Current Living Expenses Medellin

robert555 says on May 10, 2008, 10:13:

do you know what the cost of food would be on a monthly base for one person , cooking at home everday, just out of intrest , with todays prices in colombia

robertscotland

paulr says on May 10, 2008, 10:33:

Yes Panthdave, i´m feeling the pinch, feels more like a bite at the moment! I wonder where the fraze came from(feeling the pinch). Anyway, it´s not just the dollor, the pound has lost a lot of ground since i arrived in August, from 4.600 to 3,481 today.
I´m having to have a serious look at where i can cut costs.
THese are my living costs on a monthly basis:

Rent 800.000
Bills(including internet and cable) 265.000
SPanish classes: 500.000
Gym: 100.000
Food: 500.000 (More or less)
Going out for a beer: 500.000 (again, more or less)

Which comes to: 2.665.000 per month.

Which was about 570 pound when i arrived, it is now 740, which is about the same loss you are experiencing PanthDave.

I´m having to have a serious rethink on what to do now, i want to stay but the stong peso is pushing me out. I think the answer is either to find a cheeper place(which is more difficult than you might think) or move somewhere until this Peso madness ends.

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

tomtom33 says on May 10, 2008, 12:06:

Look what you are saving on cigarettes, Paul. Eat less, drink less, Spanish classes will be over soon. Use cheaper hookers. :)

paulr says on May 10, 2008, 12:40:

True tomtom, you just reminded me, i also have a girl friend, more expensive than hookers as you well know my friend, now doble my expenses!

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

panthdave says on May 10, 2008, 12:52:

Same here Paul have a GF more expensive ahhh don't know if more expensive...because she works and we both work as a team...and are both happy we are together....Healthier Lifestyle...Drink Less Tom Tom I don't know but instead of Patron hitting Guardo lately..GF and I both drink...eat less maybe..Cigarettes I should slow down..and quit...

Basically Tom-Tom says stick it out....worth it..

panthdave Miami

rocinante says on May 10, 2008, 13:33:

Adding to TomTom's insight which is 100% corect by the way.... (Cheaper hookers=girlfriend from Estrato 2-4)

My rent - 515.000
Cable Internet and phone - 195.000
Health Insurance 200.000 and all other bills besides food and drink are exactly 1 millone de pesos mensuale.

I moved here thinking that the exchange rate would be 1000 to 1 USD. Now I'm gearing up for 500 and plan on earning more than half of my income in COP. I have to.

Guys I don't think the USD or other currencies are ever going to gain all that much on the peso in the next 15-20 years. People are under the impression that the surge in economy and political confidence in some 3rd world countries is just some fleeting anamoly not to last all that long and the exchange rate is just going to " bounce back".

Yeah right. Please see the big picture and not the "What goes up must come down" ignorance. Take India and China for example. Their currencies went up. And up. When is the correction?

Globalization is not smoke and mirrors - look at India and China 10 years ago and look at Latin America today - Colombia especially since there is/was an extremely low level of political confidence in the murder/drug capital of the world. The Colombian starting point in pre globalization exhcange rate is/was a LOT further away because of the political implications of the past. Meaning that the COP has been extremely undervalued in years past just because of the phrases "Pablo Escobar" "The Medellin Cartell" "Drug Lords" etc.... But that's just MNSHO and the NSHO of smart money who knows how to ignore and look past the stupid hype.

Yeah I hype too but I've been around the block enough to know a little something.

Foreigners come here and want to live in the same standards they are used to in their home country. Not a problem if you are rich or not sensitive all that much to currency fluctuations.

There is a catch 22. For you to have moved to a wonderful prosperous safe place such as Medellin Colombia you have to be ready for skyrocketing prices (rent, goods, business operating costs, etc...) and an economy moving forward - and the currency moves forward. And your currency (USD, EUR etc...) might just get left in the dust vs. the COP

You could move to a crappy place where the dollar is still strong and will remain strong because that country just isn't poised or too backwards to move ahead economically. Some countries will just never be taken seriously - or they don't have what it takes resource wise. Colombia is not this backwater little country that you discovered that is stagnant and cheap and not going anywhere. If that were the case you never would have found Colombia in the first place. Or if you did find it you would see it only as a vacation spot and not a living spot.

The world is getting smaller my friends.

The Colombian locals don't have to worry because they HAVE jobs which pay in Pesos, They HAVE connections and family and don't give a rat's ass about the USD as it doesn't directly affect the average working person as many here would lead you to believe otherwise. Oh and they HAVE realestate and will continue to live the way they have lived for ceturies - not in Poblado or Laureles but in Aranjuez, Buenos Aires, y Manrique y Robledo y Guayabal. They have safety in numbers and in the household if one person takes a 30% cut in pay there are 4 other workers contributing to the household- it hurts less for them than you, in Poblado with only one income and with a wife (kids) who doesn't work and suddenly your high in the hog lifestyle takes a complete and total 30% or higher hit. Not to mention inflation.

Colombia is moving along in a positive way. Daily I am reminded by how great things are now compared to how things were 10 years ago.

But you guys with your "just like home" lifestyle and such could be headed for huge problems because you are in Colombia and depend on the USD or other major currency.

I'm sorry if I come accross as harsh or degrading. I don't mean to. It's just that I'm going to the tienda to buy a few cans of beer and by the time I return the edit button will be gone - so I am appologizing in advance. Please realize that getting paid in one currency and speanding in another opens a HUGE exposure risk.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

Medellin Traveler says on May 10, 2008, 13:46:

rocinante,

Good post.

Were someone to start up a small business venture in Colombia, best charge in pesos?

Medellin es una chimba! www.medellintraveler.com

rocinante says on May 10, 2008, 13:57:

Charge in Pesos or if someone has to pay in a foreigh currency give them the casa rate. When have you ever heard of a business in the US taking Canadian dollars? Unless of course the Customer is Al Capone.

I'm back from getting that beer and the edit button is still there!

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

panthdave says on May 10, 2008, 14:16:

Roci Great Statement...Thanks...I noticed you put in a huge cushion on your budget..just in case smart..Now I need to make those adjustments so I have cushion just in case.....Household has income in Pesos and Dollars...is good way to go...

panthdave Miami

tomtom33 says on May 10, 2008, 14:24:

Thanks, Roci. I appreciate your insights. Maybe I had better hold onto that condo in the US. I might need a place that I can afford.

Of course those assets purchased at 1960 to 2800 COP to the dollar are looking mighty good right now.

durito says on May 11, 2008, 16:20:

PPP

bickerss says on May 11, 2008, 16:30:

good article - thanks!! Im hoarding dollars at the moment (partly by necessity) so hope it turns around in the medium term ie next few years.

Saltador says on May 11, 2008, 16:33:

rocinante,
What is your timeline for the peso to be at 500 with the US dollar?
Just need to know when armegeddon will be upon us...

rocinante says on May 11, 2008, 17:57:

Saltador - Just because one or two countries' currencies gain and stick vs the USD does not mean armegeddon in the US. 500? Could happen 10 years or less.

See Rubi and G'Loid if you want to hear Armageddon Depression and mass terrorst attacks accross the nation resulting in Martial law, looting and rioting in the streets.

Just because COP increases vs the USD and Colombia slowly and surely grows does NOT by any means indicate that I think the US is going to hell in a hand basket. I happen to think the US stabilizes nicely.

Where is that post where we all chose on a scale from 1-7 what we thought was going to happen to the US in regards to recession? I'm in the middle with upswing/recovery in 2-3 years.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008