- For Sinead Mulhern, life in Toronto felt too fast, stressful and expensive.
- She saved up for a yearlong adventure in South America, planning to return to Canada at the end.
- After living in Cuenca, Ecuador, for six years, she feels stable, curious and engaged.
I often think back to the day I arrived in Cuenca, Ecuador, the Andean city that happened to be my home.
I was alone on the bus. The sky was dark and because of the high altitude temperature drop, it was frozen. Ranges of Andean peaks stretched for miles without any sign of civilization. At 13,000 feet, the bus climbed corkscrew roads cut into the mountains.
I tried to distract myself from my growing sense of uneasiness, but all I could think about was that I should have gotten on that plane to Toronto.
It was 2018 and I was 27, halfway through what was intended to be a year-long adventure in South America.
I spent the first six months in Colombia, but I had just been kicked out of the country for accidentally overstaying my visa. Fortunately, this was timed with a visit from friends.
We backpacked around Ecuador and after a few weeks, they boarded their flight back to Canada while I hopped on a bus to Cuenca to continue exploring.
Despite the initial scare, it’s now been six years and I’m at peace.
I longed for a vacation
I moved to Toronto in 2010 to study journalism. The city has a lot to offer in terms of career opportunities and a vibrant arts scene, so I stuck around after graduation. But over the years, the city felt too fast, I was stressed and everything was expensive.
During a short vacation to visit a friend who lived in Colombia, I decided to go on a longer adventure in South America. I noticed my friend’s good lifestyle: she hiked waterfalls, learned Spanish, and danced every weekend.
When I got home, my life felt limited and I wanted what she had. So two years later, in 2018, I said goodbye to Toronto. My plan was to travel for a year and then move to another part of Canada.
I had saved enough to cover a year of budget travel and had a few freelance clients. I realized that if I hated it, I had the privilege of going home.
Little did I know that my adventure would stretch long beyond 2018, through the pandemic, into my 30s, and rewrite my life’s trajectory.
I’ve loved movies about women who leave everything and make a life somewhere else, but I never thought it would be me.
Ecuador felt right
I gradually decided to move to Cuenca, about 200 miles south of Quito, Ecuador, after extending my visas and finally being granted permanent residency. I have stayed in South America for the same reasons one might stay in any life trajectory, be it location, career or relationships: I feel stable, curious and engaged. I really like my life more.
I have a community and there is always something new about the culture to experience or understand. The first days of my adventure were a trial period. But at some point, between climbing mountains and walking through flowery villages, I thought this was a lifestyle I wanted to wake up to.
I’ve had some unforgettable experiences here, including summiting volcanoes, turning 30 in the Amazon, camping under the stars in the Andes, and swimming with Galapagos penguins.
Smaller cultural nuances make living here special. There is a formal courtesy that I appreciate: strangers say good morning, dates open the car door, and at social gatherings, everyone says hello, regardless of whether you know them. Sundays are reserved for family.
Every day at lunch, the town stops to enjoy traditional food, sunshine and each other’s company. People do not put themselves last at work. They are not burning just to get the scraps.
Unlike Toronto, the cost of living is affordable
I rent a one-bedroom apartment with a nice terrace for $320 a month. A typical lunch costs $2.75. My monthly Pilates membership is $50 and I pay about $20 for acrylic polish. I get most of my groceries from a market, where I buy two big bags of produce, coffee and dry goods for $20. Most locals pay a few hundred less for rent, while higher-earning immigrants typically pay more.
But with that comes consequences. El Mercurio, a local newspaper in Ecuador, reported in May that the influx of foreigners is driving up local rent.
As an immigrant, I try to contribute to the economy in a useful way. I mostly support local businesses: bakeries, butchers, fruit markets, corner stores and restaurants in my neighborhood; craft markets for furniture and decor; and Ecuadorian craft beer when I go out with friends.
Ecuador is a hot spot for North Americans who have chosen to relocate. Reports on Ecuador’s 2022 census revealed that 14,424 Americans were living in the country. It is sixth in International Living’s 2024 global retirement index.
But it’s not just the draw of those in their later years. In 2022, the country also launched a digital nomad visa, making it easier for young workers like me to live and work in the country.
I don’t take my cost of living lightly. In Canada, inflation, housing shortages, rising rents, my generation moving back in with their parents, stressed food bank systems and a shrinking middle class often dominate the conversation. These are serious matters. If I lived there, I know I would struggle.
Living in Ecuador has led me to better define my personal values. Time in nature, an active lifestyle, fresh food, time with friends and creative work are now essential for me. I would not live in a country that required me to sacrifice any of them.
Life here is not perfect. I have witnessed political instability and faced daily power outages due to drought.
My reality is herding goats by the river and finding energy in the Andes mountains, things that initially terrified me.
This lifestyle has not been perfect, but I am grateful that it is mine.