I haven't done it yet, but that is the type of visa for which I am applying
[QUOTE=Combo;2598696]I'm curious how wealthy do you need to be to get a Resident Visa? Even though I don't think I'd want to live all 12 months of the year in MDE. Maybe just the Winters or maybe a few months in MDE and a few in Brasil.
I guess tax considerations come into play as you want to avoid paying both US taxes and Colombian taxes.[/QUOTE]I am not speaking from actual experience, only from research and paid advice from [URL]Expats.com[/URL].
Most gringos qualify with what is commonly called the "pensioner" visa. Please note all visas, of which there are many, were changed to alpha-numeric codes a few years ago, and I am not going to look up those codes now. But the common terminology is still in place. The pensioner visa requires bank statements I think for ten months or a year that show a regular pension deposit that is more than three times the minimum wage in Colombia. I don't remember the exact amount because 90% of guys social security check qualifies them. So most retirees that move here use an official translated copy (notarized and apostille) benefit letter from the SSA (Social Security Administration), to qualify.
However, what if you are not collecting social security and do not receive any other type of pension? There is another kind of financial visa, which is probably the one you are referring about, where the requirement is ten months of bank statements, balance only. As long as the balance never dipped below TEN times the monthly minimum wage income, you qualify. I think that falls somewhere between $2000-3000 USD but I haven't cross checked it yet.
I did not answer your question because, before you can even think about becoming a resident, you have to get a Migracion or Immigration visa first, two of which I just described above. There are many other types of visas. There are others. You can cohabitate and support a Colombian, I don't believe it requires marriage or that the relationship be hetero, but don't quote me on that. You can impregnate a Colombiana and as long as you are the father of record on the birth certificate, you get to stay. You can invest in Colombia or do a business start-up and employ a certain number of Colombians.
There is a timeline, I think it's five years before you can apply for residency, but at this point I don't know what I am talking about, someone else can chime in on that. Hopefully this helped.
The cost of living in Medellin
[QUOTE=Combo;2598750]I have no doubt it could be done for much less. You could probably get by on $1,000/ month. In fact, I'm sure you could as most Colombians get by on a fraction of that. But most guys are going to want a really nice apartment (yes Probably in Poblado) and to go out to nice restaurants on a regular basis. And of course bone lots of chicks (though I'm guessing that becomes a lot less frequent if you've living there long-term).[/QUOTE]I'm going off memory on most of this, but it should be reasonably close.
Cost of a very nice 3 bed, 3.5 bath apartment in a nice area of Laureles, unfurnished, was 1. 6 million pesos. This was a big place, about 1900 sqft, 2 blocks north of UPB and far enough from La 70 to be quiet. You can find 1 bed, 1 bath places for 1 million, in a good estrato 5 neighborhood. Utilities were about 100 k monthly and cable and internet was about 120 k. Call it about 1. 5 million with all utilities, for a fair sized 1 bed apartment, with all utilities, or around $450 monthly.
For lunch I usually prefer the little Colombian places, cost about 12 k average. For dinner I splurge more, but still average about 25 k. Breakfast I prefer to make something simple, less than 5 k daily. Call it another 1. 2 million for food. Using the Metro and buses kept my travel costs to about 300 k monthly.
All together, you can live pretty good on 3 million COP monthly, not counting entertainment expenses. Call it $800 monthly.
You're going to have setup costs, buying furniture and all the stuff you need in the apartment. If you keep your hooker budget under 1 million weekly, you're looking at $2200 per month, all in.
If you need to be close to Parque Lleras, you might need $5000, but it's not a necessity.