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).
Our experience so far
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.