I always like to post a general response to articles left the last few days, if for no other reason that I'm not posting blind. I am aware of the goings on in Ecuador.
Lately, crime, and the ripoff of gringos seems to be an on-going topic.
I'm not going to try to justify, rationalize, or in any way minimize the problems you have faced. I will point out that basic food staples have risen about 39% in 2010. That bag of rice, kilo of flour, or sack of potatoes has nearly doubled.
For us, whose food budget is a smaller portion of our monthly outgo, we see it more as a pain in the butt. In a poor third world country, it may be a matter of life or death.
With that in mind, knowing that petty theft is on the rise, I would like advice from you expats who live in homes, condos, farms, and seaside cottages. But before you give me your opinions, I'd like to offer my reasons for thinking the way I do. For those who disagree, please tell me. I need to know your thoughts.
My wife and I love both the coast and the mountains. Wherever we decide to live, we will probably choose a condo.
Houses, in rural areas, seem vulnerable to "home invasions." If you are not well known by your neighbors, you cannot be protected by fear of their reprisal at an attacking gang of thugs.
(This was the Latin America I knew in the Fifties. I don't think it has changed.)
So, rural homes and properties are out.
I don't want to live in a gated community; I can do that here.
Apartments lack security; condos have a semblance of it. Ergo, to a condo here we come.
We plan to leave Houston with little more than the clothes on our backs. If we rent a furnished place from Cuenca Real Estate, Ecuador Central, or Cuenca Condos, we will pay two to three times the rent of an unfurnished one.
On the other hand, if we decide to rent unfurnished, we will be starting from scratch: We will need alll appliances, furniture, linens, and so forth.
What, in your opinion, is the wiser thing to do? I know that such things as a hi-def TV and stereo equipment cost more in Ecuador, but how about stoves, washers and dryers, and refrigerators - products made in Ecuador?
Can anyone give me a ball-park figure to furnish a two or three bedroom condo to reasonable American living standards. Please don't low-ball it. I'm not writing for Gary Scott or International Living.
Also, this question may seem somewhat outlandish, but we live in Texas, where tresspassers and home-invaders can be shot on sight. Althought we have no guns here, I feel the suggestion that we may is a deterrent to would-be criminals. In 40 years, we've never had so much as a peep from one. Can a weapon, ie., a 12 guage shotgun, be purchased for home defense in Ecuador, seeing as how so many homes seem to be targeted?
I look forward to your replies. Thanks.
Ray
Lately, crime, and the ripoff of gringos seems to be an on-going topic.
I'm not going to try to justify, rationalize, or in any way minimize the problems you have faced. I will point out that basic food staples have risen about 39% in 2010. That bag of rice, kilo of flour, or sack of potatoes has nearly doubled.
For us, whose food budget is a smaller portion of our monthly outgo, we see it more as a pain in the butt. In a poor third world country, it may be a matter of life or death.
With that in mind, knowing that petty theft is on the rise, I would like advice from you expats who live in homes, condos, farms, and seaside cottages. But before you give me your opinions, I'd like to offer my reasons for thinking the way I do. For those who disagree, please tell me. I need to know your thoughts.
My wife and I love both the coast and the mountains. Wherever we decide to live, we will probably choose a condo.
Houses, in rural areas, seem vulnerable to "home invasions." If you are not well known by your neighbors, you cannot be protected by fear of their reprisal at an attacking gang of thugs.
(This was the Latin America I knew in the Fifties. I don't think it has changed.)
So, rural homes and properties are out.
I don't want to live in a gated community; I can do that here.
Apartments lack security; condos have a semblance of it. Ergo, to a condo here we come.
We plan to leave Houston with little more than the clothes on our backs. If we rent a furnished place from Cuenca Real Estate, Ecuador Central, or Cuenca Condos, we will pay two to three times the rent of an unfurnished one.
On the other hand, if we decide to rent unfurnished, we will be starting from scratch: We will need alll appliances, furniture, linens, and so forth.
What, in your opinion, is the wiser thing to do? I know that such things as a hi-def TV and stereo equipment cost more in Ecuador, but how about stoves, washers and dryers, and refrigerators - products made in Ecuador?
Can anyone give me a ball-park figure to furnish a two or three bedroom condo to reasonable American living standards. Please don't low-ball it. I'm not writing for Gary Scott or International Living.
Also, this question may seem somewhat outlandish, but we live in Texas, where tresspassers and home-invaders can be shot on sight. Althought we have no guns here, I feel the suggestion that we may is a deterrent to would-be criminals. In 40 years, we've never had so much as a peep from one. Can a weapon, ie., a 12 guage shotgun, be purchased for home defense in Ecuador, seeing as how so many homes seem to be targeted?
I look forward to your replies. Thanks.
Ray
