Contemplating Moving to Ecuador
I forgot that I created this blog to share some pictures back in 2008. Those pictures are now gone and I’m starting over.
Scott and I have been reading a lot in the past few months about moving abroad. We have both been in IT our entire careers and are tired of the grind. In 1994, my job transferred and we moved from Minneapolis, MN to Seal Beach, CA. We loved Seal Beach but in order to get to work, we had to go sit in the parking lots that are LA freeways. In 1996, Scott got a job in San Francisco so we moved again. This time, we found our perfect location and bought a house in San Mateo. We love our house and our neighbors but are tired of working for someone else and want to pursue our own interests. We are in our mid-40’s so retirement in the US is many years away. We have no school age kids to keep us here – our daughter is married with two kids of her own. It was time to research alternatives.
Early in our research, it was looking like we might think about moving to Costa Rica. Now, Ecuador is leading the race and we’ll be visiting soon to see if it looks like a country where we would enjoy living. Scott has a former coworker who retired in Ecuador a few months ago so we will visit them and see how their transition is going. We are also checking out a few properties to see what’s available. The plan for this trip is just to see what things cost and if the vibe works for us.
If all goes well, we hope to move sometime before 2013. Hopefully the economy will pick up some in the US before we sell our house. We need to decide if we are going to ship our household items and tools or sell it all and start from scratch when we move. It all began today. We sold two boxes of nice hardcover books to a used book store for $100 and donated bags of paperbacks to the local library. It hardly put a dent in our office full of books but you have to start somewhere, right? We tend to save all documents related to financing so that needs to end. For example, today, I shredded cable and cell phone bills from 2005.
Hopefully I won’t abandon this blog for three years again!
Emily
Emily Bloomquist
I am a US Expat in Ecuador. I grew up on a Minnesota farm, worked in IT in California's Silicon Valley, then moved to a coastal Ecuador fishing village. My goal is to share Ecuador with you, one snippet at a time. Topics include attractions, compassion, ecotourism, Ecuador products, everyday Ecuador, and flora and fauna. Please let me know what you would like to read more about!
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