Recommendations for Medellin?

[raycjs]

can you guy;s give me some good advice i am new to this board. i am 40 years old have my own business and live in south Florida. i am looking for a LA women to pursue a relationship with i would like her to be 24 to 32 years old with or without children do you guy's recommend any good agencies or just going to Medellin Colombia on my own to see who and what i can meet . i am worried about scams.

[rpcv]

do you guy's recommend any good agencies or just going to Medellin Colombia on my own to see who and what i can meet . i am worried about scams.

I think if you check the travel report section, there is some good advice about different agencies. (I wrote up one about agencies in Cali) Some are better than others and then there are the "tours". TLC and Loveme.com offer these if you want to meet a few hundred women in a weeks time. Most agencies are in Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cali, and Bogota. I believe there is one, Colombian Sweethearts in Medellin. A few years ago I went to Colombianloveconnection but that has turned into the Medellin mansion now. Not an agency.

I am curious, why specifically Medellin? How is your Spanish? You might want to try some of the smaller towns too, or combine one it into one trip. The buses are safe and cheap. I would go once as a scouting trip and see what you think of the country/culture/etc.
 

[sean126]

It depends if you know spanish or not.  Some people are passionately against agencies...almost with a hatred, while others will tell you to do what works.

I'd definitely have a game plan in place and have several (5,6,7 or more) women already lined up before you even get there.  Personally, I think it's stupid and too big of a gamble to go so far just to meet one woman.  I’m not saying it wouldn't pay off, but the odds are much better if you have several women lined up to meet.

They also have singles websites, kind of like match.com type things, that you could try also.  Just keep in mind...just because they will write you back don’t necessarily mean they like you.  You may not even like them when you meet them.  That's why I say have several women lined up beforehand.

If Medellin is not a deal breaker…they have www.latin-wife.com in Barranquilla and www.amordecartagena.com in Cartagena.  Cali and Bogota are also big.   I believe you can also come up with a guide/wingman in Cali, Cartagena and in Barranquilla. 

It's also good to think of this as exploring possibilities rather than "I have to find one when I go to Colombia".  That's much to desperate and you'll probably get played like never before.  It will also affect your judgement to much.        

[mudd]

their is only one real agency in Medellin, Colombian sweethearts, but they are lacking on attractive girls below 30. their is also Foreign affair, but  its more of a tour type of agency, but they do have a office in Medellin, their is also one other small agency, i cant remember the name of it, but i remember where it is located, but i know that doesn't help you much ja ja.  Medellin does not really have the  number of agencies, like Barranquilla or Cali, and the girls seem to be more interested in $$$$  in Medellin then the other cities. if you dont want to do the agency thing, sign up on amigos.com, badoo.com or some other web site and meet a few girls before heading down, that way, your not going down there cold with no contact info.

[Dan Las Vegas]

Having made three trips to Medellin this year, I can make some recommendations. While I can't speak about any agencies as I have not used them, I did use amigos.com to connect with various women and eventually my novia who lives in Medellin.  Very few people that I have met in Medellin speak any english, so if you don't speak Spanish fairly well, you might find things there a bit difficult. I was quite lucky as my novia is fluent in English. The people that I have met there are very warm and friendly and very proud of their city.  Like all cities, I'm sure that Medellin has it's share of green card sharks.

There are many nice places to stay in the city, mostly in the Poblado area. One that I can recommend is the Four points Sheraton. Very nice staff and tried very hard to make sure that my stay was pleasant. I stayed there the first time I went to Medellin in February, located right next to the Oviedo mall. Ever since that trip, I have stayed at my novia's apartment in the Santa Monica section of the city.

Medellin does have a reputation as a very dangerous place, but times have changed quite a bit since the time of Pablo Escobar. While I would not call it safe by american standards, if you use some common sense and be aware of your surroundings, you should be ok.

If you wind up going to Medellin, be sure and post a trip report...good luck

Dan

[bad40]

medellin has a reputation for having the most beautiful women in colombia. ask any woman in bogota and she will confirm it. the people are warm and friendly and generally very open to outsiders. however speaking spanish is a must. agencies don't seem to be that popular there. don't really know the reason. colombiansweethearts would be a good start for you. for some reason nobody on this blog has ever used their services but the website is ok. i recommend finding a wife in a city you like because considering how important family is in colombia, you will be required to visit from time to time.

[el_ruso]

Well, as others have said, it depends on your Spanish.

The best option would be to have friends there who could introduce you to women, or with whom you could just hang out.  I didn't have that option, and most guys don't.

The second best option is to use the correspondence sites.  Selection of women is a lot better, a lot bigger, and cost is negligent.  The best ones are cybercupido.com and matchinternational.com.  Just introduce yourself, right them something funny, and give them your MSN.  (Install MSN if you don't have it.)  Most of the girls don't have paid mambership, but can read e-mails, will add your MSN and correspond with you that way.  That's basically the protocol.  You can also exchange photos via MSN or use webcam.  Saves a LOT on potential phone calls.

BUT, you need to have at least basic conversational skills in Spanish.

If you have absolutely 0 Spanish, you will be stuck with agencies.  Women join them for a variety of reasons, but the percentage of less desirable women is higher than elsewhere.  "Memberships" are very expensive and you are stuck with a very limited selection of women.

Also, if you use agencies, you will be stuck with Cali.  I have been to Cali, Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, Bucaramanga.  The BEST looking women are in Medellin (with Cali though a close second), but Cali itself is a nasty city IMHO, and might be dangerous in short-term due to the arrests of local drug lords.  BUT if you just want to party and meet girls, Cali in my limited experience will be a better option. 

Hope this helps.  I don't know your background and what you are looking for exactly.

[utopiacowboy]

My wife is a paisa and although she was not above putting her profile on an internet dating site, she never would have registered with an agency. Personally I don't see the difference but she does and I think she's not alone.

It's hard for me to imagine someone with a girlfriend from Medellin who speaks English. I've never met anyone there who could speak more than a word or two but then I do not spend any time in El Poblado. I had to speak Spanish to the government certified translator who translated my marriage papers from Spanish into English! The guy's English was hopeless but he did a decent job on the translations.

[Dan Las Vegas]

Hey UC,

Yes it is hard to imagine, but I really lucked out.  My novia is about the only person that I know who is completely fluent in english in Medellin, with the exception of a clerk at the Poblado Plaza hotel who lived in the States for few years.  My novia has an interest in languages and she is now taking french classes as well.

I didn't spend much time in Poblado after my first trip, but I agree with you that almost nowhere else in the city have I encountered anyone speaking any english!! You brought up an interesting point regarding agencies...I just spoke to my novia and asked her if she would have joined an agency, she sounded horrified and told me most emphatically , "NO".

[raycjs]

Thank you so very much i do not speak any Spanish i have meet a lot of women here in south Florida that are from Colombia. they are eather married or they have American boy friends. i find them to be very happy and i always enjoy there company. that is why i am thinking about going to Colombia to see who i can meet i am not set on any city i am just starting out to see what and where i should go. so i am open to suggestions. i will listen and research before i head out in the next month or so. thank you again and i will look for any advice you may offer.

[bundy_138]

First timers should hands down visit Cali.  I got very lucky and dated some high end, beautiful women while I was there.  First trip, my Spanish was limited, but by day 10, I was going strong.  The women are amazing, alot of people speak english, and did I mention how good looking the women are?  Yes, Cali is a dirty, rundown city, but I spend most of my time at either Chipechape mall, in restaurants, or behind closed doors, so it doesn't matter! 

Bundy

[RIP]

if you can either speak spanish or dance, head to a club called palmahia. it is located close to mangos, a medellin institution. all the stuck-up paisas head to mangos to compare surgeries and all the local down to earth girls go to palmahia to dance and have a good time. i have gone there many times and danced for hours. half the time the girls asked me to dance. it has more women than men, beautiful women and very friendly. bring a pen and paper and you will go home with a minimum of 3 phone numbers of pretty girls who will be thrilled to go out with you.

[utopiacowboy]

"I just spoke to my novia and asked her if she would have joined an agency, she sounded horrified and told me most emphatically , "NO"."

Yes! That is exactly the reaction. It's almost as though you had suggested that she take up residence in a bordello. I don't quite understand it but they really seem to think it is not something a proper lady does. And the paisas like to be proper ladies.

[william3rd]

Agreed- in my 03 visits to Cartagena/Barranquilla, the families that I met were very clear in their opinion that decent women do not go to "socials," only the prostitutes.

I noticed that the majority of the women at the socials were not upper-crust.

[bundy_138]

UC...My novia says the same thing.  I met her thru an agency website, but she said she only allowed them to take her picture because she went with a friend who wanted to sign up.  I noticed about 2 weeks after I wrote her that her picture had been taken down from the website.  When I asked the owner of the agency where her bio went, he said she was only on the site for less than a month and asked to be taken off.  She said it made her feel cheap.

In a way, I guess it is good for some guys.  I will never knock an agency because that is how I met my true love and met many beautiful women.  But, the way I look at it, an agency is like fishing from a fully stocked bathtub!  Your gonna catch something. (enter sick jokes here)

Bundy

[David]

*Stands up*

Newbie here! So from reading everyone's posts this is what I have learned from this thread, please correct me if I am wrong.

1. In Medellin, almost no one speaks English.
2. The women who choose to put themselves on an agency site are "sub-par" in character.
3. "paisas" are women with class and think they are worth it, and don't usually put their photos on the agency. Hence they are planning to meet men through MSN or some other random site.
4. Cali is a rundown, dangerous city, with a lot of hot women.

Anything else to add here? I'm being the spunge trying to soak up info here.

Btw, what the heck do you guys do to take vacations to Medellin many times a year? I want that job! 

[william3rd]

Nude dancing in a gay bar. The tips are huge and the fringe benefits- ohh mercy me, dont get me started. . . . .

[sean126]

No, the women are not sub-par.  Some women think it makes them look bad if they are in an agency....much like when the match.com and yahoo personals first came out years ago, people thought you were a loser or something if you went through those to meet someone.

Paisas, if I'm not mistaken, are usually lighter in skin color and do not live in the costal cities.  

Medellin is known to have the prettiest women of all Colombia.  I don't know why...but that's the rumor.  I've never been there.  They also say...if Bogota is the New York of Colombia, then Medellin would be your Los Angeles.  

Anyone here can tell you...if Colombia is your destination,  you'll see beautiful women in every city you go to.

[michaelb]

.  I noticed about 2 weeks after I wrote her that her picture had been taken down from the website.  When I asked the owner of the agency where her bio went, he said she was only on the site for less than a month and asked to be taken off. 

With all the complaints from the guys still looking that 'the listing are out of date' or 'the ones I was interested in were already married or at least engaged' compounded with the married men saying 'We've been trying to get them to remove my wife's profile for three years now'.......I think that agency deserves a favorable mention for efficiency and honesty. Please tell us the agency name.

[jm21-2]

No, the women are not sub-par.  Some women think it makes them look bad if they are in an agency....much like when the match.com and yahoo personals first came out years ago, people thought you were a loser or something if you went through those to meet someone.

They still do. I tried those things twice because I thought it was a great idea, and didn't have much luck. But I knew a girl who was not particularly attractive who had literally dozens of guys (including lawyers, business execs, etc) wanting to go out with her.

So then I checked the site she used one day, and in Portland the ratio of men:women was about 830:30, and several of the 30 women were girls with multiple profiles or dead-obvious scammers.

Almost no girls use those sites. Damn near every decent girl I've known wouldn't use them at all. The last thing a girl wants to look like is desperate. Big sites like Yahoo personals look like they have more active girls than they do because a girl is designated as "active" on their personals site when she logs into yahoo messenger to IM a friend, even though she hasn't visited the personals site in months.

On another forum I posted at for a little, there was a guy who used to work for Lavalife, and he basically said the whole system was set up to rip guys off. Also had a friend of a friend who made his living by posing as a female and getting guys to register for dating sites (he got a percent).

So, who knows about agencies, or personal ads of any sort, and what it says about the girls. But at least when looking abroad, the ratio is in our favor and the agencies are designed around serving the people who pay (guys) instead of just ripping them off.

[utopiacowboy]

I have met women on match as well as on date. I met my Mexicana on date. I met my wife on amigos.

[daytrader]

if you dont want to do the agency thing, sign up on amigos.com, badoo.com or some other web site and meet a few girls before heading down, that way, your not going down there cold with no contact info.

www.latinamericancupid.com  would be your best bet IMO - work that for 3 tp 6 months, skip the agencies; get some spanish under your belt, be open to Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica or Peru; for the wild chicks go to Brazil (awesome dancers). 


DayTrader

[David]

their is only one real agency in Medellin, Colombian sweethearts, but they are lacking on attractive girls below 30. their is also Foreign affair, but  its more of a tour type of agency, but they do have a office in Medellin, their is also one other small agency, i cant remember the name of it, but i remember where it is located, but i know that doesn't help you much ja ja.  Medellin does not really have the  number of agencies, like Barranquilla or Cali, and the girls seem to be more interested in $$$$  in Medellin then the other cities. if you dont want to do the agency thing, sign up on amigos.com, badoo.com or some other web site and meet a few girls before heading down, that way, your not going down there cold with no contact info.

So what's the difference between an "agency" and a "tour agency?" Let me guess, one takes you on a tour of the women, puts you up in a hotel, food, etc. The agency just intros the women.

[sean126]

Well...you have a place like TLC who has about 100-150 women in a hotel convention room and about 6,7,8 plus guys and just about 2 or 3 translators.  Guys get up on the stage at the start and introduce themselves and then they mingle in the crowd once every one introduces himself.  I've always thought that idea sucked...unless you speak pretty good spanish.  If you don't, your standing around waiting for a translator to help you.  Besides that...I think thats just too many women at one time.  You probably have girls who your not interested in trying to win you over while at the same time your watching the other guys who are trying to win over the girls you ARE interested in while your busy trying to be polite to the others.   Too many women, too much one on one competition from the other guys and too few translators.  Like I said...if you speak pretty good spanish, then you definitely have the upper hand.

An agency "agency" is like Jamie's latin-wife.com or Mark's amordecartagena.com-----one man and many women, personal translator, no "in your face" competition from other guys and you meet only the women you want to.

hope this helps.   

[David]

Yeah, that helps a lot! Thanks!  I think I'm going to start a new Question and Answer thread for the questions I have already. I PM'ed Jamie and he answered them, but I'd also be curious as to what others think  .