While the digital nomad community keeps growing, some cities become more popular among digital nomads. One city that has been running on top of this list is Medellin. The South American city has been attracting a lot of digital nomads the last couple of years. Today we want to share with you what makes this fast-growing city so desirable among digital nomads. So, if you are deciding on your next destination, keep reading. Maybe Medellin will be your next stop!

Why so many digital nomads choose Medellin, Colombia

More and more digital nomads

Thanks to technology, more and more people are able to work from different parts of the world nowadays, without having to settle down in one place. This is also why digital nomads have become so popular. These are people that work online, and therefore, they are able to travel the world. Now, more than ever, living the life of your dreams and following your passion is not only a dream life anymore. There are so many digital nomad jobs (https://www.exciting-adventure.com/10-digital-nomad-jobs/) that one can do, and if you don’t find the right one for you, just create it! With a laptop in your bag and internet connection, you are able to earn money from wherever you want. And when you have so much freedom, deciding on a city can be a challenge.

Why Medellin?

This is a question that can’t be answered that easily. There are many reasons why Medellin is rising in popularity, and we will talk about them in just a second. But first, Medellin is still nowadays often associated with a city full of crime and has still a bad reputation among a lot of people. This reputation comes from the days of Pablo Escobar, but as Narcos shows, he is not there anymore. The city has been turned around since his death, and now Medellin has become a common travel destination in South America. It is also considered one of the safest big cities in South America as well as the most innovative. Now it is time that we start giving you reasons why so many digital nomads choose Medellin.

Why so many digital nomads choose Medellin, Colombia

1. The amazing weather all year around

This is probably the thing that people love most about Medellin and one of the most characteristic things about the city. The weather in the city is pretty much the same all year round, with an average temperature of 22ºC. During an average day, temperatures can vary between 15º and 28ºC. This makes it the perfect weather since it is not too cold but not too warm. That is why the city is also known as “the city of eternal spring”. That is why in Medellin you can forget about air conditioning or heating. There is no need for any of that. What Medellin does have is rain. At least during the rainy season, it rains almost every day. The good thing it is usually for no more than 1 or 2 hours, and then you are good to go again.

2. Good internet connection

For digital nomads, having good internet is one of the most important things. The Internet is the thing that allows us to be able to live that lifestyle, therefore it needs to be good. The internet in Medellin is pretty reliable, and most places nowadays have a 10 to 20 Mbps connections. But in some building, there are speeds up to 100 Mbps available.

3. Cost of living

Medellin is a very affordable city, and that is also probably one of the reasons it is so popular within the digital nomad community. Prices for rent vary depending on the neighborhood, location and your willingness to share an apartment or not. Prices can start at 250$ for a room in a shared apartment, or around 400$ for a studio in a good area, such as Envigado. If you want to live in El Poblado o Laureles, prices will be a bit higher. There is something for every budget, rents can also go as high as 3000$ a month and also high over 4000$. Still, prices are very affordable and the standard of the apartments you get is according to western standards.

Why so many digital nomads choose Medellin, Colombia

4. The digital nomad community

If you keep moving all the time, life as a digital nomad can get lonely. But this is less likely to happen in Medellin. The city has a huge digital nomad community, which is also very active. There are meetings every week, sometimes you can find 3 or 4 a week. This gives you chance to connect with other digital nomads and make new friends. It is also a great way to find like-minded people and share your stories. The digital nomad community in Medellin is also a very supportive community. You will not only meet awesome people, but you will also learn along the way. You can join Facebook groups such as Digital Nomads Medellín or Medellín Expats to find out about this events and connect with people. Who knows, maybe you can not only make friends but also find new business opportunities.

5. The timezone

For people with clients in the USA, this is a big plus. While other destinations such as Thailand also attract many digital nomads, the good thing about Colombia is that it is in the same time zone as the eastern time. This means that you will be able to be far away from home but still will have the same time as your clients do. Having the same time zone can be a huge benefit and will avoid misunderstandings due to time difference or you have to wake up at weird hours to be able to speak with your boss or client.

6. There are a lot of Cafés

Let’s face it, we are digital nomads and we love to work in cafés. If you are one of those digital nomads then Medellín is definitely a place for you. Medellin is full of cafés, and a lot of them suited or aimed to digital nomads. I spend my time in Laureles and found some wonderful cafés to work from, such as Café Revolución, Caffe Zepellin or Encuadrarte. The good thing about the cafés in Medellin is that they are full of people working, which gives you a great work environment, and the proper amount of motivation.

Why so many digital nomads choose Medellin, Colombia

7. Co-working spaces

Medellín has not only a lot of cafés to offer but also a lot of co-working spaces. So for the ones that prefer co-working in working spaces, you will find enough of them around. I didn’t go to any co-workings since I love the cafés in Medellín. But from friends, I heard that some good ones were “La Casa Redonda” in Laureles or “Selina” in El Poblado.

8. Great tourist visas

One of the biggest downsides to the digital nomad life is probably having to handle with all the visa stuff. While moving you will find places where you have to apply for the visa before entering the country, others you can get on arrival and for other places, you won’t need anything other than your passport. Colombia offers great visas for tourist.  A lot of countries, as in my case Spain, don’t need to apply for a visa in advance. When you enter the country you get a 90-days stamp. If you wish to stay more than 90 days you can extend your visa for another 90 days. You will have to pay a fee for the extension.

Why so many digital nomads choose Medellin, Colombia

 

9. The central location

For the ones that like to get away over the weekend or take a short vacation from their workstation, this city is great. Medellin has a pretty central location, which will allow you to move easily, or as easy as it gets, around the country. With a country as bio-diverse as Colombia is, you will want to discover it. What better than being centrally located to doing so?

10. You can drink tap water

While I am not used to drinking tap water, since in Spain you can’t drink it everywhere, this was still great for me. Coming from Ecuador where we had to buy bottles of water all the time, or filter the water, it felt great to just go to the tap and drink. It not only saves you money but also time and strength from having to carry all those bottles all the way home.

11. Fruit juices, food, and coffee

You can find all types of food options in Medellin, from western to local to Asian food. Whatever you fill like you can probably find. Food prices vary a lot depending on the type of food you want and where you eat it. For lunch, you can find very cheap food in form of a daily menu, or Almuerzo. These menus include usually a soup, a main dish with rice, meat and salad, and juice. Prices start at 2,50-3$ for an almuerzo. The juices in Colombia are probably one of my favorite parts. In such a bio-diverse you can find a lot of fruits you would never find at home, some of them just delicious. For coffee lovers, this is also a great place. Living in the country with the best coffee in the world you will be able to enjoy it every day.

Why so many digital nomads choose Medellin, Colombia

Are you convinced yet?

I gave you 11 reasons why I think that Medellin is a great city and a great place for digital nomads. We left Medellin, but for sure we are planning to go back. The beautiful city is not only great for digital nomads but clean and safe. It is a perfect mix of having a good work environment while having a relaxed experience and plenty of things to do in your free time.


About the authors:

Why so many digital nomads choose Medellin, ColombiaWe are Carla and Oliver and together we run Exciting Adventure. We left our lives in Berlin to travel and explore the world. We became nomads by doing so and now we are on our way to become digital. You can follow our journey on our blog, where we give useful tips so that you can do the same. We believe that everyone should do what they love, and for us, it is easier as digital nomads. You can also follow us on our social media channels Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Why so many digital nomads choose Medellin, Colombia

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