Cucuta

Not really scared away. I appreciated the advice and thoughts I was given by the other members here. It is wise to listen to those that have done dat bin der.
It's all a balance when you are making choices. You weigh out the pros and cons. For instance one of the considerations I use is the net. Here is a websiite that will help you compare cost of living weather and crime rates between cities in the world. Numeo https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp
You can use this to do comparisons between different cities within Colombia. Using this I found that the crime rate between Armenia and the city I had lived in Canada was the same. Also, for myself, the pollution rates are paramount to my choices.
cccmedia has always been helpful for Colombia advice and has been around longer than me. It would be a wise choice to carefully consider his suggestions.

Numbeo is not very accurate. Just based on data people input.

I know having moved from Bucarramanga to Manizales.

Numboe says apartments are cheaper in Manizales. Just not true. Quite the opposite. Apartmenst are 20 to 30% more expensive in Manizales than Bucaramanga, at least in Estrato 4 and higher

I know this is an old post, but just wanted to give my take on Cucuta.  I joined this forum to see if there are any other expats here, as Ive been living in Cucuta for almost 6 months now for work purposes, and wanted to reach out.

I am a 34 year old American born and raised.  I have learned to speak spanish after living in Lima, Peru for 5 years for work previously.

Unlike many of the posts on here, I have not had one dangerous, or even remotely negative experience here yet.  I havent even ran into one suspicious looking person, other than some of the homeless people on avenida 0 at night, but they mostly collect bottles and keep to themselves. 

As for the poster who said that whenever he asks Colombians about Cucuta, they say its Satans butthole, and one lesson when traveling is listen to the locals, I still think you need to take that with a grain of salt.  I lived in an area of Lima for 2 years that I had 0 problems in, and when I asked people from other parts of the city about it, they said I was crazy to live there, but they themselves had never been.  Often I would bring girls there from Lima and they would realize they were wrong.  Rumors can grow so fast this way.

In my home city of New York, so many people will say youre crazy to go to Harlem or the Bronx, even Brooklyn, based on infamy and other factors, but I go to all 3 plenty and as long as youre not a fool flashing jewels and money clips in the street, its very unlikely youre going to have a problem.  Often in my experience, in the wealthier and/or touristy areas is where there is more organized crime and muggings, along with kidnappings.  People dont really expect foreigners in Cucuta, so my experience so far has just been people surprised to see me here, more than planning to get me.  Most of the statistics for the danger in Cucuta is limited to specific areas and drugs/smuggling/gang violence.  I dont go and will never go to those areas or meet people of that sort.  I go out a lot (restaurants, discos, shopping centers ,walking around) and I repeat, I have not even seen one suspicious character in my 6 months here.  I  see suspicious and aggressive people in LIma, New York, some parts of Medellin, and LA on a day to day basis when Im in those cities,

Also, as far as disdain for Americans from the Venezuelans, that really depends.  Are they Chavistas? If so, sure.  But the far majority of adults you will meet from Venezuela who are no longer living there cannot stand Socialism or Maduro, and in my experiences, has created an instant bond with my personal values and just me being an American.  I work with 13 Venezuelans between Peru and Colombia, and have many more friends from there, and we all get along so well.  I find the average educated Venezuelan to have an extremely unique personality, openmindedness to exploration of other cultures, and a friendliness and positivity beyond belief considering their situation.  Some of the women in my office went from selling candy on the street to survive to being able to rent really nice houses or apartments for themselves, and have not changed a bit.  Of course there are a lot of criminals from Vz at the moment, but its really not that hard to just not associate with them  and stay out of the bad neighborhoods.  Most expats moving to South America are not on their last dime, and the COL is so low down here, so its not hard to live in a really nice area and only go out and dine in said areas as well.  When I lived in NY, because of the high COL, I had to live in some shady areas.  I noticed the difference when I would go home to NY and feel in much more immediate danger than where I just was in Lima, or Cucuta.  And im not one of those expats that will just exaggerate things to say how much better it is down here than the US.  I love my country, and i miss so many things about it on a daily basis, from foods, pop culture, and just the people and being able to relate with almost anyone on general topics of conversation, it can be lonely being an expat trying to meet people with common interests.  But I just had to share my experience and remind people to not always believe what they hear, just because some one is a local, they could be wrong.  I used to always believe a locals opinion, but then I realized, just cause Im American doesnt mean I know everything about the US, i know next to nothing about 90% of it, but if someone asks me, I might make a strong statement based on something Ive herad that could be totally wrong, and then he tells an entire forum of expats from his country how bad that area is.  This is how rumors spread like wildfire

I think there are much nicer cities to live in Colombia for sure, and I dont plan on spending all my time here, I just had to grow a work project for about 6 months, and have a place to stay when Im needed in town, but its far from terrible, theres lots of nice nature nearby, and yes its hot, but its really not too bad most of the time.  Most of the locals are really sweet and smalltown personalities.  Looking forward to trying Bucaramanga and some other places in the near future

Thanks for allowing me to join this forum, cheers!

David Chass wrote:

its far from terrible, theres lots of nice nature nearby, and yes its hot, but its really not too bad most of the time.  Most of the locals are really sweet and smalltown personalities.  Looking forward to trying Bucaramanga and some other places in the near future

Thanks for allowing me to join this forum, cheers!

Dear David,

Welcome to the South American forums of Expat.com .. and for sharing a perspective on Cúcuta based on personal experience.  As you mentioned, few Expats know Cúcuta personally.

I recently spent a couple of months in Bucaramanga, Colombia, which, as you know, is less than 70 miles from Cúcuta and the Venezuela border.  Buca is located on a plateau more than 3,000 feet above sea level, so I did not find the heat stifling (provided one limits his time under the sun during the warmest hours of the day).  The parks and shopping malls are charming .. and the Dann Carlton swimming pool is comfortable and refreshing.  Buca is highly recommended in my book.

cccmedia in Quito, Ecuador

I know this is more-or-less off-topic but it is a response to one of the messages posted in page one:

"Anyone have thoughts about Periera, La Union, Manizales? I hear it is lovely, nice climate and fairly safe?"

IMO - Pereira is a no-go, I've passed through there many times, spend a few hours there one afternoon and was robbed by two bigger men, one block from the main mall. La Union? Of all the towns in the north Valle that should be one of you last picks. I live in Roldanillo and I can tell you from personal experience - Rolda is the best town in all of the north Valle, and I've spent time in all of them, even the small pueblos (something like 40-odd pueblos that I've visited or spent time in) in the mountains alongside. Manizales - I've never been there. I've heard only luke-warm comments about it as far as a nice place to live. Later this year I will probably be moving to a farm outside of Filandia.

Armenia is very nice, certainly wetter than the towns here in Valle. I lived in Armenia for 6 months, and in Cartago (not recommended, it's just a typical town like La Union/La Virginia/La Victoria/Zarzal/Obando/Ansermanuevo and others). In Armenia, the rain isn't so bad. I lived in the Seattle area for more than 25 years and hated it - the gray skies and drizzly-rain throughout much of the year. Armenia is far better. And, I never had any problems or issues with walking in town in the evenings, running in town and outside of town, and it's in a pretty area next to the mountains. But, all in all, I like Rodanillo better than all those others.

@David Chass
Nice perspective. There are regions in Colombia where it more dangerous than others. But that is the same for most countries. Don't hang out with dangerous people. Don't hang out where they hang out. Don't go out when they go out. Simple.
Don't tar all with the habits of a few because Colombia is a delightful friendly country.

@ChipW
Been to Manizales a couple of times. Cool place. Not flat but up and down everywhere. Lots of travel by gondola system. They have a great cathedral tour there you don't want to miss. (second largest cathedral in Colombia). Massive and neat traveling to the top of the highest spire. Lots of things to see there and a nice atmosphere of local color. We're going back for more.

Thanks so much for the welcome!  Its really a pleasure to be able to chat with other expats for the first time, as I was starting to get a bit lonely out here!

Im really looking forward to checking out Bucaramanga, it looks lovely and very charming as you said, the Dann Carlton looks great!

I have to go where work takes me unfortunately, but I can also make an effort to get work in cities that I find more pleasant.  Cucuta definitely isnt my favorite place Ive traveled for work, thats for sure, but its been a lot nicer than I thought before coming here.  I like the balance of the big city life and vibes of places Ive lived like Lima and Medellin, with the smalltown people of Cucuta

Would you say Bucaramanga people have a metropolitan big city vibe to them?  Or do they resemble the more warm smalltown personalities youll see in smaller cities?

Thanks again!

No, Bucaramanga people are not accurately described as big-city types.

I found people to be generally friendly or cordial.

Nightlife for men.. you are bound to meet a lot of Venezolanas.

cccmedia

ChipW wrote:

I know this is more-or-less off-topic but it is a response to one of the messages posted in page one:

"Anyone have thoughts about Periera, La Union, Manizales? I hear it is lovely, nice climate and fairly safe?"

IMO - Pereira is a no-go, I've passed through there many times, spend a few hours there one afternoon and was robbed by two bigger men, one block from the main mall.....
Armenia is very nice...

This is a thread about Cúcuta in northern Colombia, not Coffee Zone cities.

Please post about Pereira, Manizales, Armenia, etc. on existing threads concerning those locations or the Coffee Zone in general .. or start a relevant new thread.   Use the options available on the Colombia forum's welcome page.

cccmedia
member, Expat.com experts team

cccmedia wrote:

ChipW wrote:

I know this is more-or-less off-topic but it is a response to one of the messages posted in page one:

"Anyone have thoughts about Periera, La Union, Manizales? I hear it is lovely, nice climate and fairly safe?"

IMO - Pereira is a no-go, I've passed through there many times, spend a few hours there one afternoon and was robbed by two bigger men, one block from the main mall.....
Armenia is very nice...

This is a thread about Cúcuta in northern Colombia, not Coffee Zone cities.

Please post about Pereira, Manizales, Armenia, etc. on existing threads concerning those locations or the Coffee Zone in general .. or start a relevant new thread.   Use the options available on the Colombia forum's welcome page.

cccmedia
member, Expat.com experts team

Hence, the very first line - if a response to a previous message in the same forum is too off-topic, remove it.