We look at the 5 best neighborhoods in Medellín for foreigners including comparing the neighborhoods in terms of cost of living, safety and walkability and several other categories.
I have lived in the Medellín metro area for many years. During this time, I have lived in seven different barrios in the metro area. In addition, I have written extensively about renting in many neighborhoods in Medellín.
In this article, we look at the five best neighborhoods in the Medellín metro, which are the most popular with foreigners living in Medellín or visiting the city.
By neighborhoods in this article, we mean comunas of Medellín and separate municipalities in the Aburrá Valley. In Medellín, there are 16 comunas and in the Aburrá Valley there are 10 municipalities. Barrios are too small to compare.
Several Medellin Guru readers asked about the best neighborhoods in Medellín. So, we now provide a comprehensive guide to the best neighborhoods in Medellín.
Understanding Estratos in Colombia
It is very important to understand estratos when looking at neighborhoods in Colombia. Residential properties in Colombia are ranked in a socioeconomic scale, which are known as “estratos”. Estratos in Colombia run from 1 to 6, as follows:
In addition, it is important to understand that middle class in Colombia is not the same as middle class in a wealthy country like the U.S. Also, the wealthy estrato 6 in Colombia represents only about 3 to 4 percent of housing in Colombia.
The majority of Colombians live in estrato 1, 2 or 3 neighborhoods, which represents about 80 percent of the housing in Colombia. And most foreigners tend to live in estratos 3 to 6.
1. El Poblado
El Poblado is the most popular neighborhood for foreigners living in or visiting Medellín. In addition, El Poblado is considered the most upscale neighborhood in the city of Medellín.
El Poblado is where the most hotels, hostels and furnished apartments catering to foreigners are located. So, El Pobaldo is where most foreign visitors to Medellín stay. El Poblado is known as Comuna 14 and it has 22 barrios.
El Poblado is the wealthiest neighborhood in Medellín. El Poblado is primarily an Estrato 6 neighborhood with about 74 percent of the households rated at estrato 6. Also, it’s where the most expensive real estate and most expensive apartment rentals in the city tend to be located.
Most of the housing in El Poblado is located in high-rise apartments. And some of the high-rises in El Poblado have spectacular views of the city. In addition, El Poblado has some streets lined with one-story, two-story and three-story attached casas (home) located in some neighborhoods such as Manila and Provenza.
I lived in a furnished apartment in El Poblado during an early trial of living in Medellín. It didn’t take me long to determine that El Poblado wasn’t for me. I prefer to live in a neighborhood that has a lower cost of living and isn’t as westernized. No neighborhood is perfect and there are downsides of living in El Poblado.
Population: 133.8014
Best Barrios: Astorga, El Poblado, El Tesoro, La Florida, Manila, Provenza
Best Shopping: Santafé, El Tesoro, Oviedo
Best Restaurants: Barbaro Cocina Primitiva, Carmen, El Cielo, Oci.Mde
To rent: For a comfortable two-bedroom unfurnished apartment in El Poblado, you would pay an average of about 3,000,000 pesos per month ($750 USD).
To buy: New apartments in El Poblado generally cost from 4.5 million to over 10 million pesos ($1,143 to $2,540) per square meter. Existing apartments and casas in El Poblado tend to sell for between 2.8 million to 7.0 million pesos per square meter.
In general, El Poblado is the most expensive area in Medellín for renting unfurnished apartments, renting furnished apartments and buying property.
2. Envigado
Envigado is another popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín.
Most notably, Envigado is less commercial than El Poblado and it is located directly south of El Poblado. Envigado is a separate municipality from Medellín. The Envigado municipality has over 40 barrios (neighborhoods).
In addition, Envigado is primarily a residential community. So, you won’t find many hotels or hostels in Envigado like are found in El Poblado.
Envigado has many areas with tree-lined streets and it has fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado. In addition, Envigado is considered to be more of a working-class community. In Envigado, 96 percent of housing is in estrato 2 to 5 and only 4 percent is in estrato 1 or 6.
Best Barrios: Bosques de Zuñiga, El Dorado, La Magnolia, Jardines, San Marcos, Zuñiga
Population: 246,003
Best Shopping: Viva Envigado
Best Restaurants: Lucio Carbon y Vino, Lemoncillo, La tRES uno, Romero Cocina Artesanal
To Rent: for a comfortable two-bedroom unfurnished apartment in Envigado, you would pay an average of 1,900,000 pesos per month ($475 USD).
To Buy: New apartments in Envigado generally cost from 3.5 million to over 7.0 million pesos ($889 to $1,778) per square meter.
Existing apartments and casas in Envigado tend to sell for between 2.6 million to 5.0 million pesos per square meter.
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3. Laureles-Estadio
Laureles-Estadio is another popular neighborhood for foreigners living in Medellín. It has many areas with tree-lined streets and much fewer high-rise apartments than are found in El Poblado.
Also, Laureles is primarily a residential neighborhood. Laureles-Estadio is known as Comuna 11 and it has 15 barrios (neighborhoods).
Laureles-Estadio is home of Estadio Atanasio Giradot, which is the stadium where Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellin play fútbol matches. Also, near the stadium is a huge sports complex that has an Olympic size pool; basketball, volleyball and tennis courts; velodrome and many other sports arenas.
The first unfurnished apartment I rented in Medellín was located in Estadio near the stadium. Laureles-Estadio is primarily an estrato 4 and 5 neighborhood with about 99 percent of the homes rated as estrato 4 or 5.
Population: 123.185
Best Barrios: Estadio, Florida Nueva, Laureles, Suramericana
Best Shopping: Unicentro
Best Restaurants: Ammazza, Barbaro Cocina Primitiva, Delirio Exquisito, El Correo
To Rent: for a comfortable two-bedroom unfurnished apartment in Laureles-Estadio, you would pay an average of about 2,800,000 pesos per month ($700).
To Buy: New apartments in Laureles-Estadio generally cost from 5.0 million to 7.0 million pesos ($1,250 to $1,778) per square meter.
Existing apartments and casas in Laureles-Estadio tend to sell for between 3.0 million to 5.5 million pesos per square meter.
4. Sabaneta
Sabaneta is located directly south of Envigado. Sabaneta is a separate municipality from Medellín, like Envigado. Sabaneta has been booming with developers building many apartment buildings over the past several years. With all the new apartment buildings in the area there are many unfurnished rentals available.
Sabaneta has a total area of about 5.8 square miles, which makes it the smallest municipality in all of Colombia. The Sabaneta municipality has 31 barrios (neighborhoods).
Much of the daily life in Sabaneta is centered around Parque Sabaneta, which is a one square block plaza that is filled with trees for shade. In addition, this park is surrounded by several small restaurants, bars and shops.
In addition, Sabaneta has become increasingly popular with foreigners looking for an alternative. Rentals in Sabaneta can be much cheaper than in El Poblado, Envigado or Laureles-Estadio.
Sabaneta is more of a working-class community. 98 percent of the housing in Sabaneta is estrato 2 to 4. And only 2 percent is estrato 1, 5 or 6.
I currently live in Sabaneta. I have lived in Sabaneta for over three years and I hear English more and more around town as more foreigners discover this area.
Population: 89.647
Best Barrios: Lagos de la Doctora, San Rafael, Santa Ana, Vegas de la Doctora and near Mayorca mall and Parque Sabaneta.
Best Shopping: Mayorca
Best Restaurants: El Sombrero, El Viejo John, Mama Santa Parrillada
To Rent: for a comfortable two-bedroom unfurnished apartment in Sabaneta, you would pay an average of about 1,800,000 pesos per month ($450 USD).
To Buy: New apartments in Sabaneta generally cost from 2.4 million to over 5.3 million pesos ($610 to $1,346) per square meter.
Existing apartments and casas in Sabaneta tend to sell for between 1.9 million to 4.0 million pesos per square meter.
5. Belén
Belén is a neighborhood that is slowing becoming more popular for foreigners living in Medellín. Belén is located west of El Poblado on the other side of the Medellín river. Also, Belén is located south of Laureles-Estadio.
Belén is considered a middle-class area except that it has more of a blue-collar feel. Belén is known as Comuna 16 and it has 22 barrios (neighborhoods). In Belén, 98 percent of the housing in estrato 2 to 5 and only 2 percent in estrato 1.
Similar to Laureles/Estadio, in Belén you will find many tree-lined streets lined with one-story, two-story and three-story attached homes that are more difficult to find in El Poblado. In addition, Belén has some areas with high-rise apartment buildings, especially in the Loma de los Bernal barrio.
Furthermore, Belén is the comuna where I lived for over four years in three different barrios (Fatima, Loma de Los Bernal and Los Alpes)
Population: 197,593
Best Barrios: Fátima, Loma de los Bernal, Los Alpes
Best Shopping: Arkadia and Los Molinos
Best Restaurants: Chef Burger, Crepes & Waffles, El Rancherito, Pizzeria Olivia
To Rent: for a comfortable two-bedroom unfurnished apartment in Belén, you would pay an average of about 1,500,000 pesos per month ($375 USD).
To Buy: New apartments in Belén generally cost from 4.5 million to over 6.4 million pesos ($1,143 to $1,625) per square meter.
Existing apartments and casas in Belén tend to sell for between 1.9 million to 4.0 million pesos per square meter.
Choosing a Neighborhood in Medellín
Medellín has a wide range of neighborhoods and housing available. When choosing a neighborhood there are many things consider including:
- Cost to rent or buy property
- Safety
- Other costs of living
- Restaurants
- Nightlife
- Walkability and Bike-ability
- Shopping
- Traffic
A. Cost to Rent or Buy Property
The unfurnished apartment rental prices in El Poblado may be lower than in many cities in the U.S. But the rental prices in El Poblado are higher than in other four neighborhoods in Medellín.
This is due to El Poblado being primarily estrato 6 with about 74 percent of homes in El Poblado being rated as estrato 6 on a 1 to 6 scale.
In general, the cost to rent or buy property will be more expensive in El Poblado than in the other four popular neighborhoods for foreigners. Here is a comparison of the unfurnished rental prices in these five neighborhoods:
Also, furnished rental apartments are more expensive in El Poblado. We also found that furnished apartment rental costs are higher in El Poblado. In addition, El Poblado tends to have higher prices for buying properties than in Envigado, as seen above in this article.
Many of the apartment buildings in El Poblado have nice views. But other neighborhoods like Envigado, Sabaneta and Belén also have apartment buildings with nice views.
If you are interested in buying and selling Real Estate in Colombia, we recommend you to get professional advice from bilingual Real Estate Agents
B. Safety
We previously looked at the safest neighborhoods in Medellín in terms of homicides and robberies. The following tables show robbery statistics in 2023 for the comunas in Medellín and nearest towns.
Robberies Statistics in Medellin and Aburrá Valley
In the area of thefts and claims, the figures are very high. Following the SISC reports, we have the top 10 commons with the highest number of thefts in the year 2023, in which La Candelaria (Comuna 10) leads with the highest number of robberies, followed by El Poblado (Comuna 14), and Laureles Estadio (Comuna 11).
Top 10 Rates of Robberies in Medellin by Comunas
According to Medellin Major's Office & SISC
Outside the top, there are the rest of the comunas with lower robberies rates. Among them are La América (Comuna 12) with 271 robberies, Manrique (Comuna 3) with 206 robberies, 12 de Octubre (Comuna 6) with 180 robberies, San Javier (Comuna 13) with 155 robberies, Popular (Comuna 1) with 111 robberies and Santa Cruz (Comuna 2) with 80 robberies. Outside and near Medellin, the robbery rates were Bello with 4.058 robberies, Itagüi with 2.595 robberies, Envigado with 2.231 robberies, Sabaneta with 1.033, Copacabana with 708 robberies, Caldas with 549 robberies, La Estrella with 536 robberies, Girardota with 323 robberies, and Barbosa with 19 robberies.
Homicide Statistics in Medellin and Aburrá Valley
In contrast to the opinion of citizens, the Information System for Security and Coexistence (SISC) reported detailed homicide figures for the year 2023, in which La Candelaria (Comuna 10) leads with the highest number of deaths, followed by Aranjuéz (Comuna 4), and Robledo (Comuna 7).
Top 10 Rates of Homicides in Medellin by Comunas
According to Medellin Major's Office & SISC
Outside the top, there are the rest of the comunas homicide rates. Among them, Popular and Santa Cruz (Communes 1 and 2) with 14 homicides each, followed by San Javier and Guayabal (Communes 13 and 15), with 12 homicides each. With rates below 10 are El Poblado (Commune 14) with 8 homicides and La América (Commune 12) with 7 homicides. Outside and near Medellin, homicides rates were Bello with 55 homicides, Caldas with 27 homicides, Copacabana with 21 homicides, Barbosa with 19 homicides, Girardota with 15 homicides, Itagüi with 13 homicides, Envigado with 9 homicides, La Estrella with 6 homicides, and Sabaneta, with 2 homicides.
C. Other Costs of Living
Other costs of living include groceries, utilities (electricity, water and gas), Internet and TV services, dining out, medical, nightlife, entertainment and several other costs of living.
In general, El Poblado has the highest costs in the city for groceries, utilities, Internet and TV services, dining out, nightlife and other categories. The shops, restaurants, bars, and fitness centers in El Poblado tend to have higher prices than in other neighborhoods.
Prices for almost everything from groceries, restaurants, nightlife, haircare, pet services and most other services are typically more expensive in El Poblado. This shouldn’t be surprising, as El Poblado is considered the most affluent neighborhood in Medellín.
Belén and Sabaneta typically have the lowest costs out of these five neighborhoods for other costs of living in my experience living in both neighborhoods. And this is followed by Laureles-Estadio and Envigado.
D. Restaurants
El Poblado in general has a much larger variety of restaurants than the other four neighborhoods when it comes to modern, international dining. There are hundreds of restaurants of all types found in El Poblado, particularly in Parque Lleras and Provenza.
In comparison, Laureles-Estadio has more of the cheaper, traditional Colombian food options with many restaurants with inexpensive menú del día lunch specials. Also, Laureles-Estadio has a number of good restaurants – just not as many as are found in El Poblado. We previously looked at the best restaurants in Laureles.
Also, Envigado has a growing number of good restaurants – but not as many as are found in El Poblado or Laureles-Estadio. We previously looked at the best restaurants in Envigado.
In addition, Sabaneta has a growing number of good restaurants but fewer than in El Poblado, Laureles-Estadio or Envigado. We previously looked at the best restaurants in Sabaneta.
E. Nightlife
El Poblado has Parque Lleras, which is the top nightlife district in Medellín. Parque Lleras is considered the nightlife capital of Medellín. And it’s also a tourist attraction in an area known as Zona Rosa in the El Poblado neighborhood.
There are well over 100 open air restaurants, bars and nightclubs located in the streets around Parque Lleras. There are many nightclubs, playing either a mixture of Latin music genres like reggaetón or salsa, rock, electronica music and more. These tend to be upscale, pricier nightclubs.
Laureles-Estadio also has nightlife options that are more local style. Significantly less frequented by foreigners, is Calle 33 in Laureles. Another popular nightlife area is LA 70 (Setenta), also in Laureles. In this area you will find few foreigners and various salsa bars and small clubs.
Also, Belén has nightlife options that are more local Colombian style. In Belén is barrio Nueva Villa de Aburrá, which is home to La Villa. This is a horseshoe-shaped plaza that transforms daily from a stately promenade to a throng of music-loving youth that hosts music festivals and was even named by Timeout as one of the hippest neighborhoods in the world. Also, there are more nightlife options along Avenida 80.
In addition, Envigado has nightlife options that are more local Colombian style. In Envigado, there are several fondas and small discos near Parque Envigado. Fondas are bars with wooden chairs and a dance floor and also some bar food and are popular places to drink, dance and eat.
Sabaneta is similar to Envigado with nightlife options that are more local Colombian style. In Sabaneta, there are a few fondas near popular Parque Sabaneta and also in the Doctora neighborhood.
F. Walkability and Bike-ability
Walkability and bike-ability of neighborhoods are important to some foreigners. Much of El Poblado is hilly and not very walkable. For example, El Tesoro mall is located high up the hills in El Poblado and almost nobody walks from lower in El Poblado to El Tesoro.
Also, it’s about a 15-minute walk up-hill from the Poblado metro station to Parque Lleras. And it’s about a 15-minute walk uphill to the Santafé mall from the Aguacatala metro station.
If you live in El Poblado you will need to contend with the hills. But not all of El Poblado is hilly. For example, Avenida Poblado where the Santafé and Oviedo malls are located is flat and walkable. Also, the Ciudad del Rio neighborhood is flat and walkable.
Envigado is also hilly. Similar to El Poblado, as you go east in Envigado you are going up hills. But there are some parts of Enviado that are flat. For example, the area along Avenida Las Vegas in Envigado is flat. Also, similar to El Poblado it is a walk uphill from metro stations in Envigado to many of the neighborhoods in Envigado.
In comparison, Laureles-Estadio is very flat. So, it is considered the most walkable area. Sabaneta is also mostly flat with less than 30 apartment buildings located up the hills in Sabaneta to the east. So, Sabaneta is very walkable.
In addition, Belén is mostly flat except for some barrios to the west such as Loma de los Bernal. In terms of bike-ability, generally Laureles-Estatadio, Belén and Sabaneta are considered more bike-able than El Poblado or Envigado due to the hills.
G. Shopping
In comparison, Envigado has the largest mall in Colombia, Viva Envigado mall, with about 400 shops. Also, in Envigado are the smaller City Plaza mall with less than 90 shops and the Terracina Plaza with less than 70 shops.
Sabaneta has one large mall, Mayorca Mega Plaza, with about 400 shops. Also, in Sabaneta is the smaller Aves Maria mall with less than 90 shops.
In comparison, Laureles-Estadio only has the older and smaller Unicentro mall with about 270 shops and the even smaller Viva Laureles mall with 90 shops.
In addition, Belén has one Western-style mall, Los Molinos mall, with about 160 shops. Also, in Belén a new mall, Arkadia mall, is currently being constructed in the La Mota barrio of Belén across the street from PriceSmart and next to Clínica las Américas. This new mall is expected to open in late 2019.
However, keep in mind that while the El Poblado malls are larger with a wider selection of stores, they tend to have prices that are higher than can be found in other malls in Medellín.
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H. Traffic
Some of the worst traffic in Medellín in my experience is found in El Poblado. Avenida Poblado and Calle 10 tend to have bad traffic during rush hour and even during lunch hour. And it can be very difficult to go to or from El Tesoro mall up the hills in El Poblado during rush hour.
Traffic is one of the downsides of living in Medellín we previously looked at. And traffic reportedly is the biggest concern of expats living in the city.
In my over eight years living in Medellín the worst traffic in the city I have encountered has tended to be El Poblado and El Centro.
And this is followed by traffic in Envigado that has become much worse over the past few years. In comparison, Laureles-Estadio, Belén and Sabaneta tend to have less traffic. And Sabaneta is so small (only about 5.8 square miles) that you can walk many places.
I have lived over three years in Sabaneta and travel through Envigado often going to El Poblado. While traffic has increased with the growth of Envigado, I haven’t experienced nowhere near as much traffic in Envigado as I have experienced in El Poblado.
What is the Best Neighborhood in Medellín?
The answer to this question obviously depends on your priorities. Each neighborhood in Medellín or other city in Colombia has pros and cons.
If you equally weigh the eight categories in this article, Sabaneta would edge out the other neighborhoods followed by Laureles-Estadio.
But if your most important categories are availability of shopping, nightlife and restaurants, El Poblado would win. El Poblado is the most popular neighborhood for foreigner visitors. Also, El Poblado is the most popular neighborhood for expats living in the city.
But El Poblado has several downsides. So, many foreigners living in the city have decided to live in other neighborhoods in the city including Laureles-Estadio, Envigado, Sabaneta and Belén.
A majority of foreigners living in Medellín (over 80 percent) live in the five neighborhoods in this article. But I also have met foreigners living in Buenos Aires, Bello, La Candelaria (El Centro), La América, La Estrella, Itagüí, Robledo and several other neighborhoods in the city.
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Medellin Guru Blogs: Real Estate Series
On the Medellin Guru website, we have a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to buying, selling, and renting apartments and choosing a neighborhood in Medellin found in several articles, including:
Buying and Selling Apartments
- Medellin Real Estate: Property Buyer’s Guide for Foreigners
- Selling Real Estate in Colombia: A Guide to Selling for Foreigners
- Mistakes Foreigners Make When Buying Real Estate in Colombia
- Current Costs to Buy New Apartments in Medellin
- Rent vs Buy: Downsides of Renting and Buying Property in Medellin
- 13 Things Real Estate Agents in Colombia May Not Tell You
- How to Obtain a Colombia Investment Visa
Renting Unfurnished Apartments:
- Apartment Rental Guide: Renting Unfurnished Apartments in Medellin
- Guide to Finding Unfurnished Apartments and Casas in Medellin
- Guide to Overcoming the Fiador Requirement in Colombia
- Unfurnished Apartment Rental Costs in Medellin
- 6 Inexpensive Neighborhoods for Unfurnished Rentals in Medellin
- Furnishing Apartments: A Guide to Furnishing Apartments in Medellin
- Apartment vs Casa (House) Rentals in Medellin: Pros and Cons
Renting Furnished Apartments:
Choosing a Neighborhood in Medellin:
Also, we have several articles that can be used to help foreigners choose a neighborhood in Medellin:
- Laureles: The world’s coolest neighborhood for 2023 by ‘Time Out’ is in Medellin, Colombia
- What are the Safest Neighborhoods in Medellin and the Aburrá Valley?
- 5 Best Neighborhoods in Medellin: A Guide to Choosing a Neighborhood
- 9 Downsides of El Poblado: Living in Medellin’s Expensive Neighborhood
- Estratos: A Guide to Understanding Estratos in Colombia
- El Poblado vs Laureles: Which is the Better Neighborhood to Live in?
- El Poblado vs Envigado: Which is the Better Neighborhood to Live in?
- El Poblado vs Sabaneta: Which is the Better Neighborhood to Live in?
- El Poblado vs Belén: Which is the Better Neighborhood to Live in?
- 2018 Unfurnished Apartment Rental Costs in Medellin in 5 Neighborhoods Popular with Expats
- 6 Inexpensive Neighborhoods for Unfurnished Rentals in Medellin
Airbnb in Colombia:
- 9 Strategies to Find Killer Deals on Airbnb in Colombia
- 15 Things to Know Before Investing to Become an Airbnb Host in Colombia
- 10 Airbnb Best Practices for Airbnb Hosting in Colombia
- 9 Tips to Attract Long-Term Airbnb Guests in Colombia
- 7 Strategies for Airbnb Slow Season in Colombia
- How to Identify Problem Airbnb Guests in Colombia Before They Book
- 15 Ways to Increase Your Airbnb Search Rank In Colombia
- How Safe is Airbnb in Colombia? Is it Safe to Use Airbnb in Colombia?
- Airbnb Travel Itinerary for Your Airbnb Guests in Colombia
- How to Get Started on Airbnb in Colombia: A Guide
Medellin Guru’s Guide to Renting and Buying Apartments and Choosing a Neighborhood
The bottom line is you have many neighborhood choices in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley and to each his own, everyone’s priorities are different. The different neighborhoods in Medellín offer a wide range of amenities and a wide range of cost-of-living.
The five neighborhoods in this article are currently the most popular for foreigners living in Medellín and are expected to remain the most popular with foreigners.
El Poblado remains the most popular neighborhood for foreigners out of all of the Medellín neighborhoods. And El Poblado is expected to continue being the most popular neighborhood for foreigners for the foreseeable future.
However, many expats have discovered other Medellín neighborhoods besides El Poblado. I have lived in several neighborhoods other than El Poblado in over eight years living in the city.
No neighborhood is perfect and each neighborhood has benefits and downsides. Also, we recommend trying out a neighborhood on a trial basis before deciding to live there. You can easily do this by renting furnished apartments.
Finally, where you decide to live can have a big impact on your cost of living in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley.
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21 thoughts on “5 Best Neighborhoods in Medellín: A Guide to Choosing a Neighborhood”
Square meters to square feet is easy.
The exact measure is 10.75 square feet per 1 square meter.
An rough aproximation can be made in your head by multiplying a square meter by 10. For exampla 1125 square meters is roughly 1150+ square feet.
I feel you. I have the money to stay in el poblado but eh i like the unwesternized places. Its a great culture experience. I remember i stayed in pitalito for a month and enjoyed it due to me being the only gringo people have seen in months. Especially if you speak spanish and can interact with the locals. Its a great experience and they are more interested in you. Once things open back up ill proboably give san german a try or buenos aires for a more local experience
Mr. Paschke,
Excellent article. Very well organized and articulated. Based on my several experiences in Medellin I found your observations to be dead on. I have a question. I will be buying property in Medellin in the near future. With the exception of Sabaneta and possibly Belen, I would prefer to buy in a location not mention in your article. I’m trying to escape the expat crowd. What I’m looking for is a neighborhood that is classified as a high strata 3 or solid strata 4 and can be consider in your opinion (understand you will be subjective) having the following traits.
– Safety (I love to jog and walk outdoors)
– Growing with new development . Still mainly residential. Light business. Based on development the neighborhood will probably have a large portion classified as a strata 5 within 10 years.
– Very little traffic. In other words fairly quite at night.
– Located within 10 minutes (Taxi) ride of decent shopping center.
Based on what I described, it appears that I’m looking for is the next Laurelas. Basically 10-15 years from now.
Finally, when forming your list, don’t limit yourself to the typical areas where expats can be found. I don’t mind living at the edges of the present day Medellin.
In closing, looking forward to your suggestions. Thinking based on your previous experience you will provide insight other than what I have been told thus far, i.e. expats should only buy in El Poblado or Laurelas.
Very well written Jeff!! After living here for several years now, it’s nice to read through this and see someone else’s perspective—especially seeing how you’ve broken it down. I see how the numbers add up, but really? Sabaneta? One thing I don’t think you’ve stressed enough is the fact that most developments in both Sabaneta and even Envigado are way up in the hills. Yes, you’ll get more bang for your buck, but it can often be hellish trying to hail an Uber or order something from Rappi. Also, let’s be honest, traffic is an issue everywhere. If you plan to dine out somewhere nice or meet with friends on the weekends and you live in Sabeneta that usually means trekking through 3 municipalities of traffic and a much longer commute. That’s what’s kept my wife and I from moving there. Regardless, this is a very solid overview and it’s awesome to see the detail you’ve put into this. Great work!!
Where did you end up moving?
Hi Jeff,
This is surely one of your best posts. #1 in the top 10. You put a lot of work into this and it shows! Very informative and a must-read for anyone considering moving here. The only request is that they move to Sabanete and not here in Laureles! 🙂
Cheers,
John and Susan
Hi John and Susan, thanks!
LOL about your request that they move to Sabanete and not to Laureles. I’m sure this article will help some decide on Sabaneta. Today I met one expat in Parque Sabaneta who recognized me and said articles on this site helped him decide on Sabaneta.
Jeff, Great article with a lot of good information. I used you guide to apply for a retirement visa which I got this year. I have only rented furnished apartments so far but may look for a unfurnished in the future.
thanks again for your hard work.
I have a question I got the visa and also a cedilla do also need to get health insurance here? is that a requirement?
As always Jeff, you write remarkable, honest and very informative articles. Great job Sir!
Thanks for this interesting article that obviously took a lot of work. This should be required reading for any newbie to Medellin.
Also, be careful of real estate companies pushing properties in El Poblado that may be cheap compared to the U.S. but are expensive for Medellin.
Very interesting article. I looked at apartments in El Poblado and other neighborhoods like Laureles, Envigado and Sabaneta. The prices per square meter were much cheaper in Sabaneta than the other neighborhoods. Also, El Poblado looks to have too much supply as there are so many for sale signs on windows and so many properties listed on Espacio Urbano. You mentioned over 35 new projects in El Poblado. I recall several years ago when a gringo real estate agent in Medellin said “Poblado is done” with nowhere else to build. LOL, since that time they continued to build and they are now building 35+ new expensive properties in Poblado.
LOL. I just looked for “Poblado is done” and found this post written by Brad Hinkelman at Casacol in 2014 – http://blog.casacol.co/blog/poblado-is-done/.
Shows a complete lack of knowledge about the real estate market in Medellin. The builders continued to build in El Poblado over the past several years and are still building 5 years later with over 35 projects currently in the El Poblado area. Poblado was not “done”.
It looks more like Laureles and Belen are “done” based on the above post with only a few new projects in each.
“Poblado Done” way back in 2014 what a joke. Also, beware of Casacol that pushes high priced properties for sale and also has many high priced furnished rentals. You can easily find cheaper furnished rentals on Airbnb.
I agree that Poblado has too much inventory. There are so many apartments for sale and for rent. I wonder how long it take to sell in Poblado, I bet it’s a long time.
I looked at overpriced properties in El Poblado and decided to buy a nice apartment in Sabaneta for about half the price per square meter. El Poblado is overrated — too expensive, too hilly and too much traffic.
Thanks. Just a broad based figure ranges would be helpful.
The adjustment to metric was, and still is something of a challenge for me too. But listings will tell you the sq. meters only so including that data can be of help when analyzing the relative value of properties on the market.
To convert square meters to square feet, multiply the square meters by 10.764.
Get an area converter app for your phone. It will give you instant results!
Jeff you are truly a star. Fantastic information. My only comment is that when you talk about the individual area. The rental cost is very helpful. But your figures to buy based on per square metre are totally meaningless to me. Perhaps this an American thing but in the UK or Australia, there is no concept of what a square metre is. Indeed the UK is still old fashioned feet and inches. Also I get confused when people talk about millions. Sometimes meaning pesos other times dollars. I would be most grateful if for buying you couid provide a range. For example a typical appartment in Poblado can cost from $nnn, nnn to $nnn, nnn. For example. Whereas Sabaneta is lower at $nnn, nnn. Also I then have to convert from US dollars to Australian dollars, Thanks so much. John. Aka Jo Elgas Facebook.
Hi John, thanks for the comment. We plan to look at buying in more detail in the future with prices per square meter and we’ll add per square feet. And hopefully the price differences based on age of the property.
That will be great!
Thank you so much for your thorough and insightful articles.
You have truly been a blessing to me and my family in deciding many of our decisions as we embark in a new adventure in Medellin.
Thanks again,
Fabi Johns