Interested to hear responses to this too, as I'm also preparing to make a move to Colombia for a year. I'm probably going with Medellin, but I figure I should consider other cities at least to some degree, just to cover all bases. Also a single guy here.

I've done quite a lot of research on people's opinions of Southeast Asia vs. Latin America for 12 month relocations, and for what it's worth, the general trend is for Chiang Mai and Medellin to compete with each other for Best City to Relocate To. Medellin regularly beats out Buenos Aires, Santiago, Chile, Rio de Janeiro, Cuenca, Ecuador for the prize of best city in Latin America when it comes to single people looking for a place to live for a year. But I defer to the other people in the forum who are actually in Colombia right now. I've been to Medellin twice, Santa Marta once, few months total for both. Medellin is great, in my experience.

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This single woman spent two years in Chiang Mai, a year in Mexico, and then 6 months in Medellin, and before that years in other cities around the world. Here's her take on Chiang Mai vs. Medellin: http://www.themochileradiaries.com/chiang-mai-thailand-or-medellin-colombia-digital-nomads/. She's in her 30s, though, a younger expat. And actually, the incentives for a male moving to Colombia would probably be even stronger.

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Unfortunately, you cannot move here for a year without an approved visa from a category that is listed on the cancelleria's website. Please do your homework before you attempt to move here. Good luck.

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I too prefer Latin America, for several reasons including the more temperate climate, lower cost of living, closer proximity to US, easier language, taller women hahahaha, are all reasons I didn´t stay in Asia. The tourist visa in Colombia is only for six months in any one calendar year, but I have heard you can time it to end about December 31, then visit Ecuador for a couple days and return to Colombia on a new six month visa.
You´re right there is a whole lot of difference between Santa Marta (beach town) and Medellin and Manizales (mountain cities), and Chinchiná, (mountain pueblo). You would have to visit them all for yourself to decide which you prefer.
There really aren´t any expat communities in Colombia to speak of, just a scattered few here and there. I go for months each year without sighting another gringo. I heard there was a conclave in central Medellin but I´ve never met them.
Folks in Colombia are for the most part warm and friendly, just depends on how big the population. In my opinion people in the pueblos are more friendly than in the cities, but that´s just a generalization.
Good luck with your travels.

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Yeah, personally, I was planning on a July arrival and trying to get the year-long stay via that method. I'm also willing to enroll for Spanish classes and get a student visa. I think between those 2 options I can stay more than 6 months? At any rate this is a question for a whole different thread probably. 6 months would be fine if push came to shove, I'm just feeling places out

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Hello Cafetero. How long have been living in Colombia. how is Armenia? am planning to visit Armenia mi July. I may spread my wings and go to Pereira. if I do will be available for coffee. later Jairo.

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Hello Cafetero. How long have been living in Colombia. how is Armenia? am planning to visit Armenia mi July. I may spread my wings and go to Pereira. if I do will be available for coffee. later Jairo.

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Rolito, I´ve been in Colombia since 2009. I´ve visited Armenia several times and would consider living there full time. It is a small friendly city of about 250,000 people, with another 60,000 in Calarca next door.
The people are generally friendly and I found a higher percentage of attractive women here than in some other cities I´ve visited. Can´t say why, except the indigenous population was Quimbaya, a particularly attractive tribe that mixed with the Spaniards to create a mestizo population with a smaller percentage of afro-colombian. The result can be very Latina looking, sometimes even exotic.
Armenia has direct flights to US via Spirit Airlines. There are several universities, the big one is University of Quindio.
The cost of living is on the lower side of average for Colombia, A person could live very well on an average US social security income, especially in the pueblos.
There are several nice pueblos scattered in the hills around the city. Coffee and cattle are the major agriculture. I liked the pueblos of Quimbaya, Circasia, Filandia and La Tebaida which is near the airport. Salento is a touristy pueblo about an hour from the city, worth visiting for a day.
There is a lot of tourism to the National Coffee Park and the Panaca Park outside the city near the pueblo of Montenegro.
Armenia was hit with a major earthquake in 1999 with 1200 dead and thousands injured. You can still see collapsed buildings and areas of blight.
Earthquakes are common in Colombia. In the Armenia region there have been 6 in the past year measuring above 4.5. Beware of any building built before 1984 when they established new building codes for earthquake resistance.
I have heard there are several gringos living in or near Armenia, but have only met one of them.
Pereira is an hour away by bus on a good highway. Cali is three hours to the south and Bogota is 7 hours to the north. Domestic flights to Bogota are less than an hour.
If you get to Pereira look me up.
Good luck with your adventure, have fun.

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I live in Armenia for now. You definitely don't want to live in Chinchina, it is on the more dangerous side, most of the population are undereducated coffee harvesters. On top of that it is ugly! Manizales has a nice climate and everything you need. Medellin is too big and congested but near there you could live in a small community and have the large city near for needed things and activities. Avoid the coast except to visit.

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@ Canalombia or anyone else.

Been going to Colombia for over 10 years and very familiar with Manizales.

I wanted to do a three day stopover in Chinchina to checkout the place and woman there etc. What would you say to that.

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Chinchiná....maybe three hours, but three days would be boring as all get out for me. You can walk from one end of town to the other in half hour or less. Some pretty girls as in all parts of Colombia, but Chinchiná is hot, dirty and not particularly appealing. It doesn´t have a good reputation in the eje cafetero. The comments above about undereducated coffee pickers is appropriately spoken. Just my opinion.
Instead I suggest you base camp in Pereira near the bus terminal for a week or so. This puts you only blocks from the heart of Pereira, and gives you good connections to nearby cities of Dos Quebradas, Armenia, Manizales, Cartago, and direct connections to a dozen pueblos, including Chinchiná.

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Interesting idea Cafetereo. I've spent allot of time in Manizales and some in Pereira & Armenia so what can you share about Dos Quebradas, and Cartago in comparisons to Chinchina ?

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Interesting idea Cafetereo. I've spent allot of time in Manizales and some in Pereira & Armenia so what can you share about Dos Quebradas, and Cartago in comparisons to Chinchina ?

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no comparison IMHO between Cartago y Chinchiná because Cartago is a small city with a lot more to offer for shopping and entertainment, still limited though. It is hotter in the daytime than Pereira, but it cools off at night so you don´t need air conditioning to sleep.
Some really pretty women in Cartago and it´s only about 30 minutes by bus to Pereira, or 40 depending on time of day.
Cartago is in Valle del Cauca so your government offices would be in Cali, which is about 3 hours south of Cartago.
There is another hot town with pretty women called La Virgina in Risaralda, near Pereira and Cartago. Has an afro-colombian influence because of the sugar plantations all over that part of the valley. It´s like Chinchiná, small, dirty, hot, and generally not likable.

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when I said ¨another hot town¨ I meant temperature hot, not girl hot, although the afro-colombian influence does yield some really pretty women, almost exotic looking sometimes.

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canalombia - What insights can you give one about Manizales? I'm looking at it instead of Medellin. Needs are parks, greenbelt areas to walk through, variety of restaurants, and steady/stable electricity and internet (for my job). I've been seeing a good # of apartments available there for about $500 USD. I'm curious what section of town to focus on for safety, new apartment availability and the other items I wrote about.

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Stewmanfu, the apartments you see on the internet are always the high priced ones listed by real estate brokers. The real estate brokers charge a 25% markup here, so renting from a private owner is more cost effective.
When I looked in Manizales last year for a 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment I saw several that would have been acceptable, in the 600,000 range, about 200USD.
Best to spend a few days in a hotel while you walk around the city and first find the barrio you want to live, then find a decent place in that barrio. Make a friend from Manizales and take him or her with you to negotiate on your behalf, that´s another way to save about 25%.
Manizales wins hands down over Medellin in my opinion. Medellin is nice, but it is big, crowed, dirty, noisy, air pollution, long and narrow city means it takes a long time to get form one end to another, and the new building construction is dizzying, there is a new 20 story building on every corner it seems. The pueblos up in the hills are far superior lifestyle than Medellin in my opinion.

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Don't leave out Bogota.

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As far as safety goes, I am a single 70-year-old woman who just returned from 5 months in Bogata and traveled all over the city. I NEVER once felt unsafe, walking or otherwise. Of course, I didn't go walking down dark alleys at night there, any more than I would in Los Angeles. If you use common sense, you will be fine where ever you are.

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Avoid the coast except to visit.
Pacific, Caribbean
Why ?

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Cafetero - yeah, we really REALLY liked Medellin, the energy, the restaurants, etc. The more I'm thinking about it though, if it's significantly cheaper to live in a place like Manizales, and there's access to good internet and things to do, I'm game for a smaller, less polluted environment. Now my problem will be my wife who met some nice women friends in Medellin.

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@cafetero How far is La Virgina from Pereira bus terminal

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depending on which day and time of day, from La Virginia to Pereira terminal is 30 or 40 minutes.

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Stewmanfu, everything costs more in Medellin....food, rents, transportation, utilities. I lived in Medellin for three months and moved away for a variety of reasons, one of which was cost of living was too high.
I now live in a small city and my expenses are about half what they were per month in Medellin.
And don´t worry, tell your wife there are friendly people everywhere in this country. I remember living in an apartment in Boston for a year and I never met the couple that lived above me or the single fellow who lived below me except to smile politely and nod in the hallway.
Here, when I smile and nod they start talking and sometimes I find it distracts me from what I was planning to do that day. I get invited to watch the games, go out drinking, ice cream, lunch, drive out to the fincas, all from people I only just met.
The key is to have at least a basic grasp of the language, and a sincere smile.

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There is another real advantage to living in a small city or pueblo.....the concept of ¨fiador¨.
A fiador is like a co-signer. In the big cities almost all real estate rentals are handled by imobilaries, real estate brokers, who insist that you have a cosigner to rent an apartment.
The fiador has to be a resident of the city and actually own property in the city where you want to rent.
It is a royal pain in the behind for gringos to get a fiador.
In the small city and pueblos it is not so common. Usually you can rent directly from the owner without a fiador, and often without even a lease.

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Thank you, I do believe that too. I'm fluent in Spanish and my wife has a good command. I think we're going to focus our next trip on checking out Manizales.

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@Stewmanfu I love Manizales and am sure you will too.

Just beware that prices in El Cable or comparable to Medellin so for a better value look on the outskirts.

IMHO for your first time in the city you should stay in a hotel or hostal in El Cable to get your bearings though.

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Hello all contributors to this thread.
While visiting Panama City, I was seriously considering taking a side trip to Medellin for a day or two to check it out.

Many online promoters are quite enthusiastic about investment/living opportunities in Colombia, and I wished to see for myself. But the recent shutdown (now ended) of parts of Medellin by the Urebenos put a damper on those plans.

Any thoughts on the safety quotient for Amercians (and foreigners generally) over there these days?

Thanks...

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I don't find it dangerous, just don't act like a tonto and people will be fine. Anything can happen anywhere, but it more than often it's safe. Good communication skills will keep you safer too

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I visited Bogota last week and am planning on returning to complete my masters. While there, I went to La Universidad Javeriana and spoke to one of the professors over the program. She said once you are admitted to the program as a foreigner, they give you a letter that you take to the government and they approve your visa for the length of the program. She said they've never had any problem with anyone being denied a visa to study. However, if you plan to work at the same time (as I do) then you must also apply for a work visa, and as I understand the government is pretty lenient about granting those as well. Good luck!

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Catherine, this is my first foray into looking into this info, so excuse my ignorance, but approximately how much per school year can a person expect to pay if he or she enrolls for Spanish courses at university? Low end estimates would be best for me, ha

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@8901. What's the Palermo section of Manizales like?

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No worries! I don't claim to be an expert by any means. I checked in to the Universidad Javeriana (in Bogota). I've only been checking for masters programs which, at this particular university, will run about $1,800 US per semester. The entire program is 3 semesters and meets Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday mornings. To me, seems like a great deal since one semester of a masters program in the US can run well over the total cost of this program ($5200 US). As for just learning the language at a smaller language school, I have no idea, sorry! Buena Suerte!

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@Stewmanfu Palmero is right behind El Cable and you are in a safe quiet area yet within walking distance to everything you will need.

Let me know if you need any leeds or evaluations on a hotel or hostal

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" La Virgina in Risaralda, near Pereira and Cartago. Has an afro-colombian influence because of the sugar plantations all over that part of the valley. It´s like Chinchiná, small, dirty, hot, and generally not likable. "

@ cafetero. I fully believe that you are familiar with La Virginia and your description is accurate but I was taken aback when I read it as there was a guy from another Colombian board that used to regularly rave about the place and its beauty.

Is there any saving grace that you can think of about the place ?

Never know maybe it just had some good chica casas that the guy loved ?

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You can find beauty in any place you live if you look for it. I never lived in La Virginia, but I passed through weekly on my trips to Pereira and stopped often for lunch or dinner. I have friends who live there, and one of my former novias lives there.
Several times in the recent past the entire pueblo of La Virginia has flooded, sometimes dramatically. In 2011 they rebuilt all the storm sewers and added high berms along the Río Cauca, but the Rió Risaralda, on the other side of the pueblo still floods regularly into the streets.
The entire valley surrounding La Virginia is given over to sugar cane and pig farming. You can smell the pigs on the north side of town all the time, and they spread manure and fertilizer on the sugar cane and it stinks to high heaven.
The daytime temperatures in the valley floor climb to 34 grados regularly and often up to 38 grados. In the evening there is a breeze moving down the mountain slopes that helps to cool the air, but for me the climate is uncomfortable.
The sugar cane mill, a huge complex, is located on the north side of town and when it is running full blast you get the smells that can sometimes be very off-putting.
The population has a large percentage of sugar cane farm workers and mill workers and there are few educational options beyond 11th grade public school.
There is a higher percentage of afro-colombinas in the population which is normal for the sugar cane regions.
Most of the people that I have met from La Virginia left there to pursue education or employment in the nearby cities of Pereira and Cartago.
I´m not saying La Virginia is the ugliest village I know, but it´s probably in my top ten list of least likely places I would ever live.
The only way you will ever know for sure is visit there for a few days. Your preferences and your life style may be totally different from mine and you may find La Virginia beautiful like your contact on the other forum. Good Luck.

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