I hope this post is somewhat relevant on this blog. I have been planning on doing a second exploratory trip to Quito this summer. I was just learning that Colombia, in particular Medellin, is on par in terms of affordability with Quito-perhaps slightly higher. And, Medellin appears to be a more modern and advanced city in terms of infrastructure, cleanliness, etc. Does anyone on this blog have any experience with Medellin and can offer some reasons why or why I should not consider Medellin over Quito? Are the cost of living comparisons that I am seeing are accurate?
Ecuador vs. Colombia
finster
24 April 2015 16:48:46
27
greginky
24 April 2015 17:14:54
17
Try this website for a comparison
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/co … 2=Medellin
cccmedia
24 April 2015 17:47:52
10196
It's widely agreed that Medellin is now much safer than when Pablo Escobar was South America's drug kingpin running his international cartel from Medellin.
But that's not to say the city is as safe as Quito.
You owe it to yourself at least to visit the Colombia Reports website, which discusses what's been going on in the most unsavory parts of Medellin, including:
-- Sector 8, where crime networks still stage wars over neighborhood turf.
-- Sector 13, "continually suffering from gang warfare and violence."
-- Plaza de las Luces, where Escobar had his headquarters. Now it is "a magnet for drunks, drug addiction and the homeless" and is rife with street crime. "Knife attacks are not uncommon."
South Quito, Ecuador, is no picnic either. But in Quito, if you can avoid that one area, you are in good shape. Medellin seems to have multiple areas that are problematic. The three above are just some of them.
The website I mentioned is:
www.colombiareports.co/go-areas-medellin ...
cccmedia in Quito
finster
24 April 2015 17:48:38
27
That's what I was basing my col comparisons on, it was the first indication that Colombia was on par with Quito. I always thought Colombia was expensive
OsageArcher
24 April 2015 18:09:19
1524
finster wrote:That's what I was basing my col comparisons on, it was the first indication that Colombia was on par with Quito. I always thought Colombia was expensive
With the Colombian peso nearing 2500 to 1 USD it's more affordable now than when the peso was around or below 2000 to 1 USD. It fluctuates but usually fairly slowly.
In any case prices for real estate and rent can vary dramatically. Bogotá the capital and largest city can be quite expensive compared to other smaller cities, and especially compared to more rural locations.
Worth noting to give you an idea of purchasing power that expats have there, is the minimum monthly salary set by the Colombian government, It's around 644,500 pesos for 2015, only about $261 USD at the current exchange rate. And around 50% of the population is at that level or below...although this link is from 2013 when the minimum salary was lower it shows the distribution of earned income:
- kienyke.com/historias/cuantos-colombianos-se-ganan-un-salario-minimo/
Only about 1% of the population earns about 6 million pesos a month or more (interpolating a bit). 6 million pesos is a little over $2400 USD.
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