Our Place, Our Neighborhood/Other Neighborhoods, and Getting Around in Quito

On the whole, we're pretty happy with our place in Quito.  We're paying just around $500 a month for a two bedroom, all bills paid (including internet), located near the northern edge of the Historic Center.  We're just about 5 short blocks from the Grand Plaza, with the last 2 up a hill. Not as bad as the hill in Chapala, with the next two blocks north much steeper - heading up to the large Basillica I shared pics of.  

Once you get a few blocks north of the Grand Plaza, it becomes much quieter and less busy. The Plaza is almost always busy and lively - especially on the weekends. So it's a pretty sweet set up. There's a little mom and pop store right next door, and a sweet older woman sits right outside our door on the other side selling produce - I've gotten mandarins, avocados, potatoes, etc. from her. This photo shows our apartment building entrance on the right - the black, iron door under the balcony with flowers.

As mentioned previously, there are a SHIT. TON. of places to eat in the historic center - from nicer places (including the Plaza Hotel) to quick service places, mom & pop restaurants, tons of sandwich places, etc. And the BEST Chinese food I've had outside of China. Seriously, There are multiple small grocery stores within 5-10 minute walks, and plenty of other shopping, as well. As I say, the Plaza is always lively with folks enjoying the weather, visiting, shopping, checking out the tons of museums, cathedrals, and other architectural gems.  The historic center subway stop is about a 10 minute walk.

Would I live here if I ended up retiring in Quito? Possibly, but probably not. It gets pretty chaotic in/around the main plaza, although there are multiple other plazas scattered around the area that are less busy.   So where would I live?

Probably the La Carolina Park Area - a few miles north of us. This flatter area, still ringed by beautiful mountains, is one of the newer areas of Quito and has a large expat contingent. When you exit the metro stop at the north end of Carolina Park, you would think you were in any modern (clean) city in the U.S. Scattered high rises of condos & apartments, businesses, medical & dental offices, etc.  Two large malls (one VERY large that we invariably get lost in), 3-4 large grocery stores (again, one super large one that is a bit overwhelming, actually), multiple movie theaters, and - again - TONS of places to eat at every level and of every cuisine--including lots of fast food options, both local and American.

The park itself is lovely and large. So far, we've only explored the north end, which has a lot of soccer pitches, basketballl & volleyball courts, running & walking trails, etc.  This past weekend there was a fesitval - of which Quito seems to have MANY.  Soon, we'll explore the south end which has its own metro stop.

The metro is pretty new - opening 2 years ago this month. As Quito is a long, narrow city suqeezed between mountains, the subway has just one line that runs about 10 miles north and south, with 15 stops. It's 45 cents for adults, and 22 cents for adolescents and seniors. Kids are free.  Very clean and very efficient, running every 8 minutes both ways. As with many places, there's a distressing amount of boorish behavior, with folks crowding and blocking the doors to get on - althouh not at, shall we say, a Shangahi level of boorishness, thank god.  

Uber operates here and is super cheap. There are also tons of yellow taxis, metered. There's also an extensive, cheap, clean bus system that we haven't needed to use yet. Both the Centro and Carolina areas are walkable, we've used the metro extensively beyond that, and would only need a taxi or uber for random places far off the metro stops.

So yeah, I'd probably live around La Carollina and take the metro into the Historic Center on occasion to hang out.  UP NEXT: DJ & I each go to the doctor and get prescriptions, and I also go to the dentist!

Weather & Food in Quito

Let's start with the weather, coz that's easy: it's always the same. Well, more or less, of course. We're in the "rainy" season now, but don't think it's like monsoons.  Periodic showers, usually in the late afternoon or evening, and an occasional thunderstorm. December is the "coldest" month, with the overall average temp around 58 and then in the warmest month (July) the average overall temp is around 59.  Basically, it's low to mid 50s overnight and low to mid 60s during the day.  Depending on cloud cover, and breeze, it can feel warmer or cooler, but it's basically spring all year round. BIG plus for me who hates the heat.

And because of the eternal spring, Strawberries are dirt cheap. We've probably eaten more strawberries here in the past 3+ weeks than in the past year. About $2 for a quart.  Cherries are much more reasonable, as well.

And boy, do they love their chicken!  A good chunk of the local fast food places just offer various raosted chicken plates with various sides (potatoes, rice, beans, salad), and even the nicer places have a lot of chicken options. Fine by me!  In fact, they have way more KFC here than McDonald's. WAY more. Speaking of fast food, they also have a good chunk of other American places, too. So far we've seen Burger King, Carl's Jr., Krispy Kreme, Chili's, TGI Fridays, Taco Bell, Cinnabon, etc. etc. etc.  

My favorite local place is a small chain called DonCho Chocho y choclo, where I had a yummy bowl filled with plantain (okay, not a fan of THAT), roasted pork, roasted potatoes, some local beans I forget the name of, and Peruvian corn (yummy!) All covered in a semi-spicy homemade sauce that tastes like a cross between guacamole and ranch with a kick. HUGE portions that I got nearly 3 meals out of for 5 bucks.  Needless to say, local places are cheaper than the American imports.  

And there are a SHIT. TON. of places to eat. Tons of fast food, tons of mid-range places, TONS of small mom&pop 3-4 table restaurants like in Mexico, etc.  We're always passing places that I think, "Oooh, this looks good, we need to try this!"  Alas, can only afford to eat at the mid-range/nicer places once a month.  That sets us back about $20 total for the two of us.  

As for groceries, prices are similar to Mexico. Like Mexico, they label products that are high in sugar, fat, or salt. UNLIKE Mexico, those labels are on the side or back of packaging, and also unlike Mexico, they have a "medium" label. In fact, they have a "medium sugar" version of Coke here which I've never seen before.  Alas, we have yet to find Dr. Pepper. Yet.  Lol

Finally - esp. here in the Centro Historico - there are lots of roaming vendors selling small bags of fruits, small bags of nuts, ice cream, etc. (e.g., you can get a bag of 6 apples for a dollar).  Needless to say, we're both eating healthier here, on the whole, and have both lost weight.