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Comment by alexitosrv | Hacker News Reader

I suggest Colombia, you can find greatest rentals for less than 300 USD, and cheap cost of life and amazing food as well. Thinking in cities like Bucaramanga, Santa Marta, etc.

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How's the crime and safety situation in Colombia recently? Many years back a good friend of mine lived there for a significant amount of time and it seemed quite unsafe.

A lot, lot better than it used be. I went there in 2017 (or maybe it was 2018) and there were lots of places that Colombians from other parts of the country (or even other parts of the same city) were scared of, but we perfectly safe when you went there yourself. There are places you shouldn't go, but the safe places are pretty safe.

I would say it's fairly reasonable. It's not like a war territory or anything like that. You find big areas that are pretty normal in terms of what to expect, only small crime, and to feel safe it's a matter of being self aware and reduce the attack surface. As it's in many other countries around the world, is more a question of being privy of where the shady neighborhoods or what are the avoidable zones around town. I am colombian and I live in Bogota, so I can answer more questions if you want.

I love the Colombian caribbean coast, so that is why is my first recommendation to the OP, the weather is perfect almost all year round, and with a modest budget he can definitively have a moderate (and even higher) lifestyle with no much compromises.

Medellin is reasonably safe if you stay out of certain areas, and has "eternal spring" (close to equator, but high elevation). The homicide rate of Colombia is 5x USA, which in turn is 5x Germany, which in turn is 5x Singapore.

In Colombia being able to pass by a Colombian is a must if you want to live in cheap places.

This means to assure that you can get a solid tan before the arrival, keep a low-key profile and try to keep your mouth shut in crowded places to hide your non Colombian accent, even if your Spanish is fluid.

++ for Colombia. Healthcare is good for non-citizens, too. Depending on the city, it is high quality, IMO.

How is Santa Marta? Debating on that, visited Cartagena and was not impressed, Also $300/week seems to be the norm for an eh place.

Cheaper than USA for sure, but also not a fan of the food in Colombia either. Or most of South America when compared to Asia. :D

Colombia is a beautiful country, but I can't agree that the food is amazing. On par with British cuisine.

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