Suzan Haskins Ecuador

Perched just five miles from Mama’s summit on her northern side is the town of Baños (population about 20,000). As the lore goes, Baños is Mama’s love child, and she protects it. She’s certainly passed on an inheritance, for—thanks to Tungurahua’s hot temper—Baños is blessed with an abundance of thermal waters. Those waters, and the stunning natural setting, have made Baños a popular spa and outdoor-sports town, as well as home to a small community of expats.

What makes for a happy expat? This is something I think about often, because honestly...not everyone is cut out for the expat life. The rewards are tremendous and it's a wonderful, life-changing experience, but there are challenges—and most are easy to get beyond. From my experience (and I've been an expat for 13 years now), those who thrive living overseas are those who are well prepared ahead of time. They've done lots of research and they know what they're getting into. Overall, they have positive, optimistic perspectives about most everything...

When Gary and Kathryn Kelly, both in their 50s, moved to Ecuador from Sargent, Texas, in 2011, they expected this would be where they spent their retirement years. They bought a house at Punta Carnero Beach, about 10 minutes' drive from the popular Ecuador beach resort town of Salinas, and began refurbishing it.

"Don't worry, you won't have a problem finding a place to stay," said my friend as we drove into General Villamil Playas (commonly just called "Playas"), the closest beach town to Guayaquil. "The hotels here never fill up." He should know. He owns a condo in Playas and drives there easily in just over an hour from his home in Guayaquil to spend weekends and holidays at this beach town on Ecuador's southern coast, named by some as the "sunniest beach" in the country.

Outside the window of the condo I was renting, two huge pelicans sat nodding in the sun. Or so it seemed. Because in an instant, and in perfect synchronicity, they leapt from their perch, pulled in their wings, and dove headfirst to the emerald water below. No small feat since we were 20 floors up. Hmm, I wondered, what's for dinner? Because, as the pelicans know, these waters are rich with a choice of seafood or every kind.