I'm in Bogota right now and comfortable with the doorman to my Airbnb apartment LOL. I hear a lot of bad stories in Medellin though. I know the tourists mostly go there and Cartagena and often take stupid risks. Having been to all three, Bogota is way more chill and nobody bothers me here even in the touristy zones. I was constantly hassled in the other two cities. I would buy real estate, but I don't trust the government here. There's a decent possibility it becomes another Venezuela. They're also too soft on gangs, especially Petro. I'm definitely more in agreement with Bukele in El Salvador and think basically all of Latin America needs somebody like him to allow their economies to develop. If you don't have peace/safety it really doesn't matter what economic system you have.
How much did he say Mar-A-Lago was worth when that Judge in NY lowballed it?And now they want more money from the Dems to protect his fat ass.
Palm Beach asks for help paying for Trump security
One of the nation's richest enclaves is seeking government assistance to help protect its most famous resident as his security costs have shot up to $93,000 a day.
Palm Beach County has asked the federal government to help cover security for Donald Trump, who lives at the private Mar-a-Lago resort and was apparently targeted for a second assassination attempt Sunday at a golf course nearby, reported Bloomberg.
“We’ve had to heighten security ever since the campaign started with the former president, who is our resident here,” said Palm Beach County mayor Maria Sachs. “Yes, it’s disruptive and difficult, but it’s the price we pay to live in paradise.”
The U.S. Secret Service and other federal agencies often mobilize personnel from local law enforcement and other sources when Trump and others under their protection are on the move, and those measures could be seen Monday in Palm Beach, where officers blocked off key streets around Mar-a-Lago.
The blockades often frustrate many residents, who have expressed concerns that a second Trump presidency could lead to additional restrictions when he is visiting, and the mayor even floated the possibility of closing Mar-a-Lago at a recent town council meeting.
Petro didn't cause the problems, they've been here, but I don't think he's helping improve the situation. I don't think negotiating with criminals is the way to go. Colombia has a history of doing that. It hasn't worked. Bukele just built massive prisons and sent all the gang members to them. There was no negotiating. It was something you'd expect from a country like Singapore who doesn't have these problems, but of course people will complain about human rights abuses for the criminals. I didn't realize Laurales was a cesspool too now, thought it was mostly Poblado and people went to Laurales for a more laidback experience. Never been to Laurales as I was in Medellin for only a few nights and did one day at Guatape, one day exploring Medellin. I stayed in Poblado and remember walking through Poblado seeing girls who looked about 12 sucking on lollipops, I guess to appease some perverted guys. From my understanding a lot of them are trafficked from Venezuela. I was also constantly offered drugs, mostly weed from random people. Probably won't go back to Medellin even though I have friends from there. I haven't been to Cali and probably won't, because I hear it's even more dangerous there. I like Bogota's weather, it's never too hot which is good for day to day stuff. Why would I want 85 degrees with heavy downpours when there isn't even a beach? Sunday was 70 degrees and sunny, perfect day to me for walking around. More food options too. I've been sticking to the north of Bogota and I've hardly seen any sketchy people. I don't feel 100% comfortable doing it, because there's a lot of bikers, but most people are walking around with their phones out around where I am. My Spanish still sucks and I can't have a real intelligent conversation in it so I stick to meeting people who can speak English and are educated. I'm well aware of the scopolamine deaths (mostly in Medellin) so I'm very cautious.The Medellin US expat scene is the worst, they are the most trolling and chicken-shit lot. I left all the groups years ago and never looked back. I get reports from another Irish friend and the weiner economic/medical refugee pensioners are still awful I'm told
Gringo "Chichipatas".
Medellin suffered from being a direct flight from Florida. Bogota is quite a contrast, but altitude/shitty climate and the traffic.. I was on the Transmillenial once. Once
Bogota was the dangerous place ten years ago and Medellin safe, but as Poblado/Laureles and such filled up with idiot and trashy Florida bros, the local street rat gangs evolved. Sheep with bling, it's inevitable.
South Bogota / the road to Melgar side of the city was rough as fuck though to my memory. Reminded me of living in Jo'burg where you would always car convoy with friends for safety.
But, attacks of five-on-one to take an iPhone are beginning to happen around Laureles. In the past a guy might pull a knife and your average tourist had a fair chance. Now they punishment beat them to scare the other gringos.
Ten years ago there was no hassle in Laurels or Poblado. None. No putas nagging you either. It wasn't Petro cause the decline but its his to reverse. The lack of a competent police and judicial system etc., that ordinary people don't even have a concept of what a judiciary should be, is a huge hill to climb.
Dunno much about Bukele but I have always felt that they need to strengthen their emulation of Spain which now has a pretty good model for them that fits culturally. US culture is empty and ruinously just more bipolarism.
I think we may move to Spain soon but the wife's family are Paisa and stuck with that
I agree, if they overthrow Maduro it could be the investment of a lifetime. I like Bogota and could see myself spending significant time here. It's the easiest place to get to in South America from NYC or FL (I paid like $200 for a flight with a bag/aisle seat included two days in advance from JFK). It's easy to access anywhere else in Colombia (like Santa Marta for a weekend trip) or any major city in South America. I'm staying near Parque 93 which is good, because it's more quiet than Zona Rosa, but plenty of food options and only a 15 minute walk to there anyways. Definitely looking for a good place to play tennis close by. After Poblado I didn't want anything to do with staying in La Candelaria. It wasn't sketchy during the day, but I heard it wasn't safe at night.
