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Lots of helpful advice here. My .02cents worth is Don't go.
I have been to almost every country in LATAM and they are all (IMHO) more racist than the USA and that is before you even apply the foreigner tag which you will have because you are not conversant in their culture and language(s).
If you are determined then try a couple for a month at a time. As another poster suggested perhaps Panama or Brasil would be best. Costa Rica is a nice place but it's economy is touristic and agricultural not medical. A Mexico border town might also be an option (although less secure).
Well I hope I don't feel that way. I mean I don't care if someone is racist in their brain. Just don't come and treat me a type of way because you're racist. I carry myself with respect. I do speak some spanish (more than hi and bye and bano) and will hopefully be fluent before I go. We shall see. I pray my experience is good. When I thought of Costa Rica I imagine farmland and would think having a farm there would heavenly but if there are no jobs I can't go. People are really selling me on Colombia but they all live in the city so I hope the rural areas are as nice.
Thanks a bunch for this response. I will check these sites out. I am hoping something will come through for me. I have time to do research while I'm finishing school. Even if I just get a part time job in radiology it could work. I can also sew and right now I run a boutique on the side but could turn that into something larger scale for extra income.
Looks like Medellin is a perfect fit. Medellin is one of the fashion capitals of Latin America, centre of the textile industry which is very important to the national economy and headquarters of ColombiaModa fashion week, one of the most important in the hemisphere. Medellin is also full of nature you're in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountains and farmland on all sides.
New York Times
Travelocity
360° video (you can move the camera around)
People on here know I'm more of a Bogota man myself, I think Medellin is over rated, most people rave about it but Bogota despite being grittier is more my style. Think of Colombia a little like South Africa, Cape town is white South Africa like Medellin in Colombia, Durban is Indian South Africa like Bogota (except we're talking about native indigenous not East Indians) and Johannesburg is black South Africa like Cali in Colombia. Obviously this is a loose analogy and only looks at the Andean region and omits the Caribbean, Amazon, Pacific and Savannah regions of Colombia but its just to give you a loose idea. The majority of Colombians are a mix but tend to incline to one end of the ethnic scale.
Last edited by Pueblofuerte; 02-23-2017 at 02:38 PM..
Lots of helpful advice here. My .02cents worth is Don't go.
I have been to almost every country in LATAM and they are all (IMHO) more racist than the USA and that is before you even apply the foreigner tag which you will have because you are not conversant in their culture and language(s).
If you are determined then try a couple for a month at a time. As another poster suggested perhaps Panama or Brasil would be best. Costa Rica is a nice place but it's economy is touristic and agricultural not medical. A Mexico border town might also be an option (although less secure).
I disagree Latin American nations are more racist than the US. Currently we have Neo Nazis attacking Jewish temples and graves. In the United States interracial marriage was illegal until 1970, and yes they enforced these laws.
The OP, whenever she has more experience with Latinos will learn to ignore much of what people say about Latin America. A lot of people trade in gossip without knowing context of either the US or Latin America.
You also can't speak for someone else's experience. As a Black person in Latin America, I had a wonderful time. Generally US dollars go pretty far, and that's the most important determinant.
I still will come home and visit. My bf and me both want to leave the country. I'm not leaving just because I'm tired. I love latin American culture. I've worked among Hispanic people here in the states and have several hispanic friends. I don't really want to move up north. It's fun to visit but get way too cold in the winter for me. I'm used to a warmer climate. Trust me I know racism exists worldwide but I know some countries are worse than others. For instance I wouldn't move to India. 1 thing I dislike about the U.S. is all the processed food. It's cheap and fast food is everywhere. Organic or farm raised food is much more expensive than regular food. A big reason why we are so overweight and unhealthy up here. I want to be in an environment where they still believe in having real food. Fresh food. Real ingredients. I know there is processed food in SA as well but I'm hoping there are more markets with actual locally grown foods and everything hasn't been shipped in
If you are really serious about going to Latin America, you'll just go. You can't get enough information from a user forum.
For example, if you go to Latin America you may wish to rethink wanting to be in rural areas. Rural in parts of Latin America could literally mean the Amazon rain forest. How far will you be away from any worthwhile job? If an accident or medical emergency happened, how far would you be away from specialists? You'll generally get good medical care in any major city, but in rural areas it just might not happen. How would you even get out of this rural area? To get to a city in Colombia from some rural areas, you might have to ride a bus for 10 hours or more. South America cities are developed and wonderful, but these huge countries have some truly desolate areas and you can see that from the airplane flying over them.
People in cities are more used to foreigners than people in the country side. And though I love Colombia, depending on the rural area it may not even be safe to go. There are landmines in areas with FARC and ELN have had conflicts with the Colombian government. Some rural areas in Mexico aren't that safe either. You should establish yourself in a main city, get acquainted with the country and with the people and which areas are okay, and then consider rural areas.
I think as a foreign with no family in any of these countries, and with no connection to any organization like Peace Corp or UNAid or whatever, you might be making a huge mistake to just move to a rural area with no idea whether you find conditions there livable. It can be hard to get MAIL in some rural parts of Latin America. Good internet services? HAHAHAHAHA!
I'm not saying don't go, stick to the major cities for at least a year until you really know the country well. When I was in Bogota, I remember watching a video in which a cancer patient had to be lifted via helicopter from El Choco (a poor rural region on the coast) to some place where they could get medical care. If this was an emergency they'd be dead.
It just makes no sense to want to buy a farm in a place that you don't know at all. The fact you haven't even discussed services makes me think you're truly unfamiliar with the region.
For Colombia, I too think you should go to Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, etc. I'm told Cali is tough. I think the rural areas near Bogota or Medellin are fine. But there are dicey rural areas near the borders. The Colombians here can give additional info. Keep in mind though Colombia signed a peace treaty with FARC, they did not yet with ELN, and the guerillas and cartels are at their strongest in certain thinly populated rural areas (not all rural areas) and it is definitely not a good idea for a foreigner to be around. You'd really need people you know and trust to properly advise you on which areas are safe and which areas you should not go to, and I would say you can't get that on a message forum. You don't know us and you aren't having a personal conversation with us where you can more accurately judge character.
As another poster suggested perhaps Panama or Brasil would be best.
I agree with NYwriter
Also funny enough two of the youtubers who I posted on the first page. Jubril and Fli Heritage both had a bad experience in Panama due to their skin colour. They mention it in their videos. Fli, who has traveled the globe, even put Panama in her bottom 2 countries she's visited and Colombia as one of her top 2.
Obviously everyone's experience will be different and I wouldn't discourage anyone to go to Panama but its just interesting hearing different perceptions.
Brazil is in a recession, the economy has contracted not far off 10% over the past few years. In the short term at least, I wouldn't say it offers much employment prospects and as has been mentioned Costa Rica has indeed become expensive in many important ticket items.
As for countryside living I don't agree too much. The ELN or FARC are in far flung rural areas, they're not really relevant in the major cities. Colombia is a big place, the size of France, Spain and Portugal combined. I don't think the OP is thinking of living in the Amazon or in Choco, more like a satellite rural town/village of a big city with job prospects like Sabaneta or Santa Elena, which is fine as long as your property lawyer looks thoroughly at the title deed history. There is also a small but thriving black American community in Colombia she can reach out to.
Last edited by Pueblofuerte; 02-23-2017 at 03:21 PM..
I know you didn't mean it that way. And I still think you misunderstand me. I and almost every black person I know don't mind being called "black". Like "She's black" "You are black" that's not offensive. I mean when you are speaking of us as if we are the things and not people. When people say "the blacks" or "blacks" as if you were speaking of "roaches" or "the roaches". When people give speaches or talks and refer to us that way it is so annoying. We are not things. I'd rather someone referring to us as a people to say "Black people have it hard" instead of "Blacks have it hard" or "The Blacks have it hard" you see the difrerence. That would be like me saying "Whites have it it good" or "The whites" instead of "white people have it good". That's all I meant.
If you are truly considering Medellin, this guy hits the nail on the head because he gets it as best as is possible for a foreigner new to a Spanish country (yes, this also happens in Spain).
Now, the mona/monita for white blondes is strickly a Colombian thing. Maybe in one or two other Spanish American countries they might use that word in that sense too, but... let me put it like this, in most Spanish countries mona is female for monkey, so... but in Colombia it has other non-offensive meanings.
The calling people by their color is pretty much widespread in the Spanish world (even in Spain) and its not meant to be offensive or negative. Now, there are intonations that can make these words offensive, but if those intonations are not there then a person will only be making a fool of themselves by overreacting and will leave a negative impression on the locals.
Sometimes it's hard to take off the American lense when in other countries, but it's fundamental if you want to truly understand a place and to truly understand how that place relates to you. Keeping the American lense on at all times while abroad will only lead you to reach conclusions that most of the time are correct in an American context but not where ever else you find yourself.
The fact that most of the people that tend to feel offended by these non-offensive mannerisms of the Spanish world are Americans, I think is a testament to how much more touchy the whole concept of race and color, and how much higher the racial tensions are in the USA. Again, when abroad the American lenses need to come off even if just for a while to correctly digest what happens. You will simply not see people of color from other countries (whether its Canada or somewhere else) feeling offended when they visit a Spanish country and someone calls them by their color. Some may be thrown off by that, but not offended. Again, the thorny racial history of the USA explains that difference between how Americans react vs other people visiting/moving to Spanish countries, IMO.
^^
Yes he's great at explaining things and details you sometimes forget to pay attention to. Loads of great videos on Medellin online, the city is becoming a digital nomads' mecca. Lots of start-ups in various industries.
High end organic/vegan supermarket if that's what you're into (couple from Switzerland):
Small local market (couple from Germany) - you can really see the lifestyle in this video if you watch it in full.
Also funny enough two of the youtubers who I posted on the first page. Jubril and Fli Heritage both had a bad experience in Panama due to their skin colour. They mention it in their videos. Fli, who has traveled the globe, even put Panama in her bottom 2 countries she's visited and Colombia as one of her top 2.
Obviously everyone's experience will be different and I wouldn't discourage anyone to go to Panama but its just interesting hearing different perceptions.
Brazil is in a recession, the economy has contracted not far off 10% over the past few years. In the short term at least, I wouldn't say it offers much employment prospects and as has been mentioned Costa Rica has indeed become expensive in many important ticket items.
As for countryside living I don't agree too much. The ELN or FARC are in far flung rural areas, they're not really relevant in the major cities. Colombia is a big place, the size of France, Spain and Portugal combined. I don't think the OP is thinking of living in the Amazon or in Choco, more like a satellite rural town/village of a big city with job prospects like Sabaneta or Santa Elena, which is fine as long as your property lawyer looks thoroughly at the title deed history. There is also a small but thriving black American community in Colombia she can reach out to.
All good points. That is what I had in mind. Of course I do not want to just jump out into a rural area but when I do it will be very close to a big city. I just want enough space for a garden and some chickens lol. Nothing huge. Don't wanna be in a rainforest or anything. I play it smart and love to research. I don't have ever thing worked out because I still have plenty of time. Thanks for all th advice. I truly appreciate it
All good points. That is what I had in mind. Of course I do not want to just jump out into a rural area but when I do it will be very close to a big city. I just want enough space for a garden and some chickens lol. Nothing huge. Don't wanna be in a rainforest or anything. I play it smart and love to research. I don't have ever thing worked out because I still have plenty of time. Thanks for all th advice. I truly appreciate it
I think you'll really enjoy Colombia if that's where you chose to go. It also depends on what kind of climate you like, as that's a factor in your decisions.
Many Latin American cities and surrounding areas have train systems, but many do not. Because it's going to take you time to establish yourself, I'd say check out the public transportation.
I would recommend you visit different countries in Latin America. You can rent out a room and maybe a whole apartment for $20 a night. This let's you check out things on the ground, and you can decide what country appeals to you the most and that even includes the weather.
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