Moving to Manizales from New York

Especially as an educator, you will likely have no problem at all finding teaching work. Note, however, that pay in Colombia is a mere PITTANCE to what your income would be in the States. And, depending on the school, you might find yourself working looong hours, or split hours during the day.  But, if you love living in Colombia, that may not be an important factor.

I see that this thread hasn't been active in a while but i'll give it a shot anyway... I am French and am now in Manizales looking for a job as an english and/or french teacher. And i'd love to meet new people! Anyone wanna meet up for coffe, beer, or lunch one of these days?!! Hope to hear from you!

see that this thread hasn't been active in a while but i'll give it a shot anyway... I am French and am now in Manizales looking for a job as an english and/or french teacher. And i'd love to meet new people! Anyone wanna meet up for coffe, beer, or lunch one of these days?!! Hope to hear from you!

Hey! I see that all these posts are a bit outdated but i'll give it a shot anyway. .. I just got a job in Manizales and know a couple of people here but i could do with some expat life here too. So if anyone wants to go out for coffee or beer one of these days, just let me know! And also I'm now apartment hunting and this has proven to be harder than I thought. Anyone knows how to find a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment without going through an agency? Thanks!

fanny_stmath wrote:

I'm now apartment hunting and this has proven to be harder than I thought. Anyone knows how to find a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment without going through an agency?

Dear Fanny,

Welcome to the Colombia forum.

1.  Pick a neighborhood or two.  Walk the area looking for rent signs -- Arriendo or Aquilar -- and contact owners by phone or asking neighbors/guards/passersby for the owner's contact info.

2.  Pick up a newspaper and look in the clasificados.

Don't overdo it going around Manizales.  It's one of the highest-altitude cities in Colombia, with less oxygen than most .. and, it's infamously hilly.

cccmedia in Quindío

Thanks! But unfortunately i've found that most of the "arriendo" signs come from agencies... Will look in the newspaper though. And i was in Bogota before so don't have any altitude problems here!

Sometimes there may be units available though there are no signs in the windows.

At such residential buildings, schmoozing* the guard aka vigilante or the administration office on the ground floor may yield information about unpublicized vacancies through owners.

cccmedia in La Zona

* Some Expats have had success in South American rental markets by offering to pay a vigilante (say 30 to 50K pesos) for information leading to a successful rental agreement.  The Expats leave their contact information with the vigilante who follows up when he hears of a vacancy.  YMMV.

Renting an apartment is difficult enough for a Colombian with a good job, let alone a foreigner.  If your able to afford it, you can offer the agency a full years rent, plus security to be paid in full.  The money is stored in a bank account, which they deduct from each month.  That sometimes helps. 

For teaching, check out 1 to 1 academy behind the Mercedes dealership (down the hill, pass straight through the stop sign and it is on your right).  If you don't have a work visa or root, that might be difficult to find work, other than freelancing. 

Best of luck!

masterita wrote:

Renting an apartment is difficult enough for a Colombian with a good job, let alone a foreigner.

I heard this from the expats in Medellin. It's apparently a big pain to rent an apartment as a gringo in a lot of places.

But my experience was different. I found a little apartment by the lake in Guatape and I just gave the lady some cash. She gave me the key. Was no hassle at all.

If you have some trouble renting, then just go somewhere else. Eventually, someone will want your money. Gringos are generally considered to be trustworthy. There have been many times when the Colombians trusted me far more than they would ever trust another Colombian.

Hi!
I am currently volunteering in Boquete, Panama as an English teacher, and have investigated other cities in Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador.  I am very interested in the Manizales, Colombia area.  Since I have been a professor in the MBA program (business) in several universities I definitely am interested in employment in one of the many universities in Manizales.  However, I'm only interested in an adjunct faculty position (part-time).  Does anyone know if that's possible in Manizales? Are they "biased" against older professors? What kind of visa would I need to teach part-time?  I would appreciate any advice you could share!  Thanks so much.

Ratio of 5 to 1..

I cant believe where some people pull out these non-nonsensical statistics. But I keep hearing it all the time.

Even educated people do it.

The greatest demographic difference between males and females in history was after the Great Patriotic War in the former Soviet Union. In that case it was only  90 to 100.

Quechimba wrote:

Ratio of 5 to 1..

I cant believe where some people pull out these non-nonsensical statistics. But I keep hearing it all the time.

Even educated people do it.

The greatest demographic difference between males and females in history was after the Great Patriotic War in the former Soviet Union. In that case it was only  90 to 100.

https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/nceeer/2007_8 … inerd1.pdf