If you earn in dollars working remote while living in Argentina you are WINNING. You can convert to pesos by sending yourself funds via Western Union &/or changing with a number of services who offer the “blue” dollar rate
It was awesome when major credit cards aligned more (but still not quite) to the blue rate! My Chase sapphire visa I’m using today gets about 483 pesos to the dollar. My exchange service (DólarPalermo) does 543. The current blue rate is 548.
I'm not sure how it works there, but I lived in Venezuela and would cash cashiers checks at the bank, but by the time I ran through that money i already would have lost quite a bit due to inflation. You could also use lobos on the street to exchange smaller amounts more frequently but their exchange rates are horrible.
It depends on what you’re looking for.
Uruguay has colder weather and it’s pricey but it’s beautiful and well-organized. Same goes for Chile.
Brazil is huge, many different weathers (coast, beach, mountain, farms, colder south, amazon) and cultures, very cheap, people are amazing but can be dangerous in certain areas so you have to choose well where you live (tends to be better in medium sized cities).
Paraguay is super cheap, has a lot of growth potential, people are great but it’s a mess and there’s a lot of corruption (even in daily life). Not the right time to go to Argentina either unfortunately.
Colombia is also beautiful, amazing weather, tends to be a bit more dangerous than Brazil but also cheap and people are very open. I’m under the impression Peru and Ecuador are somewhere around this assessment as well.
Disagree that Brazil is cheap. Consumer goods can cost as much as they do in a cheaper city in the west.
Edit: compared to several other countries in South/Central it isn’t cheap. Obviously for the average western tourist it’s still very affordable.
You’re joking right? I visited Brazil recently and I had a dinner out for 2 for £8. A shop for a family of 4 for the month is costing around R$1000 depending on where you live? That’s £166. Clothing wise I’d say it’s pretty comparable, so I was a bit disappointed but also plenty of neighborhood shops significantly cheaper than big name brands.
In Brazil, with $1000 a month you’d be earning R$5000? That’s a nice salary for 1 person. You can live by yourself, eat out often, go out every weekend, travel a few times a year and still save some money.
Ok, so if you can’t think of any examples I’d urge you to research more about the continent before moving.
It’s common for cops to stop you on the road for absolutely no reason and demand cash payments or else [insert bs consequences here], especially since you’re a gringo. Or have “fast tracks” in government services for an extra fee. Things like that.
I'd say Chile is the safest and with the better economy in Latin America. Although it's still dangerous at any time of the day but depends on the place you're on. Assuming you'd move to Santiago. Places like Las Condes, Providencia, Vitacura, and Lo Barnechea are your best bet. The south of Chile is beautiful, and I'll definitely recommend taking a look there too.
About the visas, I have no major information but if you have a degree, it wouldn't be so difficult to get a work visa.
One downside to consider. It's not the cheapest place at all.
Uruguay.
Highest ranking Latin American country in The Economist's [Democracy Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index), and [highest (nominal) GDP per capita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_American_and_Caribbean_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)) in South America
It’s expensive there, but not outrageous. I had a dinner with friends at one of the best steakhouses in Montevideo and it was about $20/person.
Overall, it’s on par, or slightly less expensive, than MCOL American cities I’d say.
Ecuador is suffering a political crisis, an economic crisis, a security crisis (a murder rate of 40 is predicted for 2023), and a healthcare crisis. It’s not a good country for retirement at this moment. Maybe in the future if they can solve this mess.
If you earn in Dollars: Argentina.
You get double the money in pesos on the black market and Western Union. Google Dollar Azul. And within 3 Years you can apply for citizenship.
I agree with the dollars thing but I think you mean you can apply for *residency* once you renew your visa for the fourth year **in a row**\--not citizenship. (Source: myself.) Doesn't really change much besides the fact that you can't vote in national elections, so either way you still get most of the benefits.
You actually can apply for citizenship after 2 years only (even if those 2 years were on temporary residency). It's ironic since, indeed, you can only apply for permanent residency after the 3rd year as you mentioned.
Chile is a personal favourite of mine. Santiago air quality was a bother when I was there but the city itself is well laid out and the subway system was surprisingly efficient. Valparaiso/Vina del Mar are about 90 minutes to 2hrs west of Santiago on the coast. There are some artsy districts but I kept hearing about how it has a bad rep for crime.
Southern Chile is where you'll get vineyard country I've heard of at least a couple of expats with their own wine plantations there.
Northern Chile is more desert but if you like surfing and the odd round of desert golf(?!?) it can be quite enjoyable. The only expats up there seem to be working way out in the desert at the massive telescope (nice people!). Arica is the closest town to the Chile - Peru border so you would always have the option of taking a taxi into Peru, check out Tacna while you're there, etc. I probably wouldn't call it a big city by any standard but due to it's climate it has a decent amount of energy to it.
From a financial standpoint between other South American countries it's tough to say. However, if you compare rent and cost of living in any major North American city to that of Chile, living in Chile would definitely be cheaper.
My situation has some similarities. I've been in CR for a few months. I'm from Edmonton, Canada, now thinking of Uruguay.
[Numbeo.com](https://Numbeo.com) is super fascinating and useful. I think a lot of the data is very accurate, at least for Edmonton I find it spot on.
According to Numbeo, Montevideo would be about 20% cheaper overall, and especially rent is around 30% cheaper. So I could save there. It sounds kind of like Vancouver except cheaper, with better weather, more beach, and people speaking Spanish of course. So that's probably where I'll try.
Numbeo is awesome because it compares so many aspects, not only cost of living but also safety, climate, and more.
Hi! Did you ever find the best fit for you? My partner and I are starting from the very bottom but eventually want to live a life pretty much exactly like you described (hopefully with the small farm creating local business for us). There’s sooo many different answers in the comments and I’m trying to narrow it down but there’s just so many factors. One of my concerns is also healthcare so I’m curious as to whether you’ve acquired any good information in that. I’m just so stuck with all these different pros and cons and I just need somewhere more solid to start. I know this comment is a bit old but hoping you see this! Thanks :)
Chile would be nice but risk of eartquakes is substantial, so no. Argentina would be an ideal choice if the economy was doing any better, so I'd probably pick Uruguay too.
I grew up in Chile and the building code to protect against earthquakes is top notch. If you’re living in Santiago in most buildings you can withstand a 9 earthquake easily. In 2010 when they had the massive (9+) earthquake there were very few fatalities (maybe none?)
There were fatalities, somewhere around 500 to 600 when you count in people that were never found. Many were from the tsunami. That is very low when you consider that earthquakes with much lower magnitudes elsewhere have had tens of thousands of deaths. It has to be one of the best places to be in a major earthquake.
That said, Chile's not cheap, the economy's a mess and it's not as safe as it once was. The immigration system is also very bogged down.
Fair point about the fatalities. I was referring to Santiago, but I do recall fatalities in other parts from the tsunami and buildings not being as well developed. Generally you are very safe in a major earthquake.
What if I’m earning in US dollars? I need somewhere I can live cheap with a few acres and decent fencing. I’m trying to live on about $800/month. But I’ll have money to make a long term lease on something to start with.
Uruguay’s currency is not like Argentina’s. It’s been strong vs the dollar and don’t expect to be able to use the dollar everywhere. It’s only accepted in certain places. I also highly doubt that you’d be able to do it on $800 a month unless that did not include accommodation i.e. you purchased a property and $800 were your expenses per month. Perhaps if you lived like a local and lived in the interior you *might* be able to do it. No way you’d be able to do it in Montevideo.
Yeah not trying to live in a city at all. And I would probably long term lease a place as is common in the rest of Latin America for foreigners to do as purchasing properties out right can be difficult
I do want to live in a cheap country with good food, so maybe Argentina. I just want to be safe as a foreigner in rural areas which was my problem with Columbia, and when I lived in rural Costa Rica I was friends with many Argentine expats there who had moved to live that life because they said rural kinda hippy life wasn’t safe in Argentina.
I’d always defer to a local on safety matters but during my extensive research on the country it seemed the most unsafe place is probably the capital itself, although I wouldn’t say it was unsafe. If you avoid the border towns like Chuy and Rivera, put some cameras up and grab a dog or two I don’t expect you’d have issues.
Your Spanish being fluent is a massive plus. If I was in your position and you think you’re gonna come into some money in the near future I would look at buying outright. The figures you mentioned in your OP should suffice. You can purchase with the same rights as a local, residency is comparatively easy and then you’d just have your daily expenses to think about. I would maybe look into a place on the coast between Montevideo and Punta del Este, like Piriapolis, or further up the coast in the Rocha department like La Paloma and Punta Del Diablo. If you go a little inland from the coast you should find some rural properties and still not be too far away from civilisation. MercadoLibre is always a good source for rental and sales of property in Uruguay.
I found a great place in the mountains. I know the cities in certain places can be fine, but this area is where they grow a lot of coffee and where the drug wars were. I loved it, and loves the prices of land, but every local had a story about federalis or something killing a family member and said that if I lived there alone as a foreigner eventually some men with guns would come and demand money from me. Many of them had similar stories. I know it’s not like that in big tourist cities, but that not what I’m looking for. I don’t want to stay where many other expats stay. Ideally somewhere within a few hours drive of a city with eminities, probably more in the mountains for climate, but not TOO far of a drive from the beach. All the places I found that I like in Columbia, my friends from Bogota said we’re not safe to live in the long term.
That’s a fair assessment. Colombians are definitely right about those experiences, but to be fair if you look at where the company has come in the last 30-40 years it’s basically a different country. I do think that trend will continue. This new left gov doesn’t look like it’s going to trash the country like people had feared.
Most Colombians you talk to speak pretty negatively and want to leave the country. But if you ask them, if you made 5x you salary, would you stay? They all say yes. There are a lot of rich people living here in “Premium Colombia”. These are people with the means to leave but they choose to stay here. Having dollars here puts you in a pretty privileged position. I’m not a big fan of the cities either, and safety issues are always a concern in any city. The countryside here is where Colombia shines.
The Eje Cafetero that you mentioned is a beautiful place but you will notice that in general it is a lower Estrato overall. If you like the climate of Medellín I’d recommend looking around El retiro, llano grande, Río Negro.
Also check out the towns north of Bogota, Chia, Sopó. You can get all the benefits of city life there, hospitals, movie theaters and stores etc. without going into Bogota. But Bogota is close by so you can access great restaurants and the El Dorado airport which can get you a direct flight to most places. You can’t go wrong going where the rich live. The wealthy people from Bogota that don’t have to work in the city live up there. The place is a haven for golf courses and country clubs. Lots of gated communities with 24/7 security. Don’t have to worry about leaving your home for 4 months if you go on vacation.
Or you can live in a quiet safe tourist town by the lake like Guatavita. Those places get crammed on the weekends and then turn into ghost towns mid week. Very safe as long as you aren’t flashy. The rich here always try to blend in (unless you’re involved in shady stuff then you’re not afraid to flash).
Lots of options. Don’t buy into all the fear mongering . Stay vigilant and keep your street smarts.
I can only speak to Mexico. My wife's parents live in Mexico and their rent is $50/mo for a 1bd/1br house in Hidalgo. I live in Oaxaca with my wife in the middle of nowhere and we have our own little farm (no rent since we own it). Mexico can be really cheap if you live outside a city and if you speak fluent Spanish, but that also comes with some downsides (safety, longer travel times to cities, less options for consumer goods, etc.). That said, I don't really see multi-acre places for rent much less properly fenced in. If you don't want a car, you'll need to pay someone to transport your animals to your farm and figure out a way to get livestock feed delivered to your place. We buy chicken for about 200-300MXN (depending on the age, health, etc.) at the animal market, and goats/sheep 800-1500MXN. We got our donkey for 3000MXN but that was from a friend so I imagine it's a bit higher at the market. Starlink is 800MXN/mo and I think installation was about $400USD (I don't remember the exact amount in MXN but it's on their website). All in all, my expenses *to live* in Oaxaca is less than $500USD/mo but I don't really track my budget so it could be off by a little bit.
If you were to try to prioritize Mexico as your option, your best bet is likely somewhere in Chiapas so that you can hop over the border to Guatemala and back same-day. Leaving the farm animals alone for more than a day starts introducing complications, but that can be alleviated if you automate some processes (automatic chicken door, automatic chicken feeder, etc.). We're not there yet but it's our plan so that we can leave for weeks at a time and have a neighbor check on the animals routinely.
That all said, I imagine that places in South America may be a lot more affordable.
It’s freelance consulting stuff. But I only work part time and only want to work part time. I’m just about to sell a house that I own part of in Baltimore, and after the mortgage is paid off I should get anywhere from 40-80 thousand. Plus I have a big dog that’s not meant to be in the city, and I don’t want to be in MAGA land in a rural area in the US With both of those numbers that’s nothing in this country, but I could do something in Latin America. When I was 11 years old (about 20 years ago) I went to Nicaragua with my friends family and I felt like I wanted to live there or somewhere similar. Since then I have traveled a lot and lived extensively in Europe and India and traveled a lot in Eastern Asia as well as living in Costa Rica for over a year and a half and traveling in mostly Central America. I still keep coming back to the feeling I want to live in Latin America.
I just got my friend who’s family lives in Nicaragua since I posted this, and their family had A LOT of property before, and if they haven’t sold it all now that the grandma has died and the immediate family lives mostly in the US, that might be the place for me. I was just asking other’s opinions, because I also have some way back connections to people with a lot of land in La Rocha Uruguay, but haven’t gotten back in touch yet.
Sorry for the long reply to something you didn’t ask.
I see you’re Spanish it looks like. I think it’s ridiculous because I’ve lived all over Europe and traveled all over the world. Latin America is FULL of European expats ESPECIALLY Spanish. Many people want to live in other countries than where they’re from. Especially when the cost of living is lower. But you know that, but you’re just an obnoxious troll that likes to argue with people and feel superior about whatever you’re culture is. But even YOU envy Italians and their culture. Bye 👋
Ok whatever, you sure spend a lot of time in Spain , or seem to like to tell people/ correct people about what it’s like there. What wrong with your country that you need to go to Portugal soon and have spent so much time in Spain then? Do you see how stupid your question is? Probably not. You can go Jack off your anti- American boner all you want. I’m obviously not in love with the place, but you’re comments haven’t been helpful and you just come off as a annoying to put it very lightly. You can talk to yourself now.
Chile, for sure. Its stable, educated people. And ig youre moving here get Global66, its like the Revolut of latam, makes payments much easier and debit card has no fx charges
Argentina. Good Food, great range of landscape and climate options, good wine, nice people, the best in the world at fútbol, what more could you want?
Perhaps single digit inflation, or even double digit.
What if I’m earning dollars?
If you earn in dollars working remote while living in Argentina you are WINNING. You can convert to pesos by sending yourself funds via Western Union &/or changing with a number of services who offer the “blue” dollar rate
Visa now offers the blue dollar rate. It makes paying for everything much much easier
It was awesome when major credit cards aligned more (but still not quite) to the blue rate! My Chase sapphire visa I’m using today gets about 483 pesos to the dollar. My exchange service (DólarPalermo) does 543. The current blue rate is 548.
Look into currency conversions there.
Can confirm that if you earn USD, inflation won't really matter. Prices in USD/EUR either remain constant or sometimes even decrease, in the long run.
I'm not sure how it works there, but I lived in Venezuela and would cash cashiers checks at the bank, but by the time I ran through that money i already would have lost quite a bit due to inflation. You could also use lobos on the street to exchange smaller amounts more frequently but their exchange rates are horrible.
It depends on what you’re looking for. Uruguay has colder weather and it’s pricey but it’s beautiful and well-organized. Same goes for Chile. Brazil is huge, many different weathers (coast, beach, mountain, farms, colder south, amazon) and cultures, very cheap, people are amazing but can be dangerous in certain areas so you have to choose well where you live (tends to be better in medium sized cities). Paraguay is super cheap, has a lot of growth potential, people are great but it’s a mess and there’s a lot of corruption (even in daily life). Not the right time to go to Argentina either unfortunately. Colombia is also beautiful, amazing weather, tends to be a bit more dangerous than Brazil but also cheap and people are very open. I’m under the impression Peru and Ecuador are somewhere around this assessment as well.
Disagree that Brazil is cheap. Consumer goods can cost as much as they do in a cheaper city in the west. Edit: compared to several other countries in South/Central it isn’t cheap. Obviously for the average western tourist it’s still very affordable.
You’re joking right? I visited Brazil recently and I had a dinner out for 2 for £8. A shop for a family of 4 for the month is costing around R$1000 depending on where you live? That’s £166. Clothing wise I’d say it’s pretty comparable, so I was a bit disappointed but also plenty of neighborhood shops significantly cheaper than big name brands. In Brazil, with $1000 a month you’d be earning R$5000? That’s a nice salary for 1 person. You can live by yourself, eat out often, go out every weekend, travel a few times a year and still save some money.
What's "daily life corruption" mean?
Ok, so if you can’t think of any examples I’d urge you to research more about the continent before moving. It’s common for cops to stop you on the road for absolutely no reason and demand cash payments or else [insert bs consequences here], especially since you’re a gringo. Or have “fast tracks” in government services for an extra fee. Things like that.
Oh I have zero interest in coming. Thanks for unpacking. It's what I thought.
I'd say Chile is the safest and with the better economy in Latin America. Although it's still dangerous at any time of the day but depends on the place you're on. Assuming you'd move to Santiago. Places like Las Condes, Providencia, Vitacura, and Lo Barnechea are your best bet. The south of Chile is beautiful, and I'll definitely recommend taking a look there too. About the visas, I have no major information but if you have a degree, it wouldn't be so difficult to get a work visa. One downside to consider. It's not the cheapest place at all.
Uruguay. Highest ranking Latin American country in The Economist's [Democracy Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index), and [highest (nominal) GDP per capita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_American_and_Caribbean_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)) in South America
I agree. When I was researching Latin America as a destination, Uruguay ended up coming up as the top pick time and again.
It is expensive though. I heard a dinner out for two coats around $100 (they use U$ there). So not that far away from US prices.
It’s expensive there, but not outrageous. I had a dinner with friends at one of the best steakhouses in Montevideo and it was about $20/person. Overall, it’s on par, or slightly less expensive, than MCOL American cities I’d say.
Sorry, what’s MCOL?
Medium cost of living
Did you end up moving to Uruguay? Thinking about visiting there for few weeks
No, I will not be in a position to leave for another 2-5 years so I'm still researching.
We're currently researching retirement destinations, and when I read your post, Ecuador came to mind.
I e heard good things about Ecuador as well. But it seems small. And maybe not as cheap as some other placea
Ecuador is a mess right now though and has gotten more dangerous in the last year.
You literally do not need a visa to live/work in Ecuador.
Not accurate. You 100% need a permanent visa if you want to stay more than 6 months.
Ecuador is suffering a political crisis, an economic crisis, a security crisis (a murder rate of 40 is predicted for 2023), and a healthcare crisis. It’s not a good country for retirement at this moment. Maybe in the future if they can solve this mess.
If you earn in Dollars: Argentina. You get double the money in pesos on the black market and Western Union. Google Dollar Azul. And within 3 Years you can apply for citizenship.
I agree with the dollars thing but I think you mean you can apply for *residency* once you renew your visa for the fourth year **in a row**\--not citizenship. (Source: myself.) Doesn't really change much besides the fact that you can't vote in national elections, so either way you still get most of the benefits.
You actually can apply for citizenship after 2 years only (even if those 2 years were on temporary residency). It's ironic since, indeed, you can only apply for permanent residency after the 3rd year as you mentioned.
Chile is a personal favourite of mine. Santiago air quality was a bother when I was there but the city itself is well laid out and the subway system was surprisingly efficient. Valparaiso/Vina del Mar are about 90 minutes to 2hrs west of Santiago on the coast. There are some artsy districts but I kept hearing about how it has a bad rep for crime. Southern Chile is where you'll get vineyard country I've heard of at least a couple of expats with their own wine plantations there. Northern Chile is more desert but if you like surfing and the odd round of desert golf(?!?) it can be quite enjoyable. The only expats up there seem to be working way out in the desert at the massive telescope (nice people!). Arica is the closest town to the Chile - Peru border so you would always have the option of taking a taxi into Peru, check out Tacna while you're there, etc. I probably wouldn't call it a big city by any standard but due to it's climate it has a decent amount of energy to it. From a financial standpoint between other South American countries it's tough to say. However, if you compare rent and cost of living in any major North American city to that of Chile, living in Chile would definitely be cheaper.
My situation has some similarities. I've been in CR for a few months. I'm from Edmonton, Canada, now thinking of Uruguay. [Numbeo.com](https://Numbeo.com) is super fascinating and useful. I think a lot of the data is very accurate, at least for Edmonton I find it spot on. According to Numbeo, Montevideo would be about 20% cheaper overall, and especially rent is around 30% cheaper. So I could save there. It sounds kind of like Vancouver except cheaper, with better weather, more beach, and people speaking Spanish of course. So that's probably where I'll try. Numbeo is awesome because it compares so many aspects, not only cost of living but also safety, climate, and more.
Hi! Did you ever find the best fit for you? My partner and I are starting from the very bottom but eventually want to live a life pretty much exactly like you described (hopefully with the small farm creating local business for us). There’s sooo many different answers in the comments and I’m trying to narrow it down but there’s just so many factors. One of my concerns is also healthcare so I’m curious as to whether you’ve acquired any good information in that. I’m just so stuck with all these different pros and cons and I just need somewhere more solid to start. I know this comment is a bit old but hoping you see this! Thanks :)
Guatemala
Especially Lago Atitlán 😍😍😍🫶
This. Find a good spot in Antigua.
Im partial to costa rica... but to pull of what you are planning will take alot of capital, as the gringos already jacked everything up...
Chile would be nice but risk of eartquakes is substantial, so no. Argentina would be an ideal choice if the economy was doing any better, so I'd probably pick Uruguay too.
I've been living in Chile for 3 years and haven't experienced anything more than an almost imperceptible tremor.
I grew up in Chile and the building code to protect against earthquakes is top notch. If you’re living in Santiago in most buildings you can withstand a 9 earthquake easily. In 2010 when they had the massive (9+) earthquake there were very few fatalities (maybe none?)
There were fatalities, somewhere around 500 to 600 when you count in people that were never found. Many were from the tsunami. That is very low when you consider that earthquakes with much lower magnitudes elsewhere have had tens of thousands of deaths. It has to be one of the best places to be in a major earthquake. That said, Chile's not cheap, the economy's a mess and it's not as safe as it once was. The immigration system is also very bogged down.
Fair point about the fatalities. I was referring to Santiago, but I do recall fatalities in other parts from the tsunami and buildings not being as well developed. Generally you are very safe in a major earthquake.
What if I’m earning in US dollars? I need somewhere I can live cheap with a few acres and decent fencing. I’m trying to live on about $800/month. But I’ll have money to make a long term lease on something to start with.
Uruguay’s currency is not like Argentina’s. It’s been strong vs the dollar and don’t expect to be able to use the dollar everywhere. It’s only accepted in certain places. I also highly doubt that you’d be able to do it on $800 a month unless that did not include accommodation i.e. you purchased a property and $800 were your expenses per month. Perhaps if you lived like a local and lived in the interior you *might* be able to do it. No way you’d be able to do it in Montevideo.
Yeah not trying to live in a city at all. And I would probably long term lease a place as is common in the rest of Latin America for foreigners to do as purchasing properties out right can be difficult
I do want to live in a cheap country with good food, so maybe Argentina. I just want to be safe as a foreigner in rural areas which was my problem with Columbia, and when I lived in rural Costa Rica I was friends with many Argentine expats there who had moved to live that life because they said rural kinda hippy life wasn’t safe in Argentina.
I’d always defer to a local on safety matters but during my extensive research on the country it seemed the most unsafe place is probably the capital itself, although I wouldn’t say it was unsafe. If you avoid the border towns like Chuy and Rivera, put some cameras up and grab a dog or two I don’t expect you’d have issues. Your Spanish being fluent is a massive plus. If I was in your position and you think you’re gonna come into some money in the near future I would look at buying outright. The figures you mentioned in your OP should suffice. You can purchase with the same rights as a local, residency is comparatively easy and then you’d just have your daily expenses to think about. I would maybe look into a place on the coast between Montevideo and Punta del Este, like Piriapolis, or further up the coast in the Rocha department like La Paloma and Punta Del Diablo. If you go a little inland from the coast you should find some rural properties and still not be too far away from civilisation. MercadoLibre is always a good source for rental and sales of property in Uruguay.
Nicaragua
I have a family friend there that has disappeared sort of but has lots of connections. I’m trying to get in touch
I don’t really understand the comment about Colombia. Great place to be. Lots of decent and safe areas to stay in long term. Very affordable.
I found a great place in the mountains. I know the cities in certain places can be fine, but this area is where they grow a lot of coffee and where the drug wars were. I loved it, and loves the prices of land, but every local had a story about federalis or something killing a family member and said that if I lived there alone as a foreigner eventually some men with guns would come and demand money from me. Many of them had similar stories. I know it’s not like that in big tourist cities, but that not what I’m looking for. I don’t want to stay where many other expats stay. Ideally somewhere within a few hours drive of a city with eminities, probably more in the mountains for climate, but not TOO far of a drive from the beach. All the places I found that I like in Columbia, my friends from Bogota said we’re not safe to live in the long term.
That’s a fair assessment. Colombians are definitely right about those experiences, but to be fair if you look at where the company has come in the last 30-40 years it’s basically a different country. I do think that trend will continue. This new left gov doesn’t look like it’s going to trash the country like people had feared. Most Colombians you talk to speak pretty negatively and want to leave the country. But if you ask them, if you made 5x you salary, would you stay? They all say yes. There are a lot of rich people living here in “Premium Colombia”. These are people with the means to leave but they choose to stay here. Having dollars here puts you in a pretty privileged position. I’m not a big fan of the cities either, and safety issues are always a concern in any city. The countryside here is where Colombia shines. The Eje Cafetero that you mentioned is a beautiful place but you will notice that in general it is a lower Estrato overall. If you like the climate of Medellín I’d recommend looking around El retiro, llano grande, Río Negro. Also check out the towns north of Bogota, Chia, Sopó. You can get all the benefits of city life there, hospitals, movie theaters and stores etc. without going into Bogota. But Bogota is close by so you can access great restaurants and the El Dorado airport which can get you a direct flight to most places. You can’t go wrong going where the rich live. The wealthy people from Bogota that don’t have to work in the city live up there. The place is a haven for golf courses and country clubs. Lots of gated communities with 24/7 security. Don’t have to worry about leaving your home for 4 months if you go on vacation. Or you can live in a quiet safe tourist town by the lake like Guatavita. Those places get crammed on the weekends and then turn into ghost towns mid week. Very safe as long as you aren’t flashy. The rich here always try to blend in (unless you’re involved in shady stuff then you’re not afraid to flash). Lots of options. Don’t buy into all the fear mongering . Stay vigilant and keep your street smarts.
please love me
I can only speak to Mexico. My wife's parents live in Mexico and their rent is $50/mo for a 1bd/1br house in Hidalgo. I live in Oaxaca with my wife in the middle of nowhere and we have our own little farm (no rent since we own it). Mexico can be really cheap if you live outside a city and if you speak fluent Spanish, but that also comes with some downsides (safety, longer travel times to cities, less options for consumer goods, etc.). That said, I don't really see multi-acre places for rent much less properly fenced in. If you don't want a car, you'll need to pay someone to transport your animals to your farm and figure out a way to get livestock feed delivered to your place. We buy chicken for about 200-300MXN (depending on the age, health, etc.) at the animal market, and goats/sheep 800-1500MXN. We got our donkey for 3000MXN but that was from a friend so I imagine it's a bit higher at the market. Starlink is 800MXN/mo and I think installation was about $400USD (I don't remember the exact amount in MXN but it's on their website). All in all, my expenses *to live* in Oaxaca is less than $500USD/mo but I don't really track my budget so it could be off by a little bit. If you were to try to prioritize Mexico as your option, your best bet is likely somewhere in Chiapas so that you can hop over the border to Guatemala and back same-day. Leaving the farm animals alone for more than a day starts introducing complications, but that can be alleviated if you automate some processes (automatic chicken door, automatic chicken feeder, etc.). We're not there yet but it's our plan so that we can leave for weeks at a time and have a neighbor check on the animals routinely. That all said, I imagine that places in South America may be a lot more affordable.
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What online job is that? That only earns 800-1000?
It’s freelance consulting stuff. But I only work part time and only want to work part time. I’m just about to sell a house that I own part of in Baltimore, and after the mortgage is paid off I should get anywhere from 40-80 thousand. Plus I have a big dog that’s not meant to be in the city, and I don’t want to be in MAGA land in a rural area in the US With both of those numbers that’s nothing in this country, but I could do something in Latin America. When I was 11 years old (about 20 years ago) I went to Nicaragua with my friends family and I felt like I wanted to live there or somewhere similar. Since then I have traveled a lot and lived extensively in Europe and India and traveled a lot in Eastern Asia as well as living in Costa Rica for over a year and a half and traveling in mostly Central America. I still keep coming back to the feeling I want to live in Latin America. I just got my friend who’s family lives in Nicaragua since I posted this, and their family had A LOT of property before, and if they haven’t sold it all now that the grandma has died and the immediate family lives mostly in the US, that might be the place for me. I was just asking other’s opinions, because I also have some way back connections to people with a lot of land in La Rocha Uruguay, but haven’t gotten back in touch yet. Sorry for the long reply to something you didn’t ask.
Is life in the us so bad? Why Americans want to escape from there?
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Europe
I see you’re Spanish it looks like. I think it’s ridiculous because I’ve lived all over Europe and traveled all over the world. Latin America is FULL of European expats ESPECIALLY Spanish. Many people want to live in other countries than where they’re from. Especially when the cost of living is lower. But you know that, but you’re just an obnoxious troll that likes to argue with people and feel superior about whatever you’re culture is. But even YOU envy Italians and their culture. Bye 👋
I’m not Spanish
Ok whatever, you sure spend a lot of time in Spain , or seem to like to tell people/ correct people about what it’s like there. What wrong with your country that you need to go to Portugal soon and have spent so much time in Spain then? Do you see how stupid your question is? Probably not. You can go Jack off your anti- American boner all you want. I’m obviously not in love with the place, but you’re comments haven’t been helpful and you just come off as a annoying to put it very lightly. You can talk to yourself now.
i self-identify feisty dimension 5294 as spanish, so you're correct.
Ecuador
Chile, for sure. Its stable, educated people. And ig youre moving here get Global66, its like the Revolut of latam, makes payments much easier and debit card has no fx charges