Daily Life
Cost of living, renting apartments, healthcare, insurance, internet, medications, hiring help, delivery apps, and the unwritten rules of daily life in Colombia.
Cost of Living
Real monthly costs for rent, food, transport, and utilities across six Colombian cities.
Read guide →Renting Apartments
Unfurnished is the norm. Airbnb first, then walk for signs. Watch for deposit scams.
Read guide →eSIM & SIM Cards
eSIM is difficult without a cedula. Physical SIM options from Claro, Movistar, and Tigo.
Read guide →Healthcare
EPS is cheap but slow. Prepaid medicine through Sura or Colsanitas costs $80-150/month.
Read guide →Insurance
SafetyWing and Genki for international coverage, plus local EPS enrollment.
Read guide →Internet
Claro fiber, ETB, Tigo options, coworking spaces, and typical speeds by city.
Read guide →Bringing Medications
Invima rules for prescription drugs, controlled substances, and local pharmacy alternatives.
Read guide →Hiring Domestic Help
Labor laws, prestaciones sociales, minimum wage, contracts, and ARL obligations.
Read guide →Delivery Apps
Rappi dominates. iFood, Domicilios.com, Uber Eats, and tipping culture in-app.
Read guide →Tipping Culture
Propina voluntaria at restaurants, porteros, parking attendants, and when not to tip.
Read guide →Grocery Shopping
Carulla, Éxito, D1, PriceSmart, plazas de mercado, and where to find US products.
Read guide →Buying & Selling Real Estate
No MLS, multi-agent listings, the valor-escritura tax-avoidance custom, foreign-buyer Form 4 paperwork. Honest overview.
Read guide →Buying Real Estate
Promesa → escritura → ORIP. Closing costs 4-7%. Banco de la República Form 4 for foreign buyers — do not skip it.
Read guide →Selling Real Estate
Ganancia ocasional 15% if held 2+ years, 1% retención at notary, and the math on the valor-escritura custom.
Read guide →Real Estate Agents & Listings
No MLS, same property listed by 3-5 agents at different prices, commission 3-5% paid by seller. How to navigate.
Read guide →Real Estate Scams & Pre-Purchase Checks
Title fraud, hidden encumbrances, fake agents, tenant-in-place. The mandatory CTL + paz y salvo checklist.
Read guide →Settling into Colombian Life
Daily life in Colombia runs on a different set of assumptions than what most North Americans and Europeans are used to. Apartments come unfurnished and landlords want a guarantor. Healthcare is two-tier — public EPS is cheap but slow, private prepaid medicine is fast and affordable. Internet is fiber-optic in cities. Rappi delivers everything from groceries to hardware store items to your door.
The cost of living is genuinely low, but it depends heavily on where you live and how you live. A comfortable lifestyle in Medellin or Bogota costs $1,200-$2,000 USD per month including rent. Cartagena and Santa Marta are cheaper for housing but more expensive for imported goods.
The guides below cover the practical details that take most expats months to figure out on their own. Read them before you arrive and you will skip the frustrating trial-and-error phase.