The Bowen Family in Ecuador
We’d always been very drawn to South America, and dreams about moving to Buenos Aires, Chilean Patagonia, or the hills of Uruguay colored our life—to the extent that when we sat our children down and told them we were moving to Ecuador, they just shrugged and said, “Okay.” It was about time.
Maybe we would have only dreamed forever, but we grew increasingly dismayed by the pressures put on kids in modern American society and the consequential effects on both mental and physical health. The idea of raising our family in a laid back “tranquilo” culture where family and community are valued more than busyness and material success was very appealing. Ultimately, we moved in search of a new, better life for our children, just like millions of immigrants have done over the centuries.
Our biggest fears? We worried that any or all of our kids wouldn’t thrive, that they wouldn’t make friends, or settle into fulfilling lives. They didn’t ask for this significant life shakeup, and it would have been awful if we’d brought them into a situation that changed their trajectory for the worse, instead of the better.
The obstacles we faced were pretty typical: Selling our home and vehicles, getting our hands on visa paperwork, and—most challenging by far—explaining the move to family and friends, and saying those hard goodbyes.
Blake has a lot of specific tools he needs for his blacksmith shop, so we knew we’d be shipping a container. That meant we didn’t have to downsize dramatically, but we did have to pack hundreds of inventoried boxes in the very specific manner demanded by Ecuadorian customs, which was quite an endeavor.
Our life in Ecuador is more than we ever imagined or hoped for. We have an amazing community of friends—many whom we now consider family. Almost all of our friends are locals; we never visited Ecuador before moving here, and we were delighted to discover that we fit right in. Truthfully, moving to a different region of the US would have been more culture-shocking than moving to a village in southern Ecuador turned out to be. Ecuadorians are the loveliest people, kind and dignified, with this amazing sly and self deprecating sense of humor. After three and a half years, not one of us can imagine leaving. The kids are flourishing at the local school; they’re on the soccer team, take music lessons, and run around town with their friends. The best part of our life isn’t how interesting or exciting it is (though it is!); it’s how utterly normal it is—just in this beautiful, unexpected context.
Our best advice if you’re considering a move abroad? Even if you plan on your stay being temporary, treat it as if it’s forever. Plant roots. Build friendships. Learn the language. Don’t hold back. There’s no perfect place, but don’t fall into the trap of focusing on the negative; if you can’t embrace the differences, at least be able to laugh at them. Finally, treat everyone with an abundance of courtesy and respect. A lot of expats don’t intend to be rude, but come across that way because they don’t understand or practice basic cultural norms. Watch how locals interact and do your best to imitate—it doesn’t take much language to say: “Hello, good morning, how are you?” And smiling takes no language at all!
We devoured Amelia and JP’s Ecuador videos while preparing for our move! Even more than the practical tips for preparing to relocate and for adjusting to life abroad, their joy of discovery and respectful treatment of Ecuadorian culture—but through a helpful expat lens—grew our confidence that we could make a place for ourselves here.
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My name is Steven, 60 years old, retired teacher since a year and a half ago, and now have been a Slow Traveler for the last 61 days to date… traveling the World with my Traveling Partner, Louise.
Originally, my main reason for moving abroad was political. Depending upon which way the 2016 election went, I didn’t want to live under a President that I thought would be bad for America. But then, my mom (who was living with me at the time) and I traveled to Ecuador to check it out, and we both fell in love with the country, the people, the food and the climate. At that point, we wanted to move to Ecuador for the right reasons.
