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Home Countries Colombia

Expats Discuss Why They Moved To Medellín, Colombia

Best Weather Places To Retire Overseas

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Nov 29, 2021
in Colombia, Lifestyle, Retirement/Living
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The metro in Medellin, Colombia

Adobe Stock/Luis Echeverri Urrea

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“Let me know when you start talking about mild climates and I’ll consider it. I have no interest in tropical weather!” a reader wrote in this week.

If you’ve been reading for any time, you know that I’m not here to showcase any one particular lifestyle. Our mantra here at Live And Invest Overseas is: Diversity rules!

The year-round beach life is not for everyone.

Personally, I like four seasons. But I know others who have lived through months of snow—year after year—would do anything to avoid even one more month of winter… in any part of the world.

I’m thinking about people like Marisa Ferrera and Randie Rabideau…

Starting in 2009, this Canadian couple was on a quest to escape Toronto’s annual freeze.

Marisa and Randie didn’t set out to become expats. But, during the Canadian winter of 2009, they spent five weeks traveling around Panama and Costa Rica. When they returned to Toronto, they had a big new idea.

Here’s a little of their story—as told at last year’s Live And Invest In Colombia Conference—starting with Marisa…

“After our trip, we realized we had nothing tying us down in Toronto any more. We were no longer working. We were renting our condo. All I could think was ‘We could be anywhere in the world, right now. Why are we here?’

“We thought about spending just six months of the year abroad. But winters in Toronto can stretch beyond six months, so we decided we’d let the condo go and move overseas.

“At that point, Randie drew up a list of requirements for our ‘perfect place’ in the world…

“It had to be safe.

“It had to have reliable infrastructure.

“Good weather was a must. We didn’t want to rely on pumping up the heat or air-conditioning most of the year.

“Ideally, we wanted to live in a semi-rural area (close to town for amenities) and be part of a welcoming community.”

Randie picked up the story…

Living In Costa Rica

A waterfall in Costa Rica
Adobe Stock/AustralianDream

“Leaving Toronto behind, we spent the first six months in different parts of Costa Rica. Then, suddenly, we had to strike that country off the list.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t fit any of the criteria for getting residency. Staying there would mean a border run every three months. That didn’t work for us.

“I started to research Chile and we spent some time there, checking out Santiago, the towns along the coast, and the desert areas. But we ran into two big problems. First, we found that, in our favorite area, the temperature would drop to 50 degrees, starting in April.

“On top of that, it was impossible to find a furnished rental to suit us. After a short stay in Peru, where we had a similar issue in finding a rental, we decided to go back to Panama.”

Living In Panama

Over to Marisa…

“Our plan took us as far as the airport in Panama City. At that point, I realized I’d lost my Type-A personality somewhere along the way. Where were we going to sleep tonight? We tapped into the airport Wi-Fi to check out our options.

“We decided to go back to the mountain town of El Valle where we’d spent some time during our previous Costa Rica/Panama adventure. This time we really fell for El Valle and almost bought a lot. After a trip home to Canada, we returned to El Valle in January and were in for a surprise…

El Valle de Anton Panama
El Valle de Anton

“El Valle showed us the true meaning of ‘windy season.’ This was no friendly breeze. This was the kind of wind that would blow you off your bicycle into the ditch. Goodbye, garden furniture!

“It was back to the internet for more research. That’s when Randie stumbled on Medellín, Colombia—a city that’s known for its ‘eternal spring’ weather.

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Living In Colombia

“Now, in Toronto, spring means you’re likely going to have to wear a jacket. And the clouds can make for some dark days. So I wasn’t totally sold.

“But, when we got there, we found the clouds in Medellín were white and fluffy. The weather was warm. This was pleasant.

Plaza De Botero, Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia
Adobe Stock/camaralucida1

“We hopped on the city’s metro and explored a lot of the neighborhoods. We wanted to stay outside of El Poblado and integrate more with the local people. But, in the end, it came down to where we could get a rental. So we ended up sticking around El Poblado and enjoyed exploring our new home city from there.

“In February 2014, we were in a local real estate office when we saw a brochure for eco-villas up in the mountains… about a 45-minute drive from Medellín. After two months renting a property on the owner’s finca up there and getting to know the area, we decided to buy our own lot.

“Through that purchase we qualified for residency, which meant we could stay in Colombia and not worry about leaving every three months.

“It was about another year before our villa was finally ready. But now we’re in a spot that ticks all our boxes.

“It’s safe.

“The infrastructure is good. A 20-minute drive down the mountain takes us to the end of the Metro line out of Medellín. From there, we can ride all the way in to the city center.

“The weather is just the way we love it—never too hot or cold.

“Our wish was for a semi-rural area. We’re now a 45-minute drive from all the amenities of the city… but in this beautiful location with a 180-degree view of the Andes.”

That’s just one story from many expats we know who call this part of Colombia home today.

But not everyone who settles in Medellín is driven by the weather…

Steve and Patricia Turney were won over by the welcome they experienced from the locals.

And Jeff and Heather Raheb say they were comfortable at home in Florida. They just felt like something different. After attending a few Live And Invest Overseas conferences, they also made Medellín their full-time home.

Could Colombia Be The Place For You?

We’d like to help you find an answer to that question.

Come on down to Medellín and meet us in person.

With the help of more than two-dozen in-Colombia contacts, experts, and expats, we’ll introduce you to everyone and everything you need to know to determine if this country could be the place for you to chase your live and invest overseas dreams.

Over our three days together, we’ll show you Colombia from Medellín, Bogotá, and Cali to Cartagena, Popayán, Santa Marta, and beyond…

I can’t wait.

Sincerely,
Kathleen Peddicord signature
Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter

Tags: ColombiaCool weathercosta ricael valleexpatslive overseasMedellinPanamaretire abroadRetire in Colombiaretire overseassnowbirdsspring like weather
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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

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