I see it posted over and over again on pages visited by hundreds of North American expats living in Ecuador or thinking of retiring to this amazing country. "We're bringing in US [or Canadian] dollars! They should be begging for us to settle here and stay!!" In places with large expats communities, it's even worse. "Look how many of us there are? These people HAVE to learn English so they can get our business!"
In my experience, the reality is much more complicated than that. Do Ecuadorians want your business? Of course they do. Do they want you to buy their land or rent from them? In terms of a positive financial interaction for them, for sure! But does that mean they are thrilled with the idea of expats pouring into their cities and towns? The sad truth is that many expats have simply never learned how to behave in a culture that has a different set of values and different ways of being and interacting than what they are used to. If you were living in your home country and needed money, how would you feel about taking a renter into your home so that you could pay your bills and then having to deal with your new housemate's rude and ignorant behavior day after day?
This is not to say that all North Americans behave badly in Ecuador. Clearly there are many who are respectful of the new culture in which they find themselves and very grateful to be here. But the ones who are ill-behaved, unfortunately, leave a strong negative impression on the minds of all who have to interact with them. And furthermore, it is impossible to say that having large numbers of "first worlders" moving into an area of Ecuador will not change the character of that place.
Here in the city of Loja, it is perhaps especially problematic because with Cuenca 3 hours north and Vilcabamba 45 minutes south, the city is wedged between two places that have seen large impacts by foreign retirees from wealthier nations. Many Lojanos have expressed to me their fear that what happened in those other places could happen here. They are especially sensitive to the major changes that have impacted the village of Vilcabamba, which is in the same province and canton (which is sort of like a county) as the city of Loja. Numbers vary depending on whom you talk to, but many say there are about 1000 expats living in Vilcabamba along with only 4000 Ecuadorians. That makes the expat population 20% of the total, the highest percentage of any place in Ecuador.
I spend my social time and often my work time with Ecuadorians, and they freely give their opinions of how expats have changed that small village. Many Lojanos love to visit Vilcabamba in their spare time for a change of pace and to warm up when it's been cold and rainy in Loja (a frequent occurrence). So they see firsthand how things have changed there. They text each other making fun of the hippies or just appalled at the behavior they see. Some say the gringos start drinking in the morning and keep at it all day and into the night, every day. Again, it only takes a few to give the many a bad name. They see the tie dyes and the people who go unshowered for many days at a time. They notice the lack of integration into the broader community and the fact that the gringos don't seem to ever learn enough Spanish to communicate and that they spend their time with each other. And they notice that the cost of real estate in their little valley has shot up well beyond what they or their children or grandchildren could ever afford.
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| photo courtesy of QueHayEnLoja |
In the past Vilcabamba was considered a very peaceful place where people lived long healthy lives. A few years ago there was a radio program here in the city where they interviewed Ecuadorians from Vilcabamba about how life there has changed. Person after person stated that it is no longer a peaceful, easy place to live. They said that stress levels are high and people are getting sick and dying much younger.
When I go to to Vilcabamba with Ecuadorians I often end up feeling quite embarrassed by my North American counterparts. On one trip we went into a sandwich shop and ordered lunch. The bill for a sandwich & soup combination plus a juice for two people was $18. That is twice what I would have paid in Colorado for the same meal. My friend said, "wow, that is certainly not an Ecuadorian price!" On another occasion, we walked into a restaurant in the village, picked up the menu, and discovered the whole thing was only in English, so my friend was unable to read the menu in his own country! We left and found a place with a menu in Spanish, but again, I was chagrined.
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| photo courtesy of QueHayEnLoja |
When I meet people here in the city of Loja who were born in Vilcabamba, I try to remember to apologize to them for what the gringos have done to the village of their birth. Several times grown men have had tears well up in their eyes upon hearing my sincere regrets. To say that the locals have not noticed or don't care about how the large expat presence has changed Vilcabamba would be to ignore the facts.
And so, you can see why Ecuadorians here in the city of Loja would have concerns about expats moving here. When we were first doing our scouting trips to Loja, we found the locals to be very friendly and we would chat away with them in fairly fluent Spanish without issue UNTIL they found out we were planning on moving to Loja. THEN, they would beg us not to come!
After we got here and got settled in, they could see that we had a lot more in common than we had differences. We had to work to survive, just like they did. My son started college here, just like their older children did. We did all our interactions in Spanish, just like they did. All visitors to our home were Ecuadorians, just like in their homes. We were essentially living lives very similar to those of our neighbors. Eventually they needed our help with things, such as the night when my neighbors' car had a dead battery and I was able to pull out my jumper cables and get it started for them. We help them, they help us, we're good neighbors.
Through working a lot with North American tourists and expats (who mostly live in Malacatos or Vilcabamba) as a driver, guide, translator, etc., I have heard lots of impressions from North American tourists as to whether they feel welcome in Loja. And it's quite a mix of reactions. And it isn't obvious to me yet why some people find the locals to be very friendly while many others have found them to be cold or indifferent. Some of the nicest people have said the locals did not seem to want them here (and to be fair, some "ugly Americans" have reported the same). Most of my clients do not speak a lot of Spanish, so communication is a big issue here in Loja (which, unlike Cuenca, does not have many English speakers among the locals and no visible expat community). I'm guessing it's a mix of personality, expectations, and just sheer luck, or lack thereof, of who these people are running into.
[Note that the expats who live in Vilcabamba overall find the Ecuadorians in Loja to be friendly and helpful. The locals here are very relieved that the gringos live in Vilcabamba and not in Loja!]
Anyway, as you can see, it's a complicated issue. Would the locals be okay with all of the North Americans packing up and going home? Probably yes. Are they okay with us staying? Probably yes, as long as we behave ourselves.
In any event, do come visit us here in the city of Loja. It is so beautiful here. You have to get away from the more urban parts of the city to really see the beauty as for the most part it is in nature, not in the human-made structures. Ecuadorians from all over Ecuador have marveled at the natural beauty here in the city of Loja. If you want to see Ecuador, you should definitely make a stop in Loja!!
Click here to see more Misconceptions about Loja, Ecuador.
Click here to visit the All About Loja page, including pictures.
