Country Article / Postcards

Leap of Faith

Date: 10/23/2006

Ecuador mostly appeals to the adventurer, expat, or investor willing to take a leap of faith, both geographical and psychological, across the continental divide from Central to South America.

The Miami-Quito flight is but an hour longer than the Miami-Panama City flight, yet Ecuador has a reputation of being “out there.” Good, say I. All the more of this exotic little country for me to have to myself.

Ecuador, about the size of Nevada, contains more biodiversity, mile for mile, than any other country on earth. It boasts a 1,400-mile Pacific, cliff-studded, and largely undeveloped coast…glacier-clad mountains that soar to almost 21,000 feet…jungles that form the headwaters of the Amazon…and one of the planet’s most fascinating island chains: The Galapagos.

The number of expats here is small compared to the numbers in many Central American countries, even nearby Colombia and Venezuela. There are no gringo-only resorts here. If you live in Ecuador, you live mostly among middle- and upper-class Ecuadorians, or other South Americans. You will have a handful of North American or European friends, but you will find yourself immersed in the culture and its traditions. You will also find yourself forced--and not always comfortably--to make your Spanish understandable to cabbies, tailors, waiters, and the fellow down the street.

For sportsmen, naturalists, and art collectors, Ecuador offers a veritable smorgasbord of opportunities: Mountain climbing, hiking, diving, bird watching, paragliding, mountain biking, surfing, and arguably the best sport fishing in the world. For the lover of fine crafts and art, the Andean craft trail, anchored in the north by Otavalo and in the south by Cuenca, is unique in Latin America. To wander the crowded, colorful stalls and shops offering world-class weavings, silver and gold jewelry, leather products, carved statues, reproductions of religious artifacts, paintings, ceramics, and hand-made guitars, is a feast for the senses.

Despite its exoticness, Ecuador’s popularity has soared in recent years, not just among tourists--whose numbers increased 25% last year--but for potential expats and investors. The number of North American and European property purchasers have more than doubled since 2005.

Why are more people coming down here to take a look? I think there are several reasons.

Visitors to cities such as Quito and Cuenca, comparing them to cities in Central America and Southeast Asia, often comment that they don’t feel as if they are in a Third-World country. Although there is plenty of poverty in Ecuador, the country ranks in middle of Latin American countries in this category with its comparatively larger middle class, better off than most of Central America--Panama being the notable exception--and more prosperous than the surrounding Andean nations of Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia.

The country ranks low in major crime. Interpol, the World Bank, and the United Nations, rank Ecuador between third and fifth as the safest country in Latin America. Ecuador’s most dangerous cities, Guayaquil and Quito, in terms of per capita crime, have lower murder, rape, and assault rates than Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, or Los Angeles. An important caveat however: like most of Latin America, petty crime and property crime are high in Ecuador, and tourists and newcomers must keep their wits about them and remember lessons they’ve learned on previous trips: Keep a tight hold on bags, cameras and jackets, and an eye out for suspicious characters working in teams of two or more.

Another significant reason for Ecuador’s popularity is the number of visitors who return home and convince their friends and neighbors to travel south to take a look. In Cuenca, I know a Manhattan entrepreneur who purchased a condo in a new midrise building and persuaded a friend, a congressional aid, to buy an apartment a few blocks away on the Riobamba River. In Salinas, two college buddies who love deep-sea fishing have bought side-by-side condos just off the beach. In Los Chillos, a lower valley outside Quito, two recently retired couples bought nearby houses and joined the country club so they could pursue their passion for golf.

One of Ecuador’s strongest selling points is its low cost of living. Depending upon lifestyle, a monthly budget for a couple runs 30% to 50% of a similar U.S. budget. A shopping cart in a modern Ecuadorian grocery store will cost, on average, 60% of the cost of the same cart in the U.S. An even better deal is shopping in one of the country’s many indigenous mercados. How about five avocados for a dollar? Watermelons for 50 cents? Medical care? A visit to the general practitioner’s office will cost you about $20; a half hour with a psychiatrist, $25.

A primary reason for Ecuador’s low cost of living, of course, is real estate. In 2005, property prices for non-coastal property ran 20% to 50% of those in the U.S. Bargains are even more dramatic for coastal properties. A 1,650-square-foot, 12th-floor, four-bedroom, oceanfront condo in a new Salinas highrise is priced at $145,000. A comparable new condo in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Destin, or Marco Island, Florida, would run between $850,000 and $1.5 million.

I’ll give you the full lowdown on Ecuador property tomorrow.

David Morrill
For International Living

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P.S. Volcano update: Although Tungurahua has been quiet since its major August eruption, scientists warn another, and possibly larger, eruption is imminent. The 16,500-foot volcano, located in central Ecuador between Ambato and Riobamba, erupted first in July and again, with much greater force, Aug. 16. Tourists have been warned to avoid the town of Banos, which sits at the base of Tungurahua.