Decent income in Col?

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Still thinking about living there, posted by Cali vet on Apr 20, 2003

You make living in Colombia sound very tempting, $475 a month to live comfortably in Cali... Plus escape the rat race here in the states... Is this a no brainer or what...

Let's see...

Door Number 1 - Stay in the US, deal the poor economy, the increasing crime rates, the lack of potential "marriage" partners, the escalating cost of living, the ever shrinking dollar and the general decline of the "family" as a viable lifetime objective...

Door Numer 2 - Cut the monthly expenses by 90 percent, dump the responsibility of the high stress, white collar professional career, turn loose of the materialistic trappings of "success" in the US, live in a tropical paradise, go to the beach daily, find a beautiful and loving lifetime partner that knows that she is improving her station in life and she appreciates it, and just enjoy life...

Door Number 3 - Do nothing, as most are apt to do...

I'll take Door Number 2...

I'm with Pete about living near the beach... My novia and I will be in Cartagena & Santa Marta in couple weeks... I plan on checking out the options when we're there...

Don't take my statements wrong, I am proud to be an American... The USA is still the greastest country on the planet, but at this stage of my life, I'm tired of "slaying the dragon"... I want to enjoy a new life with a new wife in a new place... Maybe it will be in Belize, or Costa Rica or Colombia... Maybe it's a "Walter Mitty" fantasy, time will tell, but I can feel it coming...

The $$$ you quote as to the cost of living in Cali only reinforces my resolve... Thanks for the info...

Good Luck...

[Patrick]

... in response to Been thinking about living there, posted by wizard on Apr 20, 2003

I've been thinking of early retirement in Latin America myself and have done some reading.  I don't remember where it was, but someone claimed that the percentage of people who retire to a Latin American country and actually stay there is not that high.  Many people find that the great place they went to on extended vacations turned into something they couldn't deal with when living there full-time.  Don't burn all your bridges if you attempt it.

[wizard]

... in response to Be careful, posted by Patrick on Apr 22, 2003

You reminded me of a couple who are good friends of mine and they did just that... They took an early retirement, sold everything, bought a large sailboat, bid everyone goodbye and sailed off to St. Johns... They had planned this for years and were well prepared for the transition... Excellent sailors, more than adequate income and both lived with a sense of adventure... Well, 4 months later they returned... They told of one horror story after another, scammed by the local police, robbed at gun-point on their boat, insurance rates tripled, dishonest people taking advantage of them and on and on... And this was in St. Johns!!! Their image of paradise was tainted, so they returned home and had to rebuild the life they had so carefully disassembled...

I guess this is a perfect example of "be careful of what you wish for, because you might just get it"...

[Aaron]

... in response to Been thinking about living there, posted by wizard on Apr 20, 2003

Wizard,

At this moment, I am currently editing a dissertation for a Colombian friend. It covers institutions of higher education, and other socio-economic factors of Colombia.

We all have a fantasy of living in a tropical paradise, with lovely women around, and a cheaper standard of living (for us at least). It's easy for us to relocate there to live a couple of years, but I would like to see how many actually will decide to stay there for the rest of their lives. Some may, but most wont.

Colombia is facing serious socio-economic strife right now. Colombia's foreign debt is staggering, and the amount of corruption with public tax dollars by politicians is outragious. Another figure, I just learned today is that the rate of attrition (i.e., drop-out) of students in  secondary and post-secondary schools is 35%. I was shooooooocked !!!! On top of that, it will take a series of future presidential administrations, along with coordinated foreign assistance of all kinds to get the guerrilla, paramilitary, and narco-problem under control.

Another issue is with the cultural and mind-set differences. Just because of some of these differences, most people there wouldn't give a hoot about "the American way of doing things, and simple American courtesies that we consider universal". The thing that gets on my nerves the most is trying to be serviced in certain places. People cut in the lines, attendents show up late, get distracted by other non-work related stuff, and interruptions etc. etc. etc. Just imagine being a gringo with a decent car, a beautiful wife, well-groomed children, and a nice house there. The entire family would probably be bribed by the authorities, and watched by jealous people that may possibly cause harm. The quality of health care is another important issue.

Don't get me wrong. I really like being there...ON VACATION...and I get along well with the people, but there are some issues that just cannot be ignored. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I'm too much of a gringo. I couldn't live there for more than 2 months out of the year. Living there year around would raise my blood pressure too high, and I would miss the USA. One time, I asked another Colombian friend about what he thought of the possibility if I decided to move there, and look for work. He told me...DON'T DO IT !!! I didn't understand where he was coming from before, but now I do. He said, go there for vacation, look for a girl friend, then bring her up here.

If the woman is worried about being homesick, and missing her family, it would be allot better in the long run for the guy to make a way for her family to follow her, and relocate to the USA if they want to come.

My .99 cents.
Aaron

[wizard]

... in response to Don't be fooled !!!!!!, posted by Aaron on Apr 20, 2003

You make accurate observations concerning Colombia, issues which I am concerned with myself... This is why I stated alternate destinations for relocation, not necessarily Colombia... Belize has some attraction and Costa Rica as well... There is already a large number of US ex-pats in Costa Rica, somewhere over 50K gringos living there today... Why, you know the answer... The USD goes alot farther in LA than it does here... Plus, the more relaxed lifestyle is very attractive, close proximity to the US and of course, no 40 year civil war...

These are important decisions in peoples lives and should be treated as such... There is always the panacea of the "grass being greener" somewhere else... All I know is that I enjoy a tropical climate, a relaxed lifestyle, the love of a devoted partner and the time to enjoy all of the above... I am closer to this decision than you, as I have "Tilted at Wind Mills" for many many years, trudging the established pathways to success and fulfillment... I am planning my "exit" from the rat-race, and I don't want to wait until I'm too old to enjoy a relaxed retirement... If I stay in the US, I'll have to wait many more years to acheive this goal as apposed to relocating somewhere that I can live on a fraction of what it takes to live here...

No mas...

[Aaron]

... in response to Re: Don't be fooled !!!!!!, posted by wizard on Apr 20, 2003

nice place to retire. About 40 K US retirees, with a section of San Jose where most US retirees live.

There is good infastructure, a nice hospital in San Jose, the country is fairly economically stable. No guerrillas or drug trafficking. Beautiful scenery. Also, I saw many beautiful ticas, many prettier than the average Colombiana. But, different with respects to openess and not as friendly to the idea of marrying a gringo. But, I'm sure many would.

There is some crime. But, you'll be safer there than Colombia.

A Costa Rican friend told me that if you make $3000.00 USD a month in CR, you're living like royalty. Costa Rica is allot more expensive than Colombia, where if you make $1000.00 USD a month, you're considered a deity.    

Check it out.

Aaron

[Cali vet]

... in response to Been thinking about living there, posted by wizard on Apr 20, 2003

As many know Rodadero is the upscale beachfront tourist area five minutes or so from Santa Marta. It's got plenty of hotels for sure and it's bound to have private housing as well that while costly for the average Colombian would be a bargain for most gringos. Riohacha further east has descent beach but is probobly a riskier place to live. Another beach town option is Bahia Solano on the pacific coast. Risk factor though and if you get away from the village at all better have a generator. There's a seventy year old Dutchman name Jerry who's been running a guest house on the beach there (Refugio Mr. Jerry) for about six years. He loves it.

[Brazilophile]

... in response to Re: Been thinking about living there, posted by Cali vet on Apr 20, 2003

I spent 2 weeks in Rodadero with a former ladyfriend in the summer of 2000.  There was a recession in Colombia at that time and the native tourist crowd was non-existent.  

I explored the area and found many beach front houses and apartment buildings/condos to the west of the tourist area.  Many of the houses and apartment buildings had prominent "for rent" or "for sale" signs.  I didn't check prices, but I'm sure it was a buyers' market.  There are probably loads of housing bargains for middle income foreigners.

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: Re: Been thinking about living there, posted by Brazilophile on Apr 20, 2003

I really enjoyed Rodadero when I visited last November.  My only complaint was that the beach there was not anything spectacular (of course you're only an hour away from fantastic ones at Tayrona).  Also, a bomb exploded in a hotel there so Santa Marta has not completely escaped the violence.

[Brazilophile]

... in response to Re: Re: Decent income in Col?, posted by Cali vet on Apr 18, 2003

On a trip to Recife last year, I went window shopping with a lady I met.  Many items like appliances, TVs, radios, etc. had 2 prices.  She explained to me that one was the amount you paid if you paid in full at the time of purchase and the other was the installlment amount if you paid over time.  Well, when you added up the installment payments, they totaled about double the pay-in-full price.  The implied interest rate was HUGE!  Most people don't look beyond their month-to-month payments and have no idea of the total price they are paying for things.  That goes for the US too.

[DallasSteve2]

... in response to Re: Re: Decent income in Col?, posted by Cali vet on Apr 18, 2003

When I went to Argentina 7 years ago I was stunned that in nice shoe stores in Buenos Aires they were selling tennis shoes on cuotas (monthly payments).  Imagine being so hard up you can't fit a pair of tennis shoes into your budget.

Steve

[Cali vet]

... in response to Cuotas, posted by DallasSteve2 on Apr 18, 2003

Well I just found out the answer. People don't use independant credit cards like mastercard/visa here. All the major chains ie; Olimpica, Carrulla, Exito, Almacenes Si and La Catorce for example have thier own credit cards and charge very low interest on installment payments. My wife says people migh pay cash for a purchase up to about seventy thousand pesos. Over that they'll charge since they're paid about a hundred and eighty every two weeks. She says cards are used mostly though for food purchase.