Cynthia:  “Would you like to round up?” We didn’t know what the checkout clerk was talking about when we paid for our groceries with cash.

Edd:  I asked, “Round up to what??” “The nearest dollar,” he replied. I said, “If I have a choice, I’d prefer to round down.” He wasn’t amused…

C:  And when we asked what happens to that extra change he said, “It goes to charity.” “Really? Which charity?” Crickets.

E:  We’re actually used to clerks asking weird questions. For years in Ecuador they always want to know if you have exact change. And for sure we don’t have the coin shortage supposedly going on here. We more often use Sacagawea dollar coins than bills.

C:  I’m noticing more differences now that we’ve been here awhile. We walk almost everywhere at home, and it takes us about 25 minutes to go maybe 2 miles from our apartment to Parque Calderon, the central square in Cuenca’s Historic District. The house where we're living in NC is also about 25 minutes from our son’s home. It’s 23 mile...

Edd:  I’m noticing something.

Cynthia:  What?

E:  We’ve been in North Carolina for a week.

C:  You just realized that??

E:  Stop it. Already we’re starting to establish a routine. After about that amount of time the same thing happened during the first half of our trip in New Jersey.

C:  And…

E:  That when we go somewhere different we flounder around for a bit, but once we get our bearings we unconsciously create a version of our “normal life.”

C:  I hadn’t thought about that but OK. There’s more, right?

E:  You know me well, my love. It made me think about when we first moved to Ecuador and how much we struggled in the beginning.

C:  Boy, did we! Knowing no one. Jumping into a Latin American culture with pitiful Spanish skills. There were days when we thought, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”

E:  It was overwhelming for sure but also fun and exciting. We were like, “We’re really doing this!” (Our Books tell the whole story!)

C:  You were talking about having a routine....

Edd:  Well, here we are. Back in the States for the trip that was originally supposed to have happened in April. How great is it to finally be with the New Jersey half of our family?

Cynthia:  It’s terrific! We’ve logged a lot of hours on Skype and Zoom during the past six months, and I’m grateful this technology has made it possible for us to stay closely connected. Who knew we would be jumping on Zoom with our grandchildren to help with their school work? 

Since a lot of people aren’t flying these days and wondering if it's safe to travel, why don’t we talk about our observations from being in 2 countries, 3 planes, and 4 airports getting here?

E:  So much has changed since our last trip in January, especially having to do with traveling. We had no idea what to expect. Here’s a recap of our experience over a 24-hour period along with some photos.

The airport in Cuenca has only one or two flights a day right now, but the check-in and boarding process is extremely organized for...

If the upheaval of 2020 has you concerned about your retirement, you’re not alone. A recent survey revealed that a full 70% of people in the 50+ age group are more worried now.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they plan to work longer than they originally hoped. But the harsh reality is they hope to work longer than they planned.

Older employees have already been the most negatively impacted by coronavirus layoffs. And historically when members of this demographic lose their jobs prematurely, only one in ten ever earns as much again.

Whether you know you haven’t saved enough or worry that you’ll outlive your nest egg, there’s an overlooked and under-reported strategy that allows you to retire sooner rather than later.

With the money you have.

And at the same time preserve, or even grow, your nest egg.

We break it all down in a new Exclusive Report called, “Concerned About Your Retirement?”

Learn about a canny “outside-the-box” solution that over 700,000 Americans are al...

Cynthia:  We’ve had several subscribers write to us asking if living abroad still makes sense with everything going on in the world right now. I think it’s a really valid question that we should talk about.

Edd:  I agree. Even after five months of this pandemic there’s so much fear and uncertainty. A lot of times when people are trying to process those extreme emotions they tend to kind of shut down. 

C:  Yeah. When you’re not sure what to do the easiest choice is to do nothing.

E:  Exactly. I think the key words you said are “right now.” It doesn’t feel like it, but coronavirus isn’t going to last forever. And, of course, everyone’s hoping for a speedy economic recovery.

C:  But what if that doesn’t happen? There were concerns about retirement savings pre-pandemic. With the stock market fluctuations and massive unemployment I’m sure a lot of people who believed they were in good shape aren’t so sure anymore.

E:  We’ve been longtime cheerleaders for living abroad as a solution, an...

“Hot enough for you?” 

Family and friends tell us it’s been so hot in the U.S. this summer that chickens are laying hard boiled eggs.😄 

Here in the southern hemisphere it’s the middle of winter. Which where we live in the Andes mountains means—basically nothing. 

A bit of nip in the air some days. A few degrees cooler at night. In regards to climate it’s pretty much Groundhog Day all year for us.

We call it “Goldilocks weather”—not too hot and not too cold. Just right!

Apparently, we’re not the only ones who find that idea appealing. By far the most popular report on our website has always been one about affordable locations close to the States where it’s springtime all the time. 

That article highlighted four great spots, including our hometown Cuenca, Ecuador. But we realized there are a lot more places out there to tell you about. 

So we decided to pump up the volume and have just published a new, expanded Special Report called, "Top 10 Affordable Places to Retire with the Wo...

 If I live abroad, am I an immigrant or an expat?

A subscriber recently wrote to ask, “You always refer to yourselves as expats. Since you came from the U.S. to Ecuador, doesn’t that make you immigrants?”

Great question.

The short answer is, yes, technically we are immigrants. Upon arrival here we had to immediately begin a legal process to become permanent residents.

Immigration policy has been a much discussed and debated topic internationally in recent years. 

Some nations provide open borders; others are seeking to be more restrictive.

Ecuador generally falls more in the first camp. We have always felt welcomed here, and although not citizens we can vote and participate in the national health care system.

But the country’s kindness and generosity have been strained by the influx of so many refugees exiting Venezuela. 

To the point that before borders were shut down completely because of coronavirus, Venezuelans were no longer allowed to enter the country without proper do...

Cynthia:  Great job on those baby back ribs. Combining our son’s advice with the recipe you found delivered a great result. Glad we could enjoy some traditional 4th of July food. (Want the recipe? Click here...)

Edd:  Thanks. The whole meal was delicious. You know, since we were here at this time on our scouting trip in 2009, we’re actually celebrating our 11th Independence Day in Ecuador. Can’t say I remember all of them but THIS one won’t be forgotten.

C:  For sure. In all of our years on the planet we’ve never experienced what we’ve been living through during the first half of 2020. It’s been a total reinvention for so many. 

E:  Not just daily life, but how they’re celebrating milestones including this holiday. 

C:  Of course, we were disappointed our spring trip to visit family was cancelled. Grateful we’ve stayed healthy!

E:  Yep. I know many people’s lives have been turned upside down. But overall though our daily routine hasn’t been that much different these past few month...

Hooray!

This week coronavirus lockdown restrictions were relaxed as Ecuador appears to have “flattened the curve.”

We learned that a handful of restaurants have been allowed to reopen with proper safety protocols.

After 2 ½ months of our biweekly, grocery store trip being the “Big Event” at Casa Staton, we were beyond anxious to dress up a bit and walk into town to enjoy a sit-down meal somewhere other than our dining room!

Even though more cars are allowed out, we found most streets to be nearly empty.

Parque de la Madre, a large park normally filled with families on the weekend, is taped off and deserted.

It’s heartbreaking to see how overgrown and unkempt the entire space has become.

When we arrived at Café del Museo we were stopped at this table to have the bottom of our shoes sprayed. At the restaurant entrance we stepped into a tray to again clean our shoes (not sure what’s up with the focus on that particular article of clothing), applied hand gel, and had our t...

Cynthia:  Do you know what today is?

Edd:  Is this a trick question? It’s Sunday, May the somethingth.

C:  It’s the 17th. Do you know why today is special?

E:  See, I know you. It was a trick question. OK, I remembered Mother’s Day and your birthday isn't until next month. So I think I’m safe saying, “No, baby, why is today special?”

C:  Because 10 years ago we got off the plane here in Cuenca, Ecuador. It’s our 10th anniversary of being expats!

E:  Shut up... Really?? That seems impossible.

C:  I know. I can’t believe it either. Remember how excited we were?

E:  I sure do. But you know what, I don’t remember us being scared. Do you? Honestly, we had every reason to be. We didn’t speak Spanish. We didn’t know anybody. Our shipping container was on its way and we had no place to live. What in the hell were we thinking?

C:  That this was gonna work no matter what because it had to work—that’s what we were thinking. And you know what? It did!

E:  Yep. I think overall these have b...