Questions on coastal cities (Guayaquil)

Hi All,
I am new to this group and new to the decision to move abroad, wife and I have set our eyes on Ecuador for numerous reasons. We are wishing to get closer to the coast and wanting to know pros and cons of the various coastal towns/cities. We plan to rent at first as we want to be positive that Ec is where we want to retire as well we want to be certain of the area that we buy and posibly invest as well. So if any members that are already living there and have knowledge of any of the coastal areas could give us some of the pertenent facts such as, transportation, shopping, entertainment, areas to avoid or anything else useful to the new comers, we would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
Ron

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