View of Pereira
Medellín gets all the press but Colombia actually has two cities of eternal spring and the much smaller Pereira is actually a very viable place to live with a similar climate. We compare these two cities in this Medellín vs Pereira comparison.
I have lived in Medellín for well over five years but I have traveled to Pereira several times, which is also known as a city that is best described as a mini-Medellín.
Many Colombians I have met in Pereira feel that the city doesn’t yet get the recognition it deserves.
Not many expats have discovered Pereira compared to Medellín due to Medellín getting much positive press and frequently being rated one of the best foreign cities to live or retire to. Pereira in comparison is definitely off the beaten path.
Medellín has a metro population of about 3.8 million, while Pereira’s metro population is less then 1 million making it about a quarter of the size.
But Pereira is a big enough city that it has many of the same shopping options found in Medellín, including Exito, Jumbo, Homecenter, PriceSmart and Makro plus the top shopping mall in Pereira, Parque Arboleda, rivals the best shopping malls in Medellín.
We’ll compare these two cities in 10 categories, in no particular order.
Note in this article we only include photos of Pereira as this website already has countless photos of Medellín.
It’s a Tie. Medellín is at an elevation of about 4,905 feet (1,495 meters) and Pereira is at an elevation of about 4,629 feet (1,411 meters). Both cities are in valleys surrounded by mountains.
The average temperature during the year in Medellín is 72 ° F (22 °C) and in Pereira the average is also 72 ° F (22 °C).
In Medellín, the average daily high temperature ranges from 81.0 to 82.8 ° F (27.0 to 28.2 °C) and the average daily low ranges from 61.7 to 63.3 ° F (16.5 to 17.4 °C).
In Pereira, the average daily high temperature ranges from 78.3 to 80.8 ° F (25.7 to 27.1 °C) and the average daily low ranges from 61.7 to 62.6 ° F (16.5 to 17.0 °C).
In both cities the temperatures are fairly constant year-round, which is why both are known as cities of “Eternal Spring”.
Medellín wins here. Medellín is a much bigger city so it obviously has many more restaurant and nightlife options.
Medellín has many more restaurant options, many of which have been covered on this website. TripAdvisor lists less than 140 restaurants in Pereira and well over 900 restaurants in Medellín when you include the other municipalities in the metro area like Envigado and Sabaneta.
But Pereira still has a number of good restaurants, I found good steak, seafood, Colombian, Italian, Indian and Mexican restaurants in the city, several of which rival the best found in Medellín.
Medellín has more nightlife options that have been covered extensively on this site but Pereira also has some sizzling nightlife that draws visitors from around the coffee region.
Pereira easily wins here. Similar properties I have seen in Pereira in Estrato 5 or 6 neighborhoods tend to rent for or sell for at least 20-25 percent less than in Medellín.
Other costs like groceries, taxis, restaurants and other things tend to be at least 5-10 percent cheaper in Pereira in comparison to Medellín.
For example, I compared the prices of groceries in Exito in the two cities and on average prices in Exito in Pereira were about 7 percent less than in Medellín.
It’s arguably a Tie. Both cities have many things to do in the city as well as many things to do nearby.
Pereira is one of the three cities that make up the Coffee Triangle, along with the nearby cities of Armenia and Manizales. As part of the coffee region, stunning scenery and picturesque small pueblos surround Pereira, particularly the popular nearby Salento pueblo.
Medellín also has several picturesque small pueblos nearby including the popular Guatapé and Santa Fe de Antioquia pueblos.
It’s a Tie. Both cities were at the top of a recent survey of 12,548 in Colombia in terms of citizens feeling safe in their barrio.
In this study (slide 41) citizens felt the safest in Medellín, followed by Pereira.
Medellín clearly wins here. Medellín has eight of the top rated hospitals in Latin America, while Pereira has none.
However, Pereira still has several quality medical facilities and many highly skilled doctors. In fact I have heard that in the coffee region, many smaller pueblos such as Salento get their medical needs taken care of in Pereira.
Pereira wins here. As a much smaller city, Pereira doesn’t have all the cars or industry that is found in Medellín so the city has less pollution.
Medellín was ranked #9 in a list of the most polluted cities in Latin America released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Medellín has recently been putting in place measures to fight increased pollution in the city. For example, the city implemented car/motorcycle free days and banned official vehicles. The city also banned outdoor activities on some days.
Pereira also wins here. Waze ranked Medellín with the eighth worst traffic globally in a study last year that looked at 167 cities worldwide.
Pereira obviously has less traffic being a much smaller city with fewer vehicles.
The worst traffic I have experienced in Pereira was about 30 minutes; in Medellín the worst traffic I have experienced has been well over 90 minutes getting from El Pobaldo to Bello.
Medellín wins here. Medellín has several non-stop, direct flights to the States plus one non-stop flight to Europe, while in Pereira you need to connect in Bogotá or Panama City to get to the US or to Europe.
However, there is an Avianca flight from Pereira to New York City (JFK) but it stops first in Cartagena, so it’s not non-stop. Or you can drive about an hour from Pereira to Armenia, which has a non-stop Spirit flight direct to Fort Lauderdale.
From Medellín you can fly non-stop to Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and New York. From Medellín you can also fly direct to Madrid in Europe.
Medellín wins here. Pereira and the coffee region have a history of seismic activity. During the 20th century, Pereira and the nearby region experienced at least seven major seismic events.
Medellín is also at risk but hasn’t really experienced many earthquakes historically or near as much damage as experienced in Pereira.
During the most recent earthquakes in Pereira in 1995 and 1999 several older private homes as well as some public buildings, roads, hospitals, and other structures were damaged.
But seismic risk can be mitigated – recently built buildings in Pereira as well as many of the older buildings in the city are built to withstand seismic activity. The city has also become much stricter about its building codes.
In our Medellín vs Pereira comparison, Medellín beats out Pereira in four of our 10 categories; Pereira beats out Medellín in three categories and the two cities tie in three categories. So the end result in this somewhat subjective comparison of 10 categories is a slight edge to Medellín with the categories equally weighted.
But to each his own and to really determine which city is best for you to live depends on which categories are more important to you with a higher weighting for more important categories.
For example, if cost of living and avoiding traffic and avoiding pollution were most important, Pereira would win. If healthcare, ease of access to the U.S. and restaurants and nightlife are your most important categories, Medellín would win.
The bottom line is that Pereira is a viable place to live with a similar climate to Medellín but with a lower cost of living.
The only way to know which city is better is to spend time in both. I have now spent time in both cities and if I weren’t already living in Medellín before I discovered Pereira I would possibly choose Pereira, which is away from the typical gringo trail and is part of the Coffee Triangle.
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You missed out comparing wildlife and natural attractions near the cities. Pereira IMHO would win as it has thermal springs and various wildlife attractions. My wife is from Cali and comparing Pereira to Cali is no contest, it is a 100x times better than Cali.
Yes the hot springs near Pereira are nice and there are many wildlife and natural attractions near the city. I agree with you that Pereira is a much better place to live than Cali. Both Medellín and Pereira regularly are ranked by Colombians in surveys as two of the top cities in Colombia to live.
Manizales also is ranked highly by Colombians but it's too small of a city for me, it's also too hilly, has a colder climate and it doesn't have all the shopping and restaurant options found in bigger Pereira.
I am surprised at how few expats have discovered Pereira as the city compares pretty favorably with Medellín.
Can you recommend an english speaking rental agency in PEREIRA, specifically for a furnished rental. Thanks, John
I rented a furnished apartment using Airbnb during my last trip to Pereira. The apartment was conveniently located a few blocks from the Parque Arboleda mall and I was very happy with the apartment. Make sure to look for highly rated apartments as some apartments on Airbnb in Pereira have no ratings, which would make them more risky.
I speak decent Spanish and haven't yet found an English speaking real estate agent in Pereira.
http://mejiayvelasquez.com/search_sellers_results.php
I know one of them speaks English. Really good people, I have dealt with them
The caption on the first photo of the naked Bolívar says "Benticur" but his last name is Arenas and second last name is Betancourt. His full name is Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt and he was born in Fredonia, Antioquia and is know as the best Antioquias sculptor, probably even bigger than Botero.
Another very nice thing about Pereira is that the first settlers came from Antioquia so it´s the same entrepreneurial spirit and hospitable people.
Thanks, I corrected the caption. I got the incorrect name from an English language Colombia guidebook, which are typically full of errors. The English language Colombia guidebooks are uniformly poor IMHO.
I understand that especially in the 1920s, settlers from Antioquia moved to Pereira for its economically strategic location, fertile soil, and very good weather.
I also heard from many in Pereira that residents from neighboring smaller cities like Armenia and Manizales come to Pereira to shop as there are many things found in Pereira that can't be found in the smaller cities.
I've been going to Pereira for 8 years. I was hoping it would stay a hidden gem, but 'tis the world we live in.
"Hidden gem" -- I like that and I believe it's an appropriate description of Pereira. I met a few expats living in Pereira that told me they hoped that word wouldn't get out about Pereira...
As as far as flights to the US go, Spirit now has non-stop flights from Fort Lauderdale to Armenia. I accidentally found that out, when I recently missed my flight to Medellin, and as an option they offered me a flight to Armenia instead. For the same price. Of course they lost my luggage, and it took me 5 days to finally get it and Medellin! But now that I know this option to fly to Armenia exist, I will definitely check it out in the very near future thanks to this article!
Thanks for the information. That is pretty surprising that Spirit chose to offer direct flights to Armenia over Pereira as Pereira is a much bigger city. But Armenia is pretty close to Pereira, it's only about an hour drive so it's a viable option - considering that Medellín's José María Córdova International Airport is 45 minutes to an hour from the city.
The airport in Pereira is small but the airport in Armenia is tiny with only 4 gates. The airport in Armenia typically serves about half the passengers annually as the airport in Pereira does.
Interesting article Jeff. However, it would have been much better if it was less "US-centric". For example, your could have listed the temperatures in Celsius as well as Fahrenheit. Also it would have been nice if you’d considered accessibility options to other parts of the world... Europe, Asia etc. Note not all your readers hail from the US!
Hi Robz,
Thanks for sharing the feedback. While the majority of our readers (37%) are accessing the site from the United States, we do want Medellín Living to be as inclusive as possible.
Including temperatures in Celsius is easy enough to do, so we can discuss making that change to our editorial guidelines.
Thanks for the feedback. The article has been updated to include temperatures in Celsius, distances in meters and also accessibility from Europe.
Hi Dave & Jeff,
Thanks a lot for taking this on board and making adjustments, it is very much appreciated!!!!!
Actually there is a flight from Pereira to New York(JFK) via Avianca . 45 minutes technical stop at Cartagena. Nice article my friend!
Thanks. Yes I'm aware of that but it's technically not a non-stop, direct flight to JFK since it stops in Cartagena. This is similar to Avianca's flight from Cali to JFK that stops first in Medellín.
So from Pereira to get to the US you have options to connect in Bogotá or Panama City to enable getting to several cities in the US or there is this Avianca flight from Pereira with a stop in Cartagena to get to JFK. Or you can drive from Pereira to Armenia and take Spirit non-stop to Fort Lauderdale - but Spirit is the most hated airline in the US plus I don't think that is a daily flight.
But still no non-stop, direct flights to the US or Europe from Pereira.
For domestic Colombian flights from Pereira you can fly non-stop to Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cartagena and Santa Marta.
In airline lingo a "direct" flight indicates there will be a stop but no change of aircraft is required. If there is a change of aircraft it's called a "connecting" flight. "Non-stop" is self explanatory.
Thanks so much for this article! It's exactly what I have been looking for all over the Internet!
Hi Jeff:
Great Article, Thanks much!! ...I live in Pereira so I loved your positive comments on my native city.
What I like the most of my hometown is that you only have to drive 15 minutes from La Plaza de Bolívar and you will find yourself out in the countryside!!
I have a small but cozy cabin by the Otun River in la FLorida (Corregimiento de Pereira just 13 Kms from Downtown) and out there we are sorrounded by montains, the river there is still so clear and pristine, all kinds all birds are singing everywhere and you get to see and hear the howler monkeys.
Peace , calmness and contemplation of natureand just minutes away from Los Nevados National Park and inside of el Santuario de Fauna y Flora Otun Quimbaya.
Please do come to this great land, full of nature. I personally will show it to you and I will be more than glad to host you.
Saludos
Eduardo
Next year I will come and visit you. Your Cabin interests me most. I would like to find a small cabin with a small garden next to it. Have any of these there?
Just found this site. I'm interested in how things r going for you. Have u found what u r looking 4? Btw, I'm interested in expatriating, but, approaching 70 & infirm because of severe back pain & speaking only a smattering of Spanish, am somewhat apprehensive about doing so. I'm hoping, however, that I have one more adventure in my life. I do want to emphasize that I'm not interested in a North American enclave. Most respectfully,
What are the rents like SPECIALY compared to Medellin?
Yo hablo español desde niño.
El Poblado compared to a similar place in Pereira.
I have never been in Colombia yet but plan to go because we are allowed 6 months as USA citizens and my girlfriend from the Philippines is also allowed 6 months.I guess afterwards we could go to Ecuador for another 6 months.
But the cost of living is very important to me.
At the same time On the place that I live I usually prefer a nicer place. I don't skimp on comfort and safety.
That's why ask you about a similar place to El Poblado. Close to restaurants etc.
I currently live in Asia.
Apartment rents in Pereira are cheaper than Medellín for similar properties. For example, I surveyed 15 two-bedroom apartments in Pereira in Estrato 5/6 areas and the average rent was about 1.15 million pesos per month, which is much cheaper than similar properties in El Poblado in Medellín. These apartments in Pereira were in the Pineras and La Circunvalar (Zona C) areas, which are in some ways similar to El Poblado. La Circunvalar is close to shopping and many restaurants are within walking distance.
Hi Walter
Rent and real estate is more ior less 15 to 20% lower compared to those ofrece Medellin.
A two bedroom aparment located in Pinares can be rented for Us 350-390 per month with the administration fee included.
Greetings from Pereira
Edu
The rental prices are more than 20% lower in Pereira compared to those offered Medellín. I am very familiar with the rental prices in Medellín based on a survey of 600 unfurnished apartments in November last year. See: http://medellinliving.com/2015-apartment-rental-costs/.
In El Poblado in Medellín the average rent for the 45 two-bedroom apartments I surveyed was 1.8 million pesos. So the apartment rental prices in Pereira for similar properties are substantially cheaper.
In Medellín you would have to go to estrato 4 barrios in areas like Sabaneta or Belen to find comparable prices to the estrato 6 or 5 apartments in Pereira in the Pinares or La Circunvalar areas. But these are wouldn't be similar apartments since they are in different estratos. If you compare estrato 4 in Medellín with estrato 4 in Pereira, you will also see a big price difference.
Hi Walter,
I was born, raised and still live in Pereira. As far as nice and safe neighbourhoods goes, I suggest you look for places in Pinares, Los Álamos, Los Alpes or Circunvalar. These are the more upscale neighbourhoods in the city, and given that Pereira is pretty small, they are all close to the main tourist spots. Perhaps Los Álamos is the most distant neighbourhood, but it's still close enough. You shouldn't have any trouble with public transportation as buses are frequent, but I still prefer using taxis as they are not that expensive.
I hope you find this little piece of information useful.
Greetings,
Ana María
Nice article,
I came down to Pereira back in 2009 from Glendora CA. And i dont want to go back haha,
Pereira is a beautiful city, plus i got married to a beautiful Pereirana and now we have a 1 year old girl,,, been to Medellin but is not as safe as Pereira, here you can walk in downtown with ur Iphone or S7 samsum and nothing bad would happen, you can't do the same in Medellin.
Medellin is to big, to much traffic, and is more expensive.
Any help in pereira contact me
How do you get around in Pereira? Need car motorcycle, bus? Are they frequent? Are they safe?
How much is the rent for a one bedroom in a very good safe place like El Poblado?
You can walk to many places in Pereira depending on where you decide to live. Taxis are cheap and plentiful. Buses are also cheap and run frequently. Taxis in general are safer than buses but I haven't experienced a problem using buses in Pereira during my trips to the city.
You can look online to see apartment rental prices for apartments in Pereira listed by several rental agencies on http://www.fincaraiz.com.co/apartamentos/arriendo/pereira/ and https://pereira.olx.com.co/casas-apartamentos-arriendo-cat-363.
I suggest looking in Pineras and La Circunvalar if you are looking for the areas in Pereira most similar to El Poblado.
Hi, i had the same question about the price of rent in both cities. And in this webpage i could resolve that doubt.
https://www.ciencuadras.com/arriendo/pereira
https://www.ciencuadras.com/arriendo/medellin
You can search by type of property, house, apartment, etc.
Nice article Jeff,living in Medellin,Sabaneta for about a year,and already been in Pereira for about 4 days your article is very accurate,is very similarity between the 2 cities of eternal spring,both citizens are proud to be called "paisas",this are like sister cities,people like each others,but in one comparison I would guive my vote by a mile to Medellin too,things to do!! Medellin has more modern sportt facilities (Estadio Atanasio Girardot with many soccer,football,acuatic complex with many pools,basketball,volleyball,all in one place,,and many experience in Internacional Competitions including the South American Games),The new BMX Supercross Pista in Belen ready for the World BMX Championship first time in Colombia,on May 25,26,27,28 and 29,with hundreds of international participants including olimpic Gold Medallist from Medellin Mariana Pajon.also want to mention Plaza Mayor events during the year,too many too mention including Colombia Moda,,la "Feria de las Flores" celebrated every year,and too many parks includind Parque Explora,Jardin Botanico,Planetarium,Parque Arvi,Medellin Zoo,severtal museums,the "Pueblito Pisa",many beautiful "pueblitos" near like La Ceja,El Retiro,Santa Fe,Jardin,that you will never get bored living in Medellin in your lifetime,that is why I will honestly guive my vote to Medellin over Pereira in Things to Do,not to miss my favorite place to walk La milla de Oro"n beautiful Poblado Avenue.Thanks for your posts.
Thanks. Pereira also has many things to do that IMHO rival what Medellín has as Pereira is part of the coffee triangle with so many things to do in the coffee region. I have spent over a month in and around Pereira and have only scratched the surface of things to do in and around the city…
Parque del Café, the Metecana zoo, Parque Consota, Parque L Pradera, Parque Ucumari, several different coffee tours, museums, Kasaguadua Natural Reserve, the large Hernan Ramirez Villegas Stadium that can accommodate more than 35,000 spectators, the annual Fiestas de la Cosecha or Harvest Fest. There are nearby plantations with capacity for between 20 and 25 people, places for camping, lakes for fishing and excursions on horseback. The Santa Rosa hot springs are nearby. There’s taking a trip to the Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados, where you can see the snow capped mountain Santa Isabel and the lagoons of Otún, Negra and Leona. Plus there are many small pueblos in the area including famous Salento and you are only an hour from the smaller cities of Armenia and Manizales. And much more...
I’m pretty sure I could come up with similar sized lists of things to do in and around both Medellín and Pereira that’s why I put them as a tie for things to do with my subjective rating. But granted there definitely are more sports facilities in the bigger city of Medellín.
Real cost of living in Pereira?
Quality of life in Pereira?
Compare it to living in El Poblado.
Rent restaurants movies electricity.
Thanks for the article and your info.
How do you get around and how confortable and safe is public transportation?
How much are taxis? Are the taxis metered?
Not interested in nightclubs or drinks at all. Restaurants, yes, good value, clean, family oriented and inexpensive.
How much is a meal? Breakfast, lunch and dinner. (separately)
How much is it to buy-rent a car or motorcycle?
Thanks for your help?
Hi Walter,
The cost of living was covered in the article above -- Similar properties I have seen in Pereira in Estrato 5 or 6 neighborhoods tend to rent for or sell for at least 20-25 percent less than in Medellín. Other costs like groceries, taxis, restaurants and other things tend to be at least 5-10 percent cheaper in Pereira in comparison to Medellín. For example, I compared the prices of groceries in Exito in the two cities and on average prices in Exito in Pereira were about 7 percent less than in Medellín. Depending on your lifestyle it would be possible to live in Pereira for less than $1,000 per month.
If you live in La Circunvalar many places in Pereira will be in walking distance. The taxis and buses are cheap and the city is small so you may not need a vehicle. Taxis in Pereira are metered and the costs were already covered in one of my comments below.
Restaurant costs in Pereira range from 6,000-10,000 pesos for an inexpensive local breakfast or lunch to over 50,000 pesos for a good dinner in a nice restaurant.
For car and motorcycle prices in Pereira you can look online to get an idea of prices. Look at http://www.carroya.com/ for new or used cars in Colombia in any city. Or http://www.tumoto.com.co/ for motorcycle prices in many cities.