International Livings seminar, Worth it?

121POSTS

13 years ago

We are planning to retire and move in late spring 2013. Been reading about the fast track conference in Quito sponsored by International Living. Cost 850, flight from Houston 1000, Hotel for 4 nights 400. I am trying to justify this trip for the information but have not read any reports on past conferences to help or hurt the decision. Any one attended, or have thoughts if this is worth the tidy sum of money? We are planning on living in Cuenca or Loja.

See also

Retirement in Ecuador - Guide
Living in Cuenca - 6 Replies
Living in Ecuador - 9 Replies
Living in Atacames - 10 Replies
International Living magazine subscription? - 12 Replies
House Hunters International, Ecuador - on HGTV - 9 Replies
Loja living - 5 Replies

tmac1949 Active member

34POSTS

13 years ago

IL will tell you that you can live in Ecuador for $800 a month and you can if you want to live under a bridge. Save you money.

tom

Txsbigfoot Contributor

121POSTS

13 years ago

Dont plan on living under a bridge. I truly think to live comfortably it will take 2 to 3 thousand a month. The figures I quoted above were the costs for the seminar for 3 days.

vinny66 Serial expat

479POSTS

13 years ago

I don't know IL by myself but I read many post and hear peole complaining about this magazine and his conferences. Main complain is they create the idea that everything is wonderful, cheap and easy, what is not true.

You can have a really nice live in Ecuador for less than $2000.

Vinny

2 members reacted to this post

Txsbigfoot Contributor

121POSTS

13 years ago

Thanks Vinny for the reply. I plan on purchasing a vehicle and have dogs to bring. So I figure the cost will be higher. I lived in the Middle east for a while so I know things are not easy, especially if you dont know the language. Thanks for the report.

bholtby Active member

39POSTS

13 years ago

Don't go to the IL conference. They are not worth the money. We bought the videos of the last conference for $300 and they were not worth it.

As far as it costs to live in Ecuador it all depends on where you live and what your expectations are. You will live like a king for $2-3K / month and will still not spend it all. We have been here two months and are living very comfortably for about $700 / month. That includes going where we want to and doing what we want as well as eating very well.

Do a LOT more research and read a LOT more blogs before you try to decide how much you need to live. If you want details of our living expenses please drop us an email.

Txsbigfoot Contributor

121POSTS

13 years ago

I appreciate the PM's and posts on this forum. I have made some very helpful contacts and quite a bit of information on do's and dont's. I do believe we can do it ourselves with some common sense and a little help along the way. We have the Rosetta Stone program coming in Monday so hopefully I can fit a new language in my brain. Sometimes I feel like Kelley Bundy on Married with Children, as only so much goes in and something has to go out. We are looking to make the jump in the Spring unless my job pisses me off sooner.
Thank all of you for the info.

dmgcats New member

8POSTS

13 years ago

I did not do the conference but I did purchase the online package.

A lot of it can be informative if you have not read books or forums or blogs

I paid $199 because I ordered it right after the conference and before it was ready to send out.

Maybe $199 was too much to pay for what it brought to the table that I did not already know...but, saying that, it was cheaper than going to the seminar!

Denise

eddstaton Contributor

148POSTS

13 years ago

My wife and I just spoke at the IL Fast Track conference in Quito this weekend as the expat representatives from Cuenca.聽 I have a notion that many of the respondents to this topic have never actually been to one of these gatherings and are voicing only personal opinions.聽 I can tell you firsthand that the information presented was completely current. comprehensive, and factual, and that every attendee we spoke with had nothing but positive feedback about the event.

Txsbigfoot Contributor

121POSTS

13 years ago

#10

Thanks for the info.
My main problem was the high price of the conference, the plane tickets, and very high hotel costs. If you are trying to present a country with a lower cost of living it seems like that aint the way to start off. Seems like if you want to get people that want a simpler and less expensive way to live the conference should be held here in the US where people dont have to spend over $3 thousand dollars just for a seminar. That is why I did not attend. I have made many contacts from this forum and believe in myself to be able to get things done, eventually.

1 member reacted to this post

tmac1949 Active member

34POSTS

13 years ago

#11

Buyer beware, IL is notorious for under estimating the cost of living in Cuenca. You can live in Cuenca for $600 a month if you want to live under a bridge. Many of the speakers they use have a financial interests in what they are trying to sell to uneducated Gringos.聽 If it is real-estate, tours, Spanish lessons, information etc. it is over priced.

good luck

Tom

2 members reacted to this post

acer6252 Member

1POSTS

13 years ago

#12

Just joined the blog and came across your comments on Ecuador, from June of last year.聽 I'm in the process of researching a move to either Ecuador or Panama. Since it's been nearly a year, since you moved to Ecuador, I'd like to know what your thoughts are now, what your true monthly costs are and what those costs cover.聽 Any other info you can provide, regarding your lifestyle there, will be most appreciated.

Txsbigfoot Contributor

121POSTS

13 years ago

#13

Dont let IL fool you. The country is living in the 60's. It has its ups and downs. There are tons of places for rent and sale. The selling prices are outrageous. The rentals are a good deal. But beware on where you rent. Some places here have quarter inch cracks in the walls and ceiling and are renting for 400. Also the noise factor. Beware buying sight unseen. Take a month and look around before you decide. They make it very difficult to get residency papers also. You need forms, they are out. You are going to have to be ulta patient in all your daily dealings. I have darn near blown a gasket many times here. It aint the US, no way, no how. And it agint going to be the US anytime in ourlifetimes. So if you can accept that and not have a heart attack trying to "school" the locals into what you believe they should do, then you might make it. Above all, come here and live the life for a while. Dont just to the tourist stuff. Get involved in the markets and working with taxi drivers. That will be your tests. One more thing. If you can deal with Etapa without having wanting to pack up and leave, you might just make it. These are my thoughts and experiences here. Others have found it to be nothing but sunshine and lollypops. I havent been that fortunate yet. But we are getting things accomplished, a very little at a time.

fdmcg Serial expat

201POSTS

13 years ago

#14

Acer, as TX points out living in Ecuador is a little like living in a Happy Days Theme Park. You know it is 2013 but the scenery and daily living is slightly off. You can get upset about how inefficiently things are however eventually you learn to adjust expectations and your pace of life. As with most things in life it has its positives and negatives and for most of the balance is good.

ZenSPIKE Serial expat

826POSTS

13 years ago

#15

Ahhhh,
I see your blood pressure has returned to normal. Those deep breathing techniques must have worked.
No luck on the forms as yet? When they become available, grab a stack for me so I'll have em' come June.
Take Care Pard

stick1947 Contributor

142POSTS

13 years ago

#16

I thought the idea of moving to Ecuador was to relax and go with the flow. If there was a place of roses and sunshine, we all would be there and screw it up too.聽 I use IL as a tool to give me ideas and then do my own research.聽 I think this site is the best that I can find for getting tidbits of information which adds up to a better picture.

Andrellita Active member

30POSTS

13 years ago

#17

In 2004 I attended an IL seminar in Panama.聽 I really wanted an excuse to go and check out Panama.聽 On a lunch break, I took a taxi to the colonial area, and the driver told me not to get out and walk in the drug-infested Casco Viejo (which is what they call their colonial area).聽 IL has incessantly promoted that very area.聽 It has since been cleaned up, I hear, but what I saw in Panama didn't impress me.

After the seminar, I took a short plane trip to Quito, Ecuador, checked out the large historic center (Centro Historico) and fell in love with it.聽 I proceeded to buy an apartment in that very center on that first trip, and over a year ago, I moved here and still love it.聽 I came back and forth from the States once or twice a year before moving here and always loved it.聽 My cost for the apartment was only $14,000, so I gladly remodeled it for another $10,000.聽 I have zero cost on propane - I don't use it to heat my place or to cook.聽 Electricity and water in my one-bedroom apartment are always under $20 a month.聽 No heating or air-conditioning is needed here.聽 The phone is free for me... the internet $60 a month (it's an import).聽

Taxes are around $20 a year.聽 Everything I need is accessible by foot or bus, which charges the elderly 12 cents a ride and 25 cents regular fare.聽 Occasionally I take an orange-plated taxi when I'm loaded down with groceries for under $3 from one of the malls or $1 from downtown.聽 Organic produce grown in Ecuador is cheap.聽 Imports not.聽 And that goes for most imports except those made in China.

I can take a nice excursion to the equator's Mitad del Mundo and back for under $1, as I go by bus.聽 Entry fees are under $5, and all I need for a great meal is $10 - it'll probably cost $6.

Public health service is free for me with my Ecuadorian ID, and the cost for private health service is as much as co-pays in the States.聽 Hospital costs in a private hospital (without insurance) are a fraction of what they are in the U.S. without insurance.聽 Although, dialysis is prohibitive, and medical care for some things are non-existent.聽 Costa Rica is probably the best if you have medical issues.

Tell me that where you're moving from is perfect, and I'll tell you to stay there because you must be happy.聽 I left Albuquerque and my grandchildren behind because property taxes, gasoline prices for a car I really needed to have to get to anywhere, organic produce, and even groceries were all outrageously priced.聽 The costs here in Quito have gone up because of the foreigners who have moved here that seem to want to gouge each other and make it impossible for the locals.聽 That's what happened in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I love and miss my grandchildren, but flights from here purchased on Orbitz only cost me around $800.聽 Travel between countries where LAN goes, and even to Miami (I think) are half-price for the elderly.

All-in-all, I'm happy here and have absolutely no regrets.聽 (My New Mexico Spanish has adjusted.

1 member reacted to this post

HGQ2112 Serial expat

262POSTS

13 years ago

#18

Txsbigfoot,

I have attended numerous IL events in the past.聽 I did so as part of routine market research for the real estate industry.聽 There is nothing you will learn at these events, imho, that you cannot learn for free, if you utilize a qualified, experienced real estate professional that has integrity.聽 IL offers, for example, real estate tours for properties that professionals can take you to preview for free.聽 Better yet, you are not sharing the ride with 20 other people, getting to know your business and having to look at real estate suitable to them and not you, thus further diminishing the value of your time.聽 That is just one example.

Hector G. Quintana
RDRHGQ@gmail.com

Wayne Cope Member

3POSTS

13 years ago

#19

Save your money and use it to explore Ecuador and decide where you want to live and what a good value in Ecuador is.

enigma10 Member

2POSTS

13 years ago

#20

I am rounding out my work life, and finally getting the last of my brood through the back door of college. I can now seriously consider what to do with the rest of my life. I've visited several countries, but I have an undefined interest in Ecuador, and have decided to explore the possibilities beginning with this country. Any first-hand, experiential information would be appreciated. Andrellita, thank you for your detailed insights.

础耻谤茅濒颈别 ViP

22735POSTS

13 years ago

#21

Hello enigma10 -> Do not hesitate to start a new thread on the Cuenca forum with your questions.

Thank you,
础耻谤茅濒颈别

mugtech ViP

4731POSTS

13 years ago

#22

Wayne Cope wrote:
Save your money and use it to explore Ecuador and decide where you want to live and what a good value in Ecuador is.

ditto

stick1947 Contributor

142POSTS

13 years ago

#23

Edd and Nards.聽 Don't shoot the messenger.聽 I subscribe to IL as a tool and I see they are promoting Belize as "the cheapest place in the Caribean". From my research, they are right but what they DO NOT say is that Belize is the most expensive in Central and South America. Take all info with a grain of salt. I do.聽 Bryan

BobH Serial expat

841POSTS

13 years ago

#24

stick1947 wrote:
... they are promoting Belize as "the cheapest place in the Caribean". From my research, they are right but what they DO NOT say is that Belize is the most expensive in Central and South America. Take all info with a grain of salt.

I was just reminded by this of the old song from the 40s that had a chorus that went:

"You've got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative"

That seems to be IL's theme song.

mugtech ViP

4731POSTS

13 years ago

#25

stick1947 wrote:
Edd and Nards.聽 Don't shoot the messenger.聽 I subscribe to IL as a tool and I see they are promoting Belize as "the cheapest place in the Caribean". From my research, they are right but what they DO NOT say is that Belize is the most expensive in Central and South America. Take all info with a grain of salt. I do.聽 Bryan

Don't you love how they give you a "typical" months expenditures in BELIZE and under electricity $80 it says in () no air conditioning.聽 HUH?聽 Like you would give a typical month in Nome, Alaska, and say HEATING NOT INCLUDED.聽 This is why no one believes a couple can live well in Ecuador for less than $900 a month, as is written in the same issue.

stick1947 Contributor

142POSTS

13 years ago

#26

Bob..Hit the nail right on the head with that song.聽 Seems I remember it from a movie as well.

tlc New member

9POSTS

13 years ago

#27

Song by Perry Como. The movie was "Blast from the Past".

HGQ2112 Serial expat

262POSTS

13 years ago

#28

Enigma 10,

Provide details as to your questions and I will attempt to assist.聽 I have lived in Ecuador for almost 4 years and have done business here for 24 years.

Hector G. Quintana
RDRHGQ@gmail.com

mugtech ViP

4731POSTS

13 years ago

#29

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive: Written in 1944, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer.聽 Was in the 1944 movie HERE COME THE WAVES staring Bing Crosby and Betty Hutton.聽 Perry Como first recorded it February 19,1958.聽 Steven Colbert sang it with Julie Andrews on the April 24, 2012 episode of The Colbert Report.聽 Johnny Mercer got the idea for the lyrics from a sermon by Father Divine.

BobH Serial expat

841POSTS

13 years ago

#30

I got an email from International Living a couple days ago that I saved because it's such a classic. It's one of their 'Fund Your Life Overseas' emails, and it starts like this:

"Income overseas expert Lori Allen had an interesting conversation with a gentleman on a flight recently.

He was all set to retire, but money problems were getting in the way.

Lori offered a suggestion that could mean an income of $10,000...$50,000...or even $200,000 and more a year.

Keep reading...she聮s going to share the strategy with you, too..."

And guess what this hot, hot idea was?

-- Dramatic Pause --

Sell stuff on Amazon!!!!!!!

What a great new idea! You'd never think of something like that on your own, would you? No, that's the sort of stuff it takes an 'Income overseas expert' to come up with.

And they give away great ideas like this for only $850 at their seminars. I'm signing up first chance I get.

Bob

ZenSPIKE Serial expat

826POSTS

13 years ago

#31

...any room left at the seminar? If you could pay my fee, I'll share a sure fire way to make a fortune, all from the comfort of your pool side office !

1 member reacted to this post

HGQ2112 Serial expat

262POSTS

13 years ago

#32

Bob,

Now, that's a classic.

Hector

BobH Serial expat

841POSTS

13 years ago

#33

ZenSPIKE wrote:
...any room left at the seminar? If you could pay my fee, I'll share a sure fire way to make a fortune, all from the comfort of your pool side office !

No way! You'd cut into this great idea, and I'd only get half as rich. I want it all for me.

Bob

mugtech ViP

4731POSTS

13 years ago

#34

WOW!! Making all that money in the Amazon?聽 Don't forget to get your Yellow Fever shots!!聽 Of course making all that money could cause you tax problems.聽 I will be starting a thread shortly on tax planning for US citizens living anywhere in the world.聽 Check it out.

GringoBueno Guest

0POSTS

12 years ago

#35

I find Int'l Lvg to be a topic specific "Wiki" site and use it the same way I use Wikipedia ...聽 as a starting point.

Anyone who comes from the US should have pretty good "skepto-meter" for commercial blather by the time they're ready to retire in a foreign country.

聽聽Carlos

PS I have lived in the US of A on $10,000 per month and on $500 a month.聽 I was just as happy/unhappy in either case, but for different reasons.聽 Fortunately, I don't rely on others for my self esteem.

Joseph K Serial expat

224POSTS

12 years ago

#36

Txsbigfoot wrote:
(Is a conference from IL)... worth the tidy sum of money? We are planning on living in Cuenca or Loja.

I am always amused by the discussions about IL. After reading through all the comments, I couldn't help but come back to the basic question you asked. The answer, in a word, is No.

I have read ILs comments about Loja and have wonder if they took a wrong turn somewhere (or perhaps accidentally ingested a hallucinogenic). Their description of Loja is... well, as I said about them: amusing. The standing wisdom is this: save the money you would would spend on any guided information and just come here, if just for a visit. This will be worth 10 times what any conference could provide and would be infinitely more honest.

As far as the choice between Cuenca and Loja, I get the sense that Cuenca might be the better choice for you. I say this because if you are going to just visit, you may want to plan on spending more time in Cuenca and just make a few days trip to Loja, and the surrounding areas of Vilcabamba and Malacatos (all within 45 minutes from Loja). But, go to Cuenca first; you will probably fall in love with it. Don't get me wrong though, I love Loja; it just isn't for everyone.

HGQ2112 Serial expat

262POSTS

12 years ago

#37

Joseph K,

I like folks that can be succinct.

Hector G. Quintana
RDRHGQ@gmail.com

Joseph K Serial expat

224POSTS

12 years ago

#38

Yep.

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

ZenSPIKE Serial expat

826POSTS

12 years ago

#39

Carlos,
Only one Ps?...........
Wuts up? You're off your game!!!! < grin >

GringoBueno Guest

0POSTS

12 years ago

#40

ZenSPIKE wrote:
Carlos,
Only one Ps?...........
Wuts up? You're off your game!!!! < grin >

Off my rocker, apparently, I didn't even use a single "smiley"!

Apparently my rehab is progressing nicely!

聽聽Carlos聽

PS聽聽[place keeper]

PPS聽 [another place keeper}

PPPS聽 Gotta run ...