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Author Topic: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life  (Read 15589 times)

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Offline Chris F

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Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« on: August 24, 2015, 07:38:22 PM »
In terms of things like Movie Theaters, Bars, and nice restaurants, I assume that big city living would have a lot more to offer in that regard.
 
I am curious for those who are living or have lived the village or small city lifestyle, just how limited are you with the above mentioned items?

Offline Elexpatriado

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2015, 10:18:06 AM »
 
I like Manizales..450000 people..enough restaurantes , bars, movies for me..beautiful city, close to many parks and green areas.and Pereira  pop 700000 ,is an hour away..


Medellin is One of the most polluted Cities for air quality in LA and it tales an hour to get anywhere inside the city sometimes. Bogota and Cali are worse I thier own distinct ways.

I get bored stayinh anywhere too.long and have to travel.

To each his own
In terms of things like Movie Theaters, Bars, and nice restaurants, I assume that big city living would have a lot more to offer in that regard.
 
I am curious for those who are living or have lived the village or small city lifestyle, just how limited are you with the above mentioned items?

Offline robert angel

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2015, 02:45:05 PM »
In terms of things like Movie Theaters, Bars, and nice restaurants, I assume that big city living would have a lot more to offer in that regard.
 
I am curious for those who are living or have lived the village or small city lifestyle, just how limited are you with the above mentioned items?

I think most small cities in the USA pretty much 'pull in the sidewalks' by 8 or 9:00 PM. I don't imagine it's much different in most cities overseas.  We have a bit more than quarter million people in our metro area, but I have seen in the trendy, 'gentrified' city district where we live, stores like J Crew, GAP and Banana Republic to name but a few of many, scale their hours back from 9:30 to 9:00 and now 8:00PM. Restaurants close earlier now too.

We used to love eating downtown around 7:30--8:00, then strolling, window shopping  until the stores closed, then hanging in one of the trendy park squares, waiting until the 'bar creatures' came out, half dressed and getting drunker by the minute--like watching the monkeys at the zoo, except they (the bar/club people) are questionably better dressed.

Then we'd hit our favorite ice cream/ sandwich parlor (open since 1910) which closes at 11:--11:30, nosh on something sweet and head home, w/ maybe enough time left to catch a movie on cable and roll around a bit. But after 9:00, besides alcohol related stuff, not much to do here or in most places.

Now the malls and almost all retail closes by 9:00 and except for movies, bowling, coffee shops and people watching in the 'hip' area downtown, there's simply not much to do. I usually prefer other shops, but Starbucks doesn't even stay open too late.

I guess some people do live in Denny's or at IHOP, but that doesn't count, LOL.

It sure does make me think of how I sometimes miss my old birthplace--NYC--"The City That Never Sleeps"-- but even that has changed. You used to be able to get everything you could possibly need 24x7X365 there, UNDERGROUND--you could go from one subway station to the next, eat, get a haircut, shower, sleep, get books, magazines, internet connections--even sex, drugs and rock and roll!--heck--you could also do that before in the Port Authority Bus Station off of Time's Square. You never had to go outside or 'come up for air'.

But while that's changed, there's still all that and more still above ground in NYC. A big part of that change in NYC was due to 9/11 and it's the same in most major cities worldwide. Cameras recording everywhere and cops all over, 'shooing away' anybody who's lingered in one place for too long. Hard to find a place to pee around the corner or alleyway anymore w/o being on 'candid camera'....

I guess if you had to--the last place you could survive w/o leaving for a year straight is at one of the major international airports, but that gets old in a day.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2015, 03:09:46 PM by robert angel »
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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2015, 02:45:05 PM »

Offline Gavan

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2015, 03:40:42 PM »
Don't know about Colombia, but smaller to medium sized cities in Peru definitely have all the things you mention. All Peruvian cities now have very modern malls with excellent movie theaters (better than here in Western Europe IMHO), American fast food restaurants (McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Starbucks, Chili's etc.), supermarkets,etc.
Malls in Piura (city of about 400,000 inhabitants in the north)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LifphDyzPME



Nightlife of all kinds is usually also great (lots of discos/clubs in all price ranges).
Disco in Piura:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUEDsYbq0r0


While most smaller cities in Peru do not have a large variety of foreign restaurants (apart from the fast food places I mentioned before), there are of course plenty of amazing and affordable Peruvian restaurants of all kinds (fish/seafood, chicken, barbecue, etc.) as well as lots of Chinese-Peruvian "chifa" restaurants everywhere.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2015, 04:00:59 PM by Gavan »

Offline robert angel

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2015, 04:28:14 PM »
Don't know about Colombia, but smaller to medium sized cities in Peru definitely have all the things you mention. All Peruvian cities now have very modern malls with excellent movie theaters (better than here in Western Europe IMHO), American fast food restaurants (McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Starbucks, Chili's etc.), supermarkets,etc.
Malls in Piura (city of about 400,000 inhabitants in the north)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LifphDyzPME



Nightlife of all kinds is usually also great (lots of discos/clubs in all price ranges).
Disco in Piura:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUEDsYbq0r0


While most smaller cities in Peru do not have a large variety of foreign restaurants (apart from the fast food places I mentioned before), there are of course plenty of amazing and affordable Peruvian restaurants of all kinds (fish/seafood, chicken, barbecue, etc.) as well as lots of Chinese-Peruvian "chifa" restaurants everywhere.

But outside of bars, dance clubs and basically street vendor type food sellers, do most of the stores and 'points of interest ' stay open past 8:00 or 9:00 PM?

There's some, but not much activity hereabouts after nine.We supposedly get over twelve million tourists a year, but while some linger in the parks and squares, it's mostly 'spill over' from the bar-club scene and maybe a few folks from some of the overpriced restaurants, who took three hours to eat their nouveau French dinner.

Kind of tired of touristy, boozy downtown, but we don't mind late night open air markets, outdoor music and such. I heard San Antonio, TX has that and we'll get there, but I imagine there's other places we could dance all night under the stars to a decent band, maybe pick up a hat or something fun shopping, without having drunks spilling their beer all over us...

BTW, Good to see you posting Gavan--you add value to this dusty old place. Can't have crusty old crabs like me making ALL the posts! ???
« Last Edit: August 25, 2015, 04:39:11 PM by robert angel »
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Offline Gavan

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2015, 04:40:10 PM »
But outside of bars,  dance clubs and basically street vendor type food sellers, do most of the stores and 'points of interest ' stay open past 8 or 9:00 PM?


Yes, many of them definitely stay open in Peru. Most of the malls in Peru stay open until 10 pm. Many restaurants later than that. Some restaurants in Peru turn into discos at night and stay open until 2am or even later. Here is an example:
http://www.rustica.com.pe/newweb/index.html
« Last Edit: August 25, 2015, 04:43:46 PM by Gavan »

Offline Gavan

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2015, 04:41:41 PM »

BTW, Good to see you posting Gavan--you add value to this dusty old place. Can't have crusty old crabs like me making ALL the posts! ???


Lol! Thanks Robert... :D

Offline Chris F

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2015, 11:41:46 PM »
Then we'd hit our favorite ice cream/ sandwich parlor (open since 1910) which closes at 11:--11:30, nosh on something sweet and head home, w/ maybe enough time left to catch a movie on cable and roll around a bit.

Thanks for your response about details about your own small city life evenings and what you do when you return home. I am sure having great sex with your wife after ice cream is always enjoyable as well.

However, with all due respect, I am still trying to figure out what any of this quite long post has to do with what Colombian village life has to offer?   ;D Which was my subject matter. ;)
 
« Last Edit: August 25, 2015, 11:46:33 PM by Chris F »

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2015, 06:49:27 AM »
Chris I don't live in a pueblo as such but a friend of mine who I visit frequently does. There is no movie theater and no "fine dining" except for one restaurant that offers a delicious "carne a la llanera" on weekends. However there is no shortage of bars and there's even a sort of strip club. On Saturdays, market day the village is packed with campesinos who've come in from surrounding areas in Willys jeeps and "chivas" the big mountain buses bringing loads of platano and gunny sacks of coffee to be sold to dealers who come from nearby small cities. The place is always like a country fair on that day. The bars are packed and if you stick your nose in the dark ones you see campesinos drinking Poker with their hookers. From a table on the street you can watch big shots (including bad guys) driving around the village in expensive SUVs just showing off and young kids on motos doing the same including quite a few  hot young chicas. There is plenty of "chisme" to catch up on like who was shot that week for stealing bananas off someone's finca or some other offense. The killers are usually members of drug gangs like the Rastrojos (before) and now Urabeños who have their operations up in the mountains above the village. Their contribution is the occasional "social cleansing". The bars stay open for as long as there are customers but most of the campesinos head back up to their fincas in the mountains with their "remesas" for the week before too late. One thing about pueblo life is there is a lot of social interaction both positive and negative with your neighbors and of course the famous phrase goes "pueblo pequeño infierno grande".
« Last Edit: August 26, 2015, 08:46:34 AM by buencamino »

Offline robert angel

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2015, 08:08:26 AM »
Thanks for your response about details about your own small city life evenings and what you do when you return home. I am sure having great sex with your wife after ice cream is always enjoyable as well.

However, with all due respect, I am still trying to figure out what any of this quite long post has to do with what Colombian village life has to offer?   ;D Which was my subject matter. ;)

Well Chris, the first day you started this thread, there were zero replies. So I sort of generalized, rambling on and giving examples that it seems like in other places, namely with non alcohol involved activities sort of closing early, leaving not much else, while asking if it was different in other places.

Don't know if they shoot out the street lights or what where your in-laws come from or in Colombia in general. Eventually a member from Belgium posted on what it's like in Peru.

At least on the third day, (today) there's a post that pertains to Colombia. From that and the other posts, it seems that yes, things do shut down early in most places, most night life seems to involve alcohol and there's not a lot to do other wise.

I am interested to know if people killing each other--the"occasional social cleansing' is common thereabouts, namely in Colombia--small, medium or large towns.  Sounds like the Colombian version of 'cruising' pueblo style is a bit different than the USA version."Pueblo pequeño infierno grande" I assume in Colombia means small town, big hell--smaller the town the bigger the fuss--lots of gossip etc. Univision broadcasts a Mexican Telenovela by that name in the USA, but it probably means different things in different places.
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Offline buencamino

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2015, 09:00:22 AM »
RA mine is the story of one pueblo and I can't speak for the others but I have no reason to doubt that it's similar elsewhere, at least in Valle de Cauca. In the department of Cauca on the other hand things are pretty much run by the FARC. The "cleanings" in the former department used to be carried out by the "paracos" or paramilitary AUC but that was disbanded by former president Uribe. What those guys did of course was become the "bacrim" (bandas criminals) which are the Urabeños and other drug gangs. Hence they just keep doing what they always did.

Offline robert angel

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #11 on: August 26, 2015, 09:40:43 AM »
RA mine is the story of one pueblo and I can't speak for the others but I have no reason to doubt that it's similar elsewhere, at least in Valle de Cauca. In the department of Cauca on the other hand things are pretty much run by the FARC. The "cleanings" in the former department used to be carried out by the "paracos" or paramilitary AUC but that was disbanded by former president Uribe. What those guys did of course was become the "bacrim" (bandas criminals) which are the Urabeños and other drug gangs. Hence they just keep doing what they always did.

After reading your post, it occurred to me that in some ways, parts of the USA aren't 'that' different. Especially on New Years and Fourth of July, we have a lot of people shooting guns, mostly up into the air. A few people have taken hits, but usually it results in a leaky roof somewhere. But random shootings have gotten so bad in our area that the cops have expensive equipment set up in different areas now to tell if a sound is a car back firing, a firecracker or is a real gun being shot and where the noise actually came from.

So now, when the Jehovah witnesses come by my house at 7:30 on Saturday mornings, my wife hides the key to the gun safe. I asked the %#@* witnesses "How come you always come so damn early and on Saturday mornings?"--They replied with dead pan, devout faces, "Because that's when you're home." Arrrgghh

But in the so called 'bad parts' of town, shootings are actually pretty common year round, the drive bys, the person to person, the gangs--'group to group'. In a way, that's 'social cleansing' I suppose. But a few times this year, unrelated, innocent bystanders, including babies, children and old people have been shot.

So as USA 'North Americans' perhaps we shouldn't be turning up our noses and at the same time, looking down, pretending it doesn't happen here. It does, even during the day time.

I am all for gun rights and have a  conceal and carry license, but in our state, you can, w/o any sort of license--as long as the weapons in plain sight and there's no big sign saying the owner prohibits it, walk into any Walmart, grocery store or any bar, honkytonk or jukejoint, carrying your favorite gun in plain sight by your side. (or over your shoulder for that matter)  Makes you think twice when you see a hot babe with a Kimber 45 Solo strapped to her side...So you can imagine what's going to possibly happen when a guys had a few too many tequilas, his girlfriend's getting flirty and some guy starts flirting back, let alone groping her....

I think we're going to start a thread on guns and society--a couple guys have expressed interest and I don't want to derail Chris's thread anymore than I have. I hope they've had a healthy baby--but if his lovely wife's still expecting, she has license to be meaner than a bobcat in a burlap bag and if they've had the baby, they're probably sleep deprived!
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Offline AndyLee

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2015, 08:39:01 PM »
Big city life and village life - some noteworthy differences. Which is best for you depends on what lifestyle you want to lead. Some of us are city people and some of us are town people, just like some of us are dog people and others are cat people.
I can make some generalizations based on my experience living for one month to one year in the cites of Bogota, Bucaramanga, Barranquilla, Medellin, Cali, Popayan and Pereira compared to living in four different pueblos in Valle de Cauca and Risaralda with time frames ranging from two months to two years.
The cities offer pretty much everything that a similar size city anywhere else in the world offers. Public transportation, medical facilities, movie complexes, unlimited variety of stores and shopping malls, restaurants, discos, parks, museums, theaters, symphony. What the cities also have is high costs for everything, noise, congestion, traffic jams lasting for hours sometimes, pollution, contamination, crime, stressed people, stressful lifestyle, young women jaded and chasing the buck and dreaming silicone dreams.
The pueblos have public transportation, moderate to low costs for everything, generally relaxed and happy people, no traffic lights - sometimes not even a stop sign, casinos are usually just one armed bandits, billiards halls with a card table in the corner for card gambling, discos with a boom box, people that stop you on the street to visit, school kids wanting to show off their English, young women charming and sweet - often not even fully realizing just how beautiful and winsome they really are. 
I used to think living in the city was better because I was close to all the things the city had to offer. But, when I really paid attention to my lifestyle I only used those things once or twice a month, and I can still do that when I live in the pueblo.
The city is only an hour away so I can go there any time I want and spend the day hitting all the high points. I have never been much of a nightlife person, but if I were I think it would add to the enjoyment if I hit the hot spots then grabbed a hotel for the night and returned to the village the next day.
Generally, I think it costs about twice as much to live in a big city as it does to live in a pueblo. Rent for the nice little house I have now is 300,000 month. A similar place in the decent barrios of Pereira would cost 600,000 and in Medellin or Bogota probably 800,000 to 1,000,000. Utilities (gas, water, electric) cost 70,000 month in my pueblo and twice that in the decent barrios of Pereira.
In one year in the city I didn´t even know my neighbors names. In one year in the pueblo I have a dozen friends that I visit with every day and have beer or coffee when we meet in the park.
I guess you could say I´m a town person but I occasionally like the city, and I have two cats but I like dogs a little bit, too.

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2015, 08:39:01 PM »

Offline Hector_Lavoe

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #13 on: August 26, 2015, 09:15:08 PM »
^^Thanks for the post Andy. I am generally more of  a big city guy but you make some good points about some of the advantages of small town/village living.

Offline robert angel

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #14 on: August 26, 2015, 09:33:53 PM »
^^Thanks for the post Andy. I am generally more of  a big city guy but you make some good points about some of the advantages of small town/village living.

Do they have 'suburbs' as we know them in the USA? As long as I can walk to someplace to grab an old fashioned newspaper and something to eat, I'll probably be OK. If I can drive or catch public transportation to bigger shopping, movie theaters etc., maybe  half an hour or so away---that'd be cool.

Hopefully paying somewhere in between what living in the country and city would set me back--that sounds good. Maybe I'll start Spanish lessons! I already stole a menu from Taco Bell and am working on it! ;D
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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #15 on: August 27, 2015, 02:59:13 PM »
Yes, there are suburbs, often with a choice of townhouses or apartments in a tower. They are usually gated with a security guard and are usually safer and quieter than nearby barrios, and are generally middle cost.
You probably would want to be reasonably conversant in Spanish to live here, since very few people speak English, and I haven´t seen an English language newspaper at all here.
I did want to mention that I think it is a good idea to live for at least a month or two in any city or any pueblo before deciding to live there full-time. Some places seem confusing and off-putting at first but you warm to them quickly. Or, a place that seemed charming and welcoming for the first few days might turn out to be unpleasant.
I also would recommend renting for at least six months or a year before buying a place. Rentals are cheap and give you an opportunity to leisurely check out the place to see if you want to stay permanently and gives you an opportunity for leisurely house shopping. I know several gringos who have bought something straightaway only to find out they didn´t like it, then stuck with it. It´s amazing how eager some gringos are when it comes to making a huge investment without full knowledge of the town or city.
If you want to live in a pueblo I recommend choosing one that doesn´t already have a gringo in it. In a pueblo any gringo stands out like a sore thumb and many people won´t be able to tell the difference between you and the other gringo.....I guess we all look alike to them.
If the other gringo has a reputation it will rub off on you. I lived for two years in a village where the other gringo didn´t have a good reputation and it affected me a few times. Even after two years many people never got the message that the other gringo and I were not friends and really didn´t have anything to do with each other.
I´ve been away from that village almost three years but I still have several good Colombian friends there and I visit from time to time to catch up on news.
As a general rule I would recommend against settling anywhere there is a concentration of gringos. Gringos don´t have a very good reputation in Colombia because of the number of them that come here for the drugs and the underage girls. They quickly give all of us a bad reputation.
Those of us who want to settle here and lead a quiet, productive life, are often tarred with the same brush even though we don´t do drugs and we prefer women quite a bit older than 18.
I also recommend choosing a pueblo that has a better reputation for arts and education. An example is the difference between Roldanillo and La Union in the state of Valle del Cauca. These two villages are the same size, about 15,000 people, and only 20 kilometers apart, but very different places.
Roldanillo has a museum and a better education system and better housing choices. La Union has more working class and more farm class and not as many options for housing. Same thing applies to cities. Some are more industrial and others are more business and technology, or more arts focused.
Climate is a big decision, too. In Colombia you can have hot, humid ocean front, or high, cold cloud forest, and everything in-between.
Just as we are all either city or town types and dog or cat types, we are also beach or mountain types. I like the beach, but I prefer to live in the mountains with long range views of the valley. I can go to the beach for a week anytime I want, but after a week I´ve had enough hot sun and head back for the hills.
That is one of the reasons I´ve lived so many places here in Colombia. I wanted to try out different regions to see where I wanted to settle permanently. After six years I had narrowed my preferred range to three states, all in the coffee region. Until recently, when I learned about a new coffee region opening up in Huila state, on the high mountain slopes above the city of Neiva. This is the region where the Juan Valdez organic coffee is coming from. I´d like to go see that sometime.
These are a few of my thoughts on choosing between a pueblo and a city. Good luck with your own journey.
 
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Offline robert angel

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #16 on: August 27, 2015, 04:06:04 PM »
Yes, there are suburbs, often with a choice of townhouses or apartments in a tower. They are usually gated with a security guard and are usually safer and quieter than nearby barrios, and are generally middle cost.
You probably would want to be reasonably conversant in Spanish to live here, since very few people speak English, and I haven´t seen an English language newspaper at all here.
I did want to mention that I think it is a good idea to live for at least a month or two in any city or any pueblo before deciding to live there full-time. Some places seem confusing and off-putting at first but you warm to them quickly. Or, a place that seemed charming and welcoming for the first few days might turn out to be unpleasant.
I also would recommend renting for at least six months or a year before buying a place. Rentals are cheap and give you an opportunity to leisurely check out the place to see if you want to stay permanently and gives you an opportunity for leisurely house shopping. I know several gringos who have bought something straightaway only to find out they didn´t like it, then stuck with it. It´s amazing how eager some gringos are when it comes to making a huge investment without full knowledge of the town or city.
If you want to live in a pueblo I recommend choosing one that doesn´t already have a gringo in it. In a pueblo any gringo stands out like a sore thumb and many people won´t be able to tell the difference between you and the other gringo.....I guess we all look alike to them.
If the other gringo has a reputation it will rub off on you. I lived for two years in a village where the other gringo didn´t have a good reputation and it affected me a few times. Even after two years many people never got the message that the other gringo and I were not friends and really didn´t have anything to do with each other.
I´ve been away from that village almost three years but I still have several good Colombian friends there and I visit from time to time to catch up on news.
As a general rule I would recommend against settling anywhere there is a concentration of gringos. Gringos don´t have a very good reputation in Colombia because of the number of them that come here for the drugs and the underage girls. They quickly give all of us a bad reputation.
Those of us who want to settle here and lead a quiet, productive life, are often tarred with the same brush even though we don´t do drugs and we prefer women quite a bit older than 18.
I also recommend choosing a pueblo that has a better reputation for arts and education. An example is the difference between Roldanillo and La Union in the state of Valle del Cauca. These two villages are the same size, about 15,000 people, and only 20 kilometers apart, but very different places.
Roldanillo has a museum and a better education system and better housing choices. La Union has more working class and more farm class and not as many options for housing. Same thing applies to cities. Some are more industrial and others are more business and technology, or more arts focused.
Climate is a big decision, too. In Colombia you can have hot, humid ocean front, or high, cold cloud forest, and everything in-between.
Just as we are all either city or town types and dog or cat types, we are also beach or mountain types. I like the beach, but I prefer to live in the mountains with long range views of the valley. I can go to the beach for a week anytime I want, but after a week I´ve had enough hot sun and head back for the hills.
That is one of the reasons I´ve lived so many places here in Colombia. I wanted to try out different regions to see where I wanted to settle permanently. After six years I had narrowed my preferred range to three states, all in the coffee region. Until recently, when I learned about a new coffee region opening up in Huila state, on the high mountain slopes above the city of Neiva. This is the region where the Juan Valdez organic coffee is coming from. I´d like to go see that sometime.
These are a few of my thoughts on choosing between a pueblo and a city. Good luck with your own journey.

Thanks again, AndyLee--there's some very good specific information there, as well as some that's also very good that can be applied to moving to other new places, such as getting a feel for a place before settling in long term.

Guess in some places, actually much of the planet now, if you want a 'newspaper' or at least one in English, you need to go on-line. In some first world cities, paper newspapers are sadly a thing of the past. http://newspaperdeathwatch.com/

Speaking of 'news' --I'm not the only member here who's glad that the reports of your death were greatly exaggerated! :D Twas an awful tale as I recall, something like death by murdercycle, last being seen being eaten by carrion seeking vultures. Malarky, bunkum and balderdash!! :o
Whether you think you can or think you can't--you're right!

Offline AndyLee

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #17 on: August 27, 2015, 08:37:36 PM »
I read the international news every day online. I start with Yahoo News, then segue to NPR, USA Today, BBC and a couple others if I have time or curiosity. What is really troubling to me are the number of news outlets that seem to exaggerate the events of the day and slant their ¨news¨ to fit their particular political viewpoint. Fox News comes to mind. I read one report that 60% of their ¨news facts¨ are outright lies. There are others like Business Insider that just seem to make shyt up, yet they appear to be real news outlets. Its hard to know who to trust anymore for real unbiased news.
For Colombia specific news I read Colombia Reports in English to keep track of the peace negotiations and updates corruption and crime in government. and there is a local paper that comes out once a week with local stories about births and deaths and the mayor´s race and who put on a new roof and other newsworthy events.
 
If you are unhappy change something. Quit your job. Move. Leave your miserable relationship. Stop making excuses. You are in control.

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #18 on: August 27, 2015, 09:09:27 PM »
Quote
hanks for your response about details about your own small city life evenings and what you do when you return home. I am sure having great sex with your wife after ice cream is always enjoyable as well.

However, with all due respect, I am still trying to figure out what any of this quite long post has to do with what Colombian village life has to offer?   ;D Which was my subject matter. ;)

chris, i am wondering why your asking about colombia since your wife is from peru????

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #19 on: August 28, 2015, 06:14:24 AM »
chris, i am wondering why your asking about colombia since your wife is from peru? ???


Chris, I´m curious if you, or any other forum members, have traveled in both Peru and Colombia, and what you think are the differences and similarities between these two countries. Thanks in advance.
If you are unhappy change something. Quit your job. Move. Leave your miserable relationship. Stop making excuses. You are in control.

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #20 on: August 28, 2015, 07:11:36 AM »

Chris, I´m curious if you, or any other forum members, have traveled in both Peru and Colombia, and what you think are the differences and similarities between these two countries. Thanks in advance.


I have never been to Colombia, but I lived in northern Peru for 6 years. Based on what I read here it sounds to me like there are a lot of cultural similarities between the two countries. The racial makeup seems to be a bit different (more indigenous/"indian" blood on average in Peru and less African and European compared to Colombia). Again, this is only based on what I have read and heard, never been to Colombia (yet).
« Last Edit: August 28, 2015, 12:35:01 PM by Gavan »

Offline Chris F

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #21 on: August 28, 2015, 07:21:27 PM »

Chris, I´m curious if you, or any other forum members, have traveled in both Peru and Colombia, and what you think are the differences and similarities between these two countries. Thanks in advance.
Yes...I have been to both countries. Was in Colombia ( Cali and Bogota) in 2002 and 2003. Met my wife in Peru in late 2003 and have been back many times in the last 12 years.
Cali, Bogota, and Lima Peru are definitely similar from a third world perspective ( parts of them, not all, dealing with extreme poverty, disorganized, too much traffic, air polution, dirty)
Where they were different is the number of attractive women were concerned. My wife is from Lima and there are other attractive women like her in Lima. I did find however that just in terms of physical attractiveness, Cali did have a larger percentage that you would see out and about. Peruvain women, overall, I find dress more conservatively than Cali. ( not my wife however who is one of the exceptions of Peru).
Overall, I found the woman from Bogota on par in terms of physical attractiveness with Lima Peru. Maybe because both dress more conservatively
 

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #22 on: August 29, 2015, 07:24:11 AM »
Peruvain women, overall, I find dress more conservatively than Cali. ( not my wife however who is one of the exceptions of Peru).
Overall, I found the woman from Bogota on par in terms of physical attractiveness with Lima Peru. Maybe because both dress more conservatively


I agee that in general Peruvian women dress pretty conservatively (they rarely even wear dresses or skirts). However, if you go to certain clubs/discos some of the women there dress VERY provocatively.  Here are some other Peruanas who don't dress very conservatively to say the least jejeje  ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbipzQPiZuE


The discotecas are also the best places to go if you want to see lots of attractive women in Lima (or anywhere else in Peru).
« Last Edit: August 29, 2015, 09:40:35 AM by Gavan »

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #22 on: August 29, 2015, 07:24:11 AM »

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #23 on: August 31, 2015, 09:04:28 AM »
one difference, is the trafiic. medellin has really gotten bad with traffic. my taxi driver will sometimes stop by my house, just to sit for an hour because where he needs to go, the traffic is so bad, whats the point of sitting in traffic for over an hour, going no place.  and they just keep building more apartments  something to think about when deciding on a city, traffic and future traffic.

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Re: Colombia- Big City Life and Village Life
« Reply #24 on: September 01, 2015, 07:39:14 AM »
one difference, is the trafiic. medellin has really gotten bad with traffic. my taxi driver will sometimes stop by my house, just to sit for an hour because where he needs to go, the traffic is so bad, whats the point of sitting in traffic for over an hour, going no place.  and they just keep building more apartments  something to think about when deciding on a city, traffic and future traffic.
Agreed. Medellin is over crowded. I am almost appalled by the number of high rise towers going up. Especially in my favorite, Sabaneta. I only lived in Medellin for three months, but my take away was too crowded, which is the same reason I didn´t stay in San Jose, Costa Rica.
If you are unhappy change something. Quit your job. Move. Leave your miserable relationship. Stop making excuses. You are in control.

 

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