Welcome to the 218th weekly Medellin Guru Newsletter.
We Published No New Articles in the Past Week due to Attacks on the Website
5 Popular Articles From the
Medellin Guru Archives
Top 17 Things to Do in San Andrés: Colombia’s Caribbean Island
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San Andrés is Colombia’s Caribbean island and it’s a popular vacation location. In this article we look at 17 top things to do in San Andrés.
San Andrés is so different from Colombia that you will think you are in another country. In addition, San Andrés is located closer to Nicaragua than it is to Colombia.
The island of San Andrés is a popular vacation place from the mainland of Colombia. Also, the archipelago with several other islands is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. And it features many beaches, islets and coral reefs that are filled with flora and fauna.
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Medellín Metro Guide: Updated Guide with 2021 Fares
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In January 2021, Medellín increased fares for the metro system in the city. So, we have up-to-date Medellín Metro guide with the current fares along with tips for using the metro system in Medellín.
Medellín has the only rail-based metro system in Colombia. But this mass transportation system is much more than a rail-based system.
Starting on April 7, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it became required to wear face masks on the Medellín Metro system and also on all buses in Medellín. See the following El Colombiano article in Spanish.
If you don’t have a face mask, you won’t be permitted on the metro system or buses in Medellín. This requirement is still being enforced in 2021.
We also look at how to get a free personalized Civica card for using the Metro system.
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17 Popular Colombian Desserts You Must Try While in Colombia
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If you are visiting Colombia don’t forget to try Colombian desserts. We look at 17 must try Colombia desserts that are very popular in Colombia.
While you may have tried desserts from places like France and different parts of the U.S., you are probably less aquatinted with Latin American desserts, particularly Colombian desserts.
Medellin Guru readers have asked about popular Colombian desserts. So, we looked at 17 popular Colombian desserts.
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11 Best Seafood Restaurants in Medellín – 2021 Update
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We look at 11 of the best seafood restaurants in Medellín and nearby that are popular with good seafood including some Peruvian restaurants.
Be careful of using TripAdvisor, which can’t be trusted for restaurants in Colombia. TripAdvisor has many closed restaurants in its lists for Colombia.
I have eaten at over 35 seafood restaurants in Medellín and nearby over the past several years. With my Colombian wife’s help, we both collaborated to select and order the Medellín Guru's list of the 11 best seafood restaurants in Medellín and nearby.
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Colombia Visa FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Colombia Visas
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Medellin Guru has received thousands of questions about Colombia Visas. So, we prepared a Colombia Visa FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Colombia Visas.
The majority of the visa questions we get asked are answered in our visa articles. So, we recommend reading our articles on Medellin Guru before asking questions.
Also, the visa agency we partnered with can answer visa questions. It is easy to contact Expatgroup, the visa agency we partnered with.
To contact Expatgroup, click on the blue “ Use the Medellin Guru Visa Service” button in this article about our visa services.
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Update on Medellin Guru Under Attack
Medellin Guru Blog Under Attack for Over Five Months
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The popular Medellin Guru blog in Colombia has now been under attack for well over five months in a row with millions of DDoS attacks, SPAM, fake comments and fake emails.
The attacks started with a DDoS attack: on April 24. And the Medellin Guru site was attacked by a denial of service attack which shut the site down briefly in the afternoon.
In a recent week we were hit by 230,690 DDoS threats blocked by DDoS protection for for a period of a week as of September 1,
The attack of fake emails has increased so we have a new policy. If you are not a Patreon premium content subscriber, we will not answer your question.
Also, we turned off new comments on the Medellin Guru website due to now receiving over 200 Spam message a day. If you want to comment on our articles you can comment on our article posts on our Medellin Guru Facebook Group. and we ill respond to comments on Facebook
In addition, the attacks have intensified heavily in the past the past four days.
We had to turn off access to Medellin Guru from the U.S. for parts of the day at times (in the afternoon and evening due to heavy attacks over over 2,000 threats per hour impacting other users and the site.
When we turn off access you will see a Security Error Message. But you can still access Medellin Guru from other countries using a VPN.
With attacks increasing we really need the help of readers. We would like to bring in a resource to help.
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Sneak Peek to Medellin Guru's
Premium Content
We unlocked one of our premium content Medellin Guru. So, readers you can access this article today without subscribing.
We have a total of 84 premium content articles like this one looking at how to overcome the fiador requirement in Colombia.
Subscribe to Medellin Guru's premium content for as little as $3 per month.
13 Downsides of Owning a Car in Medellín: Why Expats Don’t Have Cars
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There are several downsides of owning a car in Medellín. A majority of expats in the city do not own a car and we look at the pros and cons of owning a car.
While driving a car may be convenient and often a fun way of getting from one place to another, owning a car also has several downsides when compared to other modes of transport in Medellín, such as public transportation, bicycling and walking.
We surveyed over 200 expats in Medellín a few years ago and found that over 80 percent did not own cars.
We also found that most of the foreigners that have cars in the Medellín area tend to live in El Poblado (particularly up the hills) or further away from the city in places like Rionegro near the Medellín International Airport.
One of the benefits of living in Medellín is the good public transportation with the low-cost Medellín Metro system, inexpensive buses and inexpensive taxis.
Many foreigners that move to Medellín are accustomed to having cars in their home countries. But when they move to Medellín they realize that it is quite possible to live in Medellín without a car.
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Medellin Guru's
Visa Services for Expats
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The Medellin Guru visa services was launched in March 2019. And in 32 months, a total of 492 visas have been successfully received by Medellin Guru readers:
In addition, this visa service renewed 56 American passports in Bogotá and provided visa stamping services to 10 clients. In addition, 28 clients extended tourist visas using this visa service.
So, in total we had 586 clients of the Medellin Guru visa service in 32 months, which is an average of 18 clients per month.
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Medellin Guru's
Insurance Services for Expats
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Many Medellin Guru readers have asked about health insurance and other types of insurance. So, we partnered to offer Colombian insurance services to readers, which has now helped over 195 Medellin Guru readers obtain insurance in Colombia.
Features of this Colombian insurance service include:
- Bilingual – English and Spanish.
- Email quotes.
- Free consultations.
- Offers health insurance, travel insurance, auto insurance, homeowners’ insurance, life insurance.
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Update on Medellin Guru's
Services for Expats
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Moving to a city in a foreign country is complicated. Medellin Guru offers services for expats in Colombia. In 32 months we helped over 1,080 clients.
Medellin Guru starting offering services in March 2019. Since that time with our partners we have helped over 1,080 clients with visas, insurance, expat consultations, apartment rentals, real estate services and Spanish classes and expat consultations.
We helped over 115 new clients in December, January and February! In August, September and October 2021 we helped over 110 new clients. And since March 2019, we helped over 1,080 Clients.
We partnered to offer visa, health insurance, real estate, furnished rentals and Spanish school services to foreigners to help with relocation:
Our partnerships are affiliate relationships (like the Amazon affiliate program).
If you use our partner services, Medellin Guru receives a small commission and you support the website. This is at no additional cost to you. The price remains the same, whether you use a button or affiliate link for these services on this website or not.
In addition, we offer a popular Expat Consultation Service to answer all your questions about visas, renting apartments, neighborhoods, health insurance, buying property starting a business and many other topics. We have done over 365 Expat Consultation calls or in-person meetings in less than two years.
We want to thank our partners and clients and subscribers! We now have a total of over 2,000 clients and paying subscribers.
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Subscribe to Medellin Guru's
Premium Content
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Medellin Guru uses a partial subscription model with premium content locked for paying subscribers. Starting in January 2020, Medellin Guru starting moving to a partial subscription model.
We already published 84 premium content articles on Patreon in FULL. That means about 12 percent of the best content on Medellin Guru is premium content, which is the most comprehensive series of articles about moving to Colombia available.
Over the next three months, we plan that about 15 percent of the over 670 articles on Medellin Guru will be locked for Patreon subscribers and available on Patreon.
By asking for help from our readers to remain ad free, we already have over 920 paying subscribers (patrons). Thanks everyone!
Popular Premium Articles About Visiting and Moving to Colombia
Renting Unfurnished Apartments and Casas (Houses)
Buying, Selling and Investing in Real Estate
Choosing a Neighborhood in Medellín
Choosing a City in Colombia to Live In
Choosing a Foreign Retirement Location and Comparing Cities
- Why Expats Move to Medellín From Other Countries in Latin America
- 12 Reasons Why Medellín is a Top Foreign Retirement Location
- Why the Retirement Publications Get Medellín and Colombia Wrong
- Medellín vs Cuenca: Which is the Better City to Live In?
- Medellin vs Panama City, Which is the Better City to Live in?
- Medellin vs Costa Rica, Which is the Better Place to Live?
- Medellin vs Belize, Which is the Better Place to Live?
- Medellín vs Algarve: Which is the Better Place to Live?
- Medellín vs Chiang Mai, Thailand: Which is the Better City to Live In?
- Medellín vs Lima Peru: Which is the Better City to Live in?
- Medellín vs Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Which is the Better Place to Live?
- Medellín vs Mexico City: Which is the Better City to Live In?
- Medellin vs Mazatlán, Mexico: Which is the Better Place to Live?
- Medellín vs Rio de Janeiro: Which is the Better City to Live In?
- Medellín vs Fortaleza, Brazil: Which is the Better City to Live In?
- Medellín vs Buenos Aires, Argentina: Which is the Better Place to Live?
- Medellín vs Santiago, Chile: Which is the Better City to Live In?
- Medellín vs Valletta, Malta: Which is the Better Place to Live in?
We plan to publish any new premium locked articles and updated locked articles in full on the Patreon website. So, you can now think of Patreon as the new home for Medellin Guru’s premium content.
Subscribe now to Medellin Guru's premium content for as little as $3 per month.
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We Published Updates to 17 Articles
in the Past Week!
Medellin Guru is the only blog in Colombia that has a policy of not letting articles on our website become out-of-date.
Some articles have been updated multiple times, as things change constantly in Colombia. Things are now changing so fast due to coronavirus in Colombia.
We are trying our best to keep up and we continue to update more articles than ever before!
In the past 147 weeks we updated a total of 2,126 articles. Here are 8 of the 17 updated articles from the past week:
Alumbrados 2021: A Guide to the 2021 Medellín Christmas Lights
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One event that Medellín is famous for is the annual Medellín Christmas lights display that is known as Alumbrados Navidenos or El Alumbrado.
The primary lights display for Christmas this year is at Parques del Río, along the river. Parques del Río is intended to be transformed into the world of Christmas.
Medellín Christmas lights in 2021 will be from December 3, 2021 to January 10, 2022. So, you will be able to see 2021 holiday lights display in Medellín every night from December 3, 2021 until January 10, 2022 from 6 pm until midnight each night, except on December 24 and December 31, when they will be off for holidays.
Sabaneta will beat Medellín in 2021 to turn on its Christmas lights. We have photos of the 2020 Sabaneta Christmas lights from last year. The Christmas lights in Sabaneta will start on November 27, 2021.
This article was updated with information about the 2021 Medellín Christmas lights that are from December 3, 2021 until January 10, 2022.
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Premium Content: Guide to Saving Money in Medellín: 19 Tips to Save Money
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We provide a guide to saving money in Medellín. We provide 19 tips to save money that can help to reduce your cost of living in Medellín.
The low cost of living is an advantage of living in Medellín for foreigners. One of the benefits of being an expat living in Medellín is that there are many surprisingly cheap things in Medellín compared to the costs found in North America or Europe.
Since I have been living in Medellín for over eight years, I frequently get asked about the cost of living and how to save money. Also, Medellin Guru readers ask questions frequently about how to save money.
We provide a guide to saving money in Medellín with 19 tips to save money. These tips can help you reduce your cost of living. These money saving tips are based on my experience living over eight years in Medellín.
This article was updated to add a section and update some other sections.
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Premium Content: Pros and Cons of Sabaneta: A Popular Town for Expats Near Medellín
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Sabaneta is becoming more popular for expats living in Medellín. We provide a comprehensive guide to Sabaneta for expats looking to live in Sabaneta.
Sabaneta is unlike Medellín. The pace is slower in Sabaneta and more laid-back compared to Medellín’s modern and more energetic feel. Several Medellin Guru readers have asked questions about Sabaneta. So, we provide this comprehensive guide to Sabaneta.
Sabaneta feels more like small-town Latin America. There are many high-rises in Sabaneta. But you’ll find friendly people and life with an old-fashioned, Spanish-colonial feel. And you can even see horses on the streets at times.
Much of the daily life in Sabaneta is centered around Parque Sabaneta, which is a one square block plaza that is filled with trees for shade. In addition, this park is surrounded by several small restaurants, bars and shops.
Sabaneta has become increasingly popular with foreigners looking for an alternative. Property rentals in Sabaneta can be cheaper than in El Poblado, Envigado or Laureles-Estadio.
In this article we look at the pros and cons of Sabaneta, as a place for expats to live.
This article was updated with updates to some of the sections.
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Premium Content: Pros and Cons of Laureles: A Popular Neighborhood for Expats in Medellín
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Laureles is popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín, We provide a comprehensive guide to Laureles for expats looking to live in Laureles.
Laureles-Estadio has many areas with tree-lined streets and much fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado. Also, Laureles is primarily a residential neighborhood.
Laureles is experiencing more foreigners moving there due to better walkability and lower costs than El Poblado. If you are looking for a more walkable neighborhood than El Poblado you should check out Laureles.
Everybody has their own unique neighborhood requirements and tastes. There isn’t a “one size fits all” answer. Best to spend time in several neighborhoods to find the one that is right for you.
This article was updated with updates to several of the sections.
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How to Obtain a Colombia Retirement Visa – 2021 Update
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Colombia’s retirement visa is intended for retired persons receiving a retirement income. This retirement visa is relatively easy to get with a low-income requirement and only a few documents needed.
Medellín in particular in Colombia is gaining a reputation as a top foreign retirement location.
At the current exchange rate, the retirement income requirement for a Colombia retirement visa has dropped to $702 USD at the exchange rate of 3,884 pesos to USD,
The visa agency we partnered with has helped 173 Medellin Guru readers obtain Colombia retirement visas including 6 in October.
This article was updated again with the current retirement income requirement in USD for the Colombia retirement visa with the current exchange rate.
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How to Obtain a Colombia Investment Visa – 2021 Update
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The Colombia investment visas are intended for foreigners who make an investment in Colombia. We provide a 2021 update with recent visa changes. And these visas are relatively easy to get once you have made an investment in Colombia.
The visa agency we partnered with has helped 24 Medellin Guru readers obtain investment visas and has helped several readers open businesses in Colombia.
This article was updated with the current investment visa requirement in USD for the Colombia three investment visa options at the current exchange rate.
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Thanksgiving: How to Celebrate Thanksgiving in Medellín
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Thanksgiving is a holiday in the U.S. that isn’t celebrated in Colombia. But for foreigners in Medellín we show how to celebrate Thanksgiving in Medellín..
Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the U.S. that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. In 2021, this holiday is on Thursday, November 25. This holiday in the U.S. has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions but is also celebrated as a secular holiday.
However, it is possible to celebrate Thanksgiving in Medellín and we look at ways for foreigners to celebrate this holiday in Medellín.
This article was updated with information about Thanksgiving meals at restaurants in Medellín on November 25.
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Coronavirus in Colombia: Myth vs Reality – Current Status
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Coronavirus in Colombia: what is the current status in Colombia? We look at statistics and measures in Colombia to minimize the threat of COVID-19.
Daily Summary for November 17:
- +2.257 new cases
- +47 reported deaths
- +44,856 COVID-19 tests
Totals:
- 5,038,544 cases
- 13,933 active cases 0.28 percent of total
In addition, very notably the rolling average of daily coronavirus cases in Colombia has now dropped in 102 of the past 139 days in a row.
This very popular article was updated each day in the past week with current coronavirus case counts and locations in Colombia.
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Spanish Phrase of the Week
With Medellin Guru's partnership with the Spanish School OLSA International we now plan to include a Phrase of the Week in our weekly newsletter.
Medellin Guru
Needs Your Support!
Jeff the founder of Medellin Guru
Medellin Guru has existed now for nearly four years without advertising and is primarily the work of Jeff and his Colombian wife.
The founder Jeff with his Colombia wife and baby
Medellin Guru really needs the help of Readers this month, particularly after the continued DDoS attack, which required adding DDoS protection. It only costs as little as $3 per month to subscribe via Patreon and have access to everything.
Save 15 Percent on Annual Subscriptions to our Premium Content
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Medellin Guru now offers annual subscriptions on Patreon for access to our premium content. Save 15 percent compared to the regular monthly rate for a limited time.
If you are a current monthly subscriber to Medellin Guru, you can upgrade TODAY to annual and save 15 percent!
This discount was popular with readers in past months so we brought it back until the end of November.
You can choose to pay for Patreon on an annual basis instead of monthly. It’s a great way to show your support of Medellin Guru. And in return you’ll get a discount of 15 percent when you do.
In addition to reducing transaction fees, you’ll help us create quality content faster and reduce the chance your credit card declines in the future.
By asking for help from our readers to remain ad free, we already have over 920 paying subscribers (patrons). Thanks everyone!
It only costs as little as $3 per month to subscribe via Patreon and have access to everything.
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Support Medellin Guru!
Buy Medellin Guru a Coffee
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Readers you now can “ Buy Medellin Guru a Coffee” to support Medellin Guru. Medellin Guru needs the help of readers to remain ad free with no sponsors .
Many readers have asked for the ability to make a one-time donation instead of an ongoing Patreon subscription. So, we have a way for readers to make one-time donations.
You can buy just one coffee for only $3 USD (or you can buy more then one coffee, you can enter how many coffees at $3 USD each).
Medellin Guru has helped thousands of foreigners over the past 3.5 years. And we absolutely would hate to add advertising. Also, we would like to add staff to help with the growing site.
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See Our Weekly Medellin Events Calendar for November 18 to November 24
Medellín Events: Weekly Medellín Events Calendar with Top Events
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We provide a curated list of weekly Medellin events if you are looking for something fun to do in Medellín. Our popular weekly update covers events from November 18 to November 24, 2021.
We decided to include in our calendar this week the regular weekly events that are canceled so readers will know which weekly events were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
We may start to see some events being scheduled later in September. So, bookmark this page that is updated weekly so you don't miss any events.
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Medellin Guru Newsletter Sponsors
The weekly Medellin Guru newsletter now has sponsors. We currently have seven sponsors for our weekly newsletter:
- Darrell and Diana Reamer
- Mark
- Mike
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, see our article about Medellin Guru on Patreon with our different membership levels.
Join the Medellin Guru Events & Discussion Forum
31 months ago we launched the Medellin Guru Events & Discussion Forum, which is very active with over 3,590 members.
This Facebook group is intended for the followers of Medellin Guru and other expats and readers interested in sharing experiences and ideas about living in Medellín and visiting Medellín and Colombia.
In the past 31 months, over 960 events have been posted in this group as well as over 3,500 other posts, which are categorized. The following are the most popular categories of posts:
- Healthcare - 925 posts
- Colombia News - 861 posts
- Expat tips - 830 posts
- Travel in Colombia - 467 posts
- Visas - 384 posts
- Restaurants - 323 posts
- Things to See and Do - 301 posts
- Transportation - 249 posts
- Venezuela News - 195 posts
In addition, this group is actively moderated with absolutely no real estate ads permitted unlike other Medellín Facebook groups.
Follow Medellin Guru on Social Media
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We are always looking for feedback and we are happy to answer questions. So, if you have suggestions for articles or the website or have any questions, please reply to this email.
Best regards,
Jeff and the team at Medellin Guru
P.S. If you are a new subscriber you can see all the previous Medellin Guru newsletters here:
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See: Medellin Guru Newsletters
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