House Hunters International...Quito

The first thing I have to say is that I am amazed at how helpful the staff at our school really is. From our arrival, they have been driving us around town, translating when we couldn’t, asking if we need anything, feeding us, and giving us pointers on the city. Even if they were required to do it, the genuine care and affection they have shown us has truly been much greater than I could have imagined.

If I haven’t mentioned this in the blog yet, the school we are working for provides a housing stipend for their teachers. It is a very common international school practice. Some places have on campus housing, others own properties and let their employees live in them, and others like our school simply give a certain amount of money for the teachers to pick out a home. I have weighed the options on whether or not I wanted to publicize anything about our financials on this blog and decided there isn’t much of a benefit but I will explain the structure of the stipends. If you are a single teacher you get x per month for an apartment. If you are a an employee with a dependent such as a non-employee spouse or child, you get y for your stipend. (Slightly larger than x) That’s pretty much how it goes. The same process goes for a lot of the benefits offered to the school. Shannon and I are fortunate in that when we were hired we were not hired as a married couple, but rather two singles. We live together, split expenses, and yet still get the full stipends. It ends up being a better benefit for us this way but I digress.

When day two came and we were all in town, we were taken to the school and divided into groups. Shannon and I decided on a list of things we wanted and came up with this:

1.       Had to allow Howie the dog.

2.       We had a specific budget in mind that would be far less than our combined rent allotment so we could save some money.

3.       If possible, we wanted a place that was within walking distance of the school.

4.       If possible, a furnished place would be great.

5.       A nice view if possible.

6.       Two bedrooms and two bathrooms if possible.

7.       Closet space if possible.

It seemed arbitrary in the manner which they divided us. We were all eager to see the options made available to us. We ended up in a group with another couple, a family of three with a small child, a family of four with teenagers, and us needing a place for a dog. So literally every family had different needs. This proved to be a difficulty because during that day, we saw many options but very few could have possibly applied to us. Five bedroom mansion on the mountain, too expensive. Shire-like home with three “bedrooms” and three stories but couldn’t fit a family of Keebler Elves, not meant for a 6’1 guy. One bedroom efficiency in the center of the city (no dogs allowed), not for us. It seemed to go on like this for a while. We ended up seeing a total of thirteen places and only two would have been options for us and we only liked one of them. It was a gorgeous two bedroom two bathroom apartment with a phenomenal 360 degree panoramic view of the city, the mountains, and the volcanoes. The only problem was, it was unfurnished, a little bit more than we wanted to spend, and the other couple who we had quickly become friends with was really interested in it. We discussed it with the other couple and both agreed that we would wait until the next day of house hunting in order to make a decision but in all likelihood, one of us would take the place. It was overall a bit of a frustrating day but we were ready to go the next day.

The next day the school listened to our feedback on apartments and split us up by need. We ended up in a group with another couple who needed a place with a dog and we looked at about seven or eight more places that day. We were very happy with two in particular.

Side note on homes in Quito to provide a reference point for our tours:

1.       Houses in Quito don’t come with furniture. That includes a washer/dryer, oven, or fridge.

2.       Everything is gas. The stove runs on a gas tank. The showers run on a gas tank. Everything. I’m not talking about a traditional gas powered hot water heater. I’m talking about a mini version of one of those that comes with two scuba sized tanks. We later found out this is common in every home and a company will bring new tanks for $3.50 whenever you need them filled. The procedure for almost all places is to just give your security guard the money, unlock your bodega (small satellite storage area on property), and change them out for you.

3.       Also, there are no mailboxes. The guards receive your mail if you get any and give them to you when you get home.

House 1: It had an amazing view of the mountains and valley with floor to ceiling windows. It was close enough to walk to the school and even had a park for Howie the dog to play in.  It fit our pre-determined budget exactly, had a bbq pit area, a dog area, a gym, and a pool. The only drawbacks were that it was unfurnished, it smelled a little funny, and some of the walls had floor to ceiling cracks in them from the earthquake the previous week. Oh yeah and it was literally on the side of a mountain in earthquake country. It was still one of the more viable options we had seen up to that point so we were strongly considering it. In terms of security, the house wasn’t on a busy street, you had a guard you had to check in with if you were a visitor, and you had  the locked door of your apartment. It was a two bed, two bath with plenty of closet space as well.

House 2: Our other viable option was right on target in terms of budget as well. It was also within walking distance to the school (10 minutes). It was near a semi-busy street which could prove beneficial for taxis, but less beneficial for dog-walking. It had a decent view (albeit inferior to the one of house 1). It allowed for dogs, came fully furnished, and was very close to a nice pizzeria, convenience store, grocery store, and our friends’ house. (yes, the one I mentioned earlier. They ended up there) In terms of security, House 2 had a 10 foot perimeter wall with an electric fence on top, then a security guard to get permission to enter, then an elevator with a combination, then a metal doggie-door style gate, then our locked door. It was a two bed, two bath with plenty of closet space as well. There was also a park very close to the apartment that I could take Howie to on the weekends, which would alleviate some of my concerns about the somewhat busy area. The big negative for me in this house, and only a temporary one is the hideous pink walls it came with in the master bedroom. Seriously we’re talking Barney+ Pepto Bismol +those obnoxious highlighter neon pink Nike shirts some people wear. An easy fix though. There is also a little bit of construction on a college fairly close to this apartment which could be noisy.

 

 

Result: We ended up choosing house two because it was more secure (which is always important in a city and even more so in a developing country), it was closer to school, we wouldn’t have to spend $6,000 furnishing the place, and we were happy with the surrounding amenities. We are very happy with our choice and just need to get Howie the dog to complete the home.