Living in Guayaquil

Had a person I was exchanging some emails with ask me a bunch of questions about living in Guayaquil. I thought I'd share his questions and my answers here.

How do the Ecuadorians on the street treat you?

Very, very good. Very friendly, and if you have any Spanish they love to ask you about the US (the taxi drivers will talk your ear off). However, it is a city of over 2mil people so it has its bad areas and crime issues. It has a fair amount of economic crime directed at foreigners (pickpockets and the like) but violent crime against foreigners is almost unknown. There are some poor beggars and street kids hustling money by selling sweets, but overall it is very good.

How is the food?

It is near the Pacific Ocean so heavy on seafood, ceviche is very popular. Typical [i]almuerzo[/i] (lunch) is a soup (they do them good here) served with rice, beans, a vegetable or salad, meat, fresh squeezed fruit juice and a postre (small dessert) for about $1.50. Comida Typica (typical food) is heavy on vegetables, fruits (they have about 20 different types of bananas and plantains). Chifas are their version of chinese food which serve fried rice and noodle dishes. There are also a wide range of western style restaurants - TGI Fridays, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King, etc are everywhere if you need a fast food fix.

Cost of living?

This is a tough one. If you live mostly on the economy then it is very cheap. That means shopping mostly like the locals do and eating generally like an Ecuadorian - it is incredibly cheap. You could easily save 50-60% of your salary if you do that, and still travel and enjoy. However, meals at malls and chain restaurants like McDonalds etc are very expensive, while higher quality imported items are EXTREMELY expensive. So if you don't mind living on local resources (and Guayaquil is a fairly modern city) then COL is very low compared to your salary. Living like you are still in the States will become VERY costly.

Would it be easy to find a fully furnished/all bills paid apartment/condo/house that is near the campus/or near a bus line? How much for rent per month(US)?

We are in a very large townhome shared by 3 teachers for $580/mo, furnished (although we added a few things). plus utilities of about $75/month. It is very easy to get a fairly nice place on your own (with assistance from the school) in the $300 range in Urdesa or Kennedy Norte. Housing allowance is $400, so good deal.

How is the transportation system(city and country)?

Transportation is everywhere and extremely cheap but it is insane. Buses are everywhere, in fact any bus you want will almost certainly be along within 5 minutes, but there is no bus map so you simply have to ask until you find what linea works for you. Buses are cheap - $0.25 - but generally are crowded and dirty. Taxis are also everywhere, and you can go most places in town for $2-$5. Buses that go in between cites are also extremely frequent and cheap. You can pretty much go to any city in the country by bus for less than $15. Local air flights are convenient, but tend to be less reliable - $120 round trip between Quito and Guayaquil. Going to the Galapagos is VERY expensive.

How are the services: Internet, WiFi, electricity, telephone, water & sewage system, etc.

Mostly good but it is a Third World Country so there can be times of outages, especially during the rainy season of January-April. Water should not be drank, because of biologicals, but bottled water is widely available and relatively inexpensive. Local telephone service is very expensive. Most people have cell phones which is much cheaper, and do a lot of texting, which is even cheaper here. Many people, myself included, use VoIP providers like Skype because of the price. I can actually call the US for 10% the price of a call local $0.015/min US vs $0.12/min local Ecuador.