One Place in the World Where the Dollar Is Still Strong

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008

Read more about Ecuador in International Living Postcards—your daily escape

Dear International Living Reader,

While the dollar is in the dumps at home, I’ve found a place where it’s on top of the world…both literally and figuratively.

I recently wrote you about my impressions of Cotacachi, Ecuador, and what a carefree, low-cost life expats have there.

Cotacachi is prettily perched at about 7,825 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains of northern Ecuador. Being here is like being on top of the world…and with temperate spring-like weather year round.

Like the nearby Quechua indigenous town of Otavalo just 20 minutes south, Cotacachi is an artisan town. Here, the claim to fame is leather goods. I’d hazard a guess, though, that Cotacachi will soon also be known for its growing expat community

Expats are zeroing in on Cotacachi for a couple of reasons. There’s not much to worry about here. No traffic, no temperature swings, not many pesky insects—thanks to the altitude—and certainly no money problems. The cost of living is perhaps the lowest I’ve found anywhere. That includes real estate.

During our recent visit we learned of three Ecuadorians who are building small projects that are particularly attractive to foreigners, although those buying include locals from Quito looking for a country getaway and Ecuadorians who’ve spent working careers abroad and are looking to retire to Ecuador.

As I said, these are small projects—one contains just four homes. Built of adobe in a traditional hacienda style with beamed interiors, tiled roofs, and terraced overhangs, each home averages about 1,500 square feet and sits on about a quarter-acre of land. The entire parcel is walled and filled with gorgeous ornamental and fruit trees. (The developer gives 40 trees to each homeowner.)

The price…for the lot and the house…averages $80,000.

Across the road, a larger project features homes of a similar size and price and the views are equally magnificent. By the way, telephones, cable or satellite TV, and high-speed Internet are available anywhere in town.

In town, a condominium project is quickly taking shape in a location so unobtrusive you wouldn’t know it is there, but just a few short blocks from the main plaza, shops, and restaurants. In an attractive four-story building with balconies, you can get a sparkling new condo with a birds-eye view of the pretty tile rooftops of Cotacachi and the distant volcanoes. Prices start at $46,000 for penthouse studios and $49,000 for two- or three-bedroom units. All are about 1,100 square feet in size, and fireplaces and Jacuzzi tubs are standard.

Dan and I have reserved one of these condos to use as our summer home. We live in Merida, Mexico, where summers are brutally hot and humid. Summers in the Ecuador highlands, though, are about as good as it gets.

For our dollar, Ecuador in general is as good as it gets. It’s one of the only places on Earth where the dollar still has buying power. For $2 you can get a four-course lunch with beverage, or more long-stemmed fresh flowers than you can carry. For $1 you can buy 40 bananas or 30 oranges in the market, a cold beer in a bar, or a taxi ride anywhere in town.

We met expats in Cotacachi who are living quite nicely, thank you, for $600 per month…and we’re looking forward to trying it on for size ourselves next summer.

Regards,

Suzan Haskins
Your Latin America Insider, International Living

P.S. Look for my articles about Ecuador, including more about the incredible real estate bargains we found there, in your September and October issues of International Living magazine. If you’re not a subscriber, you can become one here.

Read related IL Postcards:

- The Best Little Mountain Town in the Andes

- Locavores Will Love It Here

- Three Bedrooms and a View of the Andes for $150 a Month