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Vernon Henshaw is a German language translator who takes his job with him on the road wherever there's a connection to the Internet. In November 1999, he and his wife Lorna bought property in Quito, Ecuador, and started building their 3 bedroom dreamhome. This article provides our readers with an update to Vernon and Lorna's progress. Vernon's article,  "How I found my perfect retirement home in Quito," appeared in the June 2000 issue of Escape from America Magazine. Additional Resources Living in Ecuador  Ecuadorian Embassies  Contact Vernon Henshaw

Over the past year and a half there has been much interest in Ecuador, generated primarily by the economic disaster that began here about mid-1999 and which continues to this day.  The massive inflation led to the demise of the national currency, the Sucre, and the departure of the last president.  It was during that time that my wife and I found our new home for about $22,000. I hear that people still occasionally come to Ecuador in search of the same deals, which unfortunately, may ave since vanished.  A house like ours (2000 sq. ft. in a gated community) will cost about $50 - 60,000 today.  Other prices have also risen.  Certainly Ecuador is still relatively cheap, but I believe it has now mostly lost its cost advantage over other Central and South American countries.

Let me give some price examples: Our property tax: $38.60, registration of our used car: $18.00, monthly electric bill: $3.50, monthly gas bill: $2.50.  Gasoline costs $1.00 per gallon.  Our maid costs $3.50 per day (3 days each week, and she's a great cook), the handyman who's currently installing tile on our patio is paid $1 per hour.  These are today's prices.  But other items, like furniture, for example, cost about the same here as in the US.  Cars cost about 10% more. Our monthly food bill is about $250, which is roughly what we spent in California. 

There are two related problems facing anyone who wants to reside in Ecuador.  The first is language.  It is necessary to learn Spanish.  A working knowledge of Spanish will help you beat overcharges in business dealings.

The second is wealth.  All my life I was middle-class in the US, but today in Ecuador, I'm fabulously wealthy. and that makes me a target, not only of thieves, but of virtually everyone I do business with.  Already downtown Quito is dangerous for tourists at night, and South Quito is dangerous by day as well.  There's also trouble on the border with Columbia and that situation is uncertain.  We don't live here paranoid, indeed, I feel quite secure on our cul-de-sac with day and night guards and high walls.  But we try not to get into a routine that would allow criminals to plan our demise.

With those caveats out of the way, let's talk about why I still love this place.  Outside my bedroom window are bucolic fields stretching up the distant mountainsides.  Cattle and horses graze across the rushing river, whose sounds lull my wife and me to sleep each night.  We usually keep our window open because it's so peaceful, and nighttime temperatures are only in the 50s. By day, the sun usually comes up very bright in a clear blue sky, then as the morning wears on, clouds begin to form, perhaps with the promise of afternoon showers.  The clouds reduce the sun's intensity and keep the temperature in the 70s. 

But most of all, I love Ecuador because of the freedom I feel here.  Now, that will sound amazing to many people, but what I mean by that is that I can do essentially anything I want to, without having to negotiate a plethora of rules and restrictions.  I can make changes to my house without a building permit; I can put in all the glass I want without violating a building code; I don't smoke, but I could smoke in a restaurant if I did.  If a person will accept the responsibility for his actions, then essentially very little is forbidden here.
 

The people really are friendly, too.  We have good relations with our Ecuadoran neighbors, and sometimes we see them on social occasions.  The little neighborhood girls came over one night last winter to say hello. We started to chat, then ultimately wound up group -dancing to the sound of "Shakira," one of Latin America's hottest singers, and finished off the evening playing jump rope with an extension cord we had lying around.  They're interested in us because we're "exotic" to them, but little -by-little we're just becoming neighbors like everyone else.  We have found the best place to meet people is in a local church.  It's a good place to worship, to practice a little Spanish, and to make contacts for services we invariably need from carpenters to health insurance to curtains to lawyers; they're all available from members of the church.

Let's return to real estate.  This is a very difficult transaction because it's so time consuming and it's very hard to keep the seller from raising the price when he sees a "gringo" involved.  Also, there is no multiple listing service here, and most properties sell by word of mouth.  Even the best agents have only a couple of dozen properties for sale. 

Since we bought in December of 1999, real estate prices have risen dramatically.  A builder on our street expects to complete 4 houses very similar to ours within the next few weeks - price: $60,000.  There is construction going on almost everywhere in my district.  In the more upscale Cumbaya Valley, a new 2500 square-foot house is selling for $125,000.  The "all cash" price might be as low as $110,000.  The newspaper is filled with houses and building lots for sale.  Also, haciendias are available on several acres of land.

Personally, I cannot recommend highly enough the purchase of an apartment in a high-rise, or the purchase of a single home in a conjunto, which is a type of gated community.  The primary reason is the security this type of living will provide.  An apartment building will have a 24-hour guard who knows everyone who lives there.  Any community fees are shared among the owners.  The same is true for the conjunto -- ours has only 6 families, so our fees, when divided 6 ways, are still about $45 per month.  In a larger conjunto, the monthly fees should be accordingly less.
 

Recently I made what I believe to be a super find, right in my own neighborhood.  A large conjunto is in progress just opposite the polo field.  These 3-bedroom houses have 1850 sq.ft. of living area, with 2 1/2 baths, a very large, modern kitchen, with ample living/dining room.  The upstairs master bedroom has a view of the hills; there's tile downstairs and really first-rate finishings -- price: $65,000.  Maybe best of all, the construction will last another 7 months, so that means you have some time to view the property and make a decision on a less hurried basis, or even to select your own finishings and upgrades.