Quito, Ecuador, versus Medellin, Colombia --
what are some of the differences?
On an obscure Colombia forum thread, member
Adaptive Migrant asked yours truly what are
the differences one finds in living in Ecuador
versus Colombia.
--
That's a tough question to answer since there
are hundreds or thousands of individual
communities in these countries .. and it might
take a book to examine the differences.
So let's take a look at two metropolitan areas,
Quito and Medellin, and a few of the differences
between the two cities. We can also discuss
some of the more salient differences between
the two countries.
The Metro. Medellin's Metro has been in operation
for years and generally gets high marks for speed
and efficiency. However, it was not originally built
with air conditioning, so on hot days, a crowded
subway car can seem overheated. Quito has a
Metro under construction that supposedly will open
to riders, at least the first leg, in March 2023.
Shopping. Both cities have modern 'centro
comerciales', although Medellin has more of the
most modern malls, especially in the district known
to Gringos as El Poblado. Popular Medellin malls
along the Golden Mile include Santa Fe and
San Diego malls. The San Diego mall is over 50
years old .. has been upgraded and modernized
during that time .. and has an outdoor feature where
you can walk between some of the original shops
via outdoor passageways.
Receiving mail.
Both countries have poor mail service and Ecuador,
despite an occasional attempt, may currently have
no national service. DHL and ServiEntrega are
among the reliable courier services used for
moving documents and important papers within
the two countries or across other international
borders.
Intercity travel.
Colombia has too many right-wing paramilitaries
and left-wing guerrilla groups operating outside of
the cities to consider intercity travel a good idea,
especially after dark. Ecuador is safer in this respect,
although highways can be closed from time to time
due to landslides or anti-government protests.
Income taxes. Ecuador generally leaves Expats alone
when it comes to income derived outside the country.
Colombia's tax system is opaque and may consider
as a tax resident anyone staying in the country more
than 183 days out of 365. Beyond that, the subject is
too complex to discuss further on this thread.
cccmedia in Quito