Introduction Thread – Jim Santos

[Country Expert Jim Santos]

Greetings, everyone!

My name is Jim Santos, and three years ago my wife and I moved to Salinas, Ecuador on the southern Pacific coast. We shipped a container of household goods to our four-bedroom oceanfront condo, and also brought along our cat and dog.

I began contributing articles to IL almost immediately, although for the first year and a half I was working over the Internet as a fulltime as a computer/networking professional. The lower cost of living we enjoy here allowed me to leave that job, and since February of 2016 I have been IL’s “Ecuador Coastal Correspondent” and a fulltime freelance writer and blogger.

It has been a busy three years, and I’m happy to share our experiences, both good and not so good, with Ecuador Insiders. We have accomplished many things that may be of interest to you.

As I mentioned, we arranged to ship a container, and also brought pets. We have made use of local medical facilities, from common ailments all the way up to arthroscopic surgery. We’ve dealt with local vets, and the challenges of finding good animal care. My wife and I each studied for and successfully acquired our Ecuadorian Drivers Licenses, and next year we plan on applying for Citizenship.

Although the coast of Ecuador is my “beat”, we also enjoy renting a car or using the regional buses to explore other parts of Ecuador. Our travels have taken us up and down the coast, and in the Andes to check out Quito, Cotacachi, Ibarra, Otavalo, Cuenca, Loja, Piñas, Vilcabamba, and Machala, just to name a few.

So, I’m pleased to meet you, and look forward to answering any questions you have about what it is really like to live in Ecuador, and how to prepare yourself if you are considering this beautiful country for your future home.

[ROBERT CRENSHAW]

I read your article in IL regarding Machala. I found it interesting. I was wondering if you could comment further regarding this city. How is the humidity compared to other parts of Ecuador ? Thanks, Bob

[Randy Hartman]

Greetings Jim: My wife and I are planning to make our first visit to Ecuador in the fall of 2017. We sponsor a Compassion International child who lives near Quito. We also know a couple who moved to San Clemente two years ago. We want to visit both on this ten day trip. And also see other coastal towns we might want to consider for retirement in about five years.We would love to be close enough to the ocean for a view and to be able to walk to the beach, We don’t want to be in the middle of a huge tourist area. But we would also like to be somewhat close to some shopping, restaurants, and decent medical care. Can you provide a few recommendations of places that might fit that criteria, and why you would recommend them? Thank you!

[Country Expert Jim Santos]

Hi Bob – the weather in Machala is comparable to Guayaquil, but a little cooler. So that means their humidity can get a little high sometimes, and they do get enough rain for lush vegetation.

[Country Expert Jim Santos]

Hi Randy,

The San Clemente/San Jacinto area you visited is very nice. People I’ve talked to there like that it is fairly small and family-oriented, but less than an hour from the conveniences of Manta. Crucita is another interesting spot, for much the same reasons. Anytime you are by the ocean, there are going to be times when there are tourists, but those are fairly quiet most of the time.

Once you get south of Manta, there are some very quiet villages, but of course the smaller and more remote you get, the farther you may have t travel for services. Ayampe for example is perfect for a simple life on or near the beach, but about 30 minutes from Puerto Lopez (about 16,000 people), and almost 3 hours from Salinas or Manta.

I’m working on an article now that should be out in March’s IL about three of these smaller villages, Ayampe, Olon and San Clemente/San Jacinto. Also, there is an article and short video on 7 beaches (Ayangue is one, it may also fit your needs) at https://internationalliving.com/2016/11/tour-ecuadors-southern-coast/ and some more details at https://internationalliving.com/2016/10/7-great-beach-towns-ecuador/ . Feel free to email me any questions directly at salinas@internationalliving.com

-jim

[Louise Luster]

Dear Mr. Santos:

My husband and I will be visiting Ecuador 9/22-10/7/18 to explore its possibility as a retirement location. (Retirement to occur early Spring, 2020) We will start with a few days in Quito and that area and then down to Cuenca and Loja and that vicinity.

We would like to meet with other expats in Quito, Cuenca and Loja to hear of their experiences and recommendations. Can you direct me to chat rooms/Facebook pages that would enable us to contact expats in those locations who might be willing to chat with us over coffee during our visit?

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Best,

Louise Luster
Boise, Idaho

[Country Expert Jim Santos]

Hi Louise – Facebook is a good place to find expats in those locations. Usually just searching “expat” and the name of the city will get you there. Here’s a few to get you started:

Quito – https://www.facebook.com/groups/258345077546215/

Cuenca – https://www.facebook.com/groups/159151017786307/

Loja – https://www.facebook.com/groups/518403111555291/

Ecuador in General – https://www.facebook.com/groups/EcuadorExpats/

Cotacachi – https://www.facebook.com/groups/cotacachiexpats/about/

Hope that helps!

-jim

[Louise Luster]

Thank you so very much! I’m confident we’ll be able to form some Ecuadorian friendships through the links you’ve provided.

Thanks again. I truly appreciated your guidance in the right direction.

Louise

[LAWRENCE SCHULTZ]

Jim

I am interested in golf course developments on the Pacific Coast. The two I am aware of are Montecristi which is about eight miles from Manta and another course (not sure if this one was constructed) called Cosa Jama Beach and Golf Resort. Can you tell me anything about these two?

Also there was a tourist guide and information source in Manta whose first name was Al. He had an extensive website but I forgot the name or address of the website. Have you heard of this guy and if so can you direct me to his website or give me any means of communicating with him?

Thank you.

Larry Schultz

[Country Expert Jim Santos]

Hi Larry,

Not being a golfer myself, this is not something I’ve paid a lot of attention to in Ecuador. The resort in Jama you mention is at http://costajama.com/ , but I have not visited myself. Similarly, there is a community in development just north of San Jacinto/San Clemente called Las Olas ( http://lasolasecuador.com/ ), but I do not know how developed it is at the moment. I plan on making my way up there in January or February to check it out. There are also allegedly plans to improve the golf course in Salinas, but I can see it from our living room window, and there does not seem to be anything going on yet. In short, so far I have been aware of a lot of talk about golf communities, but not much action.

The Al you mention still maintains a website called https://mantaexpatsonline.com/ , and it looks like the Events page is current. However, I’m not sure if he still lives in Manta. The site says they are currently visiting in North Carolina.

Hope that helps, if you cannot reach him through the website, let me know and I will find you another Manta contact.

-jim

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