City of Eternal Spring - Medellin : One way ticket to Paradise

Due to its proximity to the Equator, one would expect Colombia’s climate to be subtropical. One season – hot and humid the whole year around. And it is. It is hot and it is humid but only in some parts of the country. Near the Caribbean Sea. It is also true there is only one season, at least with regard to temperatures, however, the vast majority of the country experiences different one-season seasons. Which season a specific town/region experiences depends entirely on its elevation. For Colombia is a mountainous country, thus despite its subtropical location the climate varies – the higher you climb the cooler and less humid it gets.

The towns are so much associated with seasons they represent they are nicknamed after them. Cali, for example, is the town of never-ending summer where the temperatures differ during the year as much/little as one degree. Bogota must be the town of ever-lasting autumn with daily rains, low temperatures, and overall miserable existence. People refer to weather in Bogota as “shitty”. Medellin, on the other hand, is the town of eternal spring. Never cold, never too hot nor too humid. Climate paradise for those who come from less temperate latitudes, like North America or Europe. And they come, and come, and come. In thousands.

Medellin story is currently one of the most successful stories in making. In a matter of only a few years, it has transitioned from the Escobar stronghold to industrial stronghold, from Medellín Cartel city to most innovative city of the year, from the most dangerous city in the world to the best place to retire in 2017, from the “murder and kidnapping capital of the world” to expat paradise. Today Medellin is premiere retirement heaven attracting retirees from all over the world.

And it isn’t only Medellin that is super hot today. The whole of Colombia is undergoing the renaissance. The country is off the list of most dangerous countries in the world. In fact, it has been ranked by The New York Times as the second, out of 52, destination to visit in 2018. What a transformation What an accomplishment.

Why Medellin?

Expats list many benefits of living in Medellin, like affordable prices, high standard of accommodation, security, direct flights to the US, super modern metro but the biggest of them all is… climate. Expats come to Medellin primarily for its climate.

Is the climate really so great?

Hmmm. Not really, not if you ask me. But I only stayed 10 days. Your mileage may vary though. It was neither hot nor cold, not even humid. Just like the expats love it. Why didn’t I? The temperature was very comfortable. Warm spring. Warm but rainy spring which I didn’t mind all that much, however; it was also almost always very gray which I didn’t like one bit. Not sure if the sky was gray because of the surrounding mountains or because of the pollution which is pretty bad. Whatever the reason, the sun was practically invisible hiding behind the clouds. And, if it wasn’t raining it looked like it would rain any minute.

Medellin, the city

Medellin is the second-largest city in Colombia with a population of 2.5 million inhabitants, almost four in the metropolitan area. Generally, the town is safe. As anywhere else, there are pockets that are less safe (or even dangerous no-go zones), as well as there are pockets that are very safe, even after dark – like El Poblado.

Sadly, I didn’t give Medellin much of a chance. After my bad experience in Bogota, I had no desire to do Escobar tour, exploring El Centro or any other area for that matter and stayed in El Poblado during the entire time. In addition, my visit coincided with Easter which emptied the town from all its buzz. The town (El Poblado) was almost deserted.

El Poblado is home to most of the expats living in Medellin. Subsequently, it is also the priciest section of town. Even so, it is still very affordable. You can find an all-inclusive room for 300 USD a month, small apartment for the double plus utilities. Most of the buildings are high raised towers overlooking the mountains built according to the Western standard with lovely views and swimming pools. The neighborhood is walkable full of grocery stores, restaurants, bars, and clubs.

So why not?

There is only one answer. I couldn’t find any beach in Medellin, not that I was expecting one in the mountainous landscape. This is it. My dream destination is a beach community. Like Cartagena? I am just about to find out. I am finally on my way to Cartagena, the magic city that “lured” me to Colombia in the first place. Fingers crossed. 😉

p.s. Medellin is a really great place. So, if you don’t care much for the beaches you may like to give it a chance.