Why all the negativity about Colombia?

One thing that strikes me over and over when I come to this forum is how often folks post really negative comments about Colombia: the culture, the climate, the government, the difficulty of doing anything legal, the weather, the drivers, the women, etc, etc, etc………None of the expats I have met in my 9 years here were in Colombia because they were forced to live here…every single one was here because they preferred to live here vs other countries.And I am definitely in that group. I freely admit that there are inconveniences and downsides to living in Colombia, but taken as a whole I decided to live here rather than any of the other countries I have lived in or visited because for me its the best total package I have found.How about a little love for this beautiful and amazing country and culture! - @Marquezdl

Aren't there downsides to every country for Expats even citizens?

Surely not everyone here hates Colombia?

Have you noticed how prices for people on US or Canadisn dollars has gone up here in the last 5 years?

Over 60%. And this year is going to be really bad.

Plus for newbies looking for or people renewing  your   visa ,its almost impossible  unless you marry a,Colombian   have a generous defined benefit pension plan  or a multi millionaire with tons of income and  money.to spare. Even then, there are no guarantees.

These are just facts. And I have been here 13 years, been all over the country, more places  99%  of locals and 99% of expats or tourists have been, so I am far from a " Colombian hater"

Fact  is, there are many   many beautiful places in the world to live.

Anybody with basic math skills and understands the power of compound interest knows that people living on  a fixed income  or non guaranteed investment income where they might get 2% increment a year cant survive long in a country where you have 6 or 8 or 12% plus inflation in a year.

I think eventually there is going to be a collapse of the Colombian peso and the exchange rate may go to 5000 or 6000 to dollar, because the Banco de la República is fighting an unwinable war against the governments loose,wrekless and irresponsable fiscal policy ( including 23% minum wage increase) and the high rates are having an exasperating  effect on interest payments on the government  debt. That will happen when the foriegn investors lose confidence in  Colombian government  bonds, and there is a mass sell off. But until that happens, cost of living in Colombia will be getting . worse and worse for $USD and most other currency holders.And I dont know when this will happen. Could be in 2 weeks or 2 years.

And the consequences  of that wont necessarily  be good anyway. May end up with an official and blackmarket exchange rate, like in Venezuela,  Bolivia, and like Argentina had before Milei.

Then theres the other theory, the increased  production of Cocaine  and thus revenue   is increasing inflation and overheating the economy.

I believe theres a bit of that to, but think it is primarily bad fiscal policy.

Anyway   probably be even more difficult  for us expats in the next year.

I see massive price increases being demanded every where I go. 9% is the minimum.

One thing that strikes me over and over when I come to this forum is how often folks post really negative comments about Colombia: the culture, the climate, the government, the difficulty of doing anything legal, the weather, the drivers, the women, etc, etc, etc………[...]How about a little love for this beautiful and amazing country and culture! - @Marquezdl

You're right, sometimes it FEELS like a lot of negativity. You're right 😅 Part of it is our natural human "negativity bias" (baked into our brains, unfortunately - our brains are super-outdated, evolutionarily speaking). Part of it is also legit "personal predispositions".

Speaking for myself, some of my complaints were about things that could be SO MUCH better with juuuuuust a little effort or consideration by the Powers That Be as well as the locals. Just a LITTLE. I complain because I care. If I didn't care, I wouldn't complain 🤷🏾‍♀️

Colombia has many good things going on for it, for the right visitor/immigrant. However, it's not for everyone, and not in all phases of their lives. With the current geopolitical, economic, and migration situations... for some of us, it's just not worth it anymore. Sure, we'll miss the access to health insurance, accessible beautiful women, and budget-friendly low cost of living... but at this point the cons outweigh the pros, so it's time to seek another country.

...Or at least TRY 😊