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| 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
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