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Home Countries Ecuador

Cuenca, Ecuador, Is A Top Budget Retirement Choice

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Jun 12, 2014
in Ecuador, Retirement/Living
0
Retire To Cuenca, Ecuador, an expat heaven
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New Video Reveals Why Cuenca Is Still A Top Retire Overseas Choice

Many retirement destinations are promoted on the basis that they’re “just like the United States”…that living there you’d be in familiar surroundings. That’s not the case with Cuenca, Ecuador. Walking these cobblestoned streets past the historic Spanish architecture and the old colonial churches, you know that you’re not in Kansas anymore.

If you’re looking for the world’s best place to retire on a budget, Cuenca should be at the top of your list. You’d be hard pressed to find a more appealing place in the Americas to live better for less. However, that’s not to say that Cuenca is for everyone. Retired here, you wouldn’t forget that you were living in a different and a developing-world country. For some this could be a plus, for others a minus.

A friend who has lived in Cuenca for years tells me that he still stops frequently when out shopping or running errands to look around at his surroundings and marvel at the reality of his reinvented life. For him, the thrill of being in this old Spanish capital hasn’t worn off.

Why has Cuenca built a reputation as one of the world’s top overseas retirement havens? In a nutshell, because:

  • It’s a charming, walkable colonial city…
  • The cost of living is low (though rising) and the cost of real estate is near rock bottom for Latin America…
  • The health care is high quality, honest, and inexpensive…
  • You can enjoy its spring-like climate 12 months of the year…
  • Cuenca’s large and growing expat community is one of Latin America’s most established and integrated with the local community…
  • Ecuador offers user-friendly retiree residency options…
  • Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar meaning no exchange-rate risk for American retirees…

Cuenca’s historic center measures roughly 12 by 20 blocks, which is big enough to be interesting but contained enough to be manageable on foot (meaning you don’t need to invest in owning a car if you don’t want to). Downtown Cuenca is in a generally good state of repair, both the streets and public areas and the buildings (especially considering the original adobe construction). Thanks to the big and growing expat community based here now, downtown Cuenca today also boasts a large number of cafes, restaurants, bars, and bookshops alongside the traditional butchers, tailors, repair shops, clothing stores, and bakeries.

Traffic in Cuenca can be congested (further reason not to own a car). Buses are not permitted near the town square, but, where they are allowed, they are frequent, fast, noisy, and smelly. Keep that in mind when deciding where to base yourself.

The city is built around a town square anchored by the original city cathedral at one end (built in 1557) and the “new” cathedral (from the 1800s) at the other. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this former Inca capital retains an Andean-indigenous influence evidenced most noticeably by its colorful, open-air markets where women in traditional hats and brightly colored embroidered skirts bring their food and wares for sale.

The stronger cultural influence, though, is Spanish, which dominates the local customs, architecture, government structure, and society norms. There are other colonial cities in Ecuador, but Cuenca is the cultural heart of the country. In this center of art and literature, you can attend the orchestra or a play, enjoy a tango show or an art opening, activities and events that are often free.

Thinking bigger picture, Cuenca is in Ecuador, one of the most beautiful and diverse countries on the planet. In addition to classic colonial Cuenca, Ecuador boasts the Amazon rainforest, the Galapagos Islands, hundreds of miles of Pacific coastline, and the sweeping Andean central valleys.

In Cuenca recently, a friend helped me to shoot some video footage so you could see firsthand what I’m talking about.

Take a look here…

Kathleen Peddicord

Tags: cheapest places to retireExpats In CuencaLiving In EcuadorRetire To Cuencaretire to Ecuador
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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

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