Guayaquil - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
The housing pool is divided into 3 adjacent neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has their strengths and we often do different things in all 3. For example, Puerto Azul has an $8 per year yacht club membership with a big pool and restaurant, access to the mangroves for kayaking, and many restaurants and shops. Portofino has regular community activities. Laguna Club has nice walking paths. These last 2 have quick access to a couple of strip-malls and plenty of restaurants. The housing itself is wonderful... large and spacious, many with pools. I clearly could not afford a house like this if I lived in the States. Quality built with nice amenities and construction finishes. Safe parking, guards all around, and a walled compound with manned entry security gates. Life at home is awesome! - Aug 2022
The housing is mostly excellent. There are some older properties (mostly in the Puerto Azul neighborhood), but overall the quality is good and the management section does a good job of servicing when needed. Everything is located on the same road, in the far west of the city. There is nothing within walking distance of the housing other than a couple of small strip malls. Commute is excellent, about 10-15 minutes. Traffic is not great, but not bad. People complain but it's grossly exaggerated how bad it is. - Jun 2022
Housing is nice, decent-sized houses or apartments in gated communities, all about a 10 min drive from the Consulate. Many have small yards and/or pools. - Oct 2020
Most of the housing is located on the same area in three safe, nice, and gated communities. Depending on traffic, the commute to work can be seven to twenty minutes. Housing includes both standalone houses and apartments, most of which have 3-4 bedrooms. Most are pretty spacious, but the quality of the housing varies. Houses are generally a bit older with strange layouts and weird styles. - Feb 2019
If you work for the US Government, then you will be part of a furnished housing pool. There are 4 main housing areas, one of them (Puerto Azul) is where the school is located. In my experiences with other housing at past assignments, the housing here is sub-standard. The construction of the houses is quite poor, and the GSO/Facilities crew are fixing things around the clock. During the rainy season the leaks become a major problem, in addition to electrical, air conditioning, and periodic power outages. Most houses come equipped with generators to help with the power spikes and outages than happen. - Jun 2013
30 minutes or so when traffic is bad. - May 2013
Commuting all depends on when one lives, but overall traffic flows pretty well. Maybe a 20-30 minute commute is average, nobody could average longer than an hour, even with bad traffic. - Jan 2012
three main neighborhoods, all gated with 24x7 security. 25 minutes commute to work and 35 minutes going home due to a recently redesigned traffic pattern. No is happy about that. - Jan 2012
I live in Via a la Costa which is about 20-25 minutes from the city center. Traffic can be very bad here. - Aug 2011
