Considering a move to the Manizales area

stinkindesertguy wrote:

My plans are to spend 5 weeks in Manizales in May and June of this year looking at different neighborhoods. If I like what I find and the altitude is not a problem then I will relocate somewhere in the eje cafetero in early 2018....

Welcome to the Colombia forum, Richard.

Absolutely:  don't commit to Manizales -- as opposed to other Cafetero towns and cities -- without knowing whether you can make a successful adjustment to life at 7,000-feet elevation.  The lack of oxygen is part of the problem.  The hilliness of the city makes moving around on foot even more of a challenge.  Expect some huffing and puffing, especially at first.

With the notable exception of Salento, which is at similar altitude, most of the populated Cafetero is at about 5,000 feet.

Recommended city:  Armenia (population 300,000)
Recommended small town:  Circasia, less than 5 miles North of Armenia

cccmedia

stinkindesertguy wrote:

I will relocate somewhere in the eje cafetero in early 2018 with an eye to renting for a year before committing to buying anything....

I'd welcome any comments from people who have settled in the Manizales area. At some point I will need .. a real estate agent to help with rentals or buying property, so if you know of anyone reasonably priced and reliable I'd appreciate contact information.

For a real estate agent, check back with us when you have committed to a particular locality.  There's not much point getting names of agents in Manizales if you end up deciding to live in La Tebaida, El Jardín or Calarcá.

cccmedia

stinkindesertguy wrote:

I am a dual citizen of the US and Colombia so I don't need to worry about residence visa issues but I do have questions about health care, importing personal goods, opening a bank account with no credit or working history in Colombia, etc.

Personal goods:  Don't overspend your budget by planning fancy containerized shipping.  Provided you are committed to Colombia:  sell, give away or toss whatever you can .. and just bring suitcases here.  Cars older than the current model year may not be imported to Colombia from the USA.

Bank account without credit or working history:  The Colombian banks don't care about the lack of credit or working history.  They want to see your cédula -- the ID you probably already have as a dual citizen.

Health care:  With your Colombian ID, you should be able to obtain coverage through the national program to which many providers subscribe.  Make sure that medical care through your chosen provider will be readily available in Manizales, Armenia, Circasia, Filandia or whatever community you commit to.

cccmedia in Medellín

Overall, personally I think Manizales is great! Moved here from New York City and I love it. Purchased a finca in the nearby small town of Villamaria and I can't say that I've enjoyed living anywhere else This much. I am back and fourth in Manizales for business ventures but I lived there for about 2 months.  As with anything there are pro's and con's.

Pros: The people are very warm and inviting. (one of my construction workers found out I had no plans for Christmas last year. In turn her invited my family to his mothers Finca for Christmas with hiss family.)

Prices: the value of the USD is pretty nice. (Found a store in Manizales that sells cosmetics and everything is 1000 Pesos approx 0.33¢.)

Ease of access: there are some great areas in centro where everything you need is in reach.   Clothing stores, restaurants, supermarkets you name it!

Weather: I absolutely love it, no more cold winters for me thanks. Average temperature in the day is about 65 and at night around 55. It does fluctuate though and sometimes it can get very hot 😫.

The Galeria: A little market in centro set up by street vendors who sell their wares. You will find clothes, food, vegetables, fruits, livestock, puppies, and kittens for a fraction of the price!

Con's: Manizales is extremely hilly, which is a bit of a nuisance. Though you get used to it after a time.

Food I have never experienced horrible food at this magnitude ever in my life. There are only two restaurants in the entire city I would recommend. Bland, dry, and underwhelming seems to be the gold standard. Not just in the cafetero region but as a whole. (lived in Bogota as well, though the food was better there. More options for good restaurants but also a lot of bad ones, and a lack of Consistency in the decent ones.)

Customer Service: is nonexistent, the customer is always wrong. Also there is no such thing as a refund, product is defective no problem get an exchange as long as you realize it within 8 days. 9 days later... So sorry.

Lack of Authentic American products: A lot of things are mislabeled out here as American when it should be labeled "our rendition of". Packaged sauces are sweet, ex. Tomato sauce, ketchup, mayonaise, mustard, cheese sauce and the list goes on.

Opening a bank account, I was informed by countless expats it is impossible to do without a cedula. Which was the furthest thing from the truth. I waited to get my cedula before I opened up my account and went to Ban Colombia with a relative. Needless to say without credit history or a cedula my relative opened their account without issue using merely a passport. A bank account is fairly easy to open.

Health care: Many Colombians do not have health insurance. Health insurance is a monthly payment regardless if it is used or not so most Colombians pay for treatment only when they need it.( I got dental work done with a relative for a total of 500,000 pesos which included a root canal for my relativee as well as fillings. I needed fillings as well and we totaled 500,000 approximately $170.00 and that's without insurance.)

Importing goods, I can go on about this forever. Don't do it.. And if you do, stay away from these companies New York Moving Group and Global Packing. This is a very very long story that I'll try to shorten as best as possible. Paid 7600usd to ship my items from the us to Colombia. and was told to expect to pay about 4000 in port fees. My products were Insured for less than the value because my shipping agent told me my insured value was already at 20,000 so I should stop there and not insure the rest (BIG MISTAKE).They shipped out my products to Colombia  3 days late which caused a delay and caused my property to arrive in Colombia on a holiday. They apologized but I had to pay the charges for the 3 day holiday fee, when they sent out the shipment after the agreed date. The agents in Colombia Global Packing are a bunch or crooks. I was told in port fees by the Colombian agent I'd be paying 8,600usd and. then receive my shipment. On the way to Manizales they sent my shipment out another 3 days late. The agent Laura Laguado of global packing told me the container was being investigated by police because of "Metro Cards" (Mother works in NYC transit so we had some blank metro cards). She then proceeds to inform me that she supposedly bribed the police to release the shipment for 1000 USD. That she demanded I personally reimburse her(Their partnering company had no record. of this). Finally I receive my products and half of it is missing. Leather jackets, boots, shoes, televisions, playstations, stereos, other electronics, medical records, video games, kitchen appliances, etc. She tells me in response "well you, have insurance for all your items, oh and we require An additional 4000 USD." My entire shipment was not insured and quite frankly majority of the items they stole were not insured... So I am still suffering a big loss, also insurance company required a police report. And Laura Laguado of global packing tried to submit a police report on my behalf saying that they delivered all my products even though their signed inventory sheet showed countless missing items. They were the last company with my products and attempted to submit a false police report too forfeit my insurance. If you can avoid it, sell your stuff and buy new items it will save you time, money, and stress. Total shipping cost 20,302.00usd half of my products are missing and all is not insured. Stay away from Global Packing!.. 

Hope some of this helps answers your questions.

Great post, Mina .. highly instructive for new arrivals.

For much less than $20,000 US, an Expat can comfortably buy new furnishings, electronics, etc.  and not have to deal with SENAE and transport snafus.

The key is to sell-toss-give away everything you can before moving .. and bring extra suitcases.  The excess-baggage airline fees are a bargain compared to the costly mess than Mina encountered.

cccmedia