So, we left you all hanging in our last house hunter update: will they take the more expensive place with a view?  Or the cute place in the center?  We did decide on the apartment with the nice view (the last option described in the previous update), and with that settled took off to Puerto Lopez.  However, we returned to a number of messages saying that the apartment wasn't available after all.  So back to the drawing board.  In all we looked at about 12 places.  And found (surprisingly) just what we were looking for, and a few features we didn't know we were looking for but really (for the most part) like.

So, what did we find?  A little two-story house, right along the Yanucay river.  We can actually hear the river at night (once the traffic slows and before the roosters start at 4 AM).  Features we were looking for and got include:

• Three bedrooms: excellent since the novelty of sharing a room was quickly wearing off for Lucia & Gabe and, consequently, mom and dad
• Close to green space.  The Yanuncay has a lineal park that runs all along it. There is a playground right across the street. And we share a garden space with neighbors that is all fenced in, so the kids can play outside any time.
• Some office space for Doug that is separated from the living space.  Doug's desk is in Gabe's bedroom, which has great light and a balcony that looks out over the Yanuncay. Since the kids are now in school, the office space works pretty well. And we have wifi, so any space can be office space.
• A washer and dryer.  After a month of lugging our clothes to the laundromat, and with only one set of school uniforms per kid, this was a must.  We also got a nice laundry room with a clothes line and some storage space. 
• A location within reasonable distance to both Elena's preschool and Gabe and Lucia's school, and a quick bus ride to the Centro and other destinations (parks, markets) that we hope to frequent.

What we weren't looking for but got:

• A private development.  But not like you might imagine. We share a street entrance with two other houses that are part of our "neighborhood". This has been a bonus, an easy way to meet Ecuadorans and also other kids- three girls live in one of the houses, and Lucia and Gabe were invited to one of the girls' birthday celebration our first weekend here!
• The joy of paying utility bills separate from rent. We had wanted an all inclusive rent, but no go.  So we get to figure out Ecuador bill paying.  That will likely be another post: suffice it to say it requires schlepping around town and navigating some lines. With no Ecuadoran bank account we can't do on-line bill pay. Except for our internet, which seems only logical.
• Roosters.  In our first rental most of the night sounds were car alarms.  Now we hear roosters, starting rather earlier than seems reasonable.  Did I mention they start at 4 AM? 
• A bird connection.  The house has several carvings of birds: maybe a sign it was meant for us. We hope to add some flowering plants to the balcony soon and get the hummingbird feeder up! 

Check out the pictures of the house and neighborhood.  One of the things that makes Ecuador interesting is the lack of use-specific zoning. So on our block there is a bike shop, a small grocery, a hardware store, a guitar and accordion studio, and a wide range of housing. Many of the homes have modern construction, with pretty gardens. Others are very basic construction (check out the photo of the roof on the house next to ours), and other locations less well cared for.  And there is always the surprise of a burst of color from lovely plants, or birds kept on patios.

A small apartment with a sun room, 2 bedrooms, a nice living space, and 1 bathroom. By a nice park with a zip line for the kids within walking distance for Elena to get to work and the kids can ride the school bus. Also by a river and coffee shop where Doug can go if he doesn't want to work at the kitchen table.

A nice apartment made of bricks and with wood walls. 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a nice kitchen and living space. We would have to by some cots or a bunk bed for the kids but there is lots of storage space, a washer and a dryer and shared outdoor space and lots of windows.

We looked at a bunch more places and decided over key lime pies and coffee to go wit house #7.

Well, after watching many hours of international house hunters over the past years, we are now on our own international house hunting adventure.  Here’s the rundown on our requirements:

Preferably 3 bedrooms but we could live with 2; near some green areas (Cuenca has a lot of parks and rivers); a terrace or patio; reasonably fast wifi so Doug can work; supportive of an immersion experience (e.g. not in gringolandia).

First, it isn’t so easy to figure out where to find available places. We’ve used Ecuador’s craigslist; Air B&B; Cuenca free classifieds and Gringo Tree.  We keep digging and finding more options.  In addition to high-tech resources, we’ve relied heavily on the old-school detailed street map (with a number/letter grid and a street index on the back) that our AIR B&B host thankfully has. This map is most useful when someone with young eyes is around to read the street names, and more helpful now that I’ve figured out that when searching for, for example, Avenida Manuel Vega you search under V, not M! 

Second, there is a huge expat market here thanks to all the retirees flocking to Cuenca, and so many easy to find options cater to that market which is a little above our budget and also in a part of town saturated with expats, so not our first choice for our immersion experience. It’s much harder to find furnished options in other parts of town, even with the advantage of being able to read and communicate in Spanish.

Day 1: We visited two apartments, driven by a local real estate agent who was representing the listings we found on craigslist. Day 2, today, we visited a condo in El Centro (city center) and an apartment on the SE border of town, by a river.  We also walked a number of neighborhoods, plying the kids with the occasional hot chocolate (it was cold and rainy today), hot dog, House Hunter International banter, and piggy-back ride.

3 bedroom condo in El Centro.  Advantages: once you got through the gate and back to the apartment it was much quieter than one would expect given the very noisy street. Walking distance to a great park, a market, and lots of other cool Centro amenities, walkable distance for Elena to work.  Really workable (albeit small) space. Comes with an extra mattress for guests! Disadvantages: Not super convenient for transport to kids’ school. And those bus fumes add up in the Centro. http://quito.en.craigslist.org/apa/4583231162.html

That puts us with only, you guessed it, house 3 on the table and still trying to find options in the neighborhoods we really liked, just south of El Centro.  At least we are enjoying getting to know Cuenca in the process.  We’ll keep you posted!