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augieman
  2/15/2017 21:04 EST

And your point is.....????

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dliss62
  2/15/2017 21:15 EST

That I'm getting contradictory info...

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edgardiser
  2/15/2017 21:50 EST

#1 Crime
#2 Not enough Police (Bogota) #3 Foreign people taxed on their income from whatever Country you are from, if you are here more than 183 days.
#4 Tax rate on most everything 19%
#5 Streets and sidewalks are in terrible condition (Bogota)
#6 Free for All Traffic (Bogota)
#7 If you are a walker you are a target when crossing a street by the Taxis, cars, bus's, bicycle taxi's (Bogota)
#8 Learn to live with most everyone being late
#9 Terrible Customer Service, most places.
#10 Learn to hear excuses why things never get completed on time.
Positive Comments
#1 My Wife and Daughter
#2 Excellent Healthcare
#3 Excellent Customer Service
Arturo Calle
Crepe and Waffle
WOK

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cccmedia
  2/15/2017 22:51 EST

Santos is up for re-election next year .. so if ‘la gente’ doesn’t like him, they’ll elect someone else.

Since his first re-election he has won the Nobel Peace Prize (2016) for his work on the FARC peace deal. Half the voting population didn’t want the deal.

Making any decision based on what that businessman thinks would be like ruling out Colombia because of a CNN report on oil prices.

South American economies have been hit hard by the reduced price of oil. Other countries have been hurt more than Colombia -- arguably, Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil.

Taxes potentially hurt some Expats, don’t much bother others with different tax scenarios. YMMV.

Visit Colombia and make your own decisions about how life would be here for you.

As for Bogotá -- just skip it unless you’re changing planes there. High altitude, low oxygen, heavy traffic, plenty of crime.

You’ve got plenty of other choices in the Coffee Zone and Medellín/Antioquia.

cccmedia in La Zona Cafetera

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cccmedia
  2/16/2017 00:10 EST

Correction:

Juan Manuel Santos is term-limited .. and cannot run in next year’s presidential election in Colombia.
(Wikipedia)

Ipso facto, Santos’s popularity or lack of it .. is of dubious relevance for any potential Expat considering a move to Colombia.

cccmedia in La Zona

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cccmedia
  2/16/2017 00:15 EST

Customer service appears on edgardiser’s Top Ten List of what’s wrong with Colombia.

Customer service also appear’s on his list of positive things in Colombia.

cccmedia

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edgardiser
  2/16/2017 08:00 EST

cccmedia
Just a comment to what I said and just maybe you like being controversial.
Yes I said that Customer basically does not exist here in Bogota.
But the three places which I named as YOU COULD READ I think.
Have excellent Customer Service and they are also very successful businesses.

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novato1953
  2/16/2017 08:20 EST

Wherever Colombia's dollars-and-cents future takes it, up or down, Colombia isn't going alone. There are rarely independent actors in the world economy, and Colombia's never been one of them. Of greater interest to most readers of this forum, I think, is the future outlook for COP/USD pricing, which is not at all the same thing. The people who have a good idea about that mostly already live on private islands, if you want to try to look them up.

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dliss62
  2/16/2017 15:29 EST

Let me clarify that I'm not taking my friend's info without skepticism, but as always, I will make my own conclusion once in-country. As a retiree I'm not going to have the same issues of a businessman that needs to make a living and that's a nice place to be!

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cccmedia
  2/16/2017 16:29 EST

Dear edgardiser,

I just re-read your earlier post.

You did list three companies at the back end under ‘positives' .. but you did not explicitly say that you were listing them because of excellent customer service, per se. You were assuming that the reader would infer that.

Your snarky and condescending comment -- "You could read I think”, which you posted mostly in all-caps shouting -- is noted by the forum.

My mention of your apparent self-contradiction was not judging nor an attempt to be “controversial” without other purpose. It was an opportunity for you -- presented by me ’suavemente’ -- to explain the apparent discrepancy.

cccmedia in La Zona

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robdr1
  2/16/2017 16:40 EST

edgardiser, I got what you meant when listing the 3 businesses. :)

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edgardiser
  2/16/2017 18:13 EST

Positive Comments
#1 My Wife and Daughter
#2 Excellent Healthcare
#3 Excellent Customer Service
Arturo Calle
Crepe and Waffle
WOK

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edgardiser
  2/16/2017 18:15 EST

I did say "Excellent Customer Service"

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Jaybee315
  2/16/2017 19:10 EST

For every group that doesn't like what their government is doing, there's another group that loves it. Find the group that is a close match to your situation and see how they feel.

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dliss62
  2/24/2017 02:34 EST

Interesting reading....

"Colombia announces Keynesian economic ‘rebound’
written by Adriaan Alsema February 20, 2017

Ahead of presenting Colombia’s worst economic growth rate since the banking crisis, the country has prepared an economic strategy to “rebound” from the burst commodity bubble.

For years, Colombia was able to present impressive economic growth statistics because investment in and royalties from crude oil were skyrocketing. However, when commodity prices started dropping in 2014, so did Colombia’s economic growth rate.
________________________________________
GDP growth rate
________________________________________
Facing a steadily dropping GDP growth rate since 2013, Santos announced to aim for a rebound to 3.3% for 2017 after two years of austerity and increased taxes.
The growth rate for 2016 is yet to be announced, but expected to be either 2% of slightly lower.
To make Colombia’s fiscal matters worse, the commodity slump drained Colombia’s financial reserves. This forced Cardenas to impose painful fiscal austerity measures in 2016 and 2017, because while Moses told the Pharaoh to build silos during the seven years of abundance because God told him seven years of famine would follow, the finance minister had not advised such thing to Santos.

At the end of 2016, Colombia had only $29 million in reserves left from $6.9 billion in 2013.
________________________________________
Colombia’s financial reserves
________________________________________
The government also failed to adequately stimulate industries whose exports were suffering because the demand in oil boosted the price of the peso, hurting exports across the board and limiting investment, profits and growth in agriculture and manufacturing.
________________________________________
Colombia’s exports dropped another 13% in 2016
________________________________________
To replace the government oil revenue, Colombia last year imposed a new tax system in an attempt to fill the governmental coffers with $2 billion this year.
________________________________________
Colombia’s Congress approves tax reform in bid to raise billions
________________________________________
Hoping the new tax system works in favor of the treasury in spite of absurd levels of tax evasion by the elite, Santos vowed to stimulate the economy by returning to Keynesian economics, partially abandoning the neo-liberal model.
Instead on depending on foreign investment, the Colombian government will take increased control in stimulating the economy with public, rather than foreign private investment.

Santos’ renewed Keynesian approach, “Colombia rebounds,” will consist of public investments of $8.6 billion (COP24.9 trillion).
Some $5.3 billion will be invested in Colombia’s private sector in the hope to generate jobs and reignite the country’s slumping economy.

Of this public investment, $3.2 billion will be put in the improvement of the country’s substandard highway infrastructure, $2.1 in royalties, $1.4 billion in the construction of educational facilities, $554 million in housing for the poor.

An extra $1.3 billion will be used to invest in tertiary roads as agreed in a peace deal with Marxist FARC rebels to stimulate the rural economy where paved roads are virtually non-existent partly because of more than half a decade of war.

The public investments would generate 750,000 jobs and stimulate private investment and ROI, according to Santos."

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edgardiser
  2/24/2017 07:13 EST

Conclusion
The Elite Colombian will not be effected as much as the majority of the average Colombian, the burden of higher tax's to support a Corrupt Self Serving Government will continue. Because of this additional Tax burden and higher consumer prices crime is increasing in major cities, at least that is what it seems like from what is on TV ?

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augieman
  2/24/2017 07:48 EST

I see the name of the author but where was this info published??

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edgardiser
  2/24/2017 08:05 EST

Common Sense

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william49
  2/24/2017 08:44 EST

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-announces-economic-rebound-lowering-growth-expectations/

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augieman
  2/24/2017 08:49 EST

Is Common Sense a magazine,or newspaper?
Thanx

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Andresen
  2/24/2017 09:42 EST

Ask Tom Paine. LOL.

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augieman
  2/24/2017 09:47 EST

Craw2l back into your hole Andreson.LOL jajaja

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Andresen
  2/24/2017 09:49 EST

Augie. LOL

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meincolombia
  2/24/2017 10:36 EST

My thoughts are in Parenthesis

#1 (Petty crime is off the charts, they even stole the welcome mat from my front patio.)
#2 (Even when there are police they are pretty worthless, don´t do much . I had some items stolen and the police investigated and didn´t even ask for serial numbers or descriptions of the items stolen. Just smiled apologetically and left.)
#3 (That foreign tax thing got hyped out of proportion. Doesn´t affect most expats.)
#4 Tax rate on most everything 19%. (Colombia is high for average third world country is more like 15%, but income tax tops out at 30%, much lower than many other countries.)
#5 Streets and sidewalks are in terrible condition (Bogota) - (NOT just Bogota, the whole freaking country is like that, open sewer holes in sidewalks, sudden steps in sidewalks, broken metal poles sticking, freaking difficult to walk without getting hurt. Imagine if you were in a wheelchair. Fugidabodit.)
#6 Free for All Traffic (Bogota) - (NOT just Bogota, whole freaking country is crazy traffic).
#7 If you are a walker you are a target when crossing a street by the Taxis, cars, bus's, bicycle taxi's (Bogota) - (Everywhere)
#8 Learn to live with most everyone being late - (and never an apology, always an excuse).
#9 Terrible Customer Service, most places. (Absolutely awful customer service, especially tech companies.)
#10 Learn to hear excuses why things never get completed on time. (Ever)
Positive Comments
#1 My Wife and Daughter - (felicitaciones)
#2 Excellent Healthcare - (Be careful, its spotty in my experience. Sometimes excellent other times awful.)
#3 Excellent Customer Service
Arturo Calle
Crepe and Waffle
WOK
(I´m actually surprised the list is this long)

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meincolombia
  2/24/2017 20:37 EST

add to the above list the Colombianos declaration they can find you exactly what you need, then you never hear from them again.
And ask for directions, they will never say they don´t know, they just point with great confidence and giving you directions that aren´t correct.
Also, don´t loan money, any amount to any of them, you will never get it back.

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dliss62
  2/26/2017 12:39 EST

"QUE PENA!"

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augieman
  2/26/2017 21:15 EST

Please add police shake downs to list.
Happened to me in poblado.
Dark side street, no lights,stores closed, no peatones.
They were hiding in the tree line
stepped out and blocked my passage.buenas dias senor.
Que mas says I eliciting a big grin.
para aqui or words like that.
No way say I to myself.
que para aqui say I to him.
Second cop stays hidden behind tree,says something to partner.
Ok senor.adios and they leave.
Steve sunshine says something similar happened to him in Lauereles.
Que te pasa?

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cccmedia
  2/26/2017 21:47 EST

"...eliciting a big grin" (from cop)

----

Calling that encounter a shakedown presumes facts not in evidence."

-- cccmedia

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augieman
  2/26/2017 23:01 EST

@ccmedia
You are correct. They were just
doing their job.....

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dliss62
  2/27/2017 00:13 EST

Anyone seeing real estate going down? I assume if economy is slow that real estate market will reflect that.

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cccmedia
  2/27/2017 01:01 EST

Real estate down?

Seems unlikely for properties that might attract Gringos to Medellin or Coffeeland .. given the strength of the dollar against the peso that is making/keeping the price of entry low.

Another international factor: North American Boomers retiring by the millions .. seeking a welcoming haven far from Trumpland.

cccmedia in La Zona Cafetera

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cccmedia
  2/27/2017 01:09 EST

Colombian peso: at or under 2,000 pesos to the U.S. dollar, 2013-15.

Peso: 2,890 to the dollar today.

cccmedia in La Zona

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meincolombia
  2/27/2017 05:16 EST

Good point ccc. When I made the decision to move to Colombia the rate was at 2500. In 2013 it dropped to 1700 and I was faced with a 30% decrease in income because I was paid in American dollars. I´m happy those days have ended....for now.

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william49
  2/27/2017 05:56 EST

Yes. So far Donald surely is good news for the dollar.

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meincolombia
  2/27/2017 09:02 EST

Go to xe.com and look at the five year chart and the 10-year chart and you will see a low of about 1500 going up to 3300 in mid-2016. In late-2016 when it became clear Trumplandia was a thing, the rate has begun a fairly steady decline.

The exchange rate is slowly deteriorating and this should be taken into consideration for future retirement plans in Colombia.,
Back in 2009 when I planned my move to work in Colombia the rate was 2500.

I figured that 1500 was my rock bottom price at which point I would skedaddle for cover in another country.

You can see on the historical 10 year chart that 1500 is a more realistic probability than today´s 2900.

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=COP&view=5Y

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=COP&view=10Y

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Bobfrozen1
  2/27/2017 14:21 EST

I may be mistaken but it seems the peso is tied closely to the price of oil. If you look At the daily price of oil you can see the peso change daily in line withthe oil prices. Oil is steady now and it's anybody's guess where it will go. It would be interesting to look at the 1o year peso graph and 1o year oil price graph.

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SunsetSteve
  2/27/2017 16:06 EST

The CDN dollar is on the same jolly jumper - which may be a good thing for me. If the CDN dollar and the Peso track the same line, then I might expect some degree of stability.

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fecherklyn
  2/27/2017 19:13 EST

@meincolombia

Good point about the volatility of the US$/COP exchange rate. Yes, today's rate (2890) looks good against the sub 2000 rates one can discover if you examine the longer timeframes, but I personally regret the 3,450 rates we were obtaining in Feb 2016. Then I was positively enjoying bringing my foreign currencies into Colombia, but not so much nowadays.

And what for the future? The last few days has seen a steady decline in the US$ as our "financial experts" begin to query if Trump is a saviour, or not. The bets on three increases in the Fed rates during 2017 were partially built into the dollar's strength during the Trump honeymoon, but we all know how long honeymoons last?

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meincolombia
  2/28/2017 07:03 EST

good point Bob, here´s the 10 year oil price chart and yes, there does seem to be a direct correlation between oil prices and COP exchange rate

http://www.macrotrends.net/2516/wti-crude-oil-prices-10-year-daily-chart

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dliss62
  3/1/2017 13:56 EST

I cant stand TRUMP! but my 401K and investments like what's happening. I worry about when rubber hits the ground and the market demands more than just expectations and hype. Unfortunately, this may have a significant effect on my Colombia retirement utopia.

The one positive is that he is walking back most of his stupid rhetoric and hopefully stability will prevail. Maybe he is finally realizing the does not have absolute power and was not elected King!

Also, interesting that Trump has shown much support for Peru and recently hosted it's new President. Not a peep about Colombia, its primary ally in the Andean region.

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