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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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 Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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| AGoodStory wrote: |
| Definitely a major holiday. |
Yes, the faithful will be at church, and everyone else will be at the beach (or whatever the hot vacation spots are if you're not on the coast). |
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AGoodStory
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
Posts: 738
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:46 am Post subject: |
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| esl_prof wrote: |
| AGoodStory wrote: |
| Definitely a major holiday. |
Yes, the faithful will be at church, and everyone else will be at the beach (or whatever the hot vacation spots are if you're not on the coast). |
Not to mention a whole week full of celebrations, processions, and plays during Santa Semana. (How extensive the celebration depends on where you live, but count on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, at the least.) And, of course, school will be out for both this week and the week following Easter, so, as the prof says, you can go to the beach!
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PittsburghSound
Joined: 27 Aug 2014
Posts: 103
Location: Colombia
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:40 am Post subject: |
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| Ah, so the 1st week of April would be a good time to arrive. Good to know that. |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:19 am Post subject: |
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| AGoodStory wrote: |
| And, of course, school will be out for both this week and the week following Easter, so, as the prof says, you can go to the beach! |
If you do travel or go to the beach, be careful and stay safe. Semana Santa is notorious for drunk driving accidents and drunk drownings.  |
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MotherF
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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| If you end up in Mexico. A lot of educational institutions take the week preceding AND the week following Easter Sunday off. And as people spend a lot of money on vacations at that time, not a lot of new hiring goes on in the month following. |
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HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 4:14 am Post subject: |
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Easter is a much shorter holiday in Ecuador than in other parts of LatAm. The official holidays are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday. Carnival is a much bigger holiday.
Schools have a half term week around then, but it may or may not coincide with the actual Easter holiday. Either way, it's no more than a week. Language schools will be closed over the long Easter weekend, but other than that, it won't have much impact.
It's a bad time to be looking for University work as you'll be a month or so into the new academic year.
The coast at Easter is my idea of Hell. The beaches, and the roads to them will be absolutely jammed. I'd sooner stay in the city, which will be quiet, and go and see the processions. |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 4:23 am Post subject: |
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| HLJHLJ wrote: |
| The coast at Easter is my idea of Hell. The beaches, and the roads to them will be absolutely jammed. I'd sooner stay in the city, which will be quiet, and go and see the processions. |
Wise choice!!! |
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HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 4:23 am Post subject: |
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| PittsburghSound wrote: |
If I'm willing to have a roommate, what kind of price would I be looking at for a decent apartment in a decent location in Quito? I'm thinking in the $250-$300 per month range (all utilities included) would suffice, but please correct me if I'm wrong. |
Yes, that's about right for a shared place. I will send you a PM with a list of links you might find useful. If anyone else wants them, drop me a PM. |
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PittsburghSound
Joined: 27 Aug 2014
Posts: 103
Location: Colombia
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for that! I haven't made up my mind yet, but I have to admit Ecuador is quite appealing as of now. I like the cost of living, the visa situation, and the availability of jobs. I'm from Pennsylvania, so the weather in Quito wouldn't bother me a bit. In fact, I would personally consider it an upgrade. Pittsburgh gets hot in the summer and quite cold in the winter. Quito is neither.
I don't think that safety would be much of a concern in Ecuador. Of course I would need to be smart, but that's anywhere. But I don't think it's any more dangerous than any of the other places I'm considering.
I also think Ecuador might be more interesting than the others for one simple reason: it is still off the beaten path a bit compared to Colombia and certainly Mexico. I'm not sure most people in Ecuador have been exposed to gringos to the same extent that Mexicans or Colombians have been. But maybe that's starting to change now. Who knows.
But as I said, I haven't yet made a decision. I'm still trying to feel things out. |
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wanderingxelmundo
Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 86
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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Another question, HLJHLJ: for the 12:IX visa, on the link you gave me (http://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/visa-12-ix-turismo-deporte-salud-estudios-ciencia-arte-actos-de-comercio/) , they say that to show solvency just "estados de cuenta bancaria" are ok -- it doesn't say they need to be certified. Should I get them certified/notarized just in case? Would I then need to get an apostille?
Thanks! |
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HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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| They don't need to be certified, printouts or original statements are fine. You can even use a credit card statement that shows you have sufficient available in credit. They may ask for it to be translated but usually they don't. If the account isn't in USD include a printout from a forex site showing what the balance is equal to in $. |
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wanderingxelmundo
Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 86
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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Great, thanks!!
| HLJHLJ wrote: |
| They don't need to be certified, printouts or original statements are fine. You can even use a credit card statement that shows you have sufficient available in credit. They may ask for it to be translated but usually they don't. If the account isn't in USD include a printout from a forex site showing what the balance is equal to in $. |
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PittsburghSound
Joined: 27 Aug 2014
Posts: 103
Location: Colombia
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| Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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So many great choices. I don't know which one to pick. Seems like I can't really go wrong with any of them.
I've really been tossing Quito around in my mind a lot lately. Bogota seems like a slam dunk, though. The visa is super easy to get and there are tons of jobs. I also just think it might be the most exciting place of the ones I've listed for a young single man.
I'm probably not going anywhere until April, so I still have time to decide. |
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HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
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| Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Bogota is lovely too. I'd like to live and work there one day. |
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wanderingxelmundo
Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 86
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| Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| PittsburghSound wrote: |
| Bogota seems like a slam dunk, though. The visa is super easy to get and there are tons of jobs. |
I'm curious what you mean about the visa being super easy to get? From what I've seen on the Colombia page an employer needs to sponsor you for a visa, which takes away a bit of flexibility if you want to change jobs or work part time, etc. Is there another kind of visa in Colombia I'm missing? One reason I think I've decided on Ecuador over Colombia is the easy visa.
Good luck whatever you decide! |
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