Medellín Facebook groups are popular with foreigners visiting and living in Medellín. We provide a comprehensive guide to 15 Medellín and Colombia Facebook groups, updated for 2021.
When I first started traveling to Colombia over 10 years ago and living in Medellín over eight years ago there were no Medellín Facebook groups or other Facebook groups about Colombia available to help me. So, I had no way to benefit from the experiences of other expats.
Now there are many Medellín Facebook groups and many other Colombia Facebook groups available that are popular with expats visiting or living in Medellín and other cities in Colombia.
These groups are very popular as they permit posting questions and information that can help other foreigners. In addition, these groups are very good places to find out about local events.
Several Medellin Guru readers asked about Facebook groups. So, we now provide a guide to Medellín Facebook groups plus Facebook groups that cover several other cities in Colombia.
In this article we look at a total of 15 Facebook groups listed in the following table. Medellín Facebook groups are very popular and over half of the Facebook groups we look at cover Medellín.
Medellín and Colombia Facebook groups, September 2021
Issues with Medellín and Colombia Facebook Groups
In some of the Medellín and Colombia Facebook groups, particularly the larger ones, you can find some trolls and people being rude and bitter with some personal attacks. We have a separate article that looks at this troll issue in Colombia.
Some of the Facebook groups are moderated to my knowledge, as indicated in the above table. But if you see comments that break group rules, please make sure to report them to moderators.
Trolls:are a Problem on Facebook in Colombia
Also, don’t let the trolls or bad apples discourage you. There are many friendly people trying to help. And some are willing to meet, if you are looking for people to hang out with and make some friends. These Facebook groups can be a good way for making friends.
In addition, many of the Facebook groups permit real estate ads. So, you will see many real estate ads posted by real estate agents and companies in some of the groups, which can be distracting if you aren’t interested in real estate.
Also, it can be difficult to search these groups with hundreds or thousands of posts. But two of these groups have organized posts into categories, which makes searching easier.
Full disclosure, I am a member of 13 of the Facebook groups listed in this article. Also, I own the Medellin Guru Events & Discussion and Sabaneta Expat Facebook groups. And I am one of the moderators on the very active Medellin Expat and Tourist Info Facebook group.
I addition, I typically answer over 200 questions each month on these groups based on my experiences living and traveling in Colombia.
Here is more detailed information about 20 Facebook groups, starting with the Medellín Expat and Tourist Info Facebook groups:
The Medellin Expat and Tourist Info Facebook group
1. Medellin Expat and Tourist Info
Launched: October 2012
Number of members: 26,100
Medellin Expat and Tourist Info is the largest Facebook group focused on Colombia. This group was launched with the goal to enable sharing experiences and ideas between foreigners about the Medellín region, Antioquia and Colombia for travel and living purposes.
This group is very active with over 50 new posts per day. And it is moderated with several moderators. Full disclose I am one of the moderators of this group.
The Medellin Gringo Info Facebook group
2. Medellin Gringo Info
Launched: August 2012
Number of members: 15,200
The Medellin Gringo Info group is intended to be a place to advertise anything. This includes buy, sell, want, need, give, share, work, opportunities, events, travel, ride sharing, activities, meetups, rent, discounts and more.
In this group, you will see ads for almost everything except adult content. And this group averages about 11 new posts daily.
The Digital Nomads Medellin Facebook group
3. Digital Nomads Medellin
Launched: July 2015
Number of members: 8,900
The Digital Nomads Medellin Facebook group is a group of digital nomads who live in Medellín or want to live in Medellín. It’s essentially a community of remote workers.
You will see many posts in this group covering the issues of remote working. And this group averages about 10 new posts daily.
The Doing Business and Living in Medellin Facebook group
4. Doing Business and Living in Medellín
Launched: January 2012
Number of members: 6,800
The Doing Business and Living in Medellin group was launched with the intention to enable discussions about business, networking and making friends.
This group averages about five new posts per day.
5. Expat Women in Medellin
Launched: November 2013
Number of members: 3,800
The Expat Women in Medellin Facebook group is intended for female expats living in Medellin. This group is a place where women can post links, advice, concerns, opinions and more.
This group averages about 11 new posts per day.
The Medellin Guru Events & Discussion Forum Facebook group
6. Medellin Guru Events & Discussion Forum
Launched: July 2017
Number of members: 3,600
The Medellin Guru Events & Discussion Forum group is intended for the followers of Medellin Guru and other expats and readers interested in sharing experiences and ideas about living in Medellín and visiting Medellín and Colombia.
Also, Medellin Guru before the pandemic hosted monthly meetups in Medellín that were the largest monthly expat events in Medellín. We averaged over 180 attendees at each of our events.
At these Medellin Guru meetups, you had the opportunity to interact with many other expats in Medellín. We will resume the meeting when we can.
In addition, discussions are welcome in this Facebook group where you can ask questions to the Medellin Guru writers and other experienced expats living in Medellín.
This group averages about 10 new posts per day. In addition, all posts in this group are categorized making it easier to search. Also, this group is heavily moderated with no real estate ads permitted.
The Medellin Hiking Group
7. Medellin Hiking Group
Launched: January 2015
Number of members: 2,800
The Medellin Hiking Group was established for people interested in exploring some of the more remote sections of this beautiful city of Medellín and Antioquia in general.
The group tries to offer at least one to two hiking options a week for anyone who’s interested to join. Also, members can propose hikes and anyone can join. In addition, this group is not intended to advertise business interests, multilevel marketing or items for sale.
This group is not very active and averages about one post per day.
The Expats in Medellin Facebook group
8. Expats in Medellin
Launched: September 2018
Number of members: 6,200
The Expats in Medellin Facebook Group is dedicated to sharing information between expats living in and visiting Colombia. Everyone who is interested in knowing more about Medellín, Colombia is welcome to participate in this group.
This group averages about three to five new posts per day.
The Medellin Foodies Group
9. Medellin Foodies Group
Launched: July 2017
Number of members: 920
The Medellin Foodies Group is a group of foodies in Medellín that get together about once a month to try out a new restaurant. This group typically meets up on Wednesday or Thursday evenings or weekends and it varies from breakfast, lunch and dinner.
In this Facebook group you will typically only find posts about restaurants and food. This group isn’t very active and averages only about 20 posts per month.
Sabaneta Expats Facebook group
10. Sabaneta Expats
Launched: January 2000
Number of members: 507
The Sabaneta Expats Facebook group is intended for foreigners interested in sharing experiences and ideas about living in Sabaneta, Colombia. Sabaneta is the smallest municipality in Colombia and is quickly growing in popularity for foreigners living in the Aburrá Valley or visiting.
This group averages about three to five posts per day.In addition, all posts in this group are categorized making it easier to search. Also, this group is heavily moderated with no real estate ads permitted.
The Expats in Colombia Facebook group
11. Expats in Colombia
Launched: August 2014
Number of members: 19,300
The Expats in Colombia Facebook group is dedicated to sharing information between expats living in and visiting Colombia. In this group you can share your stories, experiences and adventures. Everyone who is interested in knowing more about Colombia is welcome to participate in this group.
The posts in this group are categorized making it easier to search. Also, this group is heavily moderated with no real estate ads or other ads permitted.
The Expats in Cartagena Facebook group
12. Expats in Cartagena
Launched: October 2012
Number of members: 3,000
Expats in Cartagena is a Facebook group for expatriates visiting or living in Cartagena, Colombia. This group shares experiences and ideas between foreigners about Cartagena and the nearby region, and Colombia for travel and living purposes.
This group averages about four new posts per day.
The Expats in Cali Facebook group
13. Expats in Cali
Launched: September 2015
Number of members: 4,100
The Expats in Cali Facebook group is intended for people temporary or permanently living in the city of Cali, Colombia. This group shares experiences and ideas between foreigners about Cali and the nearby region
This group averages about seven posts per day.
The Expat in Santa Marta Facebook group
14. Expat in Santa Marta
Launched: September 2014
Number of members: 3,600
The Expat in Santa Marta group was created several years ago by Didie Detune to meet and share experiences with other expats residing in Santa Marta and to create a support network for all new people who want to live here or just on vacation.
Didie organized meetings with different subjects, such as cultural and language exchanges, because many of the foreigners didn’t speak much Spanish and wanted to practice.
Unfortunately, Didie died a little over a year ago and in honor of his memory his wife Martha with help has continued the group, so that all foreigners who arrive in Santa Marta can find help if they need it.
This group averages about six new posts per day.
The Colombia Scopolamine Victims & Alerts Facebook group
15. Colombia Scopolamine Victims & Alerts
Launched: September 2018
Number of members: 2,100
Colombia Scopolamine Victims & Alerts is a Facebook group intended to help share and spread information about scopolamine drugging in Colombia. We previously looked at Scopolamine, also known as Devil’s Breath, which is a drug used in Colombia for the purpose of robbery.
By sharing as much information as possible about each scopolamine incident in this Facebook group, you may be able to prevent the next person from becoming a victim or help bring justice to the dangerous criminals committing these crimes.
Over the past year, several victims have died from scopolamine / benzo drugging and this appears to be on the rise against foreigners across Colombia. This group applies to all of Colombia, but is focused primarily on Medellín, Bogotá, Cali and Cartagena.
This group is not very active and averages only a few posts each month.
The Bottom Line: Medellín Facebook Groups – A Guide to Medellín and Colombia Facebook Groups
Medellín Facebook groups and other Colombia Facebook Groups are a good way to get answers to your questions and find out about local events. Also, these groups are a way to meet new people while you’re traveling or relocating.
But before you ask a question in these groups, make sure to search to see if the question has been asked before. In my experience, there are many frequently asked questions that are asked over and over again in these Facebook groups.
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Editors note: updated on February 11, 2021 with current information for Facebook groups, removed a few groups that restrict members and added the Sabaneta Expats group.
Editors note: updated on September 3, 2021 with current information for Facebook groups.
8 thoughts on “Medellín Facebook Groups: 2021 Guide to Medellín and Colombia FB Groups”
Yes, Medellin Expats is a great group, but there is a small subset of self-hating gringos that tell us how bad we are. There is also many Colombians on there that want us all to go home.
Yes, this is a problem the moderators are trying to address. The moderators are slowly getting rid of members who don’t follow rules like Colombians attacking foreigners telling us to go home or trolls. Keep in mind this is a huge group with over 19,000 members so there will always be some breaking the group rules. Don’t let the bad apples discourage you. And if you see comments that break group rules, please make sure to report them to moderators.
I’m a facebook member of a couple of these larger groups listed in the article. My main point is that some members of these groups are not there to help other members or ease their transition to expat life in any meaningful way. Although I’m not an expat, I do participate or add whatever information I can based on my frequent travels to the Medellin area. I will warn the reader that a few of these groups have very sensitive and outspoken members. Others are not expats at all but native to the area and will vigorously defend Colombia/Medellin even in cases of obvious injustice. So if you post any complaints, negative experiences, or become a victim of crime you’ll often be criticized, blamed or rebuked with the admonition, “…Then why are you here? Go back to (USA/Canada/UK) where you came from.” I’m of the opinion that simply stating to those who have suffered misfortune in a wonderful area like Medellin are not helped when they’re beaten over the head with the old adage, “No dar papaya”.
Jeff, Great job on this and a great service as I get asked all the time about this subject. I believe the largest group, Medellin Expats, used to be called the Medellin Entrepreneurs Society. You might wish to clarify this and I am not sure when they changed their name.
Medellin Entrepreneurs Society is my group 😉 It’s still around! It was never Medellin Expats.
Colombia Travellers. Medellin Hiking are others perhaps you have considered.
Thanks for the suggestions. We added the Medellin Hiking Group to the list. We will consider adding others but can’t include everything. There are so many Facebook groups.
You are missing. BLU Tulips expats and travellers in Colombia. Another excellent source of information.
And you may wish to include the tremendous range of back packer type groups. Also helpful would be the groups for English teachers in colombia. Such as English teachers in Colombia.