I am planning to move to Colombia soon. Queries

shanrocks008 wrote:

I am planning to move to Colombia soon.
How long you have been living in there and what you think about that place. please share your experience.

Just have few queries related to the same. Hope you will be able to guide and help me with that:

1) Is it safe for Indians to live there and which area's and cities are good to live?
2) do people there speak and understand English?
3) is there any Indian community to get guidance and help. and how to reach them? any contact details.
4) which fact should immigrants be aware of?

I don't live now in Colombia but I've been going there since 1996, and my wife's family lives there.  Colombia is a wonderful and magic place but it can also be confusing and even sometimes dangerous - and if you don't speak Spanish to at least some degree you may end up with even more confusion and danger.

To answer your queries at least somewhat:
1)  It is safe for Indians, probably safer than it is for most white gringos since many Indians look more like the locals in Colombia and blend in, often with a darker skin and similar facial features.  Nevertheless there is petty crime that can happen to anyone and especially to the unaware.

2)  Some people there speak and understand English, at different levels of proficiency.  Most have little to no knowledge of English and cannot carry on even a basic conversation in that language.

3)  I do not know about any Indian communities, but there are Indian restaurants in the bigger cities especially - Bogotá, Medellín and Cali - and there are most likely at least some concentrations of Indians in those cities.  Going to the restaurants and talking to them is one way to find out.  Some people on this forum may respond, too.

4)  You should study up as much as you can on the culture so you know what to expect, and begin your study of Spanish now before you arrive there to live or even just visit.  Rather than asking people to supply you with an indefinite and large number of facts, why don't you ask specific questions and then people can give specific answers.