• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Retirement/Living

Moving To Cuenca, Ecuador, Can Mean Retiring A Decade Sooner

Live And Invest Overseas by Live And Invest Overseas
Aug 21, 2014
in Retirement/Living
0
Retire To Cuenca, Ecuador, an expat heaven
210
SHARES
3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Moving Up By Opting Out And Retiring Overseas

“When I was 49, the engineering company I had been working for for many years went through a restructuring. The changes created an opportunity for those of us who were interested to take early retirement.”

That’s how Latin America Correspondent Lee Harrison recalls the starting point for what has evolved over the dozen-plus years since into a grand adventure overseas.

“My wife Julie and I were ready for a big change,” Lee continues. “We wanted an adventure, to take ourselves as far outside our comfort zones as possible. So, when this chance came along to retire well ahead of the timeline I’d had in mind, I jumped at it.”

Lee and Julie considered many options for where to retire overseas. Finally, they settled on Ecuador. It seemed to offer everything they were hoping for.

“Sometimes people who’ve retired to other countries boast that their lives in their new countries are hardly different from the lives they left behind back in the States,” Lee says. “That’s not the case with Ecuador. Living in Ecuador, you never forget that you’re in a foreign country. For Julie and me, this was one of the biggest attractions.”

However, the most important reason that Lee and Julie chose Ecuador as the place to reinvent their lives at this stage was the cost of living.

“As we made our plan for where to go,” Lee remembers, “the reality of what we were doing began to settle in. I was only 49 years old, for crying out loud. What if we ran out of money? I began to worry about being back in the States at age 75 looking for work.”

Lee spent a lot of time running the numbers and, finally, he and Julie found the courage to make the leap.

“We satisfied ourselves,” Lee explains, “that, in Cuenca, Ecuador, the city we’d focused on, my pension would allow us to live very comfortably.”

Lee and Julie were pioneers. Two of the original Cuenca retirees, in 2001 they received Visa 1 and Visa 2 from the New York consulate when they applied for legal Ecuadorean residency.

“We lived in Cuenca for nine months before meeting another English-speaking couple,” Lee says. “We didn’t mind. We were having so much fun taking advantage of all we discovered that Cuenca had to offer. This is a very cultural city, with free symphony events, museums, and annual art shows.

“The best news, though, during those early months,” Lee continues, “was the realization I had that the cost of living was even lower than I’d estimated. Cuenca enjoys great mountain weather year-round. This means no heat and no air conditioning. I had underestimated the effect of the climate on our overall budget.”

The cost of living in Cuenca has increased steadily in the dozen years since Lee and Julie first took up residence. Still, this remains one of the most affordable options in the Americas. You can rent an apartment for as little as US$300 per month. More typical is US$500 monthly. Figure a total budget of US$1,200.

And you may, indeed, decide to invest in a place of your own. The cost of real estate in this city is one of the greatest bargains in all of Latin America, cheaper than in Montevideo, Uruguay; Medellin, Colombia; Fortaleza, Brazil; Panama City; or most any other Central or South American destination you might consider. You could buy a small city condo for less than US$50,000.

Gas, too, is cheap, and Ecuador is a great place for exploring by car. Lee says that he invested in a car soon after making the move, because he and Julie so enjoyed motoring around the country. He advises figuring an additional US$150 per month if you own a car.

One thing to remember about Ecuador is that this country uses the U.S. dollar. For an American retiree, this means it’s easier to understand what things really cost; it’s easier to keep track of what you’re really spending, month to month; and, very important, you don’t have any currency-exchange risk. You may still have local inflation to contend with, but you won’t have to worry about that being compounded when the exchange rate goes against you.

Given his extended personal experience living and investing in this country, we’re delighted that Lee has agreed to act as host for our upcoming Live and Invest in Ecuador Conference taking place in Quito next month.

Kathleen Peddicord

P.S. Cuenca, Ecuador, home to a big and fast-growing expat community, qualifies as one of the world’s top retirement havens and perhaps the best place in the Americas to live well and comfortably on even a very small budget.

In this colonial city recently, I filmed a brief video to give you an idea what Cuenca has to offer. Take a look.

Continue reading: The World’s Top Retirement Haven For 2014

Tags: 'Ecuador''Lee Harrison''retirement'Cost Of Living In CuencaLive And Invest In EcuadorRetire To Cuenca
Share84Tweet53
Previous Post

World’s Most Livable Cities

Next Post

The World’s Top Retirement Haven For 2014

Live And Invest Overseas

Live And Invest Overseas

Live and Invest Overseas is the world's savviest source for top opportunities to live better, retire in style, invest for profit, do business, and own real estate overseas. Established in 2008, the Live and Invest Overseas' editors and correspondents have more experience researching and reporting on top opportunities for living well, investing for profit, doing business, and owning real estate around the world than anyone else you'll find.

Related Posts

3 Popular Seaside Towns In Mexico Within Driving Distance Of The States
Lifestyle

3 Popular Seaside Towns In Mexico Within Driving Distance Of The States

by Lee Harrison
May 4, 2022
0

One of the most valuable conveniences you could hope for when purchasing a home abroad can be the ability to...

Read more
The Best Places To Live Abroad And Launch A New Life

The Best Places To Live Abroad And Launch A New Life

April 27, 2022
The Eiffel tower in Paris from a tiny street

While Away Your Days In Paris

April 26, 2022
A view of Cinta Costera in Panama City, Panama

One Of The Greatest Melting Pots

April 25, 2022
A relaxing Panama shoreline

Is Retiring In Panama Still A Good Choice? If So, Where?

April 24, 2022
Ferragudo, Algarve, Portugal

How One Couple Discovered A Great New Life In Algarve

April 21, 2022
Portuguese beach villa in Carvoeiro classic fishing boats

Retirement In Algarve, Portugal, Is A Breeze For Americans

April 17, 2022
Next Post
Foreign Retirement Havens

The World’s Top Retirement Haven For 2014

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2022

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

The World’s Best Places To Be In 2022?

Discover Them Here…

WANT TO RETIRE OVERSEAS?

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll immediately send you a free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE in style overseas. Each day you’ll learn about the best opportunities for international living, retiring overseas, offshore diversification and asset protection, and investing in real estate around the world.