Please click on the music tab below and enjoy Josh Groban’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I hope you enjoy my journey over the rainbow with my honey.

Well, I am a Texas gal born and raised in the Great State of Texas. My story is pretty typical like so many others after 28 years as a Registered Nurse & working  in administrative healthcare I was downsized along with many of my friends. I did find another position in a new start up hospital even closer to my home in Arlington but of course with less money and benefits. However, it was just not the same and with the cost of living going up I did not think I would ever really be able to afford to retire.

My husband and I thought we would investigate moving to Costa Rica which we had heard offered a beautiful retirement opportunity. So immediately, after I lost my job in Fort Worth we went on a trip to Costa Rica to investigate. While Costa Rica, was indeed beautiful their cost of living was climbing and housing was equal to what we had in the United States. So, we realized Costa Rica was not our solution.

Then friends told us about Ecuador. In fact one of the hospital administrators from my previous employer was born in Ecuador. Soon, I was finding lots of folks that were connected to Ecuador and began to learn more. So we planned and went on another exploratory trip this time to Ecuador. We were members of International Living and had watched DVD’s from the past two years of conferences held in Quito which turned out to be beneficial.

February 2012, we started our adventure and attended the International Living Conference in the big city of Quito. We met like-minded folks at the conference and learned a great deal about the pluses and few minus about starting a new life in Ecuador.

My dream had always to live by the ocean. But once we visited the Ecuadorian coast we decided the weather was too hot. Ha! This is from Texas folks! We had endured a life time of Texas heat and decided perhaps the mountains would be better for us.  After all we can always visit the coast! We decided to visit little Cotacachi a small town in the Andes nestled between Mama Cotacachi and Taita Imbabura dormant volcanoes. The average temperatures ranged from 50 – 70 degrees year round.  A town with eternal spring!

So, those of you that remember the Andy Griffith show from the 60’s will recall Mayberry the ideal city we all yearned to find. Well, I am happy to report that Mayberry is alive and well in little Cotacachi, Ecuador.  It did not take me long to realize we had found a new home and my husband soon agreed.

Well friends and neighbors thought we had lost our minds and maybe we had but with the support of our loving children we did make the move.  We now live among the nicest people in the world. We have Ecuadorian friends and also new friends from the United States and Canada. Our world has expanded! We even have several friends that have relocated from Texas.

So this blog is a diary of our adventures which a dear friend requested that I create so family and friends could keep up with us.  Our family and friends know how to get in touch with us and we do want to hear from them.  I do hope they will come and visit and share in our adventure. Your room is ready and I am living happily in “Ecuador under the Rainbow.”

COTACACHI OVER THE RAINBOW

Hugs to family and friends!