Cost of living, renting apartments, healthcare, insurance, internet, medications, hiring help, delivery apps, and the unwritten rules of daily life in Colombia.
Real monthly costs for rent, food, transport, and utilities across six Colombian cities.
Read guide →Unfurnished is the norm. Airbnb first, then walk for signs. Watch for deposit scams.
Read guide →eSIM is difficult without a cedula. Physical SIM options from Claro, Movistar, and Tigo.
Read guide →EPS is cheap but slow. Prepaid medicine through Sura or Colsanitas costs $80-150/month.
Read guide →SafetyWing and Genki for international coverage, plus local EPS enrollment.
Read guide →Claro fiber, ETB, Tigo options, coworking spaces, and typical speeds by city.
Read guide →Invima rules for prescription drugs, controlled substances, and local pharmacy alternatives.
Read guide →Labor laws, prestaciones sociales, minimum wage, contracts, and ARL obligations.
Read guide →Rappi dominates. iFood, Domicilios.com, Uber Eats, and tipping culture in-app.
Read guide →Propina voluntaria at restaurants, porteros, parking attendants, and when not to tip.
Read guide →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.