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With the crowds and the traffic is living in Medellin or Bogta worth it ?

Also now with the US dollar below the 1,800 mark . the cost of living has risen even higher in Colombia's two most expensive towns.

By DodgerDogs on Apr 9, 2008, 21:29 in Friendly Talkzone.

DodgerDogs says on Apr 9, 2008, 21:32:

I would rather lie in city with over 400, people , but still only 2,700 pesos for taxi anywhere in town.
The place where you can still but gas for less then 2,000 pesos a gallon.
The place where Colombia's best drinking water is.
The place where the current Miss Colombia is from.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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DodgerDogs says on Apr 9, 2008, 21:47:

They in Medellin more than senos are fake, but some like "cuchie Barbies" , the costeñas are better than the paisas, and cheaper to keep contenta .

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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Bill Turley (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Apr 10, 2008, 05:44:

My US pension goes a lot further in the country like where I live. Here I drink pure mountain spring water straight from the spring, live in a town with about 30 cars total, land taxes are less tha 20,000 per year, meat is fresh and organic and cheap ( $2.00 USD/lb for filet mignon). If I want the big city, Bogota is 3 hours away.

Mr. Bill Somondoco

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webmanco says on Apr 10, 2008, 06:18:

You can avoid crowds and for traffic get a motorcicle. Any city is suitable.

No hay extremo cierto o verdadero, porque los extremos opacan, enruedan, (lavan cerebros) verdades. Yotas

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DodgerDogs says on Apr 10, 2008, 08:09:

Robbi: you know where the best water and music in Colombia is, and where Miss Colombia is from.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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Mononoke28 says on Apr 10, 2008, 09:14:

Comunicación e Idiomas en Northern Virginia Community College en Alexandria, Virginia

Translation, she came with a tourist visa and took a few ESL classes while getting ready for the beauty pageant. XD

Diana

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webmanco says on Apr 10, 2008, 09:22:

Lugar y fecha de nacimiento: Santa Marta, 20 de diciembre

No wonder she became a queen

No hay extremo cierto o verdadero, porque los extremos opacan, enruedan, (lavan cerebros) verdades. Yotas

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muchacho_escondido says on Apr 10, 2008, 12:10:

I simply cannot comprehend why a gringo would ever want to move to a big Colombian city except temporarily, for business or family reasons. I just didn't find the Colombian cities I visited the least bit appealing. The air generally sucks, there are iron bars and fences everywhere you look, crowds are unbelievable, infrastructure is poor and noise is everywhere. Add to that being a constant crook magnet (since an average gringo cannot pass for a Colombian, no matter how hard they try) too. No, I don't see why anyone who is not Latin American would consider a Colombian city home. That just looks like a very masochistic thing to do. Why would anyone do such a thing to themselves?

Now if I could, I'd love to live in a quiet well-kept colonial town, of which there are quite a few in Colombia. Or, perhaps on a finca in the mountains and wake up to the singing of birds and breathe pure mountain air. A beachside house on a white sand beach on the Atlantic cost would be nice too. That would be refreshing, that would be fantastic...But in a city? No thanks-- almost any North American city will surpass almost any Colombian city in all respects.

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Mononoke28 says on Apr 10, 2008, 12:40:

To each his own I guess.

Diana

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Apr 10, 2008, 12:46:

"almost any North American city will surpass almost any Colombian city in all respects."

It depends on what you value. I personally love walking around the streets of Colombian cities. The crowds and the noise make me feel more at home than in any American city. I especially love walking through a plaza and hearing people squawking about whatever nonsense they happen to be selling. Granted, I am not a true gringo, but I would much prefer to live in Medellin than most places in the US.

Yo me como los mocos debajo de la ruana pa que no me pidan.

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DodgerDogs says on Apr 10, 2008, 13:18:

If Smrt had the advantages of Medellin, then it would be paradiso.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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muchacho_escondido says on Apr 10, 2008, 13:58:

Not trying to be judgemental-- just sharing my *personal* impressions of urban Colombia (which I suspect would be shared by most gringos, though).

I'm sure there's always a reason for why people do what they do. And different people need different things in life to be happy.

Cheers!

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muchacho_escondido says on Apr 10, 2008, 14:09:

>For one thing it's actually got a transit system that MOVES

Rubito, that's an interesting comment. During the rush hour the only thing that seems to MOVE is Transmillenio (which doesn't go everywhere). And that's crowded beyond belief.I mean I would have a panic attack in there had I not experienced the sardine-in-a-can-like conditions in some other non-Western countries before.

If it's not rush hour, all these mini-buses are pretty efficient, though. If you know the system you can get anywhere you want with a reasonable speed and comfort.

However, as far as MOVING goes there's nothing that MOVES better than rail. New York has plenty of that and the network covers a lot of the city. So I would think NYC MOVES pretty well. There are plenty of newer over-grown American cities that don't have any alternative to the congested freeways and it sucks. It ain't NYC, though...

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durito says on Apr 10, 2008, 14:17:

"almost any North American city will surpass almost any Colombian city in all respects."

certainly not for this gringo

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tejasmarcos says on Apr 10, 2008, 15:58:

if SM could make a descent cheeseburger, it would be paradise.

- or any descent food for that matter.

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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tejasmarcos says on Apr 10, 2008, 16:19:

;)

the best thing about santa marta are the pretty girls from barranquilla....

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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muchacho_escondido says on Apr 10, 2008, 21:32:

Rubito,

Transmilenio es muy chevre, I agree. I wish every American city of significant size adopted the same idea. You need to build little new infrastructure to make that happen and the results are impressive. I think this sort of thing was first put to use in Curitiba, Brazil but maybe I'm wrong.

But damn, it's crowded. Never seen anything as crowded in the US.

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Robert Jorge says on Apr 11, 2008, 00:59:

I want to live exactly how Bill Turley is living. My paradise would be outside of Villavo, but pretty much the same as Bill's set-up. Just hotter. Villavo is even a little too big for me. I like it, but would prefer to live 20 miles outside of town.

"You can not take the barrio out of the girl you really can't." Oneforamillion

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lpdiver says on Apr 14, 2008, 20:47:

Hmm RJ you might just bump into me; if I can convince my wife that is!

t

Remember what the monkey says, "Fuck money it's free"

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Lisa Zee says on Apr 14, 2008, 21:00:

Me 2, I don`t like big cities, we could have a little community or visit each other all over the country in our nice fincas away from the crowded cities

La vida sera' contigo tan justa como lo eres con los dema's.

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RussianFred says on Apr 14, 2008, 21:43:

It's worth it, the sex is super!!!!

Mucho Chicas!!!

Annual Drug Deaths: Tobacco: 395,000, Alcohol: 125,000, 'Legal' Drugs: 38,000, Illegal Drug Overdoses: 5,200, Marijuana: 0. Considering government subsidies of tobacco, just what is our government protecting us from in the drug war?--Ralph Nader

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adrimm (Moderator) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Apr 15, 2008, 07:20:

I think most big cities can be livable, but you need to be well-located near groceries, shoppping, restaurants, services, transit becuase what will kill you is time & frustration lost commuting. For this, some tradeoffs might be made... ie. a house vs a nice condo or apartment. The condo or apartment might let me be more central, and a yard become unnessecary with the life & recreation of the city at my feet.

For me that means central. In Bogota I'd live somewhere between Ave Caracas and Cra 7, possibly up to Cra 6, probably between Calle 50 to maybe Calle 70 is Walking distance to everything I need, and walkng distance to TM, and never needing to wait long for a cab.

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adrimm (Moderator) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Apr 15, 2008, 07:28:

Rubs is right, the most successful transit systems (including metros and subways) are also the most squished at rush hours & they offer less seating than buses, simply so they can jam more people in.

Rome - metro rush hour:

Paris - metro rush hour:

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tejasmarcos says on Apr 15, 2008, 08:14:

adrimm - is that a "metro" in rome? it sure looks clean, although crowded. the metro here in mde is just as crowded.

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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durito says on Apr 15, 2008, 10:01:

You want to see a crowded metro, go to Mexico City -- I've never seen the one in Medellin even come close.

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adrimm (Moderator) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Apr 15, 2008, 21:36:

Yes Tejosmarcos.. it is a metro (underground mass transit) in Roma. Meant to illustrate that TransMilenio is not alone in its crowds.

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