expatriate has left 531 comments

expatriate comments on Menticol Anyone?

It seems to be available at Drogas La Rebaja, a chain drug store, at least in Cali, and possibly around the country. http://www.copservir.com/larebajavirtual/index.php?keyword=Menticol azul&Search=Seek&Itemid=26&option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse

expatriate comments on What's Cheaper in Colombia.. ??

Cheaper in Colombia? Taxis, fresh produce, eye checkups and changing the lenses in frames you already have (80k to get both lenses replaced with a new prescription), any kind of manual labor such as getting a lamp repaired or a brick patio replaced, real estate taxes, lunches, and from what I hear, the world's oldest profession. That's all I can think of at the moment. Many things cost more, such as vehicles. Imported items such as canned pineapple from Thailand I blame on some crazy law that prevents the import of used food processing equipment and the very high IVA rate that must be paid to import new equipment.

expatriate comments on What are the budget hotels in Cali?

A taxi ride from the airport is about 50k pesos. You can also take a shuttle bus to the Cali transportation terminal, and then line up for a taxi to your destination. This way is much cheaper, but may be a hassle if you have tons of luggage. If you need Pesos, after you get outside of the airport door where lots of people are waiting for their friends and loved ones, turn right and go back upstairs to the departure area and use an ATM. The black and green Servibanca ATM is the one most likely to accept your ATM card. Here's the info I have on budget hotels, and is a couple of years out of date. You have to take it from here, or for better info, consult with your taxi driver. I live here, so I don't stay in hotels, but the nice ones have gone up to about $100 a night. Cali Plaza - Excellent reviews. Near everything. $55-$140 a night. Calle 15 Norte No. 6N-37 Phone: English: (From USA 011 57 ) 312-287-9840 (Claude) or 315-537-6934 (Edgar) Spanish: (From USA 011 572 ) 668-2611 (Cali Plaza Reception) Email: Mail at CaliPlaza.com Hostal San Fernando - Calle 3 No. 27-87 - from $29 Aparta Hotel del Rio, Hilton like hotel room, 1 bd, ac, hot water, breakfast, housekeeping, security, no guest fee, next to Avienda Sexta zone, 86k/night, one block from the casas de chicas. Aparta Hotel Montecarlo, 1 bd room suite w/ living room/kitchen, ac, hot water, security, housekeeping, in Avienda Sexta zone, 75k/night Hostal La Colina - $18. In the old San Antonio barrio. Hotel Torre de Babel. In the Versalles barrio. 25-35K a night, it's quiet, comfortable, cold water, and next door to a Bordello. Sorry, no address or phone number. I just stumbled across it one night. Also, PBH has a listing. http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/21930

expatriate comments on Place to live in Cali

AC doesn't seem to be needed this year, and you can have an electrician install an electric shower head for hot showers. You can try contacting Arthur Brode for real estate - http://poorbuthappy.com/arthurbrode/

expatriate comments on From Cali to Pereira & Closing Times for Bars/Discos in Pereira & Cali

Yes, LuvsAddiction. We live in North Cali, and along with tens of thousands of other people, we hear Latin discotech music until 2:00 AM every night of the week except most Sundays.

expatriate comments on Uribe Should Step Down

Rubito has a point. "I say keep em ALL flushing out ASAP". I can't edit my previous post anymore, but I just wanted to add that since I was about 12 years old, I realized that it is best not to re-elect ANY politician.

expatriate comments on

From what I've gathered, Colombianas don't expect a diamond at all, but I don't feel like getting into this. I moved to Cali when I had been married to a Colombiana for 12 years, whom I met in California, and she does have a diamond ring, and wore it in California like every other married woman, but she stopped wearing it in Cali, and has it locked up now.

expatriate comments on From Cali to Pereira & Closing Times for Bars/Discos in Pereira & Cali

I live in Cali, so I can't give any advice on Pereira. Cali to Pereira by bus is closer to 3 or more hours I believe. 1.) Go outside the terminal and check out the actual bus you are going to take before buying your ticket. Go in the bus and try out the seats and A/C. 2.) Bars in Cali close at 2:00 AM, and 10:PM on Sundays, unless Monday is a holiday, then bars stay open on Sunday until 2:00 AM and close on Monday at 10:PM. 3.) Cali party people still going strong at 2:00 AM in Cali take a taxi to the small town of Juanchito where the bars stay open much later. It's about a 10-12K peso ride or about 20 minutes.

expatriate comments on Uribe Should Step Down

They want to impeach the Colombian President, whom, by polling figures, is one of the world's most popular Presidents worldwide, and impeachment is off the table for one of the least popular and most destructive Presidents in the world. That makes sense.

expatriate comments on Do Colombians hold grudges, if so for how long?

The 10 surviving brothers and sisters of my wife seem to hold a grudge for life, but then I suspect that they have narcissism in their genes.

expatriate comments on expatriate

That is Dave - http://www.davedraper.com/

expatriate comments on Canon Inks In Cali?

I have a Canon Pixma, and I have bought several new cartridges on the internet and had them sent to me from the U.S., since I was having other things sent to me also. I tried a refill here once, but it just leaked all over the printer. It must be a difficult cartridge to work with or something. One time Buy.com had a sale on the same model, so I bought another of the same printer because it was cheaper than the ink, and then I gave the old one away to my brother in-law. When this last batch of ink is gone, I'll ask around to see what type of ink cartridge is easiest to refill, and buy that kind of printer. If you are looking for ink, I would try La 14 first.

expatriate comments on Peso strengthens against the dollar

It is so wonderful to have "1984" on ignore. May I suggest everyone try it?

expatriate comments on Peso strengthens against the dollar

Thanks for the support, Nucknfuts. As for you, 1984, "Gold and silver will be useless". I cannot comment without insulting you in some way, so I'll just say that gold and silver have not been useless for thousands of years, and I see no evidence that the situation will change, especially with silver. It has also been used as common coinage in the U.S. as recently as 1964. Not only is silver a precious metal but it is also used and consumed as a commodity. Silver has unique characteristics that are nearly invaluable for commercial use. Silver is used and consumed by all modern societies. It is used in medical supplies, photography, computer chips and in ever increasing aspects of our lives. Because most products such as a computer require a very small quantity of the metal in the finished product, the users of the metal will pay nearly any price for silver in a potential shortage. With great up and coming nations such as China and India with billions of new consumers, commercial demand for silver is yet one more extremely bullish factor to consider. Silver has been in a supply deficit for approximately eighteen years, since 1990. This means every year above ground silver supplies have been diminishing. The only dynamic that can reverse this pattern is a higher price for an ounce of Silver. Only higher prices will encourage exploration and production for new metal to be brought to the market. This is an inevitable fact of a supply deficit. Either the price of silver will increase enough to raise production, or above ground supplies of silver will eventually run out. In the event the world were to run out of above ground silver, there would be no way to predict how high the price for an ounce of silver would rise until the situation is corrected. It is logical to expect a major computer manufacturer to be willing to pay nearly any price for silver in order to complete production of their finished product. Because the amount of silver in most finished products is very small, the price is considered very inelastic, meaning manufacturers will pay whatever it takes to continue production of their products that require very little silver. If you lived in Zimbabwe, don't you wish you would have bought some gold or silver a couple of years ago? All societies based upon unbacked paper money eventually go through that situation.

expatriate comments on Peso strengthens against the dollar

Thanks, Nucknfuts. I speak up when I have something serious to say, especially when it can help other expats. Yes, most people liked Ron Paul according to polls a few months ago, but the controlled media runs the election process in the U.S., so Mr. Paul is out of sight, out of mind now. The U.S. media has chosen to present their favorite two candidates, and even then vote fraud is so widespread that the U.S. people get whomever the government of Israel wants, based upon the very powerful AIPAC lobby. Everyone else, no hard feelings, but there is much to learn in little time. While apologizing, can anyone name an unbacked paper currency that has made it over 100 years? I give you all of human history to research, taking all paper currencies and all nation states into account. Hint. You won't find any. Buy physical silver.

expatriate comments on Peso strengthens against the dollar

tomtom33, you are a sucker too. What do they say in the U.S.? Inflation is 2%? If you leave out driving, and eating, that might be true. It is actually an excuse to keep the increase of Pension and Social Security payments down.

expatriate comments on Peso strengthens against the dollar

Morphus. Burning money is an idiotic idea. The best plan is to convert the paper cash into gold, or pay off some of the national debt. Otherwise, the U.S. is in deep doo doo. Don't get me started on who actually owns the "Federal Reserve". I might want to visit the U.S. someday for a wedding or something, without being redirected to one of the hundreds of worldwide and U.S. based torture/slave labor camps like Guantanamo, which everyone knows (that studied the constitution in junior high) is unconstitutional. That's all morphus. Spend a few years reading www.whatreallyhappened.com and learn something.

expatriate comments on Peso strengthens against the dollar

Morphus. You are not paying attention. Let me repeat in case you are high or uninformed. "The U.S. is currently adding about 20% to its money supply yearly, which translates to about 20% inflation in reality." Ask any middle class U.S. citizen about his/her expenses. Also, "start collecting one ounce silver American Eagles" could not be better advice. Silver is going up faster than gold because it is an industrial metal, which is being used up faster than it is being mined.

expatriate comments on Peso strengthens against the dollar

The Peso strengthened pretty well today. From what I've read, the whole global financial situation is going to collapse in the next year or two. You should have shorted the Dollar since October 2006, and the rate of decline is accelerating. Start collecting one ounce silver American Eagles. They are about $20 today, but someday if you have 500 of them, you'll be able to buy the average U.S. home. - http://www.apmex.com/Category/160/Silver_American_Eagles_Uncirculated_2008__Prior.aspx The Euro, the Colombian Peso, and the Dollar are backed by nothing except the hope that someone else will accept it as payment for what you are buying. The Euro will go first, followed by Asian currencies, and finally the Dollar. Who knows where the COP fits in, but it is also backed by nothing. I'm talking months here, not years. All of this is fully controlled by each government's central bank, called "The Federal Reserve Bank" in the U.S., even though it is not a part of the federal government, has no reserves, and is not a bank, but a private company. The fact that the COP appears stronger, is that the Colombian central bank is not printing currency as fast as the U.S. and some other currencies. The U.S. is currently adding about 20% to its money supply yearly, which translates to about 20% inflation in reality. Enough for now. Buy physical silver, and don't sell it.

expatriate comments on Cali Internet Penalty ??

That is Emcali. Maybe you can email them and ask about their telephone number - I didn't see one. Their web site is http://www.emcali.com.co/ email - soporte at emcali.net.co

expatriate comments on Cali Internet Penalty ??

I use Uniweb for cable internet, and Univision, the same company for TV, get good service, and can cancel anytime, since we are on a month to month contract. Sorry about whatever contract you signed and chose not to stay with. If that company is ETB, I would just walk away. Their records are so screwed up that my wife was still fighting with them eight months after we canceled because we kept getting billed, even though she visited their office every month with proof in hand, even though they took the dish antenna, and even though we were on a month to month contract. The reason we canceled was because their download speed was never what they advertised, and usually was at only 1-2%. That was the "Make a pot of coffee while yahoo.com's main page loads" kind of speed. ETB even sent out notices of potential liens to ALL of their customers at one point. The office was so packed the next day with angry people that my wife went back for her monthly argument another day.

expatriate comments on

To answer your questions to the best of my knowledge, which isn't much. 1.) The easiest way to stay in Colombia is to marry a Colombiana. There are plenty. They are beautiful. Take your pick. 2.) What can I say? 3.) If you are going to live in Colombia, live in Medellin. If you like the ocean, and a desert habitat, where cacti grow down to ocean level, a condo on the beach in the Rodadero area of Santa Marta would be nice. 4.) We have a Mazda Demio, a well designed, reliable and utilitarian car, but I don't see the need for it. There is a paper hanging from the turn signal showing that we got our oil changed in late December, or 700 KM ago - 420 miles in six months. Take a taxi! 5.) La Catorce is not really high end, but buying a few imported products, like cooking sherry, Mexican salsa from Chicago, a reasonable amount of meat, and food and litter for four cats adds up. To save money, we could go on a vegetarian diet, and eat the normal Colombian foods, but our kitchen turns out the best food in Cali! Better than the expensive restaurants on Avenida 9. 6.) Wait for the the real estate bubble to pop. President Uribe is getting tired. After him it is anyone's guess, but I guess that things will go from tolerable to untolerable. When a nice 3 bedroom Arlington, TX home is about 100K, in a safe neighborhood with a 1/6 acre, and the average personal income for the area is $40,000, it doesn't make sense to pay so much for a small apartment in Medellin where the average income is about $9000 a year. Shop around Latin America if you have the time and money. Colombia is not the retirement haven yet, if ever.

expatriate comments on

Thank you for the compliment, WorldEditor. I'm trying to be straight forward. I would have recommended Mexico except that I read that it has become more violent than Colombia's past. I love the food and the people. It is the most enchanting country than one can visit. Perhaps if you look around the North Yucatan peninsula you will find a place you like. Moving to Colombia just doesn't make sense at this point in time. The cars cost almost double what they cost in the U.S. or Panama, the engines are 1.3 liters, the gas is more expensive, and the roads are destroyed, especially inside the cities. Real estate is not cheap either, and from the several hundred places that I have seen, I would not even consider moving into one of them, even with a full remodeling. The only place I have ever seen in Cali where I would consider living is where I live now, in a '70's penthouse apartment in the North of Cali, near everything. We used to be surprised when we spent over $100 on a grocery trip to Safeway in California. The typical grocery trip in Cali is now around $190 for us. Colombia right now is neither cheap nor that safe. We got tired of day trips from Cali, because we can see poverty right here in town. No need to travel. How does our maid get by on 35,000 Pesos twice a week?

expatriate comments on Medellin or Cali to live?

I have lived in Cali for four years now, because my wife's family lives here. It is destroyed beyond hope of repair. Choose Medellin. It is better in every way.

expatriate comments on

To simplify, if you want to live in a South of the border country, may I suggest Panama or Belize. They have much more immigrant friendly rules. I believe you only need to show a pension or guaranteed income of around $600 monthly to stay there indefinitely. Also consider Argentina or Uruguay. I don't know the rules, but they are under priced right now. Without my wife's family living here in Cali, the Panama highlands around Boquette would be my first choice. Cool weather, and an hour's drive to the Pacific or the Caribbean.

expatriate comments on Where to find Peter Pan peanut butter?

La Catorce, with stores in the Cali area, and I don't know where else, has several kinds of peanut butter in the imported food section.

expatriate comments on Medicine in Colombia

A natural remedy that works is called uña de gato, or cat's claw. You'll have to ask around on where to buy this herb in your city. This worked for a friend, and he feels much better. He cannot afford to buy medicine. You just make a tea with it and drink it once a day. Still follow your doctor's orders, of course, but try this in addition to your meds.

expatriate comments on bar closing times Cali

Two o'clock is a good time to close the bars. It has been that way in California for as long as I know. If you're still in the party mood when the bars close in Cali, the plan is to taxi 20 minutes to the city of Juanchito where the nightclubs stay open much longer.

expatriate comments on Bringing Money to Colombia

Don't forget that you can use an ATM machine more than once a day, up to your card's limit. It also helps to have two accounts like I mentioned in the first post. At this point, my ATM card with a $400 limit will allow me to withdraw 700,000 pesos, in two transactions, a 400,000 and a 300,000. The new car dealer accepted partial payment several times, and gave us a receipt each time until the car we bought was paid for in full, so we didn't keep much cash in our apartment. Putting the cash in the bank is not a good idea, since at some point you will have to withdraw it. If you walk out of the bank with tons of cash in front of dozens of witnesses, you may be followed. Also, the cashier has your home address, and it is common to arrive home and be robbed before you get inside your home.

expatriate comments on A nanny

Kat, what does bump mean? What worked for my brother in-law was declaring the maid to be his daughter. Future problems for him are complicated, which means that someday she may be due an inheritance.

expatriate comments on Bringing Money to Colombia

Get an account that does not charge ATM fees, and withdraw the money from an ATM to get the best rate. The two that I use are Affinity Bank in Ventura, Ca, and National Interbank in Indianapolis. Both checking accounts are free and there are no international ATM charges. I also use a free Paypal account to transfer the money between all of my accounts. Most U.S ATM cards have a $400-$500 daily limit. You can use the ATM machines more than once a day, as long as you stay under that limit. In a couple of weeks you will have enough to pay cash for the truck, and thus have the upper hand when bargaining the price. Don't bring U.S. dollars to Colombia. You will get a poor exchange rate. On a side note, if you are going back to the states anyway, withdraw up to your limit from the ATMs every day, change the Pesos into USD at a cambio house each day to lock in your profit, and then take the dollars home and put it in your U.S. bank account (up to 10G's). The spread (or profit) you will make by doing this is 5-7% at the present time.

expatriate comments on Peso Hits 16 looking for 14 maybe faster than we think...

Dick Cheney has his money invested in Euros. As long as Dick Cheney makes money, that is all that matters. Malignant narcissists don't care about anyone else, as long as they have enough money to feel comfortable.

expatriate comments on Alcohol and Cigarette Brands in Colombia

I just wonder why on earth would you care?

expatriate comments on Moving from California to Bucaramanga

I moved from Campbell, CA to Cali. We used Kamino in South San Francisco, but it was a big hassle on this end. I suggest checking some company like http://www.allied.com/ which will handle both ends of the shipment.

expatriate comments on Shipping to colombia (I know, it's been discussed...)

In Cali, the downtown area is like a mini San Andres Island, which is tax free. They call the area San Andresito. There may be such a zone in Cartagena to shop for a TV locally. You will probably get the best price if the TV has been a demo.

expatriate comments on mapquest in colombia

After four years of living in Cali, and have never been able to see or buy a city map, the best way to get to your destination is to tell the address to a taxi driver.

expatriate comments on

slguy, you heard it from Rush Limbaugh. :) By the way Clyde, if the Viagra is not for you, and you plan on transporting them back to the U.S., you will need a prescription in hand. Not a big problem, since medical appointments here are very cheap. Also, if you or any other upstanding (is that a pun?) PBH member sends me a private message, I'll tell you how you can have them discretely delivered to you in about 2-3 weeks, sent anywhere in the world, for about $3.20 each.

expatriate comments on

Though I have not asked for this particular prescription, Drogas La Rebaja, a franchise probably in your city, will give me anything I ask for except for benzodiazapines, like Xanax and Valium, which need a real prescription, and are tightly controlled. Even attempted bribes don't help with these. An empty box or especially a prescription of what you have taken in the past will really speed the situation along.

expatriate comments on Credit Card and ATM fees

Affinity Bank in Ventura, CA and National Interbank in Indianapolis offer free checking accounts and no ATM fees, plus they can be opened by mail. I have been using them for years. A free Paypal account is also useful for transferring money between your bank accounts for free.

expatriate comments on American to charge for checked bags

American Airlines already has the lowest consumer rating, and they want to merge with an airline with the second lowest consumer rating. I suggest flying to Houston on Continental, and from there to your destination in the U.S.

expatriate comments on Renting Moto in Medellin

The only moto rental service I have found is on San Andres Island.

expatriate comments on Other than avianco any other airlines from BAQ to San Andres?

Lovelysanandres, and everyone else, sorry and forget my post. For some reason I had it in my mind that the destination was Santa Marta.

expatriate comments on Debt... Can they track me down in Colombia?

According to a bankruptcy attorney I had 25 years ago, if you are considering bankruptcy, you need to start planning at least a year ahead of time. For example, keep your credit good so that you can apply for and collect lots of credit cards with high limits, and then at the moment of truth, max them all out. It used to be, in the U.S. anyway, that you could repeat this every seven years.

expatriate comments on Driver's license

An inconspicuous hand-off to an officer of a 20,000 peso note does wonders under almost all conditions. Start by telling him that he is such a nice person, that you would like to buy him and one of his partners a nice lunch.

expatriate comments on Other than avianco any other airlines from BAQ to San Andres?

There may be an airline with this route, but I would take a shared car. The last time we had an air conditioned Hyundai passenger car, seating four plus the driver, and went from one city to the next in a short time, and very cheaply. It's only 2-3 hours as I recall. They might even pick you up and drop you off at your desired destination. It has been about four years ago. Prices must be a tiny fraction of 530.00 dollars a head.

expatriate comments on Direct TV receiver from the US work in Colombia to show all US programming?

From what I read in an earlier post, taking your DirecTV setup to Colombia can only pick up the U.S. signal if you live in North Colombia.

expatriate comments on What to bring?

Things that I have had sent to us from the U.S.: Vitamins and supplements, an English keyboard, double-layer blank DVD's (13,000 pesos each?), regular white briefs, oriental and Mexican cooking ingredients, catnip, printer ink cartridges, electric razor, replacement toothbrushes for an electric toothbrush, a big bottle of aspirin, Q-tips, etc. Many of these things can be found in Colombia, but most everything costs more here, except for fresh produce, taxi rides, labor and very few other things.

expatriate comments on Cali Health Spa Recommendations?

I would recommend the Hotel Intercontinental. You can stay there and most services are free, or join by the month.

expatriate comments on Shipping a box from Cali to the states!

Here is one lead, but I have not tried them. CCG Cargo 6901 NW 43rd St. Miami FL 33166 United States 305) 594 2291 They also have an office here that you can contact. Avenida 4A Norte Nº 47N-36 Cali, Colombia Teléfonos (57 2) 660 1755 (57 2) 664 0468 Fax (57 2) 660 1762 Correo electrónico: cali at ccgcargo.com

expatriate comments on Dollar hits 2-month high vs. euro

Ladies and Gentlemen, the USD is headed to the scrap heap, as well as eventually all other unbacked paper money. Predictions are for Europe and probably Asia to collapse this year, and the U.S. in 2009. Unbacked fiat currencies have never survived the test of time. Buy silver one ounce coins for small transaction trading during the Mad Max days coming, and also because it is becoming a rare, useful, industrial metal, being used up faster than it is being mined. It is good to have a little gold also, but pay cash for it (off the grid) like you would if you don't want it taken from you, as has happened in the past. Also, don't use bank safe deposit boxes. Those are wide open for confiscation. You know already about the Savings and Loan Scandals from Father Bush's days, and now the taxpayer supported bank scandals of 2007-?, and the involvement of the Bush crime syndicate. To quote the smirking chimp: "If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator" CNN.com, December 18, 2000 - http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0012/18/nd.01.html "You don't get everything you want. A dictatorship would be a lot easier." Describing what it's like to be governor of Texas. (Governing Magazine 7/98) http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/Is_Our_Children_Learning.html "A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it, " [Bush] said. -- Business Week, July 30, 2001 - http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jul2001/nf20010730_347.htm Believe it or not, laws are in place for a President to declare martial law, at any time, for any reason. Those laws were not written if they were not to be used.