r/medellinsocial

First time to Colombia. What are the things you should know if you are dating somebody in Medellin?

Is it better at this point to just avoid Medellin? I keep reading so many negative comments/stories, yet it seems like people keep going back. What is this? Some type of Stockholm syndrome where people keep getting abused by the city, yet they keep going back for more?

I’m 23 M, 5’6 living in the US , from Italian decent, on the looks scale I get often that I am an 8/10 face wise. Even though I’m definitely on the shorter side, I haven’t struggled with women in the US. (East coast)

To be perfectly honest, I’m just looking to meet real women and have fun. Not looking for a wife, just temporary. Looking to get my numbers up but in a natural sort of way. I’m cool with the whole “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” mentality that many say women have out there. I’m just not willing to pay for play directly.

What is your success OR not success with pulling women at the clubs in Medellin? I get that a lot are prostitutes looking to rob you but how about normal freakin women that are just into foreigners in Medellin? Is that not a thing??? Should I just go to Cali or Cartagena instead?

A lot of advice for foreigners in Medellín seems to focus on El Poblado, Laureles, Envigado, and other relatively affluent areas.

Medellín is obviously much bigger than the richer neighborhoods, and plenty of locals live in estrato 1 and 2 areas.

So I’m curious: is there any real reason a foreigner couldn’t comfortably live in an estrato 1 or 2 neighborhood?

Would the main concern be safety? Transportation? Being noticeably foreign? Lack of certain amenities? Or is the idea that foreigners should avoid lower estrato neighborhoods exaggerated?

The cost of living in Medellín has changed quite a bit over the past few years, so I’m curious what people consider a comfortable monthly income in 2026.

Not just enough to survive, but enough for a reasonably comfortable lifestyle. By this I mean decent apartment, groceries, eating out occasionally, transportation, entertainment, gym, dating/social life, and still having some money left over to save.

Obviously this depends heavily on lifestyle and neighborhood, so I’m curious about different perspectives.

One thing I’ve noticed about Medellín is that people often seem to put a lot of effort into their appearance.

You see people dressed well even for relatively casual situations, gyms are extremely popular, and beauty and cosmetic procedures seem to be a noticeable part of the culture.

How much does appearance actually affect the way people are treated socially here?

Does being attractive or well dressed influence who people want to date, befriend, invite places, or even how they treat you in everyday situations?

And is Medellín noticeably more appearance conscious than other Colombian cities?

Something I’m curious about when it comes to dating in Medellín is when financial help normally enters the relationship.

I understand paying for dates, especially if you invited the other person. But what about helping with things outside the date itself?

Rent, groceries, transportation, school expenses, phone bills, emergencies, or helping their family.

Is that something Colombians commonly do once a relationship becomes serious? Or would most people consider requests for money early in dating a red flag?

For example, if you’ve only been seeing someone for a few weeks and they ask you to help with their rent, is that culturally normal, or does that have nothing to do with Colombian dating culture?

I’ve noticed something interesting whenever foreigners talk about local friends asking them for money.

A pretty common response is some version of: “Stop hanging out with poor people.”

That made me wonder how friendships actually work among Colombians in Medellín.

Do people generally make friends across different economic backgrounds and estratos, or do social circles tend to form among people with similar incomes and lifestyles?

For example, would someone from an affluent family in El Poblado commonly have close friends from much poorer neighborhoods? Or would that be relatively unusual?

And do Colombians actually consider someone’s neighborhood or estrato when deciding who they socialize with?

I’m curious about the social norms around money and friendship in Medellín.

I’ve heard several foreigners say that after becoming friends with someone here, they eventually start getting asked to pay for things, lend money, cover bills, or help with some unexpected expense.

What I’m wondering is whether this is actually common among Colombians too.

Do Colombians regularly ask their friends for financial help, or does the dynamic change when the friend is a foreigner?

Obviously there’s a difference between your close friend of 10 years asking to borrow money during an emergency and someone you met a few weeks ago expecting you to pick up the tab every time you go out.

Where do people here generally draw that line?

And for foreigners living in Medellín, have you ever felt like a friendship gradually turned into an expectation that you would financially help the other person?

Hi folks,

I have stayed in Medellín as a single dude. I liked the weather, culture, public infra in Medellín.

Wife and I are looking for places to stay for an extended period of time this fall and winter. 4-6 months. Primarily to escape winter secondly to take advantage of a self sponsored sabbatical. The outer suburbs of Medellín are a contender since I know the place relatively well.

The biggest concern I have is about childcare. We'd like to know the ins and outs of part time child care for a 5 month old. How do you hire one? Are there reputable agencies? What are the charges? What are people's experiences? We'd like the provider to speak in Spanish and don't have much demands other than meet the baby's needs as the primary provider.

I searched the sub and didn't see any posts related to childcare, have my question.

For people who have dated in Medellín, what caught you off guard when you first started?

Could be something positive or negative about dating expectations, who pays, communication, jealousy, social media, meeting family, how quickly relationships progress, dating apps, differences between neighborhoods or social classes, etc.

And for Colombians: what do you think foreigners misunderstand most about dating here?

Blessings

I'm interested in learning English comprehensively and effectively, regardless of time or money. I've heard of two academies, SMART and ULA. Are these academies really good, or are they scams?

Which one would you recommend if they are good options?

I don’t hear earthquakes mentioned nearly as much as crime, traffic, flooding, or landslides when people talk about risks in Medellín.

But after the earthquake today, it got me wondering how common this actually is. Colombia is a pretty seismically active country, but earthquakes aren’t something I normally hear people discussing when talking about living in Medellín.

For those who have lived here for a while, how often do you actually feel earthquakes?

Was today’s unusual, or is feeling an earthquake every once in a while just a normal part of living here?

Most recommendations for visitors seem geared toward short trips, where El Poblado is usually the default.

But if you were staying in Medellín for 1–6 months, where would you choose?

Laureles? Envigado? Sabaneta? Belén? El Poblado? Somewhere else?

I’m thinking about things like walkability, groceries, restaurants, Metro access, noise, safety, rent, and whether the neighborhood actually feels comfortable for everyday life.

Where would you stay long-term, and which neighborhoods would you avoid?

Medellín is so expensive to the point that I need a side hustle (or maybe a main hustle).

I’m 6’3”, slightly muscular build, face slays, decent teeth, and willing to walk around soliciting, let’s say, “services”. Plus, I would never scope a person. Hell, I don’t even know what scope is!

I would imagine that most of my clients would be older women and that’s fine. But if I must, I will do what must be done to a younger one as well. 

Some questions I have thought of:

Also, if a foreigner comes to Medellín and pays for my services, does that make them a sex tourist?

Does sex tourism only count when it’s foreigner on local action?

Will I be getting taken advantage of?

The Colombian peso is increasingly stronger than the US dollar so I want to get some that dinero colombiano. 

Medellín is often described as an affordable city, but prices have changed quite a bit over the past few years.

What has surprised you the most? Rent? Coffee shops? Restaurants? Nightlife?

What’s something that used to feel like a bargain but doesn’t anymore?

Every time drug tourism comes up in Medellín, the majority of the criticism is directed at foreign visitors.

At the same time, Colombia is the world’s undisputed leader in cocaine production. The country has to be on at least 6 peat by now.

Why do you think so much of the local discussion focuses on foreign drug tourists rather than on the people and criminal organizations that produce and traffic the drugs?

¡Hola! Acabo de llegar a Medellín 😊

Llegué hace aproximadamente una semana para empezar una nueva etapa de mi vida y todavía estoy intentando conocer la ciudad y hacer nuevas amistades.

Estos días he pasado bastante tiempo encerrada y me he dado cuenta de que necesito salir, conocer lugares y, sobre todo, conocer gente. Así que pensé: ¿por qué no preguntarlo directamente?

Tengo 28 años y soy mujer. Me gustaría conocer personas para salir a caminar, tomar un café, conocer algún lugar de Medellín, hablar de cualquier cosa, jugar algo, ir a una biblioteca o simplemente parchar y pasar un rato agradable.

No busco nada romántico ni tengo expectativas raras; simplemente me gustaría empezar a construir una pequeña red de amigos en la ciudad. 😊

Si alguien también está buscando conocer gente nueva, puede escribirme por aquí o por DM. Toda recomendación de lugares para conocer gente también es bienvenida! 🫶