Expat Community > Ecuador

nanberger
Joined 2009
Posts: 23

For Heaven's sake, why Ecuador?

14 years ago

When someone already here asks that question, you have to sit back and really think about the answer, Boncur.

Over our nearly 50 years of marriage (December 1960), we have traveled to dozens of countries, and spoken to enough expats to come to realize the person who falls in love with Northern Thailand does so for reasons that are nearly identical to the attractions of someone who heads to Southern Ecuador or Croatia.

When my wife and I first started looking at possibilities for living outside the US, we were in our mid sixties, and I was not yet retired. For us, a disabled couple in a wheelchair, TransAtlantic and TransPacific travel, what we call Horizontal Exploration, was becoming physically impossible. I decided if we wanted to continue to travel- which we both love- we would have to consider Vertical Exploration, north or south of where we were living. Our US home is near Washington, DC. We can board a plane at Dulles Airport at 6AM and be in our home in Cumbaya by 3PM that same day, with a brief layover, just enough time to grab a small pizza, at the airport in Panama City.

Where we can go from Cumbaya is so easy, and there is so much to see in this delicious country. But importantly for us, Ecuador is a "Foreign Country", with a different language and different customs. It is exotic. Exciting. Do-able. Being here permits us to continue to travel, yet almost stay in our own back yard.

In our case, Nancy speaks no Spanish. I can get by, but I am far from fluent. On one hand, this is great because it emphasizes the fact that we are in a "foreign" country. It is also a curse, because it hinders our abilities to become immersed in this culture to the extent we might wish.

Finally, we were warned repeatedly about how "they do things differently here". We have found that the red tape aspect of moving to- and living in Ecuador, is maddening. We have run into all sorts of problems with lawyers, notaries, visa classifications. But then, we have come to realize every country imposes roadblocks on people who want to come from some other country of origin. Ask anyone about how easy is the process of obtaining American citizenship and you will know what we mean.

The key is not to take it personally. Accept what you find here as the reality of "this is what it is". Or, as our grandkids tell us too often, "Deal with it".

We have been here, back and forth, for nearly three years. Although there were times when we thought we might crumble under the weight of the obstacles, we are glad we "hung in". Ecuador is worth the struggle.

Nancy and Nate Berger

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