Barranquillas latinas, marriage and dating

Barranquilla is that bad, though it is not a tourist hot spot. It is not an area that has many Americans visit so you may seem strange to them.

We visited Bogota recent (myself, an American, another American and my Colombian Wife). We stay at one of my wife's relatives house in the South of Bogota. An area not frequented by Americans.

Everyone stared at my and my friend. They were simply agast at how we ate breakfast. It was like we were from mars! In downtown Bogota no one gave us second looks.

My wife is from Barranquilla though I met is on San Andres. Maybe visiting Barranquilla with a native gives you a different prespective.

I don't know what part of Barranquilla you were finding unattractive women in.I was there around 10 years ago and I found the women "bitchy" but beautiful.Yes the city wasn't so great but the only foreigners who go there are men seeking single women.

I really think to go on a romance/dating service to Colombia is a waste.Yes the women in Colombia are attractive but I feel you would have much better luck meeting a sweet girl in other countries like Honduras or Peru.

Barranquilla has its pros and cons just like any other city. The best time of the year to go is during carnival. That's when everybody is in their party mode. I actually met my wife there during carnival in 2006. I had a blast and met a lot of really cool people. Besides carnival, there's really not much to do in Barranquilla, but the nightlife is pretty good.

I'm from Barranquilla and I do agree that the city is dangerous in certain areas. However, If the purpose of your visit is to come and get laid with hookers and have a tour around the city's brothels, then it is normal that you may get ripped off, scammed or even stabbed by someone.
Many tourist think they can come to Colombia and do whatever they want. I still remember about an Italian that got stabbed to death in Cartagena; The guy was buying dope from a bump at one of Cartagena's most dangerous ghettos.
So if you are coming to Colombia to visit, I'm pretty sure you can have lots of fun but if you think you can play Badass here then beware of the consequences.

There are marraige agencies, romance tours and a bevy of women from Barranquilla online (Latin or Colombia Cupid) looking for love or whatever.  I have traveled to Bogota, Medellin, Manizales, Pereria and many pueblitos in the interior.  The women here, in my opinion, are the most diverse and gorgeous in Colombia, if not the world.  But attractive is a matter of opinion. 

Barranquilla is a working class city that is growing repidly.  There are infrastructure issues here - let it rain hard and some of the streets are impassable. There are growth pains - many locals are not very used to foreigners.  And doing business here has its challenges - there is a kind of poverty mentaility seeking to take advantage of relationships instead of cultivating them.

I would agree with the previous post.  This is not a place to come mongering for hookers.  Sure there are a couple of places but this is not Medellin or San Jose, Costa Rica.  Barranquilla is more of a place to come find a wife. I woudl offer that the women here are also unique in temoerment and passion than other women I have met in Colombia and Latin America.

For more about my experiences here please go to www.blackinlatinamerica.wordpress.com

Wayne

I relocated from the US to the Soledad area of Barranquilla 3 weeks ago. And I have not had any bad experiences, I feel perfectly safe walking around after dark or anytime, and so far in all the neighborhoods I have been in, both south of the city (Soledad) and in the downtown and mid-city areas. When I am out walking or on a bus or in a taxi, I am confident, and it shows, and people see it. I am not some scared tourist trying to just get thru the crowds, which also shows, and the criminal minded people recognize that.

I have a friend here who is American/Colombian married to a Colombian woman, they have been a great help to me. My spanish so far is extremely limited, but I am able to get by pretty much anywhere I go.

Yes the city is dirty, it's an industrial city, not a tourist city. You should have gone to Cartagena or Santa Marta if you wanted to be on the coast. Did you not do any research before traveling to Colombia?

In just 3 weeks here I have been out with at least 3 beautiful women half my age. That never happened in the states.

As for crime, you can't get away from it no matter where you go. That's life, get used to it.

Hello hikingwithu and welcome to Expat.com!

Thank you for your contribution.
To note that this thread is dated 2011.

Aurélie

Thanks, I hadn't bothered to look at the date, so there isn't much activity on this site?

Hello hikingwithu.

Your posts are still new. It depends of what you are looking for and if members can provide or not answers to your questions.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Well said, Anon.  Too many Americans (US) give Colombia a bad name, come here looking to get laid, then go back to their wives.  You deserve all you get.

HI THERE
ARE you still living in the SOLEDAD area in Barranquilla?

I had the exact same experience.  Everything was dirty an broken and the women were short, uneducated, fat, and too dark.