On May 5, it will be one year that I have lived in the lovely city of Cuenca. I’ve learned a lot in that time.
1. There are no quiet places in Cuenca. It’s just a matter of finding a neighborhood that has the types of noises that don’t bother you. Hate loud explosions? Maybe El Centro is for you, as most of the loud explosives are in residential areas or next to churches. Don’t mind dogs barking? Then maybe you’d like Misicata. Love the sound of an auto shop? Then move right next door to one, as I did. Car alarms and loud airguns all day long. Cars honking? Don’t live near a red light. But I’ve learned that I don’t mind the “white” noise of traffic, and the occasional dog-barking isn’t bad, so a house just outside El Centro should be perfect for me, and that’s where I’m moving in the next couple of weeks. But no more apartments. They are just noise machines here, with thin walls and people who don’t understand how much sound travels.
2. It takes a long time to get out of the “consumer” mindset that is literally a way of life in the US. It’s just a very different culture. Most people here cook their meals from scratch, so you won’t find all the pre-made options we’re all so used to in the US. Even good frozen pizza here is difficult to find. And other products that we take for granted, like real vanilla, good cheeses, Dawn dish soap, or unscented products of any kind–all very difficult to find here. So it is a change of mind-set. “Can I buy what I need to make real vanilla?” So you add vodka and vanilla beans to your shopping list. “Can I make my own unscented laundry soap?” Yes, you can. I make my own toothpaste and deodorant too.
3. Online shopping is just not the same. You can order from Amazon, but shipping is EXPENSIVE and there are weight limits. There is a LATAM version of Amazon called Tiendamia, but there are a lot of items they just don’t have. And if you do find something to purchase, there is no postal service in Ecuador. Because of this, most residences or businesses have no number. They write S/N, Edificio Miro, Calle Blah Blah. “S/N” stands for sin numero, or “without number,” meaning there is literally no street number for the house or building. The only reliable shipping company here is DHL, so if your purchased goods are shipped some other way, you likely will never receive them. This really takes some getting used to. But consumerism really is a mindset.
3. A lot of Americans here are nuts. My current roommate is proof of that. She’s a 71-year-old retired nurse who lives in her own little self-made reality, where she is the queen overlord and the rest of us are her minions. I suspect she came here because she was rejected by the social norms and constructs in the US because of her behavior. But many Americans come to Cuenca in search of a better quality of life and more affordable living. Unfortunately, some of those people brought their neuroses with them. You will rarely find Ecuadorians who believe conspiracy theories, but oh lord, there are all kinds of Americans here spouting off with their crazy nonsense. And then there are the Americans who come here and then expect all the locals and customs to change to accommodate their needs and desires. The entitlement doesn’t stay in the US. They bring it with them.
So I usually avoid “expat” events, as it’s just a bunch of Americans living in a foreign country who want to prop up each other’s crazy. No thank you.
4. The local people here are the kindest, most open and respectful people I’ve encountered in my travels, even beating out Canadians, who I find to be lovely every time I visit Canada. Ecuadorians always want to help. They stop mid-conversation to say, “Buen dia,” as they walk past. They help you get taxis and find apartments. They offer recommendations and suggestions when asked. And they are very patient when I butcher their native language, helping me along with words and pronunciation as I speak. I prefer their company to that of Americans.
5. A walkable city is the way to go. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to not have to deal with a car and all its accoutrements: car payments, gas, car washes, tires, maintenance, insurance, stress–all of it. You just don’t need one here. Taxis are everywhere, and Cuenca also has a light rail train: The Tranvia. It’s a buck to go anywhere. My Spanish has improved enormously from just speaking to the taxi drivers on my journeys. And I’ve only had one bad experience in a taxi:
I try to only use Azutaxi here, because details of your trip are documented. It logs the taxi number, locations of pickup and delivery, name of driver, etc. But this time I just flagged a taxi. Big mistake.
I got in and the driver was male, about 50 years old. After I told him my destination, he started the usual smalltalk. “Do you live here? Where are you from? Do you have family here? Kids?”
Those are the normal questions.
But then he asked me how old I was, and followed up with something I didn’t understand, so I repeated the phrase into my translator. He had said, “Come sit in the front seat so we can kiss.”
After I told him, “¡Señor, eso es completamente inapropiado! No mas charla!” and he finally settled down. But I have taken at least 100 taxi rides here and that is my only bad experience.
6. The weather has been no surprise. It’s exactly as I thought it would be. Perfect temps year round with enough rain to clean the city but not so much that you feel like you’re in Seattle in winter. It really is so lovely to not have to use either a heater or an air-conditioner. In Vegas in the summer, my electric bill was consistently about $300. That’s more than I’m paying in rent now!
7. Crime. Yes, we have some, but it has never made me feel as though I was in danger here, as it frequently did all over the US. The cartel violence is mostly in the port cities. Cuenca does not have a port. We have break-ins and pickpockets, but I feel perfectly safe walking down the street here at night. The news media always blows everything up. Ecuador is a big place with many cities, so just because a terrible thing is happening in Guayaquil does NOT mean it’s happening in every city in the country.
8. Drogas. The only drugs I’ve seen in this city have been pot. And those who know me know that I worked in public transit for 12 years and can therefore identify the drug used by the behavior. I haven’t seen a single meth-head, or heroin / fentanyl user, or even a crackhead, though I’m sure cocaine is abundant here if you know the right people. But people keep that shit INSIDE where it belongs. As for alcohol, in the past year I’ve seen only three intoxicated people on the street–just three in a year–and in each instance, other local people were near the downed man trying to help. In any big city in the US, you will see at least 10 to 40 homeless people per DAY. And then there’s ZombieLand, otherwise know as Kensington, Philadelphia.
You just don’t see that here.
So after one year living abroad, I’m still very happy with my decision. What’s made it difficult for me is finding and keeping solid employment. So maybe the answer here is to cobble together several different gigs–which I’m doing now–and this way if I lose one, it’s not as devastating. I only have to work 2 more years before I’m eligible for SS, but this two years will likely continue to be a struggle for me.
You can help me out by purchasing some original digital artwork I’ve made at my shop: frantasticdigitalart.com. Every download is only $5! And if you buy two, you get a third free. 🙂
I’m also working on creating books to sell on KDP, and also want to begin working on my Google My Business enterprise. So, I have a lot of irons in the fire at the moment and am giving them 100 percent of my efforts.
ECUADORIOUS 