The Best Place to Retire Overseas on a Budget

Reader Comments

Back to blog

A holiday at the ecuadorian coast, come and enjoy a wonderful time with us en Ayangue or Salinas. (just 4.5 hours away from Cuenca). visit our webpages: http://casavacacionalayangue.weebly.com/ and http://departamentovacacionalsalinas.weebly.com/.

roeland van lede of FL 11:33AM April 12, 2013

Gordon, what's the difference in being in an affordable Ecuadorian nursing home or an over-priced one in the USA with an Mexican nurse???

Most of the comments on this article seem to be written to dissuade people from moving down; why have a bunch of people flocking in and cramping your good time....Right?

I think I will take my retirement chances in Latin America!

Mike of FL 10:54PM November 18, 2012

I've heard of this matter last night's meeting from a

friend.

I'm interested about it very much.

My husband(77 years old) and I(71) are Korean Canadian living in London, Ontario, Canada.

Very cold and long winter makes us looking some

where nice friendly climate for 6 months.

Thank you,

June and Bill Lee

June Lee 11:09AM October 28, 2012

we have moved to Cuenca and disagree with you strongly. The weather is continuous rain, 243 days of rain so far since 8/11. Truly, produce is inexpensive.

If eating meat ,poultry and fish that has not been refrigerated is your thing, you can buy it inexpensively.If you shop in Supermaxi, this is not the case. In fact, many items have recently been raised almost 10% overnight. The city is not beautiful, nor is it ugly. It seems to be a blend of Equadorians, Indigineous people and old gringos. There is construction everywhere and your statement about purchasing for $40,000. is a lie. There are apartments commonly priced at $175,000-$220,000. It is less expensive than Paris, but what is there to do here that is so memorable? They change their laws overnight, it now costs 5% to have a check drawn on your account. The US is a disaster, but Cuenca is far from the answer.. I have a million things I could add, unfortunately none of them are positive.

Phyllis Villar of FL 2:15PM May 03, 2012

One day "retirees" have to go to a retirement home or nursing home. And you want to wind out your days in an Ecuadorean retirement home or nursing home, right? Wrong. I have lived 55 of my 80 years outside the U.S., and perhaps know of what I speak.

Gordon Ackderman of NY 4:23PM April 22, 2012

Second time lucky. I have been visiting Cuenca, Ecuador for several years and am in the process of relocating some time in the next 12 months. I have made the trip at several different times of the year to experience what the weather changes may be like. Each time it appears that the weather is somewhat similar but there have been occassions where I was very cold and an electric blanket or heater would have been welcomed. I will definately have those when I move. I always carried an umbrella as without warning the skies would open with a deluge of rain and then it would return to sunny skies.

From my investigative travels I found that Cuenca offered me most of everything that I require. Lots of great restaurants, lovely mountain and river views from most apartments. A city where you can walk almost anywhere and where I don't need a car. Taxis are very affordable. Although each time I see more an more foreigners who have relocated this is not one of the reasons I am choosing to relocate. I don't need to be around expats as I love to embrace the culture and people I have chosen to live around. Of course my Spanish is improving each time and I have made some wonderful local friends.

The arts and theatre also play a big part in Cuenca living and many are very affordable. There is so much to enjoy in this beautiful city and I only hope that it stays at least in my lifetime as I have experienced it in the last few years. My concern is about crime as more and more foreigners relocate. Luckily I have not been a target and quite frankly in Cuenca I have never felt unsafe. But I have heard a few horror stories. In saying that they are few and far between the horror stories of crime etc that I hear about every single day in other countries.

I would say it is like any other place in the world where you will have crime and corruption. It is up to the individual to be vigilent as best as you can.

Over the years I have subscribed to www.retire-in-ecuador.com and various other sites including Kathleen Peddicord who wrote the article above. But Retire in Ecuador has helped me out tremendously and offers some wonderful advice and also services from locals and expats in Cuenca.

I hope this has been of some help and for those of you thinking of relocating to Ecuador I strongly advise that you do your homework first and visit the country before making such a large decision. I know some folks have up and moved only to be disheartened and then gone through the process of moving back to their home country.

Jan of WA 6:57PM April 19, 2012

Quote: "Thanks to the comfortable year-round climate in Cuenca, you won’t have to worry about heat or air conditioning ..."

Air-conditioning? Probably not. But the writer has obviously not spent much time in Cuenca during the cold months! At 2500 metres, Cuenca is fully a kilometre higher than, say, Vilcabamba, and it gets as cold as Quito does ...that is to say ... COLD! You will definitely need heating during these times.

Despite Cuenca being more 'advanced' than Vilcabamba, we routinely have people deciding to leave Cuenca in favour of Vilcabamba ... this decision is made primarily for climatic reasons. Vilcabamba genuinely offers a year round spring-like climate, and we get by without the need for heaters or coolers.

For more information, please feel free to visit our website for the Vilcabamba Real Estate Company.

www.vrec.org

Nick Vasey

Vilcabamba Resident

Nick Vasey - www.vrec.org 2:19PM April 18, 2012

OK, HOW IS THE CRIME RATE IN CUENCA, ECUADOR?

BEN THORPE of NY 10:27AM April 18, 2012

YOU TALK ABOUT HOW AFFORDABLE IT IS TO LIVE IN CUENCA, BUT NEVER TALK ABOUT HOW HIGH IS THE CRIME RATE

BEN THORPE of NY 10:22AM April 18, 2012

You are absolutely right. Cuenca is beautiful and very inexpensive for Americans.

Boyd Lemon-Author of “Eat, Walk, Write: An American Senior’s Year of Adventure in Paris and Tuscany,” "Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages," the author’s journey to understand his role in the destruction of his three marriages and “Unexpected Love and Other Stories. Information, reviews and excerpts: http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com.

Travel blog: http://boomertravelblog.com.

Boyd Lemon of CA 7:29PM April 17, 2012

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

Back to blog

On Retirement

Retirement planning ideas and advice from top personal finance and lifestyle bloggers, including Money Ning, Live and Invest Overseas, Dan Solin, Good Financial Cents, Retire by 40, Retirement–Only the Beginning, Free Money Finance, Money Crashers, The Dough Roller, and Sightings at 60.

advertisement

Our retirement readiness calculator will provide a rough idea of how long your retirement savings and income will last.


Latest Video

advertisement