Back from Ecuador

Back from Ecuador
Would you have guessed? We have already booked our ticket
back to Ecuador in June. The air travel is quite
expensive, but so long as you stay in Ecuador for a
reasonable period, the lower costs-of-living quickly
compensate for the high travel costs ' stay for 60-90 days
and it is about break-even. But any successful
opportunities sourced soon make the trip very viable.

It has been quite a shock to get used to the higher costs
here in Australia fuel, food, clothes, accommodation,
entertainment. I think we became very accustomed to living
on the other side of the world, in comfort with relatively
very few dollars being expended. It really is true that a
couple can live easily on less than $20,000 year ' and that
includes rent. The requirement to get a "retirement
residency" is that a person has to prove that they get at
least US$800 per month as a pension or from superannuation
(US$900 per couple). The Australian single pension is about
US$1,050 so that easily qualifies (US$1,780 per couple).
That benchmark provides an idea as to what the Ecuador
government thinks is required to live adequately.

And the best thing is that we will be able to conduct a
business without too much pressure, and we won't have
manufacturing issues to deal with. Ecuadorian lifestyles
also seem to be much lower pressure than in Australia.

And if you know friends or family who are struggling with
coping with lack of cash in their retirement, encourage
them to look at other options by living overseas. We now
know that it is not always necessary to stay on the
treadmill of making more money to afford a high cost of
living. Another option is to live in a low cost environment
and reduce the pressure on the income requirement. The
savings from lower living costs will more than cover a
couple of trips back to Australia each year, so living
overseas does not mean that retirees have to do without
contact with family. And these days with Skype internet
communications, they can talk to family every day for as
long as they want - for FREE. With video (web cam) you can
also visually see loved ones while you speak to each other.

An example of how many people struggle to make ends meet in
retirement was illustrated in an article in our West
Australian issue of "The Sunday Times" last week. It was
pointing out how difficult it is for pensioners to live on
AU$546.80 per fortnight (AU$14,000 per year).

"Thousands of impoverished pensioners are rationing their
food, going without simple pleasures and doing it tougher
than ever before".

This situation would not be the same in Ecuador if the same
person lived in that country with the same pension. Quality
accommodation can be achieved with just US$250 - $300 per
month. For a couple, the numbers are even better. That
leaves a lot for food, transport and entertainment. Medical
and dental is also much cheaper than Australia and
insurance can be purchased for less than $100 per month
(for over 65 year olds).

No wonder Ecuador is listed as one of the best countries in
the world to retire (see. www.internationalliving.com/)

Hasta Luega

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Dixie Davey is dedicated to helping others live a healthy
lifestyle without medication. Take a look at
http://alkalize-and-detoxify.com and also
http://www.Retire-In-Ecuador.com