At 26, I set off on a yearlong adventure to South America. It's been 6 years, and I have no plans to leave.

• For Sinead Mulhern, life successful Toronto felt excessively fast-paced, stressful, and expensive.
• She saved up for a yearlong escapade successful South America, readying to move backmost to Canada astatine nan end.
• Now, aft surviving successful Cuenca, Ecuador, for 6 years, she feels stable, curious, and engaged.

I often deliberation backmost to nan time I arrived successful Cuenca, Ecuador, nan Andean city that accidentally became my home.

I was unsocial connected a bus. The entity was dark, and owed to plummeting high-altitude temperatures, it was freezing. Rows of Andean peaks stretched retired for miles pinch nary motion of civilization. At 13,000 feet, nan autobus climbed corkscrew roads trim into nan mountains.

I tried to distract myself from my increasing consciousness of worry, but each I could deliberation was, "I should person gotten connected that level backmost to Toronto."

It was 2018, I was 27, and halfway into what was intended to beryllium a yearlong escapade successful South America.

The first six months were spent successful Colombia, but I had conscionable been kicked retired of nan state for accidentally overstaying my visa. Fortunately, this was well-timed pinch a sojourn from friends.

We backpacked astir Ecuador and aft a mates of weeks, they boarded their formation backmost to Canada, and I jumped connected a autobus headed for Cuenca to proceed exploring.

Despite nan first intimidation, it's now been six years, and I'm happily settled.

I was craving a break

I moved to Toronto successful 2010 to study journalism. The metropolis has a batch to connection successful position of profession opportunities and a vibrant arts scene, truthful I stuck astir aft graduating. But arsenic nan years passed, nan metropolis felt excessively fast-paced, I was stressed out, and everything was expensive.

It was during a short picnic to sojourn a friend surviving successful Colombia that I decided I wanted to spell connected a longer escapade successful South America. I noticed nan well-rounded manner my friend was leading. She was hiking to waterfalls, learning Spanish, and dancing each weekend.

When I returned home, my life felt limited, and I wanted what she had. So, 2 years later, successful 2018, I said goodbye to Toronto. My scheme was to recreation for a twelvemonth and past relocate to different portion of Canada.

I'd saved capable to screen a twelvemonth of budget travel, on pinch a fewer freelance clients, and figured that if I hated it, I had nan privilege to conscionable spell home.

What I didn't cognize was that my escapade would agelong acold past 2018, done a pandemic, into my 30s, and rewrite my life trajectory.

I've enjoyed movies astir women who discontinue everything and create a life elsewhere, but I ne'er thought that would beryllium me.

Ecuador felt right

I gradually made nan determination to move to Cuenca, Ecuador, astir 200 miles southbound of Quito, aft extending my visas and yet being granted imperishable residency. I've stayed successful South America for nan aforesaid reasons 1 mightiness enactment connected immoderate life trajectory, beryllium it a location, career, aliases relationship: I consciousness stable, curious, and engaged. I genuinely for illustration my life better.

I person a community, and there's ever thing caller astir nan civilization to acquisition aliases parse through. The early days of my escapade were a proceedings period. But astatine immoderate point, betwixt climbing mountains and strolling done blooming countryside, I thought, hey, this is simply a manner I'm excited to aftermath up for.

I've had immoderate unforgettable experiences here, for illustration summiting volcanoes, turning 30 successful nan Amazon, camping nether nan stars successful nan Andes, and swimming pinch Galapagos penguins.

The smaller taste nuances make surviving present special. There's a general politeness that I value: strangers opportunity bully morning, dates get nan car door, and astatine societal gatherings, everyone's greeted sloppy of whether you cognize them aliases not. Sundays are reserved for family.

Every time astatine lunch, nan metropolis stops to bask accepted food, nan sunshine, and each other's company. They don't put themselves past to work. They're not burning themselves retired conscionable to get nan scraps.

Unlike successful Toronto, nan costs of surviving is affordable

I rent a one-bedroom flat pinch a beautiful terrace for $320 a month. A emblematic luncheon costs $2.75. My monthly Pilates rank is $50, and I salary astir $20 for acrylic manicures. I get astir of my groceries from a market, wherever I bargain 2 ample bags of produce, coffee, and barren equipment for $20. Most locals salary a fewer 100 little connected rent, while higher-earning expats would typically salary more.

But pinch that comes consequences. In May, El Mercurio, a section newspaper successful Ecuador, reported that nan presence of foreigners is pushing up section rent.

As an expat, I effort to lend to nan system successful a beneficial way. I chiefly support section businesses: nan bakeries, butchers, consequence markets, area stores, and restaurants successful my neighborhood; artisan markets for furnishings and decor; and Ecuadorian trade brew erstwhile I spell retired pinch friends.

Ecuador is simply a basking spot for North Americans who person chosen to relocate. Reports connected nan 2022 Ecuadorian census recovered that 14,424 Americans were living, officially, successful nan country. It's sixth connected International Living's 2024 world status index.

But it's not conscionable pulling those successful their later years: successful 2022, nan state besides launched a digital nomad visa, making it easier for younger workers, group for illustration me, to unrecorded and activity successful nan country.

I don't return my costs of surviving lightly. In Canada, inflation, lodging shortages, rising rents, my procreation moving backmost successful pinch their parents, stressed-out nutrient slope systems, and a shrinking mediate people often predominate nan conversation. These are superior issues. If I lived there, I cognize I would struggle.

Living successful Ecuador has nudged maine to amended specify my individual values. Time successful nature, an progressive lifestyle, caller food, clip pinch friends, and imaginative activity are now basal to me. I wouldn't unrecorded successful a spot that required maine to sacrifice immoderate of those.

Life present isn't perfect. I've witnessed governmental instability and dealt pinch regular powerfulness outages owed to drought.

Right now, my reality is moving past goats by nan stream and uncovering power successful nan Andean mountains. Things that initially terrified me.

This manner hasn't been perfect, but I'm grateful that it's mine.