Two years ago this month, I released my fourth book on Ecuador (100 Points to Consider Before Moving or Retiring in Ecuador). I want to thank all of you who have read it as well as the many emails from readers over the last two years. There were numerous people who helped me with information for the book including current expats, former expats, and of course hundreds if not more Ecuadorians over the last 35 years.
One of my goals in this book has been to address many of the challenges that expats may face when moving to and living in Ecuador. The learning curve can be steep in this intricate and complicated culture for foreigners. Another goal of the book has been to increase and improve the cultural fluency of expats to have a better understanding of how things work in Ecuador.
Some of my critics comment that the book is negative or it is stereotyping Ecuadorians. I am not concerned with whether points in the book are negative or positive. The important thing is, are they accurate. As to stereotyping, well one thing I have learned in my nearly 60 years is that we as humans stereotype and that is how we navigate through our world. Believe me expats are stereotyped by Ecuadorians whether they are accurate or not. The key at least from my perspective is to try to make sure generalities can be substantiated in a general sense and to realize there are exceptions to every rule or stereotype.
While this book's title refers it is written for someone thinking of moving to Ecuador, I encourage expats living there to take a look at it. I believe you will find culture cues and numerous cultural vignettes that will be helpful to you. There is also considerable information as to safety, security and health.
One expat who I don't know wrote in a review: " My husband and I have been living in Ecuador for over 4 years and it was refreshing to read a book that is honest about the culture differences. My husband advised me not to read the book since it validated my intuition of Ecuador and Ecuadorians in a very short period of time after moving here. We had visited Ecuador before making the final move (3 times for me, 5 times for my husband). There is a vast difference between visiting and living here. Once living here, our intention was to relate mostly to Ecuadorians and get more involved in the culture. We were in a situation where it was easy for us to meet Ecuadorians and be more involved from the very beginning. There was not a positive outcome from this intention. We were very naive in reference to culture differences. For me, personally, it is easier to accept the culture differences when there is the honest look at reality. Living here without acknowledging the culture differences is like having an elephant in the room. Everyone sees it, but no one talks about it.
Before moving here, it is good to take an honest look at oneself and the culture differences before making a permanent move. They may dress like us and seem like us in many ways but that is an illusion There are vast differences! No better or worse, just different!
Ecuador is a beautiful country and there are many +'s to living here. However, reading this book before making a permanent move is highly recommended! "
If you would like to read the book it is available on Amazon.com for Kindle. If you don't have a Kindle, Amazon has many free apps so you may read the book on any device you may have.
Thank you,
Nicholas Crowder
http://www.amazon.com/Points-Consider-Before-Retiring-Ecuador-ebook/dp/B00DZTZ4HC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437942272&sr=8-1&keywords=Nicholas+Crowder