Compared to what I have read about Thailand or Vietnam, Medellin has a long way to go before getting "ruined". And even Thailand, with all of its sex tourism and foreigners about, sounds pretty cool still.
People on this forum may be a little more adventurous than average, and we don't realize that the vast majority of people in developed countries still think Colombia is a violent dirt-poor hellhole. I was just talking with a European guy the other night who works in the tourism biz here, and he was frustrated about how hard it was to motivate people with dough to travel to Colombia. The tourism infrastructure is still not very developed, and there is nothing like Macchu Picchu here to draw in the tourist hordes.
That being said, there is nowhere to go but up. Investment could work out here, I am still figuring out how and where to do it myself, but the culture is a LOT to learn about and navigate, and the bureaucracy here is still heavy. Potential is everywhere, but being able to capitalize on a good idea here is harder. It is certainly not like China, where you can just throw caution to the wind and dive right in. Things rarely move from point A to point B in a straight line here.
As far as the girls, I tend to agree with your general ideas. Colombian girls will just get agringada in the US, and you can totally tell when someone has even spent just a couple of years abroad; there are much more sassy attitudes from those girls. I have known quite a few guys who fell in love here, and they are generally pretty happy with their lives. Family is king, and parties are almost an obligation here, so daily life and marriage are a lot less stale here. People have a local community that keeps life full of events and connections, unlike the common couple in the US that stops hanging out with friends and pops mom and dad in the nursing home, and is generally isolated socially. The social fabric makes life much richer and and warmer here. But you gotta be into it, and you have to know that Colombia is gonna be your thing.
Also, I see hardly any fat people here. I can go a week or two without seeing someone I would call obese.
People on this forum may be a little more adventurous than average, and we don't realize that the vast majority of people in developed countries still think Colombia is a violent dirt-poor hellhole. I was just talking with a European guy the other night who works in the tourism biz here, and he was frustrated about how hard it was to motivate people with dough to travel to Colombia. The tourism infrastructure is still not very developed, and there is nothing like Macchu Picchu here to draw in the tourist hordes.
That being said, there is nowhere to go but up. Investment could work out here, I am still figuring out how and where to do it myself, but the culture is a LOT to learn about and navigate, and the bureaucracy here is still heavy. Potential is everywhere, but being able to capitalize on a good idea here is harder. It is certainly not like China, where you can just throw caution to the wind and dive right in. Things rarely move from point A to point B in a straight line here.
As far as the girls, I tend to agree with your general ideas. Colombian girls will just get agringada in the US, and you can totally tell when someone has even spent just a couple of years abroad; there are much more sassy attitudes from those girls. I have known quite a few guys who fell in love here, and they are generally pretty happy with their lives. Family is king, and parties are almost an obligation here, so daily life and marriage are a lot less stale here. People have a local community that keeps life full of events and connections, unlike the common couple in the US that stops hanging out with friends and pops mom and dad in the nursing home, and is generally isolated socially. The social fabric makes life much richer and and warmer here. But you gotta be into it, and you have to know that Colombia is gonna be your thing.
Also, I see hardly any fat people here. I can go a week or two without seeing someone I would call obese.