Friday, June 15, 2012

Expatriates find an affordable welcome in Ecuador

Ashley Rogers wanted adventure. She had been a network television producer and writer in Los Angeles for 20 years when she decided it was time to move abroad.

After considering Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Panama City, she settled in May 2011 on Cuenca, a small city of about 330,000 in the highlands of southern Ecuador, drawn to its culture, friendly people and low cost of living.

“The building I ultimately moved into was the first of its kind in Cuenca: an old colonial building being renovated and restored into ultra-modern apartments and lofts, yet keeping the integrity of the historic building,” Ms. Rogers said. “It is the perfect blend of old and new and I couldn’t be happier.”

Ms. Rogers paid $148,000 for the 186-square-meter, or 2,000-square-foot, loft with adobe walls in Casa San Sebastian. The price included reconfiguring the initial architectural plans to match her taste and all the renovations, like the addition of skylights and a mezzanine, surrounded by glass.

“It was an empty shell when I purchased it,” Ms. Rogers said. She worked on the renovations with Juan Heredia, the first developer in Cuenca to take on such restoration projects, capitalizing on the city center’s status as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Since finishing the brick building that includes Ms. Rogers’ apartment, he has worked on Casa Juan Jaramillo, in the city center, which sold out immediately. His third restoration, at Casa de los Frutales, is being planned.

Ms. Rogers still works on documentary films in various spots around the world but she also has found business opportunities within the Ecuadorean expatriate community. She and Michel Blanchard, a former model and fashion editor, have started Ecuador At Your Service, a travel consultancy and concierge service for anyone interested in visiting or moving to the country. They also are co-hosts of an Internet radio show about Ecuador for the Overseas Radio Network.

Other expatriates, primarily retirees from the United States, also have been drawn to Cuenca since a 2009 magazine article labeled it the “World’s Best Place to Retire.” Today, estimates say there are 1,500 to 1,600 expatriates living permanently in the city, with another 1,000 on long-term visas.

One of them is George Evans, who had been planning to retire in Tucson, Arizona, but was unhappy about the cost of utilities, gas and food. He moved to Cuenca almost three years ago with his wife and two children and opened California Kitchen, a restaurant that quickly became a popular meeting spot for the expatriate community.

“The weather is nice. The cost of living is very low. Public transportation is very good,” said Mr. Evans, who lives in an apartment south of the city center. “I really love to walk and don’t need a car.”

One feature that expatriates regularly cite is the inexpensive, high quality health care provided by the 18 hospitals and medical centers in the city and the large number of English-speaking doctors. Also, as Cuenca is the center of the region’s agricultural and tourism industries, it has supermarkets and malls, English-language bookstores and cultural opportunities.

News articles frequently tout the low cost of living in Cuenca, which one Canadian family of three estimated to be $11,000 a year in 2010.

But no one should expect to find a $40,000 condo. (The U.S. dollar is the official currency of Ecuador.)

Residential buildings range from stone and brick structures that are centuries old to modern condominium and apartment developments in concrete and steel, often covered in brick veneers.

Most condos are priced from $800 to $1,000 per square meter, which equals about 10 square feet, less than half the average cost in Panama City.

Houses tend to be cheaper at $500 to $600 per square meter, with prices declining in rural districts like the Yunguilla Valley.

Most units can be bought for somewhere between $80,000 and $300,000, said David Morrill, who moved here eight years ago from Tallahassee, Florida. He owns Cuenca Real Estate and also runs an expatriate Web site and newsletter.

Mr. Morrill said there are 30 to 40 new condo buildings in development in the city at any given time, and most projects sell out before construction is finished. Prices, he said, have increased around 10 percent per year for the past five years. For example, he said, “I bought a condo six years ago for $60,000 and sold it for $98,000.”

“If you come for the cheapness, you will be disappointed,” Mr. Morrill said, adding, “There’s a lot to enjoy, but it’s not for everybody.” He estimated that of every four expatriates who move to Cuenca, one decides to leave.

But in addition to the real estate demand from expatriates, Cuenca is popular with Ecuadoreans returning to the country after spending years in the United States or Europe. Mr. Morrill estimates that they make up more than 30 percent of the potential buyers’ pool.

“There are 3.5 to 4 million Ecuadoreans living out of the country and almost all want to come back” to retire, he said.

1 comment:

  1. I don´t know about Ecuador but the apartment seems very cozy and the fact that it is close to a shopping mall is something to consider. Why? Because you are in a new city and if there is anything you want and you don´t know where to get it (and it will happen, because you are not familiar with the town) you are sure that they will have it at the mall. Last year I decided to rent furnished apartments in buenos aires near the Abasto shopping. That is something that an expat should also keep in mind!

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