FAQ: Part 2

Our handmade wooden table
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Here is Part 2 of the FAQs many of you have been waiting for.  I hope the answers will provide you with many new insights into life here in Cotacachi.

Q1. Realistically, how much does is cost to live in Cotacachi?

I take this question to answer some other questions that have arisen.  Obviously, there are a number of variables that determine cost of living, but let me just give you a number of $900 per couple per month and let me explain how I got to this number.

a) Rent: Rent for a fairly nice unfurnished apartment in town ranges from $150 to $250.  That means there are some startup costs to furnish your place but one can get beautiful hand-made furniture from the carpenter down the street.  While appliances are possibly more expensive than in the US, besides a range and a small fridge (no need for one the size of a small truck when you can buy your food fresh every day at the corner store) you don´t really need any other appliances (more about that in another blog) if you are willing to live simply.

Mt. Cotacachi with the mercado in the foregroud
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b) Utilities: Utilities are fairly cheap unless you want to have satellite TV or high-speed internet ($60/month).  Most things (water heater, cooktop, oven) run on propane gas which is subsidized by the government so that people do no use wood for cooking which has contributed to deforestation in the past.  Propane gas comes in 13-gallon containers, costs about $2 and one tank has lasted us well over one month.  Electricity costs about the same as in the US, but since it is only used for lights and the small fridge, it is less than $10 per month.  Basic phone service is also less than $10 as well.

Street scene in Cotacachi
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c) Food:  As I mentioned in a previous entry, a mainly vegetarian diet is very cheap especially if you make the food yourself.  Meat costs about the same as in the US but is in our opinion of better quality.  We eat most of our meals at home and spend less than $30 per week on groceries.  A couple we know eats out every meal and still spends only about $10 per day.

d) Heath Care:  We have made only one direct experience with the local health care system, and we were very pleased.  Last month I could not shake a bacterial infection and finally called for a doctor.  To my surprise, he made a house call the same day.  Since his English was worse than my Spanish, we conducted our discussion in Spanish.  After about 45 minutes of checking me out and consultation, he had formulated his diagnosis and pulled out a ziploc bag full of antibiotics from his coat pocket, dispensed the required number of pills, wrapped them in a piece of paper, and handed them to me.   He did the same with Tylenol he dispensed.  At the end, he charged $30 for the visit and the medication, about the same as what the co-pay would have been in the US.

Sign in Spanish and Kichwa
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Other health care stories we have heard are of a man who had a heart attack while visiting here; he was well taken care of at the local hospital and was pleasantly surprised with the level of care he was given.  A woman we met told us she got a root canal and three crowns from a local dentist for $800; this treatment and the savings compared to what it would have cost at home paid for her trip to Ecuador.  We also heard that some local dentists use laser equipment instead of drills to attack cavaties.  Many doctors are either educated in the US or in Cuba and possess an excellent level of skill.

Street vendor on main square
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e) Health Insurance:  While health insurance is available in Ecuador at a reasonable cost, I don´t know any details.  Alternatively, one can get catastrophic health insurance in the US and pay the standard doctor visits out of pocket.

f) In summary, in order to come up with the $900 cost of living for a couple per month, I assumed $200 for rent, $100 for utilities (incl. high-speed internet or weekly maid service), $300 for food and entertainment (incl. occasional eating out in fancier restaurants), $200 for health care and $100 for transportation, clothes, etc.  It is certainly possible to spend more as well as less.  One couple lives on $600 but, in exchange for some services they receive at a local hotel (reduced meal costs, free internet access and free international calls), they perform some maintenance work at the hotel.  Also note, that the cost summary does not include the cost of a car (which in our opinion is absolutely not necessary), trips to the US, or regular longer trips around Ecuador.

Q2.  What services are not available here?

a) For one, there is no post office here in Cotacachi and no mail delivery.  The closest PO is in Otavalo, about 12 km away.  So, how do people get mail?  The simple answer is they don´t.  People just don´t send much mail.  No wonder, considering the cost of a standard letter within Ecuador is almost $1, to the US about $1.60 and to Europe about $1.90. To pay utility bills, you just go to the local office of the phone or power company.  Forget about internet banking.

b) We have not seen any movie theaters.  We have seen ads for movies in the Quito paper, so they must exist.  People buy DVDs (3 for $4) and perhaps trade with friends and neighbors once they are done, thus creating the local version of Netflix.

c) Pubs and outdoor cafes are non-existent to very rare in Cotacachi.  There is virtually no beer culture (I guess it is back to home brewing) and a very limited coffee culture, even though there is excellent local organic shade-grown coffee available.  After work, people just go home to spend time with their families and enjoy other social activities that do not include going to a pub.  There is one bar here in Cotacachi which does not appear to be well frequented.