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I'm not really sure why many people would choose Bogota over Lima, to be honest. Other than maybe food. I've been to neither, but I know people seem to rave about Bogota consistently while Lima has always seemed to me the type of place you have to go to to get somewhere else. As a tourist anyways.
I like both cities, but Lima is slightly better for me than Bogota. For one, it's on the coast and even though the sea is too cold for swimming, looking at it from the bluff is amazing. The overall vibe of the nicer parts of Lima are more to my liking as well.
For living, I would probably choose Bogota due to its year-round Spring like weather. In Lima it can rain (its more like a drizzle since it never truly rains) for days on end, and the city seem to be foggy/cloudy for much of the year.
-Economy/Opportunity (esp. for foreign work)
About the same for both. It does depend on the field, though.
-Walkability
Bogota is better than Lima.
-Natural Scenery
Bogota
-Attractions
About the same
-Climate
Bogota
-Safety
Lima, in Bogota they still get terrorist attacks from time to time.
Thanks for your thoughts! I am curious about both because they seem to be the two most eminent cities in the upper half of the continent and are in a similar class when it comes to population and GDP. Re: Lima being more of a place you go through to get to other places, I think Cusco/Machu Picchu/the Amazon and their tourists have a lot to do with that. Not that Colombia doesn't have cool stuff too, it definitely does, but nothing perhaps as noteworthy/famous to outsiders from a numbers standpoint I don't think. So, people go through Lima to get to other world class destinations, whereas probably more people go to Bogota just to see Bogota. I think an advantage Bogota has also is access from US. It's the only place on another continent from the US that I'd say is actually practical for people to see in a long weekend trip (or longer). It's a less than 4 hr. flight, and RT airfare can be had for <$300
I don't really know a lot about either city so I wanted to figure out more, but want to see both at some point.
So Antonio, to be clear, you like Bogota for living, Lima for visiting then? Just making sure.
It seems like Bogota has numerous advantages for a visitor if it has more walkability and better transit especially. A lot of other variances would seem to be unique differences between the cities, for example, Bogota seems to have a better European style core to offer visitors (La Candelaria), but at the same time Lima has a super cool pre Columbian pyramid within it's city boundaries. Then, like you said, if it's a coastal setting you want, it's Lima, but if it's a mountain setting you want of course, Bogota.
Economy/Opportunity: Don't know honestly, but I think maybe Colombia is a bit easier. Peru does have higher median salaries Walkability: Bogota Natural Scenery: Bogota easily, green hills beat the ugly desert landscape of coastal Lima easily Attractions: Bogota. Lima doesn't have much to see outside the historic center Climate: Both have subpar climates but Lima at least gets nice and warm from December to April. Bogota is pretty much always chilly Safety: Lima, less than half of the homicide rate of Bogota. And homicide rates are still the most reliable statistic because you can't fudge homicide or severely underreport homicide numbers like you can with robbery or rape Walkable Neighborhoods: Bogota I guess? Altho Lima's touristy neighborhoods are very walkable Transit: Bogota More Unique: Bogota. Bogota seems to have a distinct culture whereas Lima is more just a typical South American coastal city Food: Lima, and in a blowout. Bogota's cuisine is nice, but Lima's cuisine is on another planet and is one of the best foodie destinations in the entire world People: Lima. Lima people are friendly and warm, while Bogota is notorious for being very cold by Colombian standards
Given that the consensus seems to be that Bogota is more walkable than Lima, that seems more like a place that I'd prefer. Plus I love mountains too, more than the sea (though I don't mind that either, just preference), and I'd probably be more likely to plan a 4-5 day trip to Bogota at some point just so I could literally say at some point that I "left the continent for the weekend". Though, if I were to combine a trip to Bogota with a trip to the coffee belt (Jardin/Medellin), or to Cano Cristales, I would probably end up staying for 8-9 days.
Personally Lima is my favorite city I've ever been to. I know it has a lot of problems and maybe is not very touristy, but holy ****, the cuisine and the nightlife are legendary. If you're going out to the bars you're probably coming home with somebody lol. And people invite you to parties after only knowing you for a day. I don't know if Bogota is as exciting as that
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