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Dez's Digital Nomad Thread: Colombia (1 Viewer)

Dez89

Footballguy
After YEARS of cajoling, arguing, and pleading with my boss, he has finally agreed to a 3-month trial run of me working from Colombia.  He actually told me in January 2020 that that would be the year, and we all know what happened.  So this whole Covid thing is my fault, sort of...  Anyway, he's still on board and I'm scheduled to receive my first vaccine shot on Sunday.  The plan is to head down in early June or July.

I'm planning to do my stay in Barranquilla, mainly because I have good friends there who I trust.  I figure staying for 3 months is a lot different than staying for a week, so I may run into things where I need some local help, in which case I prefer to be able to call on people I know.  I've been checking on apartments on Airbnb and have settled on one in the best area of town, where I will be within walking distance of a popular mall, supermarket, gym, and restaurants.  The landlady has agreed to let me pay one month at a time in case I have to return earlier than planned.  She says the internet is 45MB and reliable, so that should do the trick.

I've emailed my boss to officially kick things off.  He's going to "mention" it to the CEO, so as long as that goes well I guess it's on.  If this trial run goes well and I get the ok from my boss afterwards, my plan is to spend 3 months in the U.S. followed by 3 months abroad, rinse and repeat, for as long as I can keep it up personally and professionally.  Might go back to Barranquilla, or work my way around Colombia and other Latin American countries.

I wasn't sure if I should start this thread or not.  If things go according to plan, I expect it to devolve somewhat into a chica thread, and with the hard left turn management has taken the boards I'm not sure if those things are allowed anymore.  Also not sure if the rest of it will be very interesting ha.

 
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It's too bad you started this thread after the 1st of the month. Sending your boss a hollow ceramic burrow completely full of baking soda through the mail would have been a great start.

 
Sweet.  Never been to Colombia but every Colombian I've met has been ridiculously kind and friendly.  Such a great people and culture. 

GLLLLLLLLLLLL

 
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Sweet.  Never been to Colombia but every Colombian I've met has been ridiculously kind and friendly.  Such a great people and culture. 

GLLLLLLLLLLLL
Most there are pretty poor, but they are always very friendly and welcoming.  It's a great place with great people (and hot young women who like older men, especially gringos).  I consider it my second country.

 
Good luck, sounds like a great opportunity.  

How fluent is your Spanish?
Thanks!  My Spanish is pretty good.  If the conversation/verbs get complex or technical then I'm in trouble.  But for the most part I can get by without too many issues.

 
Awesome! Following along 🤘🏼

Considered Cartagena a couple months ago. 
Cartagena is great, I like it a lot.  I considered doing this first stint there, as I have a good friend there as well.  But Cartagena is very touristy and thus more expensive.  I think if things go well and I get to do it again, Cartagena may be the next stop.

 
The issue I'm contemplating at the moment is that Colombia currently seems to be headed back towards lockdown.  Before I went last month, many people were telling me to be careful in Barranquilla because the Covid cases were rising and the clinics were starting to turn people away.  While I was there Easter week they announced a 10pm curfew in Barranquilla (no big deal) but halfway through the week they changed it to 6pm (which basically killed the rest of my week socially).  They also were limiting entrance to malls, supermarkets, etc. to every other day depending on what number your ID ends in (even numbers one day then odd numbers the next).

Since then, the whole country has adopted these measures, and in addition I've heard that you now can't leave the house on the weekends.  I think they've had very limited access to the vaccines and are no where close to any type of public distribution as far as I know.  They were in a severe lockdown for months last year, where they could only leave the house one or two days a week.  A friend of mine has a German boyfriend who got "stuck" there from February to September 2020 and he said it was like being in jail.  So I've got my eyes peeled on what's going on.

On one hand, I don't want to step into a lockdown and waste my time there from the social aspect.  On the other hand, I've been asking/waiting for this for years, I turned 50 last month, don't have a lot of youth left, and don't want to wait one minute more.  The bigger picture is to prove to my boss that I can do this without any issues with my work, and therefore hopefully have a free hand moving forward.

 
The bigger picture is to prove to my boss that I can do this without any issues with my work, and therefore hopefully have a free hand moving forward.
I think that alone is worth it.  Hopefully I'm doing the same with my 2 months in Mexico. 

What do you do about the last digit of the ID thing?  Do they go by your passport?

Have you been reading their newspapers and gone to the ministry of health website for into?

I assume you had to have a negative PCR test to return to the US in the last few weeks.  Was it tough to organize that in country?  What route and airline did you fly to/from the US?

 
I think @Major spent time down there? 

Blackdot
Yeah, great country.  I don't know Baranquilla but Medellin is a little piece of heaven on earth.  Cartagena is a great vacation/tourist spot just really pricey (felt like NYC at times).  If you go to Cartagena, I'd recommend chartering a boat and really exploring the Rosario Islands.  A group of us rented one with a captain for a few days and hit all these private islands with Pablo Escobar type mansions and party favors to match.  Was quite an experience.  This was during New Years time frame so it's probably different on a normal day.  

The women down there are beautiful but I was a little disappointed with their attitude.  I guess they reminded me a bit more of Miami girls which makes sense due to the close proximity.  Lots of gold digging types.  I didn't get that in Brazil which was the complete opposite.  They really love gringos in Brazil and the women were so grateful if I just bought them a beer.  LOL 

edit:  just read Dez's posts...seems like he has a handle on the country and having local connections/friends is always key to a great experience.  In Colombia, I had little of that except for my DJ friends with connects.  

 
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This sounds fantastic.  

I agree about the Colombian women attitude, but really, they should have an attitude, they're the bomb.  

Gotta be careful with Colombian women.  If you wanna mate for life, they are incredible. You wanna #### around, and do 'em dirty, you may wind up with a knife in your thigh.  It always kills me how many Latinx dudes I know that are a lil scared of Colombian women.  

 
I think that alone is worth it.  Hopefully I'm doing the same with my 2 months in Mexico. 

What do you do about the last digit of the ID thing?  Do they go by your passport?

Have you been reading their newspapers and gone to the ministry of health website for into?

I assume you had to have a negative PCR test to return to the US in the last few weeks.  Was it tough to organize that in country?  What route and airline did you fly to/from the US?
I usually use my drivers' license, though this time there was one lady security guard at the mall who said it had to be a passport.  I just walked around to another entrance and they let me in.  So typically you can use either one.  The bad thing is that both my license and passport end in even numbers, so no workaround there.  This was also the first time that they actually were particular with me about the number.  They had the same thing going at Christmastime and they basically let me in everywhere, even when it wasn't my day.

I haven't really been reading the newspapers or ministry of health website, I've been getting a lot of that info forwarded to me by people I know.  But you're right, I should do a more "official" investigation.

You only need an antigen test to get back into the U.S.  The lady I was renting the Airbnb from at Easter asked her niece (who is a pediatrician) where I should go and they pointed me to a laboratory not too far from where I was staying.  I went and got it taken care of there, was pretty easy and efficient and I was there about an hour.  Decided to get an antibody test while I was at it cost me $73 total for both.

 
Yeah, great country.  I don't know Baranquilla but Medellin is a little piece of heaven on earth.  Cartagena is a great vacation/tourist spot just really pricey (felt like NYC at times).  If you go to Cartagena, I'd recommend chartering a boat and really exploring the Rosario Islands.  A group of us rented one with a captain for a few days and hit all these private islands with Pablo Escobar type mansions and party favors to match.  Was quite an experience.  This was during New Years time frame so it's probably different on a normal day.  

The women down there are beautiful but I was a little disappointed with their attitude.  I guess they reminded me a bit more of Miami girls which makes sense due to the close proximity.  Lots of gold digging types.  I didn't get that in Brazil which was the complete opposite.  They really love gringos in Brazil and the women were so grateful if I just bought them a beer.  LOL 

edit:  just read Dez's posts...seems like he has a handle on the country and having local connections/friends is always key to a great experience.  In Colombia, I had little of that except for my DJ friends with connects.  
The women in Medellin are a lot different.  I've been there many times and I won't go back anymore.  Big time attitude, don't respect your time, very superficial and interesada.

Girls on the coast are much more down to earth.

 
This sounds fantastic.  

I agree about the Colombian women attitude, but really, they should have an attitude, they're the bomb.  

Gotta be careful with Colombian women.  If you wanna mate for life, they are incredible. You wanna #### around, and do 'em dirty, you may wind up with a knife in your thigh.  It always kills me how many Latinx dudes I know that are a lil scared of Colombian women.  
All the Latin dudes (from somewhere other than Colombia) will say that Colombian women are crazy.  But they all want one too.

But I'll tell you what, the Colombian guys have their #### together.  They ALL have multiple women.  And with how jealous, suspicious, and convinced-that-all-men-are-dogs the Colombian women are, I don't know how they do it.  I would melt.

 
The bigger picture is to prove to my boss that I can do this without any issues with my work, and therefore hopefully have a free hand moving forward.
Sounds like a fun trip.

I'm confused on the quoted above though. If the issue is proving to your boss you can work remotely, couldn't you do that starting today and work from home this way?

Are you saying your boss not only is restrictive about remote work but also where you work remotely from? 

 
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Sounds like a fun trip.

I'm confused on the quoted above though. If the issue is proving to your boss you can work remotely, couldn't you do that starting today and work from home this way?

Are you saying your boss not only is restrictive about remote work but also where you work remotely from? 
Well, he finally agreed to my proposal two years ago.  And the first step was for me to start working from home in July 2019.  He wanted the CEO and others to get used to the idea that I didn't need to be in the office and that there would be no impact on my work.  So LAST year was supposed to be the year we did the trial run, but Covid got in the way.

There is an element of doubt, bias, etc. regarding working from a country like Colombia when it comes to infrastructure, internet/power reliability, etc.  So I think that's the part I need to overcome in the eyes of the company.  Interestingly, I think the whole move to working remotely due to Covid has probably made this more palatable.  I think it means less chance of getting nixed by the CEO.

 
Well, he finally agreed to my proposal two years ago.  And the first step was for me to start working from home in July 2019.  He wanted the CEO and others to get used to the idea that I didn't need to be in the office and that there would be no impact on my work.  So LAST year was supposed to be the year we did the trial run, but Covid got in the way.

There is an element of doubt, bias, etc. regarding working from a country like Colombia when it comes to infrastructure, internet/power reliability, etc.  So I think that's the part I need to overcome in the eyes of the company.  Interestingly, I think the whole move to working remotely due to Covid has probably made this more palatable.  I think it means less chance of getting nixed by the CEO.
What do you do for a living that working remotely like this is an option?

 
I work for small data company as an Account Manager / Project Engineer.  I work with data, with our systems, and with customers.  Everyone at the company is now working from home since last June due to Covid.  We now use skype heavily for internal communications and we've been using GoToMeeting for most customer calls for years.  I'm able to use WiFi calling on my cell phone, so someone can text or call me on my number when I'm outside the country and it will ring through to me as normal, as long as I have a WiFi connection.  It SHOULD be seamless.

 
Dez89 said:
Thanks!  My Spanish is pretty good.  If the conversation/verbs get complex or technical then I'm in trouble.  But for the most part I can get by without too many issues.
For me, speaking Spanish is bad for my hat and makes my eyebrows get red hot, but I've found that if I just skip conjugation and go with infinitives for the first week, it gives me a chance to adjust and then start thinking about conjugation.  The locals haven't seemed to mind wherever I've been.

 
For me, speaking Spanish is bad for my hat and makes my eyebrows get red hot, but I've found that if I just skip conjugation and go with infinitives for the first week, it gives me a chance to adjust and then start thinking about conjugation.  The locals haven't seemed to mind wherever I've been.
It usually takes me 2-3 days to tune my ear and hit my stride.  It helps a little when I'm going through MIA, gives me a little head start.

 
The Z Machine said:
What route and airline did you fly to/from the US?
Forgot to answer this.  I usually take American through MIA, but they've suspended the route from my city to MIA so it's a little more complicated.  I took Delta a couple of times last year through ATL to BOG, then flew Avianca to BAQ.

Over Easter I took American through DFW to BOG, and then flew Avianca to Riohacha where I spent a few days before making the 4-hour ride to Barranquilla.  That was my first time visiting Riohacha.

 
Forgot to answer this.  I usually take American through MIA, but they've suspended the route from my city to MIA so it's a little more complicated.  I took Delta a couple of times last year through ATL to BOG, then flew Avianca to BAQ.

Over Easter I took American through DFW to BOG, and then flew Avianca to Riohacha where I spent a few days before making the 4-hour ride to Barranquilla.  That was my first time visiting Riohacha.
I flew American back to MIA but I tried the horrific Spirit on a way one there for $60 or so after taxes/bs add on fees.  It wasn't that bad for the price considering everyone else was at $500+.  Not sure if they're still offering those rates but definitely something to look into.  They have a big presence in Colombia.  

 
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I flew American back to MIA but I tried the horrific Spirit on a way one there for $60 or so after taxes/bs add on fees.  It wasn't that bad for the price. Not sure if they're still offering those rates but definitely something to look into.  They have a big presence in Colombia.  
Yeah they go to Cartagena, Barranquilla, Bogota, and Medellin (and maybe elsewhere).  But they are awful.  I'll gladly pay the extra $ to bypass the b.s.

 
Yeah they go to Cartagena, Barranquilla, Bogota, and Medellin (and maybe elsewhere).  But they are awful.  I'll gladly pay the extra $ to bypass the b.s.
No doubt but when it's 90% off the AA/Continental price, I'll take my chances. 

 
No doubt but when it's 90% off the AA/Continental price, I'll take my chances. 
Well, yeah.  But I don't even look at their deals, I don't wanna know.  FLL is a hot mess and there's no convenient way for me to get there either.

 
Well, yeah.  But I don't even look at their deals, I don't wanna know.  FLL is a hot mess and there's no convenient way for me to get there either.
That's a good point.  Forgot about the FLL factor and the fact I always take a few days off in MIA. 

 
I was going to ask about the coke, not the chicas.
It's about as great as expected and very very reasonably priced (around 10/g).   My buddy went to the hood to procure b/c he had an invite and wanted quantity for our boat trip. I felt like I was in France sampling the finest champagnes.  A little goes a long way and little if any anxiety.    You need to know your source or you'll get the basic stepped on street stuff like here in the states.   There were tons of people trying to sell gringos bs and when you're drunk it sounds like a great idea.  Cartegena is a lot different than other cities however with the tourist vibe in Old Town.   I can't speak on Medellin because I needed a break after all the shenanigans in Carta.  In retrospect, that's probably disrespectful given it's Pablo's former town.  

On another note, the coffee there surprisingly is garbage.  All the good stuff is shipped here and the locals are left with the rubbish.  

 
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It's about as great as expected and very very reasonably priced (around 10/g).   My buddy went to the hood to procure b/c he had an invite and wanted quantity for our boat trip. I felt like I was in France sampling the finest champagnes.  A little goes a long way and little if any anxiety.    You need to know your source or you'll get the basic stepped on street stuff like here in the states.   There were tons of people trying to sell gringos bs and when you're drunk it sounds like a great idea.  Cartegena is a lot different than other cities however with the tourist vibe in Old Town.   I can't speak on Medellin because I needed a break after all the shenanigans in Carta.  In retrospect, that's probably disrespectful given it's Pablo's former town.  

On another note, the coffee there surprisingly is garbage.  All the good stuff is shipped here and the locals are left with the rubbish.  
In Medellin, if you wander around Parque Lleras at night you're sure to be offered something.  They even have "special" bubblegum that's laced or something.  I can't say much more as that's not my thing.

What coffee did you try?  I always bring Juan Valdez back as gifts for people here in the States and they freaking love it.  Did a B&B type deal once at a coffee farm in Manizales.  Got a tour and spent the night in a 100-year old farm house on the side of the mountain.  Pretty cool.

 
In Medellin, if you wander around Parque Lleras at night you're sure to be offered something.  They even have "special" bubblegum that's laced or something.  I can't say much more as that's not my thing.

What coffee did you try?  I always bring Juan Valdez back as gifts for people here in the States and they freaking love it.  Did a B&B type deal once at a coffee farm in Manizales.  Got a tour and spent the night in a 100-year old farm house on the side of the mountain.  Pretty cool.
I actually stopped drinking coffee down there because I was routinely disappointed (various shops and restaurants).  I asked some locals and that's what they told me so I believed them.  It didn't make a lot of sense so I just stuck with cocaine. 

As for that special bubble gum stuff, sounds like 'paco' in Argentina or basically a really cheap crack like product.  Stay the f away from all that stuff.  It's really sad how it destroys the poorer communities because they can't afford the less harmful alternatives.  

 
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I actually stopped drinking coffee down there because I was routinely disappointed (various shops and restaurants).  I asked some locals and that's what they told me so I believed them.  It didn't make a lot of sense so I just stuck with cocaine. 

As for that special bubble gum stuff, sounds like 'paco' in Argentina or basically a really cheap crack like product.  Stay the f away from all that stuff.  It's really sad how it destroys the poorer communities because they can't afford the less harmful alternatives.  
I've heard the same thing, but I know that I've got people hooked on Juan Valdez.

Here's the place I went for the tour.  Very interesting.

 
Slight speed bump today.  My boss took my email to the HR Director/Controller who is a bit of a worrier.  She started asking him questions, so they went to the employer's association and downloaded a bunch of articles, which led to more worry and questions.  They ended up pulling in their employment lawyer who said that the company could end up with some liability.  The main liability that I know of would be tax liability.  I investigated that a couple of years ago before submitting my formal proposal to my boss and, in short, based on what I found there is none.  But apparently things like work visa, healthcare needs, and workman's comp were part of the discussion.

In the end, my boss said that he didn't see anything that would derail the Plan, but that they may end up having to basically define a policy around the whole thing.  And they need to have everything in order before pulling in the CEO or he's going to take a look and just say no.

Not panicking yet.

 
Sorry to hear that @Dez89.  Even though I work for a big company, when I approached my leadership, my VP said, "Hell yeah, you gotta do that!" and he agreed that since we're supposed to be virtual until July at the earliest, he sees no reason for HR to get involved.  He admitted that he's jealous.

 
Sorry to hear that @Dez89.  Even though I work for a big company, when I approached my leadership, my VP said, "Hell yeah, you gotta do that!" and he agreed that since we're supposed to be virtual until July at the earliest, he sees no reason for HR to get involved.  He admitted that he's jealous.
Well that was my boss' general attitude as well, but when he brought it to her she started freaking out.  Even though we had one lady work from Germany while visiting family there last year or the year before :rolleyes: .  I think with the new world order they expect this to come up again and they need to define it better.  Plus my plan is to keep doing it.

I'm going to be patient and see what happens.  I trust my boss, and his take is that it's just something that has to be worked through.

 
I work for small data company as an Account Manager / Project Engineer.  I work with data, with our systems, and with customers.  Everyone at the company is now working from home since last June due to Covid.  We now use skype heavily for internal communications and we've been using GoToMeeting for most customer calls for years.  I'm able to use WiFi calling on my cell phone, so someone can text or call me on my number when I'm outside the country and it will ring through to me as normal, as long as I have a WiFi connection.  It SHOULD be seamless.
If your phone supports dual sim I HIGHLY suggest you convert your local sim to an eSim (just call your provider) then buy a local prepaid SIM card while there. Claro appears to be best coverage with 20 days / 4.5GB plan w unlimited social and text for  $5.50USD. Beats crazy intl roaming charges from your US provider. 
 

 
It's about as great as expected and very very reasonably priced (around 10/g).   My buddy went to the hood to procure b/c he had an invite and wanted quantity for our boat trip. I felt like I was in France sampling the finest champagnes.  A little goes a long way and little if any anxiety.    You need to know your source or you'll get the basic stepped on street stuff like here in the states.   There were tons of people trying to sell gringos bs and when you're drunk it sounds like a great idea.  
Having dabbled in the pure stuff in Ecuador I will echo the above. Buddy there owned several high end restaurants and lined it up for us. I want to say it was $50-60 / 8ball (3.5G). 

Absolute lightning powder with minimal jitters, hangover, or jacked nose the next morning. Pretty amazing actually. I'm no pro/regular, so I'd just go with pinner lines to start then vial spoon bumps as needed. 

 
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