Country Article / Postcards
Who's Making Money in Ecuador?
Date: 05/25/2006Dear International Living Reader,
I'm at the Hilton Colón Hotel in Quito, taking a quick break from Day 1 of our Live and Prosper in Ecuador Conference. I'm joined by 30 of your fellow readers, all eager to learn how best to live, invest, or retire in my favorite country.
The more I travel around Ecuador, the more I notice that many of the International Living readers moving here aren't retiring as much as starting a new life. These folks want challenges--unique, exciting business challenges--and they're finding them in Ecuador.
For example, two International Living readers, actor Jon Cypher and Dr. Carol Rosin, purchased the most successful hotel and spa in the Vilcabamba Valley. Situated on 7 acres of lush tropical vegetation, the Madre Tierra is the temporary home to more visitors than any other venue in the valley.
Leslie Breen is still drawing Cuenca's biggest crowds (locals and tourists) after almost three years at her international tapas restaurant, the Eucalyptus Café, a beautifully restored Spanish colonial with a cozy fireplace on each floor. The menu of appetizer-sized delights from all over the world is unique in Ecuador, and Leslie offers what may be Ecuador's only "Ladies' night." The café fills the role of an Ecuadorian version of Rick's Café in the movie Casablanca.
Ricki Weiner came to Cuenca for a visit, and decided after a month that this was where she wanted to settle. She completed her certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), and is now a high-school English teacher in Loja.
Ed and Tania Tuttle are the proprietors of the "Samai Holistic Center," a spa, retreat, and hotel founded to support the spiritual, emotional, and physical healing of the earth. This center is located on the Pacific Coast in San Jose, about three miles north of the surfing village of Montanita.
Gary Tripp--a longtime reader and former resident of Panama City--brings together artisans and resources from Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Cuenca in Ecuador. He makes high-quality leather jackets for the U.S. market. (What impressed us about Gary's operation is the positive environment he makes available for his employees--sometimes a rarity in Latin America.)
What do all of these people have in common? A good idea, a sense of adventure, and a ton of pioneer spirit.
The right person with a good idea can do well in Ecuador, including (but not limited to) in the areas of soft ecotourism, extreme sports, textile manufacturing and export, hospitality, real estate development, and infrastructure provisioning for upcoming private telecommunications concessions. What's your idea?
David Morrill
For International Living
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