Tempted to go Expat in Colombia

[Diablo]

Hi,

Its been a while, how is everyone?

Ok. I have been thinking about going Expat in Colombia particularly in Barranquilla. There is nothing here for me  anymore and I hear from other guys that you can get more hook ups then staying for just a week or using the agency.

Are there any people that live here that I can talk to? PM me.

I need to know the cost of living, where the best place is to buy a house, etc etc

[sean126]

Someone named Montrealer lives there now I think.  I don't think he posts very much nowadays.  Try sending him a pm.

[papi]

i have many expat amigos. keep in mind that there are a lot of headaches to going expat but many are happy. i would encourage you to make a trip to colombia first. Visit Cali, Medellin, BQ, and CTG for starters. BQ is a dirty, very hot humid city although I happen to like it. You don't need an agency to meet chicas if you live here and you can meet a ton on Latin Cupid without dealing with the agency BS. Still, agencies/tours are not a terrible way to go to get your feet wet. I would recommend that you also visit panama. It is more stable than colombia and there are a lot of gringo incentives/discounts to going expat in panama and it is a far easier process there as they basically treat you like a VIP. Plus, you can easily jump down to colombia from panama. The downside is that prices are jumping with the influx of gringos. my strongest advice is to spend time in latin america before deciding on a place to settle. Then, rent an apartment for 1 year before liquidating your house/car in the USA. good luck

[bundy_138]

You also should be aware that Colombia is NOT like the USA.  You have to wait for everything....and when you wait, it may not get done correctly.  Such as...getting DSL or basic internet service, a headache.  Paying bills (utilities), gotta wait in line. (sometimes for hours)  Looking for your favorite thing at the grocery store and they are out?  Too bad...might get it in soon, might not.  Go to one store to buy something and they are out, they send you to another store.  Go to that store, they don't carry the item, but the say go to this store.  etc, etc, etc

My friend lives in Cali and lived in a nice, westernized styled apartment (approx $550 per month).  Things were pretty good because the area he lived in.  He decided to go "commando" and live like a true local, in barrio 2 (about $200 per month) and you want to talk about flushing everything down the crapper!  Home phone service not available in that area, DSL service, unheard of, 3 hours in line to set up an appointment to have electric cut on, turned on three days later.  I guess like any place, you get what you pay for.

Do your homework...follow Papis advise.  Live there by renting a decent place first and then think about making the big jump.

Bundy

[Ctg Bound]

Expat is fine in Colombia, I have been here 5.5 years, but not in Baq.

As to the problems of getting things done, just pay a Colombian to sort them out, there are plenty around who need to earn a few bucks, labour is cheap, they know the system, let them put up with the hassle.

[Diablo]

You also should be aware that Colombia is NOT like the USA.  You have to wait for everything....and when you wait, it may not get done correctly.  Such as...getting DSL or basic internet service, a headache.  Paying bills (utilities), gotta wait in line. (sometimes for hours)  Looking for your favorite thing at the grocery store and they are out?  Too bad...might get it in soon, might not.  Go to one store to buy something and they are out, they send you to another store.  Go to that store, they don't carry the item, but the say go to this store.  etc, etc, etc

Thanks for the concern Bundy but I couldn't give a rats a** about little things like that. Any thing is better than Sex Prison USA/Europe.

i have many expat amigos. keep in mind that there are a lot of headaches to going expat but many are happy. i would encourage you to make a trip to colombia first. Visit Cali, Medellin, BQ, and CTG for starters. BQ is a dirty, very hot humid city although I happen to like it.

We have something in common. I lived in Ghana, West Africa for 8 bloody years I am sure I can handle that heat.

You don't need an agency to meet chicas if you live here and you can meet a ton on Latin Cupid without dealing with the agency BS. Still, agencies/tours are not a terrible way to go to get your feet wet.

I agree with that although I prefer to go cold approaches too. My only real concern is baging young hotties as I approach 50yrs. And I am pretty picky

I would recommend that you also visit panama. It is more stable than colombia and there are a lot of gringo incentives/discounts to going expat in panama and it is a far easier process there as they basically treat you like a VIP. Plus, you can easily jump down to colombia from panama. The downside is that prices are jumping with the influx of gringos.

Costa Rica has also been on my radar.

my strongest advice is to spend time in latin america before deciding on a place to settle.

I agree

thanks and keep em coming

[Diablo]

Expat is fine in Colombia, I have been here 5.5 years, but not in Baq.

As to the problems of getting things done, just pay a Colombian to sort them out, there are plenty around who need to earn a few bucks, labour is cheap, they know the system, let them put up with the hassle.

I like your thought process

[Ctg Bound]

It works for most things, an example is my cooker is broken, I could run around and find somebody to repair, I just asked somebody I use to sort it out, he will put some fee on top of the bill, it gets sorted in a few hours, you just have to pick people who are not going to rip you off, there are plenty of them out there who don't, if one rips you off once it is small money and you just don't use them again.

In fact I could probably repair myself it if I really wanted, but I stopped doing that when I moved to Colombia.

Here is guy who lives in Baq, I have seen his name mentoned on a few chat boards and several people recommending him, I don't know him, but he gave me permission to post out his details:

Peter Solano

petersolano@gmail.com

cell     310 624 4078

Phone 378 4656.

[sawyer1370]

Papi and others make some good points.  Medellin is the most metropolitan and advanced due to the tens of millions of dollars Escobar spent keeping up the city back in the day.  My wife seems to think the women there are the most beautiful.  Climate is Spring like year round.

I would make a tour out of it.  I would rent a nice apartment for a month in a few different places to get the feel for things.  Panama is also good, like Papi said.  We are actually thinking of buying land in the mountains there in a few years for retirement.

Never wait in line for anything.  Everything is for sale in Colombia.  If you want something done, like stated, pay a local to get it done.  Or just pay extra to get it done on your terms.  The whole country is corrupt, and there is always ways to get things done if you want to grease the wheels a little.

If you had a nice nest egg, and spoke Spanish, then you could have some very beautiful ladies on your arm for the majority of your retirement.  Best of luck.

[mudd]

i know some guys in colombia, panama, cost rica and a few in peru who live there full time. prices are going up, because more foreigners are saying screw the USA and all their taxes and laws and heading south, but  with that brings higher prices for everything. a few who are in costa rica and panama, said that Nicaragua is the next hot spot, and is still very cheap. look for the US government to dump some money into the government there, to keep it US friendly and not Chavez friendly.

[Santanger]

very much tempted  to do the same thing myself as i'm fed up with the rat race here.  Got two babes tossed on the backburner here because i'm sick of dealing with them and after going down to BQ twice and meeting the cuties there its no comparision. But hey i'm 39 so i dont have the nest egg yet to just spend my days laying under a palm tree sipping a mojito

What kind of occupations is good for expats down there to live comfortably?   

[jm21-2]

very much tempted  to do the same thing myself as i'm fed up with the rat race here.  Got two babes tossed on the backburner here because i'm sick of dealing with them and after going down to BQ twice and meeting the cuties there its no comparision. But hey i'm 39 so i dont have the nest egg yet to just spend my days laying under a palm tree sipping a mojito

What kind of occupations is good for expats down there to live comfortably?   

I've been thinking a little on this now and then. I read somewhere that the best way to make money is through some aspect of the tourist industry (which makes sense).

One idea I came up with was to save up, buy a decent sized boat or have one built in the third world, and then do tours or use it in a chartering service. I just saw a page by a catamaran designer who runs tours like that in Asia, and he goes out in groups of 8-10, charges about $325 per person for a week-long cruise. On a sailboat (no fuel cost...electric power with solar/wind generators would work too), that means you just earned about $3k in a week. Not bad at all. It would be hard to do in Colombia I think, but near the Carribean it seems like you could do it...large up-front cost, but a boat's high on my list of investments anyways, haha. You can also live-aboard, so no rent if you so choose.

[papi]

gringo occupations in colombia? forgetaboutit. Focus on your careers in the USA. Stay positive. Import a MOB if need be. Don't go expat unless you are flush! I am warning you...listen to your papi

[Diablo]

Thank God I am in the Computer Consultancy business. I make £2000 a month and I can work from anywhere in the world. I once lived in Ghana for some years and I could still make money to live there.

My only real problem is I am getting to old and nearing the big 50. I would at least like to settle there and have a nice young latina before its too late. I am very picky so it may take time.

[papi]

Diablo, I am almost your age and picky too. I have only been at this about 6 years but I am getting close...lol.

Seriously, it is all about luck.....

If you know basic strategy in BJ, you might lose less over the long run but it takes luck to win. Course, fishing in a well-stocked pond does improve the odds....

[Jeff S]

Diablo and Papi nearing the big FIVE OH? You don't want them 30 year olds hurling in the gutter when they boink you, I guess you old wrinkled farts want some teenager changing your collostomy bag, right? Don't break a hip while you hobble down the stairs. OK, and better stick with those 45+ year olds, otherwise everyone will know you're just a pervert gringo whose waiting for a green card shark to take you to town.

[papi]

You don't want them 30 year olds hurling in the gutter when they boink you.....

no worries mate, humping up Mt Papi for 2 days in a row has me in prime form. I have the stamina to handle 10 years younger than 30 sin vitamin V. I also have excellent vision and don't need glasses to read....

[Diablo]

OK, and better stick with those 45+ year olds, otherwise everyone will know you're just a pervert gringo whose waiting for a green card shark to take you to town.

I care not what people think as long as I can make someone happy