About carolannemck

Status:

Expatriate  

Gender:

Female

Currently Lives:

Otavalo, Imbabura, Ecuador

Citizen Of:

United States

Past Expat Posts:

France

Advice for New Expats

Spend time in the country before you make the leap. Research, research, research!!

Education:

Roane State Community College
  1973 to 1975

Western Oregon State University
  1975 to 1977

University of New Mexico
  1982 to 1984

New Mexico State University
  1986 to 1988

Favorite Assignment:

Managing transitions from troubled ICFs-MR

Favorite Cuisine:

NCL--around the horn

Favorite Movie:

Same Time Next Year/Baby Boom/Fools Rush In

Favorite Book:

The Four Agreements

Some Forum Posts:

Ecuador: Police Strike Ecuador:

The same thing has happened in Otavalo, and it appears to be all the local police also. The police burned tires in front of the Otavalo police department this morning. Apparently, the managers of the local stores are concerned, ie, AKI pulled down there security door while I was shopping and were monitoring people coming in and out. It appears nationwide. Carol

Ecuador: Drunk Driving in Ecuador:

Alcohol abuse is a big problem in Ecuador, and it appears that the authorities are not doing a whole lot to address the problem. The alcohol of choice from many Ecuadorians in my area is trago, ie sugar cane alcohol. It is very potent stuff; I believe it is between 130 and 150 proof; it is potent enough to blow fire with. It is also very cheap and easily accessible.

Ecuador: costs ecuador:

Margarita, I have to agree with you. I just spent 6 weeks in the States in the Austin, Texas and Fort Wayne, Indiana areas, and there are many items that I purchase in SuperMaxi and other places that I could get much cheaper in the States. Most vegetables and fruits are the exceptions. Although apples, peaches, nectarines are much higher than I could have purchased them in the States. Turkey is outrageous here--at least 3 times the price per pound that I bought it for at HEB in Austin. Anything that is imported from North America is pricey. $5 for a 16 oz bottle of Wishbone Salad Dressing that I bought last month for $1.50. Kleenex is real pricey. Sometimes I just have to have ruby red grapefruit juice--almost $7 for 48 oz. I could go on and on. I now make everything from scratch--tomato sauce, spagetti sauce, tofu, hummus (thank god they finally have tahini). Take a look at Kywi if you really want to compare some prices with Lowe's or the Home Depot. Carol

Ecuador: Obtaining a mortgage...:

If you are able to obtain some sort of a mortgage, you need to know that the property is not yours for the purposes of a resident visa until it is paid for. It really doesn't matter how much you put down or how much it is worth-it is not an official investment in the country until you own it free and clear.

Ecuador: Vehicle shipping:

Fred, The law does not allow you to bring the car into Ecuador. As far as I have heard, there are no exceptions. Carol

Ecuador: Adopt a pet!:

Did you receive my private message regarding the dogs? I would be interested in giving a home to both of them. Carol

Ecuador: ATM fraud:

Last night on the local news they were warning people in the Imbabura province, ie Cotacachi and Otavalo, about people who are dressed as students and business people using a device near or on ATM machines that allows them to retrieve all your ATM card information including your pin number. It is apparently becoming rampant in this area, so much so that I was advised by one of my friends not to use an ATM when anyone was in the vicinity. Just an FYI. Carol

Ecuador: Guns:

I will second what boncur says. You can buy guns on the blackmarket here, but there is still a presidential decree not allowing the registration of new weapons into the system. It was only suppose to be for a few months, but it has been a year now. Unfortunately, if you use an unregistered weapon to defend yourself and someone is killed or injured, you are the one that will be put in jail, and I understand that is not a very desirable place to be. If you choose to do this, as boncur says, you had better flee from the crime scene or hide the evidence.

Ecuador: Beware of travel restrictions out of Ecuador:

I think there is truth in the statement that people are not well informed about the departure tax prior to arriving at the airport and getting ready to leave the country. I have heard many stories from people who did not have the $40.80 in cash per person in their party when they were ready to leave. Unfortunately, credit cards are not accepted, so the people needed to run outside and debit a credit card. I always remind people about the departure tax because of so many negative experiences I have heard about. Also, I think the problem with the one month stay was the business visa that requires a censo. There probably would not have been an issue if the visa had not been in the passport. I believe that Chile has an entrance tax not a departure tax. The tax is $100 and is good for the entire time you have the passport and the stamp. It probably would be a lot less hassle if the Ecuadorian departure tax was rolled into the price of the airline ticket like it is in many other countries. Carol

Ecuador: More about dogs.:

I have never seen dogs on buses in my area, so I suspect that they are not allowed. I have purchased three used vehicles using the Patio Tuerca website, and I am happy with all of them. You do have to be careful of the mileasge because it is common place for people to run the odometer back a lot of miles. Purchasing a vehicle is not the real issue here but getting it registered is. You must have a censo or the vehicle can not be registered. The first vehicle I bought took me over a year to get it properly registered. The second was only a month. The last one was about two weeks. The system seems to be unable to keep up with ownership of the vehicles, so you can expect to have an additional hassle the first year you pay the renewal fees as the vehicle may well be in the previous owner's name. This entails going to the provencial capital and getting it straightened out and then back to the bank to pay the fees. Carol

Date Joined:

9/27/2008

Total Posts:

303

Posts/Day:

0.10