don’t expect Asian prices, for 2+ months it might be cheaper to buy one used and agree with them that if you don’t destroy it fully then they just buy it back

Anyone have a doctor they recommend in Medellin?

look for the places that rent motorcycles to rappi drivers. A friend said he got a moto for $6/day

that’s actually a pretty good price
I thought the rappi people own their motors and not rent them

Any particular type?

Perfect, thanks man!

Welcome - he’s best reached by text, and is also on the Midoctor platform.

Maybe thats the case but i have strong confidence the business in question exsists

I’d think the rappi people who cannot afford a motorbike go with bicycles

my salsa teacher got her 7M scooter for about 2M and the rest in 500k monthly installments, I’d think for a 3M bike (and a shitty one you can probably get even cheaper as a local) you can get the half, and then you’re at a daily prorate of 8k COP / 2 USD

of course this is middle-class reality, I have no idea of how things go in estrato 1-2 where your only line of credit may be the local usurer

Just landed in Medellin after a year away. Been a digital nomad here for 10 years and have a team of employees here as well. Looking to meet new people!

Anyone in cartagena or baranquilla, looking at getting a temperature of the region with covid right now. We are planning to move there.

Hi Bret living in Medellin right now , from Argentina !

Do yourself a favor and don't move to Cartegena. Nothing but hookers and drugs in that god forsaken city. Santa Marta or Baranquilla are much better options

downqwjb ya, I have been there multiple times and we have family there. It is literally one of the safest places in Colombia by most metrics.

Would be great to meet when back in town! Thinking about assembling a remote team in Medellin

does anyone have a recommendation for dry cleaning in El Poblado?

I spent a few days in Barranquilla around carnival time. I can’t say I’m a fan tbh. A lot of the city is very run-down and a bunch of streets on the costal side are afflicted with human poop a la San Francisco. I definitely prefer Santa Marta. Haven’t been to Cartagena so I can’t provide a comparative view. Cali is next on the list for me, although my hunch is that I’d gravitate back to Medellin for a long stay.

rkonctsjtrqjnif I have been there outside of carnival. I didn't get that vibe but I need to do some more investigation. We have some family in Cartagena but more in Baranquilla.

Yup - I get what you’re saying. The area I’m describing is relatively far away from the carnival route, though. Seems more like homeless and drug addicted people... more of a Tenderloin SF vibe (well, same same but different).

That's kind of a theme I find in most Southern America, things tend to drop off quickly away from certain areas.

Hey all, anyone know good co-working spaces in Medellin? And are there any programmers there who can vouch for the internet speed? The website says 11Mbps, which people say should be enough but it's on the low end and I work with a lot of data.

heevonfzshrq no clue about Medellin. I have 60/6Mbps (down/up) and there’s also fiber getting rolled out in other places. I pay… ~$35USD/mo for it. I also have backup cell plan with 4G for ~$23USD/mo (with some caps I rarely exceed). I’m surprised they only have 11Mbps. That said, they might change it for you if you ask. Likely they have a dedicated symmetrical T1?

Where are you rdmydzwy ?

Hi! I'm looking to go to Medellin in the next month.
Anyone has recommendations on best neighborhoods to stay in??
Deeply appreciate it!

If you’re looking for an international environment, touristy where you can get around without much Spanish, try Poblado.
For a bit more local experience, but still international, try Laureles.
For a hip area where there are rather more locals, try Envigado.
one of these are prob the best to start with

I stayed in Sabaneta right next to the mayorca mall. It was good but a little removed to get to stuff.

mqvpcnpaodis Pereira.

Go with Laureles if you want that local experience. If you need a co-working space, checkout Semilla Coworking or Factory Loft.

Hey y'all looks like COVID numbers are going up in Colombia. Can I get a temperature check from people on the ground there? Appreciate any insights! Thanks!

Its very bad in Medellin and most of Colombia right now. There is a strict lockdown on all of Medellin until Monday and during the week a curfew of 6pm

Oof. Thanks Max. Stay safe 🙏

As long as you’re a tourist, you are not liable for any taxes, in fact, if you keep the receipts of stuff you buy, ie, a computer or a pair of sneakers, you can get that sales tax back before leaving at the airport (although it’s a bit of a hassle)

Someone in Bogota next week (for a lock down hi five yeaaaah :raised_hand_with_fingers_splayed::skin-tone-5:)?

Just booked my flight to spend July in Medellin! Hopefully COVID's in a decent place by then?

grxcoothio I spent all of my last year there, and plan to go back for another year by mid-June. I expect the situation for the rest of this year to be like it is now:
• vaccines are rolling out super slowly (US/EU is still taking up most of the supplies) and they prob start with the elderly (+rich/connected people but I think those already got it) so infection numbers won't definitely go down, rather fluctuate
• nightly curfew starting sometime between 8pm-midnight until 5am
• every now and then a full 24h curfew weekend, especially on and around holidays
• shops / restaurants / everything open on non-curfew hours, restricted capacity but not too restricted
• pico y cedula meaning you can only do shopping/go to malls like every other day (depending your ID/passport number) but small shops don't care about it anyways

That sounds kinda rough! Found an article that seems to reiterate the curfew piece

mowxtu what does 24h curfew mean?

it means that if you don't have any special permission (like you're a rappi driver or so) then you're not allowed to be outside.
it's not really enforced in the barrio, but in nicer areas it is

Also, do you think certain cities will be better than others?

never tried to argue about this with the police, but if they insist and/or see there is a gringo with money, the actual fine is about 300usd

Any idea on cartagena? I don't know much about it.

I left it out intentionally, as they rely more on tourism than the others and have been first with openings as well.
I think the more touristic places (walled city, bocagrande/laguito) will rather stay open.
In December Cartagena did night curfews in parts of the city (and I think rather the poorer ones) and other parts not vs Medellín and around having the same thing across the whole valley

Interesting, good to know. Maybe I'll stick with my plans and just be flexible with where I go. My goals were (1) learn salsa and (2) be somewhere with good internet.

internet -> you need a city
salsa -> Medellín/Cali is perfect, schools are open

gotcha, thanks a lot for all your help here!

In terms of cities, what would you recommend? I know of Medellin, Bogota, Cartagena, and Cali.

also teachers come to your apartment for private classes, I think by this point some of them have figured out to get special permissions that get them around most curfews

gotcha, that's great. I was planning on private classes

Bogotá for me it felt too cold (the weather) but also the people a bit - still the largest city, the biggest international communities

Medellín - nice international communities, touristic areas but also more local places if you wanna live your life using Spanish only, has everything

Cali - a bit warmer, normally lots of parties, not sure how it is now, rather industrial and less touristic

Cartagena - felt a bit too touristic for me, but you have a beach right there

Thanks! Yea was definitely leaning towards Medellin. I think at this point I'll just wait until the last minute to figure out where I'll stay.

Maybe I'll message again here towards the end of June for an update.

salsa I can recommend a teacher in Cali who is really good teaching online (like she can point out over zoom that I'm holding my right foot at a small angle instead of straight and it's messing with my turns) if you want to start online already, for in-person I think there are a lot of options when you get there

oh wow that's impressive. Right now I'm taking online spanish classes. I think I'll focus on that for now, and wait on salsa in-person.

she does speak English (I guess) but of course, both are a mental strain in their own right

Yea I think it's more of a time thing for me.

it totally makes sense, it makes a huge difference in experiencing things if you get around only speaking Spanish

Agreed! I'm not starting from scratch so I think I can get there in 2 months.

I also have a recommendation for a Spanish teacher in Medellín/Laureles for in person classes if you'll need one.
I took some classes with her to get my grammar better, but she's also very good with conversations practice.

oh that's great, I might take you up on that!

I am planning to move to cartagena but I am basing so the fact it's touristy is a plus. Ammenties and airport.

Maybe we can get some great deals on accommodation?

I want my vaccine first. My wife is Colombian and a lot of her family got covid.

yeah I'm also getting the vaccine first and travel after

Also not a fan of that rhpwyk

And same, nbzkusxxnylfjaqsc on the vaccine. I’ll be vaccinated before coming

I found Medellín to be reasonably open, you're not locked in every weekend, I don't think Cartagena would be way more open.
If the lack of a beach nearby is not a dealbreaker, I think it's a better starting point

Also you can get a finca for the locked in weekends with friends and just stay there

Ohh good idea!

The thing with Cartagena, is old city is cool, but it is like a 2-3 day thing max. Since we have family there and in Baranquilla, it's a little different. It's a good stop if you are DNing, but I think for 2-3+ months you would have a better time in Medellin because you have access to some large parks etc... and there is a ton of good day trips you can take like Salento.

For us it would be a base (cartagena) so I want quick access to an airport as well as safety/security but in general I wouldn't recommend it for long stay DNing.

I agree on both

Also, the weather is amazing in Medellin, it's so strange to take weather for granted but it is possible in Medellin.

Smaller cities that might be worth considering - Pereira, Armenia, Manizales. Also great weather, much less pollution. However, not as metropolitan (~300-500k each), but also in the middle of many fun activities.

Which operator for the cell phone at a good price / with good internet/ Giga forever?

Thanks for the recs. Good to have some options depending on COVID restrictions

they’re all pretty much the same tbh
I had tigo which lets you top up with their app.

Thanks you! Finally went randomly for Movistar, works perfectly

Did you get a plan with unlimited Gb ? Movistar only offered me a 12 gb for 60k of COPS

Tbh, I got extremely lazy and am still using the wifi / roaming from my Costarican Movistar 🤣 (I arrived only 2 days ago). I plan on changing today for the Colombian one, I will let you know. Are you still in Medellín UTV7207EH? I'm coming there next Friday

yes I'll stay in Medellin for next 2 months

Cool! Let's meet if bars are open like in Bogotá

Is anyone in Medellin now? What is the curfew situation there?

I am in Bogotá now, they announced hard curfew (same mesures as in Medellín) , but it is actually quite "normal", OK. Just not too much partying (8pm curfew). I guess it is the same in Medellín. Probably orlkzdwtabdvqnx could say.

yeah, right now all weekends there is a lockdown , all is open until 8PM during the week , I read this will continue for whole April

zjcabcep chrgsdbsykaivgx Thanks for the insights! This is super helpful as I was looking to move there for the month of May.