Misconception: Loja is just like Cuenca, only smaller, warmer and cheaper.

Clarification:  First, on the issue of Loja being warmer than Cuenca, I will say this: Ten years ago this was definitely true in my experience.  However, expats who live in Cuenca have been saying that Cuenca has had a warming trend over the last few years which is not the case at all in Loja (excluding 2016, in which Loja was greatly affected by the very strong El Niño and considerably warmer than other recent years).  As we are cold quite often in Loja it would not surprise me if Cuenca actually feels warmer than Loja at least part of the time.  Loja also has much higher humidity than Cuenca which makes it feel colder than it really is.  So coming to Loja because it's warmer than Cuenca may not actually be a workable plan.  Most of the PROVINCE of Loja is a lot warmer than the city of Loja, so if you want to warm up, the other cities and towns would be an option, including Vilcabamba and Malacatos as well as Catamayo, Macará, Catacocha, Zapotillo and many others, but the city of Loja, maybe not...

For a person from the U.S. or Canada, Loja is a completely different experience than Cuenca.  It is true that Loja is smaller and cheaper than Cuenca, but beyond that the experience for the native English speaker, especially retirees, is so different that it is hard to even begin to compare.  Estimates of the number of expats (retirees from "first world" countries) living in Cuenca vary widely, but the number I have seen the best arguments for is about 7000.  Even though this is only 1% of the population of the GMA of Cuenca, their presence is quite visible, especially downtown.  In Cuenca you will see and hear English speakers all over the place, you will find restaurants, tour companies, and all kinds of services that cater to English speakers.  Many expats find they can get by just fine without ever learning Spanish.  The large expat community also gives one many social options, and whatever your interests are, you are bound to find other English speakers who share them.  There are clubs for people who enjoy hiking, fishing, bicycling, knitting, etc., as well as for groups volunteering in the local community for various efforts.  There are "gringo nights" at many bars and restaurants where you can go to meet other expats.  Many stores try to provide an English speaker on staff and there was a rumor awhile back that the city was giving English classes to the city's taxi drivers.

For day to day activities, people get by just fine in Cuenca without speaking Spanish and most have a wide circle of close friends within just a few short months of settling there.  For the record I don't recommend that people move anywhere in Ecuador and not learn the language because firstly, it could become a safety issue at some point (medical emergency, natural disaster, etc.) and secondly, it is extremely difficult to become part of the local Ecuadorian community without speaking Spanish well.  But, the reality is that very few expats in Ecuador ever learn enough Spanish to have any kind of in depth conversation with a native speaker in Spanish.  When I lived in Cuenca I had a wonderful Spanish teacher who'd been teaching Spanish to native English speakers for more than 20 years.  Her observation was that the only ones who learned quickly were those that already knew French (because of the grammatical similarities with Spanish) and for the rest it was a very slow process requiring a lot of hard work.  And really, when people are moving to Ecuador to retire, how hard do they want to work?  Most have worked hard their whole lives and are ready to relax and enjoy their final years.

Anyway, back to the discussion of Cuenca and Loja.  Living in Loja as a North American, it is very clear that you are living in Ecuador.  There is no North American subculture here, very few services that cater to expats (and unless you have a lot of money to invest in property, probably no services for expats), no expat community (see this page for info about the lack of an expat community in Loja).  This means that you will have to try to speak Spanish to do anything in the city of Loja -- to find an apartment, to buy food, to pay your water, electric and phone bills each month, to call a plumber when your faucet is dripping, to tell a taxi driver where you need to go, etc.

If you are in Loja living with a host family or supported by an organization (church, school, etc.), they will take care of you.  Otherwise you are on your own.  If you want friends, you'll need to make friends with Ecuadorians (very few of whom speak English in Loja) or with some of the very small number of expats living here.  If you can understand spoken Spanish, you will discover that the locals are VERY curious as to why a North American has settled here.  You will be asked a lot of questions, like where is the rest of your family, how can you stand to be away from them, how much money do you have, how much money do your relatives in the States/Canada/wherever have, why are you here, when are you leaving, etc.  People don't ask these questions to be rude, they are just very curious because most never meet a North American who plans to stay in Loja.  (And the questions about money, who knows, are they just curious or does their cousin specialize in robbery?  If you did happen to have money it might be best to keep that fact to yourself...)

I lived in Cuenca for a year and it was very easy and fun.  It felt like I was in the friendliest North American community in the world and it just happened to be in South America.  I met so many wonderful, kind, giving people there.  And the community support there is nothing short of amazing.  When expats have been hospitalized, other expats have organized round-the-clock visits to the injured or sick person and even people who'd never met them showed up to help.  Neighborhood watches have been set up to find lost dogs and any number of other things.  It's just a very supportive community for expats. (And my impression is that similar networks exist in other expat enclaves in Ecuador which are principally Cotacachi, Vilcabamba, Manta and Salinas.)

For me personally, I miss being part of that strong network, but I love living in Loja because the natural beauty here is beyond anything I've ever seen in a city, I love the Spanish language and being immersed in it all the time, and I love the beautiful spirit of the Ecuadorian people and culture.  Life is a lot harder here than in Cuenca but for me the rewards are worth it.

Click here to see more Misconceptions about Loja, Ecuador.

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