Here’s my take on Colombia as an Expat Destination 2024 As someone who has lived in Colombia non-stop since 2013 – I have ten solid years of observations and a few thoughts on future potential as an expat destination. I want to finish with a few ideas of what I feel we can expect or hope for in 2024.

Colombia as an Expat Destination 2024

Everything could go full circle. When I came here – I got a work visa for my first year and a half, switched to tourism, then got a permanent residency visa after my son was born. At that time the exchange rate was 1,800 Colombian pesos for every US dollar. It wasn’t great, but we also didn’t have prices that were as high as they were now.

The exchange rate could continue to fall, but I don’t think it will go below 3,000 in 2024 unless there is a rapid and sudden collapse of the US dollar. If that happens, it won’t matter because all currencies will become worthless overnight. The upside is that we will all be on a level playing field and things like gold/silver and bartering could become a short term solution that one can use to leverage their position temporarily and maybe even come out way ahead later.

While the new visa requirements have made it much harder for normal “decent” (do they exist?) people to get visas, they are helping to weed out people with a criminal background, sexpats, drug tourists etc. Newcomers who want to stay must now show a background check for the previous 3 years of wherever their permanent residence has been.

2024 is the Year of the Wood Dragon

We aren’t superstitious, but it is always interesting to observe where we are on the zodiac. According to China Highlights: “The Dragon symbolizes power, nobleness, honor, luck, and success in traditional Chinese culture. The Dragon is a supernatural being with no parallel for talent and excellence.”

Will this be a good year for the economy?

What about Inflation?

Inflation is reaching unsustainable highs – not so unlike most places in the world. Colombia is still one of the most affordable as long as the dollar/euro/pound to peso exchange rate stays somewhat stable. Should the value of first world currencies hit the ground, this could have dire consequences. If that does happen, it would indicate a world wide collapse and the peso will be equally as worthless.

Long term outlook is good but you will need to weather a few storms. For people who think long term and have the assets to reinforce that – they can weather the upcoming changes. Will we see anything extreme today, tomorrow or in 2024? I would not expect that. Should a world war break out to stave off collapsing economies, we could see some major game changers come into play since Colombia as an expat destination has a massive amount of resources – including but not limited to raw earth minerals.

Colombia needs to build a winning hand and go all in!

IMHO Colombia needs to disengage from the American economy. BRIC aligned nations are coming out ahead. Especially now that we are seeing massive interruptions in not only the Panama Canal, but also the Red Sea – Strait of Hormuz embargoes which are ONLY allowing access by BRIC nation goods.

Mexico and Brazil are coming out as winners while the US/Europe/Israel are lined up to be the losers. Colombia needs to find its place with the BRICS and it may mean we need to invest in Rubles and Yuan/Renminbi type currencies while dumping US based currencies and jobs, but not yet.

The main takeaway for expats is diversity in assets, incomes, currencies and investments.

Real Estate Prices Need a Reset

Colombians need to wake up and realize that we aren’t stupid. Unfortunately, they aren’t entirely wrong either – many of us have a steep learning curve when we arrive even when it comes to simple things like taxi fares and prices on goods in the street.

The major issue I see is when Colombians are pricing real estate anywhere from one third higher to double the market price if they even smell the presence of a blue passport. A lot of serious property buyers from foreign countries aren’t stupid – especially those who have been here for a few years.

Locals are cutting themselves out of good selling opportunities by going with the assumption that foreign residents and visitors are going to pay double.

To that end I would love to see the Colombian real estate market crash so it can readjust to prices that are more affordable and realistic for people who live and earn here as well as people who are coming here with their life’s savings.

Stop Assuming Colombians Deserve Our Trust – No More “White Savior” Attitudes

Expats need to realize that Colombians are not trustworthy most of the time. Why do Colombians think Gringos are stupid? Because we keep trusting them. There are still enough people coming here feeling “sorry” for Colombians and thinking they are going to be honest and straight up with us. Others have the extra income that they simply don’t care about and go ahead with paying steeper prices, indulging beggars and falling for the lies.

Wages are a double edged sword. The lower class worker is chronically underpaid and overworked – but when someone comes along who is willing to pay extra for good work, they see us as stupid and take advantage. This is a cultural bias that isn’t going to go away any time soon – unless Colombians begin to realize that we are not as stupid as we look.

Relationships. I have written enough to fill a book about how difficult it is to have relationships with Colombians. If they are chronically dishonest in business terms, it get’s even worse on a personal level. Don’t do it. If you have found a good relationship with a Colombian, nurture it – but don’t think jumping ship for something you see over the fence is going to be as nice as it looks. 

The Bottom Line

Colombia as an expat destination is going to see some hard times in the short term. It will recuperate and probably thrive in the long term. The security situation is deteriorating along with the economy. We are seeing much higher robbery/murder/suicide/extortion rates all across the board. 

Mexico would be a great short term alternative as we see massive amounts of production moving away from China and towards central America, but – it is much more expensive to live there and more than double to get a pension visa. Many of us who are already settled in Colombia cannot afford to make that jump.

My personal response is to move to a nearby city that my family and I consider safe compared to other towns and cities around it while we wait for the storm to pass. We cannot afford to move back to the part of the US where we came from and have the same comfortable lifestyle.

If you are looking for a second option but you still can’t afford expensive destinations like Panama or Mexico – Colombia is one of the friendliest, most welcoming countries in South America. They are not openly hostile and they like to see foreigners coming here even if for selfish reasons.

I still think that Colombia as an expat destination is still the best place to be in term of exchange rate, resources like food and water and opportunities to create an amazing lifestyle regardless of budget. 

VIP Expat Lifestyle Consulting