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I just spent about a year in Colombia and really enjoyed it. People there are more friendly than anywhere else I've been in the world. Money goes a lot further

I just spent about a year in Colombia and really enjoyed it. People there are more friendly than anywhere else I've been in the world. Money goes a lot further there too (if you have a foreign source of money). The thing that I couldn't get used to is in the cities, you could always be subjected to loud reggaeton blasting or other loud noises, even in residential areas, rich or poor. Weekdays, weekends, 8am or 1pm or midnight. It was too much for me. I stayed in different areas and couldn't avoid it. Sometimes I just need quiet and need to be in control of that. Also the multiple hour wait to go to the immigration office or phone company office or any bureaucracy was draining.

smoe 5y ago
Agreed. It is a very noisy country, wherever there are humans. There are neighborhoods / streets that are on average nicer, but you are as you mentioned not in control of it. The street I live in is actually almost dead quiet at night. The loudest sound I hear is my fridge. On the flip side, in the 3 story house I grew up in Switzerland we got complaints from the neighbor downstairs because apparently we closed the water faucets to harshly after 10pm. I usually balance city living, which I very much enjoy (if there doesn't happen to be a pandemic), with spending longer weekends in nature.
smoe 5y ago
And regards the bureaucracy. Yes, it is still very convoluted and unnecessary complex. But digitalization has advanced significantly in recent years. The entire visa process was done online, I just had to go to the offices in the end to take picture for ID, but with a pre-scheduled half hour slot, so there was little wait. Taxes from filing to paying is trough a web application. Most proceses with my bank, health insurance, internet provider are via apps or web chat. As mentioned many things are still too confusing for me to do alone and I would be completely lost. I have a personal tax person, friends advising me on contracts before signing and the company lawyers for visa stuff. But at least I no longer have to sit around hours and fill by hand long forms and start again from scratch if I make any tiny mistake.

smoe 5y ago

Agreed. It is a very noisy country, wherever there are humans. There are neighborhoods / streets that are on average nicer, but you are as you mentioned not in control of it. The street I live in is actually almost dead quiet at night. The loudest sound I hear is my fridge. On the flip side, in the 3 story house I grew up in Switzerland we got complaints from the neighbor downstairs because apparently we closed the water faucets to harshly after 10pm. I usually balance city living, which I very much enjoy (if there doesn't happen to be a pandemic), with spending longer weekends in nature.

smoe 5y ago

And regards the bureaucracy. Yes, it is still very convoluted and unnecessary complex. But digitalization has advanced significantly in recent years. The entire visa process was done online, I just had to go to the offices in the end to take picture for ID, but with a pre-scheduled half hour slot, so there was little wait. Taxes from filing to paying is trough a web application. Most proceses with my bank, health insurance, internet provider are via apps or web chat. As mentioned many things are still too confusing for me to do alone and I would be completely lost. I have a personal tax person, friends advising me on contracts before signing and the company lawyers for visa stuff. But at least I no longer have to sit around hours and fill by hand long forms and start again from scratch if I make any tiny mistake.