Alternatives to Medellín

[Lucas88]

Here is part of a post by @MrPeabody:

Medellin, Colombia gets 69 inches of rainfall per year, because it is in a tropical rainforest climate zone. In contrast, Lima is in a desert climate and is one of the driest cities in the world. Lima is also warmer than Medellin.

Medellin is now popular with expats all over the world, so you have to overcome a negative reputation to live there and the pressure raises the rents. In contrast, Lima is relatively unexplored. The women in Medellin have a reputation of being gold diggers.

MrPeabody posted it in the VIP expat subforum to which most HA members don't have access and are therefore unable to respond. On account of this, I've taken the liberty of quoting some of his post in a new thread and continuing the discussion here.

I myself have great interest in Medellín and by many accounts it is an excellent city. Our own @kangarunner recently stayed there, made several videos and speaks highly of the place. I would definitely like to visit Medellín at the very least.

However, I too have my concerns about Medellín. I fear that the city could end up being overrun with expats and that rent and the prices of properties could be driven up as a result.

I've read that some smaller municipalities outside of Medellín but within feasible travelling distance are a good alternative for expats. One expat whose video I watched recommended Rionegro situated east of Medellín and with a population of 83,000. He claimed that rent was considerably cheaper there. Or maybe one could look into the more peripheral municipalities such as Copacabana or Girardota. Just a thought and something that I need to research more.

Then there is the option of other Colombian cities. Pereira in the Department of Risaralda is also said to be a well-developed and attractive city and is sometimes described as a "little Medellín". It has an urban population of 399,283 (a metropolitan population of 709,338) and has a climate very similar to that of Medellín except slightly cooler. Also just outside of the city is the municipality of Santa Rosa de Cabal with its beautiful hot springs.

South of Pereira is also the city of Armenia in the Department of Quindío which also looks pretty nice. I've read that Medellín and the cities of the Coffee Axis are generally the best places to live in Colombia.

@MrPeabody, I am familiar with Lima. Lima is warmer than Medellín in summer and has a desert climate but I personally see that as a negative. I would much prefer the stable temperate climates of the Colombian highlands. Lima is also heavily populated with a population of over 9 million and is quite chaotic in certain areas. To be honest, I'm not a fan of Lima and, if I were to go back to Peru, I'd probably choose some other city. Chiclayo and Piura in the north are said to be nice albeit extremely hot in summer.

[kangarunner]

@Lucas88 The only way to know is to go and see yourself. When are you planning on going brother? I look forward to your trip reports.

[WanderingProtagonist]

Here is part of a post by @MrPeabody:

Medellin, Colombia gets 69 inches of rainfall per year, because it is in a tropical rainforest climate zone. In contrast, Lima is in a desert climate and is one of the driest cities in the world. Lima is also warmer than Medellin.

Medellin is now popular with expats all over the world, so you have to overcome a negative reputation to live there and the pressure raises the rents. In contrast, Lima is relatively unexplored. The women in Medellin have a reputation of being gold diggers.

MrPeabody posted it in the VIP expat subforum to which most HA members don't have access and are therefore unable to respond. On account of this, I've taken the liberty of quoting some of his post in a new thread and continuing the discussion here.

I myself have great interest in Medellín and by many accounts it is an excellent city. Our own @kangarunner recently stayed there, made several videos and speaks highly of the place. I would definitely like to visit Medellín at the very least.

However, I too have my concerns about Medellín. I fear that the city could end up being overrun with expats and that rent and the prices of properties could be driven up as a result.

I've read that some smaller municipalities outside of Medellín but within feasible travelling distance are a good alternative for expats. One expat whose video I watched recommended Rionegro situated east of Medellín and with a population of 83,000. He claimed that rent was considerably cheaper there. Or maybe one could look into the more peripheral municipalities such as Copacabana or Girardota. Just a thought and something that I need to research more.

Then there is the option of other Colombian cities. Pereira in the Department of Risaralda is also said to be a well-developed and attractive city and is sometimes described as a "little Medellín". It has an urban population of 399,283 (a metropolitan population of 709,338) and has a climate very similar to that of Medellín except slightly cooler. Also just outside of the city is the municipality of Santa Rosa de Cabal with its beautiful hot springs.

South of Pereira is also the city of Armenia in the Department of Quindío which also looks pretty nice. I've read that Medellín and the cities of the Coffee Axis are generally the best places to live in Colombia.

@MrPeabody, I am familiar with Lima. Lima is warmer than Medellín in summer and has a desert climate but I personally see that as a negative. I would much prefer the stable temperate climates of the Colombian highlands. Lima is also heavily populated with a population of over 9 million and is quite chaotic in certain areas. To be honest, I'm not a fan of Lima and, if I were to go back to Peru, I'd probably choose some other city. Chiclayo and Piura in the north are said to be nice albeit extremely hot in summer.

That will always be a problem, the more people that figure out about a place and flock there the harder it's going to be to even enjoy being in that part of the world. I have no interest in expat dominated regions, when I'm trying to escape the bitch ass West I don't want the bitch ass West following me everywhere else. The West had it's chance but they blew it all on wokeism BS, forced diversity, giving LBGTQ too much power, and all kinds of other ignorant nonsense. Of course any place with any type of influences from the U.S. is a hell no for me. Anybody trying to imitate what the West is today deserves to be conquered and annihilated at this point. So I have no interest going anywhere influenced by them knowing what to expect...Might as well stay where I'm at vs moving to "Mini-Me" Americas around the world. Everytime you get a bunch of expats they will most likely be from Western countries they had a hand in purposely f***ing up themselves and will have no problem doing it abroad to someone else's country if given the chance or opportunity. That's why I'm suspect of any place with too many expats there.

[Lucas88]

@Lucas88 The only way to know is to go and see yourself. When are you planning on going brother? I look forward to your trip reports.

I'm not sure when exactly I will be going to Colombia.

I need to plan my trip and decide where to stay. First I have to decide the city and then the neighborhood. Even if I do decide to stay in Medellín, I still have to determine which municipality would be best for me. I know that you stayed in Itagüí. What made you choose to stay there?

I'm still not sure about Medellín. The city looks really awesome and well-developed but I'm not sure that I'd like to stay long-term in a place which is now known for its large expat community. To tell you the truth, I'd rather go somewhere where there are very few expats and where I would therefore be a rarity and desirable to women. That's what I loved about Peru. I was often staying in places where there were very few other White guys and so I was perceived as exotic and had women hitting on me all the time. I'd like to encounter the same in Colombia. So I'm thinking of going to a less well-known city.

[yick]

I was in Pereira a good while. Nice place, friendly people and very affordable - there is Mainzales and Armenia nearby, Mainzales is all up and down hill but very nice and Armenia is OK but it would come third on the list, a place I like that didn't have many foreigners and was very pleasant was a city called Ibague which is the 'musical capital of Colombia' so check out Ibague and give that a go. A nice city and reasonably safe with good weather and they do a good pork tamale.