yick wrote: ↑January 24th, 2024, 9:23 am
I might be stating the obvious here but shouldn't the advice be 'don't go up the hill'?
Same in most big cities in Latin America, Miraflores in Lima is great but venture six miles east to San Juan de Lurigancho and the likelihood you're walking home barefoot at best is going to multiply by a thousand percent - I know some gringos want to see what's up the hill but they would be better off knowing their limitations and sticking to places that are somewhat safe - obviously nowhere in Latin America is as safe as Tokyo but if you are a somewhat sensible person and stick to the better areas of the city you would be unlucky to have something happen to you.
Also, Colombia is a big country and there are cities safer than Medellin, you would have to be really unlucky to get robbed or murdered in Manizales.
Exactly my point,
@yick. It does no good to say that Colombia is "perfectly safe for foreigners", because it's not.
At least by my experience, though, I wouldn't want to say that Colombians are specifically targeting foreigners because of the way they look or out of being territorial about their ladies. The violence that happens over there, the scopolamine-induced rape and theft, the burglaries ending in houseowners being killed or wounded, they are all targeting whoever is perceived to have some money, whoever is perceived to have been caught off-guard.
Back a few years ago, my ex-wife and I were kind of flirting with the idea of moving to Medellin, at least for a few years. I had an interview with a reputable software house which specifically worked with banking systems and they were very interested in having me. Monica would have easily resumed her mech-eng project manager career. Two very decent salaries, some savings...lower cost of living...life could be good.
Then something happened, which shattered my view of Medellin as the promised land. A couple, him an Italian entrepreneur and his Paisa wife, were burglared in their own house. They specifically targeted the house while they were both in because they wanted the combination of the safe. They got what they wanted: cash, jewels, precious paintings and decorations.
Then both husband and wife were tied tightly with plastic tape, escorted out and both shot on the head.
This was reported to be an Italian man, an engineer and entrepreneur, in his late 30s. They were both living in the Poblado, an upmarket area of Medellin, certainly not Comuna 13.
After reading about that episode, I never mentioned moving to Medellin ever again.