Comments on Expat Daily News: Is Ecuador The New Panama?

I would agree that Peru is a much better choice! T...

2010-08-27T13:41:53.378-03:00

I would agree that Peru is a much better choice! Their economy is much healthier, closer ties to the USA (Correa has forced the closing of a USA base in Ecuador, vital to our interest in Colombia)!

While the people are quite similar in many ways, Peru shines as the "best food" in the North,Central and South Americas!

There is a worldwide "influx" underway to Peru that is unprecedented in it's history and is partly the reason "poverty rates" have declined so dramatically the past 4 years.

I live in Ecuador and it is a wondeful country. It...

2010-03-15T16:16:54.643-03:00

I live in Ecuador and it is a wondeful country. Its people are so kind and nice. I have put together a helpful fact sheet, and also an article on Ecuadorian manners and customs

I've been in an out of Ecuador for the past fi...

2010-03-10T13:36:59.117-03:00

I've been in an out of Ecuador for the past five years, mostly around Guayaquil. I've lived there and in Las Playas. The people are friendly. My friends are poor and rich. The poor can't help themselves, but the rich who are able to contribute complain about the president and now very difficult ways to do business there. I did a lot of business there and I can personally attest to it being waaaay down due to new regulations, etc. A couple of expats I knew there have recently moved to Peru to get away from the current problems in Ecuador.

can u get by without speaking spanish how long can...

2010-01-05T16:42:43.395-03:00

can u get by without speaking spanish how long can u stay thereand go back 2 the us

How long ago did you get those apts for $25K ?

2009-11-09T18:24:38.209-03:00

How long ago did you get those apts for $25K ?

Both the original post and the comments by anonymo...

2009-09-23T21:27:00.258-03:00

Both the original post and the comments by anonymous have some truths and exaggerations. It is true that there is terrible poverty for the most part for the majority of Ecuadorians, not wealth. But the comments about Correa has "made it clear he intends to do away with its currency" is comletely untrue. Most of the negative press against Correa is generated by the elite and priviliged and multinational interests who have the most to lose. The redtape can be a nightmare, but the benefit outweights this. THe historical center of Quito where I live is relatively safe, in 5 years nothing has happened to me, and it is cheap. I bought two colonial type apartments for $25000 each, with great views, in an excellent location. THe historical center has been dramatically improved over the last years and is still cheap. There is also no definitive line between the "safe" and "unsafe" areas as for example, according to Police reports much more crime occurs in wealthier areas around park carolina in Quito than in the center.

Possibly, Ecuador might becomes the new Panama, si...

2009-09-23T19:49:38.381-03:00

Possibly, Ecuador might becomes the new Panama, simply because, its dollarization alone.
However, there is one of difference, that is the division of Ecuadorians in politics and its ethnicity, plus its current path with Venezuela, Bolivia, Iran, Russia,and China associated with those countries herein on their political idiologies, are factors not yet observed in Panama, but in Ecuador.
Besides, as of today, Panama has shown much of appreciation to the USA, not so Ecuador, especially with the arrival of Correa, the new president of this small but rich country.
There are several measures to measure the
wealth of a country, but it is difficult not
turn our face aside and not understand the variety and quantities of rich natural resources in Ecuador, unfortunatelly, its lack of management, poor on fiscal discipline and active corruption on public and private sectors are contributors not to call Ecuador the new Panama.

Kirk Nelson, from New York, USA

allow me to provide a different perspective on you...

2009-09-12T15:50:31.003-03:00

allow me to provide a different perspective on your comments. as someone who is married to an ecuadorian and who travels there every year, i can say that there are absolutely many parts that are overdeveloped. real estate in safer areas in and around quito, for example, is on par with pricing in the united states. other cities that are expensive to purchase property(again, assuming you want to live in an area that is deemed safe) are ambato and many parts of cuenca. regarding political stability, it is not stable. correa, the current president, has made it clear he intends to do away with its currency, the american dollar. if this happens, you could see instability again. additionally, correa has begun to take draconian measures to protect his presidency, such as regulating the media and creating "community government groups" to watch over any anti-correa activity. over half the country is in poverty, so im not sure why this author talks about wealth. its a land of have and have-nots. most of the wealth is in the hands of a small group of people. poverty is poverty, regardless of gdp numbers. my wife and i run a charity that assists poor communities in ecuador, and there are countless malnourished children with no access to medical care. the english language is virtually non existent, so you must have a basic understanding of spanish to get anywhere. there is alot of red tape, so one must be very patient with any service one needs, whether its phone, banking, internet, paying bills, etc. i want to emphasize ecuador is a beautiful country, but it is not without its issues.