A Website Designed to Encompass the Entire Experience of Expatriating
It starts with The Dream of retiring -- at any age -- to exotic lands. Our name for people at this stage is “wannamoves.”*
It continues when wannamoves visit the place they think they might like to live, then commit to living there. We call these people “gonnamoves.”*
It proceeds from there to disentangling from life in the U.S., Canada, Europe, or other Latin American countries, and moving to the foreign country -- in the case of this website, Ecuador.
Content and Community
The first purpose of AccessEcuador is content. That starts at the top of the right column with First Two Weeks in Ecuador, a travelogue that introduces one wannamove country of choice. Here, a writer (that's me, Deke) and photographer (that's Shirlee, my partner) visit Ecuador for the first time to size it up as a potential retire-abroad destination.
Then comes A Month in Cuenca, when Shirlee and I return to see much more of Ecuador and to live short-term in the city that International Living named the “world’s number-one retirement haven,” Lonely Planet rated “one of the world’s top five vacation destinations,” and National Geographic dubbed “Latin America’s undiscovered gem.”
Beyond that is Last Three Months in Reno, with articles on leaving behind a lifetime –- liquidating, downsizing, packing, acquiring a visa, saying goodbye to family and friends, even facing foreclosure. Below that, you can see Shirlee's Photo Gallery, which she keeps offsite at SmugMug.
The next section combines La Vida Local (which started March 1 when I became an official “Xpadorian”*) and Access Cuenca, the city’s first travel guide, in which I cover Cuenca as a travel destination, leading visitors and residents to the best hotels, restaurants, sights, events, tours, and parties.
The second purpose of AccessEcuador is community. Since this site launched, it's been a place where dreamers, pilgrims, and toe-dippers can connect, make friends, and discuss common issues. Signing up for the eLetter is the best way to stay abreast of what's happening in Cuenca, Ecuador, and on this site. Below that are Hot Links, which send you to the best websites, blogs, and forums on Ecuador. Then come the Member Forums that you can read about by clicking the Join button on the top menu.
Comprehensive and Inclusive
The third purpose of the site is to be comprehensive. The soul of the site is Access Ecuador, where we delve into the country's deeper and broader subjects: Visas, History, Travel, and Spanish.
The fourth purpose is inclusion. If you’re thinking of or planning to expatriate, you’re by no means alone. Though you might be the first on your block, with everyone looking at you a little funny, a recent survey determined that nearly two million American households are seriously considering relocating to a foreign country, while 1.5 million are planning on it (read about this survey at Hot Links > Gary Scott > The Long View).
In short, expatriating is becoming a mass movement. And given the framework of this website (powered by SubHub, the world’s leading membership-services software), with enough participation and support, AccessEcuador can become a real force for empowering expats.
Help turn AccessEcuador into a one-of-a-kind site for a one-of-a-kind cause in a one-of-a-kind country.
* Use of the neologisms "wannamove" and "gonnamove" is courtesy of Mary Beckman, the "Posterdog" at SouthofZero. "Xpadorian" is courtesy of Mary's husband Steve.
Click here for About Us, the next piece of the AccessEcuador puzzle.
