Trash-it and Replace It Culture of USA vs. Fix-it and Keep It Culture of Ecuador

Reader asks: I have read that there are no second hand stores or yard sales in Cuenca. What does one do when replacing items? Are they tossed or donated?
 

Frank and Angie's Response: This is a good question and we wondered the very same thing when we first moved here. In general, we north Americans come from a throw-away kind of society where when something breaks or becomes too used up we simply replace it with a new one but here that is not the case at all.
 

The Ecuadorians do one of two things when something needs replaced: 1. They fix it, mend it, restore it, or repair it and then give it to someone else in the family to enjoy, whether it’s a piece of furniture or an appliance…or 2. They fix it, mend it, or repair it and keep it!
 

Ecuador’s culture is a very resourceful one where they find ways to continue using what they have; if something can’t be fixed they will use the parts from it to create or build something else with those parts. We find it rather industrious to say the least.
 

We have thrown out numerous broken items in the last five years from 2 electric heaters, kitchen electric grill, a fan, numerous broken small kitchen gadgets, broken lamps, and three office chairs that just broke in half because they were made of cheap plastic, etc. 

3rd broken office chair in five years! LOL

We put this chair outside by the gate and it was gone within minutes

Be careful buying things in Ecuador, off brands are no good and will break.
 

We put our broken stuff outside the gate for the garbage men to haul away and before you know it someone comes by and takes what he or she wants. This is why there are no thrift stores in Ecuador to speak of. They do have many used clothing and shoe stores however, but you will not find anything else, just clothes.
 

As for the expats that come here and then leave, they sell their stuff on the gringo portals to newcomers to Cuenca and that works out great because many folks do come here without anything but their suitcases and they have to buy furniture and appliances and more to setup house. 



When expats leave, for one reason or another sometimes they have a garage sell to get rid of all the stuff they bought. Now-a-days you can find just about everything you need to set up house; most things are only lightly used. It’s much less expensive than buying everything new. 



You will also find that now that there are more gringos needing stuff, the Ecuadorians also sell their things on the gringo portals, if they speak English and if they don’t speak English, they sell their items on Mercado Libre, an online sellers and buyers outlet for Ecuador.



Until we write again, you might like to read these articles.

• Ecuador’s Culture is Very Resourceful

• Culture Shock! South America vs. USA

•  43 Observations about Cuenca’s People

• Giving Up All Your Possessions to Move to Cuenca 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!

Why Homes Are Walled and Behind Iron Gates in Cuenca Ecuador? UPDATE 2016

I notice that you live behind iron gates. Although you state, in another video, that the streets are safe, could you comment on home theft or petty theft? We know that to be pretty normal for Latin countries.   



Once again we bring you another relevant update about security measures and why homes need to be walled and windows barred. when living in Latin America. This 4 year old article (first published April 2012) really needed some updates.



Notice all updates are in red.  



Update 2016 - Some armchair travelers when they watch our videos remark about the tall iron gates that surround homes and the bars on the windows and don't understand it. They haven't even been here (yet) and they are already in mild shock.  



That's why we write articles like this one so people will have a better idea what's behind all these security measures. Also, most of Latin America is like this, not just Ecuador.



Welcome to Latin America...or should we say, "Are you sure Latin America is a good fit for you?" 



Why do people in North America lock their doors and windows at night? To keep thieves out, right? In North America thieves don’t care if you’re home or not, they just break in and steal what they want and in some cases if you cannot defend yourself properly, they’ll kill you. They call this “home invasion” up north. Most cities of the same size in North America have much more violent crime than Cuenca Ecuador.

Here in Cuenca Ecuador the thieves in most cases wait until you’re not home (burglary) as opposed to the much more violent home invasion. They just rob you blind and they do it, not when you’re sleeping but when you are away from your home. 



Update 2016 - This has changed. It is common practice in both Panama and Ecuador to break into houses when occupants are home and some of these home invasions are violent. It's been happening in Panama for quite some time but some folks with vested interests are keeping it hush hush...sad, really sad. It's only gotten worse there. 



And now that Ecuador is seeing more and more foreigners moving there, the country has been seeing more and more home invasions against foreigners. Be aware, we now advice expats have electric fencing around the perimeters of their houses, dog(s), alarms, motion detectors, cameras, etc and lots of wisdom. 



The difference in crime between the U.S and Ecuador is that in Ecuador (excluding the bigger cities) it mostly is not violent. I say, mostly, because there have been some violent robberies by criminals from Guayaquil in Cuenca.  



Update 2016 - Big change here. home invasions, especially those in gated communities have become more violent, sending expats to the hospital. The Ecuador coast and Vilcabamba have seen the most home invasions, however Cuenca is not immune to such violence. 

At first it can seem intimidating all the tall walls, barred windows, broken glass on the roofs, but after awhile you get used to it and you realize that it is partly a culture thing. If your house was the only one on the block not behind a tall locked gate, or tall wall with glass, you will eventually get burglarized. Why make it easy for the thieves. Be one step ahead of them. 



Update 2016 - Scoffers of crime in Latin countries complain about how ugly the tall gated walls are and bars on the windows but if you are going to live in a house in Ecuador and/or Panama you need this protection! To sweep personal security and crime under the rug would be unwise at best. 

On another note, if some of the bigger crime-ridden cities in North America had tall walls and iron gates around the homes there would be far less petty crime and armed robberies. Thieves want to take down the most vulnerable looking house or person and if they have a choice it will always be the house without the locked iron gate, or the person who seems to be the most vulnerable by “what they do” and “how they behave and live”. 



Update 2016 - Another update we feel needs mentioned is the opening of your gate to strangers, which can and does result in armed robberies of expats.  If you're going to open the gate to people you don't know then why even have a gate and an in-house speaker phone to the gate?  We know of 3 instances where expats have opened the gate to strangers and as a result, got robbed, two of them happened on the Ecuador coast and the other right here in Cuenca.

Yes, as a whole the streets are relatively safe in Cuenca (not talking about other parts of Ecuador) but one still needs to be diligent and stay aware of surroundings because there is petty thievery at work here all over Cuenca. We have talked about this in quite a few of our other blog posts. Please read through the blog carefully and you shall find your answers about staying safe in Cuenca. There’s also more in the DIY (Do it Yourself) Cuenca Landing Guide.



Until we write again, you might like to read these related articles about how to stay safe when living in Latin America.

• How Do Ecuadorians Protect Themselves from Crime?

• Why Crime is Minimized in "so called" Paradises Abroad?

• Crimes against Expats in Ecuador vs. Panama - Where is Most Crime and Is There a Difference?

• Living in the Countryside of Ecuador - Is It Safe for North American Expats?

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!

 

Cuenca Ecuador Looks Like a War Zone

"Looks one step above a war zone": Comment left by a viewer of our YT video called 'Hermosa Cuenca Ecuador - Jan/Feb 2016'. 

War Zone? Wow, that's going a bit overboard. People who leave comments like the one above, saying that Cuenca looks like a war zone are in shock and we mean that literally. They don’t really know what it’s like to live in Latin America and they probably have never ventured very far out of their home town or city either.



Wall art is not graffiti. Scribbling some angry words on a wall should not be associated with wall art; big, big difference.


Graffiti Can Be Shocking!
 

Graffiti can be shocking; it brings out trepidation in people because it is often associated with violence, crime and gang activity especially in hollyworld movies. The commenter is right, where there is graffiti it usually means hoodlums out at night that don’t have anything else better to do with their time. And we're not saying Cuenca doesn't have crime, but it's not as bad as some people think.
 

Cuenca has some gangs and problems with crime but it is getting better than it used to be thanks to the much more proactive Cuenca police that are working to curb drug gangs and violence in Cuenca. 



The lower crime rate here could be the reason we’re seeing less graffiti on the walls as well. Yes, Cuenca has less and less graffiti on the walls just in the 7 years we’ve lived here. Now we're seeing more and more lovely wall art taking the place of graffiti.



From time to time we’ll receive a comment that says something negative about the tall iron gates and barred windows on the houses in Ecuador, because it scares people; they are literally in shock.

But it has to be that way, otherwise the vulnerable homes, without the bars on windows and tall iron gates will get broken into.  Homes without electric fences are more vulnerable than those with electric fences in the same neighborhood.
 

This brings us to the topic of country living in Ecuador; we’ve touched on this before. Usually homes in the country do not have the tall cement walls or gates surrounding the property, nor does the house itself have bars on the windows. And if you are a gringo living in an unprotected home you will eventually get broken into.




Gringo Enclave Home Invasions
 

Gated gringo communities are also targets for home invasions; having the attitude that one is protected because they are behind a security wall, invites thievery.  



Secluding yourself within a gringo enclave tells the outsider bad apples that “you think you are better than them” and it tells them “you have something of value to take” and it tells them you believe yourself to be safer because you are living among other gringos or in a better neighborhood”.    We don’t say this, the thieves think it!  



Well, let us tell you a little secret: more expensive neighborhoods get broken into ALL THE TIME! The gringos who are unable to live in the local standard type housing and neighborhoods, and do not blend in, will be more susceptible to being targets of crime. In a nutshell, that’s what it boils down to.
 

This brings us back to the commenter. All we can say is these types of people maybe shouldn’t venture out of their home towns because coming here would be too shocking for them and we don’t mean that in a bad way, we’re simply being serious and honest. Lots of people come here that shouldn’t. Like mom for instance; I already know that Ecuador would not be a good fit for her in so many ways.
 

Mom shouldn’t move here because she would want to live the way she wants, not the way she should live according to this country’s background and culture.  She would not adjust very well.  And if you’re moving abroad, you need to be the type that adjusts to anything.
 

Crime Is Different in Latin America!



We’ve always said on our blog to make people more aware, crime is different in Ecuador than in the U.S, which means you have to behave differently here. We’re glad we have tall gates around our home and barred windows; it’s what you need to do to protect yourself and your belongings in Latin America! Its part of life here and it’s not going to go away anytime soon!
 

Cuenca, as a whole is a beautiful city with gracious and curious locals; it has many charms you will never find in small towns in North America of the same size and we’re happy that we are here to experience and enjoy all that Ecuador has to offer.



As most of you know, we live on a local level, in a local style home, in a totally Ecuadorian neighborhood, speak Spanish and blend in…and doing all that, only after four years of living here did we experience prowler/robbery problem and this was only after our home became more vulnerable, at no fault of our own!  A storage structure was butted up against our detached home, which made it very easy for a prowler to use as a stepping stone to get onto our roof; from there they just climbed down into our yard. Before that for four years we had no crime issues.
 

Until we write again…you might like these articles too.

• Moving to Cuenca? Should You Live in a Gringo or Ecuadorian Neighborhood?

• Should You Rent an Apartment or House in Cuenca?

• Why Homes are Walled and Behind Iron Gates in Cuenca Ecuador

We're Italian-American expats, living frugal, healthy and happy in Ecuador for 7 plus years.  Our mission is to show you what it's really like to live abroad! The postcards provide us with a dream but the reality of how it really is provides us with honesty and truth.