Travel Ideas

Population

42 million with many tens of thousands displaced from the civil war and camping out in the cities.

Climate

Colombia is tropical on the Caribbean coast and has plenty of equatorial jungle where the guerrillas hide when the army looks for them. There are mountains running through Colombia though and places like Bogota are high and dry, requiring jackets at night.

Economy

Colombia has an educated population, huge natural resources and immense tourist potential but is crippled by the civil war running for more than 5 decades. With a terrible exchange rate and people too scared to invest or even visit Colombia, the country’s major export is cocaine and kidnapping its biggest growth industry. Like most of South America, there’s the usual sharp divide between dangerous slums and gated rich communities.

Government

Supported by the Americans in the illusory War Against Drugs, the government is trying to stablise the country a little and is apparently making some progress against the guerrillas. The rebels themselves are in two main groups, the ELF and the FARC who fight the army and also the para-militaries, a government-funded group who went AWOL. Add in the coke cartels that virtually run some of Colombia’s cities and you’ll see it’s not a simple picture to draw.

Religion & Culture

Despite the nickname Loco-mbia, Colombians are often quite conservative and Catholic though their reputation for being crazy partiers is also accurate. Drinking, snorting coke and dancing until dawn is a standard night out for those who can afford it.

Colombians are fiercely proud of their country and culture and will do all they can to deprogram you from all the propaganda you’ve heard about it in the world media.

Visas

Stamp of entry upon arrival for 30-90 days depending on how they like the look of you. It’s possible to extend at the much-hated DAS office but they put you through a lot of paperwork to get another month. This makes longer stays tricky but you can also choose to just overstay and pay a fine when you leave. A student visa might be the way to go, taking a cheap course at a university or language school.

Language

Spanish is essential in Colombia as most people don’t speak English and you need to know when someone’s telling you not to go down a certain street to avoid being mugged. Colombians in the cities tend to speak the clearest Spanish in the world though so it’s a good place to learn.

Rent

It gets really cheap in the dangerous parts of town, falling as low as $60 a month although a nice place in a nicer area is more likely to cost $100-200

Hostel

You can find rooms from $3-10 depending on the region with $6 as an average.

A meal out

A cheap sit down meal can be had for $1-2 – beans, rice and meat, the usual Latino meal.

Transport

Here’s the thing – buses are dirt cheap but really not a good idea in many parts of the country due to kidnapping. Apparently, it’s gotten safer lately but otherwise flights are $70-100 between cities.

Living Estimate

$200 a month scraping by. $400 for an okay life. $800 for all you need.

Travel Estimate

$10 going cheaply, not counting transport. If you want to dine and drink in the upmarket areas you could easily blow $40+ a day.

Overall

Colombia is a fun place to live with a lively population who tend to be a little paranoid due to the civil war and kidnapping. It’s a great place to go out a lot at night and get wasted but don’t expect them to know too much about the outside world – few Colombians get visas to go anywhere and almost no one comes here.

It can work in your favour to be a foreigner here, being the novelty factor but you may get hungry for people from your own culture to talk to. But, provided you speak Spanish , Colombians will eventually take you to heart and you can fit in as the gringo in residence.

Where to live in Colombia

Bogota is the most modern city and also the largest so if you want a whole range of museums, film clubs etc then Bogota is for you. The weather gets better in Medellin and Cali but they’re more dangerous and more remote from the outside world.

Cartagena is the most-visited city and is a lovely Caribbean town but has its fair share of hustlers as a result and prices are a little higher. There are other alternatives along the coast like Santa Marta though these smaller towns can feel a bit provincial.

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