Where to begin. Well I guess that would be in 2005 when we began our thinking of moving from the US and bought a lot on the island of Aruba. We designed our house, a modest 2 bed, 2 bath, and had it built. We made the move in 2008 and thought that was it. Well guess what, it was not.
In late January of 2010 we went to Cuenca after alot of research online and many calls to people I can now call friends. We new we were relocating here so in the 10 days we were here we found, and bought our new home. We also hooked up with a pair of great attorneys who helped in our real estate closing and our residency which I am happy to say we received only last Thursday. We picked up our cedula and censo cards yesterday so we are now officially residents.
This is a special place and we are thrilled to have discovered it. I can say after living outside the US prior to Cuenca that the expat community is very helpful and are just genuinely great people. We are honored to have fallen in with a great group and look forward to many lazy days taking this all in.
To all of you that are looking to relocate or thinking about it please read the blogs and check the Ecuador Consulate website. All your questions will be answered. It is not impossible to start a new life abroad, if you are ready to go and understand what the venture entails it will be a fun ride. I would say the big thing is leaving your family and friends. It is a personal choice but with all the technology today, Magicjack, Skype, email you really are not disconnected at all.
We arrived back in Cuenca for good on March 20. We adopted 2 cats in Aruba and brought them with us. They were a little cold at night sleeping under the covers but have adjusted fine, and yes they made the trip in good shape. We had to go from Aruba to Panama (2 hour flight then 3 hour layover), then Panama to Guayaquil (2 hour flight). We were worried about all the stops but we reminded the air crews at every stop and were told every time before the planes left the the cats were on board. When we were in Panama they put them in a special room. It all worked out better than expected.
Well that is all for now. I will write again soon. I am going to a soccor game with some fiends on Wednesday, should be fun. Donna is opting out as it has been raining in the afternoons so getting wet is a good possibility. Of course I will let you know.
