Jim Santos

Jim Santos is a freelance writer and voice over artist, currently based in east Tennessee after 6 years of living in Salinas, Ecuador on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, exploring that country and three others in South America. He has written and published over 200 articles about living in Ecuador and travel to other locations around the world for the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and various International Living magazines, e-newsletters, and web site content. In addition to the just released "Living Abroad: Challenging the Myths of Expat Life", "Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu" and "The Galápagos Islands:On Your Own and On a Budget" he is also the author of "Ecuador Scouting Trip Itineraries and Travel Guide: An International Living Report" and has edited/updated IL's "Escape to Ecuador" book every year from 2017-2019. He has been a popular speaker on various aspects of life in Ecuador at six expat conferences held in Ecuador and the USA. Several of his titles are also available as audiobooks. He has recorded audiobooks for other authors as well, produced voiceover for ads and video, and is currently the host of the "International Living Podcast" for International Living, currently ranked in the top 1% of all podcasts with over 300,000 downloads. He is also the host of his own podcast series "Travels With Jim and Rita". Prior to that he has worked in a wild variety of occupations; a radio DJ, a cook, a bellman, a driver, an in-home day care provider, a teacher, and as a computer/network engineer assigned to support the US Senate to name just a few (look for an upcoming book about the Senate years). Born in 1958 and now semi-retired, he was married to his first wife, Carolyn, for just 22 days short of 25 years. She died of complications arising from cancer in December of 2008. They have two children, a boy and a girl, now adults with children of their own. He was 50 when she died, morbidly obese, and pretty much ready to run out the clock by himself - but much to his surprise he met and fell in love with another wonderful woman, Rita. Even more surprising, she decided she would like to marry him. He still doesn’t completely understand that. With Carolyn he had travelled to France and Hawaii, and several other places around the USA. Once Rita and Jim were together, they indulged in a mutual love of travel to see more of the world. He is currently working on more book projects, including a "satiric conspiracy/cook book/diet plan", a behind the scenes look at the US Senate, and a sci-fi novel. He has also started publishing shorter works in the series "Travels with Jim and Rita" and "Short Takes!". Jim and Rita plan to continue to indulge in their love of travel and look forward to launching a “roving retirement” lifestyle, spending 2-3 months each exploring as many countries as they can, stopping back in the States a few times a year to visit family (four children and nine grandchildren between them) and friends. Of course, life has not always been wonderful, and over time Mr. Santos plans to publish more about the good, the bad, and the ugly – as well as the adventure and excitement of living in different countries, and exploring new places.