Cuenca, Ecuador: Is It Really That Cheap? | Cost of Living for Full-Time Travel and Early Retirement

Рет қаралды 19,166

Күн бұрын

Cuenca, Ecuador is a city of just under half a million people located in the Ecuadorian Andes. And it has attracted a lot of early retirees and people looking for a less expensive cost-of-living. But it is really that cheap? And what else should you think about before coming here?
We're long-term travelers and these are the prices we saw while we were renting an apartment and living in Cuenca.
#cuenca #fulltimetravel #ecuador

Пікірлер: 72

@jayzogtm Жыл бұрын

My fathers country & the city he was born in. He never thought it become this beautiful when we saw it last October going for my first time. Absolutely beautiful & cheap for sure. Food is amazing as well

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Amazing that you were able to visit and have such a good experience there!

@kevinspriggs7178 10 ай бұрын

Love your fast format. You hit the key points quickly and is much appreciated. Enjoy your journey.

@ChrisAndEmilie 10 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@GuiCDourado Жыл бұрын

Nice video. Small corrections regarding transportation: - Bus fare is 0,30 U$ - Fuel cost is 2,40 per gallon already, this is not litter. It is this cheap!

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Thanks! And thanks for the corrections!

@scottlevine7646 Жыл бұрын

Nice video. I’m going for a monthlong fam trip to see if I want to relo there, and your vid is very helpful.

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Awesome! Check out some of the Cuenca Facebook groups. There is a pretty active community that gets together for dinners and activities.

@JasonSmith-cq2fn Жыл бұрын

This was great. Good info at the end about dogs and power outages n such that most never mention.

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@ecuadorexpat8558 Жыл бұрын

I pay 200 a month in Cuenca for a beautiful house w garden ..a tray of 24 eggs is 3.50 I live here comfortably on 1200 SS ..

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

That’s amazing - thanks for sharing your costs!

@JS-jh4cy Жыл бұрын

Wow expensive 😅

@harthart7529 Жыл бұрын

Only $1200 ss?

@jerrygarcia4390 9 ай бұрын

Thank you! I’m hoping to experience Cuenca this upcoming January

@ChrisAndEmilie 9 ай бұрын

We hope you have a great trip!

@GMAceM Жыл бұрын

The $1200 a month almost shocked me but seeing the fridge with a smartscreen (or not sure what that was) and hearing how close it was to the center of town made the price much more understandable. Also the bread is so good all around Ecuador, but it’s a trap! 😂 By which I mean that either you eat all of it and it’s not a healthy meal, or you don’t and it if you buy too much it gets hard and stale after a day or two. Enjoyed the video, hoping to spend a week in Cuenca sometime this year.

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

It was definitely a nice apartment. But as we said, you can get something similar for half the price or better if you’re willing to sign for longer. Since we move every month we end up paying more. Haha - yes, the bread is a trap! Dangerous habit to get into 🙂

@meowco69 Жыл бұрын

@@ChrisAndEmilie wow. Did they offer you $500 for the year lease?

@spe-chulpee-pul6976 8 ай бұрын

1200.00 a month is ridiculous regardless of its advantages and time limit. You was gringoed

@malcolmnicoll1165 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the informative video. With a budget of only $1200 monthly, I hope to explore Cuenca and retire there.

@ChrisAndEmilie 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! We hope you find what you’re looking for in Cuenca!

@jackbaldwin3649 11 ай бұрын

Great info! Did the person you met whose father needed treatment mention whether they had health insurance or not? Obviously $25k is a lot of money. I'm guessing that included surgery. A good reminder to get health care insurance wherever you live!

@ChrisAndEmilie 10 ай бұрын

This was really for long-term in-home 24/7 care as he ages, which isn't usually covered by insurance. Though agreed that it's it's important to have insurance wherever you are.

@edisonsanchez1337 Жыл бұрын

Great video, gas is actually 2.40 usd per gallon not per litre

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the correction!

@glennr9913 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for correcting that. I almost choked when they said $10 per gallon. I mean how could the taxis & Ubers be so cheap?

@segurosincero4057 11 ай бұрын

Thanks. I was doing the calculation in my head when I saw your post.

@onehappykamper Жыл бұрын

I nearly fell outta bed at your Airbnb rent! Whaaaaaat? Crazy price. Good video though

@huetuyenquang5518 Жыл бұрын

everything here is great💖

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

It’s a wonderful city!

@metalpolishshop Жыл бұрын

The country runs on the US dollar. So if from Canada then it will be at least 40% more then the prices quoted after exchange rate.

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Yup, you do need to watch for exchange rates. They fluctuate, so if you’re there long term, you can watch the rates and convert when it’s more advantageous. Even with the exchange, Cuenca still offers a low-cost lifestyle!

@aedltm 19 күн бұрын

Great info many thanks Just one correction, gas price is per us gallon and not per liter

@jorgerojas1576 Жыл бұрын

Good program. Just one thing. The gasoline price is in gallons

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the correction!

@gilbertmatrinez8458 7 ай бұрын

I'm staying in cuinca... Gunshot rang out.... Bonds are going off downtown stay safe people...

@Mftjan2000 Жыл бұрын

LIfe in Cuenca CAN be very cheap. Obviously, one can spend more if one wants or needs to.

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

It’s definitely nice to have choices based on your income!

@aniceemalley1424 10 ай бұрын

Health care definally not cheap... prices are going up in Cuenca.

@alistairfreedom2456 11 ай бұрын

The air in airbnb is about the fart gas

@jimchabai3163 Жыл бұрын

Hard to take serious advice about retirement when these people are there for a month and don't appear to have any health insurance.

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

...

@frankkluz9787 Жыл бұрын

WHAT --- ??? --- You blew my entire budget - ALL 100 % of it --- JUST on RENT !!!!! --???-- And it's #1 with food 2nd. ----- A frugal but well furnished small studio (maybe 300 - 400 sf) would suit me just fine perhaps with a 6 month to 1 year lease ? ( Would hope to find for around $250 ? ) -- Likely wouldn't suit the 2 of you but I'm a 73 & an alone American male. -- My $ 1500 SS check has to do me so I'd look for fitting an $1100 - $1200 budget to include some good health insurance - and save the rest. Public transit looks very affordable & perhaps an occasional taxis.

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Your SS check should get you a good lifestyle in Cuenca. As we mentioned in the video, you can get an apartment for a few hundred dollars a month, depending on what you’re looking for and if you’re willing to sign a lease. We hope it works out for you!!

@paulz6491 6 ай бұрын

Did you watch the entire video? They said that $1,200 rent was for their 1 month air bnb and that you could get much less expensive if you signed a lease.

@frankkluz9787 6 ай бұрын

@@paulz6491 But it wasn't well defined - only suggested at ? -- Have to wonder ''now'' with their war on drug smugglers if its even a good idea to live there ? - - I have since discovered how the Filipino President dealt with drug dealers when he was a Mayor ! > He killed them - ON SIGHT !!! -- And encouraged citizens to do the same. -- Now -- it's the safest City in the Country !!! (imagine that) People then voted him President !!! Guess we all have to decide what kind of place we want to live in ? Don't we ? -- So - I'm retiring in the Philippines & shaking many hands and telling them how much I appreciate them & their country for welcoming me ! They are super friendly and areas can be had with up to 70% lower cost of living than the average in the US !!! ❤ 🙏 👍🍺 🤗 They all speak English too - imagine that ?!?

@raddadization Жыл бұрын

Is Spanish a must ?

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

We met some people who live in Cuenca and don’t speak any Spanish, though we think life is a lot easier if you speak or learn to speak some Spanish. Employees at shops and grocers and cab drivers typically only speak Spanish.

@germanusa1979 3 ай бұрын

Are you traveling without kids?

@fredwyese 11 ай бұрын

$2.40 gal, not liter

@spe-chulpee-pul6976 8 ай бұрын

1200.00 a month is RIDICULOUS. I had a 1 bedroom Airbnb in Quito for 650.00 a month. I now have a totally furnished including utilities and internet huge 1 bedroom 1.5 bath for 500.00 a month. You got gringoed on rent

@edwardnull5447 2 ай бұрын

The blue eye tax!

@user-uz8cw1yt2b 9 ай бұрын

Too expensive for me.

@ele5011 Жыл бұрын

1200 is way too much!!!

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

If you’re committing to a longer term, you can get a much lower rate. For only a month at a fully furnished place, we didn’t see anything comparable for much less cost. If there is something you do to save money on short-term accommodations, please let us know!!

@shadowban481 Жыл бұрын

Yeah like crazy too much, but one can read between the lines and see that this presentation is more living in a vacation rather than retirement.

@misterniceguy67 Жыл бұрын

I am coming down for a cheap $5 haircut.

@AC-re9ee Жыл бұрын

Imagine going to a place so violent 😂😂

@GodsLovedOne Жыл бұрын

United States

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

...

@mikerphilly Жыл бұрын

It's interesting, but obviously you're not seasoned travelers, and you most certainly do not operate on the kind of budgets that expats are well-accustomed to. For example, considering a meal out for "less than $40" as cheap is patently absurd and ridiculous, on 95% of the planet. This channel is for wealthy Americans who don't have a clue how lucky they are to earn such incomes.

@leahl7352 Жыл бұрын

Oh, another person bitching about how much things cost and how little they make. What a surprise

@JagerFrostTroll Жыл бұрын

1400$ a month is not "wealthy" by American standards, it's poor as shit. I agree though these people are clueless. 40 dollars a 2 person meal is almost US prices

@mikerphilly Жыл бұрын

@@JagerFrostTroll You're getting warmer, but the global median is $811 per month. Oddly enough, this is much higher than it was only 20 or 30 years ago, but still, $1,400 per month is not "poor as shit."

@ChrisAndEmilie Жыл бұрын

Just to be clear, we didn't say the restaurant meal we had for under $40 was "cheap." Our title asks "is it really that cheap?" and we're just listing prices as we experienced them so other people can make their own conclusions.

@planetag310 Жыл бұрын

@@JagerFrostTroll It depends on what you're eating and how fancy the restaurant is. You can get good meals in Cuenca for $3 to $6.

@johnnyleon636 11 ай бұрын

Crime

@Manchurian1990 11 ай бұрын

Compared with East Asia countries, i mean Philippin or Malaysia, the English level here in Cuenca was very poor and few people speak English, and when you communicate with local guy, they pay no attention on you as you was nothing, and local people like play trick to you when you buy something in grocery stores, compared with other city in Ecuador. The price here was very expensive