Need helpful pointers for moving from California to Medellin

I kept my house in San Francisco and rented an apartment in Cali, Colombia. I rented first time in Cali because I have ex pat friends there but my next apartment will be in Medellin as I spent much time there and like it better. There is more to do in Medellin and the weather is better. Cali is just too hot for me. Medellin seems to be full have happy expats... and happy people. They are usually very helpful. My Spanish is terrible but still I get around with out problems. Google "Girl About The Globe". She is a solo traveler who has traveled the world for many years and she moved home(back to England) for Christmas and misses Medellin so much that she just this January moved back to Medellin to live. Contact her on her Facebook page and she can give you lots of helpful hints.
I can help you in reference to the dogs: 
Pros: There is no quarantine on either the Colombian side or the US side so dogs can be with you the whole time.
Cons:
I am a VERY detail oriented person and there are ALOT of details that could make it so you could have a real problem. I can't say enough how helpful and nice the dog immigration people are at the airport in Cali but you cannot "pay them off" like I heard you used to be able to. EVERY PAPER MUST BE CORRECT. I used a very high end vet in San Francisco that completes a lot of papers for dogs to travel internationally and they STILL got the paperwork wrong a couple of times. I almost had my dog refused twice because of this. The airline agents when you check in do not understand the paperwork so even if they look at it and pretend it is in order, they really do not know what they looked at and problems usually do not arise until you get to immigration in Colombia.

Copa airlines is a disaster to fly with a dog. They were so nasty that I will never again fly with them with a pet. ALso, the women that were "busting my chops" did not even know Copa Airlines BASIC rules for flying with a dog. I was very polite and never even raised my voice but they knew I was a Gringo and really were horrible. I never have been treated that badly ever when I have flown any airline. If anyone wants to hear it, contact me privately.
I have never flown Avianca Airlines with a pet. With out a pet they are great.
The best airlines that I have found to travel with a pet are American and United. They know their rules very well. Probably because they are so big and have employees that only handle this.

Contact me privately on here if you want to know the nitty gritty details. I will email you back and/or we can do a Skyppe call. It will make your life a lot easier. I wish someone had helped me before I traveled to Colombia with the pets.

Good Luck
Nancy

Dear Nancy, thank you SO MUCH for your thoughtful and informative reply.  I would actually really appreciate speaking to you via Skype so that my husband could be included as well.  How do we do exchange emails or Skype?  You have no idea how happy I am to have such a great response in such a short time!  I look forward to hearing from you!

Hi!  My name is Cheryl.  I have been researching moving to Medellin for going on 3 years.  I don't know if you have heard of an organization called Live and Invest Overseas but they do a yearly seminar on the best 25 places in the world to retire.  They also do seminars on individual countries and they are doing one on Colombia in Medellin this April.  Their seminars are very comprehensive and you will learn everything you need to know about ex-pating.  If you can't attend go online to their website and you will find down-loadable info.  I would love to go but sadly I can't because of work.  It's alright though because I'm actually going to move there in June!!  I'm so excited!

From what I've been told it's cheaper in the long run to sell everything you own and buy new when you get there.  I can't do that because I have family heirlooms and lots of irreplaceable things I bought in Europe.  I checked into shipping and if my memory is correct he wanted $3,000.  Just to come and give me an estimate!  Then he said to expect to pay another $6,000. bare minimum! The country also has regulations about importing goods with you, particularly electronics.  Pets are no problem as long as their vaccinations are current within a certain time frame and you have a vet's certification.  I have lived in four different countries in Europe and they all vary accordingly.

Another great site for info on expating is International Living.  They are fairly comparable and both highly recommend Colombia.  You can also go to Colombia Craig's list and in the home/apartment rental section there is sometimes the name of people who live there and offer assistance to foreigners wanting to move there.  I'm almost certain their services aren't cheap.

I hope this helps.  If you want to ask me more my email is [email protected].  Best of Luck and I hope to meet you in paradise (Medellin) some day!
Yours Truly,
Cheryl (in Texas)

Thank you for the seminar information and the rest of your insight about moving to Colombia.  The information is truly appreciated and helpful!

Hi again Nancy.  Would love to take you up on your offer to contact you privately to hear more about your experience but don't know how.  Can I get your email address?