SRF emigrants tell their story "We have found our dream life here in Ecuador"

Philipp Dahm

27.12.2024

"Auf und davon" emigrants Isabelle and Leo Alvarado have turned their backs on Lucerne to start a new life in Ecuador. The Swiss woman and her husband are not bothered by the fact that everything is running a little slower there.

27.12.2024, 19:13

27.12.2024, 19:14

No time? blue News summarizes for you

Isabelle and Leo Alvarado emigrated from Lucerne to Ecuador with their two boys.
Swiss television SRF accompanies the young family in the 16th season of the documentary series "Auf und davon".
While many other people flee Ecuador, the Alvarados take the opposite route to achieve their dream life.

"Ecuador's nature is very good for us. We have always wanted our children to grow up here instead of in the middle of the city of Lucerne," explain Isabelle (39) and Leo Alvarado (36) in unison when blue News reaches them via video call in their new home in Río Negro.

And that's what the two boys, aged seven and four, are now doing. The family pulled up stakes in Switzerland more than a year ago and emigrated to Leo's home country of Ecuador.

Isabelle and Leo met more than 13 years ago, when the Lucerne native went on a trip to South America to improve her Spanish. Leo was her tour guide at the time - and one thing led to another.

The two fell in love and the Ecuadorian finally proposed to Isabelle via Skype. Leo came to Switzerland, learned German and worked hard to complete an apprenticeship as a carpenter. The couple tied the knot on Isabelle's parents' 30th wedding anniversary in 2012.

"Always knew I would live somewhere else"

Isabelle's mother had somehow always expected that they would eventually emigrate to Ecuador. "Nevertheless, it wasn't easy to tell my parents," adds the 39-year-old.

"Of course, our friends were also sad when we told them that we wanted to leave Switzerland." But now her loved ones can come and visit her somewhere nice.

If Isabelle is completely honest, it was already clear to her as a teenager that she would no longer live in her home town of Kriens LU at some point. She remembers: "At school, our geography teacher once said that most of us would only live ten kilometers away from where we grew up. And I said at the time: 'I'm going to live somewhere else one day'." And that's what happened.

For Isabelle and Leo, it is their dream, which they have been living in Ecuador ever since. "Here we have more time for everything, more time for the family and our children, but also for our own projects," the couple say.

Although the pace of life in Ecuador is simply much slower than in Switzerland and many things cannot be planned, life is more relaxed, stress is more bearable and there is plenty of room for magical moments.

You won't find the order and structure of Switzerland here, but the young family is blessed with a lot of freedom and beautiful nature: "Sometimes things don't work out the way you thought they would at first, but then you end up in a completely different place via detours and you are richly rewarded," explains Isabelle.

Building a house is a milestone

Trained carpenter Leo has been building his own home in Río Negro for several years now. His brother sometimes helps him - as a personal "apprentice", as the couple put it.

"When the house is finished, we will have reached a milestone. But that could take another 20 years," adds Isabelle, smiling at her husband. "He puts so much love and passion into his work. He's always done that and was one of the reasons why I fell in love with him."

In return, the parents of two boys receive a lot of support from Leo's family. Isabelle explains: "My mother-in-law lives with us in the house, my father-in-law is our neighbor and Leo's brother lives downstairs." So when the family is traveling, someone can always look after the house, the building site and the garden.

Time out in Ecuador during the pandemic

It took a few visits before the Alvarados finally settled permanently in Río Negro. During the coronavirus pandemic, the family of three was stuck. "We took some time off, wanted to build the house, I got pregnant and our flight was canceled," says Isabelle.

Her second son was born at a home birth in Ecuador. "But it wasn't a good time for our children in Ecuador during the pandemic," says Leo, "the rules were strict and so we returned to Switzerland at the end of 2020."

In 2023, the Alvarados flew to Ecuador again. "Then we saw what normal life is like there - and how beautiful it is." Isabelle and Leo don't notice much of the unrest, violence and political instability that repeatedly rock the country in Río Negro.

Alvarados are happy in Ecuador

"We feel safe here. If the state or the police aren't looking so well, the people have to take over," says Isabelle thoughtfully. There is a lot of solidarity and the residents look out for each other.

And: "We're not in a city here. I like to compare it to May Day in Switzerland: when demonstrations take place in Zurich, I don't hear about them in Entlebuch either."

At the moment, the Alvarados can't imagine returning to Switzerland. But you never know what will happen. "Maybe when our boys want to do a special apprenticeship. Or if Isa's parents need support at some point," says Leo.

In the meantime, the children have also integrated well and speak Spanish outside the family home. High German and Swiss German are spoken at home. Leo emphasizes: "We want the boys to master Isa's mother tongue. It would be a shame if they forgot it."

New dreams - and challenges

Various projects are currently on the agenda for the family. The trained carpenter, who has published a children's book in the past, wants to tell even more stories. And Isabelle, who is a trained nature and environmental expert, wants to help him, but is currently making a name for herself as an animal communicator in Ecuador and abroad.

The fact that they keep encountering challenges is part of the job. "Switzerland is beautiful, stable and everything runs smoothly there, but here in Ecuador - between frogs croaking, crickets chirping and birds chirping - we have found our dream life," summarizes Isabelle.

And there is always time for a trip in between. Because they have their home, where they can return again and again, and no high fixed costs like they used to have in Switzerland. "Financially, it's easier for us here, we don't have to pay compulsory health insurance or rent - and as I said, we simply have more time for everything here."

The new season of "Auf und davon" with Isabelle and Leo airs every Friday from January 3 at 9 pm on SRF1. On January 1 at 8:05 pm, "Auf und davon: Ein Jahr danach" will also be shown on SRF1, where there will be a reunion with the Swiss emigrants who left their homeland a year ago to seek their fortune abroad.