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ECUADOR'S MOST FAMOUS EXPAT TOWN! (Vilcabamba Ecuador Pros & Cons)
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- Опубліковано 17 сер 2022
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Vilcabamba Ecuador has been popular with expats for a long time. It's a quaint mountain town that sits in a valley surrounded by beautiful panoramic views.
It was originally considered for inclusion in the list of Blue Zones, which are areas around the world where people live exceptionally long.
However, it didn't make the final cut because the birth records for the oldest people couldn't be verified. Learn more about the Blue Zones here: www.bluezones.com/books/
Its omission from the final list didn't stop the belief that Vilca is a valley of longevity, which is one reason expats have flocked there over the past 15 years.
We've travelled to the most popular expat areas all over Ecuador, but Vilcabamba has by far the largest concentration of expats that we've seen.
If you want to live in a beautiful small mountain town with nice weather and lots of expats, Vilca might be the place for you. If you prefer fewer expats, but want a similar living experience, you might prefer Malacatos, Landangui, Yangana or one of the other small towns near Vilca.
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Hi JP I would like to change my patron subscription to $5 can you help me out, please thank you for sharing and doing a great video, but the situation in the USA is wore , thanks in advance .
So, we lost our lease in Salinas - the owner wants his property back for personal use, and are here cruising through Amelia and JP videos looking for where to live next. Thanks so much, you two, as always.
Oh no! Sorry to hear that! Time for a new adventure!
I have a small house 45 minutes from cuenca.
Your better off leaving salinas
The landlord is probably lying. They pull this stunt all the time.
how long where you in salinas for ??
i want to visit soon and im worried about crime ,is salinas safe??
JP and Amelia - thank you for the years of great videos . You are a huge part of why we have chosen to live in Ecuador. 💕.
We moved here in June of this year . We had been here in 2019 to travel throughout the country. We love Cuenca and Loja but have decided to live in Vilcabamba. We have met great people of all ages and from all over the world. It may seem like there are a lot of expats but it’s a small town, for sure. We enjoy going to Loja for the meat market and shopping but love the rural living in Vilcabamba. We do enjoy the variety of great restaurants in Vilca too.
Thanks for being part of our dream coming true . Best wishes to you both ❤️🎊
I drink the tap water in Vilcabamba. Never had a problem. VilcaAgua is the same water... the water comes from Podacorpus Park
Yes! I came to say just this. The water is Vilca is fantastic. Only 2 places I'll drink the water in Ecuador: Cuenca and Vilcabamba.
I was there last 8 years ago…and will be returning on Sept.12 for three months.
Wonderful video as always! We lived in Vilca from 2005 to 2007 and then in Cuenca for another year before moving back to the States. We lived in Madre Tierra for several months before starting to build a house south of town before selling it. Next month we are once again moving to Cuenca permanently. Vilca is a lovely small town but we are looking forward to the increased social interaction and lots of things to do that are now available in Cuenca that didn't exist 14 years ago. And I agree with both of you that knowing Spanish (even a modicum) will make your experiences richer....and it's such a lovely language and relatively easy to learn.
I hope wherever you are living that you are happy.
We love our Expats, welcome to Ecuador.
Gracias! 😊🇪🇨
Been here 2.5 years..LOVE IT VIVA ECUADOR
Hello unconventionals. We just got back from Ecuador yesterday and now we are more and more in love with it!!
We spent 14 days there. Visited Guayaquil, Salinas, Ballenita, Santa Elena, Cuenca, Quito, Otavalo, and Cotacachi! OMG, now we are sure we want to move there in a couple of years when we retire. ❤️ Too bad didn't go to Manta and meet you. Hope you still live there when we move.
Hugs from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Glad you enjoyed your visit! 😊🇪🇨
Another reason for “Expats” in Vilcabamba, including myself this past spring, is the presence of retreat centers - grateful shoutout to
Hostel Izhcayluma, for a reasonable and comfortable 2 weeks with expats and digital nomads, hikes, pool and dinners with wayfarin’ strangers, just up the hill from town. Then there is Casa del Sol, right on the river, for unconventional experiences of another sort. Should perhaps be mentioned: main road to Loja for my flight back to Quito was washed out; taxi had to be creative. Another fond Ecuadorian memory: when cars get stuck on roads or there are blocking rockslides, arriving cars become traffic directors, and when needed, helping hands, helping push - even taxi passengers. I planned 3 hours for taxi ride to airport, and needed all of it. But enjoyed the ride! For music, taxi driver had choice of jazz, pop, local/indigenous…returned color to my knuckles…
You've discovered the perfect formula for outstanding videos! Ticks all the boxes!!
Thank you Emilia and J.P. !
Thanks to your videos we are planning to visit Cuenca....Loja and Vilcabamba......I am from Guayaquil...but if we decided after my retirement to live in Ecuador.....those places are our choice....THANK YOU EMILIA AND JP !!.....BE CAREFUL.....AND GOD BLESS YOU BOTH!!
Dear Amelia, please be advised that UV rays will go right through your umbrella unless it’s a UV umbrella, which has 2 layers. Hold your umbrella up to the Sun and look up. If you can see the Sun when you’re under your umbrella, then the UV rays are coming through those tiny little holes in the fabric.
I just arrived to vilcabamba this afternoon. It is much smaller than i imagined.
Amelia and jp simply the best gringos-ecuadorians. I love your videos guys.
Gracias! 😊🇪🇨
I've been there and I loved it. I was there about 10 years ago and at that time it seemed more of a pueblo to me. I agree completely what you have said about the Ecuadorian people. I found them very friendly and helpful. I lived in Madrid, Spain as a child and learned Castilian, but hadn't spoken it in decades and I found after about three weeks much of it came back to me and I could carry on a conversation without embarrassing myself too much. I loved Cuenca mainly because it reminded me of the Madrid which no longer exists. Salinas was nice and so was Guayaquil, but was warned there it is best to be off the streets by 9 pm because of the crime, but I suspect it is that way in most large cities.
Glad you made it to Vilca and happy to see your video. I live in the States, but if you drove to Vilca from Loja you passed right by mi casita in Landangui! One thing to not forget is that there is plenty of excellent lodging in and around the Valley. I stayed at Madre Tierra for two weeks once and didn’t want to leave! The Hosteria Izhcayluma high above the town is worth the trip to just to have a meal and soak in the beautiful view of the valley. The El Descanso de Toro is another wonderful place to stay near the center of town. Glad to hear the shout out for Malacatos, which is a quaint town between Loja and Vilca. There is much sugar cane grown in this valley and the processing of it into panela and even spirits takes place here. You can even find good locally-grown coffee beans on the road from Malacatos to Vilca. Your video made me miss this area and I long to be there again. Stay safe and Bien Viaje!
Thanks for sharing! 😊
Nice to see you guys in Vilcabamba to bad you did not keep walking on the road from Madre Tierra and go the other way towards Hacienda San Joaquin the gem of Ecuador for the expat community with luxury homes basically an interesting view of upscale Ecuadorian archetecture concentrated in a community of about 100 homes. Some of theese homes are spectacular and the roads and walkways are spectacular because of the fantastic maintenance from the HOA dues being paid every month from the residents living there. There is every kind of beautiful colorful flowers and plants to walk through the hacienda and many of the homes are right next to the river so the walks there are very beautiful and calming. They also have a large horse corral there also. I rented a house in the Hacienda for 5 years before it was sold. My house was on 1,25 acres of land and the back of the land was next to the river so I had the nice calming sound of water to sleep to.
Thanks for sharing! Sounds beautiful!
to me they are ruining the place, the last thing I want to see is some priveleged enclave...
Vilca is OK for me to spend a relaxed weekend. I prefer bigger cities where I can get everything in one place.
The river is fantastic to take a bath in its cristal clear waters. Thanks Amelia and JP, good video.
Beautiful! Definitely a top 5 destination! Thank you for the video and info!
Another beautiful video. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this, just the perfect timing! Before I go there 💙
You guys are looking good! Thank you for the video - I felt like I was with you on the trail.
I was just there visiting my sister who lives in Vilca. Her husband did water purification for a living years ago. I don't know about Vilca, but she's in San Juan de Vilcabamba and she can drink the water. Said it was one of the only safe places to drink the water. We drank it daily no prob as she said something about the mineral content, possibly silver? which makes it safe to drink
I can comment on this as I know the secret behind the water in San Pedro de Vilcabamba not San Juan there is only San Pedro De Vilcabamba which sits just north of the regular Vilcabamba.I met the son of the farm owner who supplies all the water to the community of San Pedro De Vilcabamba. they have an enourmously large farm there and have most of the natural springs on thier property in that town and that's where the water comes from they also make artesenal beer there that they sell to the local markets and even throughout Ecuador I believe they also have a weekend barbacue place that sells thier beer right before you enter Vilcabamba .
Thank you for giving us this video. I have been waiting for it. You did a wonderful job filming the town and area.
That was a great report. I love the way you are doing the pros and cons. Congratulations on a good job.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love you sharing all your adventures ❤️
You may already know about it but if not there's an all wood town in that region called Zaruma that has a spectacular setting. Originally a gold mining town. Might be worth a look.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Zaruma se ubica en la parte alta de la Provincia de El Oro, esta a 3 horas aproximadamente de la Ciudad de Loja, ingresando por la vía que va a Portovelo, es un lugar muy bonito que vale la pena visitar.
Anytime there’s gold mining there’s soil and stream contamination mostly with mercury.
Hey guys. Great video. You’re chemistry on camera is uber natural and am I hearing some much improved espanol? Que bueno!
Just want to say thanks. I found you two a month or two ago. Love your energy, positivity and Amelia, your voice sounds like Snow White and that's just magical. Keep up the awesome work! Living vicariously until I make the break :)
Thank you so much!
Great info, thank you! 💕
Thanks for the info and photography. Can't wait to visit someday.
Gracias!
Great job. Looking forward to meeting you guys.
we have been watching and do appreciate your knowledge.
We appreciate that!
Thanks to both I have learned so much from my own country!! Great videos and great content as well. Sigan adelante. Siempre cuentan con mi like y mi agradecimiento!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼❤️
Gracias! 😊👍🇪🇨
I have always been intrigued about the idea of Vilcabamba. This is the most informative vlog I have seen on the area. Thank you.
Great! Glad it was helpful!
GREETINGS FROM PALM DESERT CALIFORNIA.. ALWAYS INTERESTING AND ENJOYABLE. THANKS GUYS.😎👍🌴
Glad you enjoyed it!
Gracias de nueve!! Aprecio estos excelentes videos! I want a broom. 😆 qué rio lindo!
Amelia and Jp , Vilcabamba looks like a lovely city to visit. I will probably choose a city with a higher elevation because I prefer colder weather. I was caught off guard at the 09:52 mark of the video. Because Jp mentioned the state of Arkansas and that is the state I currently live in.
Awesome video you guys!!!
JP, Amelia, here we are in Southwest Florida, trying to rebuild our life after hurricane IAN that hit Sept 28th. We were at ground zero here on Fort Myers Beach and seeing all the trouble that the US has been through since 2020. (No need to make a list) I'm tired of the rebuild, rebuild, rebuild, Crap. Seeing your videos opens my eyes to other opportunities outside the US. Ecuador is sounding pretty amazing. I have a question for you both. Have you noticed or heard of earthquakes in Ecuador? We Don't want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire, so to speak.! Thank you for all the content you two put into your channel as it is very helpful in so many ways. Other channels offer information but you two do such a good job at it. !! you both are awesome!! From down and dirty here in Florida, Mike and Jackie
Thanks! I will be spending my first month abroad in Vilcabamba in April and then Cuenca in May! Your videos have been extremely helpful in pushing me to make decisions of what I want to be doing and where I want to be.
Great! Happy to be helpful 😊👍
Olon is the best!
Hey guys! Your videos and content are amazing! It's ironic that even though I am Ecuadorian, I always learn something about my country from your videos, so thanks for that.
It just came to my mind that it'd be nice to see a reaction video of you guys to the new sponsor video of Ecuador the ministry of tourism released a couple month ago, you might have seen it yet! It's called "This is why Ecuador"
That was a good promo video! We wholeheartedly agree with it!
Had to watch the tourism video you mentioned, it was put together quite well but so much more that they could have touched on.
Great to see you guys again and to get the latest on life in Ecuador. I have missed seeing you online for about 3-4 years. I realize there is a limitation as to how many videos you can do, but even if you don't have a load of new information a short video now and then would be nice to discover what it's like to transition from "all American" to a different moniker. You do such professional work and seem so at ease on the videos that it is almost like a personal visit with you.
We post every week. Sounds like UA-cam stopped recommending our videos to you. Check our channel page for the latest 👍
P.S. this is an old video.
What a lovely vlog. Very relaxing footage 🤘Felt like I was exploring Equador with you🔥🔥New fan from Bangalore 😍😍
Gracias! 😊
I was there in 2018, nice little town but as you say not much to do…there are nice hiking trails and walking areas…I stayed at a nice hotel in the hills owned by a German family…
You guys are the best with the videos about my little paradise. Sending hugs y que Dios les bendiga siempre...CHAO!
VERY informative and enjoyable video and you guys are gorgeous God bless you both
Things in the states are getting too crazy for me. Being an ex-pat is becoming more attractive every day.
Thanks for sharing
Love your videos. I really like everything except the dryness/warmth - I really NEED to experience regular rainfall!!!! But this is lovely!
Vilcabamba seems like nice, chill, and relaxing town. I would probably go stir-crazy after a month or two, and I know my wife would. Still, it's definitely a place I will put on my places to visit in Ecuador.
It's a beautiful place, but not a lot of variety when it comes to things to do. We would get bored, too.
I’d go stir crazy there.
I was there for two days..that was enough….but it is a cute area and a must see if you are in the area…
Amelia is looking good in this video! 😍
Lovely locals, too many expats in a small town.
Ok, a few things, from Vilcabama, it is almost NEVER hot here, you must have been here a rare day! 69-70degree almost all the time. Also, the tap water is from a purification plant, and is drinkable! ( unless you have some canal water - agricultural water or want to drink the river water ( as animals do roam free).
Like the rest of your videos before,they're great.
I loved Vilca in 2016. I plan to go back for a more extended stay probably in the next 1-2 years.
To whom it may concern, you do not necessarily need an ATM machine to get money, you can find in many shops a sign that says ''MI VECINO'' for Banco del Pichincha and ''BANCO DEL BARRIO'' for Banco de Guayaquil, so you can enter into the store and ask them to give you money by inserting your bank card into a card reader.
Great suggestion! We always forget about that option 👍
Excellent video,great information and amazing my hermano and hermana
Gracias hermana! 😊
0:34 Your videos are very informative. Thank you
Thanks for letting us know. Vilcabamba must be more expensive since popular with foreigners. This is the sad reality. Definitely learn Spanish-there are many advantages and it gives you a lot more freedom to avoid towns where foreigners drive up the prices.
Moving there this Thursday ..for a little while anyway
Really cool video
Hi, this was a nice video. I wish you would have more videos filmed on location and at restaurants, etc instead of just in your home studio.
VERY NICE! Hope you are staying safe. 😎
Gracias!
Someone who lives in Vilcabamba posted on Facebook today that there have been several violent home invasions taking place there against foreigners. Apparently they happened a couple of months ago, too.
We we’re considering moving there, but this concerns me.
We spoke to a lot of expats while we were there an none mentioned that. Doesn’t mean it’s not true, but there are also a lot of expats who try to scare everyone else away so it doesn’t become too populated.
Oh because the USA is so safe? Over 430 mass shootings this year so far, please just stay in your country, we only want nice people in Latin America
@@AmeliaAndJP thank you so much for your response! I don’t know why it still surprises me me that people might do hateful things like that, but I will know now not to trust any reports like that until I check them out for myself.
I really enjoy your videos!
@@AmeliaAndJP Its true. Not a scare tactic. There were 4 possibly 5 attacks this week. As someone who just moved here its definately a scary situation and people considering a move here should be aware that it is happening. Its dangerous to discount these accounts as just rumours to scare off newcomers. Violence is up everywhere all over the world and Vilcabamba is no different. The reason no one may have mentioned it to you is because not everyone knows it is happening. I know for a fact an elderlly couple was attacked last month and tied up, beaten, and robbed in Santorum, because they stayed at Pandora lodge after it happened and shared their account with a friend of mine.
@@AmeliaAndJP Move to Colombia it's much safer and Colombians are among the most sophisticated people if Íberoamerica. Even in Spain they prefer to hire Colombians to do the news broadcasting because of the elegant Spanish spoken in Colombia. Saludos
Very nice!
Maybe I will head down there next year :-). My sept trip is already locked in.
I bet you're getting excited!
@@AmeliaAndJP I have been working too much the last few weeks and have to teach a class in LA next week. So I am REALLY looking forward to my 3 weeks in EC. Just bummed Jeannine can't come. I have not been away from her this long since, like 1990.... At least my son will be with me - so that will be nice. And I may meetup with my primo who is heading down a couple of days before me. He, my son and I all have the same name. 🙂
Hermoso! ❤
I’m going to heaven to live forever, but I’m definitely going to spend some time in Ecuador. 🎉
Great video and info as well... love you guys. JP: have you upgraded
your drone? just curious
Thanks!
I'm still using the DJI Mavic Air 2
Hadn't heard of 'Blue Zones', but knew Dan Buettner in jr. high and high school. Some of the old longevity stories from Vilcabamba have been questioned, as the same people were giving different birthdates to different interviewers. Vilcabamba is a nice place, but it is at the end of the road. Vilcaroma coffee, just south of town, is some of the best coffee I have even enjoyed.
The province of Loja stands out for the quality and variety of coffees. Vilcabamba coffee is good, but I recommend that you also try other Loja cantons such as Olmedo, Chaguarpamba, Quilanga or Sozoranga. If you are a coffee lover then you will like to try the coffee from those places.
@@oscitancia Thanks for the comment. We buy 'Aguila de Oro' here in Quito. It is sourced from a cooperativa around Loja, so we don't know the exact locale of the source, but we still find it to be excellent coffee.
It seems a very healthy place to live. Has great air and water quality .a real Shangri-la for all.
Great video, but you guys never mentioned the flies and mosquitos which are a constant problem in Vilcabamba.
Congratulations ! From Santo Domingo.
In the past week there were four home invasions in Vilcabomba!
We’ve seen this floating around on social media but we haven’t seen any official news reports. Would be nice to have this corroborated.
Sounds like the sweet zone is around 6500’-7000’ in order to avoid both the heat and altitude issues.
Good observation 👍
@@AmeliaAndJP Amelia and JP, could make a video about zo as that are at 1500 to 2500 meters high, since according to scientists it is the ideal height to live. Between 1500 meters to 2500 meters
We were in Vilca for about two weeks in Feb. I expected to be able to swim in the pool and could not do so as it never got that warm.
This year was unusually cold. A and JP just happened to be here during a hot spell.
Tks!
I was in Vilcabamba during Carnival. Definitely not a "typical" experience, LOL. That Indian place was good.
I thought Cotacachi and Cuenca had a fair number of Expats as a percentage as well, but Vilca was definitely higher.
Enjoyed the video but at about 3:40 you mention modes of public transportation. Taxis buses I got but it CC displayed Meek stoves for the first type you mention. What are those?
thanks
hello Amelia and JP.
The broom dudes are pretty amazing wherever you go.
when I was there, the temperature was dropping to 13, 14 degrees celsius , and I just checked the weather there and the low today is 13., to me that is cold
That’s the nighttime low. It’s usually around 24 during the day. Perfecto 👍
Makes me want to move there
El rios se ve bravo
Warmer is a con for us. We are cool weather lovers.
You guys should write an electronic book for purchase with the top cities in Ecuador and have standard info on crime, pros, cons, good restaurants, stores, good neighborhoods, rents, transportation, medical care, expat info, age distribution, etc. The videos are great but I would pay for a reference like that.
Hi, Ecuador is leading exporter of fresh flowers, cut flowers, and so on. Maybe you can take us to the fields and farms where they grow.
Thanks a lot for your awesome videos.
Most of the flowers are grown in greenhouses. They don’t have rolling fields of flowers like the Netherlands. There are hundreds of white tents covering large swaths of land. We did tour the orchid farm in gualaceo a few years ago.
Great video folks , Im thinking where in the world is your dentist my goodness you need to be doing toothpaste commercials. Thanks for all the detail on this video...
Very very interesante. Hellos
So family friendly and safe that an expat family just received a beaten stabbing and some gunshot wounds. A home invasion where several were injured and the mother lost her life.
Can you visit Valle de Los Chiillos or Sangolqui in la provincia de Pichincha
Great suggestion 👍
Before I go I will leave you a comment and a "like" Cheers.
Amelia and JP can you suggest a nice Bus Tour company for Ecuador? I like the Caravan tours, they dont offer Ecuador
We've heard good things about Wanderbus: www.wanderbusecuador.com/ If you want an expat tour, you might try Ecuador Expat Journeys: www.ecuadorexpatjourneys.com/
thank you
The altitude would be perfect, the isolation wouldn’t bother me, if I could find a small, well appointed house with a small garden or yard where the hummingbirds would come . Is this possible there ? Please.
what are rental prices ?
This should be talked about assp! We live or rather lived in vilcabamba we recently (2 days ago) moved put as fast as we could asvthere is a crime wave going on at night again.yes town is safe in day light but 6 men with rifles and tazers are currently doing thier best to relieve expats of any valuables they can find..the straw that broke this camels back was the 3:00 am robbery not 5 mins walk from our house..6 men storm house and zip tie occupents ect..not good and not safe.crime is a part of life but when its verry close and in such a small area it gets attention..eacen the locals in the area we lived have hired security gaurds to patrol thier area that says a lot.this needs to be talked about and not swept under the rug.
This just happened last week. We recorded this video over a month ago. We messaged Ryan at Abundant Living about it yesterday and he said they know who is responsible and the expat community is working with the locals and police to put a plan together to capture them. Based on the vigilante justice we witnessed in Olón when someone robbed a few houses, these men do not have a bright future. Hopefully it will get resolved soon.
Love your videos. I wanna know: where does Amelia get her cute clothes and jewelry?
She bought the green shirt at Studio F in Quito. The jewelry is from the Otavalo market.
That looked like yellow jamaica (hibiscus) along that one fence
has the equator gone beyond what is reasonable to set up as an expat?22-08-2022
Excellent . Wikipedia copy this content. Agree on all the pros and cons. Just one comment. Why? There aren't many .. medical facilities.... exactly, it's an isolated valley with the same temperature all year round, the food is healthier, you live more peacefully. thats why it called the Valley of Longevity
Currently in cuenca for the first time and I've been going to ecuador for the past 5 years every august, staying for 2 months traveling around, im next to 9 the october mercado staying in a hotel, any recommendations?
That’s a great area! Enjoy!