expatriate has left 648 comments

expatriate comments on Sourcing DVDs with Spanish Soundtrack/English subtitles

Download the free application uTorrent in order to download movies or other files. From isohunt.com or piratebay.com you can search for movies in any language to download in .avi format, via your uTorrent app. Download subtitles from http://www.opensubtitles.org/en or http://subscene.com/ Also from isohunt.com, you can download a cracked version of ConvertXtoDVD, which automatically converts the movies into DVD format and burns them onto your blank DVDs. After starting ConvertXtoDVD, add the .avi format movie file, and then right click on subtitles, and add the subtitle file that you downloaded. Put a blank DVD in your DVD burner, click on the convert button, and wait a couple of hours. When the DVD drive opens up, you're done.

expatriate comments on Recommendations for spanish textbooks

An excellent book is "Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish", Margarita Madrigal, ISBN 0-385-41095-4. $12.95 paperback. Written in 1951 with original illustrations by Andy Warhol. If you get this book, take your time and do the written lessons, speak out loud the lessons when instructed, and you'll be speaking Spanish in a few weeks.

expatriate comments on What is a real/good job? Advice? I want to leave Colombia.

Work on a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and you will always have a job.

expatriate comments on Charcoal Briquettes In Cali?

La 14 has them in the produce section at floor level.

expatriate comments on Sending Important Items Abroad-Which Postal Service-Cost

Also, if you are mailing anything to a PO box in the US, you will need a friend in the US to help you out. Send your envelope to him/her via DHL, because it is cheaper than Fedex, and because neither service delivers to PO boxes. The friend must then seal the envelope that you left open for inspection, put a stamp on it, and mail it.

expatriate comments on Gifts from Colombia to take to Ecuador

The best gift is cash.

expatriate comments on PBH Google Ads on the Colombian forum...

What ads? I thought that every internet savvy person on the planet was using Firefox with the Adblock Plus Add-on.

expatriate comments on On my last 180 Tetley Tea Bags...help!

Bogotaboy. You have entered a culinary wasteland, where tradition takes place over imagination, thus you must import what you need, crave or strongly desire. (Images from The Road Warrior are now swirling in the imagination). It is very easy to get almost anything you want online from U.S. sources sent to Miami, and then sent on to you in Colombia. Contact James Montoya in Miami, 1-754-244-6845. He speaks English and will get your things to you at a reasonable rate. If you are ordering from several U.S. online sources, ask him to arrange to save your packages up until he has everything that you have ordered. He will repackage all of your things into a single smaller box for a nominal charge. Other PBH members can recommend other Miami to Colombia shippers. Take care and never lose hope. Civilization is within reach. Can you imagine actually missing such peasant pleasantries as Taco Bell?

expatriate comments on How does it work computer nerds?

To avoid seeing those ads, use Firefox with the free add-on called Adblock Plus.

expatriate comments on

Bringing pills in is easy. Pour them on a 3" X 6" piece of card stock paper, cover with another piece, tape the two pieces together, and put it in a normal envelope. Send the envelope Fedex with the contents marked as documents. I do it all the time.

expatriate comments on

Your wife stole 3000 Pesos from you! Divorce her now! Realistically, maybe you should have gone to Blockbuster and rented it.

expatriate comments on help needed on retirement plans in cali,colombia

Health insurance with a company like Coomeva is inexpensive and will be a small part of your budget. The only variable that I see in your future is if your pension will continue on past the impending breakup of the U.S.

expatriate comments on Spanish Courses in Cali

Englishnet is a place to enquire about Spanish classes. They are located in the Santa Monica barrio in the North. 011-572-661-0670 or 011-572-683-1044.

expatriate comments on How much a carton of good quality cancer sticks cost these days in Colombia?

A carton of Boston goes for 16-19K, or about $6.50 to $7.50. That's the only brand I buy, so the only price I can give.

expatriate comments on where to exchange high amount of dollars to pesos?

The limit is not 1 million a day. The amount that you can withdraw from an ATM depends upon your US bank account. My accounts allow $400 a day, so the maximum amount of Pesos that I can withdraw depends upon the exchange rate. If you have several US accounts, you can withdraw from each of them every day. There are no taxes on money exchange. Affinity Bank in Ventura, CA and National Interbank offer free checking accounts with no international ATM fees. Some people use a Capitol One account. If your uncle is Colombian, sorry, but don't trust him with your money. Wait until you get here to start moving your money in. Something to consider is to buy gold coins, bring them with you, and sell them in Bogota when you arrive.

expatriate comments on Is the reason cars in Colombia are so expensive ......

New vehicles in Colombia are highly taxed, thus the high sticker price. Used vehicles, like anywhere, go for what the market will bear. They most likely keep their resale value because the labor part of the repair bill is much lower than in places like California. For example, I once got a four wheel alignment and all tires balanced for a total of $8.

expatriate comments on Bank/Mail issues...

It looks like you either need to pay for Fedex or DHL to get the ATM card, or take out enough cash out of the ATM right now to last the rest of your trip.

expatriate comments on Any fixed income/equity/forex traders here?

May I suggest http://www.sunshineprofits.com/ - Their recommendations are quite profitable. If you eventually decide to sign up, please enter my username as the referral - junruh

expatriate comments on do turn signals cause cancer?

A driver using his turn signal is so rare that other drivers often interpret a turn signal on as: The other driver has turned on the emergency parking lights, but the bulbs on one side are burned out. Turning on the emergency parking lights while driving is Colombian sign language for: I am about to do something dumb and unpredictable, so stay clear of me. If you are a driver in Colombia, used to driving in countries where they have actual traffic police, you need to learn how to drive all over again here. Turn signals don't mean anything. Drivers turn any direction at any time, and from any lane, with the correct or wrong turn signal on, no turn signal on, or the worst of all, all turn signals on (emergency parking lights).

expatriate comments on Capital One ATM card not working

The fluorescent green and black Servibanca ATMs always seem to work. They are in large grocery stores, malls, airports, etc.

expatriate comments on Colombia and paypal.

You might even need to go through a U.S. proxy server when contacting Paypal. Lists of anonymous proxy servers can be found on the web. Once you have a list of proxy servers, and choose one in the U.S., change the settings in your web browser. With Firefox, it is Tools>Options>Advanced>Connection Settings>Manual Proxy. Type in the IP address and the port number, and select Use this proxy for all protocols, because you will need the proxy for SSL logins into Paypal. Just keep trying proxy servers until you find a working one that is fast enough to load a web page, and then go to Paypal's web site.

expatriate comments on do colombians need a visa to go to nicaragua

http://nicaragua.visahq.com/embassy/Colombia/ Tourist visa available. Apply here: Nicaragua Embassy , Colombia Calle 108A Nº 25-44, entre la Avenida 19 y Autopista Norte Bogota, Colombia Phone: 57-1-6198911 57-1-6198934 57-1-6189863 Fax: 57-1-6196050 Email: co.embajada02 at cancilleria.gob.ni

expatriate comments on Barranquilla Business Opportunities

If you have a Corporate job in the U.S., I suggest that you keep it as long as you can. Buy a one ounce gold coin whenever you get the cash together.

expatriate comments on which car rental company is best for bogota => cali one way?

Andrea, unless you have lots of experience driving in Colombia, I'd really suggest flying. If you didn't have the dog, I'd say take the bus. If you are really short on cash, one person can fly with the dog and the other can take the bus. Renting a vehicle is expensive, and driving is dangerous.

expatriate comments on Withdrawal fee

National Interbank and Affinity Bank offer free checking accounts with no international ATM fees, and can be opened by mail.

expatriate comments on

I do. Send me a private message, if Arthur does not get in contact with you first.

expatriate comments on Buying knockoffs in Cali

You buy those things in downtown Cali, in an area called San Andresito, named after the (maybe no longer) duty free island of San Andres. Any taxi driver will take you there, or close to it if he gets stuck in traffic. The sidewalks are crowded for a good reason. Ask for directions to what you are shopping for, and then ask again for another store to comparison shop. Do not be afraid to bargain. Be aware that almost everything is of the lowest quality.

expatriate comments on Colombian lesson for beginners No.1

makopp5, you should give up. Besides the installation cost, everyone's monthly dues will go up to operate the heater. They already know that, and are willing to settle for an unheated pool.

expatriate comments on

I took a trip there for a week. Panama City is the definition of hot, and there are really no nice beaches very close by. Unless you are going there to see the canal, I would recommend booking a trip to the Colombian island of San Andres. She does not need a visa, the beaches are nice, and the shopping is good.

expatriate comments on COLOMBIAN RECIPES NEEDED URGENTLY --PLEASE HELP....HUSBAND IS DRIVING ME NUTS!

I would hire a maid twice a week to clean up the house, and cook enough Colombian food each time to last him until the next time she comes to work. If you want something good to eat, especially if it is even a little bit spicy, you'll have to cook it for yourself.

expatriate comments on Cali -Gringo TAX Restaurant Balocco- Update- I'm Down but not out ...

It's too bad you got ripped. We always paid what you expected to pay, about 21,000 for two. We quit going there because the food was nothing special, atmosphere nonexistent, and I didn't see a reason to wait 40 minutes for spaghetti when we were the only ones in the place. Salerno is a good Italian place, in various locations around Cali.

expatriate comments on

Some engouragement, Tone Loc. A while I go I saw what looked like a good business plan on the internet for making money off of Cuban cigars. Set up your corporation in a free trade zone so that you can import Cuban cigars duty free. Colon, Panama maybe? You will need a better web site than your competitors, and some advertising, and of course a good reputation and advice to your customers about what type of Cuban to order, for your customers new to cigars. The company web site I saw sold all kinds of Cuban cigars, and the price included worldwide Fedex. If you can afford Cubans, you can afford Fedex. For U.S. customers, the paper cigar bands were removed, and were sent via regular mail separately. That policy was well explained on the web site. Good luck!

expatriate comments on Direct Deposit of SSA in Colombia

Bill! (followed by the sound of a gentle slap). Get a new keyboard, bro. Also, you will probably find that the $10 a month for a basic USABox is worth having to avoid the hassles you are going through.

expatriate comments on Direct Deposit of SSA in Colombia

Hi Bill. It's Saturday evening and OK to slur your spelling a bit. I'm not sure of the question, but if you are tired of poor service at Colombian banks, open up a free U.S. checking account that has no international ATM fees, and your SSA checks will be available immediately (for as long as SSA checks last, which may not be much longer). Once the account is open, visit the Social Security web site and you will find the phone number to call so that you can change the bank to where your check will be deposited. You also need to tell SSA your real address and phone number, because you do need to check in once a year to prove that you are alive, thus deserving continuance of the checks. You can open by mail free checking accounts with no international ATM fees at National Interbank and Affinity Bank. Some PBHers recommend Capitol One. You will probably need to have a U.S. mailing address of some sort, like USABox to open an account with any of the above mentioned banks.

expatriate comments on

Cuban and other cigars can be found in Colombia, specifically in a store called Havana on the ground floor of the Hotel Dann Carlton in Cali. The Dann Carlton is next to the Hotel Intercontinental, and so there are numerous foreign businessmen in the area. I presume that the cigar store targets this type of market. I personally have never seen a Colombian smoking a cigar, so importing cigars into Colombia doesn't seem like such a great idea to me, except to compete with the example store mentioned above.

expatriate comments on THE RISKS OF USING DEBIT MACHINES

I have used ATMs in Cali thousands of times without problem for nearly 5 years, until 5 days ago. From a Davivienda ATM I withdrew 400k, 400k, and then 200k from the same machine, one after the other. The last transaction failed, but my U.S. account was debited anyway. So, I printed out my statement that I got online, and wrote a letter explaining what happened, and took it in to the bank manager. I was handed the 200K in cash the next business day. Since this is the first time I have heard this problem mentioned on PBH, this might be happening on purpose. Certainly some of the customers do not complain, and the bank keeps the dough.

expatriate comments on Do you guys think the US is heading in the wrong track?

The U.S. is being purposely and systematically destroyed. I tend to agree with Russian Professor Igor Panarin, who has been predicting that the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

expatriate comments on

Maybe someone who lived here at the time can comment on how things were in Colombia from 2001-2003. Something of interest. During those years, the best performing stock index in the world was the U.S.'s S&P 500. Stock indexes of the rest of the world did even worse.

expatriate comments on Aguardiente Brands?

I think only an aquardiente connoisseur can tell the difference between brands. Go ahead. Take the girl's aquardiente.

expatriate comments on What bank gives you the best exchange rate in Colombia??

If you use a Colombian ATM, as far as I can tell, the exchange rates among Colombian banks are all the same. What you should have is a favorable U.S. bank account that does not charge any international fees. Once again, Affinity Bank in Ventura, Ca. and National Interbank in Indianapolis offer free checking accounts with no international ATM fees, and they can be opened by mail. Your comment on Bank of America's rate being 2100 to 1 probably means that if you want to buy Pesos in the U.S., that is their going rate. The rate at Colombian ATMs right now is around 2500 to the USD.

expatriate comments on looking to hit cali in the summer, always wanting advice & pointers...

Hi. I glanced through your myspace page, and I get the impression that you would have a better time this summer in northern Europe than in Latin America. You remind me of my nieces that live in Sweden. If you visit Stockholm, Malmo or Goteborg, you also won't have to bother learning a foreign language. Changing your attitude or appearance is not necessary in Cali. Anything goes. Also, this is not Mexico, so you can drink the water and eat the food without problems. If you do come to Cali, feel free to get in touch with me.

expatriate comments on Importing used Farm Equipment into Colombia

As I understand it, Colombia is shooting itself in the foot by not allowing used vehicles or food processing equipment in, which means less production and less factories. In the grocery store you see imported canned pineapple and tomatoes. Crazy, huh?

expatriate comments on Gringo preparing for a possible move to Colombia needs advice

"or do I need to wait to apply closer to the time we plan on leaving?" Wait until you are within a month of leaving, or the Visa will expire. Be sure to get the Visa in the U.S. to save huge hassles and red tape. If you have someone in Colombia that you really trust, (wow, is that rare), he can accumulate your money in his bank account. I'd suggest Fedex-ing him two fee free ATM cards for the best exchange rate. The combination of the two allows him to withdraw up to $400 per day from each account, even though he has to stand at the ATM and use each of the cards 2 or 3 times. From what I have read, I believe that the exchange rate will end up around 2600 COP to the USD. If that turns out to be the case, there is no hurry to send the cash via Western Union. The free checking accounts that I suggest you open by mail, and which have no international ATM fees are Affinity Bank in Ventura, Ca., and National Interbank in Indianapolis.

expatriate comments on Need a Ocean Shipper to Buenaventura from SanFrancisco or Oakland CA.

We used Kamino four years ago from San Francisco to Cali, but maybe this list will help you out now - http://www.aircargoworld.com/directories/2009fd/c.htm Consider air freight for much less hassle and speed. Kamino trucked our household to Ft. Lauderdale, then shipped it to Buenaventura. At that point we had to pay $1000 or so for paperwork and to have it trucked to Cali. Air freight might even be cheaper overall.

expatriate comments on Busco una casa en Cali-colombia pa comprar cash-looking for house for sale in cali-colombia anyone?

It would be very helpful to myself and others if you could describe what kind of home you are looking for, why you chose Cali, and a ballpark figure of how much you are willing to invest in Cali real estate. Examples of a description would be how many bedrooms, a house or apartment, what part of the city, how many square meters (or about 10 times the square feet), etc.

expatriate comments on Precious metals investing Colombia

An alternative is to buy shares of CEF. "Central Fund's purpose is to hold gold and silver bullion on a secure basis for the convenience of investors in the shares of Central Fund." http://www.centralfund.com/

expatriate comments on Internet Service in Cali

I have used Uniweb and Emcali, 500K, about 50-60K pesos monthly and am satisfied with the service. Avoid ETB at all costs, due to unreliable service and billing problems after you have canceled.

expatriate comments on Question for you finance and $ exchange experts

To avoid ATM fees, you can open by mail a free checking account with National Interbank in Indianapolis and a free checking account with Affinity Bank in Ventura, Ca. Each has a $400 daily limit, so your mother in law could make two or more withdrawals a day from each account, which at the present exchange rate would round out to a withdrawal of 900,000 pesos per account daily - all free of ATM charges.

expatriate comments on turnmeon

What does "bump" mean as a first comment to someone's post, such as http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/first-time-in-cali/ ? I think that if I posted something and got that, it might hurt my feelings.

expatriate comments on Moving to Barranquilla: What to buy (flat, house, cabana)?

Good idea, Elmo. While you're in the improvement mode, buy your sister a shower head and upgrade the lighting fixtures to something better than those 2500 peso light bulb sockets. For your own place, build a hot tub up there on your deck to share with your friends. No need to heat it, just locate it in the full Barranquilla sun.