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Comment by gottorf | Hacker News Reader

> Colombia looks to have a GDP per capita about 1/10th of the US, so if we scale it up 10X...

Ah, yes, but costs for public projects like this in the US is far greater than 10x Colombia's.

I'd happily pay $25/year. $2/mo to live in a city with that kind of greenery and QOL improvement? Absolutely sign me the fuck up.

Highly recommend Medellín if you can swing the remote expat life.

Unless you’re in tech or a few other sectors (eg: long tail exports such the company that manufactures transistors for Tesla, which is near here) the local job market is very bad. Particularly with new prices, in the wealthy areas it’s comparable to a city like Lisbon now.

If you have a remote job however, it’s a no brainer. For example, renting a 3 bedroom in a wealthy area (through the local route, not Airbnb) within a gated community that has a pool, a gym, etc = $1,000. A private maid/chef once per week = $80. Normal Uber ride = $4-$6. Meal for 2 in a very fancy restaurant = $50 - $75.

Makes SF prices feel insane.

Yeah but then you get mugged on the street daily if you flash your phone. What's the point of life being cheap...if your own life isn't worth anything

> Yeah but then you get mugged on the street daily if you flash your phone.

I agree, that’s another good reason to avoid sf

I have never been mugged in Medellin living here 22 years out of my total 30.

because guess what...you're a local.

local thugs can smell expats a mile away. Just Google : medellin violence and tell me what you find

I agree that being a local you’re not a target.

Regarding the crimes against some foreigners: - It shouldn’t happen. That’s why we elected a new major with a very different philosophy from the previous one. - 1,8M foreigners came here in 2023 and 35 got killed. Again, the number should be 0, but once you see it as a statistic it feels improbable. - If you don’t do ilegal stupid stuff you shouldn’t be doing in the first place (you know what I’m talking about) you’ll be fine.

I dunno man, I'm a nomad, I looked long and hard at where to spend a few months this winter and Medellin sounded attractive...until I read more about it.

In the end, I opted for Europe.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12164423/Moment-gan...

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-british-to...

No thank you. 35 deaths is the worst possible outcome. I don't want to leave the house in fear of getting mugged at knife/gun point and I'm sure those stats aren't even remote to being listed/accurate anywhere.

A significant portion of deaths resulted from drug overdose, and there was also a notable absence of acknowledgment regarding criminal activities perpetrated by migrants/tourists who arrived last year, despite numerous reported cases.

Agree with everything in your comment.

How is the COL compared to the local salaries? And how is the job market there?

I live here as a nomad. Job market is pretty bad. Haven't seen any official statistics but I've heard many locals anecdotally say that the pay even for people with econ / engineering degrees is pretty bad.

Lots of young people with advanced degrees just end up working in call centres, or onlyfans.

Yes, amazingly paying someone $2/hour won't fly in a major US city.

It will if they’re convicts on a chain gang.

Acknowledging the general ickyness of prison labor, I'd be curious what the overall effect on wellbeing and recidivism among prisoners would be of spending time working outside planting trees to make the local community a better, more beautiful place.

Probably better than making garments for McDonald’s and Walmart, but yeah we should abolish prison labor (and prisons).

Here’s a report on the state of human rights abuses in prison labor in the United States:

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/us-prison-labor-programs-vio...

It was pointed out to me awhile back that the 'slave states' that utilize this kind of labor need all sorts of low-level nonviolent crimes to lock people up with.

Why, you may ask? It turns out giving violent offenders (murderers, wife beaters, gang bangers) tools like shovels in an open environment can be pretty dangerous. Guards would rather have some pothead teenager to order around.

> It was pointed out to me awhile back that the 'slave states' that utilize this kind of labor need all sorts of low-level nonviolent crimes to lock people up with.

Arguably a continuation of their post-civil-war Black Codes [0], where--if you had a certain skin color--it was effectively a crime to ever leave/lose your abusive "employment", then that crime led to fines, then the fines led to more fines from compounding court costs, and once you were in prison, you were forced to labor for private interests. Perhaps even the same "employer" you tried to leave.

[0] https://www.history.com/news/black-codes-reconstruction-slav...

Are you saying that the people building those parks in Colombia were only paid $0.2 per hour?

> The groundwork is carried out by 150 citizen-gardeners

Probably lower on average given a lot of them got paid $0 it seems.

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