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Medellin metro train The pride of Medellin is their public transportation. You can ride all day on the metro for 50 cents, and this includes riding the cable car up the side of the moutain. The system is spotlessly clean and all the people cooporate to keep it that way. They have so much pride in their city.

Medellin Free Transit

Inexpensive Public Phone Public telephones are really inexpensive. In Medellin they do a lot for the poor. In the super market they sell a bag of groceries for $8 that includes the necessities of life to sustain the poor for up to one week. Also of course the public transportation at very inexpensive prices.

Problems in the USA Once again vacation time is over and its time to re-enter the real world. This time I kind of like what I see. Americans are bebinning to travel abroad again and business at Latin Lifemates is picking up. Who knows maybe with a little luck we can return to the glory days of old. Things on the home front are not so good. Real estate prices have reached a peak that I consider unsustainable. School enrollment in S. Florida for the first time in history dropped this year and this tells me that it is simply too expensive for families to live here anymore. My restaurant employees must live multiple people to an apartment or house and teachers, fireman, etc must live 20 or miles from Ft Lauderdale and commute to work daily as its just too expensive here. The marketplace here is over run with speculators who are buying at inflated prices, usually pre-construction and they will attempt to "flip" the property when it is completed and make a nice profit. I see disaster ahead in the real estate market. .

Florida after Hurricane Wilma Living in the US can get boring as life is easy here. Living in Colombia is different, it involves changes in your lifestyle, you are learning something new every day, and the women here are like a breath of fresh air, they make you feel young again. Now Florida is battered by hurricanes, six in a 12 month period touched down causing massive economic damage and a lot of human suffering. I am convinced now that I need a change. I have lived in Ft Lauderdale for over 30 years and most of these years were good years but I don't like what I am seeing now so how about Colombia ?? The thought is appealing. I have always enjoyed travelling there but vacations are always fun and then I would return home. Living there full time would mean that I must learn the Spanish language and this will be difficult for me. I am in the 4th quarter of my life so I decide to go for it - after all the worst thing I could do is nothing and my home city of Ft Lauderdale is too crowded now and way too expensive so why should I stay there any more when there are other options. OK I have talked myself into making the big move to Colombia.

Moving to Colombia I begin to sell off my real estate holdings and I am still able to get fair market prices especially for the commercial office spaces and the restaurant. I feel fortunate. I keep one small storefront as I have a long lease and the tenant is excellent All of my banking problems appear to be solved. All my US Income is deposited into one of my 2 accounts. This money can be used in Colombia to pay my expenses there. As its so economical to live in Colombia I expect a positive cash flow. In the US I sell my car and cancel the insurance. I have no bills to pay in the US now except for : Sales tax to the state of Florida for the rental storefront that I did not sell, Federal income tax to uncle Sam, renewal subscriptions to magazines I will continue to read in Colombia to keep up with things back home. This isn't so hard so I am getting closer to leave.

I signed up for Social Security and they will deposit my money directly into my bank account so thats all set. I sold the office building where LLM was headquartered since 1990 and sold my apartment. These notes to me will be paid directly into my checking account at the bank. Other US income will go into the bank account directly each month. I have 2 debit cards now, one from each bank account and so in Colombia I can go to the omnipresent bank terminals and get 1,000,000 pesos from each card or a total of about $820 per day cash from my accounts. I go online daily to check my account balances. My bank also allows me to pay bills from Colombia, I simply contact them from here and they will issue a check and mail it to the person of my choice.

I find a shipper in Miami who specializes in shipping to Colombia and all I need to do is pack my things and get them to him and they will deliver to my doorstep in Colombia. The cost to ship all of my personal items was less than $1000. I believe about 50 cents per pound. The government of Colombia welcomes newcomers and gives you a break on one shipment of your household items to Colombia. Now I am ready to move to Colombia 16 years after my initial visit. Time to reflect a little. Going to Colombia in 1990 was the smartest thing I have done in my life. it opened a whole new perspective on life. The people in Colombia and the life there is so different than living in the US. As a result of my trip to Colombia I was married and had I not gone there I am certain that I would have been single my entire life in the US. The marriage, raising 2 good kids, and the bonus of 2 grandchildren was my reward and now I will probably spend the rest of my life in this wonderful country.

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