The “How To” Plan - Before We Go...
I
wish I could tell you that I have it all figured out and that our
relocate plan is 100% foolproof, but let’s be honest…I don’t really have
it all sorted out just yet.
Here are some highlights to date:
1. Become Debt Free.
Our main plan of action is still to pay off the mortgage, credit line
and any other debts we might have within the next 3-5 years. When the
time
comes to sell here, the equity we have in our current house will easily
pay for our house or condo in Ecuador. Believe me, we don’t have an
extravagant house now, but housing costs in Ecuador are substantially
less than houses in North America, which will give us a nice nest egg
left over.
2. Downsizing.
Slowly we will begin to purge everything non-essential from our lives.
Apart from our laptops and iPods and some personal meaningful items, we
don’t
plan on taking much with us, but the thought of narrowing it down to
only a few boxes is overwhelming me already. I’m not attached to a lot
of things, but the thought of the work involved in getting rid of it
all is freaking me out. The discussion has already begun as to what
can go now and what needs to stay until the end. I can also tell you
that the “eBay and yard sale” piles have also formed. If you’re looking
for something in particular, let me know – I probably have it.
3. Save, Save and Save Some More. This
one is obvious, but we will be watching our money more closely than
usual and choosing our expenditures even more wisely.
The plan is to save the money we make from selling off our household
items in a separate account and slowly convert the money from Canadian
to USD, as USD is the currency of Ecuador. This money will then cover
our set-up costs in Ecuador or as I like to call it - the “buy new stuff
in Ecuador” fund.
4. Learn to Speak Spanish. This is probably the biggest obstacle we will need to overcome. I can speak a little Spanish, but unless I only need to ask for directions to the bathroom or
order a beverage and cheeseburger, I’m pretty much screwed. I’m
looking into the Rosetta Stone program and would appreciate any insight
or personal recommendations you guys might have on this one. (Krystn
don’t make any plans for 2017, since I might need to take you up on
your offer to become my personal translator and relocate to Ecuador with
me.)
The details are particularly fuzzy on what we plan on doing once we get there, so I’ll leave that for another day.
Comments
By the way, Rosetta Stone IS a really good for language learning...I've heard lots of good things about it.
I would also recommend, if it's possible, to take a trip either to Ecuador or other Spanish speaking country and do an immersion school program...or just enroll in one right when you relo. I did that when I headed to Mexico for a year...it was a great help!!
And I second what Krystin said, you need a bit of language immersion, not just textbook lessons... although once you've gotten some Spanish under your belt something that might help is trying to get hold of Spanish films or TV and watch it in the original language with subtitles (first in English then switch to Spanish subtitles so your brain isn't mixing languages). This works wonderfully with my ENglish students here in Spain, no reason why it shouldn't work as well in the opposite linguistic direction! ;o)
And I thought Ecuador had their own currency! NOT USD!... weird