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In your opinion, what's the most important thing to know about Ecuador?

The rate at which things are conducted is much slower than I have ever anticipated. This is true everywhere as it’s just slow, so for people coming from bigger cities in which things are done quickly then it’s important to adjust.  An analogy if you are accustomed to manual/stick cars is to get used to living life on gear 1.

What were the most helpful ways you found to get organised? For example, did you use a checklist, were there any particularly useful websites or apps?

I’m quite organized so I planned accordingly and kept track of it in spreadsheets. But I absolutely had a checklist, and to this today I keep one for short and long term objectives. 

What advice would you give to future expats preparing to move to Ecuador?

If you want to assimilate or at least partake with society here you have to absolutely get involved with them and that means knowing how to communicate in Spanish. I am alone several months a year and without having local friends and socializing in general with locals I would be bored out of my mind. But this is from my perspective as some expats prefer or are only able to socialize with other expats.

Rent before you buy, take the 6 months you get with a Tourist Visa and look around.  Then if you decide to move find an attorney that specializes in Immigration, every attorney in Ecuador claim to know Immigration law and that is not true, the laws can change monthly.