Life in BAQ (after 8 months)

[Montrealer]

Howdy y'all,
I don't post that much or read the posts that much either.  Sorry to all my fans out there for leaving you.

Anyways, I figured I would give a little update on my life in BAQ for any that want to read.

I've been down here now for 7 1/2 months, and I love it.  Me and the wife are doing fantastic.  She is now 6 months pregnant with our daughter (that's right, it's a girl).  This will be our first child, and my second daughter.  (Maybe I should try a different position for a boy).  As I said, me and wifey are doing great.  We pretty much see eye to eye on everything, and both keep a positive attitude about our relationship.

As for the paperwork for her to come to Canada, it's being a bit more of a pain in the arse than we originally thought, so it's going to take longer than I anticipated.  But to tell you the truth, I couldn't care less.  I enjoy living in BAQ, so I'm in no rush to go back to Montreal to live any time soon.

This past weekend we went to Santa Marta for semana santa, and had a good time.  Although she wasn't able to do most of the activities I wanted to do, I went with her sister to swim with the dolphins and a jet ski ride.  Also did fishing every mmorning at 5AM, but with no luck.  I think the ocean ran out of fish.

As for where we're living, we're still in the same apartement.  The 4 storey walk up that's furnished a block away from Buenavista and Dann Carleton.  The owner is a very nice guy who rents out alot of furnished apartements in BAQ, and he tends to them very well.  So if anybody is coming to BAQ for long term and wants a place to live, he usually has an apartement open if you give him a months or so notice.  I've listed what I pay below.

There are some nightmares about living in BAQ though, and probably in Colombia in general.  For the past 7 months I've been fighting with TeleDinamica over my internet service.  I'm paying for 1.5mb cable service, but only receive at most 500kb of service, so every month I have to go to there office and yell and scream to get a discount, then they send over 10 techs over the next 2 weeks to figure out what the problem is, and no on can figure it out, so I just have to go back and do the same thing next month.  However, a new service was just finally made available in my are with Telecom (I think that's it), and apparently they are very good and offer a service of 2mb.  There supposed to be here sometime in the next 2 weeks to install.  The service is still bad since I was used to a 15mb internet service in Montreal, but I guess you take what you can get down here.

Also the constant security issue is a little annoying.  I'm used to going off and doing things on my own, and my wife won't let me do much without my brother-in-law going with me.  I like my brother-in-law and everything, but sometimes I just want to do stuff alone, just for the sake of having some alone time.

There's other little things that bother me too, but you kind of get used to them after a while and just roll with the punches.

I'm going to break down the cost of living for those that may be interested.  Now bare in mind, I'm living an upper-middle class life here, so the following could be lowered slightly if somebody wanted to.

Rent and real estate:
I pay 1,300,000 pesos ($600 USD) a month for a furnished 3 bedroom apartement with nothing included except for doorman monthly fees.  It is in the higher bracket, but I don't feel like buying furniture since I don't know exactly how long I'm going to be here and I don't want the hassle of selling it when I leave.  I have seen other places rent for alot less too.  Two weeks ago, I saw a house, 5 bedroom, 3 bath, strata 4-5, rent for 900,000 pesos ($400 USD) and the place was beautiful.  However, it was unfurnished, so I said no.  If you're interested in buying, the prices range drastically.  The penthouse above me just sold for 95,000,000 pesos ($40K USD) and is slightly bigger than my place.  The there's another house a block away that is selling for 350,000,000 pesos ($160K USD).  Generally, that's the highest you will pay for a standard place.  There are others that are much more elaborate with a higher price, but $150K is probably the standard high price.

Utilities (taxes included):
Water bill - 80,000 pesos ($35 USD)
Electricity - 100,000 pesos ($45 USD)
Gas - 10,000 pesos ($5 USD)
Cell phone (Comcel) - 55,000 pesos ($25 USD) for 100 minutes
Land line phone (I don't have, but I'm guessing) - 80,000 pesos ($35 USD)
Internet 1.5mb cable service - 190,000 pesos ($90 USD)

Groceries:
You won't notice too big of a deal in your grocery bill for standard items and meat.  However fruits and vegetables are usually between 20-50% less.  However, if you eat a lot of pre-made foods, frozen foods, etc, you will notice that you're grocery bill will increase as these items are usually imported.  The cuts of meat down here are horrible.  I can't find a T-bone or rib steak anywhere.  It's usually just a chunk of meat butterflied thin.  Somebody please bring me a 24oz T-bone.  For groceries, I would recomend Exito store, as there selection is better.  They do have there version of Price Club.  It's called Macro here, and membership is free.  It's good for canned foods, but other than that not really.  Although electonics and furniture are a good bargain there.

Furniture:
Stay away from Jamar furniture.  Although they have very nice stuff, there delivery is horrible.  Imagine listening to the words tomorrow for 3 weeks.  Not fun.  Ideally, find a picture of what you want on the net and get it made for you.  It will cost less than it would in a store.

Transportation:
Taxi's are dirt cheap.  Take them.

Restaurants:
In general, you can find a decent restaurant no matter what part of the city you are in.  And it will be generally cheap.  A churrasco or punta gorda (local steaks that bare a resemblance to a good cut of meat) usually range from 10,000 - 15,000 pesos ($4-7 USD).  Most places have delivery too, even if they don't advertise about it.  For good quality food in BAQ, try going to the airport and taking a flight to anywhere in the rest of the world.  Too bitter??  Sorry, I miss my steaks.

Tipping:
In BAQ, tipping is only considered a city in China.  Whenever I tip, my family almost screams at me no.  I'm sorry, I just can't do that.  In general, tipping is usuualy about 7% in a standard place and 10% in a good place.  I'm still uncertain about tipping the store delivery guy.  Judging by the way he gives me my change, I would say he is not expecting a tip, however, if there are a few coins, I usually give it to him anyways.  Don't tip taxi drivers here, unless they did something out of there way for you.


That's all I have to say about that.

Like I said before, life is good for me in BAQ.  The wife and me are doing fine and are waiting for this new bundle of joy to come in to our lives real soon.

Hope everything is going good for the others on here, and I hope eventually some of you will stop looking and settle down with that special someone.

[sean126]

Also did fishing every mmorning at 5AM, but with no luck.  I think the ocean ran out of fish.

Maybe Barranquilla is overfished like Cali is suppose to be?  LOLOLOLOLOOL.

Thanks for the update dude and congrats on your baby girl!!!!!!!!!

[bigstew33]

Awesome post.  I was getting ready to write a post basically asking if anyone is living in BAQ, and to get an idea of costs to live there.  Although I would probably rent a strata 3 place.  I saw some very nice ones by the Buenavista mall.  But my girl made mention she would like to be around the area I am more familiar with which is near the hotel Royal.  She goes to school near there, and her mom lives near there.  But I like that you broke down the expenses.  So anyways I am just thinking about moving there.  I sure would like to get to know some people that live in BAQ especially if I move there just to have someone to talk to that share similar cultures etc..  ok I am rambling incoherently now so I will stop. 

[papi]

Nice report. I actually read most of it instead of waiting on Sean's summary. I have long noticed that colombia and much of latin america is no longer a bargain with the exception of a housekeeper, haircut, taxis and other services.

South Texas on the other hand gives gringos an opportunity to earn dollars and live large on little money. I pay less than you for rent and have a brand new apartment poolside. The chinese buffet runs well under $10 and provides sufficient gorging to fill up for a week.

[soltero]

Monty, excellent post! Thanks for giving us an update and a picture of what life in BAQ is like for you. Congrats again on your baby girl! I know what you mean about the steaks. They don't know what a T-Bone or Ribeye is. Once I almost had to climb across the counter out of frustration and try to explain how to cut it myself! Being a fan of a good meal, I have almost considered bringing a few in some dry ice, but have decided it probably wouldn't be worth the hassle getting them through customs!

[Brazilophile]

Montrealer,

That was a very good report on life in BAQ.  I have never been there but now you make me want to visit and explore.

It is good to hear you marriage is going well.  Congratulations on the baby and good luck.

[JimmySTLOUIS]

thanks for the update

anytime something is on your mind please make a post about it. I like to hear from guys living in SA full time

As far as the meat goes you should be able to have the butcher cut exactly want you want. I have a great guy when we go to Peru. We are his biggest sale for the day we do a BBQ.

Congrats on everything

TE AMO PERU!!!

jim

[Montrealer]

Thanks all for the comments.

Sean,
I laughed my buttocks off with the fact that BAQ is overfished like Cali.  Thanks for reminding me of one of the funnier arguements from my hay days of posting.

BigStew,
What are you waiting for.  Come on down, you're the next contestant on "Living in BAQ".  Seriously though, you should move down here if it's possible.  However, I would consider something above a strata 3, since they usually have poor plumbing and poor electrical.  Often the electricity is not grounded and causes things to short out, like your computer and microwave especially.  My in-laws live in a strata 3, and there is no way I would be able to live there.  You'll find the price difference between a 3 and a 4 very small, but the improvements very major.  Think about it and look around.  And remember, most landlords don't care or do anything once you've signed the lease, and theres no general office to take care of disputes (at least not that I know of).

Pop me an instant message when you do come down, and I'll give you my number and let you buy me a beer when you're here.

Soltero and Jimmy,
I'm going to try to go to a butcher and see what I can get.  I might have to print a picture of a good steak so he knows what I'm talking about.  The thing is though that my wife doesn't like thick steaks, since she's eaten the same crappy cuts of meats all her life, it seems weird to her to have a juicy thick steak..... Ah, who cares, more for me, lol.

Papi,
What happened to your Florida place?  And the last time I was active in the forum, you had vowed or promised to never return to Latin America.  Is that still standing, or how long did that last?

Well, anyways it's bedtime here and the wife and me are going to curl up and watch a movie.  Have a good night all.

If anybody has any questions about life in BAQ or anything else, just ask me or pop me an IM.

Chao

[jediknight]

There's other little things that bother me too, but you kind of get used to them after a while and just roll with the punches.

monty, great to hear from you and glad that things are good with you and your wife. its natural to want to find the same things that you've been used to in canada or the us in colombia but the fact is that you wont on many levels so rolling with the punches is a great attitude to have.

try as best you can to get what you want without being pushy, keeping in mind that after a certain point you have to accept the reality of your situation and won't be able to single handedly change the attitude or way of life of a country or city. keeping an open mind and positive attitude will go a long way .

i'm really glad that you are happy with your wife and future baby girl, have you both decided on a name? is it going to be a latin name, maybe first and middle? how about pre-natal care? do you both belong to an eps or have health insurance? take care and thanks for the update.
jk

[Montrealer]

Jedi,
Thanks for the support.  I realized early that I wouldn't be able to get what I'm used to here with alot of things.  I usually try a few different ways before I realize that something is not possible here.  And I am starting to learn the tricks to get what I want when I know it is possible.

As for the name for our daughter, we wanted something that would work both in spanish and in english, so we decided on Allison.  It's a nice pretty name that is suitable for both countries, as well as suitable for my daughter at all ages of her life.  If it was a boy, we were going to go with Liam, but I was unsure about that.  As for middle names, we decided against it because of the double last name rule here.  We've been thinking about talking with a lawyer to see if it's possible to just have a single last name on the birth certificate like in North America.  We both like the idea of having only one name.  Mainly because when we go to Canada, and maybe have another child, we don't want to have another child with a different style last name (1 child with one last name and the other with 2), that would just seem weird.

[Jeff S]

Good to hear from you Monty, and congrats on the growing family.

I don't know about in Canada, but when a person immigrates to America, they can do some changes to their names. It's common for Latin Americans to drop the mothers maiden name ending, and just use first, middle, fathers last names on their US paperwork. My wife and step daughters came from a country with no middle names. They took my wife's family name as a middle name, and now their green cards, US IDs, and even their home country's passports show it that way. I highly suspect Canada is the same way, so when your wife and daughter move there, they'll be able to drop the mother's maiden, 2nd last name.

- Jeff

[Montrealer]

Jeff,
Thanks for the heads up.  I was thinking about that too, the name change.  I just figured I would cross that bridge when I get up to Canada.  I'm going to be paying for that lawyers grandkids schooling I think, LOL.

[TXAK]

Monty...Hook me up with a  chica?

[EbonyPrince]

What's happening Monty!  I was just thinking about you and wonder how everything was going.  Excellent post!  I am happy to see that everything is going great for you.  Congrats. 

I still owe you a beer.  I actually had beer in the fridge of the condo when you were there, but I forgot.  I don't drink beer.  So I can still get you that beer or dinner for you and your wife, take your choice .   I tried to stay out of your hair the last time I was down there, but I did appreciate you letting me make that phone call when I was there.  I went out and bought me an iPod and the SoundDock all because of you, and I love it.

Thanks for the price breakdown.  I was on a flight on the way back with a guy who's church group was building a school down there somewhere.  He broke down a lot of the prices also, so they seem to be in line from what I remember.  IMO BAQ has a lot of nice restaurants with some good food.  They are a little more expensive, but those are the type of places that I enjoy.  I always toyed with the idea that if I met that special someone, I would maintain a second place somewhere in Colombia.  My goal would be to spend 3 months in Colombia (winter months) and the rest of the year here in Ohio.  So this gives me a good idea of what to expect.  I remember picking up a real estate mag in your building when I was there last time.  Your place is really nice, but you definately need some A/C. 

Most of the prices seem to be inline with what I pay now, except for the gas is really cheap.  The electricity also when you figure in that everything mostly runs on electric.  I assume the stove is the only gas appliance?  The internet is off-the-chain though.  I currently have cable for $35/mo. (500kb down), but I am considering switching to DSL with AT&T for 1.5 mb for $19.99.  I hooked up my sisters and hers is blazing.  With cable the more people that you add to the network the slower it will run.  I live in a pretty new allotment, and have noticed that my connection has been slowing down lately.  Ninety is steep for internet.  Hell I balk at paying $45 for cellular data service .

I have noticed that the meat is not the greatest down there.  Even in nice restaurants, the meat isn't juicy like here.  I prefer filet mignons, porterhouse, and t-bones.  I would bring you some my next time down, but I don't know if that is a good option . 

I have to tip if I get good service.  Everyone (especially in the nice restaurants) seem so eager to please, and I alway get exceptional service.  I noticed that in general eating at places like in the mall, the people don't seem to be too happy to be there .  The people have been great in the restaurants though.  Just an observation.

Tell your wife that I said hello, and I will look you up the next time I am in town.  I am considering June right now, but that will depend on a few factors.

Ciudate!

[Looking4Wife]

Monty, thanks for the great update!

Glad to hear things are going great for you and the Mrs.!