It’s taken about 10 years for me to realize that my quality of life in my native country–the United States of America–is quite poor and getting poorer, and that I have zero chance of being able to retire comfortably here, especially after COVID ate up all my savings. So I knew that I needed to take some kind of drastic action, and sooner rather than later.
So that’s what I did, and after a year of research, I determined that living abroad is the answer for me. But which country?
On the list was Belize, Canada, Mexico (specifically Ajijic), Thailand (Chang Mai), Ecuador and Costa Rica. I considered things like weather, ease of visa application and income requirements, crime and safety, land ownership, politics and government, public transit and walkability, among others.
I whittled them down one by one. Mexico was out due to the crazy cartel violence that’s out of control there. Canada was out because the visa requirements are too stringent, and, of course, brrr. Belize was out because the best medical care was across the border in Mexico. I eliminated Thailand when I realized what a struggle it would be for me to learn that language.
So then it was between Ecuador and Costa Rica. Ecuador has a lower income requirement than Costa Rica, and a less expensive Visa process. Also, the weather is cooler in Ecuador.
And the people! Ecuadorians still believe in family, music, art, dance, food and celebrating culture. Priority No. 1 in America? MONEY. Priority No. 1 in Ecuador? QUALITY OF LIFE. Ecuadorians know what is important in life.
But most important to me was health care.
Health care in America is entirely broken. I don’t think even doctors would argue this point. It’s entirely run by the insurance companies, who have no business in medicine, essentially not deciding what treatments are necessary and which aren’t, and how much all that is going to cost you in the end. It is very common here for a single medical event to force someone into filing for bankruptcy–even with monthly payments for health insurance coverage, which can be very expensive.
This is a system I’ve paid into my entire life, and now that I need it the most, it’s the worst it’s ever been.
For the past 25 years or so, I’ve been hoping that things would improve for America, but unfortunately, they have only declined. And so, I make my exit.
ECUADORIOUS 