- Stephen and Joanna Vargha moved to Ecuador from North Carolina after retiring early.
- The moved to Cuenca for its lower cost of living, vibrant culture, and welcoming expat community.
- They recommend retiring abroad but said anyone thinking about it should do a lot of research.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Stephen and Joanna Vargha, a married couple who moved from North Carolina to Cuenca, Ecuador, in 2020 after retiring early. Cuenca is located in the Andes mountains and has a population of about 600,000 people. Their interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Stephen: I heard about Cuenca, Ecuador, as a place to retire way back in 2010. I checked it out for a week in 2011 and visited some people I knew there. But I was only 53. So I put it in the back of my head.
In early 2019, my work was taking a toll on me physically and mentally. I had worked at a television station in North Carolina for over 37 years. We already had a retirement house in a small mountain town in North Carolina, so we decided to move there. The plan was to leave my job and look for a one at half the pay because we could afford it. But after several months I couldn’t get a job.
We also realized the Affordable Care Act coverage was going to cost around $1,900 a month for the two of us and we were too young for Medicare. I didn’t work my butt off for four decades to give my hard-earned money to the insurance companies.
Then Joanna goes, “Let’s move to Cuenca.” This is a woman who had never been there, doesn’t like big cities, grew up in a town of maybe 75,000 people when she left. I was like, “Are you sure?” But that’s what we did. So I decided to retire at 61 when we moved to Ecuador.
Joanna: I retired around the same time at 56, and before that worked for an auto insurance website.
We started talking about moving to Cuenca in May of 2019. We visited in September and looked at places. We moved in January 2020 and just barely missed the pandemic lockdown.
Cuenca is a great city with a lot of expats
Stephen: You make friends so easily here. I’ve visited 29 countries, and I can emphatically say that the people in Cuenca are the friendliest people I have ever met.
Joanna: We have made so many dear friends here that we would never have back home. We would’ve had to stay working and been too busy. Now we do three-hour lunches here just catching up and having fun.
There are so many things to do here, including art events and going to restaurants. There are lots of musical events. We have a free symphony and it’s fabulous.
Stephen: Cuenca is becoming more of an international city. It’s considered the arts capital of Ecuador and is called the “Athens of Ecuador” because of its culture and education.
We speak a little Spanish, so we try to respect their culture and speak Spanish when we can, but some people here also speak English.
Stephen: There are an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 foreigners living in Cuenca, mostly from the US and Canada, with Europe at a distant number three. Facebook groups are a great way to meet people and the expat community is very helpful.
Joanna: You rely on each other.
The cost of living is so much lower
Stephen: It’s a fraction of the cost of living compared to a good portion of the US, like with housing and food. Our electric and water bills are much lower. Healthcare here is very affordable and good.
Joanna: There are some health things that you can’t get done here. You have to go to Quito, about one hour away, or back to the states. But there’s a lot of things here that you can get.
A pallet of 30 farm-fresh eggs is like $4.25 here. Fresh produce at the market is also affordable. To ride a bus is 31 cents. A taxi across the city could cost you $6 including tip.
A lot of expats don’t even own cars because it’s very walkable. We walk everywhere. It’s the healthiest we’ve ever been.
Stephen: We average 35 miles a week. It didn’t take long for me to lose my American weight, as I call it. I went from 192 to 168 — just by the fresher food, better food, and walking all around.
There is also a great respect for older folks, and it’s not just a cultural thing, it’s part of the country’s laws. There are discounts for older people, including on taxes, and even separate lines at the bank.
Stephen: One drawback about Cuenca is there’s not an international airport. We usually have to fly to Quito.
Communication can be terrible with vendors and government entities. Finding real estate listings is a little more difficult here, but we went to a real estate agent and she found our place for us.
There are certain things you just can’t buy here.
Joanna: When we go back to the US to visit we load up our suitcases with stuff to bring back with us. But that’s changing literally every day. They’re offering more stuff here.
We recommend retiring abroad but do your research
Stephen: For people thinking about moving abroad, research is the most important thing. Facebook, blogs, get more than one source and make sure they’re reliable. Definitely visit here.
Joanna: Try to make some local contacts who you can talk to because they’ll help you ease into local life.
And we would never suggest doing the visa process on your own. You need a visa lawyer or a facilitator to help you because the rules can change quickly. It wasn’t hard to do with the help. We used a group in Ecuador called Visa Angels.
Joanna: We don’t plan to leave Ecuador soon, but we are researching end-of-life continuous care right now.
Stephen: We may eventually have to move back to the US despite the high healthcare costs because they just don’t have the same assisted living facility options here. But right now, we’re very happy here.
Joanna: In the five years we’ve been here, we’ve had a pandemic, national protests, and one of the worst droughts in Ecuador’s history.
There’s good and there’s bad in any place that you live, but I like to say that when we knew we had to leave our home, we didn’t make lemonade out of lemons. We made Limoncello and lemon pound cake.
It’s been such a wonderful adventure. I would’ve never dreamed that we would be able to do this.
Have a news tip or a story to share? Are you an American who has moved abroad? Contact this reporter at [email protected].
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