We chose Colombia because A is a Colombiana, we have numerous relatives here, there is great natural beauty that we want to live in, and we can afford it.

Here are some comparisons based our 6 Cs. They don’t include health care but should. Canada’s health care system is in trouble. Adriana lost her doctor years ago and there are simply not enough. The government is attempting to revise the health care system in Colombia, but we’ve found it good in its current state, too. Back to the 6 Cs:

1. Climate

Pleasant year-round and likely to remain so. 

Climate is getting hard to predict because it is, well, changing. Worse, it’s changing much faster than the majority of climate scientists predicted. Wildfires, floods, hurricanes, rising seas. Not enough rain in some areas and too much in others. Rain at the wrong time. Diseases of all kinds spreading, from malaria (kills 2.7 million per year, mostly children) to Covid (~2.2 million per year). Crop failures. Etc. All that stuff that Al Gore said would happen in the Inconvenient Truth is now happening.

When it comes to our changing climate, ultimately no place is safe. Victoria and Vancouver Island were thought to be stable, but BC now has a ‘smoke season,’ and that smoke is very toxic. There was a deadly heat dome a couple of years ago. There were floods that washed out every highway connecting BC to Canada. Presumably all that will get worse as time goes by.

I noticed that Costa Rica was starting to get hit, too, though apparently the El Niño on top made things worse last year. It was 1-2C hotter all across Costa Rica last year, in a place that is already hot. They are also having water problems – lots of building happening but not enough water for everyone. Regular outages to save water were becoming common in some areas. And wildfires were becoming more common and larger.

The areas we’re checking out in Colombia do not have these problems. The climate has been disrupted. People who have lived here for decades comment on it – it’s a bit hotter, the rains have changed and are now sometimes very heavy. So far, though, nothing like the changes experienced in BC. Scientists have said that northern latitudes will warm more quickly, and therefore change more quickly.

The Coffee Axis is not subject to hurricanes or tornadoes. It gets plenty of rain so everything has evolved to handle it. Same as everywhere, temperatures and temperature extremes are increasing, but the change is much less here than in Canada. Wildfires are a growing problem, but not the areas we’re looking.

The climate in the Coffee Axis is typically high teens at night, high twenties in the day, plus or minus. (Some parts are much cooler and have cloud forests, but we’re not going there.) That sounds pretty good to us.

On Climate, the areas we’re lookng in Colombia have a year-round comfortable climate that is unlikely to change significantly in the near and medium terms, e.g. during Brian and Adriana’s lifetimes and we hope during our children’s lives.

2. Crime

Reasonably safe and likely to remain so.

Colombia is obviously more dangerous than Canada, though to be fair, most of the danger is to certain people in certain neighbourhoods who are involved in crime. And, to be realistic, crime rates here are lower than many US cities where we feel perfectly safe. As you can see from the table below, Cali has 35 times the murder rate of Victoria…but that is still less than New Orleans.

{Looking at the table, you may wonder why Trump and the Republicans go on about the violence in ‘Democrat cities.’ They’re lying. I looked at other cities and actually cities in Republican areas are more violent.]

We are looking at places in the Coffee Axis. This area has historically been the safest in Colombia and apparently continues to be so. At the top end of the Coffee Axis is Medellin, a top-ten retirement destination for many years now, partly because it’s safe for a big city – safer than many US cities. The smaller cities that we’re looking near are even safer. More on them in future posts!

3. Cost

We can afford property and housing, and to create a business.

I’ve discussed this in other posts – it’s the main reason we’re retiring outside Canada. Costs of most things in Colombia are significantly less, including the most expensive necessities like housing and food. You can rent a very nice three-bedroom apartment in a Strata 6 barrio in Cali for under $1000 CAD per month. You can rent a perfectly decent one in a safe Strata 4 neighbourhood for half that: $500.

Of course, we want to buy a country property suitable for a retreat and also something in a walkable community, close to healthcare, etc. (We’re not getting any younger.) We spent years looking in or near Victoria and halfway up Vancouver Island looking for a family/retreat property, and there was simply nothing we could afford.

Land prices vary widely in Colombia, but we have found places in the Coffee Axis that we can afford, for example 5 hectares with a small but nice house for COP 540,000,000 (CAD $186,000). There’s a much larger ~18 hectare farm with house for COP 380M (CAD $131,000). Price per square metre seems to vary with how close to town the place is.

Prices in the Coffee Axis cities and towns can be quite reasonable, too. They can also be quite pricey, but there are very nice apartments and houses for far less than are available in BC! Here are some examples:

• Modest 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom house, 160m2 (1700 square feet), asking COP 140M ($48,000 CAD)
• Up/down duplex with a total of 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, 159m2 each (1700ft2), asking COP 290M ($99,600 CAD)
• Most expensive home for sale in Armenia: Luxury 10 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 1500m2 (16,000ft2!) asking COP 7.5B ($2.600,000 CAD)
• Very average 3-BR/1-BA condo, 62m2 (667ft2). Asking COP 110M ($38,000 CAD)
• Nice 3-BR/2-BA condo with some views, 116m2 (1250ft2). Asking COP 300M ($103,000 CAD)
• Most expensive condo in Armenia: Views, 4BR/5BA, 305m2 (3300ft2). Asking COP 2.65B ($911,000 CAD)

For comparison, condos in Victoria start around $400,ooo for a shoebox. Modest houses sell for close to $1 million.

4. Community

There is an existing, like-minded community that we can join and help. Like-minded means tolerant of all but the intolerant.

This is a big gap. We have some family in Colombia. In Victoria we had family and friends close by. We would have to rebuild a community from scratch, and that is no small thing. It’s not normally something you want to do at our age, when you already had a great community.

5. Contribution

We can create a business that supports everyone and contributes to making the world better in the way we want.

The retreat was the original plan, but with Navide not interested we’re refining how that would look. Because Colombia is a developing country, there are many opportunities.

6. Close as possible to family

This is a tough one. Family in Victoria is a long way away. Family here would be a five-hour drive away if we end up in Manizales. Navide are in Switzerland. We’re definitely up in the air on this category.

7. City nearby

Similar in size (350,000) and character as Victoria was when Adriana and Natalia arrived would be nice, and must also have progressive institutions like a university or seat of government  – they bring progressive culture and good food and walkable. Big business will not do that. Cali is too big for us.

8. COVID, Pandemics, Wars, Oh My

Covid is going to be with us until someone develops a permanent vaccine or one that can block transmission. Nasal sprays that stop you from even getting Covid if you inhale the virus are currently being tested. Because Covid got into the animal population, we will never eradicate it. And sadly some people cannot get vaccinated due to reactions, infirmities, simply too young, or they’ve been brainwashed by the anti-vaxxers.

I (Brian) don’t really want Covid again. It gives you respiratory symptoms but “It seems most likely that it is what we call a vascular and neurologic infection, affecting both nerve endings and our cardiovascular system.” And Long Covid is no joke and can lead to permanent disability. What that CDC article does not mention is that the odds are roughly 1 in 10 of getting Long Covid each time you get Covid. So, I really don’t want to get it again. Covid roulette is not a fun game.

It’s much easier to avoid Covid and all airborne diseases in a place with a pleasant year-round climate. Most restaurants have patios, for example, which are often more pleasant than the air-conditioned dining room anyway. Malls tend to be very open, meaning lots of ventilation. Everywhere else you can take your chances or slap on a mask. There will be more pandemics before my time on this Earth is through, assuming I last another 20 years.

There are other things that could again disrupt world trade and tourism, like another pandemic or Covid getting more lethal, trade or military wars, and so on. For all these and other reasons, we want a property where we can have some space and grow some food, and probably run some trainings or retreats one day. Things grow in the tropics year-round, things like avocados, mangos, papaya, corn, coffee, and so on.

Links to sources:

Homicide rate per country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

Homicide rate for Cali: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_homicide_rate

Homicide rate for Victoria: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3510007101

Homicide rate for NYC and Atlanta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_New_York_City#:~:text=As%20of%202023%2C%20New%20York,violent%20cities%20such%20as%20St.

Homicide rate for Medellin: https://www.medellinadvisors.com/crime-in-medellin-data-update-2023-mid-year/#:~:text=Homicides%20are%20a%20crime%20of,per%20100%2C000%20inhabitants%20in%20Medell%C3%ADn.