Why NOT retire IN Quito Ecuador??

Ok so maybe living in the center of a city full of 2.5 million people doesn´t appeal to the average retiree or semiretirees looking at Ecuador as an option but WHY NOT?

Skyline of Beautiful Quito Ecuador.

As I stand here on the outside I see so many people passing through Quito within 3 days HELLBOUND for Cuenca or Cotocachi, and I am thinking... Why??

1.  Quito has the best hospital in the country in Hospital Metropolitano.  You are going to eventually get sick right?  Or maybe you would like to jump on the opportunity to save some money on that ¨Lifestyle Lift¨you wanted?

2.  Quito also has all of the amenities of any major world city which, believe it or not, you have become accustomed to having in your native developed country.  Right?

3.  Looking for culture?  Quito has the largest and most well preserved historical center in all of the Americans.  It is literally half the size of all of Cuenca population wise.  Quito also has many exciting day trip destinations for the active retiree within a few hours drive on well paved roads.  You can´t always hide in your new home, fenced in with electric wire can you? 

Ok, so maybe those three points alone will not persuade you to change your mind from buying or renting your quiet piece of the Ecuadorian pie smack dab in the middle of the city, but maybe you should be looking for your piece of the pie somewhere near Quito?  Oh my how sweet the pie is here in the Pinchincha Province.

To the EAST* (Thanks for the correction Journeyman Jack!):  Cumbaya, Tumbaco, Yariqui, Puembo, Quinche, and many other smaller suburbs and towns surround Quito and offer a quieter lifestyle within an hour of the city.  They also offer temperatures in the mid 70s to the mid 80s, Everyday.   

There is also Pomasqui and San Antonio to the north of the city, also featuring warm and dry weather, along with Valle de Los Chillos to the South.

in fact, Sprinkled in and within an hour to an hour and a half of Quito are many small towns that are all charming in their own way, and close enough to the city where it won´t be a hassle just to live daily life.  Not all of them are called Cotocachi either which is realistically more than 2 and half hours away from Quito.

So again I ask, Why not Quito?  It is the perfect base camp to find your dream retirement destination, and I can not put my finger on why their are not entire retirement enclaves scattered throughout the cities suburbs and city limits.  Maybe all the major publications (no names mentioned) have bypassed giving Quito its true praise due?  Even my Ecuadorian father in law of 81 years calls Cuenca a ¨Baby Quito¨.   

Well, Quito and all its secret gems are doing just fine without all the marketing dollars being pumped into it from the retirement publications.  How?  Well, because it is already a self sustaining city without the retirement community investing in it.  Whether or not you settle here, Quito will continue to grow with its rising working middle class and many American establishments that make you feel at home when you are away.  Its developing Yachay Technology Center will most definitely attract more international jobs, (including consulting) and wealth.  No one is slicing Quito´s suburbs up into ¨dream retirement homes¨(yet).  No one really needs too, their are already plenty of middle and upper class Ecuadorians laying their nest eggs there.

I am not knocking Cuenca, Salinas, or any of the smaller retirement destinations that Ecuador has to offer, but they are all knocking Quito all the time.  Its too dangerous, too dirty, too congested, too this and too that.  Not entirely true.  There are sections of the city and its suburbs that are safe, clean, and quiet also.  Ever heard of Tenis? Gonzales Suarez?  Amaguana? Guayllabamba? Probably not.  All you can google up of Quito without due diligence is Mariscal and the Centro Historico (which is which nice in areas also).

So what I am saying to all the retirees who are considering Ecuador is give Quito a shot.  Take it from someone who is 32 years old, not a Real Estate agent or investor, and has NO SKIN in the game whether or not you even retire here.  Check out QUITO before you make your decision.

Mike
www.themiddleoftheworld.com

American Licensed Psychologist living in Quito.

Hello everyone.  I would like to introduce to everyone in the expat community an American Psychologist who is now living in Quito.  He has been in the country for a few months and decided to open up his services to local expats here.  His name is Dr. William I. Perry and and his license number is #PSY10384.

He offers Online Therapy for help with Alcoholism, Drug Addictions, Anxiety, Depression
Internet Therapy Sessions via Skype.  If you struggle with any of these problems and are seeking help it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact him directly through his website www.online-therapy.biz .

I just thought I would spread the word since there are so few working professionals here in Ecuador.

Unrelated to my posting but I thought you all might enjoy this little skyline snapshot I grabbed of Quito.

 

Quito Traffic "Que Bestia!"

I promised in the beginning I would keep it real, upfront, and honest throughout all of my blog posts.  So as promised I am here to tell you one of Quito's ugliest and most brutal realities.

THE TRAFFIC HERE SUCKS.

This is where you will spend a ton of your time if you live in Quito

I mean it is really bad.  Absolutely horrible.  This is being typed from the hands of a Los Angeles native driver, so that in it self should say a lot.  But seriously, my 10 mile commute is actually an hour and a half at a minimum. 

The miniature version of "streets" you find in certain sections of the city, plus the street lights that are green for a whole 1.8 seconds on major intersections, multiplied by the over abundance of mid sized and large SUV's here in Quito, only begins to describe this mess.  (massive run on sentence I know)

Everyday congestion in the city of Quito

If you must drive here, You will find these many little caveats or unwritten rules helpful:

• It is perfectly OK to be all the way in the right lane on a 3 lane road, then suddenly make a left turn without using your signal.  This works both ways. 
• It is also perfectly acceptable to park in the middle of the street to send a text message, make a phone call, or even get out to buy some street food.  
• If you own a motorcycle you are allowed to drive pretty much anywhere you can make your bike go, even down stairs.    
• Running a red light is perfectly OK after sunset or on Sunday, however the concept of what "Right on red" is has not caught on yet, even though it is actually legal here. 
• Buses are above the law and actually gain 50 points for every car they run into.  Blue buses have diplomatic immunity.
• People will beep at the people in front of them to go when the light is still red, even if it is a police officer in front of them.
• The space between the two lanes on the road is actually another lane, if your car can fit.   

By following these unwritten laws, you will survive driving here in Quito.  Good luck. 

  

Two words to describe Quito?

I have been thinking about this post for a while.  If I could use two words to describe Quito what would those two words be?  I drive around the city a lot and it is truly a complicated place to describe, especially with only two words. Then one day while I was dodging local drivers who treat red lights and other traffic laws more like suggestions it hit me like a bag of bricks.  Or maybe it was a bit more like a concrete slab.  Or possibly it was like a whole building being dropped on me.  Or maybe around 400 buildings, which is about how many buildings or other projects are currently being built in this city.

I then realized the best two words to describe Quito right now are "Under Construction". 

Everywhere I go in this city of progress I see a new high rise going up.  Every block is full of construction workers pile driving or laying concrete or putting the finishing touches on a beautiful new building.  It must be a sign of the economic times here because the construction business is BOOMING. 

On top of the 400 buildings going up, the new airport is finished (as you read from my previous blog).  Also a Subway system for the city is under construction, and the whole city has a big initiative to lay all of the electrical cables under ground.  Their is a park and a college being constructed where the old airport was so the land will not be wasted, and it seems like many of the home owners here are remodeling.

Something RIGHT is going on here and I don't know what it is, but I know I like it.  It is amazing to see so many projects!  I personally love architecture and even though none of these current projects are over 30 floors the artistic thought they put into the buildings here is amazing.  I look forward to seeing what Quito looks like 20 years from now.

I wouldn't be surprised if it looked something like this SkyscraperCity.com poster's post that you can view here:  http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=351025 

Mike
www.themiddleoftheworld.com

A Night Stroll in La Ronda

Last night we decided to head over to the Central Historico sector here in Quito and check out La Ronda.  I have read that Quito has the largest historical center in all of the Americas, but that never meant much to me until I had a chance to drive through it.

Blocks upon blocks of edificios historicos (historical buildings) unveiled before me as my "Compadre" Santiago drove up and down hill on cobblestone roads.  As soon as we entered this section of the city I truly felt we must have driven through a time warp.  The only modern day scars to this side of town's authenticity are the Trole and the stop lights.

We arrive and park in a parking garage, normally a modernized an unsightly structure in most cities.  But this one was somehow, someway integrated from an existing hollowed out old building, to blend in with the rest of history.  We cross under the cobblestone bridge and enter La Ronda.  Again, I was amazed by the authenticity of this near ancient passage.

Everything slowed down.  The people walking, the cars driving, even the smells of street cuisine being served on the corners seemed to slowly find their way into my nostrils.  I was getting hungry as of course I always am.  We let the kid run around and play while we simply digested our surroundings.  It felt comfortable, homely, and welcoming.  An exact opposite of the feeling you get walking through La Mariscal at night, which is the modern tourist trap and gringo landing destination here.  (We will talk more about that on another blog).

With all the smells of typical Ecuadorian cuisine cooking from the multitudes of restaurants, my stomach finally wrestled my brain, convincing me and my family in law to walk inside a cozy little spot to eat.  By cozy I mean that my head nearly touched the ceiling, and I am only 5 foot 8.  I would have taken pictures of the Seco De pollo and Empanadas I ate but I was too busy destroying them.  For any travelers who come I highly recommend Cafe Musica in La Ronda.  Since I devastated all the food before I could whip my camera out I snapped a picture of the menu. 

Cafe Musical Menu.  For some reason I could not rotate the picture sorry. 

After our meal and a few Pilsener's (one of the locally brewed cervezas), we took off and headed back towards the car.  It looked like the bars and live venues were just starting to wake up by the time we were leaving.  I am positive I will come back without the little one to see how this place kicks off la noche.

Off topic.  My Spanish is evolving faster than expected.  I am still looking for trabajo but I am learning fast that being "American" is not a get out of jail free card when it comes to finding decent work here.  you need to know the language to thrive here, PERIOD.  there is NO "Little USA", here in Quito, and you will probably get charged double and taken advantage of if you do not speak the language.  If you are going to come here and you don't know the language, travel with someone who does, or make arrangements to have a guide take you around.  If you are coming here to live make sure you know basic Spanish at a minimum.  There are a few Ecuadorians that speak English and will be happy to speak with you, but not many.