The March 2020 Medellin Guru meetup event will take place on Monday, March 30, at 6 pm at Mercado de Sabaneta, which is located in Sabaneta near Parque Sabaneta.
The Medellín Guru meetups are the largest monthly events for foreigners in Medellín. We have held 18 events and over 175 people on average attended each of our last 14 monthly meetups.
Many readers of the Medellin Guru website asked that we host meetups in Medellín. So, we started having meetups in Medellín 1.5 years ago. And we are having our 19th monthly meetup on March 30, 2020.
We previously held 12 meetups in El Poblado, two meetups in Envigado and three meetups in Sabaneta and one in El Centro. Many readers asked that we don’t only host our meetups in El Poblado and asked us to also host events in Envigado, Laureles and Sabaneta.
In March 2020 we are having our fourth event in Sabaneta. And unfortunately we haven’t yet found a venue large enough for our events in Laureles.
For our March 2020 Medellin Guru meetup, we are returning to Mercado de Sabaneta in Sabaneta, which is a new gastronomic market with many food options and a large space for mingling.
March 2020 Medellin Guru Meetup Date: Monday, March 30, 2020 at 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Also, you can come early to avoid traffic. We will be there starting at 5:00 pm.
Location: Mercado de Sabaneta, Calle 70Sur # 43A-47, Sabaneta
EDITORS NOTE: This event is now canceled due to Colombia ruling that events can have no more than 50 people due to coronavirus.
Free Beer!
We will have a free beer available for our March 2020 Medellin Guru meetup for our first 75 guests at Mercado de Sabaneta.
So, the first 75 guests to arrive will receive a free beer, courtesy of Mercado de Sabaneta.
Mercado de Sabaneta, near Parque Sabaneta
Please RSVP for our March 2020 Medellin Guru Meetup
Our March 2020 Medellin Guru meetup is a good way to network and meet other expats living in Medellín or visiting Medellín. So, join the Medellin Guru staff, readers and friends for food and drinks at Mercado de Sabaneta.
If you plan to attend, please RSVP so we know how many will show up on March 30. There are four ways to RSVP:
- On Facebook. To RSVP on Facebook you will need to be a member of our Medellin Guru Events & Discussion Forum. RSVP on Facebook Also, a new Facebook “feature” – to show that you are “Going” to the Medellin Guru meetup, you need to click on the “Interested” button twice for the “Going” button to show up.
- In the comments below, you can RSVP by simply leaving a comment.
- On Meetup.com. We have a Medellin Guru group on Meetup.com. RSVP on Meetup.com
- Also, you can RSVP via our Medellin Guru Contact form.
Also, attending meetups is one of 13 best ways to meet friends in Medellín as an expat. Please invite your friends to our January 2020 Medellin Guru meetup and like and share the event on Facebook!
There is no entrance fee required to attend Medellin Guru meetups (unless you are a vendor) and no membership is required.
In addition, at this meetup you will have the opportunity to meet Jeff, the founder of Medellin Guru. So, you can recommend topics for articles you would like to see on Medellin Guru.
Get Your Visa, Legal, Health Insurance and Real Estate Questions Answered!
Some of the most frequently asked questions on the Medellin Guru website have been about visas, health insurance, healthcare, Colombian taxes, legal issues and real estate.
So, for our events we invite experts who will be there to answer your questions. We had over 20 experts at our February 2020 event.
For our meetup in March 2020, we are inviting several experts who can answer your questions about visas, health insurance, legal issues, dental, apartment rentals, investments and real estate. Also, we invited several other experts who can answer other types of expat questions.
For our March 2020 event, so far we have confirmed the following experts:
- Real Estate questions: real estate agents from the RE/MAX Coffee Realty company will be there and can answer real estate questions.
- Renting apartments questions: Diana Ortega will be there and she has helped many foreigners rent unfurnished apartments in Sabaneta.
- U.S. Veteran questions: Veteran’s Service Officer (VSO) Danilo Bryan will be at the meetup and can help U.S. veterans with healthcare issues such as filing claims. And has the Healthcare Colombia office in Sabaneta.
Medellin Guru Meetup Sponsors
- Darrell and Diana Reamer
- Anonymous
Inside Mercado de Sabaneta
More About Mercado de Sabaneta
Mercado de Sabaneta is one of the newest gastronomic market in the Aburrá Valley, which has a collection of about 15 restaurants and bars in a warehouse located near Parque Sabaneta in Sabaneta.
This new food market opened in July 2019. And it has already become popular. Mercado de Sabaneta has several small format restaurants with a big variety of cuisines available.
At this food market, food is purchased at the small format restaurants. And food is eaten at several bar-height and several lower tables, which are cleaned quickly and efficiently by the staff. Also, there are some TVs for watching sports.
There currently is a total of about 15 food and drink places at Mercado de Sabaneta. So, there will be big selection of food available at our March 2020 meetup.
Food options include traditional Colombian, gourmet hotdogs, Mexican, pizza, steaks, sushi and much more. Also, there are two floors in this large food market with space for over 280 people.
For our meetup, we will be primarily meeting on the second floor in a large space with high tables making it easier for mingling. But there is also space available on the first floor.
Metro buses at the Sabaneta metro station
How to Get to Mercado de Sabaneta
The easiest way to get to Mercado de Sabaneta in Sabaneta is using the Medellín Metro. To get there take the Line A metro to the Sabaneta metro station, which is only 10 minutes from the Poblado metro station.
Mercado de Sabaneta is located about a block and half from Parque Sabaneta. And Parque Sabaneta is located about a 10-minute walk east from the Sabaneta metro station. In addition, there are many people walking on the streets to/from the metro station. So, it’s relatively safe during the day and even after dark – but not too late.
Mercado de Sabaneta is located a block and a half from Parque Sabaneta
In addition, there is a taxi stand at the Sabaneta metro station, which normally has taxis available and the taxi fare to Mercado de Sabaneta is only about a minimum fare of 5,600 pesos.
Furthermore, any taxi driver in Medellín will know where Parque Sabaneta is located. Also, it’s normally pretty easy to catch a taxi at the park.
To the right of this church go east one and a half blocks to get to Mercado de Sabaneta
To get to Mercado de Sabaneta from Parque Sabaneta go to the right of the Igelsia de Santa Ana church at the park. Walk to the right of the church and go east a block and half and Mercado de Sabaneta will be located on the right.
Address: Calle 70Sur # 43A-47, Sabaneta.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/mercadodesabaneta/
Hours: Sunday to Thursday: 12:30 pm to 10:00 pm; Friday and Saturday: 12:30 pm to 11:00 pm.
At the September 2019 Medellin Guru event at Mercado de Sabaneta with over 150 attendees
Photos from Our Previous Medellin Guru Meetups
We had over 150 attendees at our September 2019 meetup at Mercado de Sabaneta and over 160 attendees at our December 2019 event at Mercado de Sabaneta.
Also, we have averaged over 175 attendees at each of our past 14 monthly meetups, which makes them the largest monthly events for foreigners in Medellín.
In November 2019, we hit a record of over 210 attendees for our event at 20Mission Cerveza in El Poblado. And in February 2020 we had over 200 attendees at our event at Mercado De La Playa in El Centro. In addition, we expect another good turnout in March 2020 in Sabaneta.
Here are are three photos from our November 2019 event:
Over 210 attendees were at our November 2019 event at 20Mission Cerveza
At our November 2019 event. There is a wide range of ages at our events including people in their 20s to over 60.
At the Medellin Guru November 2019 meetup at 20Mission Cerveza
The Bottom Line: March 2020 Medellin Guru Meetup at Mercado de Sabaneta
In response to demand from readers, Medellin Guru is hosting our 19th Medellin Guru meetup at Mercado de Sabaneta in Sabaneta on March 30.
This meetup is a great way to meet other expats in Medellín. It’s also a good way to get your questions answered from several experts we invite to the meetup and also from experienced expats at the event who have been living in Medellín for many years.
Also, a free beer is available at our January meetup for the first 75 guests, courtesy of Mercado de Sabaneta.
In addition, about 20 months ago we launched the Medellin Guru Events & Discussion Forum on Facebook for readers to keep up with our events and enable discussions between readers. This group already has over 2,250 members and is very active with over 1,500 posts, comments and reactions in the past month.
Furthermore, we added a Medellin Guru group on Meetup.com to enable following our events. And we looked at 9 reasons to join this new Medellin Guru group.
Many readers of the Medellin Guru website asked that we start having Medellin Guru events and also provide a discussion forum for readers. So, we now have both.
Sign up for the Free Medellin Guru Newsletter – You can see all of the previous Medellin Guru weekly email newsletters and sign up here.
Editors note: updated event on March 16, 2020 to show that this event is canceled. Colombia ruled on March 16, that events in Colombia can have no more than 50 people.