The guide we wish
we had before moving
to Colombia
Visas, banking, neighborhoods, cost of living, and everything else that nobody explains until you are already here. Based on direct experience, not secondhand travel advice.
Guides by topic
We organized this the way we needed it when we moved: by problem, not by category.
Most read Visas
Pension visas, digital nomad visas, marriage visas, investor visas, and the cedula de extranjeria process. Each one broken down with current fees, required documents, and realistic timelines.
6 visa guides →
Safety
No dar papaya, common scams, and getting around by taxi, Uber, InDriver, and public transit.
3 guides →
Money
ATM networks, opening accounts as a foreigner, Wise transfers, Nequi, paying bills, and taxes.
5 guides →
Daily Life
Cost of living by city, SIM cards, paying utility bills, internet providers, healthcare, and insurance.
10 guides →
Cities
Honest takes on 10 cities and regions: neighborhoods, barrios, estratos, festivals, and cost of living.
10 city guides →What you need to figure out
The checklist nobody gives you before you move.
Visa type
Pension, digital nomad, investor, marriage — each has different income requirements and timelines.
Where to live
Medellin is not the only option. Ten cities, ten different lifestyles and price points.
Bank accounts
You cannot open a Colombian bank account without a cedula. Here is what to do instead.
Monthly budget
A couple can live well on $2,000/month in most cities. Bogota and Cartagena cost more.
Health coverage
EPS is cheap but slow. Prepaid medicine is fast but costs $80-150/month per person.
Safety basics
No dar papaya. Learn the phrase, learn the mindset, and you will be fine.
We moved here. Then we wrote it down.
Every guide on this site comes from direct experience: the visa appointments at Cancilleria, the bank account runaround at Bancolombia, the moment you realize Nequi is more useful than your US debit card.
We are not a travel blog. We do not sell courses. We built this because the information we needed was scattered across Facebook groups, Reddit threads, and outdated forum posts from 2019.