[emh]

Hey guys -

So I've been hanging out in Medellin, Colombia for the past two months and will be probably moving on soon. I'm realizing that I really want to live close to the ocean, still in South America. I also prefer living in a mid-sized city, about 500,000-1 million people. These are a few cities that I know of that meet my general requirements, though I've never been to any of them:

Colombia
Santa Marta
Cartagena
Barranquilla (not sure if this is on the ocean)

Peru
Trujillo

Chile
Valparaiso/Vina del Mar

Uruguay
Montevideo

Anyone have any thoughts on any of these cities as places to live? Or have any other ideas for places that would fit my criteria - SA, on the ocean, mid-sized?

Thanks!

[Ajiaco]

Knowing only the ones in Colombia, my vote is for Barranquilla. Cartagena is great for tourism, but I don't think I would want to live there. Santa Marta could be nice for living, it's definitely laid back.

But my vote goes to Barranquilla. The big beaches are maybe a half hour or so away from where you would be living, and if you are really into taking a swim every day then Santa Marta might be better. But Barranquilla has such a strong culture and party scene, and the women there are pretty hot and cheerful. And Carnaval is coming up, I mean seriously, you know a city has some fun loving people when they put on a party like that.

[Dash Global]

Santa Marta is a good choice. Great beaches, short distance from Barranquilla and Cartagena.

[speakeasy]

Vina del Mar and Valparaiso are beautiful. Unfortunately I only had one day to spend there but it's a great place. However I would probably choose Montevideo over the Chilean towns. It's like Buenos Aires but smaller and way more chill, kind of like the way San Diego is to Los Angeles. Montevideo and Vina del Mar and two of the most livable cities in Latin America so you'd be good with either.

[emh]

Cool, thanks for the responses everyone! Anyone else have any opinions???