When we told friends we were looking to rent a furnished apartment in El Centro, Cuenca’s charming historic district, their response was, “Why would you want to move there? It’s so noisy and dirty.” “Not to us,” we said, “It’s perfect.” We had quickly tired of the cold sterility of our Gringolandia apartment, where the only contact we ever had with our neighbors came on a 15-second elevator ride.
We wanted to live with the locals. We wanted an Ecuadorian apartment, in an Ecuadorian neighborhood.
As I’ve mentioned before, Cuenca is 500 years old, a blend of colonial Spanish architecture and Indigenous cultures. Its buildings and streets are old, really old. Actually, the cobbled streets are a big part of what gives the city its charm. We wanted to walk out of our apartment and be in the middle of all that.
Our apartment search
I started searching on the internet and googled “rent a furnished apartment in cuenca.” Just so you know, that doesn’t work nearly as well as checking GringoTree, the Cuenca expat website. It might have been a fluke but we immediately found an ad that sounded ideal.
Roberto, the realtor, explained that it would cost $450/month, including electricity, water and cable TV/internet. ”The only thing is, there’s no washing machine or dryer so you’ll have to bring your laundry downstairs. The landlady will wash it for you.” Are you serious? Oh, yeah, I can certainly deal with that.
The biggest differences between an Ecuadorian apartment in Cuenca downtown and a place on the outskirts are the age and size of the apartments and the fact that we need a propane tank to heat our water and cook. Our first tank lasted almost 3 weeks before we had to get a refill, and the man who refilled it brought it up and connected it. What service! At $2.50 it can hardly be considered a hardship. Come to think of it, this is just part of the fun of being in another country.
So here’s the furnished apartment we rented in El Centro:
It’s a small place, just two bedrooms, two baths, a living/dining area and a tiny kitchen. See? There’s not even enough room in the kitchen for the fridge! But it’s big enough for the two of us, and any guests that will (hopefully) visit.
It’s also exciting to know we’re saving at least $330 a month by living here.
The master bedroom
Thanks to a wall full of windows the master bedroom has lots of light. The bed’s mattress is pretty comfortable, though I can’t say the same for the pillows or the sheets. That’s one of the bad things about living in Cuenca: Quality sheets are ridiculously expensive, and the cheaper ones are uncomfortable because they get those little pills (balls) all over them. So if you plan to move to Ecuador, buy your sheets before you come.
We brought our own bedspread, sheets and pillows from the other place. This decor is really not to my taste.
Just like every other Ecuadorian apartment this bedroom has no closet. Instead, it has lots of drawers. I think that’s more than enough storage room for any couple. All it lacks is a place to hang dresses and coats, which is no problem; there’s space in the other bedroom.
Notice the cable running across the floor? It’s the cable for the TVs in the two apartments on this floor. That silver thing is the signal splitter. There’s a lot of goofy wiring going on in these buildings. An American electrician would have a coronary.
The second bedroom (aka “the guest room”)
Since no one is staying here at the moment we store our empty suitcases in the closets. Underneath our hanging coats and my dresses.
This is not a gringo apartment
Oh, my goodness, the spirit in this apartment is so different from our previous apartment in Gringolandia. Unlike the guard in the building’s lobby, our Ecuadorian landlady always greets me with a kiss when I see her. I also love how her little, adorable-but-shy 2-year-old son likes to hide behind her and wave at me. I don’t remember seeing any kids at the other place.
And even though we’re newcomers and foreigners we feel welcome. She’s invited us to use her home’s huge outdoor fireplace at any time, either to warm up with (it’s cold season now!) or to grill steaks on. She smiles when I bring her our laundry. And she’s extremely helpful as we try to learn Spanish.
Not long after we moved a larger apartment upstairs became available. She gave us first dibs, and we’re going to take it. I’ll post photos of it after we’ve settled in.
If you were to live abroad, would you prefer to live among locals, or among people from your homeland? Let us know in the comments below!
