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I thought of the same idea - plus our electric blanket.  Anxious to hear the answer!

Yes, there are portable heaters here (I don't know about heaters with a timer, but maybe). They are more expensive here though. You can find them at the Kiwi stores (Kiwi is kind of like a small Home Depot or Lowe's).

How expensive would it be, say,  to ship a King and Queen mattress and box spring, 3 seater well made tropical couch and two largish matching chairs and two matching ottomans plus a full sized electric fireplace and about 10 steamer trunks, say, to Ecuador?  Is it possible, is it feasible, is it ridiculous and cost prohibitive, or what?  I sure wish you could just hire a POD and stick your most valuable possessions in it, have them store it for as long as you need them to, and then deliver it to your new home in Ecuador!  LOL

Shipping a container 20 to 40 foot container here can cost you anywhere between 8 to 15 K.  That doesn't include what Ecuadorian customs charges if you do not follow the rules.  Electric heaters are available here but a bit more expensive, maybe 20% more than the USA at Kywi.

Another node of advice.  If you want a warmer apartment here live on a higher floor.  They tend to be warmer.  Also, if looking at Quito and warmth is important consider living in one of the valleys as opposed to in the city. 

Mike

I think for that much money I can learn to live without everything!  I remember thinking a few years ago when we went on vacation to a vacation rental house that I could totally stay there and never miss one single possession that I had at home!  Guess that's what I am going to do if and when we move to Ecuador.  I look forward to the adventure.  Probably going to visit next year some time.  Anybody know what time of the year is best to check things out?  Also what is the cost of plane fare from Miami and where should we fly into if we want to check out guayaquil, Loja, Vilcabamba, Cuenca, and maybe a few coastal towns? Thanks, all of you!

Themiddleoftheworld wrote:

Shipping a container 20 to 40 foot container here can cost you anywhere between 8 to 15 K.  That doesn't include what Ecuadorian customs charges if you do not follow the rules.  Electric heaters are available here but a bit more expensive, maybe 20% more than the USA at Kywi.

Another node of advice.  If you want a warmer apartment here live on a higher floor.  They tend to be warmer.  Also, if looking at Quito and warmth is important consider living in one of the valleys as opposed to in the city.

Thanks, Mike, some good thoughts. I think I'd prefer to live in the city for the sake of convenience -- I'm currently living in the center of Cebu City and enjoy being able to do without a car, I can walk to most things or do short taxi trips. So I'll deal with a bit of cold.

Based on what I see at Weather Underground, it doesn't seem to get terribly cold. I was born and raised in Phoenix, and lived for the past fifteen years in Chicago before coming here and spending a year in the tropics. So I'm fairly adaptable in regard to weather.

Portable heaters are cheap in the US, as I recall, although it's been a long time since I bought one. I suppose I'd expect to spend maybe fifty bucks or so -- so I guess you and Amy are saying to add another ten or twenty to that. Still a fairly small investment in comfort.

Bob

ActionMgt wrote:

Probably going to visit next year some time.  Anybody know what time of the year is best to check things out?  Also what is the cost of plane fare from Miami and where should we fly into if we want to check out guayaquil, Loja, Vilcabamba, Cuenca, and maybe a few coastal towns? Thanks, all of you!

I'll leave the question about best time of year to those who are local.

You can check airfares at expedia.com (there are other places, but that's the one I use). I just checked there for November and there are flights on LAN and AA Miami-Quito (one-way) for about $525/person.

Where to fly? Odds are that you won't get many choices for direct flights from Miami beyond Quito and Guayaquil.