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I’m curious to hear from others what their experience has been like relocating from their home country to LatAm. I’ve been trying to do this for four years now but haven’t yet figured out a sustainable job that allows me to do so. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Mexico, Colombia, and a little in Ecuador and Peru. Medellin used to be my favorite and I was considering moving there but I don’t like the way the city has changed in the last couple years. I spent a few months in Oaxaca and it was fun to visit but not somewhere I’d want to live. So I’m still trying to figure out where to check out next.
Ideally I’d like to find somewhere that has a vibrant scene for young people (I’m 28), living well is possible on around 2k a month, and is easy to get around. Any suggestions would be appreciated and I like to hear from other expats how they’ve acclimated.
I’m curious to hear from others what their experience has been like relocating from their home country to LatAm. I’ve been trying to do this for four years now but haven’t yet figured out a sustainable job that allows me to do so. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Mexico, Colombia, and a little in Ecuador and Peru. Medellin used to be my favorite and I was considering moving there but I don’t like the way the city has changed in the last couple years. I spent a few months in Oaxaca and it was fun to visit but not somewhere I’d want to live. So I’m still trying to figure out where to check out next.
Ideally I’d like to find somewhere that has a vibrant scene for young people (I’m 28), living well is possible on around 2k a month, and is easy to get around. Any suggestions would be appreciated and I like to hear from other expats how they’ve acclimated.
I'm not young and don't need a job. I don't think there are any jobs per se, for expats. You would have to create your own. They are protective of their own workforce. If you can do work from home, that would work. I know some expats have started restaurants; lots of that going on. One guy gives hang-gliding lessons, another gives surfing lessons.
We are near a cool little surf town with lots of younger, energetic people. Coastal Ecuador. We can easily live on $800 to $1,000 a month but our condo is paid for. You can rent a beachfront condo for $800 a month. Way cheaper inland. We don't have a car, and buses run by every few minutes. Taxis are plentiful and cheap. Gas is $2.40, fixed by the state.
You can join the national health care plan for around $60 a month. No copays, no deductible, no paperwork. There are occasional protests, but they are in the big cities.
We are near a cool little surf town with lots of younger, energetic people. Coastal Ecuador. We can easily live on $800 to $1,000 a month but our condo is paid for. You can rent a beachfront condo for $800 a month. Way cheaper inland. We don't have a car, and buses run by every few minutes. Taxis are plentiful and cheap. Gas is $2.40, fixed by the state.
You can join the national health care plan for around $60 a month. No copays, no deductible, no paperwork. There are occasional protests, but they are in the big cities.
The Wall Street Journal is pointing out those cool little coastal towns aren't so safe anymore. How far are you from Manta?
MANTA, Ecuador—Bobbi de Winter had found her retirement paradise on this country’s coast, where tiny red crabs scuttle across pristine beaches, giant sea turtles lay their eggs and whales breach the warm Pacific waters.
De Winter and her husband, Andre, had recently finished building a house overlooking the Pacific, accessible by crossing a lush forest. They set up hammocks, planted banana and papaya trees, and hosted dinner parties as the sun set over the ocean.
“It is just magical,” De Winter, a native of Atlanta, said while walking the beach. “I had never been to such a peaceful place.”
Then came the drug gangs and horrific violence. Killings marred the once-sleepy district where they live, De Winter said, recalling how her husband once had to swerve his car to avoid a man who’d been shot in the street. A month after the De Winters finished their house, police found millions of dollars in cocaine stashed at a nearby beach, drugs that officers said were to be trafficked north on high-powered boats. A presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, was gunned down in August.
Worried about Ecuador’s deteriorating security, the De Winters now intend to sell.
The Wall Street Journal is pointing out those cool little coastal towns aren't so safe anymore. How far are you from Manta?
MANTA, Ecuador—Bobbi de Winter had found her retirement paradise on this country’s coast, where tiny red crabs scuttle across pristine beaches, giant sea turtles lay their eggs and whales breach the warm Pacific waters.
De Winter and her husband, Andre, had recently finished building a house overlooking the Pacific, accessible by crossing a lush forest. They set up hammocks, planted banana and papaya trees, and hosted dinner parties as the sun set over the ocean.
“It is just magical,” De Winter, a native of Atlanta, said while walking the beach. “I had never been to such a peaceful place.”
Then came the drug gangs and horrific violence. Killings marred the once-sleepy district where they live, De Winter said, recalling how her husband once had to swerve his car to avoid a man who’d been shot in the street. A month after the De Winters finished their house, police found millions of dollars in cocaine stashed at a nearby beach, drugs that officers said were to be trafficked north on high-powered boats. A presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, was gunned down in August.
Worried about Ecuador’s deteriorating security, the De Winters now intend to sell.
It sucks but these situations happen for a little while. Selling when things are bad has to be next to impossible. I had a place in Mexico City when times were tough about 20 years and my first instinct was to sell and never go back but I'm glad I waited. In Latin America good and bad times don't last too long.
Tell that to the Cubans... They have more than half a century waiting for the elimination of communism from Cuba.
San Salvador no longer makes it to the list of the world's most dangerous cities and while the change practically happened overnight, it took years for this to happen.
San Salvador no longer makes it to the list of the world's most dangerous cities and while the change practically happened overnight, it took years for this to happen.
I’m curious to hear from others what their experience has been like relocating from their home country to LatAm. I’ve been trying to do this for four years now but haven’t yet figured out a sustainable job that allows me to do so. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Mexico, Colombia, and a little in Ecuador and Peru. Medellin used to be my favorite and I was considering moving there but I don’t like the way the city has changed in the last couple years. I spent a few months in Oaxaca and it was fun to visit but not somewhere I’d want to live. So I’m still trying to figure out where to check out next.
Ideally I’d like to find somewhere that has a vibrant scene for young people (I’m 28), living well is possible on around 2k a month, and is easy to get around. Any suggestions would be appreciated and I like to hear from other expats how they’ve acclimated.
I haven't been in Medellin since about 2016, what has changed?
I haven't been in Medellin since about 2016, what has changed?
Huge tourism boom and the locals are getting really tired of drug/sexpats, and the Covid lockdowns took a toll as well, energy is not the same. Still probably worth visiting but personally it’s not for me anymore.
I’m interested in this topic as well but much more open to Buenos Aires or Santiago. Anybody have experience visiting there or staying for an extended period of time?
Argentina has a good English proficiency index, so it will be easier to communicate if you still don’t know Spanish very well. Of course you’ll have to learn Spanish anyway.
Argentina has huge economic difficulties. But that’s actually good if your going there with dollars. With 2k dollars monthly you’ll likely live really well.
The economic crisis in Argentina apparently is not resulting in an explosion of violence. It’s a safe country overall, for Latin American standards.
Argentina is a very large country with a great variety of climates and landscapes, and some great big cities with decent infrastructure.
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