moving to santa marta,any expat advice for a few questions

robi666 says on Jan 11, 2007, 10:55:

I just will shortly answer to 3 questions.
Visa: you can get your VISA in one day in Bogotà, but if you don't have to go there why don't ask it in USA? You cannot get it in Santa Marta. With your VISA, you have to go visit DAS to get a Cedula and that must be in Santa Marta if you decide to live there.

Health: it is up to you... two possibilities EPS (65,000 per month) and Medicina Prepagada (300,000 per month). Have a look at http://www.colmedica.com/ to have an idea of what you get.

Buying and renting: if you want to invest and rent, it is always better to do it where you live. That said, in Bogotà and Medellin you can get a good agency managing your property and all you have to do is to wait for money to come in in your bank account. I wouldn't invest in Santa Marta city because of many reasons, but a small apartment in El Rodadero, to be rent per day and if you don't care about it getting "abused", could be a good investment.

Hoping you know that actually owning a business in Santa Marta is not exactly like owning it in Bogotà or Medellin...

what we do in life... echoes in eternity.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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bufalo says on Jan 11, 2007, 11:24:

Thanks for the EPS info robi666, and good advice about renting in El rodadero (abused, too true)

bikeshadu: If you are looking to do something with adventure travel, give me a buzz on my contact page. I may be doing same here in Armenia. The parks are the suckiest places to go here so we are looking at the adventure end of it.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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bikesadhu says on Jan 11, 2007, 12:35:

thanks robi666,
thanks for the info,good stuff....i realized from my last recent visit and with the beaurocracy involved in purchasing my place on forclosure that the dealings are quite different than bogota,which is where my wife is from....although guatemala isnt exactly straight and narrow either....also my ole lady is pretty sharp with matters,she was a pop star in colombia in the early 90's and people on the streets still recognize her and lover her.
bufalo,check out my guatemala site at www.bikeguatemala.com ,i recently sold my ownership but im still involved spiritually.
ive seen mamancana in santa marta and checked them out,they seem to have it going on there.

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bikesadhu says on Jan 11, 2007, 12:37:

mis-type above actually i meant to write "people love her",not lover her...im the only one doing that!

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bufalo says on Jan 11, 2007, 12:41:

I don't know what mamacana is, must´ve opened u aftre I left th region (4 yrs). How smooth was the remate? I've looked into them. They always want lik 80% of the value. Did you make an offer under the asking price?

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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bikesadhu says on Jan 11, 2007, 13:17:

mamancana yeah,mamancana is pretty sweet....check out their site www.mamancana.com
the remate was alot of paperwork and red tape but all worked out perfectly in the end,we ended up getting it at 40% of the original cost,if you can believe it!!(im still buzzing over it)...we didnt even have to make an offer,it was suppose to go to auction but we ended up paying the lawyer $500 to send everyone else away.."manana" not our idea but his,i didnt ask any questions...he tried to get a little more with the bamboo furniture(the place was furnished)but dropped that in the end.
for some crazy reason while we were buying ours the manager of the complex told us about another smaller one for a lot less that the bank wanted almost nothing for so my woman and her sis and bro scooped that one up without any fuss.
i dont know if this was a regular remate deal but i do know that the next time around another one comes up im damn sure going to have the cash handy.

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robi666 says on Jan 11, 2007, 13:59:

Bikesadhu ehm... about owning a business in SM, I was not exactly thinking about beaurocracy.
Did you hear about La Aguila Negra?
Anyway, if you don't mind, give us some info about that remate (barrio, sqm and price), I like to be up to date with prices... thanks.

what we do in life... echoes in eternity.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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bikesadhu says on Jan 11, 2007, 14:21:

the black eagle?? robi666,
what,who the hell is the black eagle?sounds like a mafia.......if it is i probably know who their leader is(not really,but i met a guy who would fit the description) we had a character in guatemala like that but he went by "el pollo gordo",all joking aside can you clarify and elaborate a bit.
what about rodedero,thats where i want the biz,its sort of a ice cream shop,without giving it away.
square footage i dont know offhand,its 3 bedrooms,2 bath balcony,lrg.kitchen,overlooking the pools.
we paid $20k plus $2k taxes.
we had it renovated,new air cons,new appliances...total cost $26k

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bikesadhu says on Jan 11, 2007, 14:27:

B.T.W. the location is near rodedero,just past the airport.

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robi666 says on Jan 11, 2007, 15:44:

I'll be clear... Reason why business is differente in SM:
1) After the AUC group "Bloque Tayrona" of "mr." Hernan Girardo gave up last year, some sinister individuals decided that it was time to arm a new group. They are actually "vacunando" business and shops there in Rodadero. I do not mean it is bad, because they are possibly the main reason why you don't get robbed everyday in the streets by people from Gaira. But, anyway, something you'll surely have to deal with if you go into business.
By the way, all the policemen in Rodadero was getting paid by AUC on monthly basis. How to refuse a new salary? LOL
2) If you can trust a paisa or a cachaco a bit, you can NEVER trust a samario. Your work will be harder because you'll have to be "there" checking everytime... Just wait to hear some horror stories...
3) You'll be the one with big money. If you make 100,000 per day, they'll say that you make 5,000,000. All that special "attention" will be stressfull to handle. If not dangerous. Costenos are "chismosos"... and you will beginning to ask yourself if your workers, your guards, the man who looks after your car are selling you to some kind of criminals.

DonGringo would say that this is just Colombia. Maybe, but surely it is 10 times worse in Santa Marta than in Medellin or Bogotà.
We talk in one year and I bet your bigger ice cream that you had been asking the help of those "gentlemen" to handle a "situation" if not to kill someone.

Apart from this little things, I love Santa Marta!

what we do in life... echoes in eternity.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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bikesadhu says on Jan 11, 2007, 16:06:

the black chicken(s) sounds like protection money in a nutshell......we paid that in guatemlala...if its a "reasonable" amount i,d have no problem with that...when all is said and done its probably as you said not a bad thing,really.
the manager of our complex has a big business in rodedero so i,ll make it a point to ask him about this....maybe hes in charge of it all!
as far as dishonest employees,thats something that comes with the territory,i manage a business in the states now and ive dealt with it here,(never happened in guate though,our staff is the best!)i would be very particular of who i would hire,as i am here....but i really dont want to end up living in a stressfull nightmare,as you portray quite vividly...maybe i could grow my hair out to dreads and sell little baubles and homemade necklaces on the beach.
thanks again for the info,anything concerning is good stuff.

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robi666 says on Jan 11, 2007, 16:16:

Good! I just wanted to tell you about it, because there are just so many "blue eyed" gringos around...
I hope that we can have a beer one day in SM. I'll drive up there on the 20th.
Good luck with your move!
what we do in life... echoes in eternity.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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bufalo says on Jan 11, 2007, 18:33:

Wow, robi666 seems like santa marta isn't the super-peaceful paradise others have told me it changed into lately. I remember dancing away in Mi RAnchito and having paras come in to take "undesirables" out, who ended up dead on the beach the next day (but hte party went on all night), the lista negra in all the businesses, etc.

Does "El Pirata" still sell his Coco Loco on the beach?

And, is the leader or gangster or whatever there still Manolo? He lived in Puerto Luz which is the first groups of houses on the beach after the bridge in El Rodadero.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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robi666 says on Jan 11, 2007, 19:12:

Well bufalo, yes, it is peacefull! It is just that after you live there you begin to notice something different...
Do you know that in Sta Marta the murder rate went up 20% in 2006?
Really, there are a lot of problems with crime, but it is still a lovely place. You just learn what to do and how... and that's it! :-) In a way, it is easier to solve problems here in Colombia than back home...
I don't know Manolo but if he lives in Puerto Luz I guess he can't be a leader anyway if you know what I mean... ;-)
Yes, El Pirata is still there, altough I didn't go much to El Rodadero beach lately...
I hang out more up there in Guaichaca and Buritaca.
It seems that you used to be there some years ago... I am just new in town and still learning!

what we do in life... echoes in eternity.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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bufalo says on Jan 12, 2007, 10:01:

"I don't know Manolo but if he lives in Puerto Luz I guess he can't be a leader anyway if you know what I mean... ;-)" - sorry, I have no idea. Glad to hear it is still peaceful. I went there every year for about 12 years, when La Escollera was smaller before the fire, hell, the Olimpica on the main road didn't even exist. Jogging over El Ziruma, excersing on the chin bars on the beach with El Pirata. He used to hold onto my crutches in hi boat all day when I broke my leg. I heard that Candela doesn't exist anymore, what is it now?


Can you do me a HUGE freaking favor and if you see Pirata, tell him Chema's brother-in-law says hello, he'll (hopefully) know what you mean.

I see you don't accept emails, feel free to contact me through the contact page.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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pedro says on Jan 12, 2007, 12:04:

Visa This is what I have been told about visas -- you need to get the first one outside of Colombia, then you can renew yearly in Colombia (Bogota only). May be different depending on the type of visa.

Your closest consulate is probably across the Venezuelan border (San Cristobal? might be, I don't remember clearly).

I asked at the consulate in Australia about some more obscure visa categories and they had no idea of the requirements. I already knew more than them from reading the minrelext site. You may get a more useful response from the consulates in countries neighbouring Colombia.

que nota!

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bikesadhu says on Jan 13, 2007, 07:03:

re; thanks again everyone....robbi,i,ll give you a buzz when i arrive via this site,thanks for all the advice..i,ll steer clear of where the black chicken flies until i get a good perspective on things...im not terribly gringo looking,i do have a fair amount of tattoos on my arms and legs,not of the low quality jailhouse variety.

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