I recently got back to Medellin and really loved it. The culture, the people, the weather, the mountains, etc. However, I did have one bad night there, I won’t get too much into the details unless someone in the comments wants me to, but I did fall victim to getting drugged/scoped one night and it was really a smack in the face, that this is a city that I need to be cautious in and that I should have my guard up more.
I was there for 40 days, so I feel like one bad experience shouldn’t deter me from somewhere. Just need to learn from the experience. But I have heard of a lot of scoping/drugging cases in Medellin. Also, in the r/medellin subreddit there are numerous posts of people being pickpocketed on the streets. And there’s always at least a couple comments saying “welcome to Colombia”.
So the first part of my question is: for the people that live/lived in Medellin, do you feel that it’s safe if you take the correct precautions (stay of tinder, don’t invite people you don’t know well to your home, don’t go out alone late, etc.)? Or do you feel this is a place where things can and do happen anytime anywhere?
My second question: Are there any countries near that people would recommend? I’m looking for an inexpensive city that is lively. A place with a beach and areas to scuba dive is a plus, but not completely necessary. A couple places I am thinking about are Lima, Peru and Panama City.
Happy travels!
Edit: I should also add that I’m a solo traveler from the U.S. and work remotely.
Try Pereira, Colombia. Perfect weather and I was told it is like Medellin before Medellin blew up.
what was the culture like?
Good vibes, super friendly people, good and healthy food, and very proud people. I also liked that each barrio had a different feel to it. I feel like I could move around Medellin and not feel like it’s all the same.
But unfortunately, like a lot of places, the few bad apples seem to ruin the whole bunch.
For what it’s worth man… people are mostly nice on the surface. Many of them have distaste for foreigners. Especially since prices have started to go up.
The constantly having your guard up wears on you. Just think if you got drugged a second time. People think they can live by some rules they’ll win. But ya gotta think… there’s desperate people out there hunting for you. Literally. The police just arrest a gang of 15 people that’s sole purpose was to drug and rob foreign. They found 9 different people’s blood in their car. Anyways. You know.
Lima is beautiful af in the summer (right now). I walked around with my 5k camera and no one ever bothered me. Food is so amazing. Go see Machu Picchu. Spend some time in Cusco. Was an epic experience for me. Just don’t drink the water. Don’t even get it in your mouth. Seriously.
Good luck bud
Sounds like Lima is the spot. And yeah man, being in the r/medellin there definitely is a distaste for foreigners. Probably not the best spot for a gringo.
Yeah… I’ve been in the r/medellin group for a few months. They seem to celebrate every time a foreigner is drugged or murdered. I’m not sure I feel up to going there at this point.
One place that never seems to be mentioned but should is LaPaz, Bolivia. Beautiful city, relatively cheap, great mountain climate and nice people.
Agreed
I haven’t heard much besides being either rhetorical highest elevation or one of them. I will look more into it
Yeah it takes a few days to get used to the thin air. Add to that a lot of hilly streets and you’ll definitely get winded easily. Even the locals take the hills slower. But the teleferico/cable car system is awesome and very cheap to ride.
Dm me any details or recommendations you feel comfortable sharing. Especially if you have a neighborhood that you stayed in or an Airbnb that you recommend.
I’ve always wanted to visit Bolivia, but I don’t know anybody who’s gone there
I used to live there and have recommendations. It would probably want to stay in Calacoto.
Take a weekend trip to the Eco lodge at Sajama and check out Lake Titicaca. You could also go to the salt flats. They were really cool carnival Mardi Gras type thing as well in February I believe.
Thanks!
I really want to visit, but the internet looks very slow there for working.
Depends where you stay. I was at Hotel Vivenzo which costs about $300 US on a monthly deal including breakfast. Each floor has a repeater and if you get one of the rooms closer to it then you’ll be fine. Also the cafeteria and lounge have good internet.
What’s beautiful about it? I felt it’s one of the saddest and poorest capitals in the world. And the altitude doesn’t help.
If Bolivia, I found Sucre way more liveable. Even my second choice would be Potosi. Unless you’re a climber, because La Paz can serve this hobby for sure.
Puerto Escondido in Mexico or Pipa (+ some other spots) in Brazil could also be a good location to go to.
Generally speaking though, if you had a blast in Medellin apart from the bad experience I wouldn’t discard it. Bad things can happen anywhere in the world, and you’re more knowledgeable on moving around in the city now. Plus, Colombia is awesome in general lol.
i’d stay literally anywhere but medellin. in 15 years of nomading it’s the only place i’ll never return to.
I dream of working remotely in Medellin. Such a beautiful city. Offering anybody $1,000 that can help me land a remote job 🙏🏻
Latin America always seemed a bit chaotic to me, I’m not sure a full year would suit me–I’m older these days and value exactitude regarding rules and regulations and such–which is just a long way of saying I enjoy more ordered environments, lul.
Having to be Constantly Cautious is Not Living Your Best Life……. Plain and simple.
Quite honestly Medellin loses its luster pretty quickly. Much better place to come party for a couple weekends and go home.
**18 months in Medellin over the past couple years. Excited to finish my projects and move on.
Loved Medellin for a while, been going there since 2018, but lately I am finding myself loosing the love for it. Like you said, living with your head on a swivel can get old fast and the whole “no dar papaya” bullshit they keep repeating as a measure to prevent theft or crime is a whole lot of victim blaming horseshit I have ever seen. Not to mention, that while paisas are mostly good people, I don’t find much inclination of integrating with their culture which I find to be superficial and low trust. The local food is a big disappointment as well and the weather lately is wet and rainy all the time.
It’s crazy that you got drugged there and still consider going back. They’ll finish what they started next time.
The lure of the putang is that strong apparently
Or maybe op will learn how to spot obvious setups and disinterested/fake interest women
No, you either have that ability or you don’t. Getting drugged more and more times doesn’t make you smarter, on the contrary, scopolamine has lasting negative effects on mental function.
I loved bogota when I was there in July. My barber (from Cali) said avoid Medellin if I go alone. I trust her on that. I’m going back to bogota in January and I’m gonna look for a place to live / see prices. Stuff like that. See if I can handle the weather. See if I can find things to do. Did a lot of touristy things last time and I’m gonna try the night life in January. It helps I know somebody there and she helped tour me around. Forever grateful for that
I like Medellin ok, but for a whole year? Na, it’s way too dangerous. I felt way more safe in Bogotá or anywhere in México. Lima or Buenos aires would be the top of my list.
Buenos Aires is great! Pretty much everywhere in South America, I always here “be careful, you’ll get robbed.” Knock on wood, I’ve been here five months without issue. Granted, I’ve got a fair amount of muscle and I’m covered in tattoos (honestly, both of which aren’t uncommon here).
Prices are fair, but the new president may fuck up the economy even more (he goes into office in a couple weeks).
Culture-wise…very late-night oriented (dinner is at 11pm). All of the men are gorgeous and, well, very sexually motivated, so if that’s your preference, prepare yourself for a good time. You can travel to coastal cities pretty easily, as well. Lots of nature (mostly outside of the city).
The Spanish is usually not an issue. Some different/local words, but you’ll be fine.
I’ve been in BA for the last month and wouldn’t say that men are more attractive here than in Brazil or CDMX. But definitely super nice.
Actually pretty much every Argentine I’ve ever met was extremely nice except for one lady selling vegetables who yelled at me for touching bananas I wanted to buy.
Don’t touch her bananas, then
I’ve learned my lesson: bananas touching is off limits.
If you’re looking to scuba, Buzios is great and it’s a couple of hours from rio so quite easy to get into the big city if you miss city life. It’s lively but more expensive than Medellin.
I’d prefer another country, where foreigners aren’t regularly targeted for druggings, robberies, and assaults. This year has not been good in that regard for Medellin lol. I’m not going there. And I know the city well and speak Spanish.
Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone, but Cuenca, Ecuador is really great. It’s laid back, so id you’re looking to party, it’s probably not the place. But worth a look.