2015 Update: Medellín Apartment Rental Costs

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Apartment building in Belén
Apartment building in Belén

Editor note: this article has been updated in 2016 with more recent apartment rental costs.

Since I have been living in Medellín for nearly five years, and I have lived in six different barrios in the city, I have often been asked by foreigners about the apartment rental costs in Medellín for unfurnished apartments.

I also have helped several foreigners find unfurnished apartments in Medellín. My experience in renting three unfurnished apartments was previously documented on this site in a four-part series.

Read the first part here, the second part here, the third part here and the fourth part here.

I also covered my experience renting my latest apartment here. Also, I have seen several internet blog posts and press articles that have inaccurately depicted the costs of apartment rentals in Medellín.

To more accurately answer the question about what the real apartment rental costs are in Medellín, with the help of my Colombian wife, we recently surveyed the rental costs of 600 available unfurnished apartments in several neighborhoods in Medellín that are popular with foreigners.

We specifically looked in El Poblado, Laureles-Estadio, Envigado, Belén and Sabaneta. We only looked at 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments. We did not look at casas (houses) or larger apartments.

This is an update of a very popular post last year that looked at apartment rental costs in these same neighborhoods in Medellín.

During this survey, we only looked in nicer neighborhoods where foreigners are more likely to live, so we only included apartments in estrato 3, 4, 5 and 6 neighborhoods. Only a few estrato 3 neighborhoods were included.

This update with the latest apartment rental costs in neighborhoods in Medellín also permits seeing if rental costs have increased in these neighborhoods from our survey around the same time last year.

We also looked at furnished apartment rental costs last year.

(Note: using 2,927 Colombian pesos to the USD exchange rate in this post. The exchange rate fluctuates daily and has ranged from 2,794 to 2,967 over the past month.)

Apartment building near Santefé mall in El Poblado
Apartment buildings near Santefé mall in El Poblado

El Poblado Apartments

El Poblado is the most popular neighborhood for foreigners living in or visiting Medellín. It is the most upscale neighborhood in the city and is where the most hotels and furnished apartments catering to foreigners are located.

El Poblado is primarily an Estrato 6 neighborhood with 74 percent of the households rated at estrato 6. It is also where the most expensive real estate and most expensive apartment rentals in the city are located.

I lived for over a month several years ago in a furnished apartment in El Poblado during an early trial of living in Medellín.

I quickly determined that El Poblado wasn’t for me, as I prefer to live in a neighborhood that has a lower cost of living and isn’t as westernized.

El Poblado survey of 120 apartment rentals results:

  • 18 apartments were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 35 to 110 square meters with rents ranging from 980,000 to 2.5 million pesos per month.
  • 45 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 50 to 140 square meters with rents ranging from 1.1 million to 2.8 million pesos per month.
  • 57 apartments were 3-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 55 to 225 square meters with rents ranging from 1.1 million to 4.0 million pesos per month.
  • The average rental cost per square meter of the apartments in El Poblado was 19,549 pesos per month per square meter.
  • Surprisingly 26 percent of the 120 apartments surveyed in the ritziest neighborhood of El Poblado did not have hot water and four of these with hot water only had electric hot water in the shower(s).
  • 23 of the 120 apartments surveyed in El Poblado didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Average Apartment Rental Costs in El Poblado
Average Apartment Rental Costs in El Poblado
Inside my first apartment in Estadio
Inside my first apartment in Estadio

Laureles-Estadio Apartments

Laureles-Estadio is another popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín. It is primarily a residential neighborhood with many areas with tree-lined streets and fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado.

The first unfurnished apartment I rented in Medellín was located in Estadio.

Laureles-Estadio is primarily an estrato 4/5 neighborhood with 99 percent of the households rated at estrato 4 or 5.

Laureles-Estadio survey of 120 apartment rentals results:

  • 19 apartments were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 36 to 70 square meters with rents ranging from 550,000 to 1.5 million pesos per month.
  • 29 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 55 to 140 square meters with rents ranging from 800,000 to 1.9 million pesos per month.
  • 72 apartments were 3-bedroom apartment ranging in size from 60 to 185 square meters with rents ranging from 700,000 to 3.2 million pesos per month.
  • The average rental cost per square meter of the 120 apartments in Laureles-Estadio was 14,602 pesos per month per square meter, which means Laureles-Estadio apartment rentals are 25.3 percent cheaper on average than in El Poblado for similar-sized apartments.
  • 38 percent of the 120 apartments surveyed in Laureles-Estadio did not have hot water and nine with hot water only had electric hot water in the shower(s).
  • 64 percent of the 120 apartments surveyed in Laureles-Estadio didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Average Apartment Rental Costs in Laureles-Estadio
Average Apartment Rental Costs in Laureles-Estadio

Envigado Apartments

Envigado is another popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín. It is less commercial than El Poblado and like Laureles-Estadio has many areas with tree-lined streets and fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado.

Exclusive Bonus: Download The Free Step-By-Step Guide to Investing In Medellin Real Estate.

Envigado is more of a working-class community with 96 percent of housing in estrato 2 to 5 and only 4 percent in estrato 1 or 6.

Envigado survey of 120 apartment rentals results:

  • Only two of the apartments surveyed were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 32 to 35 square meters with rents ranging from 750,000 to 1.0 million pesos per month.
  • 39 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 60 to 118 square meters with rents ranging from 800,000 to 2.6 million pesos per month.
  • 79 apartments were 3-bedroom apartment ranging in size from 65 to 240 square meters with rents ranging from 900,000 to 4.3 million pesos per month.
  • The average rental cost per square meter of the 120 apartments surveyed in Envigado was 16,902 pesos per month per square meter, which means Envigado apartment rentals are 13.5 percent cheaper on average than in El Poblado for similar size apartments.
  • Only 17 of the 120 apartments in Envigado did not have hot water and two with hot water only had electric hot water in the shower(s).
  • Only 15 of the 120 apartments surveyed in Envigado didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Average Apartment Rental Costs in Envigado
Average Apartment Rental Costs in Envigado
View of Belén from my previous apartment, Los Molinos mall is on the left
View of Belén from my previous apartment, Los Molinos mall is on the left

Belén Apartments

Belén is a neighborhood that is increasing in popularity for foreigners living in Medellín. Belén is where I lived for over three years in three different barrios (Fatima, Loma de Los Bernal and Los Alpes)

Belén is more of a working-class community with 98 percent of the housing in estrato 2 to 5 and only 2 percent in estrato 1.

Belén survey of 120 apartment rentals results:

  • Eight of the apartments surveyed were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 35 to 60 square meters with rents ranging from 600,000 to 1.1 million pesos per month.
  • 35 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 45 to 180 square meters with rents ranging from 670,000 to 1.25 million pesos per month.
  • 77 apartments were 3-bedroom apartment ranging in size from 58 to 165 square meters with rents ranging from 750,000 to 2.3 million pesos per month.
  • The average rental cost per square meter of the 120 apartments in Belén was 13,675 pesos per month per square meter, which means Belén apartment rentals are 30.0 percent cheaper on average than in El Poblado for similar size apartments.
  • 26 percent of the 120 apartments in Belén did not have hot water and four of these only had electric hot water in the shower(s).
  • 23 of the 120 apartments surveyed in Belén didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Average Apartment Rental Costs in Belén
Average Apartment Rental Costs in Belén
Apartment buildings in Sabaneta, photo taken from Aves Maria mall
Apartment buildings in Sabaneta, photo taken from Aves Maria mall

Sabaneta Apartments

Sabaneta is a municipality located directly south of Envigado. It is an area that has been booming with developers building many apartment buildings over the past couple of years.

I expect that Sabaneta will become increasingly popular with foreigners looking for an alternative that can be cheaper than El Poblado and Envigado. My current apartment in Medellín is located in Sabaneta.

Sabaneta is more of a working-class community with 98 percent of housing in estrato 2 to 4 and only 2 percent in estrato 1, 5 or 6.

Sabaneta survey of 120 apartment rentals results:

  • Only three of the apartments surveyed were 1-bedroom or studios ranging in size from 60 to 74 square meters with rents ranging from 750,000 to 1.1 million pesos per month.
  • 26 apartments were 2-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 50 to 85 square meters with rents ranging from 700,000 to 1.25 million pesos per month.
  • 91 apartments were 3-bedroom apartment range in size from 60 to 160 square meters with rents ranging from 800,000 to 1.9 million pesos per month.
  • The average rental cost per square meter of the 120 apartments in Sabaneta was 14,220 pesos per month per square meter, which means Sabaneta apartment rentals are 27.3 percent cheaper on average than in El Poblado for similar size apartments.
  • Only two of the 120 apartments in Sabaneta did not have hot water and seven of these only had electric hot water in the shower(s).
  • Only seven of the 120 apartments surveyed in Sabaneta didn’t have a 24/7 porteria.
Average Apartment Rental Costs in Sabaneta
Average Apartment Rental Costs in Sabaneta

Rent versus Buy?

If you are planning to move to Medellín from another country, I recommend not jumping right into buying or renting an unfurnished apartment.

First rent a furnished apartment for at least a month or more as I did to make sure Medellín is right for you.

This will also give you the time and opportunity to explore the city to find which neighborhood(s) you would like to live in.

However, even after deciding that you want to live longer-term in Medellín, buying may not be your best option. In our study of the rental prices in Medellín, we saw many unfurnished apartments that rent for a year for only 5-8 percent of the purchase price to buy the apartment.

When determining if renting or buying is the better option, I suggest using a rent-versus-buy calculator like this one from New York Times.

Renting may ultimately be lower cost than buying if you factor in all the variables and costs including opportunity cost.

For my situation, with rents being so cheap in Medellín, renting for me is lower cost than buying over a 5-year, 10-year, or even a 30-year period.

Also with renting I have much more flexibility and can easily move to another neighborhood by choice, which I have already done three times.  But to “each his own”, some prefer buying regardless.

Survey Results: Rental Prices Per Square Meter by Neighborhood
Survey Results: Rental Prices Per Square Meter by Neighborhood

The Bottom Line

If you want to save on unfurnished apartment rental costs in Medellín, our 2015 survey of unfurnished apartments demonstrates that you can save an average of 25-30 percent by living in Belen, Laureles-Estadio or Sabaneta instead of living in a similar sized apartment in ritzy El Poblado.

If you select Envigado, you will only save on average of 13.5 percent compared to the apartment rental costs in El Poblado.

Our survey results also show that compared to last year the average rental price per square meter in terms of Colombian pesos has noticeably increased in only two neighborhoods in 2015 – in El Poblado, the most expensive neighborhood, as well as Laureles-Estadio.

Based on our surveys, the average rental price per square meter for unfurnished apartments in El Poblado increased 3.5 percent and in Laureles-Estadio increased 3.6 percent from 2014 to 2015. Other neighborhoods we surveyed didn’t experience much of an increase in the average rental prices.

So if you chose to rent an unfurnished apartment in El Poblado or Laureles-Estadio, you might see rent increases come renewal time.

Due to competition for apartment rentals in some neighborhoods in Medellín, it is difficult for owners to raise rental prices for unfurnished apartments.

In my four lease renewals in Medellín (in Belén) I didn’t experience a rent increase – in fact, for one renewal I was able to negotiate a lower price.

Also in Colombia, landlords are legally limited in the ability to raise rent by no more than the inflation rate. It is also very inexpensive for a tenant to move to another apartment if the rental price is increased.

It is also important to note that over the last year, the exchange rate has been volatile and beneficial if you have U.S. dollars (USD), which has dropped the cost of renting an apartment in Medellín substantially over the past year in terms of USD.

Not all apartments in Medellín have hot water and the neighborhoods of El Poblado, Laureles-Estadio and Belén have many older apartments without hot water. Most apartments in Sabaneta have hot water due to many being in new apartment buildings that were built over the past few years.

The majority of apartments in Medellín that have hot water use gas water heaters – either tank-less or with a water tank. I would avoid any apartments that have electric hot water in the showers.

Exclusive Bonus: Download The Free Step-By-Step Guide to Investing In Medellin Real Estate.

If you are looking to rent an unfurnished apartment in Medellín, I recommend reading my post that includes my lessons learned over the past four-plus years found here.

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LEAVE A REPLY

31 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you for these very informative articles. My husband and I have been visiting several Central and S. American areas, looking for an eventual new home from the U.S. We first heard about Colombia, specifically Medellin, at an expat conference. We will make our first visit this December/January. We are taking our time and plan several visits if we like a place, before deciding to move. We do not plan to buy at first (maybe never), but we are still unsure of the type of place we would like to live in. We are active, slightly “edgy” retirees who have found the glitsy Poblado apartment buildings appealing, but still want to investigate renting, maybe eventually owning a separate house. Are there separate , detached homes in Medellin? They seem to be apartments only. We will be meeting with several realtors just to explore the area (not buy!) Any input about the detached home market there? Thanks to all!

    • Hi Tes,

      Thanks. Most of the housing in the city of Medelln is a combination of high-rise apartment buildings, low-rise apartment buildings and attached casas (attached houses). There are some detached homes in the city but not that many in comparison to the other types of housing. I have seen some detached homes in El Poblado, Envigado, Sabaneta and other neighborhoods in the city. If you go outside the city you can find many detached homes; for example you can see some along the road from the International airport to Medellín.

      • Thank U so much Jeff … I visited Medellin in Sep. + im very happy i did. Im almost ready to move from Cuenca + with all the infos from medellinliving , it made such a difference . But i will wait to the end of Jan. when the high season is gone + maybe my spanish will be better as well. Thanks again to all of u …

        • Thanks. I have been to Cuenca and found it too small for my taste. There is much more to do in the bigger city of Medellín, which makes it livelier and more vibrant. Plus I like the weather better in Medellín (a bit warmer). Also access to the U.S. is much easier from Medellín than from Cuenca, with direct flights from Medellín to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, New York (and Atlanta in December). Also medical care is better in Medellín with 8 of the best hospitals in Latin America.

          Retirement publications have been touting Cuenca for years but I believe Medellín beats Cuenca in many ways.

          • I agree. Medellín has its own challenges, but Cuenca is a bit slow – and isolated. The climate in Medellín is fantastic, the restaurants and shopping varied and affordable, and the cultural life rich and constantly improving. Also, Cuenca is almost 1000 meters higher in elevation, and while people don’t talk about it much, the thin air in Cuenca gives a lot of people problems with breathing, low energy levels, and so forth. Colombia in general is much more efficient and well organized; in Ecuador it’s a constant challenge to get anything done. Finally, Colombia has free-trade agreements with all sorts of countries while Ecuador levies high import taxes on practically everything. A $50 bottle of French wine that’s freely available in Colombia costs $150 in Ecuador (if you can find it), and a $20,000 VW Gol costs $45,000 in Ecuador. Colombia is a capitalist country, while Ecuador’s president Raphael Correa is a dyed-in-the-wool socialist.

            Take your pick.

    • (( Moderator should not delete posts that try to tell the truth about Medellin.
      No one likes a scam site that tries to paint only one side of the picture.
      If you do this, the truth of what you’re doing will come out in other places and the good of this site will be tarnished. ))

      Hello Tes. Many people on this site are under the false impression Medellin has a “low cost-of-living”…. This is actually NOT true. This is a misconception most new expats have… but I lived in Medellin for 7 years, and it’s definitely not the case, it was MORE expensive than USA. It’s not just a simple matter of comparing the price tag stuck on the surface of items or services; there’s much more to the true cost of living, especially in a place like Colombia.

      First, as you know, many things are outright more expensive… computers, phones, cars, clothes, internet (in USA I pay $24 for 300MB, and in Medellin it’s almost double that price for only 20MB), accounting, appliances, faulty infrastructure, etc. etc.

      Second is high inflation, high interest rates, poor financing, and failed/scam business deals, etc. e.g. I paid for furniture to be built, then they disappeared with all the money, I paid for home repairs, then they disappeared with all the money… etc. this type of thing happens to you very frequently. The Cable company put other peoples accounts under my gov ID number, and so I had to pay over $2,000 to clear their bills off my account in order to get my utilities turned back on. They said they can only correct errors from the time it is brought to their attention forward, but can not go back to correct any past billing errors.

      Third is lack of accountability or legal system. e.g. my SUV was totaled 3 times (2 by drunk driver) and in every case I had to pay the full repair or replacement of my vehicle because the other drivers didn’t have insurance (and in the one case when they did have insurance, the claim never got paid anyway). e.g. I paid in advance to lease an expensive furnished apartment for a year, and then got a death threat to vacate the property within 3 days or I would be assassinated.

      Fourth, you lose a lot of time and get driven mad with frustration because the processes, appointments, paperwork, etc. down there are never done efficiently, or on time, or correctly, … everything takes forever, and a lot of work, and often has to be re-done multiple times. I’m still waiting for a court case to get processed that started 12 YEARS AGO!!! (I had the same type of court case in US, and it was finished in only 3 weeks)
      This is just a tiny sample of the many high-cost headaches that most people don’t realize until they try to live there for a while.

      • Hi — this is Dave, Medellín Living’s Founder, Editor, and moderator.

        We welcome debate and different perspectives. However, we retain the right to delete comments for any reason. More specifically, we will delete those that do not meet our Comment Policy. In case you missed it, the policy above the comment form states:

        “We strive for a positive, supportive community discussion at Medellín Living. Please use your real name. Comments with anonymous, fake or company names will be deleted. If it’s your first comment or you include a URL, it will be held for moderation. Critical comments that serve to enhance the conversation are welcome; comments that serve to insult or demean will be deleted.”

        You may also want to read our editorial policy, which explains why we lean positive in our coverage of Medellín. This was an editorial decision made at the outset of the website’s creation in 2009.

        Please do not copy/paste your previous comments from other posts as you did here. Continue to do so and it’ll be treated as spam and deleted.

      • What I do find cheap in Medellin is food, alcohol and rent(compared to major cities in the US) Electronic is expensive in Colombia- and every country in South America. Now for scams, it happens every where. I can give you a list of Americans who are in jail for Ponzi scams. Insurance another scam in the US, especially here in Miami area. I love Medellin and it’s people.

      • I am re-posting my below reply for the benefit of readers as Frank’s comment was copy/pasted from a previous comment to another post on this site.

        I respectfully disagree. I have been living in Medellín for well over five years and my cost of living that has been documented on this site over the past three years has been lower than my cost of living was in the U.S. before I moved to Medellín.

        In addition, each year my cost of living in Medellín has dropped in terms of USD, so I haven’t experienced any inflation due to the improved exchange rate.

        As the above article points out “standard of living” more than anything is what will affect a person’s cost of living in Medellín. Some of the choices alluded to in your comment are not typical for someone looking for a low cost of living, such as having a SUV and renting a furnished apartment. Many expats I have met in Medellín do not have a car and those living here long-term tend to rent unfurnished apartments or buy.

        Over the past 5+ years I fortunately haven’t experienced any of the high-cost headaches that you have experienced. I don’t have a car but I do understand that many drivers don’t have insurance in Colombia that’s why all expats I know with cars all have comprehensive vehicle insurance, which is voluntary and covers the owner and the vehicle in the event of an accident, theft of parts and vandalism, theft of the vehicle and causing damage to third party property. This comprehensive insurance is beyond the required and basic SOAT liability insurance that is primarily intended for third party victims of traffic accidents. I plan to cover car insurance in a future post on this site.

        Some of the issues you raised have been covered on this site, such as inflation – http://www.medellinliving.com/inflation-2015/ and expensive things such as cars and smartphones – http://www.medellinliving.com/expensive-things/.

        I disagree about all computers being expensive, see: http://www.medellinliving.com/buying-computer-tablet-colombia/. I bought two Apple computers in Medellín, one for lower cost than listed on Apple’s website and one for only $50 more. I also disagree about appliances being expensive, if you buy local brands. Also clothes are not expensive in my experience if you shop outside of El Poblado in places like the shops in Mayorca mall.

        The bottom line is the cost of living in Medellín depends mostly on your “standard of living”.

  2. Thanks for this update about apartment rental prices that I am sure will be extremely helpful for foreigners looking for apartments in Medellín.

  3. A 1-bed unfurnished apartment is roughly $278 but according to the furnished apartment article from Nov 2014… the furnished version is over $1,000 a month!? Am I missing something here?

    I’m looking to move to a furnished 1-bed apartment in Laureles at the beginning of Feb 2015 and stay in that area for 4 months. Is the best strategy for finding an apartment to stay in a hotel/hostel for 1-2 weeks when I arrive Medellin in Feb and go apartment hunting whilst I’m in the city? Thanks!

    • Yes there is a noticeable difference between the rental costs for furnished and unfurnished. That’s why after living 4 months in furnished apartments in Medellín as a trial several years ago, I quickly determined it made financial sense to rent unfurnished that I furnished myself.

      That over $1,000 a month for furnished was an average, you can find cheaper. Check on Airbnb as you can find some of the best rates for furnished apartments on that site. I took a quick look and saw a couple decent looking furnished apartments in Laureles that rent for <$700 per month with good reviews. On Airbnb make sure to go with apartments that have reviews. There also looks to be more furnished apartments available in Laureles than when we surveyed last year, so the average prices has probably dropped a bit.

      • Thanks Jeff, that’s super useful.

        Didn’t realize furnished apartments can triple the rent! Will have to make some compromises to reduce the rent.

        The ‘Medellin Rooms, Apartments and Expart Info’ Facebook group often advertise furnished bedrooms (living with 1 or more existing house mates) for $200-$275 per month (including all bills) in either Poblado or Laureles…. What are your opinions on those?

        • I don’t have experience with shared places but I know that Dave, the owner of this website has lived in Medellín in a shared apartment with roommates. I also have met some English teachers at Universidad EAFIT doing the same thing. You can also find bedrooms to rent advertised on the CompartoApto.com website and there are a few on Airbnb. You might want to also check out International House that has some private rooms for rent – a couple expats I met had good things to say about it. Good luck!

    • Attached casas (houses) are available in many areas. They are less common in El Poblado but you can find many in working class areas of Envigado, Laureles, Belén and Sabaneta. The attached homes tend to be larger on average but you can find some that are smaller. Detached homes are not very common in the city and will tend to be expensive.

  4. My plan was to rent,after hearing horror stories from the wife how landlord sometimes treated renters(family coming you need to leave) I decided to buy(Envigado). Also with the $ so strong and a great deal on a preconstruction condo,I had to buy.

    • With the USD strong it can be a good time to buy. But I have heard some horror stories about pre-construction deals with some builders taking forever. I talked to one owner who bought pre-construction for an apartment in a building in Sabaneta in 2008 but the building wasn’t finished until 2013. I have heard of other buildings taking 2 or more years. Hope you don’t run into that kind of problem.

      Regarding a landlord saying you need to leave before a lease is up. This is actually pretty difficult if you have a signed lease contract in Colombia, as they typically require the landlord to inform you in writing no less than three months before the desired early termination date, and a penalty payment is typically required, which usually corresponds to the equivalent of three months’ rent.

      So lease contracts are almost never ended early. I actually had two landlords I leased from want their apartments back early. One early termination I agreed to and the landlord ended up having to pay me a negotiated two months rent as a penalty (I agreed to that as it was only 3 months early termination). The other I didn’t agree to as I had six months remaining on my contract so the owner backed off until my lease was up as he didn’t’ want to pay me three months rent as an early termination penalty. I have also heard it is difficult for landlords to kick out deadbeat tenants that don’t pay (that’s why they require fiadors). Rental laws in Colombia are actually fairly favorable to renters with rent increases limited by law to inflation.

  5. What a helpful article. Thanks. Here’s a question that’s likely a first: because my girlfriend and I live in a high up corner apartment in Chicago that has nothing but floor-to-ceiling windows for its exterior walls, we’re a bit spoiled by that. When I look at aerial photos of El Plobado I see almost exclusively brick high-rises that don’t have floor-to-ceiling windows. Am I seeing it wrong? Would we have a difficult time locating a rental unit in El Plobado that has the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows?

    And while I’m at it, I’ve been looking at the weather daily there for over a month now because we’re planning to come there for a two month visit in February. Every single day, without exception, the prediction has been for thunderstorms. Is it safe to say those storms each day don’t last very long? (Or are those high-rises now seaside!?!)

    Thanks for the good newsletter and website.

    • Hi,
      This is less a reply to Jeff’s comment about full length windows than a “me, too” about his weather question. We are coming in the last week in December and staying until mid January. We have noticed that not only is there daily rain, but the temperatures seem significantly lower than the publicized annual weather reports would have us believe. Seems like this would be a time for mid-70s, but the temperature has been low 60s. Is Medellin experiencing an unusual cold spell this year? Thanks much!

      • Hi Tes,

        The daily rain now usually isn’t over the entire city and are usually just short showers – it’s one of the rainy seasons in Medellín from September to November. November normally sees 21 days with rain. December and January are normally drier months, in fact January is normally the driest month of the year in Medellín with the lowest rainfall. The rain in Medellín is typically short duration showers, it rarely rains over an extended period.

        The high temperature in Medellín today was 75 and the low was 63. And the forecast this week is for temperatures each day ranging from 59 to 80. Keep in mind the average temperature range in Medellín is 62 to 82 so the temperature ranges this week are only a couple degrees lower than average. But it is normally a couple degrees cooler than the average from October to January.

        An unusual cold spell would be the temperature dropping down to 46 at night (which is the record low for the city). But I haven’t seen it anywhere near that cold during my 5 years in Medellín. The coldest I have seen at night was 56.

        • Thanks Jeff. Wow, just a headsup…
          I did check again and it seems that my IPhones Yahoo Weather app is really off for Medellin Weather. It’s currently showing from Wednesday through Sunday: 66,65,69,67,66 degrees. That same site on my pc shows: 75,77,81,79,78 degrees. What a difference. Think I like the pc numbers better! BTW – thanks to you and all the folks that comment here. We’ve been doing a lot of online research and visiting countries in our search for a new home and this site is my very favorite for real, helpful content and “well behaved” commenters! A pleasure being on this one.

    • Hi George,

      Many of the apartment building have floor-to-ceiling windows but only typically for the family room with sliding glass windows to a balcony. We have floor to ceiling sliding glass windows in our family room and also master bedroom with two balconies in our current apartment. Our previous apartment had the same. I have seen a few buildings in El Poblado that have floor-to-ceiling windows in some of the other rooms without balconies. Several years ago I rented a furnished apartment in El Pobaldo that had a spectacular view and floor-to-ceiling windows in several rooms but I can’t remember the name of the building.

      While rain is in the forecast most days now it rarely rains over the whole city at the same time and usually just a short shower. It’s the rainy seasons now typically from September to November (also April and May). December through March are fairly dry months normally, so February-March when you plan to come will typically have much fewer rainy days than now.

  6. jeff,
    thanks for this article.
    I am in Medellin for a few weeks, and would love to see some apartments – thinking of coming back for a long-term stay. for your article, you had big sample sizes. are there rental agencies that you can recommend?
    thanks a lot.
    john

  7. Thank for this great post, and for answering so many questions in here.

    I’m thinking of moving to Colombia at the end of April, and it is amazing to me the difference between a furnished and unfurnished apartment. I’m curious – does an unfurnished apartment include standard kitchen appliances? Or would I need to purchase those?

    Thanks for your help.

    • Hi Neal,

      Thanks. Yes there is a big difference between the prices to rent furnished and unfurnished apartments in Medellín. So it’s easy to justify renting unfurnished if you plan to be in the city for quite a while.

      In kitchens in unfurnished apartments you will almost always find a cooktop (normally gas) and in the nicer ones you will also find an oven. The unfurnished apartment I am currently renting has both.

      None of the unfurnished apartments will have a refrigerator or microwave – so you’ll need to buy these. Almost no apartments in Colombia have a dishwasher in the kitchen and there is normally not even space for one – dishwashing is done by hand.

  8. I am licensed to own hand carry a hand gun here in the US. I plan to move to medillin in the near future. Can I bring my gun?

    Also what is the approx cost to ship furniture to Columbia or is it cheaper to purchase furniture there?

    • No, you absolutely cannot bring a gun to Colombia. Gun possession in Colombia is restrictive, though the country’s Constitution of 1991 includes an article guaranteeing civilians the right to possess and carry a gun by obtaining a permit from the government. Civilians 18 and older can purchase and carry small caliber handguns and shotguns with barrels of 22 inches or less with a license. All guns must be registered with the military, which maintains a national gun registry. The armed forces also have a monopoly over the sale of weapons and ammunition and issue all gun permits. However there have also been gun carry bans in some of the cities in Colombia including both Bogotá and Medellín.

      The cost to ship furniture is fairly expensive and I only have heard of a few expats that have done this. Most buy furniture, which can be similar in price or even cheaper then in the U.S. depending on where you shop (don’t shop for furniture in El Pobado).

  9. Thanks for all the informative information. It has truly been a godsend. I have attempted to download your guide for Medellin investing however I continue to receive an Aweber failure code. Please advise.

  10. Is it possible to put one on the trail of an agent that deals in the upfront payment of 6-12 months rather than a Fiador? Needle in a haystack…..thanks.

    • Yes a needle in a haystack. I originally found an agent that would deal with a payment upfront instead of a fiador by placing an ad in the local El Colombiano newspaper.

      I can’t recommend this agent now after 5 years of leasing from him due to problems I encountered over a year ago. I now lease directly from an owner. If you lease directly from an owner you cut out the middleman and can negotiate a cheaper price as no commission to the agent.