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Your Retirement Destination Ecuador

Weak currencies have worked to your advantage this year if you’re in the market for a new destination to call home.

Ecuador, one of the favorites for overseas living has finally risen to the top.
Property and the cost of living in Ecuador are almost absurdly affordable these days.
A newly built beachfront home at Punta Blanca, a popular resort area in the state of Guayas, is on offer for a negotiable $40,000. Individual beachfront lots not in developments are selling for as little as $3,000.

Maid service costs under $100 a month, and minimum industrial wages are about the same. Our correspondent on the ground there, Gary Scott, recently bought four paso fino horses to keep on his ranch—for less than $100 each. At the market, you’ll find handmade fisherman sweaters for less than $10 and leather jackets for $70.

But rock-bottom prices alone do not make an ideal retirement destination. There are plenty of hell-holes the world over where you can buy cheap land and find a 5-cent cup of coffee—but you wouldn’t want to live there. Not so in Ecuador. This country is no backwater…it’s simply undiscovered. Quito, nestled in a mountain valley, is a beautiful, well-preserved colonial city where you can enjoy a gourmet meal in a French restaurant. You can play golf on courses so free of crowds that you don’t have to make tee times. The climate is a comfortable 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit year-round.

The country’s current president, Jamil Mahuad Witt, is a Harvard graduate who has initiated great reform. Under his administration, the government has abolished all income and corporate tax. There are no foreign-exchange controls, so both residents and nonresidents can hold dollar accounts. And, just as important as the money matters, the people of Ecuador are, as Mr. Scott puts it, “the kindest, sweetest, I’ve ever met.” That makes a difference. You don’t want to live in a place where you’ll be at odds with the local population.
Equador’s people have remained peaceful and welcoming.