Testimonials from our Readers

I know you hear this all the time, but when I first started researching coming to Ecuador back in December, a lot of my search results turned up your sites, so I read a lot of posts. Between yours and Angie's blog posts and youtube videos, the work you've both done is largely what helped me make the decision to come to Ecuador instead of other places. I focused mostly on your Quito stuff because at first I thought we'd end up there, and buying the Quito Landing guide was very useful, but now we're very glad to be in Cuenca instead. --- Jason M Fairfax Virginia

I want you to know how much I have enjoyed your books and videos. My husband, daughter and I are coming to Ecuador for 6 weeks this summer. I am a teacher and retire June 2017. We are considering a move to Ecuador at that time. We are most interested in Cuenca or Loja, but we want to spend some time there this summer to see. We currently live in upstate NY and have had enough snow and cold for a lifetime. I have bought all three of your landing guides. They are worth their weight in gold. I would appreciate any advice that you could provide.  -- FRAN KNIGHTON, UPSTATE NEWYORK

I just read your post about not accepting ‘House Hunters International’ offer to do a show with them. First, many kudos for sticking to your morals about trying to help foreigners not get gringoed who are thinking of or planning a move there.

It must have been a bit tempting and flattering being asked to do a show on House Hunters and glad to have read you turned it down to avoid the possibility of having to show higher priced rentals and not what you're true intentions are in helping others. Kudos again for sticking to what you, your website, videos and books are truly about!  DAVID S – CHARLOTTE NC

We want to thank you for all your due diligence in creating this blog, and keeping it honest, authentic and up to date. My husband and I are moving to Cuenca in April, and your work has been of great help and support to us. We've just ordered your newest version of the DIY Cuenca Guide, and thank you for that, too.  Virginia Beach, VA - USA

Your videos and articles have given me more useful information than I have found on any other site for Cuenca. I carried your "Landing Guide" book with me when I visited earlier this year and found the information it contained to be accurate and very useful. Thank you for taking the time to make this information available to those of us planning a move to Ecuador or Panama. Dorothy from St. Paul Minnesota

I am a HUGE fan of your blog. I first came across you both a year ago, the first day I researched the idea of retiring in Cuenca (stumbled onto your youtube page). Im pretty sure Ive probably read all of your blog posts, although that’s a lot and I do stumble on a one I haven’t every once in a while. You all seriously have been more helpful than any other resource Ive come across, and Ive read almost every blog, website, and forum on Cuenca, and yours has pretty easily been the most helpful.  Lots of real information, coupled with what appears to common sense practices.  You just don’t see that a lot in some of these other sites. Jason E from VA Beach Virginia

Hello Frank & Angie! I have been exploring Ecuador with my friend (DIY Cuenca Guide) since 8 April...Loving the experience and your guide! --  Adell Raven, Prattville Alabama

Frank and Angie For the past 4 years I have been checking various countries to retire in, and after checking them out and doing extensive research I have decided on Ecuador. After checking out all the blogs and web sites out there on Ecuador I have found you site to be the most informative and down to earth one that I have found. You present an honest and straight forward picture of what it is like to live in EC, but more importantly you actually do check things before you put them on your site without any agenda or recommendations. I especially like your DYI Cuenca Landing Guide book. In fact I liked it so much I purchased both the digital and hard copies. I have also taken your suggestions and have started my residency visa application from here at home and have started to learn Spanish to help me, as you say, Go Local. Thanks again for your frankness and honesty. -- JC, Reno

 I can’t get over your website. It’s incredible. I described it to my friend as ,,, "like having a good friend living there to show You everything You need to know, where to get deals, local customs etc etc."  You have built a fantastic site. I love it. -- Noel L. Canada

I really loved that Cuenca guide and I am not sorry for spending money on Quito guide. My boy friend is getting the Coastal guide. I know I am going to find lots of useful information. It is a real GUIDE I can rely on.  Thanks for taking time and effort for doing, making it. --- Libby

I plan to come in Cuenca in a few months, and your guide is the best I ever had in my hands. This new version is even better. You are the only ones which seems 'real'. -- Erick, from Montréal, Canada.

 We're getting into your e-book on Cuenca and must say you've done an excellent job.  Being we've made and learned from our own mistakes in South America and since we speak Spanish, we thought the guide might not be needed, but we were wrong.  My questions earlier are no longer a concern and we think we have it figured out.  Your money-saving advice will allow me (Joe) to visit Cuenca and the surroundings first, then return again with my wife and dog.  We were concerned about making unnecessary trips and the expense before we saw how detailed your book is. -- Joe.  

Thank you for making our move possible by all that you and your family do.  I don’t know that we would have moved forward choosing Ecuador without all the unvarnished real life videos and info on the blog, the landing guide, your time answering questions, not to mention handling everything with the house. -- Grant C.  Coeur D'Alene Idaho 

I purchased your book, read it, liked it…I’ve been an avid follower of yours blogs and videos almost from the very start of your relocation. All of you are so helpful…I’m proud for all you are doing for us, paving the way, so to speak...My best to all of you! Rob from Texas

We just ordered your Quito Landing Guide. I'm getting ready to order your Coastal Landing Guide.  I know those guides are worth AT LEAST 10 TIMES the $20 you are charging for them, thank you for all the time and effort you put into them! I hope to meet both of you down there someday! ---- Larry

I admire you and respect you for caring enough to provide newbies like myself all of this valuable information.-- I purchased your DIY Cuenca Landing Guide and I must say it is filled with valuable information. I am going to print it out and study it regularly to familiarize myself with Cuenca. Ramon E. From Connecticut.

I just finished the book. You took away all my reservations about this move. I am even more excited now. I was so impressed I couldn't put it down. Carrie U.S

Frank, Angie:
My wife and I wish to tell you how much we have enjoyed your blog and your Cuenca Landing Guide. The information has been invaluable, so far, and we haven't even gotten to Cuenca, yet. Paul and Anita from Houston, TX

Thank you Frank , Angie and sons for taking the time to put these helpful and detailed information for us in the DIY Cuenca. You covered our 2 most important basic needs for shelter and food. I also would like to thank you for the free e-book for restaurants.

Frank, Angie and sons,
Thanks for the blog and the info on Cuenca and surrounding areas. I have been like a sponge reading and viewing lots of you tube vids in the past week and a half. I also read your book last weekend all the way in one sitting. Like the others I could not put it down. -- Steve in SF Bay Area, Calif.
 
Frank and Angie, I found your Cuenca Landing Guide filled with practical informative. I wished I had an opportunity to read this guide before my Cuenca exploratory trip to Cuenca last year. It would have saved me a lot to time. I recommend it highly to others who wished to learn more about Cuenca. Jim Coulter – Holland, Michigan
 
I came across your blog recently and really love it. I appreciate all of the time you have taken to document everything. It is super informative and educational. Also, I wish you guys would add a paypal button. You all are providing a lot of excellent information consistently now. A buck or two seems to go a long way there. Somebody sends two dollars, that's one person's lunch..., just a thought. Either way, I love the site. Nick. M
 
I have been following your Blog for the last 5 months and it has been very informative and entertaining so thank you. I am eagerly waiting for your DIY Cuenca Landing Guide publishing so that my wife and I can use it when we arrive in Cuenca God willing in May. Being an Ecuadorian myself I can only appreciate what you guys are doing, it is encouraging.  Lino Ramirez
Frank & Angie,
 
I finally feel like I have a resource to follow to get a real glimpse of US citizens transplanted to Ecuador. What you are doing is so appreciated. I give super kudos to your ministry and the fact that you are a Christian family make it that more comfortable for me to trust your information.
Thanks again!! Robby Parker Memphis, TN

Hi guys,
Love your blog. It is wonderful to see people who go to a new place and fit into the culture.

Dear Frank and Angie:
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to put this book
together. This has been the most useful guide I have come across. ---Roger
 
My wife and are greatly appreciate the time and efforts of your blog, it’s full of great information, and happy that you tell it the way it is. We have targeted your city as the place we want to live...hopefully sooner than later, we aren’t retired yet – just sick of what is taking place in the US. Agreed with the idea that it is up to us be responsible and not ruin the place for the locals or the expats. When can you build us a bed and couch? Howell & Sharon
 
Dear Frank and Angie, I bought your "DIY Cuenca Landing Guide" and I have a serious complaint. I purchased it about 11:00 PM on a Thursday night, and couldn't stop reading it until I finished it , at 1:20 AM, Friday morning. That's 1:20 AM when I have to arise at 5:30 AM. Ouch!!! But it was well worth it. I definitely appreciated the factual, down-to-earth descriptions and assessments that you offered.

Hi Guys, Just finished reading the Landing Guide - Great Job!! Very complete and lots of excellent detail. It's clearly worth much more than the price!  -- Alan from Arizona

I've bought all your books and have enjoyed them a lot as well as learned a lot from them. It gives one courage to know what to do, how to do it and where to do it and what to expect. I negotiated $265/month down from $300 for a brand new three bedroom apartment. It has marble floors with parquet in the bedrooms. Thank you!  John B. St Louis Missouri

 
Both your blog and DIY guide give a good picture of what life is like in Cuenca without all the hype and Gringo gouging. Thanks again for sharing your experiences with your readers so that we may benefit from them and gain knowledge before making the move.
Sincerely, Sarah from CA
 
Hi Frank and Angie, First off, Love your blog. Have been following your adventures for months. My DH and I love your approach to life and your love of family. Our grown children are also close by and close to us. Keep the wonderful blogs coming, we love seeing your family's smiling faces. -- Crystal from Oklahoma
 
Good Morning Frank & Angie, I’m an owner of your e-book and absolutely love your blogs as well as the book. I just have to say Thank you for your complete honesty and wonderful information you give to all in your blogs and videos. I respect the way you live and experience the culture of the country.  It’s like a lot of people (gringos) are trying to make a buck off of someone else. (Gringos) That’s why I like your blog…it’s truthful and factual. Again keep up the great work you do..I enjoy your adventures and feel like I’m along for the ride with your videos. Closer to our time of visiting, I may be asking more questions….!! Becky from NC

Frank and Angie--I wanted to thank you for the time and care you put into your blog. It's delightful and informative to read. Barbara from Alabama
 
I Pulled myself away after 9 pages...the step by step approach is wonderful. I can already feel the mild anxiety that accompanies travel to a new location dissipating. Thanks for your help and keep up the good work.  Ray Mitchell from Intervale, NH
 
I have so enjoyed all of the information you are providing about Cuenca.  Your website with such detailed information has been invaluable; I particularly enjoyed the 12 "bad" things about Cuenca. This forced me to taking mold and several other problems into consideration, helping me to plan better for our adventure. -- Fred and Susan from Gallup, NM
 
Dear Frank and Angie- Thank you for your Cuenca landing guide. You did a wonderful job of putting it together. I am a publisher of print and ebooks so I have high standards for books. Yours is very well written and the best of the many I've read on Ecuador. Great job!  -- Linda from St Louis, Mo
 
Aug 20, 2012 What a great article. You provide a great service to all of us who are planning on heading to Ecuador in the future. For everyone who reads this blog I want to say that the best money I've spent in years was for Frank and Angie's guide to Ecuador. It's really worth the investment. Thanks very much, Jim Sanders Corning, CA.
 
I get so much from your blog! Great and very useful info.  ---California
 
Because of your wonderful guide “DIY landing guide” in which you  gave all the info about getting a visa, it took me yesterday exactly one hour at the Ecuadorian Consulate in Los Angeles to get a 6 months visit. Absolutely no problems at all. Many thanks. Paul Roozen Porterville, Ca
 
Wow. Thanks so much for all the honest, helpful information bit on your blog and in the landing guide. What a pleasure and delight to know that you guys are out there- at least some gringo's are not "messing up the neighborhood" so to speak!  You are the most sensible, practical and honest, play it forward folks I have so far come across My hats off to you both! With gratitude, BB from Michigan.
 
Many, many thanks for sending the Cuenca Landing Guide. I have read it twice and am so appreciative of your efforts. The information is exceptional! – Dee and Dick Corning from Portage, WI
 
Thanks again for this fantastically practical resource! A blessed read!- Jim and Deb from Raleigh, North Carolina 

You have the best blog and I just bought your guide. Montréal, Canada
 
I am just trying to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. That is what I like about your site, nothing is candy coated.  Doug M. North Carolina 

Loved your Cuenca Landing Guide! I am in Cuenca this week, your guide is helping a lot. Your videos have been very informative. Victor Helsing, Huron, South Dakota
 
Hi Frank and Angie.
Thank you for all the hard work you have done on your blog. I will be purchasing your Landing Guide not long from now, as my path is set towards Cuenca. My one way flight into Ecuador will be on or about March 13, 2013.

I am using your blog as a bridge of knowledge to a new life that is just around the corner for me. Thanks to you both and your family for the work that went into your Internet presence. I found you easily, and the details you have provided are quite fine. :)  Brian Osburn Killeen, TX 

We have found your blog and videos very helpful and informative. I just finished reading your book DIY Cuenca Landing and my husband has started it. Thank you for all the wonderful information you presented - it really helps to have an idea of what Cuenca is really like.  Mark and Shanon from Heavener, OK
 
I bought your DIY Cuenca guide and it's REALLY Fabulous!!! Of all the various writings and guides I’ve seen (or bought), yours is by far the most detail oriented and useful. Thanks for putting this together and making it available! And it's especially nice that you update it :-) Soraya Charlottesville, VA.
 
I bought the book and got answers to my emails and their customer service was top notch. Because of their ebook customer service support I saved lots of time and trouble with my residency papers. Brian Osburn – Killeen, TX
 
I am extremely pleased that you have added Quito to your "coverage area" in the blogosphere. My wife and I have talked at length about an extended sabbatical with our two children that could perhaps become permanent. I would love to be able to continue work overseas, and support all four of us. Living in a better climate with better air quality, experiencing a different culture with the kids, and being able to move around freely without a car are very attractive ideas right now. Cuenca seems like a wonderful place, but Quito could be more suitable because it is a larger urban area and, as the national capital, could offer more opportunities for me.  Your reports are much enjoyed here. Keep up the good work. M.R – Atlanta, Georgia.
 
Thank you so much for directing me to your rental site! I went there and took a good look. You are amazing people wanting to help others in this way. Thank you for all your help, Cindy B. From Providence Rhode Island
 
Thanks for providing information to my query so quickly. I just wanted to let you know how informative and enjoyable your Blog is.  Of all the blogs we have discovered, yours is the most realistic and contains the type of "reality" information former corporate types find useful. -- Allen M. Essex County New Jersey
 
Thank you for all the information you and Frank and your family have provided online about Cuenca. I love hearing about real life there (both good and bad) and it is honestly real, not just PR from someone trying to make a profit. I loved the video of Alice. She answered a lot of questions for me in her videos (and saved you from some emails from me!). I love seeing the videos of Cuenca. --Michelle from Houston
 
I admire you and respect you for caring enough to provide newbies like myself all of this valuable information.-- I purchased your DIY Cuenca Landing Guide and I must say it is filled with valuable information. I am going to print it out and study it regularly to familiarize myself with Cuenca. Ramon E. From Connecticut.

I bought your DIY Cuenca guide and it's REALLY Fabulous!!! Of all the various writings and guides I’ve seen (or bought), yours is by far the most detail oriented and useful. Thanks for putting this together and making it available! And it's especially nice that you update it :-) Soraya Charlottesville, VA.

Thank you for your blog, it has been the most practical and informative of all my research on the internet about Ecuador. Tom Kane Vancouver Canada

Thank you for not "selling out" to HHI. I really rely on your honesty and candor about what it's really like to live in Cuenca. Phyllis

Thank you so very much for your moral stand! I look forward to your videos and blog because of the honesty I see in the family. BunnyJean

Friends, You are exactly on target about being a "responsible consumer", because to be otherwise is to be a part of the cause behind rapidly escalating costs for most things. The problem as I see it is that many if not most foreigners, specifically those from the USA, are the victims of various forms of "programming' and other negative effects on their thinking ability, and as a result they would rather believe a soothing lie than an unpleasant truth. The only real solution is for those migrating to countries outside the USA. is to "wake up and smell the coffee". --- Comment left on one of our posts on the blog

Hi,

Just finished reading the DIY Landing Guide.  Thank you so much for providing this incredibly valuable resource!  I know I’m going to be referring to this for information a whole lot for a long time.  Grant C.