Panama, its even more challenging since drinking water is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Elevation also makes one thirstier and needing lots of water and so it's good that at least the city of Cuenca has a few public restrooms. Many Latin countries do not even have that.
6. Highways and Streets
Some places have pretty good highways but a lot of the interior roads need a lot of work, and many areas have unpaved streets,causing mud holes and dusty roads all of the time. Of course, you always see pictures of sunsets in the pretty postcard pictures, not muddy and dusty streets. How to decipher the international travel press/promoters to your advantage when retiring abroad!
7. Internet Connectivity & Service
Although internet connectivity is improving, it is not the always on reliable and dependable internet we’re used to back home. Especially when we travel, the internet is spotty at best, if you can get it.
Infrastructure in Latin American Countries
You
shouldn't have to pay $2000 per month for 800 square feet just to get
good internet. Many if not most of the hostels or small hotels have
terrible internet in their rooms in all the areas we’ve traveled to.
When you look at the prices of these longtime expat destinations and how
touristy they get, the value is just not there.
8. Health Care and Medical/Dental
Two different people have told us just in one week what good service they received from one of the hospitals in Cuenca Ecuador. We’re sure that healthcare is good in bigger cities in other Latin American countries too but it’s still less expensive in Cuenca Ecuador, and especially when you stay away from the recommended doctors that speak English.
9. Public Transportation
Panama City has good transportation with the metro buses and the subways but once you leave the big city, it is terrible! If you want to travel to Azuero Peninsula and you don’t have a car, good luck! The minivans that service this area and others further south leave a lot to be desired as a transportation service.Many times there was no room in these vans and if you over 5’ 6” tall you will be uncomfortable to put it mildly.
The country of Ecuador has great transportation, no matter what city or town you want to travel to because they use regular buses that service regular size people. Some countries have good reliable transportation, and others not so much. If you’re just a tourist its something you put up with because you know its temporary. But if you’re thinking of residing permanently, make sure you understand what you’re getting into, and if you will be able to withstand it.
10. Grocery Stores
In Panama everything in the grocery stores is imported from the U.S and it’s very expensive. Fruits and vegetables are out of this world expensive in Panama, no matter where at you are in Panama. There are a few tropical fruits that grow in Panama like the mango, papaya, coconut, and pineapple that are still very reasonable, but everything else is imported.
In Ecuador you can buy all fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices and Cuenca has several organic produce markets where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables inexpensively.
To sum this up, we think Ecuador is much more likable and livable than many other Central and South American areas for all the reasons we discuss in this article. Of course there are other considerations, and some of them quite severe such as lack of air quality here in Cuenca Ecuador.
We have no agenda whatsoever, except…to let people know the real nitty-gritty of life abroad. Cuenca for us, at least so far from what we have seen, read about and heard from other people, is still the best place to live in Latin America. Maybe that’s correct, maybe its not. But running to some other ‘best retirement place in the world’ or ‘paradise’ that’s the current fad, we thought we’d mention some of the things you should consider. Thanks for reading.
If you liked this article, we think you might 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!
In the old days, if you were hyping benefits to the 'fluffy' level, it was considered 'puffery', i.e. exaggerated or false. Glamorizing a city is no different; all this does is throw people off when they go to visit a place because they start out with too high of expectations.
We talk and write about such things as the parasites, machismo behavior and misinformation about Cuenca and everything in between. Our picture is real! It’s real because we observed it and experienced it ourselves and we have no vested interests keeping us from blogging about it.
We have no agenda whatsoever, except…to let people know the real nitty-gritty of life abroad.
Why We Debunk (New) Best Place to Retire in Favor of Cuenca Ecuador
Its comical how we think that going to another country is going to not have anything negative about it because it’s the (new) best place to retire in,“paradise”. Let’s take a detailed look at why we debunk the new best places to retire in favor of Cuenca Ecuador.
We’ve done our share of traveling, having traveled to different parts of Mexico many times, British Virgin Islands a couple of times, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and now Panama.
1. Crime
When we went to Panama for five weeks we thought we were going to a country that had little crime. Why? Because you never hear about it! Crime in Panama’s expat communities is considerably played down, almost like it doesn’t exist…it is a phenomenon how people sweep such important issues under the rug. It’s getting really dirty under that rug and we’re sweeping it out!
Cuenca Ecuador is probably the safest city of its size in all of Latin America. Sure there’s thievery but nothing like Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia...and now just lately we're hearing that the border city of Peru is crime ridden too. Cuenca (not other areas in Ecuador) has minimal violent crime against foreigners at this time and that is a plus for retirees who need to be able to walk the streets and sleep with peace of mind.
In Panama, Mexico, Colombia, DR, and Costa Rica crime rates have gotten out of hand, especially against foreigners. And many of the new best places to live on the ten best places list are crime ridden as well. Lower crime is why foreigners choose Cuenca Ecuador over Boquete, Panama.
2. Renting
Sure Cuenca’s rents have risen substantially but so have rents in all of the other Latin American cities too. What we’ve noticed about rents in general in places talked about over the internet or heavily visited by tourists is that they always gravitate to the same level or resistance. See if this is not so.
We’ve done some research and written about it before. The level of price resistance for rental pricing frequently seems to be very consistent. You will hear the same figures over and over, and how could that be? After all, these are totally different places in different countries.
3. Garbage Collections
Disorganization is common and usually visible in the garbage collection. This is where Cuenca Ecuador shines, they do a very good job of keeping the streets free of loose garbage. This cannot be said unfortunately of other areas in Ecuador and other Central and South American countries.
 |
| This is a common theme in Panama City Panama |
Garbage pick-up in Cuenca and Quito is excellent! Not only is it excellent but there is no garbage on the streets anywhere, and if a piece of garbage is on the streets, the locals in the orange and green jumpsuits come to the rescue and clean it. Cuenca is the cleanest city (from garbage on the streets) we’ve ever been in, in Latin America! Cuenca has garbage pick-up even during holidays!!
4. Sewage issues
Panama has a sewage problem along the Balboa boardwalk. During certain hours in the morning (best time to walk) when the tide is out, it reeks of waste. We had to avoid walking on the boardwalk during those two hours when the tide is out because the stench was so unbearable. This is where the $2000 dollar a month ocean view apartments are located. Still, it doesn’t add up.
Sewage runs into the ocean and its causing a big mess, a big stench, and it’s certainly not what you paid for. Don’t think this kind of things is contained only to Panama. Latin American countries frequently have the same third world sewage issues.
5. No RESTROOMS
Cuenca Ecuador is no exception. When I first landed, and was walking around downtown, it quickly became apparent that there was a lack of public restrooms. At first I thought it was just because I was new and didn’t know where they are located. Later I realized that it’s a combination of factors that puts me at a disadvantage. One is, that I’m walking, and therefore it takes longer to get to a restroom in the first place.
Walking and having to go is not like driving and having to go. In hotter countries such as Panama, its even more challenging since drinking water is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Elevation also makes one thirstier and needing lots of water and so it's good that at least the city of Cuenca has a few public restrooms. Many Latin countries do not even have that.
6. Highways and Streets
Some places have pretty good highways but a lot of the interior roads need a lot of work, and many areas have unpaved streets,causing mud holes and dusty roads all of the time. Of course, you always see pictures of sunsets in the pretty postcard pictures, not muddy and dusty streets. How to decipher the international travel press/promoters to your advantage when retiring abroad!
7. Internet Connectivity & Service
Although internet connectivity is improving, it is not the always on reliable and dependable internet we’re used to back home. Especially when we travel, the internet is spotty at best, if you can get it.
Infrastructure in Latin American Countries
You
shouldn't have to pay $2000 per month for 800 square feet just to get
good internet. Many if not most of the hostels or small hotels have
terrible internet in their rooms in all the areas we’ve traveled to.
When you look at the prices of these longtime expat destinations and how
touristy they get, the value is just not there.
8. Health Care and Medical/Dental
Two different people have told us just in one week what good service they received from one of the hospitals in Cuenca Ecuador. We’re sure that healthcare is good in bigger cities in other Latin American countries too but it’s still less expensive in Cuenca Ecuador, and especially when you stay away from the recommended doctors that speak English.
9. Public Transportation
Panama City has good transportation with the metro buses and the subways but once you leave the big city, it is terrible! If you want to travel to Azuero Peninsula and you don’t have a car, good luck! The minivans that service this area and others further south leave a lot to be desired as a transportation service.Many times there was no room in these vans and if you over 5’ 6” tall you will be uncomfortable to put it mildly.
The country of Ecuador has great transportation, no matter what city or town you want to travel to because they use regular buses that service regular size people. Some countries have good reliable transportation, and others not so much. If you’re just a tourist its something you put up with because you know its temporary. But if you’re thinking of residing permanently, make sure you understand what you’re getting into, and if you will be able to withstand it.
10. Grocery Stores
In Panama everything in the grocery stores is imported from the U.S and it’s very expensive. Fruits and vegetables are out of this world expensive in Panama, no matter where at you are in Panama. There are a few tropical fruits that grow in Panama like the mango, papaya, coconut, and pineapple that are still very reasonable, but everything else is imported.
In Ecuador you can buy all fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices and Cuenca has several organic produce markets where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables inexpensively.
To sum this up, we think Ecuador is much more likable and livable than many other Central and South American areas for all the reasons we discuss in this article. Of course there are other considerations, and some of them quite severe such as lack of air quality here in Cuenca Ecuador.
We have no agenda whatsoever, except…to let people know the real nitty-gritty of life abroad. Cuenca for us, at least so far from what we have seen, read about and heard from other people, is still the best place to live in Latin America. Maybe that’s correct, maybe its not. But running to some other ‘best retirement place in the world’ or ‘paradise’ that’s the current fad, we thought we’d mention some of the things you should consider. Thanks for reading.
If you liked this article, we think you might 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!
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