Cuenca hit the top spot in International Living’s Retirement Index in February this year. To anyone familiar with the city, it didn’t come as a surprise. Cuenca combines perfect weather, and a low cost of living, in an artistic and cultural center. Best of all, property prices are highly affordable. If you want a colonial home…a comfy redbrick condo with mountain views…or your own farm…for a fraction of what you’d pay back home: read on.
With an elevation of 8300 feet, Cuenca sits in a fertile valley in Ecuador’s southern highlands, washed by four rivers and surrounded by mountain peaks. Like the rest of the Ecuadorian Andes, Cuenca enjoys spring-like weather all year, with warm sunny days and cool evenings.
It’s possible for a couple to live well here on $1500 a month, including rent, utilities, running a car, and having a twice-weekly maid. Eating out costs less here, too. A delicious lunch of organic salad, quiche, a large glass of fresh juice and brownie and ice-cream dessert, came to just under $8. Lunches averaged $5 a head, and dinner never cost me more than $15 a head.
