General Info

As I posted in the Medellin forum (sorry for any duplication), I am in the beginning stages of making arrangements to retire and relocate to CO. At this point, I'm leaning towards Medellin and am considering Cali. I have never been to the latter but have been to Medellin several times.

For preparation, I'the like to spend a month or so looking around for an apartment rental (and having fun! I'm at a disadvantage since my Spanish is only a little better than basic. Can someone help with a recommendation of a trustworthy and knowledgeable English-speaking person to show me around. I would require someone in Medellin and Cali. If I find something, I will make arrangements to rent and move within a few months. I know renting is a little complicated. That's another reason to have someone trustworthy help and to also avoid going to realtors and paying the extra fee.

I came across a site, showaround dot com. It seems mostly geared for tourists that want a guide or some other form of help. I think it may be appropriate for my purposes. Does anyone have any knowledge of them? Or any recommendations?

Thanks.

[QUOTE=Jooks;2283218]I came across a site, showaround dot com. It seems mostly geared for tourists that want a guide or some other form of help. I think it may be appropriate for my purposes. Does anyone have any knowledge of them?[/QUOTE]I use the showaround app to meet chicks.

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2283236]I use the showaround app to meet chicks.[/QUOTE]I should have known, haha. There are some hot chicks on the site and wondered if some use it for hookups. Anyway, as tempting as it seems, I don't want to mix business with pleasure. One or the other is going to be lacking.

[QUOTE=Jooks;2283238]I should have known, haha. There are some hot chicks on the site and wondered if some use it for hookups. Anyway, as tempting as it seems, I don't want to mix business with pleasure. One or the other is going to be lacking.[/QUOTE]Jooks, keep this stuff a bit discrete, when your ready to explore Medellin send me a PM a week before you come, either myself or my Colombian buddy will show you everything you need, he is reasonable and again everything that you may need such as living, food and yes girls.

The Tall Man.

[QUOTE=TheTallMan;2283352]Jooks, keep this stuff a bit discrete, when your ready to explore Medellin send me a PM a week before you come, either myself or my Colombian buddy will show you everything you need, he is reasonable and again everything that you may need such as living, food and yes girls.

The Tall Man.[/QUOTE]Deal! Thank you!

[QUOTE=JjBee62;2283099]The question about trying to retire to Colombia on $2200/ month has me thinking. I'm willing to prove it can be done. I know some of you have more than enough money to finance the attempt. I'm betting some of you have an accountant who knows how to make it completely deductible. Who wants to fund the experiment?

It comes to $26,400 for the year. Add in money to pay taxes on the $26.4 k and that brings it to about $34 k. I'll have to wait 6 or 7 months to begin, unless you want to pitch in another $8 k for my current obligations.

For my part I'll keep a complete record of every peso spent, write updates at least weekly and document all experiences. I'll also make an effort to find and review chica friendly hotels, love motels, restaurants, attractions worth visiting, casas, and various girls. As a bonus, at the end of the year I'll give you my complete chica Facebook list, which I should be able to at least double in size. That would be about 500 girls.

I'm certain some of you marketing gurus can figure out a way to turn a profit off of the experiment. I already have a few ideas.

How about it? Anyone want to give it a shot?[/QUOTE]I'we been living in Bogota on and off since 2005 now. I've almost never spent more than 2 million a month for my own expenses. Some leaner months I got by on a million pesos or less.

The trick is to live in Estrato 3. Getting around on a bicycle or motorcycle is also a good option; it works out to even cheaper than taking the bus!

I don't even feel that I'm missing much from life up north, even when I've had to just scrape by.

Firstly thanks to all of the people who have made contributions to this forum. Your information has been most useful.

I am used to traveling in Asia, and there always seems to be a bar where expats in the area like to hang out and a new face is made welcome. I have not seen any place like this mentioned on these forums – maybe I missed the post? I tried to find Jenson's bar last night before I discovered it was closed.

[QUOTE=ReefTip;2285432]Firstly thanks to all of the people who have made contributions to this forum. Your information has been most useful.

I am used to traveling in Asia, and there always seems to be a bar where expats in the area like to hang out and a new face is made welcome. I have not seen any place like this mentioned on these forums maybe I missed the post? I tried to find Jenson's bar last night before I discovered it was closed.[/QUOTE]Actually Jenson's didn't close, it was sold to another Gringo, and he changed the name, and the ambiance of the bar to try and attract more of the young Colombianos (as) with money to come, as a cool spot for them.

The ATM discussion is in full swing again on the Bogota thread, when it really belongs here.

The topic always flares up again when some newbie wants to bring cash. The only valid reason I can see to bring cash is if you have ilicit money that you cannot put into a bank account and you'd rather just spend it in Colombia. Other than that, use ATMs, it's the most cost-effective, safe and convenient method.

Don't be a chump and let your bank rip you off. Shop around in your country of residence for a Visa or Mastercard (or preferably both) that does not add a fee or commision for foreign currency cash withdrawals. Read the small print.

Credit cards normally charge you a high rate of interest from the day of cash withdrawal. You can avoid this by paying money into your credit card account ahead of time, so you're not actually getting credit.

In Colombia get your cash from ATMs that don't add a fee for foreign issued cards. Most ATMs, including BanColombia and RedAVAL charge around 13 k COP.

Davivienda: free withdrawals, limit 400 k COP, repeat as necessary.

Banco Caja Social (This has never been mentioned on this forum, I believe): free withdrawals, limit 700 k COP (on my card anyway).

You can repeat withdrawals on the same day up to a limit that is set by the issuing bank, I believe. One time I got 1200 k a day out of Davivienda several days in a row, no problem.

I try and avoid using my cards other than in ATMs. The risk in a shop is that your card data gets stolen. Even if you don't get a fraudulent charge on your account, the bank may block your card and you are left without money until you get hold of your replacement card. For this reason, always have a second card as backup. Last year my main card got blocked and reissued. My bank wouldn't tell me what happened, but I suspect it may be because I used the card to buy an airticket online for someone other than me (for a girl).

Another thing to avoid is to arrive in a country like Colombia and max out your card in the first ATM. This is likely to trigger your bank's fraud algorithm and block your card. This happened to me once in Brasil.

[QUOTE=Arcangel;2285674]The ATM discussion is in full swing again on the Bogota thread, when it really belongs here.

The topic always flares up again when some newbie wants to bring cash. The only valid reason I can see to bring cash is if you have ilicit money that you cannot put into a bank account and you'd rather just spend it in Colombia. Other than that, use ATMs, it's the most cost-effective, safe and convenient method.

[/QUOTE]Yes for average amounts but if you need to pay 2 million pesos upfront for an apartment because its owned by too small of a business to accept credit cards you're stuck bringing cash or wiring the money. I'll be fucked if I'm going to wire money to Colombia. That shit probably raises enough red flags on its own. So I'll bring just enough to get 2 million pesos to the airport in Bogota and check the cambios for the best rate. There are several of them right when you exit customs and one in the baggage area.

[QUOTE=YippieKayay;2285680] but if you need to pay 2 million pesos upfront for an apartment because its owned by too small of a business to accept credit cards you're stuck bringing cash or wiring the money. [/QUOTE]This is Colombia, small business is flexible. What I would do in this situation is tell the people that I'm happy to pay the 2 million but that I cannot get it out of the ATM all on the first day, that I'll pay half the first day and half on the second day. I'd be surprised if they were to turn around and say: get out of here, it's all or nothing.

[QUOTE=ReefTip;2285432]Firstly thanks to all of the people who have made contributions to this forum. Your information has been most useful.

I am used to traveling in Asia, and there always seems to be a bar where expats in the area like to hang out and a new face is made welcome. I have not seen any place like this mentioned on these forums maybe I missed the post? I tried to find Jenson's bar last night before I discovered it was closed.[/QUOTE]In Medellin you can usually find some gringos hanging out at Patrick's. They also cluster at the Parque Lleras Juan Valdez.

I forgot to mention: if you use your Credit or Debit Card to pay for goods or services, make sure they charge you in COP and not in USD, EUR or whatever your card's currency. I have paid in better hotels by card (when I didn't have enough cash in pocket) and most times I had to insist that they charge me the proper amount in COP, because when the machine sees a foreign card, by default it converts at its own crappy rate to your currency, costing you around 5% more. Some hotel staff didn't know how to tell the machine charge to in COP and had to get help. Always check the amount on the screen and insist on COP.

Even some ATMs offer to charge you in your currency. Don't do it.

[URL]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_herpes_simplex[/URL]

According to this Wikipedia article, 57% of women in Colombia are seropositive for HSV-2, suggesting 57% of women in Colombia have genital herpes. However, also according to this article, 89% (men and women) in Colombia are seropositive for HSV-1 (which is elsewhere said to be responsible for the [U]majority[/U] of genital herpes in some parts of the world).

[QUOTE=ParamAhmad;2286231][URL]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_herpes_simplex[/URL]

According to this Wikipedia article, 57% of women in Colombia are seropositive for HSV-2, suggesting 57% of women in Colombia have genital herpes. However, also according to this article, 89% (men and women) in Colombia are seropositive for HSV-1 (which is elsewhere said to be responsible for the [U]majority[/U] of genital herpes in some parts of the world).[/QUOTE]That means Colombia is not much different from any other country. You and I both probably have HSV-1 and HSV-2. As the Wikipedia article shows, these virus are very common.