Ecuador Living

I’m missing my Ecuador as I view it from afar and here I try to understand why.

If I haven’t posted as regularly as usual it’s because I seem to be very busy on vacation in England. In Cotacachi I’m looked after like a king by the wonderful staff at Meson de las Flores. They cook for me, wash my clothes, clean my room and generally try to take care of any and every need they can envisage I might need.

Here is Rosita Elena looking after my son - she just does it because she likes to!

I would consider myself very special; except I know they treat every guest like this, and if there is the very occasional slip-up, as there is in any hotel, it’s not for want of effort nor desire on their part.

Humble and helpful - and much missed and appreciated from afar!

Here in England, even if there were such wonderfully caring and service orientated people to help with daytime chores, it really is only the Royalty who could afford to employ them anyway.

So consequently it’s come as a shock to the system to cook for three, wash, clean, and tidy the house on vacation. I love to see my family but next time I’m going on vacation in Ecuador!

Joking aside, I have been fascinated to observe the differences in people and society between my home country and my adopted country. I’m an inveterate people watcher and sitting in a street café in Europe with an expresso and croissant as you watch the world walk by is a much under-rated pleasure. If you can do it in good company and discuss what is happening in front of you so much the better.

I shall be doing just that in the Netherlands this coming week as I visit two old friends, both English, who live and work there. Historically speaking, the English of course have tried to dis-associate themselves from our European cousins, so street cafes have only recently started to be seen in the squares and on the corners of provincial towns and cities.

But I can still observe much as I walk in malls, or shopping centres, as they are called here. Because there IS a public transport system here, even in the smallest towns, I choose to get around by walking or on buses. Taxis are out of the question here at $10 for one and a half miles. I feel great walking knowing I’m getting fitter and saving a bundle of money at the same time.

England is looking gloomy this summer. Apart from the continuous grey skies, 10 sunny warm days so far this year according to my brother-in-law, all the talk is of the downturn in the economy. Nobody can bring themselves to mention “recession” but what is affecting everyone is having less disposable income. Meals out are once again becoming a treat. Foreign holidays to the Mediterranean are being ditched because of high costs and shops are suffering as people spend on only the essentials.

This was how the weather was last summer in Ecuador. While you can find similar scenery in Scotland you won’t often find similar weather!

Every day the British are being buffeted by bad news. Headlines such as “Armed Forces face training cuts as fuel bill rockets”, “Millions face $200 a month fuel bills” “We’ll have to work until we’re 70 – just as it was in Lloyd George’s day”, and “Private schools fall victim to credit crunch” leave no doubt that if the economy is not in recession it’s not very far away.

Walking around the mall in my hometown of Fareham, a prosperous town compared to many, I can’t really see much evidence of the down-turn, although I do see that retired people are not dressed as well as younger folks. I’m impressed by the ever increasing range of stores and products for sale. The choice is phenomenal.

But then I also notice something less tangible. I ask myself why if there is more choice here, more wealth than in Ecuador, why do so many people look miserable and down-beat in England. I think I notice it more in those who are over 40. But I’m not sure.

In the mall there are several cafes in the aisles and I notice several older folks sat by themselves drinking cups of tea. As I walk down to another café to get internet access I notice an older man hunched over on a bench, his cane resting over his legs. Ninety minutes later I return the same way and there he is – hardly moved.

An older gentleman, still looking dapper, enjoying time with friends in the sun in Cotacachi’s main square

Perhaps it’s this. In the Times of London a recent article about the National pension quoted the 73 year old Rita Young who is struggling to live off $1,200 a month. ‘… She is angry that elderly people in one of the world’s richest countries are not treated better.

“Things are better than a hundred years ago, when only the righteous were entitled to their shilling a week. But it is a disgrace that we have got to go and beg for the pension credit to bring us up to a level still below the poverty line. Our pension does not even bring us up to the level of the lowest paid in the economy.” Mrs Young, asked what she considers to be a luxury replied “a bar of chocolate”.

With the rising cost of living – and of energy bills in particular, her social life has borne the brunt of her cost-cutting. Eating out or going to the cinema is no longer a viable option. While she still attends meetings of the University of the Third Age, she cannot attend any events that it hosts. Her studies had to be curtailed when she could not afford the fee to access the national archives’. In fact Rita Young is apparently not alone – a further 2.5 million English pensioners struggle to pay their bills and keep their homes warm.

My thoughts inevitably turn to my adopted country, Ecuador, when I read these depressing accounts. Ecuador certainly has more poverty than any so called developed country. It also certainly has it’s fair share of misery. But the thing is – it’s not that evident in the faces of the people.

I see happy faces and a readiness to engage in upbeat and optimistic talk far more often than would seemingly be warranted. Make no mistake, the poorest elderly in Ecuador are very poor indeed and would not even be considering studying at a University of the Third Age.

And yet, somehow, they are seemingly more joyous and happier in general than many living in developed countries. There is some kind of dichotomy at work here.

When an ice-cream still brings a smile

Perhaps you can help me here with suggestions as to why this may be so. One thing that springs to mind and perhaps seems obvious is that wealth, or lack of it , plays a lesser role in determining people’s happiness levels in Ecuador than perhaps in our own countries.

Perhaps that nefarious comparison factor is at work in our countries. One recent poll in the U.S found that people would ‘prefer to earn more than others but be poor’ than ‘earn less than others and have everything they want’. There’s no logic to that choice but apparently that is how we think by and large.

I suspect another huge advantage of Ecuadorian life (and of course other similar countries) is that family and friendship is something cherished at every level of society and even more importantly is available to the majority because peoplestay in their home-towns.

Inevitably, in the big cities this is changing, but even if children work or study in Quito at the weekend they are heading back to their home-towns come Friday evening. I know this because travelling on inter city buses at this time is a ‘squash’ at best.

This sense of family and friendship is very evident in a village like Cotacachi. Elderly people, who are often active into their eighties and nineties, sit in the park in the sun not alone but with dear friends.

Family re-unions often see dozens present at wedding, baptisms or “quincenas” (the Ecuadorian equivalent of sweet 16 parties). And with so many people living and working in the same towns and villages, community life is vibrant. Fiestas and festivals are enthusiastically supported and attended. This is a time to participate and forget about the ‘hard life’.

Participating…

… and watching

Of course, I know that for Rita Young a move to Ecuador is probably not on the cards. That’s a pity as although she wouldn’t have some of the facilities I’m sure she holds dear in England, I’m almost convinced that her quality of life would improve enormously. But I suspect she wouldn’t have the necessary mind-set.

Moving from a developed country to an emerging country like Ecuador is not for everyone. If you don’t deal well with change, if you want or need everything in your life to be ordered and just so … then you had probably best just stay where you are.

But if you can embrace change, are willing to try something new, like small challenges and enjoy new experiences then you may want to consider just how your life may improve by moving to Ecuador or another emerging country.

As increasing costs of living and falling incomes in our countries chip away at our lifestyles consider just how you might enjoy the change by living in Ecuador at least part of the year.

For $1,200, paying rent or in your own home, you can live like royalty, or at least very comfortably. Your fuel bills are likely to be no more than $20 a month (electricity and gas). Taxis cost a dollar or a few cents more to ride around town. Broadband internet access may be one of your most expensive out-goings at $50-80 per month. For a further $120 a month you could hire a part-time local domestic to wash, iron, clean and cook your lunch.

sense of community among the new arrivals too

At the week-end you could head off to Quito to go shopping, wine and dine, visit museums or the theatre of catch a concert.

Once a month you could set off travelling going to the beach for a week, or visiting a spa town such as Baños. Or even take a motorized canoe down an Amazon tributary.

Country trails abound around Cotacachi and in most rural communities in Ecuador so the chances for hiking, cycling or horse-riding are extensive.

When you learn Spanish, as you will if you spend any length of time here and make a little effort, the local community will open up to you. Invites to homes, parties and festivals can and do come your way and especially if you are prepared to offer your time and expertise helping in the local community. Until that time, there is a growing expatriate community here.

The weather is of course superb compared to most other places on the planet if you like sunny temperate weather. Most Englishmen would love to have Cotacachi weather instead during their summers instead of the grey cloudy skies that so often cover their land.

Fresh organic food is available at the local markets and the only complaint I have ever heard is that you can all too easily buy more than you can possible carry home.

So now, as I consider my allegiances and feelings about my two countries I’m forced to conclude that for me Ecuador is a great place to live and England is a great place to visit. I didn’t know that would be the case when I came here 6 years ago. At that time I said “I’d give it a ‘try’ for a year”. After a year the jury was still out but things were looking and feeling good so I decided on another year and by the end of my second year I was converted.

It hasn’t always been easy but the whole experience has been exhilarating, refreshing and I certainly feel that I’m living life and living in a country where nearly all the people still know how to live life. That certainly makes for an interesting comparison with how the English see themselves and how many of them are experiencing life at this time.

Two weeks to go until I return to home in Ecuador. I’m looking forward to life in the slow lane again and now understand and empathize better when I receive emails from our guests saying “I’m missing Ecuador so much, I can’t wait to return”. Steve Marchant.

September 17-20 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour; Quito Real Estate Tour
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Sept 23-27 Ecuador Spanish Course
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Sept 28-29 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
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See discounts for attending more than one Sept. course
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Oct 14-18 Ecuador Import Export Course
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Nov 7-9 International Investing and Business Made EZ Ecuador
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Nov 10-11 Imbabura Real Estate tour
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November 12-15, 2008 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour; Quito Real Estate Tour
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