Presentation of members in Barranquilla

Hi! 

I've been in Colombia for a total of 2 years and in Barranquilla for almost 1 of them.  Would love to meet others if there are any.....I'm sure there aren't many, I don't know where they are hiding if they are here because I haven't seen many other permanent foreigners here!  Everyone stares at me like I'm an alien when I walk down the street!

Hi Michele,

Welcome to Expat.com!

Thank you for your introduction.

I hope others will reply soon.

Hola, como le va.

I am here also.  My name is Wayne.  Michele, I am happy to hear that you get stared at also.  I thought it was because I am African American.  Unless you are AA also???  If so, then my theory may still hold water:-).

Seriously though, I have been here for about six months.  I am investigating a couple of microbusinesses here.  I love the culture, the people and this part of the world. I hate the heat though. 

I look forward to making the acquaintance of others.  My life is blessed to be here.

Wayne

hahaha No, I am not African American, they stare at me because I am a few shades short of albino with floppy blonde curls and because I am usually speaking English!  I have had more than one person ask me if I needed help because I was lost.... no joke!

Hey, this blog post is a little old but I was wondering if you were all still here in Barranquilla.

My name is Scott and I am from the States and have been living and working in Barranquilla for a little short of 6 months now.  I would love get to know some other ex-pats living here, I'm sure there aren't many, haha!

I definitely understand the feeling of getting stared at walking down the street!  It is such an odd feeling

Hi Scott,

I'm still in Barranquilla or actually I will be back in the middle of July, right now I am in Spain.  It is my understanding that Wayne is not in Barranquilla anymore but you are correct.... there are NOT many expats living in Barranquilla, I can assure you of that!

Good luck to you!
Michele

Hi everyone!

My name is Sean and I live in "curramba" (Las Delicias) with my wife Ana (una colombiana). I've been living here since February 2012, but I've traveled all over Colombia and most of SA for the past 15 years.

Love it here; Costenas are the best... but this climate is really getting to me. I'm a desert rat from Arizona... I can take any heat you can give me, but add humidity to it and I'm melting. I'm thinking of packing it in and moving to Bogota to teach.

There are more and more expats living here supposedly... I have a friend who is a professor at Uninorte and he knows many. I just don't see any myself, especially where I live. Anyway I sort of find it nice being the neighborhood mascota, the one and only gringo in the barrio. If you speak Spanish, you really get to know a lot of people quickly.

As I said, I might be moving to Bogota, but it would be nice to meet up sometime if anyone's up for it. I really find myself missing English...

Cheers and the best of luck to all!
Sean

Hey Michele -

It would be great to get together sometime when you get back if you would be interested!  I have heard that Spain is great so I am a little jealous, haha.  Maybe we can plan on a meet up for any Barranquilla ex-pats for when you get back?

For some reason I thought that Barranquilla would have a large group of people here because it is such a big city!  But I guess it just doesn't have the same draw as Cartegena or Santa Marta have.

Sean -
It sounds like you live an exciting life!  I am from Illinois so I thought that I was used to a little bit of humidity but I was sadly mistaken this is ridiculous here!  Haha.  It is so hot! 

I definitely find myself missing a taste of home.  I know a few people here who speak English really well but it just isn't the same.  My Spanish is getting there.  I understand quite a bit but I have a problem with getting my point across sometimes, which is always fun.  I came with a church affiliation so I know quite a few people here decently, but I don't have a lot of interaction with people outside of the church I work with, which is too bad.  I live in the Nuevo Horizonte area so we aren't too far apart.

Hi Scott, that sounds like a great idea.  I would love to meet other expats in Barranquilla, until this posting I thought I was alone!  Spain is amazing, I have been here before but this time I was here for 7 months and had the opportunity to travel to a lot of different places in and out of Spain and they are all beautiful!

Sean- I know what you mean about the climate but I actually prefer it to the climate in Bogota.  I lived in Bogota for a year and most of the time it was rainy and chilly and the traffic in the city is horrible!  It is a beautiful city though and sometimes I miss it a lot but I am fortunate to be able to spend time there occasionally as we still have an apartment there as well.  I also attend UniNorte as an International Relations student, who is your friend that is a professor? 

Have a great weekend!

Michele

Hi Scott, Michele and Sean

My name is Gio and I moved to Barranquilla on July 23rd of this year with my wife and baby boy.  We'd love to hang out with fellow expats sometime.

I'm a Miami native and my wife is from Georgia, but had been living in Miami for some time.  So, the weather shock is not to bad, it is a little warmer here than Miami.  That being said, I'm not boarding my windows for Hurricanes either, so it's all good.

Hopefully we'll be able to get together sometime.  We'd love to share war stories with our fellow expats and have a good blend of new culture with some home cooking. 

In the meantime, hope everyone is well.

My name is Mark, i have been traveling back and forth to Colombia for  over 2 years now and i love it.  Now i live here and will be visiting  some universities because i also want to study here. I have been in the Marines for 4 years and i just got deactivated so i moved to Colombia to be with my wife. Scot and i will be hanging out today in the buenavista area, everyone is welcome.

@Scott and @Mark, it was very nice meeting you both yesterday.  Mark, it was also nice meeting your wife.  Courtenay and I hope to see you guys again real soon.  In the meantime, 'ala orden'.

Hey,

I've just found this website and I'm really happy to hear that there are other non-colombians in Bquilla.

My name is Monika and I've been living in this city for around a year now. I really enjoy living here, although (as many of you) wouldn’t mind the weather to be more bearable

I’m not American, I come from central Europe. Last year I decided to see how living in Colombia looks like, and somehow I ended up staying here much longer that I’ve planned.

I’d really like to meet you guys and share some Colombian experiences with you (I’m pretty sure everyone has a lot of nice stories about his Colombian life). Let me know if you’re planning to meet up somehow, somewhere – would be cool to join you.

Monika.

Hi My name is Ana , I am not living in Baq yet but we are in the process and will be there in next few months. I really would appreciate any suggestions on neighborhood considerations, international schools for my children etc.. I apologize there is so much information via internet but would prefer to hear from people that have experienced first hand.

Hi Ana! I just returned today from Barranquilla. First I would say go to the northern part of the city. It's more modern, cleaner and more Ex Pats in the area. I stayed in the southern part of the city for 24 days and it was heartbreaking to see the poor and homeless.
Taxis are expensive, buses are crowed yet cheap. Shopping is a trip in the town, don't go alone. The mall was pretty nice.