Retire In Colombia

Five things most Expats don't know about Colombia before they
decide to relocate there...

5.  It's not safe to drive between cities at night in most of
La República.

4.  Coastal cities are generally too hot, hot, hot for an Expat
from North America to truly enjoy life in those cities.

3.  Many restaurants serve a type of bread called arepa
that is often so cardboard-y that many Expats find it to be inedible.
However, you must not tell this to a Colombian unless
you enjoy the silent treatment.

2.  Southwestern Colombia's rural areas are largely controlled
by cartels.  But the Rumichaca border between Tulcán, Ecuador,
and Ipiales, Colombia, is a safe crossing (when it's open) .. and
visiting Ipiales -- or even staying there -- is generally safe
in the commercial areas of the city.

And the number-one thing that Expats don't know about Colombia
before deciding to relocate there...

1.  City women are friendly to Expat strangers, but that shouldn't
be read as meaning they're eager to sleep with a promedio
foreign man.

cccmedia wrote:

Five things most Expats don't know about Colombia before they
decide to relocate there...

5. 
4.
3.
2.
1.

Good advice from cccmedia, who speaks from experience.  Except maybe for #1, because he is anything but promedio or mediocre (may-d-O-cray)...

#6, Pedestrians crossing the streets have no right of way even though it's the law!

#7, it's not the days of Pablo Escobar anymore.

#8 Colombians are friendly and very helpful

#9, Excellent and affordable health care

#10, the fruits are spectacular and so affordable

The famous Caribe coast is beautiful, well, much of it is, not all of it, but it is a combination of too hot/too humid for most North Americans/Europeans. I'm from Arizona so I'm accustomed to hot and very hot, but the humidity of the Caribe coast makes those 92-94 degree days feel hotter than the Arizona 105 degrees.

The people of the Caribbean coast are friendly and helpful when they are not behind the wheel, or driving, a vehicle of any kind. Once inside, or on a moto, they become some of the rudest people you won't want to meet.

This probably applies to a foreigner anywhere in the world - learn the money and typical prices as quickly as possible. Some locals will try to take advantage of you simply because you look like a "gringo" which to Latinos automatically means you have money, and those few want some of it. (Personally, I've had very little trouble with this, but I've met other foreigners who have had such experiences.)

The Eje Cafetera region is fantastic! I've visited the Valle Dupar area (hotter than B'quilla), the Caribe coast, Bogota (much too wet and cold), Medellin (too cold), and now live in Cartago. The north of the Valle del Cauca is unbeatable for the climate and the scenery. Not to mention the people here are truly friendly and their driving is a world better than the costenos. (Is it possible to enter special characters, such as the tilde-n in this window?)

My experience in Colombia has been positive right from the start (other than the jerk from New York who lied to me about starting an English school, but that's a story for another thread.) I lived in Barranquilla and that area for 7+ years (7+ years in the B'quilla area was 6 years too long), then 6 months in Armenia, Quindio, (too cold for my liking), and now in Cartago, (in the far north of) Valle del Cauca (So far, my favorite place to live in Colombia). A total of 8 years in another week.

"Is it possible to enter special characters such as the tilde-n...?"

----

Google the followiñg...

how to type tilde-n on (type of PC/laptop/Mac, etc.)

On my Mac, I hold down Option key + n .. and then n again.

For accent marks, I hold down Option key + e .. and then a vowel.

cccmedia

ChipW wrote:

The Eje Cafetera region is fantastic! I've visited... Bogota (much too wet and cold), Medellin (too cold)... The north of the Valle del Cauca is unbeatable for the climate and the scenery....
I lived in Barranquilla .. then 6 months in Armenia, Quindio, (too cold for my liking), and now in Cartago....

I don't doubt Chip's experience in these cities;  however, most Expats who spend time in Medellín and Armenia, Quindío, find the weather to be mild, sometimes even a bit too warm in the afternoons.  Both cities are listed at about 5,000 feet elevation.

Bucaramanga is at a bit lower elevation -- 3,146 feet -- and thus warmer .. so might be more to Chip's liking when he moves again.

cccmedia

ChipW wrote:

(Is it possible to enter special characters, such as the tilde-n in this window?)

It is indeed possible.  The easiest way I have found for a Windows user, is to select as your keyboard the
English (United States)
United States-International keyboard

To do this you can go to PC Settings / Time & Language / Language (NOT Control Panel / Keyboard that would be too easy ja ja!)

Then under Preferred Languages click on English (United States) and then Options

Then under Keyboards click on Add a Keyboard and click on United States-International

Now you can get the whole range of special Spanish characters:

á - type ' and then a (same for Á and all the other vowels) or just hold down right Alt then a (or other vowel)
ü - type " and then u (same for Ü but use the shift)
ñ - type ~ and then n (same for Ñ but use the shift)
¡ - type right Alt and press the 1 key (you don't need the shift)
¿ - type right Alt and then ? (you don't need the shift)

Depending on your browser and probably other settings, these may not work, you should have NumLock on:
ª as in 1ª (primera, segunda etc.) - left Alt then 166 on numeric keypad
º as in 1º (primero, segundo etc.) - left Alt then 167 on numeric keypad
« - left Alt then 174
» - left Alt then 175

Chip
"Medellin too cold"?!

geoffrey9012 wrote:

Chip
"Medellin too cold"?!

Earlier in the thread this characterization of
the Paisa capital surprised me, too.

Chip perhaps visited during a rare MDE 'cold' spell.

Say the French... Chacun a son gout.
Each one to his own taste.  Chip's is warm weather. 
Cartago's, for instance.

cccmedia

Yep, I find the climate here in the north of the Valle to be ideal. Cartago is not ideal, but the climate is. Cartago is a fine small city but lacks HomeCenter. Armenia is prettier, but colder. I prefer the warmer over the prettier.