I want to meet expats in Santa Marta

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Member since 02 January 2023

jamcadamMember02 January 2023 21:59:14

I am moving to Santa Marta Colombia in mid January from Oakville/Toronto Ontario Canada I will rent an hotel room for the first week or two. I will be staying until the start of May as I am checking things out for a possible retirement destination. I am very interested in the following info:

Finding a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment. Best way to go about it, websites etc.
Best area for expats to live
Expat groups, like hiking touring etc.
Finding a local tennis club as I am a big tennis enthusiast - can be expat or local
Where to take Spanish lessons. I am anxious to further develop my Spanish
I'd like to meet expats with common interests
Where I can buy a good used trail bike
Any kind of clubs
Best hangouts
Is it possible to teach English. I am qualified to teach ESL. I don't need to be paid although a stipend would be nice.
Make Expat/retiree friends - I'm an early retiree at 58

I do plan to do a bit of touring like the lost city, some of the remote parks etc.

Any suggestions on any of these would be much appreciated.

Joseph McAdam

Thanks

OsageArcher Colombia Expert

Member since 11 February 2015

OsageArcherColombia Expert02 January 2023 23:06:31

1588

Finding a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment. Best way to go about it, websites etc.

Try Locanto to see free ads placed by owners and agencies. Look under INMOBILIARIA:

https://santamarta.locanto.com.co/

Just do a general internet search to get plenty of links for apartments for rent:

colombia santa marta apartamentos

When first there for several weeks you may find AirBnB to be a better deal than any hotel:

https://www.airbnb.com/santa-marta-colombia/stays

Best area for expats to live

I don't specifically know Santa Marta but you will probably want to be in an estrato 4 or 5 neighborhood. The poorest neighborhoods are 1-2-3, 4-5 is middle class, 6 is rich. Here are several links suggesting good neighborhoods:

https://fincaraiz.com.co/blog/consejos- … ara-vivir/

https://viajerofacil.com/donde-alojarse-en-santa-marta/

Often you will see signs in windows for apartments for rent, with a phone number. You just have to walk around. At the portería of a gated community that may interest you, talk to the guards/celadores and tell them you'll pay a commission, say, 100,000 or 200,000 pesos if they can find/refer you to a place you end up renting.

There is a Facebook group for expats and others in Santa Marta:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/582034148585194/

There is a sports club group on Facebook for Santa Marta, but it is private and you must ask to join:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3375599 … on/preview

mtbe Contributor

Member since 24 February 2015

mtbeContributor02 January 2023 23:10:09

181

Best is to take a look at AirBnB....after you've walked around several neighborhoods first, to make sure you feel comfortable.

Look for Facebook groups...I don't know any in that area, but look for something like "Expats in Santa Marta", "Expats in Colombia", etc...

Bikes? You looking for bikes or motocycles? For either, I suppose, look at FB Marketplace. You'll find that used motos are not much cheaper than new ones. I'm looking at ones now and 2 yr old motorcycles are only around $200-300US less than new...for a small 200cc.

nico peligro Serial expat

Member since 18 September 2020

nico peligroSerial expat03 January 2023 13:05:31

768

Colombia, and particularily la Costa, is not an expat friendly area like Boquette Panamá, Cabo San Lucas or Cuenca,Ecuador

Best bet is to " go native" the quicker the better.

jamcadam Member

Member since 02 January 2023

jamcadamMember07 January 2023 01:21:39

@OsageArcher

Thanks for this. I'll check it all out.

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