You are in for a surprise. Bogota is huge. If you don't speak the language it is really difficult to get around, figure out the transport system, rent an apt,. grocery shop, etc. I've been doing the same thing as you since Oct. last year and I'm still very far out of my comfort zone, with more than 1 year studying Spanish, knowing 1 or 2 people in Bogota and already having citizenship because I was born here (but lived in the US since age 4). I will still be here in Oct. and would like to hear your impressions once you settle in.

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Your username really stuck out because I grew up in St. Petersburg, FL.

I've been here for about 3 months and I love the weather... The frequent rain and overcast days don't bother me at all. I'm probably not the best choice for expert advice here - but I'll certainly try to answer any specific questions you have. :)

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Well the weather is hot and humid here in St Pete just as you left it 3 months ago. ??
Questions
Were you able to find an apartment yet?
Why did you pick Bogata?
Are you glad you made the decision.?

I am traveling there on Tuesday October 6th. To check things out.

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If Bogota isn't bad enough all ready. In 6 months there are going to be thousands of these criminal FARC baby killing worthless piece of sh*t gangsters who were let of with not even a hand slap. They will be colecting a nice goverment check while they rape, pillage, extort and rob the local citizenry.

Ever heard of the Urbanos? History repeats itself.

Meanwhile, our good friend President Miguel Santos will be polishing his Nobel peace prize while he counts the days untill his exit and speaking tour engagements for 100grand a pop.

For the next 10 years, Bogota will become a city anthropologist study in the future as a experiment gone wrong.

But than agian, I am no expert and I have been wrong before.

Men, hide your women and booze.........

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Original Poster, a really good factoid to keep in ones head is that if you are interested in this country remember that both Bogota and Colombia each have 2, not just 1, "O".

I have lived in Bogota for one year after visiting twice before. Never lived in a big place before, and for me the disadvantages of traffic and culture can be worked around. You do need Espanol if you are serious, no way around it. Good luck with everything.

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Some positive notes, in no particular order -- The trademark Spanish of Bogata, Columbia, is astonishingly fresh and clear, even though many natives perversely insist the place is actually called Bogota, Colombia; Mild altitude reaction causes some visitors to quickly lose lots of weight; and those on bland diets often find the local cuisine suits them to a T. Christmas is especially festive since apparently Colombian law requires every citizen to personally set off no less than 1`,018 bottle rockets, the kind that scream, lighting short fuses over random days near the winter solstice. On another positive note, the rockets are seldom set off in the rain, and it often rains frequently in Bogota, Colombia, as the fourth quarter of the solar year takes hold. Plus adult males are often called "caballero" to their face with no hint of irony, which it turns out is nice.

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I guess we all see things in different ways. I detest the weather in Bogota and I thought the weather in the UK was bad. I think of the weather as often being spring, summer and autumn rolled into one. Some people like it but I enjoy a warmer climate personally. October is generally a rainy month so if you like rain its a good time to be here.
Bogota is a huge busy city, it has organisation, but learning it can take a lot of time and even 2 years in I prefer to use the Transmilenio, Uber, drive, cycle or walk than try to use the taxis or buses here. Walking is actually not that bad, at fast walk I cover a block a minute or so, so you can get around a fairly good area just on foot, and learn more about your surroundings too.
Dont however expect a lot of rule following most rules can be bent here, so dont get too upset by people jumping the queue or passing red lights for example.
Bogota is also high so takes a while to get a climatised. Take things easy for the first few days.
People are generally friendly and polite, but while I dont have bad spanish, I dont find I am easily understood. Speaking and reading spanish though really is needed outside of the major hotels/restaurants if you are going to live here.
Best thing is to meet a variety of people here and make up your own opinion, there is good and bad in Bogota and we all see things with a different perspective.

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Live aroaund parque 93 or Zona Rosa. Only place to connect with gringos. I recommend the Irish pub or Bogota Beer company in Zona Rosa.

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I vsited both areas last week n Bogota. I lked both areas. I am now looking for temporary shared housng in these areas when I arrive in January. Send me a PM if you hear about anyone seeking a room mate. Thanks

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I don't understand why you are still living in Colombia when you hate everything. Gringo go back to your country where they killed people in masses every day. Where kids kill each other and parents. Where they kill you on the roads, churches, schools, restaurants and you are never safe even at home. Stop your stupid attitude and leave if you don't like it.

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I don't understand why you are still living in Colombia when you hate everything. Gringo go back to your country where they killed people in masses every day. Where kids kill each other and parents. Where they kill you on the roads, churches, schools, restaurants and you are never safe even at home. Stop your stupid attitude and leave if you don't like it.

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I always get a kick out of some one who tells someone to leave a country they aren't even a citizen of. Everybody has opinions and if you don't like it, leave the forum. LMAO just reading that. sounds just as dumb..
You should attack the points being posted, not the person.

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Just my 2 cents on everyone's comments...

I really don't like Bogota. The altitude, the climate, the recent disinvestment in all things public and the "capital city" attitude all instruct me to stay away as much as possible.

That being said, Colombia is the friendliest country I've ever lived in. Most people a genuinely nice and will bend over backward to help you find your way around. (Again, this is less true in Bogota but still true.) My basic Spanglish suffices in almost all cases. Visit any city and you will see creeping North American creeping imperialism. Even in my small town, I have down the street "Fast Car Wash" and the malls are filled with sign saying "SALE! SALE SALE!"

When out and about in Cali, speaking English with my friends (and I have to say, I don't know a single gringo in this city) waiters and even people on the street want to show off their English. (Always compliment people on their English. You'll be a friend for life.)

Getting around:

Major cities have pretty damned good and really cheap public transit. Here in Cali, El Mio is fast, clean, fairly reliable and all for a 1700 COP far. Smart fare cards are really convenient. Inter-city bus service is likewise efficient and very inexpensive. The bus terminal is usually NOT in the best part of town. Taxi service (in Cali) is ubiquitous and very inexpensive. There is a smartfone hailing app called EasyTaxi that is really catching on.

Speaking of smartfones, my plan with unlimited talk and data is 70.000 COP. Try that with Verison or AT+T.

The natural beauty and small town living in Colombia is really spectacular and if you end up spending all your time in a city you are really missing out. (I'm a large format landscape photographer so there's my bias showing.)

Security is an issue in any large city in any part of the world. Colombia is no exception. But reports of rampant mayhem are much exaggerated. There are places in the cities nobody should be at night. We do have the additional problem of FARC, ELN, etc activity in rural areas and you should really consult locals before going somewhere remote. Hopefully this will improve soon.

Police:

They are useless. Sorry. They just are.

If, like me, you enjoy a good craft beer, get over it. And when you just feel like a box of Kraft Mac 'n Cheese and a Ghirardelli brownie, we got Costco. ;)

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Good post! Love Easy Taxi, I use it almost daily. I'm hoping we get a Costco in Monteria, have a big family in Colombia and shop in quantity.

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and why don't any of my paragraph breaks end up in the final post?

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Gitanov,

Are you refering to me specifically or just any gringo reading this?

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I believe paragraph breaks are automatically removed - perhaps for space considerations? Which can sometimes be very inconvenient especially when you want to send something in a table like (rows & column) format.

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My message is to the locogringo. As you are very rude and sorry person. You like to put people down and don't see any good around you. Really if you dislike everything you are better in USA and don't have to suffer anymore.

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People...put the guns down! Let’s talk about the good in Colombia and why we are or want to be expats there. If things were all bad, we would be on a different forum. I spent 7 yrs there and looking forward to getting back despite the few downsides. I love the people, culture, cost of living and vibe. I just hope the expat tax dilemma is resolved down the road.

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People...put the guns down! Let’s talk about the good in Colombia and why we are or want to be expats there. If things were all bad, we would be on a different forum. I spent 7 yrs there and looking forward to getting back despite the few downsides. I love the people, culture, cost of living and vibe. I just hope the expat tax dilemma is resolved down the road.

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The USA is not the only country with murderers and if you think you found utopía think again. Or just ask the various soldiers that were killed while they were sleeping. Yes, this country as well as others is very violent but if you take into account that there are also nice people everywhere maybe in the end it all equals out.

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HOLEY CRAP!! I missed a large portion of this discourse, but one is never too late to make their opinion known. I LOVE BOGOTA!!! I have lived in Hawaii for the past 30 years; I was born in Bogota in 1953 and it was so easy to get my Cedula and Colombian passport. It is a huge city. I ride the Transmilineo everyday and I have NEVER been hassled, robbed, bothered, questioned...NADA. No one has tried to steal my backpack or cell phone. Bogota has a reputation that is taking some time to overcome or rectify. The taxi drivers are regular guys, family men, just trying to make a living. I give clothes and food to the local homeless man who sleeps in the beautiful neighborhood of La Soledad -- Parkway--on the street, and most of the neighbors and vendors help this guy out. He is disabled and just had rough luck. Perfectly harmless. I do volunteer work, take some Spanish language classes, go to the big malls, visit parks, gardens and museums. Everyone I have encountered is polite and helpful. The police are fantastic. They actually DO help old ladies and blind people across the street and into the Transmilineo station. I really can not understand why people who want to move here do not see the beauty in this lovely, modern, progressive city. The US never had anyone like Antanus Mockus, a mathematician and college president who ran for Bogota mayor, and replaced the traffic police force with MIMES (!!!), or Enrique Penalosa, another progressive mayor, who revitalized the city of Bogota by creating the largest bus rapid transit system in the world, turned slums into parks and housing developments, and eradicated crime. Please educate yourselves and watch "Bogota Change" on You Tube. I don't know why this person is spewing nonsense about the FARC, but tons of work has gone into ending this 50-year old conflict and I believe the the gold at the end of the rainbow is in sight. Peace talks with FARC have been underway, and coming to a peaceful agreement, and I believe President Santos' legacy will be this resolution. Ignorance (and a negative attitude) are often just forms of fear. How sad that the loud mouths who soil this forum are just spewing their inability to encounter and accept a new culture. Go home or stay. The choice is yours. But, whatever you choose to do -- Make the best of it !!! Open your mind, talk to people, do volunteer work, GET INVOLVED. I will happily be living on Kauai for 6 months and in Colombia for 6 months. I plan to retire in Colombia. I am not a city person, but my goal for this year was to get to know Bogota as well as possible so that I can come here to buy materials I will need to build a house, to obtain top rate (and cheap) medical care, to attend cultural events and festivals, and to visit the many friends I have made.

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You are an ignorant idiot.

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Not true! I have stayed in Candelaria, lived in La Soledad, and spent more than a month in the department (like a state) of Boyaca, and have met nice people who speak English. Keep trying, use your translator app and be friendly. There's nothing that a game of charades can't explain, cure or remedy!

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That's my experience too.

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That's my experience too.

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Pretty clever Mashinasheila if I read your intentions correctly. Enjoyed the long post.

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Sorry, Mahinasheila.

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Looks like if people do not agree people here like to call them idiots or other degrading things for not thinking like them.

Last time I checked this was an open forum and whatever can be said as long as you don't go around degrading people for their different viewpoints. What makes people right? Or is it that we have all begun to think that our viewpoint, experience is the only one that counts and that labeling others as Idiots, retards or whatever you choose to call people people really spells out for everyone on what an open forum shouldn't be.

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Considering your polished subtlety sir, you should be in the diplomatic corps. While the proposed justice agreement which will hopefully result in a final peace agreement on the 23rd of March, 2016, obviously does not please everyone, it just may end a 50 year civil war in which tens of thousands have been killed on both sides. A workable compromise seldom, if ever, pleases both sides. One might consider that members of FARC who live in guerrilla controlled areas (read that as a circle encompassing the entire country with the exception of Bogota and a handful of metropolitan areas) literally have no choice but to join when recruited. While I make no apologies for them this is their reality. Those guerrillas who lay down their arms and turn themselves over to the tribunal will face intensive scrutiny. If they are found innocent of serious crimes of war, crimes against humanity, kidnapping, extortion etc., they will still face 5 to 8 years of incarceration in special conditions, meaning something on the order of work camps or honor farms. If they are not forthcoming with the truth or are found guilty of the above (and more) they are looking at a minimum of 20 years in a Colombian prison. With respect sir, I'm not sure that qualifies as less than a hand slap.

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Viajero,

Ah yes, the diplomatic corps. I considered a career with the state department when I finished highschool. They had a wonderful entry program back when Regan was president.

A lot of the air traffic controllers went that route. Alas, another opportunity lost.

I did a stint as a couples theripist shortly there after. It was a good gig for a while, just sit, listen to thier blah, blah, blah and say"How does that make you feel?"

Lots of needy chicas too. That was a little like being a diplomat.

I am not in disagreement to the idea of a peace deal. There will be no fair and complete end to this civil war. Just time, lots of time needs to pass. Perhaps a generation or two.

Lets see how this all unwinds.......

Man Shelia.....

I lived in La Soladad for 6 months back in 2003. I had a small roof top apartment in front of the parkway, across the street from the Caraulla.

Cant think of one thing I liked about living there. Not a one.

Perhaps things have changed in the last 12 years.

Are you a man or a Sheila?

From down under?

Ok, see you later and I have never called anyone stupid or insulted anyone for thier view. They already know if they are stupid, they do not need me to remind them.

Ok........

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The man who doesn't even respect his home country enough to name himself correctly continues to spew his arrogance. And he's not even a gringo, just another condescending white boy.

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