In most of my writings, I spare a word or two about how much specific things cost. In the blogpost Traveling to Colombia – The American Gringo’s Must-have Items to Pack I summed up various questions that I received over my YouTube channel and comments, some of them being related to certain expenses that I encounter living here.

Medellin is way less expensive than most U.S. cities. In recent times, it became something like Florida, an attractive retirement resort for both locals and expats. Low costs of living, and affordable health plans, and year-round weather of eternal spring surely dictate that trend.

I underline the fact that you need to buy all necessary equipment (phone, laptop, etc.) BEFORE coming to Colombia, since you can never be sure enough with that kind of electronics here. It is way, way more expensive to buy it here, and you are not sure whether you will get your money worth.

Housing and utilities

As for housing, I rented a two-store penthouse in Medellin for $720. In the blogpost Medellin Coffee Talk I walked you through the apartment that I rented. You could go much cheaper and expensive since an average rent of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with no furniture can go from $400 to over $1,000. And you need to count on the fact that you’ll probably need to furnish it since the things that you get with the apartment are probably outdated. Of course, in case that you don’t plan to live here on a long-term basis, you can go much cheaper. In case you need help with cleaning, count on $50 extra every month. Utility bills in total will not exceed $120 every month.

Clothing and eating

As for the clothing, you should have no worries. I am used to buying cold-weather items here. It is cheap ($3-$5 for scarf or gloves, $8 for jacket) and you can get it almost anywhere. I travel by motorcycle so I have little clothing of good quality, and try to keep it that way.

Eating in Medellin is something, I can tell you that. If you decide to buy groceries and cook for yourself, you wouldn’t need more than a couple of hundred dollars. But there’s the thing about eating out in Medellin: I don’t even ask for the prices, I just go for it and know that it will not be expensive. In my YouTube video Eating cheap and healthy in Colombia, I present you a typical multi-course lunch for as low as $2.75. And more than often I cannot finish the meal – portions are rather generous. Should I even bother to say that you can have all-natural home-grown coffee from $0.25 with a view of the Andes Mountains to 1.25 at the Medellin Airport?

Party-money

Surely that there are other expenses: public transportation and taxi services can cost you $50 on monthly basis, health insurance $50, and party money is, well, you decide about that.

I believe that you can live with $1,500 per month and have everything you need. Someone will need less, and someone more money. But I believe you can do just fine with that.

The bottom line is: wherever you go, you’ll spend most of your money on your rent. Other expenses come accordingly. Renting an apartment is over 90% higher in New York than in Medellin, the second-largest city in Colombia. If you send your kid to preschool, you pay under 200$ a month. If you are buying a brand new European car – count on a couple of Ks less. If you wish to have real estate, you may go well under 1,000$ per square meter. What is interesting here is that you pay less money for going more towards the city center. And quite the opposite – it is more expensive to buy properties out of the city. And the average net salary would be somewhere around 400$. Go figure!

Do visit my YouTube channel for live experiences. And thank you for being here!

Preface and my Qualifications

To preface, I’d like to tell you a little about myself. I’ve been living in Airbnb’s and other short-term accommodation full time since 2019. And my first experience was in 2017. From all over china, Thailand, Vietnam, South America, Europe, Mexico, costa rica, I’ve seen all manor of place. Remember, these are general guidelines since one article cant cover the whole planet.

What are your requirements and needs?

You must first think about this. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself.

• Do you need a super-stable internet connection?
• Do you need a washer and dryer?
• Do you need necessities like soap, shampoo, coffee for the morning, etc?
• Do you need secure indoor parking?
• Do you want a Smart TV that you can stream to from your mobile device (IE youtube app)
• Do you need a full kitchen?

Basically, make sure that you understand your own requirements. The more clearly you can define what you need, the better outcome you will have.

Use google maps and search for quality businesses in the area.

Generally speaking, if your Airbnb is right next to a Starbucks, you’re in a good spot. Starbucks or whatever high end coffee chain has done the research for you. They know its a good area, with lots of traffic and attractions.

Things to stay away from

The truth is, it’s really where you see a lack of businesses is where you’ll need extra caution. Think about it, the people have decided that opening a business here is less profitable, and therefore, less economic activity will create more desperation. Also, places near metro stations. I’ll preface this part by stating that there are some airbnbs that are safe and near metro stations. But in my experience, in cities with questionable security, the metro station attracts the highest amount of petty theft.

If you’re a light sleeper: highways. Highways highways highways. Highways are load and the trucks run all night. Usually, you’ll find a deal thats too good to be true because its next to a nuisance that has lowered the property values and made this airbnb more profitable.

Qualities to look for in a listing

High quality photos are always a good sign. Superhosts earn their title by going above and beyond. If the place is advertised as coming with necessities, like water, a little coffee, tea, etc, then usually, it’s an indication that the host is very active with the listing. Look for keywords like “recently remodeled” or “new” etc. It’s really the age of an Airbnb that makes it a little rough around the edges.

How to handle when expectations aren’t met.

Part of me is wants to tell you to make a list, write down whats not here that you were expecting. I want to tell you to create a checklist of amenities