Yeah, I’m excited about being able to grow all sorts of things that don’t work on my mountain farm.

@@FallofftheMap Yeah for sure!!! So awesome man, love it!!!

Thanks for watching. I’m still working on closing the deal on this property. It’s up in the air whether it will happen or not after 8 months of trying to get the survey accepted by the municipality.

Thanks. Even with its problems Ecuador is still a wonderful place in my opinion. I have faith that this crisis with the mafias will pass and Ecuador will end up stronger for it.

@@FallofftheMap Indeed, I pray for Ecuador and President Noboa to continue making the right decisions to keep the country safe. I also follow "Don Shader Grumpy, Old Man." He is funny and calls it as he sees it. I love it! Thanks for making informative videos. 🙂

Yeah, I almost turned around. I still haven’t found the trail to the upper part of the property. That area is all dense forest. There’s a petroglyph up on the hill just above the property that I need to go check out.

Thank you!

That’s awesome. I hope you make it happen.

Just had my in person interview for the security clearance, hope within the next 2 months all will be a go. PS: I even went to Ecuador to check it out haha@@FallofftheMap

hope you feel better from the bike accident @@FallofftheMap

It really is!

Glad to hear it. It was a fun video to make.

Yes, it really is.

What area are you in? I’ll never quite understand why so many people move away from the US and and Canada and then cluster together amongst other groups of gringos in Ecuador.

So, the new farm (if the deal finally goes through) is 30 minutes south of Tena. The farm where I spend most of my time is in the hills above the Ruta Escondida. I also spend a lot of time in an apartment in Quito for the kids’ school.

Yeah, they’re good people. I ran into the owners of River People years ago when we were both staying at the same place on vacation in Canoa. We got to talking because they showed up in a cool old Lada Niva.

Hi Nick, yeah, I’d be happy to offer my advice for what it’s worth. FB marketplace seems to be the most popular place to list properties right now. I set my search location to an area covering about 20 miles at a time in the desired area, and then search for “finca” or “hectáreas” or “casa con terreno.” Most listings don’t show the prices in a clear way, often listing a very low price that is the per hectare price not the total. I then chat with the sellers to ask about “servicios básicos, acceso y escrituras públicas.” On the Amazon side of Ecuador you will find a lot of property that does not have escrituras públicas and should be avoided. Around the town of Puyo many call the land titles “globolas.” This is a title invented by a comuna that is not legal or legitimate in any way. Avoid comuna land. It can not legally be bought or sold and can be taken away from you at any time. Be very careful with land that is in acciones y derechos (land that can be legally owned but may lack full rights to use it the way you want). Acciones y derechos is often land that has been subdivided smaller than permitted or is in an area where the government does not permit construction or even some agricultural developments. My other advice is to be extremely patient. I’m still not done purchasing this farm after 7 months. The municipality rejected the survey (the surveyor was on a list of people recommended by the municipality) and has now banned the surveyor from working in that municipality because he ripped off several people. The seller is still irrationally hoping that the surveyor will come back and finish the job, but at least he’s agreed to hire another surveyor if no progress is made by December 10th. This sort of situation is pretty much par for the course in the area. It’s a slow process and there will be scammers along the way.

Thank you so much for the valuable insight! This has been the single most useful and concise information I’ve received on the process. Thank you for your time responding and your kindness. I’m really appreciative and we are looking forward to following your progress with your farms!

I haven’t experienced any problems from them, but I like spiders. They help control other insects on my farm. There are several types of snakes and a few spiders that can be dangerous if you’re walking in jungle or tall grass without boots or sticking your hands in the wrong places, but it’s pretty easy to avoid doing those things.

@@FallofftheMap thank u for answered🌸 I been in beautiful place in Tena 75 Gectars paradise plants, jungle heaven, Called "Los Yapas holistic center" and no snake spiders, only littel monkeys

Thanks. There will definitely be more videos about the new farm once I finalize the purchase. The engineer I hired just completed taking the survey, about one month later than he promised. Now on to the next step, getting the municipality to accept that the survey is correct. After that I can finally go to a notary with the seller, sign the paperwork, and transfer the payment. At $22500 for what ended up being 14.5 hectares after the survey ($1552 per hectare or $628 per acre) I’ve been worried this whole time that the seller will get a better offer and back out of the deal even though we shook on it.

@@FallofftheMap I'm sure you will do well and, get it all approved....good price and all.. It's a wonderful spot..!! Do you accept a guest dropping by with a tent, in search of THE place to settle in Ecuador 🤔!? I've promised myself to find, and get to know, as many natives I can when I come down in a couple of years....need to get, at least part of all these wonderful people's knowledge and friendliness. Will probably end up a bit further south but, let's see what happens.. .. 🤗 Thanks again for sharing!!

@@Jetmab04 sure, you can camp there if you want.

@@FallofftheMap Thanks a mill...always good to have a place to "hide" 😊but tell me, how, from where, whom etc made it possible for you, to buy all this land for this price?

PS Oh, and Ecuador is definitely the winner when it comes to Alaska! Originally from the Nordics, I know all about the human "way" in these far northern areas...no thanks..

True, but given the size of the property im not too worried about a few acres being taken over by bamboo.

This new farm is at about 700m elevation at its lowest and closer to 900m at the high point. On the coast there tends to be more distinct rainy/dry seasons. In this part of the Amazon there isn’t much of a dry season at all. It tends to rain more often but it also tends to be sunny every morning. These conditions make it a great area to grow balsa and giant bamboo (caña guadua) but the lack of a dry season makes it less ideal for teak which produces better quality wood when it has at least a few dry months. Good quality land in this area tends to be more affordable than in the coastal jungles with the exception of the areas in northern Esmeraldas province that are cheap due to safety and security issues. This land is 35 acres. Its got good access being 3 km from the paved road and the town of Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola (30 minutes south of Tena). The unpaved road from town easily accessible in a small car, no 4x4 needed. The property has plenty of water, a basic wooden cabin, and mature fruit trees. It cost me $22500 after some hard negotiating. It would be hard to touch that price anywhere else in Ecuador.

@@FallofftheMap Congratulations for you buy.

Do it. Jump into the deep end

My farm is a similar elevation to Cotacatchi and sort of heading in that direction

I’m doing both. They’re about 4 hours drive apart, so I’ll be focusing of types of trees that do not require much maintenance or attention and also looking for a caretaker. Ideally I’d like to visit the new farm about once a month. First I need to get this deal finalized. It’s been an unusually long and complicated process. I’m told about one more week before I can complete the purchase of the new farm, but I fully expect it to drag out longer than that while someone in the local municipality sits on the process in the hope of getting paid a bribe to do their job.

I have encountered some areas where the locals can be… difficult. One of my properties is in an area with a lot of gold and illegal mining. I haven’t been up to that area in several years because the mining mafias have made the area dangerous for me. I don’t really mind with that particular piece of land because I bought it just to hold onto for the future (it’s super remote but was only $15000 for 225 acres). With the new farm I’m buying there is a problem with corruption in the municipality. I could pay a extra “fee” to the municipality’s architect to get my survey processed and approved quickly, but I prefer not to. It’s made the process of purchasing the land very time consuming.

Have you ever consider El Salvador?

I would love to visit El Salvador, but I don’t think it’s where I’d like to invest and live. When I was deciding where to move and buy land, 10 years ago, El Salvador was a dangerous mess. While it’s turned itself around the changes may not last and the measures taken have come at a steep price. Of course Ecuador has recently become much more dangerous, though even with the increase in crime Ecuador still feels relatively safe to me. Also Ecuador has a lot more diversity and is less susceptible to extreme climate events.

It’s about a 4 hour drive from Quito and about 30 minutes from the city of Tena.

No, just a legless lizard that looks like a snake.

@@FallofftheMapNot where you were swimming but the big river where you mentioned kayaking

We are the dangerous creature bro, not them.

The soils are a mix, in the lower part of the property they’re rocky and poor, but in the middle and upper part they’re rich organic soils.

Most of it grows in the lowlands. I think you can Google it. I am not being a smart-alek either

True, balsa grows well in the lowlands of Ecuador. Tiny Ecuador is the world’s largest balsa exporter. The areas where balsa grows best are the humid NW corner of Ecuador and in the jungle on the Amazon side, especially lowlands that are near where the mountains start to rise. This area gets enough rain that balsa forests can be left unattended because they get enough rain to thrive without irrigation.

There’s no one right answer because it depends on your priorities and preferences. Personally, I like Ecuador, but it’s fallen off in popularity due to the increase in violent crime and political instability over the last two years. Thailand and the Philippines are probably the most popular choices for Americans that are retired from overseas contracting, followed by Mexico. How do you prioritize safety, cost of living, modern infrastructure, healthcare, food, climate, property and legal rights, and friendliness and accessibility of the culture? Knowing which of these things are most important to you and what you are willing to compromise on is essential to figuring out what countries might be a good fit. For me, I tend to prioritize cost of living, property and legal rights, food, climate, and cultural accessibility (the ability to make real friendships and connect with people) over things like safety, healthcare, and infrastructure which is why South America, and specifically Ecuador, works for me.

@@FallofftheMap Thats a great answer sir. I prioritise cost of living and the lifestyle. America is very expensive and getting to be crazy.

Then the Andean countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) or Southeast Asia, though in Colombia and SEA you’ll want to be outside of the popular cities to keep costs down. In Ecuador, for example, the cost difference between a middle class neighborhood in the capital and a low cost rural area isn’t huge. It’s maybe double at most, while the difference between say Medellín Colombia and a rural area can be 10 times. Similar with SEA, desirable urban areas are vastly more expensive than the “provinces.” A couple other places to consider, Nepal is extremely cheap and you can stay 6 months on a tourist visa, though staying longer is difficult. Also, Georgia is very popular though I’ve never been there so you’ll have to ask expats with more familiarity why. Depending on your views about their politics, El Salvador has become a new popular destination as well since their president decided to come down hard on crime and just mass arrest anyone suspected of being a gang member. It’s still a low cost destination because of its dangerous history, but it’s now suddenly one of the safest countries in Latin America.

Most of my fruit and vegetables i grow on my farm in the mountains, but this more tropical farm will be great for things that like a warmer climate like papaya and mango.

Yes. I have a few agave growing on my farm in the mountains

Yes, there’s a whole family of lizards called legless lizards or worm lizards that look like snakes but are technically lizards. I’m kind of a nature nerd.

@@FallofftheMap I am west of approx. 45 minutes from Mindo and halfway from Quito to Esmeraldas. I thought it was interesting when we bought our property and the Brazillian palms were being removed the lizard-like fish-looking thing that we saw. They were amazing! I asked the man across the street from us what it was and he just said a lizard, jajajaja. The land had been cleared for years, but the Brazillian palms were already there and are like weeds which needed to be controlled because they wipe out native plants . The adjacent property has now gotten out of control and is wiping out what is native to our area, sad.

Huh?

?

@@FallofftheMap never heard the phrase "he bought the farm"?

@garrysekelli6776 I have. Apparently I’m a little slow to catch on. ;)

I don’t understand this comment