Welcome to the 219th weekly Medellin Guru Newsletter.
We Published No New Articles in the Past Week due to Attacks on the Website
6 Popular Articles From the
Medellin Guru Archives
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. |
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Cuts of Beef: A Comprehensive Guide to Cuts of Beef in Colombia
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We provide a comprehensive guide to cuts of beef in Colombia. Colombian cuts of meat can be difficult for foreigners to understand so we provide a guide.
it can be difficult for foreigners to understand the different cuts in Colombia. it can be difficult for foreigners to understand the different cuts in Colombia. The butchers in Colombia typically won’t speak much English.
So, you will need the Spanish names for the cuts of meat you want to order. Our guide should make it easier for foreigners buying meat in Colombia.
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Parque Tayrona: A Guide to Tayrona National Natural Park
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Parque Tayrona, also known as Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona (Tayrona National Natural Park), is a popular national park in Colombia located along Colombia’s Caribbean coast that is known for its beautiful beaches and biodiversity..
Parque Tayrona includes 150 square kilometers of land and over 30 km of coastline. The park boasts in excess of 60 mammal species as well as 400 species of birds, in addition to countless reptiles and amphibians. It’s a very biodiverse area with two ecosystems between coastal mountains and the sea
Medellin Guru readers have asked about popular Colombian desserts. So, we looked at 17 popular Colombian desserts.
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12 Popular Colombian Soups to Try When You Visit Colombia
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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.
Colombians seem to love their soups, as much as they love their rice. If you are visiting Colombia, get ready to make soup a regular part of your diet.
Colombia has some delicious soups and we look at 12 of the most popular Colombian soups in this article.
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12 Best Steakhouses in Medellín With Good Steaks – 2021 Update
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Steaks are popular in Medellín and we look at 12 of the best steakhouses in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley with very good steaks, updated for 2021. All these steakhouses are good places to go on special occasions..
In the United States, we’d call these places steakhouses, but here in Colombia and South America they are known as a parillas, restaurants where grilled meats are served. All these restaurants specialize in steaks but they all have some other things on the menu.
Here is our list of the 12 best steakhouses in the Medellín and the Aburrá Valley updated for 2021, which includes steakhouses in Medellín and the nearby municipalities of Envigado and Sabaneta. My Colombia wife collaborated to select these 12 best steakhouses.
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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 Seven Months
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The popular Medellin Guru blog in Colombia has now been under attack for well over seven 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 several weeks.
Due to attacks intensifying the past few weeks, we sometimes had to turn of access to Medellin Guru from the U.S., Canada or the UK where the majority of attacks are coming from. This is temporary and will be turned back on when attacks drop.
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.
16 Top Mistakes Tourists Make When Visiting Colombia
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Colombia is an up-and coming travel destination in the world with tourism increasing each year until the coronavirus pandemic hit. We look at 16 top mistakes tourists make when visiting Colombia.
f you are planning a trip to Colombia, congratulations, Colombia is travel destination growing in popularity for a very good reason with an amazing diversity of beaches on two coasts, mountains, the Amazon and much more.
In this article, we look at 16 top mistakes tourist make when visiting Colombia. Note, my Colombian wife helped create this list from what she and her friends have seen. And this list is in no particular order.
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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 1,090 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 2021! In August, September, October and early November 2021 we helped over 125 new clients. And since March 2019, we helped a total of over 1,090 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 370 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 16 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 148 weeks we updated a total of 2,142 articles. Here are 6 of the 16 updated articles from the past week:
Premium Content: Living Cheap in Medellín: 17 Tips for Living Cheaper in Medellín
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Living cheap in Medellín is possible. The low cost of living is an advantage of living in Medellín for foreigners and we provide 17 tips for living cheaper in Medellín..
We provide 17 tips for living cheap in Medellín, which helped us to drop our cost of living in Medellín substantially over the past two years.
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 with updates to several sections and added two sections
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Premium Content: Why Sabaneta is the Second Most Popular Neighborhood in Medellín
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We look at 10 reasons why Sabaneta has become the second most popular neighborhood for expats living in the Medellín metro area.
Sabaneta has become more popular for expats living in Medellín. Sabaneta is unlike Medellín. The pace is slower in Sabaneta and more laid-back compared to Medellín’s modern and more energetic feel.
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 our latest list of best restaurants in Sabaneta and added a section and updated a few other sections of the article..
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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 $691 USD at the exchange rate of 3,947 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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Medellín Taxi Guide: Fares and Tips for Using Taxis – 2021 Update
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We provide a comprehensive and up-to-date Medellín taxi guide with new 2021 taxi fares and tips for foreigners for using taxis in Medellín.
Starting in December 2021, Medellín is increasing taxi fares in the city. The last time fare increase was in December 2019. Even with this taxi fare increase in December 2021, the taxis in Medellín are very inexpensive compared to the taxi fares found in North America or Europe.
With Resolución 202150176143 of 2021, the Secretaría de Movilidad in Medellín increases taxi fares in the city effective in December 2021. The previous time before this that taxi fares were increased in Medellín was in December 2019.
This article was updated with new yellow taxi fares for Medellín that are effective in December 2021.
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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 23:
- +2,478 new cases
- +50 reported deaths
- +43,410 COVID-19 tests
Totals:
- 5,052,733 cases
- 13,673 active cases 0.27 percent of total
In addition, very notably the rolling average of daily coronavirus cases in Colombia has now dropped in 108 of the past 145 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 25 to December 1
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 25 to December 1, 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 3,600 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 32 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 - 931 posts
- Colombia News - 861 posts
- Expat tips - 843 posts
- Travel in Colombia - 474 posts
- Visas - 390 posts
- Restaurants - 328 posts
- Things to See and Do - 308 posts
- Transportation - 251 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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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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