CRUCITA, ECUADOR

In Crucita, Ecuador - a small fishing village, some 25 miles north of Manta - I found a Norte-Americano type subdivision that overlooks this sleepy fishing village and the Pacific. The gated community of Villa Balsmaragua contained, approximately 98 lots and many have been built upon. The American ex-pat developer, James Cheek gave us a tour of the town and Villa Balsmaragua. The lots are quite inexpensive at +/-$17,000 and the beautiful Mediterranean style homes can be built for +/-$45 per square foot. A fantastic setting! This certainly reminds me of some the Pacific coast regions in Mexico that became known as “Gringo Gulch” areas, in the late seventies and Costa Rica in the eighties. However, the great advantage to this part of Ecuador is that the land prices are comparable to those in Mexico and CR in the 70’s and 80’s and you are buying fee-simple real estate, not life-estate/leasehold land, as in the other countries. A retiree Baby Boomer could move to this area, buy a lot, build a house and live well on their average $998.00 per month in social security. Heck, with these prices and the lifestyle offered - you could have money left over to stash in your savings.

Great opportunities abound in E’dor. I will be exploring the potential lifestyle, real estate and business opportunities in upcoming posts. Don’t let the poor economy stifle your growth. Get excited - Get creative…Find new and different areas in the world that will allow you to live on less and enjoy life more.