Safety in Colombia

utopiacowboy says on Aug 30, 2005, 13:59:

All I can say is Glasgow must be a pretty rough place.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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carter says on Aug 30, 2005, 16:56:

I have also been to Glasgow and also find Colombian cities safer.

peter these towns are as safe as Medellin so you should enjoy them and the best thing is you can walk the streets in your favourite Celtic top without getting knifed.

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LDW says on Aug 30, 2005, 17:00:

LDW Utopiacowboy.....I would suppose many parts of the UK are becoming rough. Unhappily, the same is also true for many other European cities. Thirty plus years of politically correct immigration policies have turned many European cities into less than desirable places to live. As as an example, go the the GOOGLE search engine and type in "Muslims in Malmo" and see what Muslim immigration has done to that city in peaceful, tolerant, and secular Sweden. One Swedish returnee who had gone back to Malmo after 25 years in New York complained about how much she missed the "safety of New York". Go figure.

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LDW says on Aug 30, 2005, 17:09:

Safety in Colombian cities Further to my posting above, I still have to acknowledge that there are safety issues in Colombian cities. Among other things, it is usually a smart move to take a taxi, especially at night. Relatives of my wife actually establish ongoing business relationships with a number of certain taxi drivers, which means they always know who is driving them. They just call the guy they want on his cell phone. Taking any taxi driver on a random basis increases the risk of being stuck with a rotten apple from the barrell. Sometimes they are working for the bad guys too.

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kernow62 says on Aug 30, 2005, 17:19:

I haven't been to Medellín, but Glasgow is a hell of a rough place. My uncle was a beat cop in The Gorbals back when it was a really bad place. I went to some seedy areas of Glasgow and it is scary, & so are parts of my area around Liverpool. You might have less chance of getting killed in Liverpool or Glasgow, but a good beating is more likely I should think than in most Colombian cities.

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Ric says on Aug 30, 2005, 18:24:

Medellin Safety I have been in Medellin for a week now.
I have lived and traveled in Central America for several years and currently live in Panama.

Medellin appears on the surface to be very safe. I base this on my experience of living in other large cities in Central America. Medellin is nothiing like San Jose, Costa Rica. I feel much more secure here in Medellin than I ever do in San Jose. Medellin is a very clean city and the people are friendly and willing to help. This may change with the increase in tourism, but at the moment I would rate Medellin a 10 plus. The people are proud of their city and especially the Metro.

Note: Don't miss the Metro and cable cars. A great way to meet the people and see the numerous areas of Medellin. Each ticket is less than fifty cents which I consider a bargain.

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Rubiazo says on Aug 30, 2005, 19:01:

Most of the most dangerous areas in Colombia are areas you would probably never think of going to in the first place. There are lots of American and Canadian cities that are just as bad as Medellin and a lot worse than Bogota.

Bogota and most of the coastal areas are actually among the safest areas of the country. Not to say there is no danger. But to me, using taxis all the time or waiting for your own driver is just a little more than I would be willing to put up with. We tried calling for a taxi once here. Idiot never came. I hailed one on the street like I always do.

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 30, 2005, 21:22:

I don't consider a place where I can't walk on the street in the neighborhood after 8 or 9 at night to be a very safe place. And we're talking about a Strata 4 barrio situated a few blocks from Laureles. In everything my wife's family does, security is always a concern. We sure as hell don't live like that here.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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helen says on Aug 31, 2005, 09:14:

jeeze i cannot believe glasgow is being compared to medellin on safety issues. i grew up going to glasgow and go back frequently still. while it was definitely a dodgy place 20 years or so ago, it has imprved no end. it's an amazing place - as is medellin - but nowhere near the danger scale of medellin, not even the gorbals. i was in medellin on monday and while things have certainly improved, it is still a pretty dangerous place if you aren't careful. glasgow is not in the same league at all. there are certainly areas in glasgow that one may have trouble, but one can't compare the poverty and suffering in medellin that in many cases leads to crime and violence, to anything in glasgow. i went through the hillside shanty towns of medellin on monday for an article i am writing and it is not at all like anywhere in glasgow. there is poverty as far as the eye can see in medellin and that is not the case in glasgow.

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caslug says on Aug 31, 2005, 10:27:

jeeze 2.. While Medellin is pretty safe these days, to say it's safer than a similar size city is US or Western Europe is a little off base. Granted, most(if not all) areas that a tourist will frequent is just as safe as your home city. I was in Medellin for about a month, during the day I hit ALL the tourist spots(parks, zoos, museums, etc.,) VERY SAFE, but most tourist spots are safe in any country. Then at night i hit the popular party spots, again VERY SAFE, but again those places tend to be very safe in any city.

Rule of thumb is if an area has lots of people around that are spending money(shopping areas, party areas, tourist areas), then it fairly safe.

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 31, 2005, 17:54:

Helen, I dare say you were in some barrios that very few people on PBH have ever been. My wife has been in some of those barrios and I've gotten within 10 to 12 blocks of some of them but that was it. If all you do is hang around Poblado all day, sure it's quite safe but there are many areas that are extremely dangerous.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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enodine says on Aug 31, 2005, 18:46:

bogota i have an opportunity to travel to bogota next week for an Olympic Solidarity course - am i just being paranoid or as an american should i be concerned about the safety...I see Colombia is still on the US state dept's travel NO-No list, however Bush is president and wants all to live it fear.
any insights??

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spy1984 says on Aug 31, 2005, 19:35:

LDW knocks it out of thepark How true LDW. 3rd world status comingto all European countries including the USA. At Warp speed Scotty. Sad.

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adrimm says on Aug 31, 2005, 20:08:

Enodyne The problems in Colombia have tended to be outside of major cities, but Bogota as in all big cities (even in the states) has areas that should be avoided, mostly in the south. There are others here that can give more details.

Otherwise Bogota is little different than other large latin american cities. If you've been to Mexico City, Caracas, Lima, etc then you have an idea what to expect. Rules of thumb include not wandering around on your own after dark, keeping anything expensive tucked away (ie camera) when not in use.

If this is an organised thing and someone is overseesing activities for out-of-town attendees then you'll be absolutely fine and definitely should go with no hesitation. There are some world-class sights to be seen such as the Gold Museum. It is a great city, but full of contrasts, on the whole I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.

If it is not an organised thing and you will be enirely on your own, then I'd probably still go if you peak some Spanish. Otherwise you'll need to give it some more thought. The worst thing would be for you to arrive and be freaked out the whole time becuase you are not confident in being there.

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adrimm says on Sep 1, 2005, 08:40:

Enodine Perhaps since your concern is different from a comparison of Medellin to Glasgow you should start a new post with your question. You'll probably get more useful answers.

Some forum topics move down the list rather quickly.

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Rubiazo says on Sep 1, 2005, 13:41:

In Bogota the only no-go areas to ME, are the extreme south, that is, the area around the Usme stop on the Transmilenio and beyond. But there is also no reason on earth to go there and it´s not like you´ll wind up there by accident either- they are very far removed fropm the rest of the city.

Then again, I went there just to see how bad it really was, and lived to tell about it. I make a point of going to the worst area of any city I visit. The worst part was the open sewers in the neighborhood. The whole place smelled like a great big pile of shit, because that´s basically what it was.

Mind you, I have seen conditions in Canada AND the US that were every bit as bad, but not in cities, only in rural areas.

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quindioman says on Sep 2, 2005, 01:39:

you're good Rubi...I'm Colombian but I would not think of hitting the south of Tabogo unless I knew or was with someone repping that area...

LDW and spy1984....how's the grand wizard thesedays?....any good coonhunting spots? I got a real itchy neck...whaddya guys use for that?

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Rubiazo says on Sep 2, 2005, 10:19:

There is south and then there is SOUTH. 1 de mayo is the border between west and south, bur many people on this forum are shit scared to go there. I really dont know why. I was walking around at all hours of the night through those neighborhoods with my brand new PDA phone, my brand new Air Jordans, my $150 headphones and wearing shorts because I like the cool wind on my legs. I stuck out like a sore thumb but the worst thing that happened there was that a panhandler followed me for half a block hoping to get a big score.

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