Thinking of Moving but to where in Colombia? :)

Barbosa is a nice small town...........I have been in Colombia since 2009 arriving to Bogota.......will NOT live in Bogota........came to Medellin in june 2011    went to Popayan in feb 2016 then came back to Medellin April 2017 and have lived here in San Cristobal since...............I need a change and in Barbosa, an American friend and I will be sharing the expenses so it makes it very attractive..........the house is very private, gated and secure.  Owner lives 100 yards from the house and has lived in USA around 20 years......I am looking forward to starting over so to speak

Great / for november use one of the pools at estadio. I pay the 120,000 por mes with unlimited access and can use the gym. Estadio is a large sports complex but is broken up into about 10 sports units. Each sports unit specializes in a particular sport ie - Track / Running & Track + Field - Swimming  / Swimming & Triathlon - Gymnastics / Gymnastics. Each unit is individually run and has there own programs and costs for program of interest. They also provide coaching instruction sessions.
Great fitness and healthy lifestyle option that you must include in daily routine for active longlivity.

The Estadio is in Medellin?

Yes large sports complex that was site of latin america olympic games 10 years ago. Awesome place

I was in santa elena this weekend and beautiful little town - close to medellin but far enough away that you dont have to deal with constant harassment for money thieving and the venuzuela mafia thugs. Some thing you might want to consider.
PS : I was talking to expat friend on sidewalk outside resturant in nice estadio laurels. A moped drove up on sidewal the guy snatched my friends gold necklace from his neck. My friend said i am not going to report it because the policia will not do nothing anyway. The crime rate against expats in medellin and santa marta are high and unsafe. Day or night

Savvy Expat males do not wear gold necklaces on the street, especially in touristy cities of the Aburrá Valley.

No dar papaya is the well-worn phrase that inhibits such an unnecessary display of opulence.

A poster continually bashing Colombians and Venezuelans on these threads as "thugs" and worse .. only shows he is poorly informed as to the realities of intelligent street comportment by Expats in Colombia.

You don't wear shorts in the Andes unless you're doing sports;  you don't flash gold jewelry around; you handle your smart phone with discretion;  you don't 'give papaya' and then complain repeatedly on the forum about "thugs" .. or else give up all claim to credibility.

cccmedia in Ipiales, Nariño

Good thing they don't get his Rolex

Your funny / like your photo - just what i expected

Dear friend..,  not long ago , (about 3 or 4 years )  I had the same dilema , where to go what city to pick. Althought I was born in Bogota,  until  the age of 13 until I came to the US.  Now i'm 67 and wanting to retire in Colombia . It was a challenge with all the things that happens there in all fronts; politically , economically and security wise. So I started to really check out each state ( departments called there) and see how eah one differentiates in all the aspects of a retiree person , even a non-native,.  This is what I found out. The big cities has the most risks on security Bogota, Cali , and Medellin, but Medellin ranking safer than the other big cities.., now for small cities the best best cities to live , mentioning all those things I mentioning before regarding the economy, security and politically .  1st.  Armenia   , small but not too small, safe, people wise, very very friendly. It's surroundings incredible and very economically to live with $2000 or less a month.    2nd.  Pereira very much like Armenia . Known for its beautiful women..  and 3rd......Very close to Medellin there is a city called Sabaneta.  A beautiful city almost like little Europe  just outside Medellin ... 40 minutes south. Check them out.  I bought an Apartment in Armenia... I love it..... but you my friend have to decide for yourself and come and see all these delight cities.. My e-mail is *** if you want more information..    My wife is so enchanted that she wants all of her relatives to move close to us...( is that good? or bad? ) hahaha

Great / i am triathlete coach for major usa global sports company assigned to latin america - conduct clinics for usa brits and euro ironmans. $5,000 USD per week per person.
Clinics,are,in costa rica panama ecuador every month. I am from california hangout in medellin.
I went to UCLA and successful software development executive for 25 years also military USA Airborne officer.
I have lived in New York City and know,spanish harlem and jackson heights,latino areas very well.
My son is a DEA officer and arrests and puts,in prison every day colombianos on drug trafficking activity. Most are deported back to colombia after penetentiary time served .
***
Is colombia best choice to live - it is cheap and some areas are nice but not the best. ****
The venuzuela mafia in colombia,is major and racketeering and criminal activities in santa marta cartegena medellin and cali
$2,000 USD for most small mind,colombians,is,heaven and they will rob steal lie and do to that end.

Hi Travis,
I plan on getting a tourist visa and work remote and plan spending a few weeks at a time to test the waters and would like to ask about your experiences and in what areas are considered to be good safe areas to live and visit.
Any advice is greatly appreciated as I'm serious to give Colombia an honest try.
Thanks,
David

Cartagena in Bocograde and El Laguito have never had a problem have made 3-4 trips per year since 2016 and have never had a problem same with Santa Marta

Dear Travis ...

Welcome to the Colombia forums of Expat.com ...

If you might prefer the Andean zone of cooler, higher elevations .. and still seek relative safety, consider the Coffee Triangle, especially Armenia, Quindío.

USA Expat Loren Lowe, rhymes with cow, produces a live YouTube program from his apartment in Armenia on the YT channel Gran Colombia every Sunday at 11 a.m. local time.

cccmedia

Manizales is very safe, is in the coffee triangle so there's great coffee, and there are a lot of places to see.  It's also somewhat of a college town in that there are a number of universities.  Also some really good restaurants.

Jerig wrote:

Manizales is very safe, is in the coffee triangle so there's great coffee, and there are a lot of places to see.  It's also somewhat of a college town in that there are a number of universities.  Also some really good restaurants.

Manizales is an excellent choice for some.

Parts of the city are famously hilly .. which at 7,000 feet elevation -- a couple of thousand feet higher than Armenia -- can be a challenge to some Expats, especially retirees and those with COPD or a previous condition.

The altitude also means that the air is cooler in Manizales than in most of the other communities in the Coffee Zone.

cccmedia

Hola, gracias por la información, I studied all those areas, looked at all the pictures I could, videos, the availability of Airbnb, etc. I had looked at several towns etc in those areas before and I find all of them to be lovely.
I am concerned about my ability to memorize Spanish though, LOL  I know that once I get immersed in the culture I will learn rapidly but it is the getting from a to e that worries me and as my first trip will only be a week or two so I do not know how much I can learn. I have met several ladies online over the past year and will perhaps have one of them be a guide for me but then will she will need to be close to where I will be. To be honest, I am apprehensive, it is a long way from Virginia. I have been to Russia, France, and elsewhere but never in the lower hemisphere. Anyway, thanks for the input, and if I get down your way I will look you up.   David

A good way to find rentals other than AirBNB is to use Locanto.  It's available for all major Colombian cities and will have free ads often placed directly by the owners, for apartments/rooms/house to rent as well as other services.

For instance for Medellín you could go to
https://medellin.locanto.com.co/
and look under INMOBILIARIA for houses, apartments and rooms for rent.  Renting a furnished room is the cheapest and often you can get a private bath along with laundry and meals, all or just one meal a day.  Don't be afraid to say what you'd like, everything is negotiable in Colombia!

If you wanted to use Locanto for another city just do a search like
locanto manizales
and you will see a link to Locanto for Manizales.

To have a local guide in a Colombian city, who will charge you from $0 an hour to a few bucks an hour, go to
https://www.showaround.com/
and input the Colombian city of your choice to see who is available.  For very little money you could have a guide, or guides plural, many of whom speak English, who can guide you around the city and help you with all kinds of tasks, not just sight-seeing.

Muchísimas gracias, this is good information. I am taking Spanish but it is slow, I do not expect to come before February and the info you provided will help a lot.

Hola / I have taken spanish classes and my spanish is not the best but i can function / i find that knowing the body language is as important. I know alot of americans and we talk in english and my spanish brain cells need to be then rewired after those encounters Ja ja ja.
Do you understand how the colombia immigration and visa process works.
Cheers

You need to put together a portfolia of all important documents before leaving the usa including usernames and passwords.
Portfolio should include
Birth certificate
Hugh school graduation
College graduation
Social security card
USA Banking / Debit card
Military record if any
Health records
Last 3 years of IRS Tax filing
You also want to consider getting a USA mailing address such as USA2Me which will forward your mail to you in latin america.

Last but not least a valid 10 year passport

I am assuming the list is for when I decide to move permanently.    Haha... I do not want to have all that for my first visit which will be just two weeks. No matter where I decide to go and live everything will take about two years to complete. I have about 40 years' worth of stuff to take care of first.

I am triathlete coach and probably spent 3 months in santa marta . I like santa marta taganga parque tyrona but like all / you need to watch yourself. Gringos are on the radar. I have had a bike stolen when locked - two cellphones stolen ftom right in front of me at restuarant tables and wallet stolen from my backpack.
I reported the stolen bike to policia and then did not waste my time reporting others.
You cannot be paranoid but this is the culture and environment you will need to deal with.
Cheers

Yea / thats later list but necessary before big move

thanks, I am aware, had to go through the same thing in France. The wife had a purse stolen from a locked backpak.   YOu do what you can.

Yes thiefs are global not only colombia / i am in medellin right now / last monday at noon i was riding bike and went by a small booth that said 'Claro Recargo'.
I said just what i need. Spun back and put bike on side of booth. Walked 5 steps to front of booth window and gave agent 20,000 and telephone number to recharge. 20 SECONDS LATER TOOK REVERSE 5 STEPS TO SIDE OF BOOTH AND BIKE GONE NOWHERE IN SIGHT.
Should i have locked probably but did not even think that i was 6 feet away - they are everywhere

The phrase 'no dar papaya' suggests an open invitation for delincuentes to take what's being openly "offered" .. such as unlocked bicycles or a smart phone left on a table in a public/semi-public area.

Anyone who rants about this type of theft after openly displaying 'papaya' has lost credibility and their comments are counterproductive to the aims of this forum.

cccmedia

I understand and accept it but still find it very sad.

Papaya : funny : not sad 
I am retired sofrware executive and successful triathlete coach for major usa, enterprise living finiancally secure and well high end - ***

I agree that they are different but I would not call them disgusting.

Members, this is a reminder that the topic of this thread is where to move to .. in Colombia.

Posts about Colombians allegedly filling USA prisons are off-topic.

cccmedia
Expat.com experts team

Hello everyone,

Please note that some off topic and inappropriate posts have been removed from this thread.

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team.