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  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

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    • Living & Retiring Overseas
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    • Investing

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    • Home
    • Countries

      Top Destinations:

      Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • Colombia
      • Cyprus
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Montenegro
      • Browse All Countries

      Best For:

      • The Best Places To Retire
      • Health Care Abroad
      • Cost Of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Establishing Residency
      • Gun Laws In The World
      • English-Speaking Countries
      • Safest Places For Retirement
      • Best Places In Latin America
    • Budgets

      How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

      The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

      Luxury

      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • The Panama City Beaches
      • Paris, France
    • Resources

      Global Living

      • Living & Retiring Overseas
      • Raising A Family Abroad
      • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
      • Offshore & Diversification

      Making Money

      • International Real Estate
      • Banking
      • Employment
      • Investing

      Follow Us:

      • Meet Our Experts
    • Real Estate

      Join our Weekly Newsletter
      Overseas Property Alert

      Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive expert insights on the best international real estate investment opportunities.






        We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

        Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

        • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

        Explore Our Latest Posts

        • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

        Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

        • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
      • Conferences

        Upcoming Events

        • Explore Our Events Site

        Live and Invest In Spain Conference

        Offshore Wealth Summit

        Greece Workshop

        VALENCIA, SPAIN

        Sep. 17-19, 2025

        PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

        Oct. 15-17, 2025

        VIRTUAL

        Nov. 13, 2025

        LEARN MORE
        DISCOUNT
        LEARN MORE
        PRE-REGISTER
        LEARN MORE
        PRE-REGISTER
        • MORE EVENTS

        Contact Our Events Team

        Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
        1 (888) 627 8834
        From Outside North America:
        1 (443) 599 1221
        Working Hours
        Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

        Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

      • Store

        Unlock The World

        • Access Your Library

        Overseas Havens Reports

        • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

        Conference Kits

        • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

        Lahardan Books

        • Titles on living and investing around the world
        • Explore Our Store
        Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

        Services

        overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
        The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
        Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

        Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

      • My Library
      Live and Invest Overseas
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      Home Health Care

      Medellín, Colombia: The Cheapest Real City In The World

      There’s Something You Should Know About Colombia…

      by Kathleen Peddicord
      Jun 01, 2023
      in Health Care
      0 0
      Adobe Stock/danflcreativo

      Adobe Stock/danflcreativo

      Excellent infrastructure… strong investor rights… appreciating property markets…

      Biggest salsa festival in the world… plus important theater and poetry festivals… biggest flower festival in the region (taking place every August)… and second-biggest Carnival (after Rio)…

      World’s most colorful river… and more species of butterflies than anywhere else on Earth…

      I’m talking about Colombia…

      Which is also South America’s oldest democracy… and one of the happiest countries in the world… because, as everyone I know who has spent time in the country agrees, the focus is family and friends… Colombians have their priorities in order.

      There’s Something Else You Should Know About Colombia:

      Medical tourism has increased by 62% since 2010.

      The United States is ranked 37th globally for the quality of its health care.

      Colombia is ranked 22nd.

      Meantime, the costs of health care services in Colombia are one-fourth to one-fifth as much as those in the United States.

      Why wouldn’t you go to Colombia for care if you were able?

      Start Your New Life Overseas Today!
      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 2025.
      We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

      Expat’s Experiences With Colombia’s Health Care

      -Jeff

      One Medellín expat we know, Jeff, a physician from the United States, recently shared real-life story after real-life story with us of other expats who’ve sought health care in this city…

      Starting with his own story of seeing a dentist for an annual checkup.

      Jeff scheduled the appointment online through his local insurance provider, he explained, and was charged US$1 for the visit. He scheduled a follow-up visit for a cleaning… which, again, cost him US$1.

      Then, Jeff continued, a dental implant with a crown came loose. For this he made an appointment with a private, English-speaking dentist who referred him to a specialist. The cost of that visit was zero.

      The implant specialist saw Jeff for the next day and worked on the crown for an hour-and-a-half to make the repair. The cost was US$50.

      -Susie

      Another expat, Susie, Jeff continued, had abdominal pain and went to a local Emergency Room where she was seen by an MD. The cost of the ER visit, the diagnostics, and the prescription for treatment was US$46.

      -John

      John, Jeff continued, contracted a terminal illness while in Medellín. He was in and out of the ER several times and admitted to the hospital.

      Finally, at his request, John was sent home for palliative care. The treatment extended over one year and included doctor and nurse care in John’s home.

      The total out-of-pocket cost was US$50.

      Medellín also has assisted-living facilities… where the all-in cost is US$2,000 per month… including comfortable and pleasant living space, good food, and all medical care.

      Jeff made another noteworthy point when we spoke. Not only is medical care much less costly in Colombia than in the United States… but so are prescription drugs.

      Jeff showed me a chart. On it were listed 12 common drugs—from Cialis to Zithromax —along with their average costs in the United States and their costs (in generic form) in Colombia.

      In each case, the cost in Colombia was one-half to one-tenth as much as the going U.S. price.

      Until next time,
      Kathleen Peddicord signature
      Kathleen Peddicord
      Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter

      Tags: 'Colombia''Expats In Medellin''health care'Live in ColombiaLive in MedellinMedellin
      Share104Tweet52
      Kathleen Peddicord

      Kathleen Peddicord

      Kathleen Peddicord has reported on opportunities for Americans to live, retire, and do business overseas for 40 years. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 24, established businesses in 7, renovated and built properties in 6, and educated her children in 5.

      Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets from the east coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland, then to Paris, France, and finally to Panama City, Panama, where she has based her Live And Invest Overseas business. Peddicord and her husband, Lief Simon, now divide their time between Panama and Paris.

      Peddicord was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. She opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Waterford, Ireland; Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France. Peddicord launched Live And Invest Overseas group in 2008 and has built it into a successful multimillion-dollar business. Today, she shares her firsthand experience of expat life with more than 500,000 readers of her publications, including Overseas Opportunity Letter and Overseas Living Letter.

      Kathleen has been featured often in The New York Times, MSNBC, AARP, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more and writes monthly about expat matters, international real estate, and offshore diversification for Forbes and U.S. News.

      Kathleen has written several books including the memoirs “At Home In Ireland” and “At Home At Los Islotes” and her latest title “At Home Abroad,” all published by Lahardan Books. Her best-selling "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need To Know To Live Well (For Less) Abroad” was published by Penguin Random House in 2018 and her “Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)” was published by Wiley in August 2020.

      Start Your New Life Overseas Today!
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      HOME

      Top Countries

      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • Colombia
      • Cyprus
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Montenegro

      Best For:

      • Health Care Abroad
      • Retirement Living
      • Cost Of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Establishing Residency
      • Gun Ownership
      • English Speakers
      • Safety
      BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

      Budgets

      How Much Will It Cost
      To Live Overseas?

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

      Luxury

      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • The Panama City Beaches
      • Paris, France

      Resources

      Global Living

      • Living & Retiring Overseas
      • Raising A Family Abroad
      • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
      • Offshore & Diversification

      Making Money

      • International Real Estate
      • Banking
      • Employment
      • Investing
      Meet Our Experts

      Real Estate

      Overseas Property Alert 

       

      How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams

      VISIT SITE

      Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

       

      Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

      READ MORE

      Explore Our Latest Posts

       

      Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

      EXPLORE

      Conferences

      Live and Invest In Spain Conference

      VALENCIA, SPAIN Sep. 17-19, 2025
      LEARN MORE
      DISCOUNT

      Offshore Wealth Summit

      PANAMA CITY, PANAMA Oct. 15-17, 2025
      LEARN MORE
      PRE-REGISTER

      GREECE WORKSHOP

      VIRTUAL Nov. 13, 2025
      LEARN MORE
      PRE-REGISTER
      MORE EVENTS

      Contact Our Events Team:

      Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
      1 (888) 627 8834

      From Outside North America:
      1 (443) 599 1221

      Working Hours
      Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

      Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

      Store

      Overseas Havens Reports

      • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

      Conference Kits

      • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

      Lahardan Books

      • Titles on living and investing around the world

      Services

      • Overseas Living Letter: Affordable Retirement Guidance
      • The Simon Letter: Wealth Protection Insights
      • Global Property Advisor: Global Investment Opportunitites
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      THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

      FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To retire in 2025

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