°µÍø½ûÇø

Thank you for responding.  I have been reading so many blogs, that I am so confused now. on one hand some say that it is wonderful an others that say the weather is grey and dark. I saw a blog were it said that taking our furnature is extreamly costly and if we do not take the furnature, there it is extreamly expensive. Still needing information on medication. I was looking at Costa Rica, but it seems too expensive. I would like to chat with your friends on their adventures.

Wow ~ where to begin...

I've lived on the coast on the Santa Elena Peninsula now for over 3 years and love it.  As for grey and cloudy -- yes a few months are cloudy here -- and the rest are sparling sunshine every day.  The area I live in is dry forest, we don;t get the humidity of the northern coast (Esmeraldas.) Just look at my avatar for a pretty good idea of weather during our summer (your winter).  Up in the mountains the weather is cooler -- and it rains more -- creating al ush green landscape.  Basically -- we have 11 separate micro-climates in a country the size of Nevada.  That being said, you really have to come and travel the country until you find the spot that calls to you.

Furniture:  All of our furniture here is hand made by the artesna carpenters of a nearby village called Atahualpa.  Just as an idea, a modern style dining room table with four upholstered chairs (including delvery) was $410.  Bought a bunk bed with mattress, attached ladder with the bottom bunk a full size and top a twin, with guard rails -- total $560 (delivered and set up) Also these folks will make furniture to order.  If you buy something that is imprted it coast more, made in Ecuador it's less.  And the artesans will buid to order -- important as we gringos are built larger than the typical Ecuadorian.  Again come down and look at the items, the prices and see what you really need.

Most medication is available here -- but i tell folks to keep their medicare going just to get part D discounts -- try to get three month supplies and have them shipped down or come down with visiting friends or family. 

Okay -- what did I miss on your list? 

Come visit soon -- and if you will be visiting the coast think about staying with us here.

Susan.

Thanks for the info on the climate Susan. We're looking at opportunities to °µÍø½ûÇøriate as well, with Ecuador on the short list at this point.
Is there a way to find out what medications are available? It sounds like medical care is good there, unless I'm misunderstanding. However, my wife does need to keep a couple of meds available. Also, it sounds like the Salinas area is not very humid. We need an area where the humidity stays low year round. We hadn't considered Ecuador because we figured it was a humid country. But some of what I read have me questioning my preconceptions.
Those are our two main concerns as we whittle down our list. Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,
Another Joe

The weather is surprisingly mild on the equator.  The coast averages around 72-78 degrees and is overcast about 7 months a yr, and sunny the rest. 

In the Andes people joke that they see all four seasons in a day, and its true, its chilly at night and hot t shirt weather in the daytime. 

I wrote on my blog about the cost of living in Ecuador with examples... ecuadorrealestate.org/ecuador-cost-of-living/ 

hope that helps,

Dom