Great discussion on pros and cons of Cuenca especially for being there for a short visit. I spent 3 months there last spring and am getting my pensionado visa to move there this fall after being back in the states for a few months and comparing my life here vs. there. I can't wait to get back to Ecuador!
@@beaulongYou bet. Furnished apartments can be had for $350 on up, depending on how fancy and large you require. Gringo post has a couple of dozen listed.
Yes, I have bought Charmin or Cottonelle which are expensive and at times not available, but my favorite I found to be the Familia Green 100% recycled paper.
No necesitas vender tu casa en EEUU puede qué necesites volver a EEUU,las casas en Ecuador son baratas con 60 mil dólares puedes comprar una casa muy decente 😅
@@dino6307 yah, I lasted 3 weeks, first got sun poisoning, than got better and elevation sickness kicked in on day 18. Also the air pollution was killing me and I left as just felt horrible and once got to Guayaquil felt much better a day later and went to the beaches for a week and back home 7 weeks early. Going to try Mexico for six months to find a place to live. Good luck, it's awesome traveling, even though my Ecuador trip for month was a disaster, I loved it and more experience for future.
Cuenca has three major supermarkets throughout the city -- Supermaxi, Aki and Tia. All of them sell Kleenex or Familia brand tissues that are extremely soft. They also sell three-ply toilet paper( triple hoja in Spanish)... hope to see y'all back here in Cuenca again!!!
We LOVE that you shared this info with us. Thanks for clarifying and helping those who are considering spending time in Cuenca know that their tushies can be comfortable. We will DEFINITELY be back to this lovely city :)
Estoy un americano y nuestro casa es en Quito Sur, El Centro Histórico. Visitamos Cuenca mucho porque mi abogada es en Cuenca. Cuenca está hermosura y seguro. Yo, no tengo problemas en Cuenca.
I am in Cuenca right now. It is a wonderful city. However, it is definitely a retirement city. It caters to the slower moving crowd. I think that I could return here when I slow down. I think 3 months is a great visit. The additional 3 months allowed in Ecuador may be better spent seeing other citys.
We are driving to Argentina in our van and Cuenca rates among the nicest cities below Mexico for us. We’ve no interest in living abroad but we enjoy driving and seeing South America from our Promaster home. Matthew’s Bagels in Cuenca was a touch of home much appreciated after a year on the road. As for the endless natter about toilet paper if they have any in the loos we’re glad but we prefer our own porta potty.
Just to clarify, they *do* have perfectly fine, normal, US-equivalent 3 & 4-ply toilet paper. If you buy a small roll or two at a tienda, you're going to end up with the cheap, sand-papery stuff.
I find it interesting that saying "Well, I never had a problem," or "That wasn't my experience" somehow nullifies the fact that crime is up significantly all across Ecuador due to the internal and international cartels and the gang activity, especially along the coast. But to put out the message that it's "perfectly safe" and that you can walk anywhere without trouble is misleading as to the actual state of affairs. Cuenca is definitely safer than many areas along the coast, but Cuenca has not remain untouched. There have been gang--relat4d killings and attempted killings very recently in Cuenca, and since the pandemic, it's gotten a lot worse. People are mugged in broad daylight and relieved of their cell phones and wallets, and often bystanders and the police just look the other way. I've lived in Cuenca for over 10 years, and I could rattle of a list of daylight muggings/robberies, expats being drugged in bars and driven around to as many ATMs as necessary to empty their bank accounts. Oh, too much money in there to withdraw in one day? Well, the bad guys just keep you on ice until they've drained your accounts completely. I've had my own home burgled, as have dozens of other local expats I know. I've been the target of street crime several times in recent months, and only narrowly avoided it by quick thinking and by carrying a little something to defend myself. But I know of many assaults, muggings, robberies, and even a couple of rapes, much of it directly aimed at the expat population. Now we have " highwaymen" blocking the roads between cities and robbing both private vehicles and stopping/robbing entire buses. So no, Cuenca isn't the hotbed of crime and violence that you'll find along the coast right now, but the gangs are active all over the country, and every day it's been getting a little worse, even though the president declared an "internal war" and mobilized the military to help the police. But the drop in violent crime has been almost negligible, and all signs point to it picking up momentum. Heck, you can't even trust the police not to rob you here. Three times in the past year I've been stopped by Transito police along the highway and extorted for cash before they'd let me continue with my trip. So yeah, if you're going to come to Ecuador, Cuenca is probably your safest bet. But to call it safe just because "that wasn't your experience," is doing a misjustice to your viewers.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. Our experiences are just that - OUR experiences. Others are free to share their experiences, as well, and potential visitors to Ecuador can/should formulate their plans on that. We can't comment on the coastal cities, yet, because we haven't visited them but when we do, we'll share OUR experiences with our viewers :)
@@seananddebgo Of course you are entitled to your opinion and to express your experiences as you've experienced them. But I wasn't referring to any one person's experiences, but rather to the cold, hard statistics and the everyday reports of crime and violence that you can read in any local news source. I've lived in Ecuador for over 10 years, and the fact that Ecuador has surged up the list to become one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America absolutely breaks my heart. And I'd be remiss as a responsible expat not to provide some balance where balance is needed. I promise I'm not trying to troll your videos, and I won't comment on any other ones, but please allow me to share a few words of advice for when/if you do visit the coast: First, all the common sense stuff applies: be aware of your surroundings and who is sharing them with you. Stay in well-lit and well-populated (in terms of foot traffic) areas. Do not travel to the coast on any form of ground transportation that's going to traveling to/from the coast in the dark, or when it will be dusky or twilight -- that's when the highwaymen block the road with two vehicles, forcing the driver to stop, then they proceed to rob everyone... and occasionally they take hostages. If you're in one of the larger cities and you want to take a taxi, I highly recommend that you do NOT flag down any old taxi, but rather that you use a taxi app on your mobile device; that way you'll have the license plate and the name of the driver. Some taxis are stolen, and when they pick you up, they drive to where an accomplice is waiting nearby, and then they'll drive you around to as many ATMs as it takes to empty your accounts. This happened to a friend of mine in Guayaquil, and they had already taken him for over $1500 before he decided to fake a heart attack... which was apparently enough for them to let him and his wife go. I'm not trying to burst anyone's bubble here or be an alarmist, but when someone puts in a short visit here and then publishes a video that potentially thousands will see, there needs to be balance to that video if it doesn't include essential information about the current danger levels in Ecuador. Cuenca's great, and most of the crime that goes on here is invisible to the expats who never read the news, but it's still much less dangerous here than most of the rest of the country -- especially the coast. But Cuenca is a very unique city within Ecuador, but the troubles going on in the rest of the country are very real and very present. One last thing, when/if you do go to the coast, and if you happen to be in a restaurant or tienda or other such business, do *not* get involved if you witness a robbery or other crime going down; an expat in Santa Marianita (just outside of Manta) tried to foil a restaurant robbery, and he was shot and killed for his trouble. All of this was unheard of before the pandemic, but all the "locking down" of Ecuador allowed the cartels to move in and the gangs began to flourish like never before. I'll live here till I die (my wife and family are Ecuadorian), but until they can get this mess cleaned up, I wouldn't recommend that anyone consider moving to Ecuador at the present time. I won't comment further, but please don't delete this comment, as folks have a right and a need to know these things before selling everything they own and moving to Ecuador.
En algo tienes razón amigo, los expatriados normalmente son vistos como un Blanco facil,pero pienso que exageras un poco 😊 hay robos si pero las ciudades de la sierra son seguras y menos inseguridad que algunas ciudades de EEUU
@@seananddebgo Wow, thank you for the incredibly fast reply! I'm looking for someplace where I can stay for a few weeks as I look for a long term rental.
I’ve been researching Ecuador and Cambodia. Just really wish rentals were as cheap in Cuenca as is in Cambodia. Rents are double the price than Cambodia. Ugh…. At least what I’ve seen. Am I wrong? Any opinions anyone?
@@seananddebgo They only have the dollar coins here because the US banks that customers use won't order the dollar coins from the Central Banks, so they just sit there, gathering dust... or shipped off to other countries that use the US dollar. The only cool coins I've found here are some old sucre-based coins that you rarely see in circulation. But old US coins, no, not here.
@@quitomav Unless a US 50-cent coin from the 70s was part of a proof set or mint set, it would be highly unusual to find one here of any value above 50 cents. If you find one that's dated 1970 or older, it contains silver, and is worth more. Up until 1964 the "silvery" coins were 90% silver. Then from 65 - 70, they only kept silver in the 50-cent piece, but only at 40% silver.
@@jeffschinsky8936 Interesting information, I have also found a 1979 silver dollar coin in circulation, but those are very rare. I have always found the art we find in the design of coins fascinating.
We are aware that there have been issues in some of the larger cities like Guayaquil but we're hopeful that the government is getting those under control. We felt safe while we were in Cuenca and we hope others can enjoy that sense of safety, as well.
The Equator is a line, and Ecuador is a country. There's definitely no go zones where not even locals want to go, but Cuenca is far away from the no go zone. All Hispanic America has experience a rise in crime since the pandemic, but Cuenca stills feels like a safe spot inside of Ecuador.
@@luchinr91 Actually, Ecuador *is* "equator" in Spanish. And yes, Cuenca still "feels" like a safe spot in Ecuador, but let's compare Cuenca to an island, because that's more or less what it is these days -- an island of relative calm in a country being overrun with crime and violence. But if it were a literal island, what that island was surrounded by waters full of deadly sharks, toothy eels, manta rays, and other sea creatures that will eat your toe if you stick it in the water. Do you really want to be confined to your little island, knowing that straying too far in any one direction might prove very dangerous? I'm in Cuenca and I'll be staying here, but I rarely leave the greater Cuenca area, especially not to go to the coast or to Quito.
About the toilet papers it's something different in every place, some people put in the toilet and flush the water (I think it's better), but others put in the basket, for me as Ecuadorian that is disgusting.
About flushing the toilets that depends , if you live in an old apartment complex or an old house you need to put the paper in a básquet just for the reason you explained, old piping system but on the next houses definitely NO and one more thing having small bills or change it’s because there are many fake currency coming from Colombia specially on large bills so Ecuadorians are actually are very careful. Just aside note for RUclipsrs I know that you only point out pros and cons each place you visit but as a person that have traveled a lot actually Europe is not different and United states the same, just go to the Bronx , certain parts of Brooklyn and even upstate New York the living conditions are Horrible, lots of ghettos, rotten apartments and very dangerous. Sorry but I like for all RUclipsrs to be a bit more FAIR , I still think that Ecuador in general it’s a very beautiful place and overall a bit safer than here where you have homeless, war veterans with PTSD with no home, people with mental disorders walking around hurting people for no reason, drugs, and schools shooting, even President Trump almost got killed by a 20 year old kid, I rest my case!
![Who Wrote a Short Story That Seriously Disturbed a Teacher? | Dirty Laundry x Smosh [Full Episode]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bvHAy_rKoEI/mqdefault.jpg)
Great discussion on pros and cons of Cuenca especially for being there for a short visit. I spent 3 months there last spring and am getting my pensionado visa to move there this fall after being back in the states for a few months and comparing my life here vs. there. I can't wait to get back to Ecuador!
Best of luck with your visa and the move back! We love Cuenca so much!
Can you really find cheap rentals? Cheap like Philippines or Cambodia? I’m torn. lol
@@beaulongYou bet. Furnished apartments can be had for $350 on up, depending on how fancy and large you require. Gringo post has a couple of dozen listed.
Hi, I am Ecuadorian thank you for visiting. We do have good toilet paper try Supermaxi next time!! Safe travels!!
Thanks for clarifying! We'll check them out when we return...and we will DEFINITELY be back to visit your beautiful country!
Yes, I have bought Charmin or Cottonelle which are expensive and at times not available, but my favorite I found to be the Familia Green 100% recycled paper.
My house is on sale in California to move and retire in Cuenca... I visted twice and love it also the weather is so beautiful too.
Good luck with the sale and enjoy Cuenca!
Consider renting your house, not selling it, until you are 200% sure that Ecuador is for you.
Please.
No necesitas vender tu casa en EEUU puede qué necesites volver a EEUU,las casas en Ecuador son baratas con 60 mil dólares puedes comprar una casa muy decente 😅
Welcome to Ecuador 🇪🇨
First 🎉 I'm arriving to live in Cuenca on Tuesday 😮 Packing now
Woohoo, getting closer!
@@msbeecee1 Have a great trip!
Did you go?
@@dino6307 yah, I lasted 3 weeks, first got sun poisoning, than got better and elevation sickness kicked in on day 18. Also the air pollution was killing me and I left as just felt horrible and once got to Guayaquil felt much better a day later and went to the beaches for a week and back home 7 weeks early. Going to try Mexico for six months to find a place to live. Good luck, it's awesome traveling, even though my Ecuador trip for month was a disaster, I loved it and more experience for future.
@@WastingAwayInMexico Good luck I hope you find a better place I will travel next year
Cuenca has three major supermarkets throughout the city -- Supermaxi, Aki and Tia. All of them sell Kleenex or Familia brand tissues that are extremely soft. They also sell three-ply toilet paper( triple hoja in Spanish)... hope to see y'all back here in Cuenca again!!!
We LOVE that you shared this info with us. Thanks for clarifying and helping those who are considering spending time in Cuenca know that their tushies can be comfortable. We will DEFINITELY be back to this lovely city :)
We live here and Charmin is available at SuperMaxi
😯❗️Don't flush 🚽
Great video as always! I still remember the one where you going downhill in those bikes … life is beautiful, specially when you travel :)
Cuenca es la ciudad premium de Ecuador 🇪🇨
¡sin duda!
Awesome recap! Going to Cuenca for 1st time in three weeks for 11 weeks to see if my retirement home in 2025.
@@WastingAwayInMexico Enjoy the exploratory trip! We hope you love Cuenca as much as we do!
@@seananddebgo thanks! Optimistic about it.
Estoy un americano y nuestro casa es en Quito Sur, El Centro Histórico. Visitamos Cuenca mucho porque mi abogada es en Cuenca.
Cuenca está hermosura y seguro. Yo, no tengo problemas en Cuenca.
I am in Cuenca right now. It is a wonderful city. However, it is definitely a retirement city. It caters to the slower moving crowd. I think that I could return here when I slow down. I think 3 months is a great visit. The additional 3 months allowed in Ecuador may be better spent seeing other citys.
We are driving to Argentina in our van and Cuenca rates among the nicest cities below Mexico for us. We’ve no interest in living abroad but we enjoy driving and seeing South America from our Promaster home. Matthew’s Bagels in Cuenca was a touch of home much appreciated after a year on the road. As for the endless natter about toilet paper if they have any in the loos we’re glad but we prefer our own porta potty.
Just to clarify, they *do* have perfectly fine, normal, US-equivalent 3 & 4-ply toilet paper. If you buy a small roll or two at a tienda, you're going to end up with the cheap, sand-papery stuff.
👍👍👍🍀❤️👏👏🙏🙏🙏👏
I find it interesting that saying "Well, I never had a problem," or "That wasn't my experience" somehow nullifies the fact that crime is up significantly all across Ecuador due to the internal and international cartels and the gang activity, especially along the coast. But to put out the message that it's "perfectly safe" and that you can walk anywhere without trouble is misleading as to the actual state of affairs. Cuenca is definitely safer than many areas along the coast, but Cuenca has not remain untouched. There have been gang--relat4d killings and attempted killings very recently in Cuenca, and since the pandemic, it's gotten a lot worse. People are mugged in broad daylight and relieved of their cell phones and wallets, and often bystanders and the police just look the other way. I've lived in Cuenca for over 10 years, and I could rattle of a list of daylight muggings/robberies, expats being drugged in bars and driven around to as many ATMs as necessary to empty their bank accounts. Oh, too much money in there to withdraw in one day? Well, the bad guys just keep you on ice until they've drained your accounts completely. I've had my own home burgled, as have dozens of other local expats I know. I've been the target of street crime several times in recent months, and only narrowly avoided it by quick thinking and by carrying a little something to defend myself. But I know of many assaults, muggings, robberies, and even a couple of rapes, much of it directly aimed at the expat population. Now we have " highwaymen" blocking the roads between cities and robbing both private vehicles and stopping/robbing entire buses. So no, Cuenca isn't the hotbed of crime and violence that you'll find along the coast right now, but the gangs are active all over the country, and every day it's been getting a little worse, even though the president declared an "internal war" and mobilized the military to help the police. But the drop in violent crime has been almost negligible, and all signs point to it picking up momentum. Heck, you can't even trust the police not to rob you here. Three times in the past year I've been stopped by Transito police along the highway and extorted for cash before they'd let me continue with my trip. So yeah, if you're going to come to Ecuador, Cuenca is probably your safest bet. But to call it safe just because "that wasn't your experience," is doing a misjustice to your viewers.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. Our experiences are just that - OUR experiences. Others are free to share their experiences, as well, and potential visitors to Ecuador can/should formulate their plans on that. We can't comment on the coastal cities, yet, because we haven't visited them but when we do, we'll share OUR experiences with our viewers :)
@@seananddebgo Of course you are entitled to your opinion and to express your experiences as you've experienced them. But I wasn't referring to any one person's experiences, but rather to the cold, hard statistics and the everyday reports of crime and violence that you can read in any local news source. I've lived in Ecuador for over 10 years, and the fact that Ecuador has surged up the list to become one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America absolutely breaks my heart. And I'd be remiss as a responsible expat not to provide some balance where balance is needed. I promise I'm not trying to troll your videos, and I won't comment on any other ones, but please allow me to share a few words of advice for when/if you do visit the coast: First, all the common sense stuff applies: be aware of your surroundings and who is sharing them with you. Stay in well-lit and well-populated (in terms of foot traffic) areas. Do not travel to the coast on any form of ground transportation that's going to traveling to/from the coast in the dark, or when it will be dusky or twilight -- that's when the highwaymen block the road with two vehicles, forcing the driver to stop, then they proceed to rob everyone... and occasionally they take hostages. If you're in one of the larger cities and you want to take a taxi, I highly recommend that you do NOT flag down any old taxi, but rather that you use a taxi app on your mobile device; that way you'll have the license plate and the name of the driver. Some taxis are stolen, and when they pick you up, they drive to where an accomplice is waiting nearby, and then they'll drive you around to as many ATMs as it takes to empty your accounts. This happened to a friend of mine in Guayaquil, and they had already taken him for over $1500 before he decided to fake a heart attack... which was apparently enough for them to let him and his wife go. I'm not trying to burst anyone's bubble here or be an alarmist, but when someone puts in a short visit here and then publishes a video that potentially thousands will see, there needs to be balance to that video if it doesn't include essential information about the current danger levels in Ecuador. Cuenca's great, and most of the crime that goes on here is invisible to the expats who never read the news, but it's still much less dangerous here than most of the rest of the country -- especially the coast. But Cuenca is a very unique city within Ecuador, but the troubles going on in the rest of the country are very real and very present. One last thing, when/if you do go to the coast, and if you happen to be in a restaurant or tienda or other such business, do *not* get involved if you witness a robbery or other crime going down; an expat in Santa Marianita (just outside of Manta) tried to foil a restaurant robbery, and he was shot and killed for his trouble. All of this was unheard of before the pandemic, but all the "locking down" of Ecuador allowed the cartels to move in and the gangs began to flourish like never before. I'll live here till I die (my wife and family are Ecuadorian), but until they can get this mess cleaned up, I wouldn't recommend that anyone consider moving to Ecuador at the present time. I won't comment further, but please don't delete this comment, as folks have a right and a need to know these things before selling everything they own and moving to Ecuador.
En algo tienes razón amigo, los expatriados normalmente son vistos como un Blanco facil,pero pienso que exageras un poco 😊 hay robos si pero las ciudades de la sierra son seguras y menos inseguridad que algunas ciudades de EEUU
When did you leave Cuenca? Do you live in much safer place now? Please share it with us, so maybe it will be a better choice for us to move there…
she looks up to see how many kfcs they are...lol. That a good idea though to gauge modernization
Where did you stay in Cuenca? Hotel? Air BnB? Other?
@@SRFDriver We stayed at the Hotel Victoria and LOVED it!
@@seananddebgo Wow, thank you for the incredibly fast reply! I'm looking for someplace where I can stay for a few weeks as I look for a long term rental.
@SRFDriver glad to help! Good luck with your search and we hope you love Cuenca as much as we do!
I’ve been researching Ecuador and Cambodia. Just really wish rentals were as cheap in Cuenca as is in Cambodia. Rents are double the price than Cambodia. Ugh…. At least what I’ve seen. Am I wrong? Any opinions anyone?
2022 Census puts Cuenca's population at 596,000.
@3:04 That is like Panama. It seems that the money is older, though. I have received $10 in chanbge (40 quarters).
@@tutornotepad tons of Sakagawea dollars and half dollars in use in Ecuador. Might be a great place to find older coins;)
@@seananddebgo yes, here are plenty half dollars coins from the 70's in circulation
@@seananddebgo They only have the dollar coins here because the US banks that customers use won't order the dollar coins from the Central Banks, so they just sit there, gathering dust... or shipped off to other countries that use the US dollar. The only cool coins I've found here are some old sucre-based coins that you rarely see in circulation. But old US coins, no, not here.
@@quitomav Unless a US 50-cent coin from the 70s was part of a proof set or mint set, it would be highly unusual to find one here of any value above 50 cents. If you find one that's dated 1970 or older, it contains silver, and is worth more. Up until 1964 the "silvery" coins were 90% silver. Then from 65 - 70, they only kept silver in the 50-cent piece, but only at 40% silver.
@@jeffschinsky8936 Interesting information, I have also found a 1979 silver dollar coin in circulation, but those are very rare. I have always found the art we find in the design of coins fascinating.
People leaving Equator due to rising crime level. Can you comment on that?? Thank you
We are aware that there have been issues in some of the larger cities like Guayaquil but we're hopeful that the government is getting those under control. We felt safe while we were in Cuenca and we hope others can enjoy that sense of safety, as well.
There are a lot of people leaving; I personally know a handful of them. I commented on this issue up above. Hopefully it doesn't get deleted.
The Equator is a line, and Ecuador is a country. There's definitely no go zones where not even locals want to go, but Cuenca is far away from the no go zone. All Hispanic America has experience a rise in crime since the pandemic, but Cuenca stills feels like a safe spot inside of Ecuador.
@@luchinr91 Actually, Ecuador *is* "equator" in Spanish. And yes, Cuenca still "feels" like a safe spot in Ecuador, but let's compare Cuenca to an island, because that's more or less what it is these days -- an island of relative calm in a country being overrun with crime and violence. But if it were a literal island, what that island was surrounded by waters full of deadly sharks, toothy eels, manta rays, and other sea creatures that will eat your toe if you stick it in the water. Do you really want to be confined to your little island, knowing that straying too far in any one direction might prove very dangerous? I'm in Cuenca and I'll be staying here, but I rarely leave the greater Cuenca area, especially not to go to the coast or to Quito.
About the toilet papers it's something different in every place, some people put in the toilet and flush the water (I think it's better), but others put in the basket, for me as Ecuadorian that is disgusting.
Population is actually between 500,000 and 700,000
Thanks for clarifying! It's great to see Cuenca continue to grow!
700 K in Cuenca? No way. I'm ecuadorian and that is not true.
They have charmin at supermaxi. It is expensive of course.
We'll look for it next time we're there ;)
Hello do you guys want to be RUclipsr mutuals? I’m an expat also
Living in Ecuador
Correction! There is good toilet paper and Kleenex in Ecuador, next time try Super Maxi they have all different kind. Love Cuenca ❤️
About flushing the toilets that depends , if you live in an old apartment complex or an old house you need to put the paper in a básquet just for the reason you explained, old piping system but on the next houses definitely NO and one more thing having small bills or change it’s because there are many fake currency coming from Colombia specially on large bills so Ecuadorians are actually are very careful. Just aside note for RUclipsrs I know that you only point out pros and cons each place you visit but as a person that have traveled a lot actually Europe is not different and United states the same, just go to the Bronx , certain parts of Brooklyn and even upstate New York the living conditions are Horrible, lots of ghettos, rotten apartments and very dangerous.
Sorry but I like for all RUclipsrs to be a bit more FAIR , I still think that Ecuador in general it’s a very beautiful place and overall a bit safer than here where you have homeless, war veterans with PTSD with no home, people with mental disorders walking around hurting people for no reason, drugs, and schools shooting, even President Trump almost got killed by a 20 year old kid, I rest my case!
Former* President Trump.