How to Live Big on a Small Income

This is a country where you can live surrounded by unparalleled beauty.

Dear International Living Reader,

I have long found Ecuador to be one of the most beautiful, diverse, and exciting countries that we cover. Nestled in the jagged Andes Mountains, it is home to a large portion of the world’s wildlife and bird species, as well as a staggering array of different landscapes and climates. There’s truly something here for everyone.

This is a country where you can live surrounded by unparalleled beauty, whether it be in the ancient colonial cities of the Sierra, the tranquil Valley of Longevity, the exotic Amazon rainforest, Ecuador’s beautiful and natural coastline, or the mystical and unique Galapagos Islands.

But it’s also a country where you can live on the smallest of incomes. A country where you can still find pristine beachfront lots for under $12,000, antique colonial homes for under $25,000, and peaceful mountain retreats for under $50,000...and you’ll pay almost no taxes and enjoy one of the most non-intrusive and un-regulating governments in the civilized world.

Ecuador’s real treasure, however, is its people. It’s one of the few places where a foreign resident or visitor can blend easily into the community, welcomed into a new circle of friends and a new way of life with relative ease. As a foreigner here you’ll be treated with respect, and the people will be proud to get to know you.

During the last five years, Ecuador has gone through a number of tumultuous changes, including the recent ousting of a president in 2005. But today’s Ecuador has emerged as a country which remains a haven for those wanting to retire or invest, and in fact, I myself have recently bought property here. The landscape of this market has changed, but plenty of areas still exist where you can find significant property bargains, and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle on but a fraction of what you’d spend in much of the world.

Today, you can buy a two-bedroom condominium in Quito’s historic center, close to good shopping, gourmet restaurants, and hotels, for under $55,000...and a one-bedroom for just over $25,000. Quito’s antique Spanish colonial homes in need of restoration start at around $30,000. A two-bedroom apartment in Cuenca’s colonial historic center a block from the main square just sold to an International Living reader for $34,000, and you can rent a beautiful one-bedroom apartment in Cuenca’s most luxurious neighborhood--directly on the Tomebamba River--for just $250 per month. In Vilcabamba, Ecuador’s Valley of Longevity, a two-story traditional Ecuadorian house with five bedrooms on 2.5 acres (lots of fruit trees, and a fresh water source that provides fresh water year-round), sold this year for $60,000.

Maid service costs $120 per month, and construction workers earn $200 per month. At the market, you’ll find handmade fisherman sweaters for less than $10 and leather jackets for under $50.

A Quality of Life That’s Hard to Beat

Low prices alone do not make an ideal retirement or investment destination. There are plenty of places the world over where you can buy cheap land and find a 5-cent cup of coffee--but you wouldn’t want to live there. Not so in Ecuador.

Here you’ll enjoy a quality of life that’s hard to beat, and an experience in living that you won’t get anywhere else. If you enjoy the outdoors, have dreamed of owning a Spanish colonial home in a World Heritage site, or want to spend hours strolling on an undeveloped beach, then Ecuador may be for you.

As you may know, Ecuador survived the Latin American financial meltdown of 2002, in part because of a stability factor that came from adopting the U.S. dollar as the official currency.

There are no foreign-exchange controls and no restrictions on foreign-owned businesses. You can repatriate 100% of your profits. Several International Living readers have started their own businesses here.

What’s Hot Right Now in Ecuador

While there are good buys all over the country, the best buy right now in the property market is unquestionably the purchase of old Spanish colonials in Quito’s historic center. The city is in the process of restoring the old colonial center, something which caused property values to rise rapidly in Cuenca and Guayaquil upon completion. Yet the tremendous value found in these irreplaceable antique homes--some in the $25,000 to $50,000 range--has not yet been recognized by the Ecuadorian investors. Many International Living readers have already bought here.

The other hot area is the village of Vilcabamba in Ecuador’s southern Sierra. Enjoying near-perfect weather 365 days a year, and dramatic mountain scenery, it has Ecuador’s highest concentration of IL readers.

But the true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is in the Galapagos Islands. Not many people even know that it’s possible to own private property in this world-famous preserve, but there is a way, and we’ve found a few things on offer.

In two weeks--May 25-27--we’ll present all this, and more, every piece of on-the-ground intelligence we can muster, and all the reliable contacts you’ll need to fast-track you new life overseas in this fascinating country during our Live and Prosper in Ecuador Conference.

But this event--hosted by our Roving Latin America Editor Lee Harrison and our Ecuador correspondent David Morrill--is a bit different than most.

Not only will you have access to all the information you need to live, work, invest, or retire to Ecuador, but you’ll also meet several expats who have done what you may be dreaming of doing yourself--they’ve left their old careers, reinvented themselves, and retired overseas.

Read on to get all the details on our first Live and Prosper in Ecuador Conference .

Sincerely,

Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living