Great to see that you made it. The weather is perfect there. You should try to see the Plaza Botero for some good photo ops if you like Botero. A fun little stop with a decent view is the Pueblo Paisa. Its not big but has a cute set up of a little town with a place to eat. Parque Explore is nice place to visit. Just don't go on Monday like we did since it is closed. There is a nice little park "Jardin Botanico which is next to it, which is a nice little walk. If you want a nice day trip, you should do a tour of el Penon and Guatape. They have some great malls also to explore. I think that it was El Tesoro which has a great view. However, don't walk there it looks close but it up the mountain and nearly killed us. :) The public transportation and metro is decent. However, we are 6 and found taxi's were a more economical and convenient option. Also, if you plan to travel with in the country they have buses which are economical. However, the Airfare was really trip and nice. I believe a few years ago we flew from Bogota to Medellin and the tickets were only $50 on Viva Air. Enjoy!
All great tips - thanks so much for sharing! In fact, we woke up early on New Year's day to go to Plaza Botero for some photos without all the crowds. And we've also been able to tick off a few other sights on your list 😊
Medellin is really wonderful, but as you mentioned has some rough edges. My husband and I were just there in Nov/Dec scoping it out as a potential retirement destination. While it has great people, is beautiful, and we loved visiting, we did not think it worked for us long term. We both agreed it's a great place to visit, but thought it would be a tough place to age. Also, the income inequality was greater than I anticipated.
We'll share our final thoughts on Medellin in our video coming out in a couple weeks and I think our conclusion was much the same as yours. It's certainly a dynamic city but we found the income inequality and widespread homelessness to be quite challenging. We're happy to now be in the beautiful coffee region to get a different perspective on Colombia.
Medellin is definitely a mixed bag. As far as supermarkets, there is a really nice Exito at Viva mall in Laureles on Carrera 81. In some of the larger malls you can find Jumbo or better quality Exitos, and Carulla is also great. I think Colombia has some of the best supermarkets in Latin America but it does vary by location. Hope you make it to Guatape...it's quite unique and a great day trip.
It really depends on how much you plan to spend. We started our journey by tracking our monthly expenses and then figured out how much more or less we'd be spending in the different destinations we planned to visit. You can learn more through our free course bit.ly/3og0LYq or by using our travel budget guide bit.ly/3ooPrWy. Hope that helps!
We thoroughly enjoy your videos. We began "slow traveling" just a few days ago (although we lived in Beijing and Dubai before), starting in Bogata. Next, a week in Salento, then 2 months in Medellin. Could you let us know the specific apartment you stayed at in Medellin? It sounds perfect. thanks so much.
Sounds like you have quite an adventure ahead! Here is the apartment we stayed in: www.airbnb.com/rooms/719502284416791225?source_impression_id=p3_1684393794_4IbH6QpsR57j1em9 The host has a few available in the same building and they all seemed very nice.
@@OurFreedomYears Thanks so much. We are slow-traveling for the next two years, moving south from Bogata down Ishuaya, then over to Asia and finally Europe. Your videos have been a big help.
@@BPe-ie9je We originally planned to go to Bogota but felt that we need time away from big cities after a month in Medellin. So we're spending more time in the coffee region instead.
We currently live in our RV full time and are now thinking that in the next couple of years we would like to transition to living in Airbnbs like you two do and traveling the world. How do you make traveling with your pups seem so easy! And my biggest question, what do you feed them!!! For me personally, this is the one big hurdle that is holding me back!
Great questions! Most of the time, being with our dogs overseas is quite easy and enjoyable...it's the traveling in and out of countries that can be a little stressful. We spend a lot of time making sure our paperwork is in order and that we understand the airline and country requirements. For food, we've been pleasantly surprised to discover that high quality brands of dog food are available in many places. When it's not available, we make their food ourselves. Hope that helps!
@@OurFreedomYears tks!! loved the grocery st.tour.... Q: for pups, have you found convenient? alot? of green space? ...like Cuenca ?? (I'm bringing my 2 45# PWD's 🙂(I cant pick them up like you can!)
@@BPe-ie9je We wouldn't describe Medellin as a truly dog friendly city for the long term. There are lots of green spaces but there are usually homeless people there and often lots of garbage. Same while doing neighbourhood walks. We found it easier with our dogs in Cuenca as we could go for long walks along the river -- it was very pleasant there.
Hello! I am not sure if you are still in Medellin. My husband and I started our nomadic life a year ago and are currently in Medellin (which is my home town). I have lived in California for the past 26 years and have been watching your videos for the past year. If you are still here and are interested in meeting let me know, otherwise hopefully we will see you somewhere else in the world!. We will be leaving Medellin on February 1st. :)
Great to connect! Thanks for reaching out. As you saw from the other comments, we've already said goodbye to Medellin and are now spending a few weeks in the coffee region. After that, we'll head to Cartagena to explore the Caribbean coast. Wishing you all the best with your travels. 😊
@@OurFreedomYears Enjoy the coffee region! Cartagena is beautiful but also be aware of the contrasts. They are unfortunately very prevalent in Colombia.
Glad you enjoyed it! We use all types of resources...travel books like Lonely Planet, travel blogs and vlogs, Climates to Travel for weather, Airbnb for typical accommodation prices, Numbeo for cost of living.
@@jennyandrievna4627 It really is a lot of work to travel full time, or even for a number of months at a time. Fortunately the experience of visiting new destinations outweighs the work!
I love watching you in Medellin. You're in the neighborhood in Laureles where I stayed the past 2 times. I even shopped at that same Exito! Calle 66 gets pretty crazy on weekends, but it's calmer during the week. It's also much calmer a few blocks from that main street. If you walk out of Hotel Florida and walk 2 blocks you'll land right at my last Airbnb. If it weren't for my awful Spanish I would be there right now trying to find an apartment! I worked with a real estate broker when I was there, and he was awesome. But he made it clear that it's very hard to find a place to live in Laureles because there's not a lot of inventory and families stay for years. There's a lot more inventory in El Poblado. I enjoyed El Poblado a lot but it just doesn't have the same character as Laureles. BTW, Salud Pan was awesome! It just gets super crowded around lunchtime, and I was taking a Spanish class so I didn't have time to enjoy my meal. If you can go off hours you'll really enjoy it.
That also aligns with what we've heard about Laureles and what we saw while we were there. Laureles had a much more local flavour than Poblado and certainly our street felt like a friendly neighbourhood where everyone knew each other. Salud Pan was our very favourite, go-to restaurant...the staff got to know us and our two dogs very well! 😂
BTW, I jumped out of my chair when I saw your next video, when you walked passed Elefun! That was my home away from home during the day, where I took my Spanish language refresher class. I would roll out of bed, walk around the corner, and walk through those gates every morning when I was in Medellin. It brings back great memories! I recognized nearly everywhere you went, but that had a special place in my heart.❤
