The Don Colón restaurant in Cuenca’s downtown is a favorite expat watering hole

doubled in the last six years as developers have rushed to accommodate the new arrivals. Demand for properties overlooking one of Cuenca’s four rivers has soared, and a neighborhood of apartment towers, known as Gringolandia, has sprung up on the city’s outskirts. “I’m bothered because the price of everything has gone up,” says taxi driver Fabiola Coro, and that includes her rent along with the price of a Panama hat, which, contrary to its name, is an Ecuadorean handicraft. Coro says malls are springing up to cater to the newcomers, but locals can’t afford to shop there.

Sandra and Wayne Materi, a Canadian couple who’ve been living in Cuenca since 2011, understand the concerns, but think Ecuador’s recent oil-fueled economic boom had a bigger role in pushing up prices than the city’s growing colony of snowbirds. Also, an estimated 25,000 Cuencans who left the country during a financial crisis in the late 1990s have taken advantage of government programs enticing back emigrants, further increasing pressure on a tight real estate market.

Language and cultural barriers may also be behind some of the complaints, but those haven’t slowed down the Materis, Sandra says. The couple joined informal classes pairing locals who want to learn English with retirees who want to learn Spanish. And they practice tai chi with locals in the mornings at a nearby park. In fact, the number of social invitations the Materis receive can be overwhelming. “There’s both a curiosity and fear on both sides, but in terms of how we’ve been received by Ecuadoreans, they’ve been very warm,” she says. “People go out of their way to help.” The bottom line Cuenca is home to some 5,000 North American and European retirees, most of whom have arrived in the past six years.

Tax Planning About 75 million baby boomers began turning 70 this year. If you’re among them, there are critical decisions to make about your retirement accounts and finances in general.

Why is 70 the magic number? U.S. tax law stipulates that you must take your first required minimum distribution (RMD) from your individual retirement account and 401(k) accounts in the year you turn 70 ½ (or up to April 1 of the following year) and pay income taxes on it. Those who don’t comply face a 50 percent penalty on that amount. “This is a major shift if you’re a boomer,” says retirement adviser Ed Slott, founder of IRAHelp.com. “All this