“Pinch Me, I Must Be Dreaming”

“Our new lives in Ecuador are better than we ever thought possible.We fall asleep to the lull of the waves and awake to a view of the sun reflecting off the blue Pacific…

“Because it costs so little to live here, we’re actually saving more than we spend… And best of all, we’re healthier than ever”

You, too, can have it all in Ecuador

Dear International Living Reader,

“We took a walk on the malecon… the walkway along the beach. It was about 6 p.m., so the sun wasn’t quite down yet and there was a red glow to the western skies. Although it was February and back on the eastern seaboard in the States it was icy cold, here in Salinas it was just below 80 degrees F, with a cool ocean breeze. The weekend tourists were all leaving, and the vendors were rolling up their canopies…

“There we were, strolling in the sand and water, watching a flock of pelicans glide by, when Ann suddenly turned to me with a look of wonder on her face and said, ‘We live on the Pacific Ocean!’

“I knew what she meant. Sometimes we think we must be dreaming. A little over a year ago, we were living in Maryland… and the idea of living beside the ocean was an impossible dream. The Atlantic Coast of the U.S. can be very expensive, and the weather can sometimes be very rough. If we wanted to walk on the beach in February in the U.S., we would have to buy a multi-million-dollar home deep in southern Florida. We certainly didn’t have that kind of money.

“So who would have thought we could not only live in a beachfront home, but that we would actually save money by moving there?

“Pinch me, because I must be dreaming. But the truth is, I’m not dreaming… Our new reality is that we’re having the time of our lives here in Ecuador.”

I’m Jackie Flynn. What you’ve just read is a note sent to me by Denver Gray, an International Living reader who is living his dream life with his wife, Ann, in Ecuador.

As Denver says, his stroll on the beach last February certainly wasn’t the only “pinch me” moment he and Ann have shared this past year.

“We have the same ‘we must be dreaming’ feeling when we get our electric bill every month, and it’s for less than $20,” Denver says. Or we visit our local mercado and can barely carry back the overstuffed bags of vegetables we just bought for less than $10.”

The thing is… stories like Denver’s aren’t unusual in Ecuador. Over and over again, I hear from International Living readers who are living in Ecuador… on the coast like Denver, or in pretty colonial cities and villages in temperate Andes Mountains… and they’re loving life and spending less money at the same time.

Best of all, as Denver reports, when you move to Ecuador you may find that you’ll be not only happier than ever, but healthier than ever.

“I have Type II diabetes,” he says, “and before I moved to Ecuador, my A1C number that reflects blood sugar levels was close to 8—well above the normal range. After we settled into our lives in Ecuador, we found ourselves taking long walks on the beach and to the mercado for our fresh fruits, vegetables, rice, eggs and seafood. The stress melted away. And when we returned to the States a few months later for a family visit, I stopped in to see my doctor.

“She ran some tests and then asked, ‘What changes did we make in your medication since your last visit?’ I told her we didn’t “change” anything, I just moved to Ecuador. But I’ve now lost 50 pounds, my blood pressure reading was normal, and my A1C blood sugar reading was 5.7, well within in the normal range, so I was able to stop taking one of my diabetes medications.

“It was a very good feeling to have actual proof that we’re not only living a happier, more affordable life, but also a healthier one here in Ecuador.”

International Living’s Expertise in All Things
Ecuador Runs Deep

In addition to International Living senior editors Dan Prescher and Suzan Haskins, we have correspondents living in various locales in Ecuador who regularly research, write articles, and provide reliable information for our readers about life there. In Quito… Los Chillos… Cuenca and Paute… Cotacachi… Loja… Vilcabamba… Salinas… Olón, Manta, Crucita, Bahia de Caráquez, Canoa…

There’s so much to do in Ecuador… from historic colonial cities to beaches and rainforests to snow-capped volcanoes and mountain towns where you can soak away your cares in natural thermal springs…

I can safely say that International Living has more experience and more contacts… more experienced expats and local experts in Ecuador than any other website or publication.

And we’d like to share our long résumé of Ecuador expertise with you…

Find out firsthand if Ecuador is right for you… with the best Ecuador experts holding your hand every step of the way.

Listen to the 2015 Fast-Track Ecuador Package here