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Colombia vs Venezuela

for a single guy to go study spanish, say Caracas or Merida vs Medellin or Cali (putting crime, kidnapping risks aside). A lot of people seem to be traveling to Colombia, and there is a lot of info on Colombia but very little info on Venezuela. Has anyone been to both and can compare the two? Thanks a lot.

By CuriosJoe on Nov 23, 2005, 08:12 in Friendly Talkzone.

pepster says on Nov 23, 2005, 09:16:

hmmm I'm not sure of your taste but my Cousin from B/quilla...hated Caracas...she's living there now actually. My wife is from Venezuela...she absolutely despises Caracas.

So you can guess which one I'd choose.

From what I understand crime is a big issue.

The Pepster

ColombianBlog.com

The Pepster ColombianBlog.com

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DanielPaisa says on Nov 23, 2005, 09:29:

i've been in venezuela... and let me say, beeing a really nice and rich city, i hated caracas. People treat you like shit, no one cares about anything. Service sucks, i don't know... it just doesn't feel the same.

Come to medellin, and exdperience the beaty of colombia and it's people

Daniel, el Paisa

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Hunter says on Nov 23, 2005, 11:06:

CuriosJoe I have met quite a few people who have spent time in both Medellin and Caracas and other Cities/larger towns in Venezula, not one of them prefered the Venezulian Cities/towns for living in over Medellin.

Hunter

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ElPadrino1 says on Nov 23, 2005, 11:18:

Check out Merida--its Awesome They have the highest(and longest) Teleferico in the World at 15000 feet above sea level.Breathtaking literally and figuretively! Clean Air and incredibly intense blue skies! Nice University town. Lots to do. On Colombian vs Venezuelan security; its 6 of one, a half dozen of another. Out side of Caracas, its(travel city to city) no more, maybe less dangerous then Colombia. And there are neighborhoods in Caracas like Bogota's Santa Barbara where you can naviagte without worry.Some wealthy folks and Politicians are sequestered in Caracas but that happens in Cali, Bogota and Medillin also. And in graeter numbers. Look at the news and see what country makes the Big News as far as Kidnappings.

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ElPadrino1 says on Nov 23, 2005, 11:27:

Check out this link on Merida http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/0407/merida_venezuela.html

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kernow62 says on Nov 23, 2005, 12:29:

What about the quality of the Spanish spoken in the various places mentioned rather than the crime stats? As we all know the quality of the spoken Spanish varies from city to city. For me IMHO Bogotá is better in this respect but wasn't on the list.

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Dolfi says on Nov 24, 2005, 01:07:

Spanish spoken in Bogotá and Medellín is definitely better than anywhere in Venezuela. In any other respect I would say that both countries are equal, venzuelasn are as friendly as colombians. And Mérida definitely is a nice place, somewhat like Medellín but smaller.

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