• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Countries Colombia

Why Big Investors And Future Innovators Are Sold On Medellin

Lief Simon by Lief Simon
Dec 02, 2016
in Colombia, Investing
0
buildings and homes in medellin
210
SHARES
3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

No Longer Scary Or Secret, Colombia’s Time Has Come

A bad reputation, even one that’s completely undeserved, can be a hard thing to overcome.

When I made my first visit to Colombia in 2010, people were astonished that I was daring to venture to the city where Pablo Escobar reigned and members of his Medellín Cartel were certain to kidnap me.

Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993. His cartel was broken up, and the Paisas (the people of Medellín) set to work reclaiming their city.

By the time I arrived on the scene in 2010, you’d never have known that Medellín had once been the center of one of the world’s biggest and most notorious drug trafficking trades.

Today, finally, when I tell people I’m visiting or investing in Colombia, they aren’t nearly as gobsmacked. In the past couple of years, Colombia, specifically Medellín, has been recognized as one of the world’s most agreeable places to spend time by the likes of Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and The New York Times travel section.

And the world’s biggest investors have been taking positions.

We smaller investors are buying in, too.

I made my first Colombia investment in 2011 in the form of an apartment in Medellín. I’ve since invested in a timber plantation and a factoring opportunity that has paid out beyond the expected annual return.

I took those proceeds and rolled them over into another factoring opportunity…

Now I’m aggressively on the lookout for additional chances to put more money into this country.

Colombia is neither as scary nor as secret as it was when I began focusing time and money here and recommending that you do likewise.

All this attention has translated into steadily appreciating property markets.

Property values in El Poblado, the chicest Medellín neighborhood, where most foreign investment in this city has been centered and where I made my property investment in 2011, have doubled since I made that purchase… in peso terms.

That last point is important… because, while property values have doubled in the last five years, the value of the Colombian peso versus the U.S. dollar has fallen by almost 75%.

It amounts to a do-over.

In fact, it’s better than a do-over.

Five years ago, when I invested in Colombia for the first time, this country was a riskier proposition than it is today. I was sold on Colombia from my first visit to Medellín, when I met with a handful of professionals who have become key advisors and great friends. These guys helped me to appreciate the real Colombia and to believe as firmly as they in their country’s future prospects.

Now everyone is bullish on Colombia.

Medellín has been named City Of The Year and World’s Most Innovative City. In just two decades, it has evolved from one of the most violent places on earth to a model for urban innovation.

Meantime, the government of Colombia is close to concluding, after much negotiation and debate, a peace accord with FARC that will bring an end to more than a half-century of internal conflict.

The country’s tourism board’s latest marketing slogan promises that the only thing you have to worry about in Colombia is never wanting to leave…

If you do decide you’d like to stick around indefinitely, Colombia offers several good residency visa options. The country’s pensionado visa comes with one of the lowest U.S. dollar requirements right now thanks to the exchange rate. You can qualify for a retiree visa showing less than US$700 a month in pension income.

Or you can apply for a visa through one of the country’s invest-for-residency programs; the lowest investment requirement option right now is less than US$30,000… making it one of the most affordable invest-for-residency programs in the world.

Longtime readers know I’m not a doom-and-gloomer. That said, should the global economy come crashing down in a dramatic way, as some suggest it could, Colombia would be a good place to ride out the storm.

The country checks all the boxes. It has sufficient energy resources (Colombia is an oil exporter), mineral deposits, food production, a manufacturing base, and excellent health care.

If global trade disappeared, Colombia is one of a handful of countries where you should be able to maintain a reasonable standard of living.

Meantime, right now, it’s one of my favorite places in the world to spend time… and to make money.

Lief Simon

Tags: factoring Colombiainvest Colombiainvest MedellinLief Simonlive Colombialive Medellinliving Colombialiving Medellinproperty Colombiaproperty Medellinreal estate Colombiareal estate Medellinretire Colombiaretire Medellin
Share85Tweet52
Previous Post

How To Build A Professional Network Overseas

Next Post

Colombia’s Peace Treaty Is Big News For Investors

Lief Simon

Lief Simon

Lief Simon has lived and worked on five continents and traveled to more than 60 countries. In his long career as a global property investor, Lief has also managed multimillion-dollar portfolios of rental properties, for others and for himself. He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches.

Related Posts

Small tropical island at Barrier Reef with paradise beach in Belize
Argentina

10 Of The Best Places To Live Or Retire In Latin America

by Kathleen Peddicord
July 1, 2022
0

We give a lot of virtual ink to Latin America… And for good reason. This region checks three of the...

Read more
Thai style garden located in Royal Park Rajapruek, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Best Way To Beat Inflation For Retirees

June 26, 2022
People enjoying the clear blue waters and sandy beach in Bafra, Cyprus

Invest In Cyprus Now Then Sit Back And Wait For Your Return

June 20, 2022
Porto, Portugal

Where (And Why) Should You Buy Property Overseas In 2022?

June 15, 2022
An image of Medellin, Colombia to the left and Cuenca, Ecuador to the right

Expat Life In Medellín, Colombia Vs. Cuenca, Ecuador

June 8, 2022
Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Top Countries With Favorable Exchange Rates

June 7, 2022
Panama City, Panama to the left and Medellin, Colombia to the right, comparison

Comparing Panama And Colombia: Living, Retiring, Investing

June 3, 2022
Next Post
someone holding up their hand with the word peace written in black ink,the colombian flag in the background

Colombia's Peace Treaty Is Big News For Investors

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.







LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2022

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2022 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2022 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY

The World’s Best Places To Be In 2022?

Discover Them Here…