I'm done with Colombia traveling

[Stevieboy]

And yet with all this, we still go, and some even to live permanently. Who would leave the safety net of western society, to where others wouldn't dare? Surely it can't be just the women. Or is it the rebellious adventurer inside you? 

[buencamino]

I have an American friend who has lived in a parcelacion in the mountains about 45 minutes out of Cali since 2004. Worst prolems in that time are bad roads and electric going out about every time it rains. No security issues though.

[Calipro]

Excellent post!  The points you made are exactly why I agree with poster (from several years ago) who advised that we should seek wives only from countries in which we ourselves wouldn't mind living.  My experiences with Colombia were such that I could not imagine living and working there.  I found that there was too much 'systemic myopia and disorganization'.  Large powerful institutions like government and corporations were just so concerned about themselves and their own power that they poisoned the legal/economic environment, making it impossible for smaller institutions to thrive and very difficult to even survive.
 
In addition, it takes a very special woman, who was raised in that type of environment, to shed its influence and be able to fully function in a US-style environment.  I have met women from countries with deep corruption roots.  They see dishonesty in every nook and cranny as well as in broad daylight.  They limit their own opportunities here because of the tactics, (secrecy, lying, misrepresentation) that they engage in for self-defense against the old-country boogie men.  Such special women are rare.

That is quite a rationalization.....for past relationship problems. LOL!!!


For what it's worth I never really understood the guys that complain about American culture or American women either.


I go to Colombia because it is easier to find what I want there...and I think guys should go where ever it is that they can get their best return on investment. For most of my life it was right here in the U.S.A... then as I got older I realized I was getting a better deal overseas.


The bottom line is.....some guys are never going to be able to attract and keep the kinds of women that they really want....for whatever reason....even in Colombia.....and my advice is check out South East Asia....plenty of guys claim to have found poosy paradise there. jajaja

[Stevieboy]

For what it's worth I never really understood the guys that complain about American culture or American women either.


I go to Colombia because it is easier to find what I want there...and I think guys should go where ever it is that they can get their best return on investment. For most of my life it was right here in the U.S.A... then as I got older I realized I was getting a better deal overseas.

 
No baggin, just making conversation
.
I don't get your first sentence and then say on the second paragraph that you looked elsewhere because it's easier. That's the point. I'm one of those guys that complains about American women and culture, not because of what it is as a whole, but what it, and they (women) have become. This country has drastically changed for the worse in the last 15 years IMO. I currently live in a city (Austin) that has banned plastic and paper bags at all grocery stores to be "green". What kind of city council weils that kind of power? That's not the America I know. The same grocery store is also filled with tattoo covered lesbians everywhere I turn. Those aren't the traditional American women I remember either. Austin has always been different, but it was still an obvious Texas town. Now, it's San Francisco. 
.
As far as being easier to find what I want in another country, aside from going to Mexico, my first trip to Central America wasn't that easy and sure wasn't cheap. Now, I'm doing a trip to Colombia that costs a few more thousand, is dangerous, and I also leave my business back home unattended. That doesn't sound easy to me. No it's something else than that. For me it must be the adventure, something new, and of course my little head thinking for the big one.
 

[whitey]

Excellent post!  The points you made are exactly why I agree with poster (from several years ago) who advised that we should seek wives only from countries in which we ourselves wouldn't mind living.  My experiences with Colombia were such that I could not imagine living and working there.  I found that there was too much 'systemic myopia and disorganization'.  Large powerful institutions like government and corporations were just so concerned about themselves and their own power that they poisoned the legal/economic environment, making it impossible for smaller institutions to thrive and very difficult to even survive.
 
In addition, it takes a very special woman, who was raised in that type of environment, to shed its influence and be able to fully function in a US-style environment.  I have met women from countries with deep corruption roots.  They see dishonesty in every nook and cranny as well as in broad daylight.  They limit their own opportunities here because of the tactics, (secrecy, lying, misrepresentation) that they engage in for self-defense against the old-country boogie men.  Such special women are rare.

While I agree with your first paragraph, I can't agree with your contention that honest women (or men for that matter) in Colombia are rare.  This just hasn't been my experience with friends and acquaintances in Colombia and here in Canada.  While I could agree that perhaps the percentage of honest people is higher in other countries, there are still many many honest men and women in Colombia. 


What you are describing is more like Cuba.

[michaelb]

Keep Austin weird

[Brazilophile]

Whitey,
 
I did not realize that I had stated that Colombians themselves were generally dishonest.  I stated that those from cultures similar to Colombia's generally see dishonesty in others!  When they are transplanted to cultures where people deal with each other in a more straight up manner, they can seriously misunderstand requests to be more open, share personal life, errors, and challenges to 'white' lies.

[whitey]

Whitey,
 
I did not realize that I had stated that Colombians themselves were generally dishonest.  I stated that those from cultures similar to Colombia's generally see dishonesty in others!  When they are transplanted to cultures where people deal with each other in a more straight up manner, they can seriously misunderstand requests to be more open, share personal life, errors, and challenges to 'white' lies.

Apologies Brazilophile ... guess I don't read too goodly.  I re-read your post and can see the point you're making. 


There's definitely some truth to what you're saying in the quote above ... how much of an issue it is as always varies person to person.  It certainly hasn't been an issue with my wife, but I've made it very obvious right from the start in both words and deeds that we need to be honest with each other and with everyone else. 


I don't necessarily think a lot of people are all that honest in their personal lives here in gringolandia either ... in business, much more so. 

[Stevieboy]

Keep Austin weird

That phrase was started by a guy who owned a small t-shirt business and they started giving out these free bumper stickers that said "Keep Austin Weird" over 10 years ago, however, what they meant was to keep Austin businesses "local" because of all the big box stores and bar chains opening up and running local small businesses out. The guy who originally came up with the slogan never meant it to be what people think it is. Stupid move on his part. Now, the City has adopted it and uses that slogan to promote this town as wierd as it sounds. So that's all we get now, is weird people; bums, slackers, homos, and everyone who thinks they're an artist. Pretty much exiles from California. They come here because there's no work and it's too expensive in their state and bring their ideals here. The City Council here wants to be like California and has rich powerful progressives living downtown whereas they control the City Council election.

[Ricardo1]

http://www.seguridadjusticiaypaz.org.mx/sala-de-prensa/759-san-pedro-sula-otra-vez-la-ciudad-mas-violenta-del-mundo-acapulco-la-segunda
The Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice unveiled its yearly list of the most violent cities around the globe.
Cali - #7; Cucuta #22; Medellin #24; Santa Marta #29; Barranquilla #50
New Orlean #17

[htown]

Looks like two american cities, new orleans and detroit, are more violent than the colombian city the op was whining about.


Does anybody know how one goes about renouncing us citizenship?  I'm through with this dangerous, violent country!!


Then again maybe the op's wife really just wants to visit her home city(without him) and have him pay for it, and this traffic ticket nonsense is her perfect excuse.  And that's what's really bothering him.  Things that make you go hmm...

[bcc_1_2]

Unless I have reason to believe so... I don't start off in a thread with the idea that the OP's story is full of BS. And I haven't heard anything that really discredits him... though it is a message board so can you really be sure.
I don't take statistics coming out of these latin american countries very seriously. The thing that scares me is that I suspect the stats coming out of Honduras are likely lowball stats. Our unemployment rate % is BS in the states... the violence crime numbers are surely not complete in latin america.

[htown]

Unless I have reason to believe so... I don't start off in a thread with the idea that the OP's story is full of BS. And I haven't heard anything that really discredits him... though it is a message board so can you really be sure.

Who said he was full of bs?  Read what calipro said.  Those traffic tickets don't mean squat.  The wife and her family in medellin know damn well the tickets don't mean squat.  But according to the op his wife is "scared" and wants him to fly her back home, solo.  Hmm, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's really going on here.

[mambocowboy]

Who said he was full of bs?  Read what calipro said.  Those traffic tickets don't mean squat.  The wife and her family in medellin know damn well the tickets don't mean squat.  But according to the op his wife is "scared" and wants him to fly her back home, solo.  Hmm, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's really going on here.

gotta say, sounds fishy to me too Htown...

[V_Man]

That's not quite how I read it. She is scared to do nothing about it. He is frustrated because something that would be sorted out on the phone or with a letter, always requires a personal visit in Colombia, for no good reason at all.

For example my wife and I wanted to open a joint bank account. I told her to call and find out the requirements. They refused to tell her the requirements over the phone. We had to go down to the bank. After a long wait we were FINALLY served by someone. It took 2 minutes for her to tell us the requirements - which were impossible for us to achieve. The whole excercise was a complete waste of half a day for absolutely no reason at all.

This is how customer service is with a private international bank in Colombia. Imagine what it is like dealing with a government department. The country is grossly ineffcient and disrespectful of people's time.

Once you have ben through this a few times, you'll see where the OP is coming from. I imagine that expats simply learn to live with it like all the locals do.

My advice would be to send notorised letters and satutry declarations to the police or whoever in Medellin. Give them the paper work to solve it if they want to solve it. If they don't want to solve it at least you will have a paper trail. I wouldn't fly her there to solve it. Tell your wife that police do not need visits from people living in foriegn countries to do their job.

[beulah]

Then again maybe the op's wife really just wants to visit her home city(without him) and have him pay for it, and this traffic ticket nonsense is her perfect excuse.  And that's what's really bothering him.  Things that make you go hmm...

. El escaptico may have reacted stronger than necessary over parking tickets, but to conclude his wife is deceiving him and doing who knows what is more than I read into the situation.

[htown]

. El escaptico may have reacted stronger than necessary over parking tickets, but to conclude his wife is deceiving him and doing who knows what is more than I read into the situation.

Stop and think about it.


First off, we know she's a colombian mail-order-bride.  She didn't hook up with good ol' el escapito for his charm and good looks.  That may or may not say something about her character to begin with.


She's from medellin, the place where the supposed legal issue is taking place.  She and her family have lived there all their lives.  They know very well how traffic tickets and these things work.  The medellin police department isnt' going to put out a red-alert apb out for her arrest.  At most they're going to attach the fines to the title of the car, A CAR THAT'S NOT EVEN HERS.  There's no way a colombian is going to give two sh*ts about fixing this minor situation.


But she's telling good ol' es escapito how she's scared to death and that it's urgent that he fly her back home to sort out this legal quagmire, before Santos has her aprehended and extradited back to colombia.


Good ol' es escapito is understandably pissed off about the whole thing and gets online and says f*ck the whole country of colombia.  He's had enough!!  Lmao!!!

[El Escéptico]

 I find it rather funny that  Asstown (a.k.a. htown) knows so  much about me. Not a chance because as in Colombia there is also a class society here in the USA and there's no way I would hang with this limp dick.  So it's apparent he knows little about me or Colombian culture. He's just a troll who 's only purpose is to tweak others into arguments. When Asstown actually get's new Velcro balls he might actually go  to Colombia and see for himself instead of reading the latest National Geographic to get his information. So you can leave now asstown.
 
 Anyone who has ever spent any time in Colombia would know the Colombian bureaucracy makes Washington look like a well oiled machine. My wife who I've known for many years is a very successful business owner. Her along with family own a taxi Company and 15 retail clothes outlets in Medellin and Armenia. She has business ties in Medellin. You can see why she has to go. My idea was to go to the Colombian Embassy in Coral Gables (that's Miami, Florida for you asstown) to sign the statement there or testify by Skype at the embassy. They said no. Second my wife has more money then me so Asstown's idea of my wife needing to visit family is again incorrect. They all have visa's and could fly here anytime so Asstown's comments are just [snip]. Most of you were able to see through him as the slug he is and for those who didn't go to Medellin and stay a while prove me wrong. Also despite Calipro's  (who I've met several times at the Inter in Cali) understanding of traffic tickets this is a little more involved. My wife has to sign a statement  in person with her attorney that she was not in the country at the time of the incidents and that it was not her who registered the vehicle.
 
 Don't be fooled by fools folks yes that's you Asstown.

[htown]

Good ol' el escapito, you finally reply.  So nice to hear from you.


Calm down bro, I don't know why you're so mad.  It's not my fault in your original post you made it seem like she was trying to use some lame excuse to ditch you for a few days to go hang out in her old hometown.




Don't put your personal business on a public forum with half-assed information if you don't want people to draw conclusions about what's actually going on.


And if "she owns 15 stores and a taxi company in medellin and armenia" why is flying down there for a couple of days to clear up some traffic tickets such a inconvenience anyway?  At least you're flying out of south florida instead of canada, or australia like some of these other guys.


I traded in a car to a dealership a couple of years ago and 6 months later I got 2 tickets in the mail from the stop light cameras.  Whoever had bought the car from the dealership was running red lights in my old car and hadn't changed the license plates into their name yet.  I had to go down to the dealership and get copies of paperwork showing the date I traded in the car, then appear for a court date an hour drive away just to get the mess cleared up.  Crap like that happens to everybody.  If your wife was from alabama she'd have to go to alabama to straighten it out and you'd be somewhere screaming about how much you hate alabama.  She happens to be from colombia so that's where she's got to go to straighten it out.  Oh well, deal with it and move on.

[V_Man]

Stop and think about it.


First off, we know she's a colombian mail-order-bride.  She didn't hook up with good ol' el escapito for his charm and good looks.  That may or may not say something about her character to begin with.

Technically there is no such thing as a mail-order-bride. However we can be sure this includes anyone who has met on the internet or at an agency.


So Htown, having first thought about it, has insulted my wife, most folks wives and almost everyone on here who has travelled to Colombia.


What a guy!

[htown]

Technically there is no such thing as a mail-order-bride. However we can be sure this includes anyone who has met on the internet or at an agency.


So Htown, having first thought about it, has insulted my wife, most folks wives and almost everyone on here who has travelled to Colombia.


What a guy!

Exactly which part do you find insulting vman?  Did you see the part where it says "may or may not"? 


For all we know she could be a 23 yr old model type with all kinds of plastic surgery and he could be an 85 year old in a wheelchair.  The op made it sound like his wife was trying to pull the old okey-dokey on him.  I didn't know she was a sophisticated businesswoman.


Vman, maybe you did your homework, used sound judgement, and found a good, wholesome, genuine colombiana to marry , but how many guys do you think just marry the hottest chick that will accept them regardless of her past or her character?


And I guarantee that there are guys reading this who married some young hottie, ex prepago, who is way younger and way out of his league.  If those guys feel insulted, oh well.

[beulah]

Vman, maybe you did your homework, used sound judgement, and found a good, wholesome, genuine colombiana to marry , but how many guys do you think just marry the hottest chick that will accept them regardless of her past or her character?
And I guarantee that there are guys reading this who married some young hottie, ex prepago, who is way younger and way out of his league.  If those guys feel insulted, oh well.

Htown, If a man that is slightly older,say like me at age 45 gets fooled into thinking a much younger lady is into him it would be nothing new.  I don't know why you are displaying so much hostility though. In the  case of el escaptico he hasn't made any comments that lead me to believe he went over his head, as you put it. I am trying to put my finger on exactly where your beef is.   

[mambocowboy]

First off, we know she's a colombian mail-order-bride.  She didn't hook up with good ol' el escapito for his charm and good looks.  That may or may not say something about her character to begin with.

Htown, seems pretty clear you were referring to her as a mail order bride...

[htown]

Htown, If a man that is slightly older,say like me at age 45 gets fooled into thinking a much younger lady is into him it would be nothing new.  I don't know why you are displaying so much hostility though. In the  case of el escaptico he hasn't made any comments that lead me to believe he went over his head, as you put it. I am trying to put my finger on exactly where your beef is.   

Where exactly do you see any "beef" or "hostility" in anything I said?


The only comments that led me to think that maybe there was a chance "he went over his head" was from his original post it looked like his wife was trying to sucker him into flying her home and he didn't like it one bit.


In pointing out that possibility was I reaching, assuming, or being unnecessarily skeptical?  I probably was, but this thread had no merit to begin with.


The dude comes on here whining that his wife has to appear in person to clear up some traffic tickets.  Well, guess what, it's not the city of medellin's fault that she decided to move to another country.  She got her identity stolen, it happens every day all over the world.  It's happened to me a couple of times.  Am I going to trash a whole entire country because of it?  No.


Then he wants to whine that colombia's to dangerous for him.  Well holy bejeezus, thanks for the newsflash!!!  Did he not know that they were murdering, robbing, and kidnapping in medellin before he went down there to find a wife?  Did the murdering, robbing, corruption, and kidnapping just magically start in the year 2013?

[htown]

Htown, seems pretty clear you were referring to her as a mail order bride...

Well slap me silly!!  How did you figure that one out brother mambocowboy?


Is mail order bride not the preferred nomenclature?  Is that term frowned upon around here?  If it is let me know and I'll try my best to refrain from using it anymore.