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Dagretto wrote:

user159 wrote:

Dagretto wrote:

Mail order is probably my biggest concern about living in Ecuador as well. I build models of tanks, & am not prepared to give up my hobby as long as I can still physically do so. Ecuador just doesn't have that culture (there are model builders, but they are rare & concentrated in the bigger cities).

Damon

That is going to be difficult, especially with no national post office really working. And unless you are able to call them up and deal with them fluently on the phone, your post will not be arriving.

Fortunately my wife is Ecuadorian, so I will have someone that can talk fluently with them on the phone if necessary.

Damon.

Then you will be fine (once things are back up and running, whenever that may be)

About 17 months ago i switched from the mailing address at my home to a mailing service that gave me an address that is deliverable and accepted by all. Previous to this i had been working on getting all communication to be electronic. Other than advertisements I probably only got 1 piece of mail per week, that mattered at my home for most of the preceding year. After the switch to a remote address I probably only get 1 piece of mail that matters every 2 months, but I battle the companies that still send adverts to stop all but electronic communication. I still receive about 1 piece of extraneous mail every 10 days or so.  Moving to Ecuador our lifestyle purposely changed to a much more minimalist day to day approach, so we have not ordered anything by mail order, nor have I been back to the states for 13 months, I simply do not need anything from there, note I said need not want. I very much want a bunch of things, but I really don't need them. So, worries about 'important' mail from the states for expats, really not that big of a deal unless you expect to duplicate your US lifestyle here.

parrotsrest wrote:

really not that big of a deal unless you expect to duplicate your US lifestyle here.

Very good advice.
I would say if you expect to duplicate your home country life here, you will be doomed to fail, unless your funds are near unlimited *and* your Spanish is near fluent.

Nah, I'm not looking to duplicate my life in the US.  If that's what I wanted, I'd stay here. 

I do think that occasionally I might want to receive a package or mail one.  We have gotten to where we mail order almost everything these days, and buy almost nothing locally.  Sounds like we'll need to shift back to the old ways in Ecuador.  That's okay.  For the most part, that will be painless.

Bk:

You mentioned wanting to move to Puerto Lopez.  We are staying on the beach in San Clemente now but live in Loja.  I could not believe hiw hot and humid it is on the coast.

Ecuador's coast is infamous for its many microclimates.

If you enter the wrong microclimate at the wrong time, you may be exposed to extreme heat and-or humidity.

If you arrive off-season in a milder microclimate, you may be surprised at how mild -- and deserted -- the beach is.

cccmedia

I've been watching weather reports for Puerto Lopez. Looks like lots and lots of
rain for last two months.