Cartagena or Mededeliin?

tompower says on Jun 26, 2007, 13:32:

cartagena has a beach and if your like me there's nothing like drinking beer on the beach, besides there's so many paisas in cartagena it's like being in medellin anyway. She just wants you moving to medellin so she can keep an eye on you. In cartagena, you'll be able to sneak out on her. In medellin every cousin she's got'll be watching ya!
Remember, we're all in this together,
Tom Power

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manINred says on Jun 26, 2007, 13:46:

Hmm, I like Medellin better, it is centrally located (in Colombia that is), a night-bus away from the coast, and I like the people and spanish there better.

But you don't go wrong with coastal life. It depends on what sorta lifestyle you want, it's hard to compare them outright, they have their strong and weak points, so decide where your priorities lie and your decision will become a lot easier.

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dwmte7 says on Jun 26, 2007, 16:03:

apples and oranges, flynn. you can't compare them. you don't see much beach around medallo, nor do you many paisas amongst los costenos.

as far as living? if you want your horizons limited to about a 2 mile radius around cartegena, live there. if you want limitless horizons, cultures, foods, folks, environments, you're gonna have to go with medellin. in fact, listen to your 'squeeze' she knows what she's talkine about. medellin is the jewel of the latin world. she's priceless and incomparable. too, within a radius of, say, 50 miles, there are so many incredible pueblos with their unique personalities. and none of them are 'born' on the take/hustle like life around cartegena, where the hustle doesn't end...even after you go to bed. it's like dealing with a hydra headed whore. you just can't satisfy a costeno...they always want more and pester you/me/us into oft times giving in simply out of boredom.

now, i don't want to lean/weigh so heavily on those coastal folks, but, they're a real fricken bore after a while. whether you're in your hotel, restaurant, office, beach, the streets, theatre, market, whereever...they just don't let up.

not like that in paisa land. give it the old pudding test, flynn...hang out a month in each. travel around in the surrounding areas and see which environment gives you peace and contentment,. don't make your choice on the lady...this is your party, your life. if you give them both a month, i'm certain that the choice will be obvious.

keep me/us posted as it goes. i have good friends in both cities and would be glad to turn you on. why? cause happy campers make for a much happier ex-pat family in our lady, colombia.
dw

dwmte

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Flynn27 says on Jun 26, 2007, 16:16:

Thanks to all who responded. I lived in South Beach - (Miami Beach) for two years. I know I have to see each city myself. However, I just wanted to hear from the ones with experience.

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tomtom33 says on Jun 26, 2007, 16:16:

I lived in Cartagena for 4 years then moved to Medellin in March. There is no middle class in Cartagena. The heat and the lazy Costeños get to you after a while. I'm also getting too old for the 24/7 party. Y no hablo Costeñol.

Soy un Paisa ahora.

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griffbos says on Jun 26, 2007, 16:21:

if you like the heat/humid of say Miami year round, love the the water, don't care if you pay a bit more for things, don't are if the spanish spoken isn't the greatest, don't care if your on the beach your have every vendor and girls selling themselves ( they are some of the ugliest women I have ever seen selling) in your face the entire time your on the beach then go to cartagena. if your want year round spring like weather, 80' day time 60's at night, a decent night life, like the mountains, people speaking some of the best spanish in latin america, then go to medellin, I have friends in Barranquilla and in medellin I like both places but if I am going to a beach I would go to Santa Marta before going back to cartagena I found it dirty aways from the bech area nd at the beach you do not get a moments peace from the vendors and the ugly girls. just my honest take of things.

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markiev says on Jun 26, 2007, 23:39:

No contest....Medellin is cien veces mejor que cartagena...So much more to do and see in Medellin...Antioquia is a beautiful departamento with a green and lush countryside..I stayed at my friends apt in el barrio estadio and loved every minute of it....cartagena is nice to visit for a week or two but one grows tired of the heat and disorganization.....Medellin all they way!!!!!!

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jun 27, 2007, 00:03:

It's all what you want. Medellin is (in a way) a fairly modern city, Cartagena of course has the beautiful old town. And the beaches. And yes, Medellin has a large middle class. I lived in Medellin for almost 2 years, loved it. But I would have loved Cartagena too, probably. I remember making the decision thinking Cartagena was too damn hot. Medellin has a great climate.

Poor but snappy

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dwmte7 says on Jun 27, 2007, 07:23:

flynn...be sure and listen to peter, he's the boss around here and knows whereof he speaks.

medallo or bust!
dw

dwmte

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Flynn27 says on Jun 27, 2007, 07:39:

Thank you for weighing in, Peter! How did you live in COL for two years (isn't there a limit of 180 days)? I am a US citizen and want to move to COL, but don't know the limitations of stay for foreigners. It seems ex-pat's stay longer than what an American passport allows. Even my Colombian friends are not sure about the correct laws/regulations.

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elmodefoque says on Jun 27, 2007, 09:43:

I’ll take Cartagena over Medellin anytime of the day. Why? cus is only one hour from Barranquilla.
I was in Medellin, El Poblado BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Was there for 2 weeks, felt like 2 fokin years. I found it to be a read bad replica of a small town in USA.
Everyone there wants to be American, great place for gringo, cachacas love the crap outta gringos.
I noticed most spoke softly and I don’t think stereos there go pass the number 2 on the volume knob.
I was in this parque Lleras listening to Steely Dan and eating fokin pizza.
Now , why the fock did I pay so much money and traveled so damn far to sit here, eat pizza and listen to “Rikki don’t lose that fokin number� FOK THAT!!!!!!!
Another thing, you have to be a fokin mountain goat to live hear, the fokin hill between the apartment I was staying in poblado and parque Lleras was like climbing Mount fokin Everest, my heart was about to explode.
Medellin is a great place when I hit 95, ready for some nice peace and quiet and then plant my ass in the ground face down so everyone could kiss my black old ass.

any colombianita willing to date me, IS UP TO NO GOOD

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elmodefoque says on Jun 27, 2007, 10:36:

another thing that ride to the airport in rio negro at 4 am was no piece of cake, i was scare shitless of running into farc forces.
The only think i worry about when heading to the airport in barranquilla are pot holes.

any colombianita willing to date me, IS UP TO NO GOOD

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jun 27, 2007, 10:41:

I left the country once and came back a week later, then I got a teachers visa which back then was easier.

Poor but snappy

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manINred says on Jun 27, 2007, 13:12:

elmodefoque... el poblado is hardly the summation of Medellin.

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tomtom33 says on Jun 27, 2007, 13:31:

Jeez Elmo, I can't afford Poblado. I live in the valley(Conquistadores) where it's flat. I also use the airport in the city for flying to Cartagena. I have never run into the FARC on the way to Rio Negro, but I have seen accidents and rock slides that close the roads.

I am an old fart and like the quiet.

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markiev says on Jun 27, 2007, 14:26:

Hey elmodefoque, el parque lleras and el poblado are hardly representations of Medellin and antioquia...You stayed in the most exclusive sector of medellin...Maybe if you ventured out beyond these two spots you would have seen what Medellin is all about....Again the surrounding countryside with all of it's pueblos is incredible..I can remember going to this small pueblo about an hour away called san antonio de periera for dinner and and a night of aqaurdiente and it was awesome..Another place in Medellin(not in el poblado) I think it was near laurleles, had an awesome live band and very cheap pilsen beer on tap. How about santa fe de antioquia, la sabaneta, concordia...etc. etc.. And the ride from the airport is a piece of cake...anyway good luck on your decsion

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elmodefoque says on Jun 28, 2007, 05:48:

Guys, after complaining to my in’ laws about having to come from the greatest city in the planet NYC to all the way down here to hear American music, it sucks donkey balls!
They then proceeded to take me further down the hill to a park filled with young cachaco students, many smoking weed, but here they were listening to devil gringo music, that heavy metal crap. Parque Lleras was soft rock and down here was heavy metal. Get me the fok outta here, I’m going to Colombia or Barranquilla where vallenato and salsa is all you hear.
If I wanna to sit and listen to soft fokin rock, I‘ll gotto any touristy trap joint down International Drive Orlando, Fl.
Listen, I’ll be the first one to tell you, I love the fokin gringos, they are the greatest thing since in the invention of slice bread, but I don’t wanna hear their foikin music here in the third world!
Cachacos are becoming like Argentinean, no identity, with their rock en español chit and heavy metal crap.
Thank god coteños remain very proud of their culture, people and music.

any colombianita willing to date me, IS UP TO NO GOOD

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elreydelostrolls says on Jun 28, 2007, 05:54:

Surely you jest, Elmo, when you write "many smoking weed". The PBH party line is that Colombians don't use drugs and it's a gringo problem. I smell weed all the time in Medellin in public but everyone here disagrees with me and says I must be hallucinating from my last acid trip.

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elmodefoque says on Jun 28, 2007, 06:01:

yeah, a bunch of gringo looking cachaco kids from medellin smoking weed. I forget the name of the park, maybe parque poblado.
I complained and then was taken to the 'WORST' part of town, the "REAL" medellin.
There it was a little more colombia, but the music was not loud enough for my liking and they only played charanga, not too crazy about that chit, and no one was dancing. what the fok??

any colombianita willing to date me, IS UP TO NO GOOD

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dwmte7 says on Jun 28, 2007, 11:44:

gasp, gasp! duh, que? colombians don't use drugs? did i hear that right? they might have some of the worst weed in the world although they think their puno rojo is out of this world (do the folks up in humbolt county and northwards have a surprise for them). but that ole, blow is second to none, anywhere.

i go back to when they were still washing it with ether and let me tell you, that 'mother of pearl' glows in the dark. "when the whiffin-poofs assemble" remember that line? they aint talkin about birds. anyway, i did my share of the whif when we had our stores in hollywood/beverly hills and malibu but when i got to medallo (1989) i realized even the best was 'boot toot' (walked on). the kids in the streets in poblado were selling 'fat-grams' (about a gram and a half ) for $1.50. back in L.A. you paid $100.00 a gram for rubbish in the same era.

no, be not confused, my colombian amigos and amigas, rich and poor (including their elders when there's a fiesta) have an inborn fancy and appriciation for the 'coca divina'. don't let anybody bs you on that note. i'm livin proof that such rumors are lies. even at my age, while back visiting the family last summer, my friends wore me out while in party mode. i just don't have the resiliency i had in my 'prime'. but as the old andian medicine man said in a documentary, "la coca es divina" "un regalo de DIOS." "porque ustedes tienes tonto problemas con la coca?" thus he.

to this i add, listen well and learn. enjoy, employ, and respect and la coca will do you no harm.
dw

dwmte

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manINred says on Jun 28, 2007, 13:46:

I have used cocaine in Colombia but don't anymore. I think it's disrespectful to the people I am around, considering all of the harm the drug has caused for the country. I don't judge or look down upon people who do though. And I do think Colombian weed is good, but I haven't had dud stuff.

Elreydelostrolls, Colombians do use drugs, whoever thinks otherwise is foolish. I smell weed everywhere I go in Medellin, but cocaine use I do not notice as much.

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tomtom33 says on Jun 28, 2007, 14:10:

Of course there are the glue sniffers in MDE centro. But then glue isn't a drug.

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elmodefoque says on Jun 28, 2007, 16:10:

tom, nevermind all that, i ike to buy some of that! how much?

any colombianita willing to date me, IS UP TO NO GOOD

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tomtom33 says on Jun 28, 2007, 16:21:

Are you speaking of the lady pictured? She is an old girlfriend who spent my money faster than all others. How much? Way too much! She does have a nice figure, though.

She married a Colombiano and had a kid. She brought the kid over in March to introduce us. Actually, I have a hunch that she might need a few extra pesos these days. Unfortunately, I don't know how to contact her. I believe that she'll find me when I hit Cartagena in Feb. Come on over.

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tomtom33 says on Jun 28, 2007, 16:35:

I changed the photo.

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tomtom33 says on Jun 28, 2007, 16:36:

But the new one didn't come up.

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elmodefoque says on Jun 28, 2007, 17:37:

the one to the right don't look too shabby, how much,100 mil?
i'll go up to 150.

any colombianita willing to date me, IS UP TO NO GOOD

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elmodefoque says on Jun 28, 2007, 17:39:

and yes, damn right i'll be there feb.

any colombianita willing to date me, IS UP TO NO GOOD

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tomtom33 says on Jun 28, 2007, 17:49:

The one on the right is the same one as on the rock. I think she'll go for 100K in Feb. I think the one on the left is in Israel now.

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markiev says on Jun 29, 2007, 02:11:

Well then it sounds like elmo chooses Cartagena....I know that city all too well and can only say it's a nice place to visit(for a week or two) but not to live....If you look at the photo I was at the 2003 miss colombia pagent and by chance had an interview with RCN...I was able to see the interview the following day on the news(pretty funny since I had a few beers earlier that evening)...Don't get me wrong, if you want to party it's a great city, especially during christmas and new years....Living there day in and day out wore me out...Here's an intersting comparison between los costenos y los paisas: in Cartagena my "friends" would invite me out to dinner and a night of rumbeando and expect me to pay(being the sterotypical "rich gringo.") My friends from Medellin would invite me out for dinner and a night of rumbeando and we would all split the bill evenly....... Oh yes, one more thing I thought the word Cachaco was slang for people from Bogota...Anyway we do agree that Colombia is an awesome country!!!!!! Que tengan un buen dia a todos

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elmodefoque says on Jun 29, 2007, 04:30:

mark, I gotto Cartagena all the time. Some have described me as a hooker connoisseur. I like to compare prices and quality so most of my vacation is spent visiting all whore joints in Santa Marta, Barranquilla and Cartagena.
Be advice, hooker prices in Barranquilla goes up 35 percent during carnival but the quaility increases.

any colombianita willing to date me, IS UP TO NO GOOD

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bueno_pues says on Jun 29, 2007, 20:36:

Maldito, la proxima vez voy a regresar con el nombre "ElReyDeLasPutas". Es un titlo mejor que el presidente de los EEUU.

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cali373 says on Jun 30, 2007, 16:20:

"el poblado is hardly the summation of Medellin". I have to agree with this comment. I would say el poblado is the least representative of the real medellin. I would live there but I would not fokin stay there when visiting.

Smile if you are a thinker!

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