Palomino life

Dear Lucia Cortes,

Welcome to the Colombia forum of expat.com....

Consider physically moving to Palomino or Colombia before you start planning a serious investment in a real estate opportunity.

Among Expats, few new arrivals are suited for managing or owning rental properties here in South America.  Maybe you are one of the few.  Or maybe not. 

Even if you have successfully owned or managed such properties in an Expat homeland, that's probably not close to enough preparation for the way things are done in Spanish-speaking Colombia.  Even if you think you will rent to Expats or will have an easy time through an AirBNB-type setup.  Even if you believe your Spanish is fluent.

After you've lived there for a year, you'll know a lot more than you do now from a visit and anything available on the Internet about Palomino.

Are you aware that Colombia taxes the worldwide income of some Expats on a graduated scale .. at 33 percent beyond a certain point?

cccmedia

Hola Lucia......I am also very interested in Palomino....Its one of my favorite spots in all of Colombia.........But it can be a bit tricky there......You are in La Guajira province there for one thing, just across the border form Magdalena Province............Used to have commercial advantages when the smuggling trade was rampant from Venez......but thats been shut down now for some time........I too will soon be looking for a longer term rental situation in that area........Magnificent country........and Caribbean beaches........and close to Santa Marta......Que mas quiere..........keep me posted.......Im headed that way very soon...........

Hello! I am not really looking to invest, I would just be there for a few months (6), although you never know! Thank you so much for the info!

I know, it is beyond stunning! I will be going there on February, would love to meet up.

Might there be somebody living in the Burritaca or Palomino area who could give me a weather update? I see on Accuweather.com the the drought is over in Santa Marta and its raining most every day.....What about on the other side round the Tayrona corner headed towards La Guajira? Im in the process of wrapping up biz here and expecting to travel very soon......But it all comes down to the great dictator, the weather.........haha......any information would be very much appreciated.......Gracias.......

Btw......thanx anyway......I found out the hard way..........Rainin like the time of Noah here in Palomino.....at least at nite.......dumps for hours.....turns the main beach via into a continuous lake....and the power goes out day and nite......tax dollars at work not to be seen here in Palomino........The main highway was blocked today for hours by protesters who havent had elect for days...........Doesnt seem to matter that its an international tourist attraction.......Maybe Los Ricos have other plans..........Who knows?

we are going to Palamino checking out to start a business who can help find a place to do this

I possibly would be interested

I lived in Palomino for 2 months at Hostel Cattelya, by the football field. I went there to escape the draconian lockdown policy of the Alcaldesa of Santa Marta who has since been removed by popular consensus. Palomino was and probaably still is the most open, most free place I have seen outside of tourist and surf towns in Mexico, which were wide open. You can do anything you want there pretty much. Its full of expats who dont agree with lockdowns and masking policies. And the locals dont seem to pay much attention to them either. But there are water problems and internet is weak if at all. So if you work online, you may find it difficult. Its also difficult to find a long term living situation. Theres not much available. But there are hundreds of hostels where you may be able to work out a long term arrangement.

How far from Mant are you? smaller places have bad internet and satellite service is a another way to go. Always wondered about rentals there as the town is just developing as I here about it. Thanks from the Great White North.

Do you mean how far from Santa Marta am I? Palomino is not far at all but it takes longer on the bus than it should. Stop and go all the way........In a car or motorcycle it would probably be a 30 min drive.

I have heard some good things about Palomino but apparently, rentals are tough to find. How did you find that subject? Thanks, Michael

Ok, Palomino update. Last days of the Week of Uribe vacation. How he has a week of vacations named after him Ive yet to find out. The place is packed. Beaches are packed despite the high waves which demolished much of the protective sea walls and there are huge blocks of concrete with rebar sticking out submerged in the shoreline. But the parents dont seem to notice and the kids are frolicking freely in the dangerous waters........lucky theres no waves at the moment. Mornings are beautiful and sunny, and afternoons tend to be rainy, and the calles are nothing more than muddy rutted trails. Should settle down by Tues. The good news here is as before nobody, (hardly, except the citified paranoid folks) pay any attention to the ludicrous mask and social distancing protocol. The bikers are here in force, and you can imagine what they think about la vacuna, and masking, jajajajajajajaja..........

I spent two hours in palomina last year / got off bus / cheched out the place for while and jumped on next bus out - low class rondeviiu

Thats what I call a thorough investigation Ernie. Great spelling too........

Glad you like my spelling / great for 5th graders

Thats about the level of the quality of information offered...........

@prospector911

Hello. I see that you wrote this text in 2021, almost 3 years ago. Has anything changed in Palomino? Me and my wife are looking to work out of Palomino as DN in 2025 and obviously need a serious and stable WIFI connection (from home - we do not want to use co-working spaces)...

Also would need 6-month lease option, fully furnished. Has the rental "realm" evolved or changed since then?

How about transportation? We had thought of either purchasing or renting (long-term) scooters. Is that a good idea?

Thanks for any feedback!

@ Verso, for what it's worth and this coming from a California surfer guy (Huntington Beach, CA) who loves the beach/ocean/long distance open ocean swimming but living in Medellin 10+ years I spend much time all along the 1,200 mile northern Colombian/Caribbean coastline, west to east starting from Turbo to Necocli to Arboletes to Monitos to Covenas to Tolu-Rincon del Mar-Baru-Cartagena including all the islands-Barranquilla-Rodadero-Santa Marta-Taganga-Tayrona and all it's plentiful beaches-Los Naranjos-Costeno Beach/La Guajira)-Bohemia Beach-Mendihuaca Beach - Buritaca - next in line PALOMINO with many stays over the past 8 years and as recently as in March/April this year 2024 - then further east to Riohacha and out into the La Guajaira peninsula out to Cabo de La Vela/Punta Gallina...............

...............so little has changed in Palomino in the past 3 years, still the very laid back budget minded backpackers place to be, dirt/gravel streets (other than the main road), the surf gets strong currents at times so caution swimming, a simplistic lifestyle is what people who come here are after, as for stable wifi it's problematic, better for a DN to consider the historic district of Santa Marta, I see dozens DN's everyday when I am in Santa Marta..............and a 6 month fully furnished house rental will be a tough find as Palomino is geared to the low budget backpackers who come for a few days to a few weeks and hang out in a hostel............it is what it is.

This being said may I suggest that you visit Palomino and see for yourself if it's a place where you can 'hang your hat' for an extended time/6 months. Perhaps others will chime in with their experience.

Renting a scooter for months at a time is not the thing here in Colombia, it's not like Thailand or Vietnam with plentiful small scooter rentals, you would need to purchase a bike in probably Santa Marta, use it for the 6 months then sell it before you leave.

Now here in Medellin there are literally thousands of DN's in and around the city, many hotels/hostels cater to DN's with good wifi, co-working spaces, networking, blah blah blah......a Gen Z DN paradise so I am told by the DN's I come across.