Any info on Cali would be very welcome.

Well Cali is plenty hot in comparison to Ottawa winters, that's for sure!

My wife's family is mostly in Cali and I've been there a few times.  It's a great town and I am planning on moving probably near there or in one of the neighborhoods a little higher than the main city, to have a little cooler climate, when I finally retire.

What, more specifically, would you like to know?  I can perhaps answer at least some of your questions and there are others who live there now, who may be able to help also.

Since this thread is reserved for intros of new members, please start a new topic with your questions (or else the moderators will likely move your question to a new thread anyway).

@OsageArcher: thank you for the friendly tips. For now I will continue reading about Cali, then start a thread or reach out to you with more specific questions when move time gets closer. I'm certainly interested in a slightly cooler climate in barrios altos!

Hi Jerry,

I have created a separated thread with your post on the Cali forum, it might help you to find some interesting information.

Thanks

Priscilla 

Hi Jerry,

I will do what I can to assist. It would be helpful if you could ask specific questions. While I am far from an expert on Cali, I know people who can help with questions for which I do not have answers. My experience is mostly in what neighborhoods are better, what health providers seem to be the best, some of the best places to shop for mainly day to day needs, etc. My Spanish is not very good, but I have Colombian friends who speak very good English.

So, just ask and I'll see if I can get you some answers.

Jerry,

My wife is from Cali and I lived there with her for 6 months.  It is the murder capital of Colombia, hot, dirty, noisy, and crowded.  It also has a lot of beautiful women, so that explains why I ended up in Cali.  It does have some wild night clubs, but if I were going to live in Colombia permanently it would not be my first choice.  If you post specific questions I'll try to reply.  Oh, and the football team (America de Cali, not Deportivo Cali) has cheerleaders even hotter than the Cowboys.  Did I mention Cali has a lot of beautiful women?

Hi, Jerry!
How are you?
Colombia has wrmer cities, do you have your mind absolutely set on Cali?

Cali is a very pretty city, it's known to be de capital of salsa. The vibes are very nice and the people are very friendly . Cali has had some rough times nonetheless, it has more positive aspects than negative ones.
,
There a lot more calmer cities with better weather. Colombia has a lot to chose from.

Colombia does have a lot to choose from!  But to continue about Cali...it has a lot to recommend it, there's always something going on and somewhere to go, and the people are friendly and welcoming.

This info in the links below is all in Spanish so you should have a good working knowledge of the language to benefit fully from it...I assume you have already searched for 'Cali Colombia', there's a lot of info in English that is helpful.

Here's a link from the Cali government that shows a sort-of interactive map that doesn't work too well on my browser, of the "Comunas" and "Corregimientos" in and around Cali, which are how the city is divided geographically one step above the neighborhood level :

http://www.cali.gov.co/publicaciones/ma … e_cali_pub

You can read more info about each comuna in links such as this, that list the neighborhoods (barrios) in each and a lot more general and specific data also:

http://www.cali.gov.co/publico2/gobiern … muna17.htm

The easiest way to read about another comuna is to just change the number 17 in the URL to the desired comuna number.

Colombia has a formal system of rating neighborhoods and even informally people, according to their incomes, called "estratos" or stratuses.  They range from the poorest in estrato 1 to the richest in estrato 6.  The estrato determines how much one pays for basic services such as electricity and water.  Generally you are going to have a better quality of life and nicer environment where the neighborhood is estrato 3 or higher.

A link about the system of estratos:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estratifi … n_Colombia

For my tastes the nicest neighborhoods are generally in the south or north, and not so much in the east.