Post: #1

I've been in Fortaleza, Brazil for the last two months with various weekend trips to smaller town. I just bought a ticket to Cali and will be arriving in two weeks.

Lodging - I booked a place for two months on airbnb that had great reviews, looks nice and is located next to parque del perro. I'm paying a little over $1,000 USD per month for the place. After reading more about living costs I think I may be getting fucked here. Anyway, thoughts on location and my price would be appreciated. I can probably get a portion of it back if I cancel.

Safety- honestly any tips would be appreciated.I know to use uber and easy taxi. I know not to walk alone at night. Any other practical advice?

I know a little Spanish but honestly just enough to order off a menu, hit on girls, etc. I'm not fluent by any means. This is my first trip to Colombia, although I'm somewhat well traveled in South America.

Anyway, thoughts \ suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks.

Post: #2

(01-31-2016 08:15 PM)cmoneyt8ker Wrote:  I've been in Fortaleza, Brazil for the last two months with various weekend trips to smaller town. I just bought a ticket to Cali and will be arriving in two weeks.

Lodging - I booked a place for two months on airbnb that had great reviews, looks nice and is located next to parque del perro. I'm paying a little over $1,000 USD per month for the place. After reading more about living costs I think I may be getting fucked here. Anyway, thoughts on location and my price would be appreciated. I can probably get a portion of it back if I cancel.

Safety- honestly any tips would be appreciated.I know to use uber and easy taxi. I know not to walk alone at night. Any other practical advice?

I know a little Spanish but honestly just enough to order off a menu, hit on girls, etc. I'm not fluent by any means. This is my first trip to Colombia, although I'm somewhat well traveled in South America.

Anyway, thoughts \ suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks.

I'm in Cali now and will be here in two weeks so get in touch when you arrive and I'll show you around, RVF member 20nation will be arriving here in ten days so we can all meet up. $1000/month is on the high side but not outrageous, it should be pretty nice though for that price, hopefully it has AC because its been really hot here lately in the low 30s (90+F) everyday but Cali gets a nice breeze from the Pacific coast after 4pm and the nights are nice. I'm staying in a simple but nice apartment in a great location in Granada and its costing me about $350 USD per month but there's no AC and I've been sweating my dick off all day.

Parque Del Perro is a nice spot, I hang out there sometimes, a good place to have supper and a few drinks, probably best to go from 7-11pm before hitting up bars in a more lively area like la sexta or Granada. Its a decent date spot and all girls will know it but you may find yourself spending a lot of money on taxis (they're cheap but can add up quick) to go to other popular day and night spots such as Chipichape mall or el penon.

Don't worry to much about safety if you stick to the nicer places in the north, just don't be stupid, a friend of mine and fellow RVF member was recently drugged (scolplamina) by two skanks he brought home from a club in Menga.

Post: #3

I just checked and it does not have air conditioning. He said no cancellations so I may just have to suck it up for a month. Any recommendations on somewhere to work during the day that has WiFi and Ac?

Chalk it up to the newbie tax I guess...

Thanks for the detailed reply. I sent you a PM.

Post: #4

Scotian:
When I went to La Sexta, there were tons of girls there, but they were all ugly. Some guy approached me on the street and I knew he was some kind of scammer, but I let him go on for a while, just because I wanted to talk to someone. It took him about three minutes for him to try to sell me drugs and for me to tell him to go fuck himself. Did I miss out on La Sexta or is it not that great of a place?

Post: #5

(01-31-2016 09:18 PM)cmoneyt8ker Wrote:  I just checked and it does not have air conditioning. He said no cancellations so I may just have to suck it up for a month. Any recommendations on somewhere to work during the day that has WiFi and Ac?

Chalk it up to the newbie tax I guess...

Thanks for the detailed reply. I sent you a PM.

Buy a high powered fan, preferably a used one. Problem probably solved.

Post: #6

(01-31-2016 09:18 PM)cmoneyt8ker Wrote:  I just checked and it does not have air conditioning. He said no cancellations so I may just have to suck it up for a month. Any recommendations on somewhere to work during the day that has WiFi and Ac?

Chalk it up to the newbie tax I guess...

Thanks for the detailed reply. I sent you a PM.

Damn, well hopefully it has a pool. There's some places in Parque Del Perro that'll have AC, if not there's a cafe in Centenario mall that I like to go to and the entire mall has AC, its a bit of a hike though, maybe 20 minutes for you. I also go to the Colombo-Americano centre in Granada to read sometimes, their AC is great.

(01-31-2016 10:07 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  Scotian:
When I went to La Sexta, there were tons of girls there, but they were all ugly. Some guy approached me on the street and I knew he was some kind of scammer, but I let him go on for a while, just because I wanted to talk to someone. It took him about three minutes for him to try to sell me drugs and for me to tell him to go fuck himself. Did I miss out on La Sexta or is it not that great of a place?

La sexta is a bit of a dump, its glory days were definitely back in the 90s when all of the narco cash was floating around, it could use some serious investment. Its a decent spot for lunch or supper, there's quite a few people on it at night but you'll run into some hookers (trannies closer to calle 26), drug dealers and other assorted riff raff. The only place I like going to on la sexta is El Viejo Barril (there's actually two but the one calle 15 is better), it attracts a lower end crowd but has a nice terrace on the street and you'll see groups of single women there and the booze is cheap. I go there from about 10-12, then hit up a classier joint in Granada until 2 then head over to Menga if I'm having a big night out.

You're much better off walking three blocks north to 9th avenue in Granada, which is a block from my place, up near the Hooters. Actually Granada has improved quite a bit since I was here last year, there's a new modern food court called "Container Park" which, as the name suggests, is made up of shipping containers. There's another very classy restaurant on calle 15N between avenida 9 and 9N called Faro Solar, I see lots of classy people and hot women in there when I walk by, its packed on Saturday. A few blocks away is Mister Wings, which is decent and the couple of beer spots across the street have lots of young people drinking in the evenings. Then there's Bourbon Street which has decent live music and seems to attract a few gringo hunters, I was there the past two nights.

Menga is a mixed bag, I'm not a huge fan of the indoor clubs and have only hit up Lola's (bring girls) and two other ones which I can't remember the name. I usually go to Cafe Mi Tierra which is really big, it has 4 dance floors and one is on a large terrace. There is no cover or dress code there so it does attract a greasier crowd, which sometimes includes groups of chicks with dicks and other riff raff, I was there last night and my buddy started talking to a chick who ended up being 16 so I guess they don't check IDs either. Its also the place that my other RVF buddy met two skanks who drugged and robbed him a few weeks ago. The reason I like it is because it has the big terraces and I don't feel enclosed, I'm paranoid about being in a club down here that catches on fire, if you've ever seen a group of Colombians lining up to take a bus or get off a plane, you'll know what I mean, its complete pandemonium!

Post: #7

Maybe I'm getting old, but sweating my balls off in Cali no longer appeals to me. Too much bullshit to deal with and not enough positives to overcome it.

Post: #8

^There's a heat wave going on all over the country and some areas have droughts, the city has been cutting the water off in Cali from 11pm until 5am, apparently it was 30C (86F) in Bogota last week, a record breaking temperature.

Here's a photo of RVF member Atlantic after he spent ten minutes outside in Bogota:
[img][/img]

Post: #9

(01-31-2016 11:16 PM)GlobalMan Wrote:  Maybe I'm getting old, but sweating my balls off in Cali no longer appeals to me. Too much bullshit to deal with and not enough positives to overcome it.

I thought so too, but no so much because of the weather. Barranquilla is hotter, but I like the overall vibe of the women better, economic opportunities and it is safer than Cali.