Hi all, my wife and I recently concluded our vacation in Colombia. By way of background, my wife and mother are Colombian born and I spent several years of my childhood studying Spanish in Colombia. I also lived and worked in Colombia as an adult for approximately 10 years. In 2020 we took a month long vacation visiting Bogota, Medellin, Guatapé, Manizales and Pereira. We had a terrific time and gave us a chance to consider the coffee region as a possible retirement venue. This year we decided to depart Bogota and visit Villa de Leyva, San Gil, Canyón de Chicamocha, Barichara, Curití, Bucaramanga and Gúamal/Villavicencio.
The following are my silly opinions and I don't mean to offend or insult or anyone. It's just my thoughts as I see the world through my eyes and I do not expect everyone on this thread will agree with my viewpoint. I only want to share my experience in order to get feedback that may benefit those of us considering moving to Colombia.
BOGOTÁ: I love Bogotá! It's incredible how every time I go back I find it has grown exponentially. We arrived in Bogotá on December 1st and the Christmas frenzy was in full swing. The stores, malls and restaurants were packed! Getting around was a challenge because of the gridlock and shortage of taxis. My wife had to do Christmas shopping for her family which made it all the more stressful, but once out of the way, we hit the road!
VILLA DE LEYVA: Fantástico! We had a blast! Loved the colonial feel and the people there made us feel very welcome. We made friends with the hotel owner and with a local shop merchant who was also a realtor. During the day, we did the tourist things like riding quads and Chiva buses to local destinations. At night, we enjoyed sitting on the steps of the cathedral sipping on scotch and watching everyone mingle about in the central plaza. We also frequented the restaurants in Villa de Leyva which we found to be outstanding! Through our newfound friend, we got the chance to check out real estate and we're very impressed by modern style colonial homes (3bd & 4bth 200 sq mts). Average asking price was approximately 1,200,000,000 (COP) (300k US). We found Villa de Leyva to be upper scale and very pleasing in so many ways. We could not help but fantasize buying a home and living there. The weather was phenomenal! The mornings and the afternoon were sunny, warm and the evenings were cool in the mid 50s. That is exactly our preferred weather.
We put Villa de Leyva on our short list and made plans to revisit for a longer stay. My wife pointed out that although a sizable town, how would we feel after 6 months of living there? How many times can you go to the same restaurants? How many times can you sit at the plaza before you get bored? We are city folk and have to be true to ourselves.
SAN GIL: My mother's birthplace. My first time in San Gil and we were suprised how hilly it is. Most of the city is built on the side of the mountain and it's not till you get to the main plaza where the ground levels out a bit. The town had a great vibe but we found it a bit overcrowded and congested. I could not find one traffic light and the gridlock was incredible. I pictured it smaller and quieter prior to arriving. It was however "muy alegre!"
BARICHARA: Gorgeous colonial pueblo. Very interesting history and something out of the past. Retraced some of the steps of Simon Bolivar and spent the day there enjoying and talking with the locals. Inquired about real estate and we were able to see some properties on the perimeter of town. They are small enclosed communities with new colonial style homes for about 600-700 million COP. If you want an authentic historical "casona" around the plaza square, asking price is between 2000-3000 million COP. Ouch!
CURITI: Birthplace of my grandparents. Last time I was in Curiti I was 12 years old. Not much has changed! The only difference is the people that live there now are transplants from other areas. Most of the people and families that lived in Curiti for generations have since passed or moved away. We managed to make friends with a merchant who is from Bogotá and runs a small gift shop in Curiti owned by his wife. He was a well-educated and cordial gentleman who invited us to lunch at a local restaurant and we chatted the afternoon away. He told us about the problems in Curiti concerning corruption and issues they've had over the years. It's our thing to always inquire about real estate prices wherever we go and he was more than happy to enlighten us on the prospects of homeownership in Curiti. Without getting into the weeds, he stated that between 250- 300 million you can build or buy a very suitable home with all the creature comforts. We had a wonderful day in Curiti and made a new friend.
CAÑON DE CHICAMOCHA:
Not as big as the Grand Canyon but very impressive just the same. This is a must do trip for anyone that visits the general area of Bucaramanga or San Gil. Extreme sports is the order of the day. We did the cable cable car tour, zip-lining, more quad riding and caught a show of the traditional campesino santanderino dance which was colorful and beautiful! We then headed back to our hotel dead dog tired!
BUCARAMANGA: lovely progressive city. I was very impressed by the style of houses and how pretty everything looked. That said, we stuck to the nice side of town and visited the main shopping malls "Cacique" & "Megamall." I was in Bucaramanga 15 years ago and remember it much smaller. Terrific City, but the weather is too hot for us. For those that enjoy warm weather this place is fantastic. The nights were beautiful and we walked around the Zona Rosa enjoying the ambiance. This city has everything a city dweller could want and warm weather.
GÚAMAL
Took a flight from Bucaramanga back to Bogotá and a couple of days later, took a "collectivo" to Gúamal, which is a pueblo about an hour south of Villavicencio. We rented a finca for us and my wife's family (all 25 of them) to spend the Christmas holiday. Has anyone ever tried herding cats? Regardless, everything went really well and we had a terrific time! We did a traditional "llanero asado" meat cooked on skewers over an open fire and "sancocho" cooked over a wood stove (DELISH!)
VILLAVICENCIO: after Christmas, my wife's family departed and we checked into a nice hotel in Villavicencio to get to know the town. We took a tour of some of the wealthy neighborhoods and were impressed by the sprawling homes and high rise luxury buildings. However, we found most of Villavicencio to be a bit "pueblo-ish" and the center of town very crowded, loud and a bit unsanitary. The people were very nice and welcoming but after a few days we took up residence at a finca hotel on the outskirts of the city to welcome the new year.
"Villao" has an authentic vibe and it is the heart of the Colombian beef industry. Not a place of vegetarians! Disappointed that we did not get to see a traditional "llanero" campesino dance.
BOGOTÁ AGAIN: Our beloved Bogotá! Every time we've traveled around Colombia we are always happy to get back to Bogotá. For us, it feels like coming home. Bogotá has everything that we want in a city to include incredible weather like Villa de Leyva. The north side of Bogotá has grown in every way imaginable. There's a gourmet restaurant on every corner, upscale shops, entertainment galore and my favorite...Bogota Beer Company (BBC) everywhere! Along with the good are issues of concern such as crime, congestion and poverty.
CONCLUSION:
What we didn't like about our trip... running for your life when you cross the street, people walking their dogs off the leash, uneven sidewalks, disregard for your personal space, loud music/audio coming from stores and street vendors, lack of timeliness and dishonest people looking to take advantage of you. I recall these being the same things that bothered me when I first moved to Colombia back in yr. 2000. I also recall that after a while these things didn't bother me very much. You get used to it I guess...
We still see ourselves living in Colombia once again. However, we've come to the realization that we would not be happy unless we are in Bogota or close to it like in the savanna area. Our next trip is going to focus on real estate prospects in the north of Bogotá and Chía /Cajíca area. Curious thing about real estate in Bogota... prices are through the roof but if you walk down any given street and look up, the buildings look like checkerboards with "SE VENDE" signs pasted on every other window. Go figure? I know there is no way these apartments are selling like hotcakes. In fact, I looked at one when I was there a year and a half ago and the "Se Vende" sign was still there! The guy wants 400k US dollars. Incredible! I'll never understand real estate in Colombia. Wife and I decided when the time comes, we'll grab a rental and take it from there. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen until this covid dilemma is behind us and Colombian elections point to a favorable long term outlook.
Back in NY/NJ area for now and greeted by freezing weather but happy to be in our home. No worries though, being retired has its benefits and enjoying ourselves sitting here planning our next adventure.
Regards to all & Happy New Year!
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