10 Surprisingly Cheap Things in Medellín (2016 Update)

33
9591
Colombian pesos
Colombian pesos

The exchange rate for the Colombian peso has hit an all time high, so it’s time to revisit one of the most popular posts from last year to see the impact on surprisingly cheap things in Medellín.

I get asked about the cost of living in Medellín frequently as I have been residing in the city now for over five years.

The recent changes in the exchange rate with the Colombian Peso hitting an all-time low against the U.S. dollar has made the cost of living for my wife and I in Medellín now about 47 percent cheaper than two years ago.

Even with inflation in Colombia that hit a seven-year high last year at 6.77 percent, if you have an income in US dollars you won’t notice the inflation due to the improved exchange rate.

This post takes an updated look at 10 surprisingly cheap things in Medellín, which contribute to the low-cost of living in the city. Note the list is in no particular order.

Note the exchange rate used in this post is 3,454 pesos to the USD.

Kitchen inside our apartment
Kitchen inside our apartment

1. Apartment Rent

Apartment rent is our biggest expense but the cost to rent an apartment in Medellín is surprisingly cheap.

I have been renting unfurnished apartments while living Medellín for over five years. My initial experience in renting apartments in Medellín was documented in a four-part series: the first part is here, the second part is here, the third part is here and the fourth part is here.

We currently live in a three-bedroom apartment in Sabaneta, which we moved into in July last year.  It is located within walking distance to Parque Sabaneta. Our current apartment specifications include:

  • Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, about 110 square meters (1,184 square feet)
  • Kitchen with granite countertops, oven, and gas cooktop
  • Gas water heater (tankless)
  • 10th floor in a high-rise building, with two balconies
  • Pool, sauna and small gym in building
  • 24×7 security
  • Estrato 4 neighborhood

Our rent for an unfurnished apartment is only 1,350,000 pesos ($391) per month. If we lived in ritzy El Poblado a similar apartment would rent for about 1,800,000 pesos ($521) per month.

We looked at unfurnished apartment rental costs in Medellín in five different neighborhoods in the city.

Claro store inside Los Molinos mall
Claro store inside Los Molinos mall

2. Triple Play Internet/TV/Phone

Triple Play Internet/TV/Phone services in Medellín are much lower cost than what you will find in the US. There are two major TV and Internet providers in Medellín that offer triple play Internet, TV and phone services: Claro and UNE.

We currently have Claro’s basic Triple-Play Service with 10 Mbps Internet, TV and phone services and I am very happy with it. The cost is only 137,474 pesos per month ($39.80) in an estrato four neighborhood.

Internet service with Claro has been more reliable than my Verizon FiOS service was in the United States and, of course, it is much less expensive. The cost of triple play from Claro is less expensive than just Internet services from Verizon in the US.

Taxis in front of Premium Plaza mall
Taxis in front of Premium Plaza Mall

3. Taxis

Taxis in Medellín are plentiful and surprisingly cheap by Western standards. All taxis in Medellín use meters. A taxi meter will start at 2,700 pesos, and the minimum fare is 4,600 pesos ($1.33).

The taxi fare so far hasn’t been increased in 2016 in the city. There is also no need to tip the driver. But don’t expect a taxi driver to necessarily have change for a 50,000-peso note.

In my experience, you can go most places in Medellín for less than 15,000 pesos. I use taxis frequently, and my fares typically range from 4,600 pesos to 12,000 pesos, with an average of about 7,500 pesos ($2.22).

Hailing a yellow taxi on the street in Medellín is as simple as holding up your arm. During the daytime, you should be fairly safe picking up taxis from the street, however, exercise caution in the evenings.

Throughout the city, and often near points of interest, shopping malls, and local landmarks, you’ll see taxi stands where taxis queue up for customers. If you see one of these, it makes the process even easier.

You can also call a taxi and in my experience they typically show up quickly – in less than five minutes in many parts of the city. A few numbers for taxis in Medellín include 444-4444, 444-1000, 444-1111.

Mobile apps for connecting with taxis include EasyTaxi, Colombia-made Tappsi and the latest entrant, Uber.

Pharmacy near Los Molinos mall
Pharmacy near Los Molinos mall

4. Medication in Pharmacies

In Medellín (and the rest of Colombia), medication is often purchased at pharmacies (farmacias), which are easy to find, as they seem to be every few blocks.

They are also found in many malls as well as many supermarkets like Exito and Jumbo.

In my experience, the staff in Colombian pharmacies seems knowledgeable. If you ask, “What should I take if I am experiencing this problem?” they will normally have something to suggest.

Of course, exercise caution when taking advice from anyone other than your doctor. Many drugs that would require a prescription in the U.S. you can get without a prescription in the pharmacies in Medellín.

Pharmacies are technically supposed to require a prescription for many drugs, but I have never been asked for one. Years after passage of a regulation in Colombia to halt the unrestricted sales of antibiotics, there is minimal compliance.

You can get things like antibiotics, birth control pills, anti-depressants, erectile dysfunction pills and many other types of drugs without a prescription.

The generics in Colombia are typically very inexpensive. For example a 10-pack of 500 mg generic tablets of Ciprofloxacino (Cipro), which I found is good to treat traveler’s diarrhea, can cost only 4,500 pesos ($1.30).

Amoxicilina (Amoxicillin), a commonly used antibiotic for ailments such as ear infections, can cost 9,500 pesos ($2.75) for a 30-pack of 500 mg generic capsules.

Sildenafil (generic Viagra) can cost 3,000 pesos ($0.87) for a 2-pack of 50 mg pills.

New Metro Medellín Tranvía (cable car)
New Metro Medellín Tranvía (cable car)

5. The Metro and Buses

No list of things that are cheap in Medellín would be complete without including the public transportation system, which includes the Medellín metro and buses. The metro in Medellin is the only rail-based mass transportation service in Colombia.

The metro in Medellín is well maintained, squeaky clean and uses electrical energy. It opened in 1995 and has two train lines (Lines A and B) and a new Tranvía (street car) T-A line that opened last year.

The A metro line runs north and south and has 21 stations. The B line runs from the center of the city to the west and has seven stations. The new T-A line runs east from the center of the city and has nine stations.

The Metro also has three integrated cable car lines (Lines J and K and L) plus two integrated bus lines (Metroplus lines L1 and L2).

Note that the Line L cable car to Parque Arví has an extra fare. Two more cable car lines are under construction.

The metro fare is cheaper with a metro card (Civica), so it is highly recommended to get one. The fare is only 1,880 pesos (54 cents) with a Civica card/

The fare with the Civica card fare is about 10 percent cheaper than the regular fare and permits you to go through turn-styles to avoid the ticket window lines.

The Civica card is easy to sign up for and can be recharged with funds at any station’s ticket window. Civica cards can be obtained in the PAC offices located at the Niquía, San Antonio, Itagüí and San Javier metro stations.

Beside the metro, Medellín has an extensive bus system. The fare for the buses typically ranges from 1,800 pesos to 2,000 pesos.

The lowest fare buses are typically connections to the metro, and they have started adding Civica card support on some of these metro connection buses.

The bottom line is that between the metro and buses as well as cheap taxies in Medellín I have found a car is not needed for living in Medellín, which avoids a major expense typically required for living in the states.

Neighborhood tienda in Sabaneta, with delivery service
Neighborhood tienda in Sabaneta, with delivery service

6. Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are plentiful and inexpensive in Medellín. Out of all the typical grocery items, fruits and vegetables are typically some of the cheapest ones found in Medellín.

The farmers’ markets in Medellín like Plaza Minorista or small neighborhood tiendas typically have much better prices for produce than the large grocery stores such as Exito or Jumbo.

As an example of the price difference, a red onion at a tienda or farmers market that costs 200 pesos (about 6 cents) may cost about 900 pesos (26 cents) at a major grocery store.

Colombia is considered the second most bio-diverse country in the world (after Brazil) and Colombia likely has a number fruits you’ve never heard of, or look like nothing you’ve ever seen.

One of the things I like about Colombia is the fruit: delicious, cheap and plentiful. I made it a mission when I first started living in Medellín to try as many Colombian fruits as I could.

This site previously covered 11 exotic tropical fruits of Colombia, but the country has many more fruits available including anona, borojo, feijoa, mangostino plus all the fruits you can find in the United States.

I like the pitahaya (dragon fruit), but unfortunately, they are a bit expensive and harder to find. It’s difficult to find them for less than 2,000 pesos. It’s tasty and sweet and can be eaten scooped out with a spoon.

I also like several of the fruits in juices including lulo, maracuyá and tomato de árbol.

7. Electricity

Utility services are provided by EPM, the local utility in Medellín. EPM derives much of the power delivered in the city from hydroelectric sources.

Medellín is located at about 5,000 feet above sea level. It is known as the ‘City of Eternal Spring’ with an average annual temperature of 72 degrees, and that ranges from 59 to 86 degrees.

There is no need for heating or cooling with the climate in Medellín, which results in inexpensive utility bills. A few apartments in ritzy El Poblado have air conditioning, but I use a fan, which is enough for me during the day.

The electricity rate from EPM currently runs about 437 pesos (13 cents) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in the Estrato 4 neighborhood in Sabaneta where I live.

The rate per kWh is relatively high, but you don’t need to use much electricity due to the climate.

Electric rates also vary by estrato in Medellín with the highest rates in estratos 5 and 6. The lower rates in lower estrato neighborhoods are subsidized by the higher rates in the wealthier neighborhoods.

Our electric bill in a three-bedroom apartment over the past six months has averaged only 68,523 pesos ($19.83) per month since we don’t use that much electricity without the need for heating or cooling in the city.

We have averaged using only 125 kWh per month over the past six months.

The average home in the states uses 911 kWh per month (in 2014), which is over seven times what I currently use in Medellín – demonstrating a big benefit of the climate in Medellín.

Water and gas is also inexpensive and our total utility bill for electricity, water and gas has averaged 113,051 pesos ($32.73) per month in an estrato four neighborhood in Sabaneta.

VivaColombia
VivaColombia

8. Domestic Airfare

Domestic airfare can be inexpensive in Colombia, which makes it relatively cheap to travel between the major cities in Colombia. To get the cheapest domestic flights make sure to book at least two weeks in advance.

While buses can be even cheaper in Colombia, it’s a tradeoff. Buses take a long time, for example, up to 10 hours to go from Medellín to Bogotá, or about 12 hours to go from Medellín to Cartagena.

By plane, the flight from Medellín to Bogotá is about 40 minutes and from Medellín to Cartagena is about an hour.

Domestic airfare in Colombia used to be more expensive. But when discount airline VivaColombia started service in 2012 in Colombia, domestic airfare prices in Colombia have dropped dramatically.

On VivaColombia, it is possible to fly from Medellín to Bogotá for less than $65 round-trip and from Medellín to Cartagena for less than $100 round-trip.

A quick tip on VivaColombia – if you’re taking anything more than hand luggage, you can pay just as much for the flight for your luggage so travel light if you want it to be inexpensive. Traveling light can mean a ticket cheaper than bus fare.

If you use Avianca for domestic flights in Colombia, you can book as if you are in Colombia in pesos, and you will get a much better price versus booking in the United States in dollars.

It is easy to choose the country on Avianca’s website at the top of their website. You can typically save up to 50 percent with the country selected as Colombia and paying in pesos for domestic flights on Avianca.

Using this method on Avianca I have flown from Medellín to Bogotá several times for less than $70 round-trip and from Medellín to Cartagena for less than $100 round-trip.

Clínica las Américas, one the top rated in Medellín and Latin America
Clínica las Américas, one the top rated in Medellín and Latin America

9. Medical Services

Medellín has eight hospitals and clinics ranked as eight of the best 42 hospitals and clinics in Latin America, according to a recent study by América Economia.

Colombia is also starting to experience an increase in medical tourism with low costs for medical services.

As an example, a heart bypass surgery in the states that may cost $80,000 or more costs can cost less than $25,000 in Colombia.

Another example is a knee replacement surgery in the United States that costs about $40,000 and costs only about $15,000 in Colombia.

The salaries of Medellín doctors are typically a fraction of those in the states, even though they are in many cases required to have to same level of internationally recognized education and job skills.

Medellín is probably best known for Lasik (corrective eye surgery), cosmetic surgery and dentistry. Colombia is home to many of the best cosmetic surgeons in the world.

I dropped my dental insurance in the states several years ago as I found the dentists in Medellín could be about as cheap as my out-of-pocket costs with my dental insurance in the United States.

The bottom line is that if you live in Medellín, you can have access to world-class health care in several hospitals and clinics in the city at a much lower cost than in the US.

Levi’s Outlet in Mayorca mall in Sabaneta
Levi’s Outlet in Mayorca mall in Sabaneta

10. Clothing

There are many places in Medellín where you can find inexpensive clothing if you venture outside of El Poblado. The shops located in El Poblado typically have the most expensive prices in the city.

Medellín has a reputation as the fashion capital of Colombia. Two of the most famous annual fashion shows take place in the city: Colombiatex and Colombiamoda. Also many companies in the city manufacture clothing.

Places I have found some of the best deals for clothing include El Centro and the Mayorca and Puerta del Norte malls.

An example is that I recently found men’s Rifle jeans on sale in a Rifle outlet store in the Mayorca mall, and I was able to buy two pairs of jeans for only 60,000 pesos ($17.37) each.

The Bottom Line

Based on my experience living in Medellín for over five years, you can find many things in the city that are definitely cheaper than in the United States.

These surprisingly cheap things in Medellín have become even cheaper recently in terms of US dollars with the new exchange rate.

However, there are also some things that are more expensive, such as cars, cell phones and higher end computers. Last year we looked at eight expensive things in Medellín.

Imported cars can be quite expensive due to the import duty and taxes , ut it is also very feasible to live without a car in Medellín with the inexpensive taxis, metro and buses in the city.

I don’t have a car and have met only a few foreigners living in Medellín with cars.

We are also curious, what are some other surprisingly cheap things in Medellín readers have found?

Like the story? Take a second to support Medellin Living on Patreon!

Leave a Reply to Victor Florez Cancel reply

33 COMMENTS

  1. I find most of this to be true have not tried pharmacies or clothes yet. And have not yet managed to get a cedula to get triple play, but your triple play is cheaper than my strata 6 dtv. Do you have Fox and hbo on there?

    Related question, i have to go to banco av villas and exito to pay some bills in cash, does anyone know how a man without a cedula can pay these bills quicker? I.e. an app or some where to get a Colombian credit card?

    • The TV service from Claro we have is the advanced package with over 130 channels including several in HD. We have 2 TVs connected to the service. Fox+ and HBO are available but they are premium channels, which we decided we don’t need.

    • Brendan, a Canadian Bank called Bank of Nova Scotia bought controlling interest in
      Colpatria Bank. Last week I opened a checking account in Canada, and got an
      Interac – Visa card. the Visa operates on the cash in your account. A card number and 3 digit pin on the back, for over the phone. I have yet to get South, and see what Colpatria has for accounts. These two banks will make life easier for me. ( I hope )
      The card set up may be an option. Thanks randy.

  2. Yes it is cheap….Only uf you are spending $$dollars. If you’re a native earning minimal wage, you will not be able to afford these luxuries. While its cheap to you….Not for a native paisa.

  3. There are always no or low-cost Entertainment-Cultural-Learning options available as well. Free music in the parks (particularly during festivals) along with cultural events of every kind are regularly advertised online. I organize a weekly no-cover Language Exchange Event that attracts large crowds in Parque LLeras (https://www.facebook.com/groups/Ingles.Pizza.Medellin/) but there are tons of other events as well. Check out the event listings link here on Medellin Living and also check out the various Medellin-related Facebook, Meetup, and Couch Surfing groups as well. All of them announce local low or no-cost events.

  4. You asked: “We are also curious, what are some additional surprisingly cheap things in Medellín readers have found?”

    I now pay 45,000 cop for a haircut and pedicure at a nice hairstyling salon in Santa Fe CC. At recent exchange rates, that amounts to just $14 total. I paid $35 just for a haircut alone at the salon I went to when I lived last year in Palm Springs, California ! So big savings. Same for my dental expenses at a very high tech dental clinic (Artica in Las Palmas)… with about 70%+ savings over full costs in California. At a very high tech, efficient dental X-Ray lab, I paid just $23 for a set full mouth X-Rays! (full price, no insurance needed) Same huge savings for my vision care with an eye doctor at the huge Clinica de Oftalmologa Sandiego (near Premium Plaza CC) where my office visit was just $33. And their in-house pharmacy sells me my 2 eye drop medicines on a 2 for 1 pricing basis ! (vs what I would pay at the usual Medelllin pharmacies) I recently had to go to the Emergency Room of Clinca Las Vegas. I was there for 8 hours (not waiting, as cash patients are given priority treatment, but it took that long to resolve my health problem. My total cost was just $76.

    So there are many things which cost a LOT less here in Medelllin than in USA.

    • You can find much cheaper than 45,000 COP for a haircut and pedicure if you go outside of ritzy El Poblado. A salon at Santafe mall is likely one of the most expensive places in town.

      I have gotten my hair cut for only 8,000 COP ($2.40) at salons and barbershops in Belén and Sabaneta. My Colombian wife gets her haircut and a pedicure at salons away from El Poblado and always pays less than 20,000 COP.

      The bottom line is that most things you can find cheaper in other neighborhoods in the city away from ritzy El Poblado.

      • You can actually find good places for good price at “Ritzy El Poblado” around Zona 2 or by the Inferior and Gonzales. You just have to explore el Poblado outside of the calle del Poblado or Iinares before labeling it as expensive. For a woman by LA Inferior the haircuts are fantastic for women, and you can even get an iced coffee next for or a mimos (cute tiny ice cream), probably 35,000 for cut/style/manipedi.

        Also at Rio Sur there is a place for guys that is the closest thing to a legit barbershop… A little showy for my taste (used to get my cut at Lucky’s Barber, one of the best men’s barbers in New England) and this place is the closest (specially if you want a good line up like a Brooklyn Barber would do). The place is called El Garaje and cus is $25,000 (what you would pay at a good Barber in the U.S. if you don’t go to super cuts)

        Another good one is in Los Gonzales right before LA Inferior… It’s just called “Barber Shop”, and if you walk up there is a lunch spot that has some good papa rellena hehe.

  5. This is great but maybe some comparisons as well. I found for example that UNE as a triple play company is a much better choice than claro. UNE being a Medellin company, and also being part of the public EPM services, provides a better service than Claro. When getting quotes from both, I found UNE to be more in touch with what I needed in Medellin and the instal/service was almost next day; compared to Claro which sits in Bogota and takes forever to get an instal due to their subcontractors/lack of local knowledge. For expats that work 100% online, service and speed are worth the extra 40’000 pesos ($12 dollars with today’s rate).

    Hey lets talk about some of those fun comforts we miss but can be found here… Like finding good peanut butter in carulla, a good barber like “el Garaje” in what you call “Ritzy Poblado” (don’t know if you mean in a bad way but I wouldn’t live anywhere else), or maybe finding a place to watch opening day (besides MLB.tv).

    Also good tip for anyone just embarking here, get a BANCOLOMBIA account for people abroad months before coming here and it will make your life easier; yes you might spend $90 bucks on DHL but when it comes to all your transactions here on the first day, it will make life easier.

    • I have had good experiences with Claro in Medellín. Claro service is very reliable in Medellín and the few Internet outages I have experienced in 4+ years in three different apartments have been resolved within an hour after calling. Also installs have been smooth in three different apartments – they arrived when scheduled and we were able to schedule in a couple days. In Medellín, Claro bought an existing cable provider in the city several years ago.

      UNE is no longer part of EPM, it was merged with Millicom (Tigo) in 2014 – see: http://www.millicom.com/media/1316430/UNEmergercompletePRFINALm.pdf. I had UNE in my first apartment in Medellín five years ago and service was much less reliable than Claro in my experience.

      A better alternative than Bancolombia in my experience is Colpatria, which pays interest of about 3% in their Cuenta de Ahorros – Rentapremium account with no fees.

      • I don’t know if there is a fee paid by Claro for mentioning it that’s why they treat you so great, getting a quote from them from abroad and then here was like pulling teeth. UNE has been very reliable specially for someone that is online almost 24/7 and needs 20mbps reliable for all that I do. Claro was a bit of a mess and had no idea where my apartment was, UNE did in an hour what I tried to get with Claro for weeks.

        I have not tried colpatria, but I know Bancolombia as one of the largest and HQ in Medellin was able to get me settled before I even arrived. We spoke before about the apartment issues I was having but you were not able to advised me due to the realtor experience you had, Bancolombia was actually able to set my financials and recommend a company that found me a place immediately to my liking.

        Also nice tip for all readers, I will like to know a little bit more about the streets in Medellin. The locals might know a street by a well renowned name and not by the actual number, so a fun piece on all the streets and the names they are known by. This would be very useful for when we tell our UBER driver where to pick us up or where to go.

        • Randy, thanks for the colpatria info, I’ll try them. Has anyone been able to get credit card there in Colombia without cedula? I should be getting a cedula at some point this year, whenever I figure out how to get a visa.

          Victor, I’m assuming you have a cedula bring that you have a bank account and gone internet, the two things I desire most.

          Tip in regards to cheap things, at tigo you can get a prepaid SIM unlimited data for a month for 10$. I just found this and now it is my full phone plan. They throttle your speed however, but sell great deal. Perhaps I shouldn’t be saying this publicly because I’m worried that they will shut the deal down.

          • Hey Brendan,

            Opened the bank account with my US passport and a god ol’ New Hampshire licence. hehe.

            the pre paid tigo thing is awesome – also someone has a good 4G prepaid mini device that you can take anywhere, buddy of mine had it and it was awesome to get you started online. Also download whattsapp on your phone – everyone communicates here that way (and I mean EVERYONE!!!).

            P.S. does anyone know where to get really good Peanut Butter – the one in carulla is good but not the best.

          • Wow, I was told that’s not possible… I guess I’ll go bank to bank today.

            I have picked up a Huawei and a mifi 4g and ditched tmobile. Us mobile is a joke. Love this set up. Colombia wins this category.

            I get great cheap peanut butter at pricesmart. A big tub I finished in past 2 weeks.

        • No I don’t get paid anything by Claro and nor does this site to my knowledge. I happened to have an inside contact at Claro for my first two Claro apartment installs but not the third one, which was done in their store in Los Molinos mall on the first floor But I’ve been a customer for nearly five years so perhaps that’s part of the reason for the good service.

  6. LOl sorry for the misinformation Brendan – the Bank account I opened it weeks before I came here, that’s why I was able to get away with it.

    All i did here since I have had the account for a month already just gave them my passport and I got a debit card.

    Will try to find that Peanut Buter – thanks.

  7. Wait one second… one more question…. Victor, this means you have gotten home internet without a cedula? I have tried this until exhaustion, banging my head on the wall frustration, how on earth did you do that?

    • Oh yes, that one you just got to find someone local that trusts you and you trust them. They put it in their name and you pay the whole year at once. They gave me two months off when I paid the whole thing at once.

      • Unbelievable. So my problem is not really not having a cedula…. it’s having bad Spanish and looking more like a farc member than your average poblado resident.

        • try the UNE store in Santa Fe or even Movistar in calle del Poblado, they are doing home tv and I think home internet as well.

  8. thanks Jeff, great tips and comparisons here. Here I’m using Tigo for data/phone/text service. I use it to hotspot my computer when I need to as well. The best deal I have found yet is $13,500 for 2 weeks (if you buy on a monday you get an extra week free). Service has been excellent everywhere in the country where we’ve been so far too.

    • Doreen, I also have tigo and I’ve heard rumors of this Monday deal. Is it when you text the reload code or lad money? If load money does it matter how you load?

      Thanks to earlier commenters, I managed to get WiFi. Local credit card or bank account still eludes me.

  9. Good things to know.

    Internet/TV/phone is lower in some european countries

    And same prices for domestic airflare.

    But it’s still expensive for very near countries ( Venezuela, Ecuador, Perú, costa rica, caraibes…)

  10. I agree with your comments about the good deals presently in Medellin with the COP exchange rate. But not the temp.

    After staying the month of Febuary 2016, in both Laurales and Poblado and going all over the entire city and outskirts, Dude – it was HOT and Humid!!! So the ideal temp of 72 you write about was more like 92. !
    I live in the S.E. US and have lived in Panama City PTY. Medellin gets HOT and humid in the valley. More like a summer day than spring. Please add the auto/truck AIR Pollution and horrible traffic…
    If you want real spring weather you really need to go way up towards the airport.
    I still liked the area and plan to return but the entire truth needs to be told here.

  11. Thanks Jeff, good information for the layperson. I will be spending a lot more time in Medellin in 6 to 12 months. Will have questions in the future. I further appreciate your efforts with clear explanation, in English.

    rp

  12. I’m Colombian, and I have to disagree with you on clothing, it’s true that you can get very cheap clothes in Medellín but if you want to get recognized brand clothes like Tommy Hilfiger or Diesel its cheaper in the us. Also with the money you pay for taxis, you can get a car and it will be cheaper on a long term.

    • But if you buy Colombian clothing brands they will be cheaper. You don’t have to buy brands from the U.S. Also Levis jeans made in Colombia are cheaper than in the U.S.

      And I respectfully disagree with you about “with the money you pay for taxis, you can get a car and it will be cheaper in the long run”. Cars are expensive in Colombia plus you need to add in the cost for driver licenses, taxes, car insurance, maintenance, parking and gas. As a couple we pay a total of less than $120 per month for for the two of us for taxis, metro and buses. Plus we receive 70,000 pesos per month to rent out our parking spot that we don’t use as we don’t have a car. So we pay a net of less than $100 per month for transportation for two people. We also would need two cars.

  13. Hi Jeff,

    I am looking to switch from teaching in the US 5 years now to going abroad, and Medillin seems like a beautiful place to live. Outside of teaching I am involved in the local music and dance community around the North Shore of Massachusetts. What are prices like for instruments, music lessons, and dance lessons?
    I am also thinking on teaching in Brazil, but the cost of living seems pretty high.

    Thank you,

    Greg

  14. Going to medelling can wait to have a delicious massage – 50 min US around $159 vs $28 and muchhhhh better . Also, I just add $10 dollars for manicure and pedicure(which I paid $60 +tip inFL)… taxis and uber almost free 🤗,of course It’s great for me bc I’m converting dollars to pesos. I get my glasses prescription which I paid Over U$200 in Fl cost around U$30 in colombia. Booth a lot aguardiente(native alcohol drink) for my friends In US and they loved more than tequila ❤️…. you eat at a restaurant like at king🎈. Can wait 👍🏽