Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Three Months in Cuenca

We have been in Cuenca just over three months now, and we are starting to feel more like residents than tourists. Going to Coral, Supermaxi, and the bakery have become routine, and even crossing busy streets have become less of an adventure. Last week Susan, Nick, and I got our Censo's, because our 12-IX visa was completed several weeks ago in Quito. Our Pensioner Visa application was submitted by our lawyer, and we anticipate getting our resident Censo, and Cedula before Christmas.

I developed a Cuenca budget before we left Atlanta based on the information I had gathered from blogs, forums, and websites, and after three months there have been some changes. Below is our budget based on our first three months in Cuenca.

Rent: $700 - We have a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment, very comfortably furnished with everything we need, and great views out the front and rear of the apartment. Our rent includes electric, water, cable, high-speed internet, and condo fee. The apartment is 1,600 square feet, open floor plan, laundry room with a full size washer and dryer, large kitchen, and real wood floors. We could of found an apartment for less money, but we love the location, our landlord, building manager, furnishings, and have made friends with the other people in the building. We may never move again!

Food: $300 - We shop for fruits and vegetables once a week ($10) at the large outdoor market (Fiere Libre) which is a twenty minute walk from our apartment, and visit Supermaxi, or Coral for the rest of our food, and household items. We are a vegetarian household, meaning we do not buy meat, fish, or poultry, so this helps keep our food costs down.

Household: $40 - Cleaning products, hygiene products, and miscellaneous stuff for the apartment.

Transportation: $25 - Each month we put $5 each on our two bus passes, and average around $15 for taxis. We generally walk to El Centro, Supermaxi, and Feire Libre, and they all within a 20 minute walk from our apartment. After dark we take taxis exclusively, and if we have too much to carry we take a taxi home after shopping.

Cell Phones: $12 - Two prepaid Claro phones ($6 each), and we have yet to use all our minutes. We really love this, because in Atlanta we had 4 cell phones (2 Droids), and spent $160 a month!

Entertainment: $75 - This includes eating out (usually ice cream), DVDs ($1.50 each), and shopping trips to Artesia (ceramic shop), and the Flower Market.

Gas: $6.75 - Two gas cylinders a month for hot water (we all love hot showers!), and one cylinder for cooking and the clothes dryer.

Medical: $22 - Prescription drugs for Susan and myself without using any health insurance benefits. We have medical insurance (retired military), but we have no need to use it here in Ecuador.

Private School (Nick): $231 - Nick is in the 9th grade at Santana (www.santana.edu.ec) an IB certified private Spanish speaking school for grades 1-13 (K-12 in USA). Tuition is $200 a month, and bus transportation to and from school is $31 a month.

Spanish Tutor (Nick): $144 - A tutor comes to our apartment Monday-Thursday after school for 1.5 hours each day, and charges us $6 an hour. Attending a school which is taught is Spanish is tough, and having a tutor is a necessity for the first year to make sure he fully assimilates.

After School Activities (Nick): $55 - Futbol (soccer) is three times a week after school, and they provide lunch between the end of school, and the start of practice.

Total Monthly Expenses: $1,610.75

The first big expense many expats don't have is the expense of a teenager in school, and these expenses account for $430 of our overall budget. We haven't made an effort to keep our costs down, so we are happy with our budget so far. We are still able to save a considerable amount of our income each month, and are looking forward to venturing out of Cuenca to explore more of the surrounding area. When I look back on the budget I developed before we arrived, the only expenses I didn't expect was the cost of Nick's school, and activities. Our apartment is more than I budgeted, but it is worth every penny we pay each month. We are very happy in Cuenca, and we wouldn't do anything different so far. Life is good.

  


12 comments:

  1. Great post, yours is a unique prospective.. vegetarian and with a child in school. It will help move folks as they consider the move!
    Karen Kimbler

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful post! I think that sometimes people don't realize that you are going to spend about 125 to 150 dollars in services and utilities and that buying appliances and furniture costs a lot of money so $700 is not unreasonable... $700 to 900 is the going rate for a furnished apartment. The main thing is to be happy where one lives... you guys love it there and that is truly priceless :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fantastic post. We have been here about the same time and have a similar budget. It's refreshing to see a realistic approach to living in Cuenca rather than the unrealistic numbers that come from International living. Maybe someday I can shop with you at Fiere Libre. My first experience was overwhelming to the senses.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for the very nice comments.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Steven Susan-I love you guys--Keep up the blog alive with your tips and adventures-Best of luck--Yusuf

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have been reading all your posts and find them very interesting. My hubby and I are thinking about moving to Ecuador with our teenage daughter. Can you tell me if there are any volleyball teams there? Also how much does your internet dost?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Darla,
    I've seen adults playing a game very similar to volleyball. There are 3 people on each side of a high net and they seem to pause a second before passing it back over. I will ask some teachers to find out if there is volleyball for children. Depending on the strength it can run $35-$100.

    ReplyDelete
  8. thanks Susan. My hubby said he thought they played three person teams there. Maybe he is right. It is one of the things that would make it easier for our daughter. she loves her volleyball!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Seems to me like the cost is quite high. $700 for an apartment?! There seems to be no different than the states.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We came from Atlanta, GA so the price that we are paying here is wonderful. There are other apartments out there that are cheaper but I believe you get what you pay for. Susan

      Delete
  10. Wonderful blog! My wife (also named Susan)and I are doing our research as to where we want to retire and move to this year and Cuenca really has us interested. One thing, I never hear anyone mention dogs. We have two small and one large dog and would never consider giving them up. Do you know anything about transporting them and are they "accepted" the way they are in the states? Any problems with renting or anything else that you know of?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know much about transporting them here because we decided to leave ours in the states with family. I felt it would be to much for them to handle such a move. It can be hard to find places that will rent to pets, but it isn't impossible. My friend Trish at http://cuencamom.wordpress.com/ brought a few pets. She would be great to ask. Good luck hope to see you soon.

      Delete