June 23 thru June 27:
We stayed at the Eugenia Hotel in Quito, in the La Mariscal district. You can read my review of this hotel on TripAdvisor, user name "JAFO2022".
We visited the best private hospital in Quito, Hospital Metropolitano. It is as good, if not better, than any hospital I've seen in the U.S.
We found an apartment for sale in a very nice area in Quito, near Centro Commercial Bosque. It was a really small 1 br, 1 bath, but it is brand new and very modern. It was priced at $78,000.
We looked for apartments for rent and sale in two areas of Quito that are both safe and walkable to shopping: La Republica del Salvador and El Batan. We needed walkable to shopping because of the traffic. The things that are walkable include a nice and big park, movie theaters, restaurants, all kinds of businesses, a pharmacy, a really nice mall, and Quito's equivalent to a Super Walmart (MegaMaxi), only better.
In La Republica del Salvador, we found a 4 br, 4 bath with hardwood floors, no appliances or furniture renting for $800 per month. It was quiet and safe. We would not rent this because it has more space than we need, and it was old.
We found an apartment in El Batan that was under construction. It will be a 3 br, 2 bath apartment, approximately 1,070 square feet, quiet and safe, 24 hour security selling for $135,000. The apartment will be finished in April 2014. There are going to be 25 apartments in the building, and 5 were already sold. We would buy this apartment if we were in the market today.
We found another apartment in El Batan. It was a 2 br, 2 bath renting for $600 per month. Quiet and safe with 24 hr security. It included all appliances and furnished dining and living areas. It had hardwood floors. Again, if we were in the market today, we would have snapped this one up.
The fourth property we saw was another 2br, 2 bath in the El Batan area with hardwood floors that was significantly better than the previous one. It belongs to an American we met here and he said it would rent for $1,000 per month. He bought it for $105,000. It's in a safe neighborhood and on the 3rd floor, but on a busy street.
We also checked out a really nice supermarket (Supermaxi at Centro Commercial Bosque) and two upscale malls (Centro Commercial Bosque and Quicentro Mall).
To put it mildly, traffic in Quito is bad. It is much worse than traffic in our hometown (Austin, Texas). I don't think I could live here if I had to drive here. One of our taxi drivers told us that there is a metro under construction, but it won't be finished until 2015.
We could live here, but we would have to make several adjustments. The biggest one would be to the traffic. I won't drive in this traffic during weekdays, only on Saturdays and Sundays, when the traffic is lighter. We would have to do more walking and riding on public transportation. We would have to shop wisely because some places charge U.S. prices.
One thing we have noticed here is that the people here are not overweight. The American we met here moved here 6 months ago and has lost 22 pounds!
The people in Quito are nice, friendly, polite, and helpful. The weather is pleasant.
June 29 thru July 2:
We stayed at Hotel Nazo in Manta. It is located in a nice neighborhood, across the street from a tennis club. This is a very nice hotel and I highly recommend it. You can read my review on TripAdvisor.
Manta is warm, humid, but there are nice breezes off the ocean. We had lunch on Saturday with about 30 expats living in the Manta area.
We visited Montechristi, a town located approximately 30 minutes drive from Manta. Montechristi is famous for a few things. It is the birthplace of a famous Ecuadorian politician - Eloy Alfaro. It is also the original place where Panama hats are made. It is located at the foot of a mountain range. Because it is located near the mountains, it's climate is cooler than Manta's.
We had lunch at a local Italian restaurant in Montechristi. It is a very beautiful restaurant and it reminded me of Tuscany. It is located halfway up a mountain, and has a view of the ocean. The food was very delicious.
On Monday July 1, we went on a four hour tour of Manta. The guides showed us where various things were, like a hospital, some high dollar real estate, a shopping mall, the yacht club, the fish market, banks, downtown Manta, the local university, and a restaurant for lunch. The tour guides are associated with NARWELL CIA. LTDA, www.equateur-discover.com. I highly recommend Narwell if you are visiting Manta for the first time.
Traffic in Manta is much less stressful than Quito. However, the taxi driver we had from the airport to the hotel was really crazy.
We visited two apartments. One was a property owned by the parents of one of the guides. It was a beautiful and spacious three bedroom apartment on the beach on the third floor overlooking the ocean. This apartment would rent for $1,000 per month. This apartment is not walkable to things like a grocery store or a pharmacy. The apartment complex has a beautiful infinity pool with a fantastic view of the ocean.
The other apartment we visited was a two bedroom, two bath unfurnished for $500 per month, furnished for $650. It also was on the third floor, but with a rather limited ocean view. This apartment has a $120 per month condo fee. This apartment had a pool with a view to the ocean, and a terrace on the roof with a barbecue area. This apartment was a short walk to a grocery store, a pharmacy, and some other shopping.
The guides told us that houses are less expensive to rent than apartments in Manta. A real estate agent told us there were unfurnished apartments to rent for $350, furnished $500. These would have 24 hour security, but not ocean views.
We went on a daytrip to Bahia de Caraquez, about two hours north of Manta. Along the way, we stopped at Crucita, San Jacinto, and San Clemente. Bahia is small, has much less traffic, clean, quiet, and safe. It is also quite affordable. We found an apartment tower across the street from the ocean, a 3 bedroom apartment furnished renting for $500 per month. There were many other condo and apartment buildings at or near the ocean. We also saw many lovely homes. Bahia has the basics - a hospital, a small grocery store, and many restaurants. There is a shopping center under construction. The driver told us that Supermaxi plans to build a store there.
July 3 thru July 5:
We stayed at Hosteria San Carlos in Tababela, a small town 10 minutes from the Quito airport. It is simple, quiet, and cheap - $40 per night, taxes, services, and breakfast included.
On July 4, we rode the bus from Tababela to Cumbaya, and spent about six hours there. Cumbaya is about halfway between Quito and it's new airport. We went to a rather nice mall, ate lunch, then went to downtown Cumbaya. We really liked Cumbaya. We did not have any time to look at any properties. We would consider living in Cumbaya as an option.
If you are wondering about us moving to Ecuador, the answer is: probably not. We did not see anything compelling enough for us to move to Ecuador. The traffic in Quito is pretty much a deal breaker. Manta is better than Quito, but it doesn't offer enough to make us want to live there.
Both of us are now seriously considering Medellin. My wife is a Colombian citizen. Her nephew attends college in Medellin. My wife has three friends in the Medellin area. If we were to decide today, our plan would be to move to Medellin, rent an apartment for six months, and see how it goes. During this six-month trial, we would also visit Cuenca for a week, then decide between Colombia and Ecuador.
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