What I like most about my new life as an expat is that it has enabled me to reconnect with what is truly important. It should come as no surprise to anyone that what turns out to be important isn’t the big houses, the new cars, or all the possessions...
As a 22-year-old Russian translator for the U.S. Air Force Security Service, I spent many days and nights in an uncomfortable chair on an island midway between Nome, Alaska, and Siberia, listening to the Russians. What I heard changed my life. In those days, when radio equipment wasn’t quite as sophisticated, they used a lot of women operators because the pitch of their voices penetrated the static better than deeper male voices.
Even though my wife Susan and I live in the midst of a historic, colonial city, at night we are lulled to sleep by the sounds of the Tomebamba River flowing just across Pasaje Imbabura street.
My wife Susan and I lived in more than 30 locations in eight different states before moving to Ecuador. A retired marketing executive who started an email company in 1981, I had always wanted to experience living in another country. Susan, retired from working in administration and finance, shared that dream. In January 2015, we realized our dream and moved to Cuenca. We originally explored the Andes region of Ecuador because of its low cost of living and spring-like climate. What really hooked us when we first visited though were the friendly people, the relaxed pace of life, and the year around availability of fresh fruits and vegetables.