Medellín vs Mexico City: Which is the Better Place to Live?

1. 

   Dan May 4, 2021

   Mexico City is cold… the girls are no where near as good looking as Colombians… why anyone would choose Mexico City over Colombia is beyond me
2. 

   Geoffrey February 27, 2021

   I travelled central Mexico including Mexico City continuously for more than two years and ended up moving to Medellin. D.F. is huge but rents in the better neighborhoods are 3 times higher than what I pay in Medellin. I lived in a tropical climate on the ocean for 33 years and grew tired of the heat and humidity so the touristy coastal cities of Mexico are not for me; been there, done that. In Medellin I have no need for heating or air conditioning. Then there is the issue of crime. The federal government in Colombia is corrupt but in Mexico the government is not in control of the country and politicians at every level are in the pay of diabolically violent narco gangs. Journalists who document and report corruption are routinely butchered and tossed into ditches. Crimes of this nature and even crimes in general are almost never solved. I kept an apartment in Guanajuato state. Five taxi drivers there refused to deal drugs when the cartel moved into San Miguel de Allende. They were called to pick up fares in the Los Frailes posh neighborhood but it was an ambush and they were all killed.
   I still love Mexico and its ancient, highly developed civilizations. The many decent and inspiring people I met caused me moments of great emotion which I will never forget but the right spot for me is Medellin.
3. 

   Brian February 27, 2021

   Interesting comparison,but Compare Mexico City that has 21 million of residents and is the capital of Mexico a country with 130 millions of people with Medellin with just 2,4 millions has no sense. So it is a more equal comparison make a Medellin vs Playa del Carmen, or Cancun. In both cases Playa del Carmen and Cancun wins hands down on respect of nature, traffic, contamination way of life and anywhere anyone talk fluent English. Anyway I feel Medellin boring in any sense. Has a very limited cultural life, a limited night life, a lot of rainy days and Colombia in general has not that easy way of life you can find in Mexico.
4. 

   Michael February 13, 2020

   Jeff,
   Great review and excellent hard-core info. I have been to Mexico City at least 25 times and Medellin about the same You are correct about the subjective decision. If you want a huge city CDMX may be more your style. But Medellin is, in my experience, a better place to live. Paisas are much more collectively humane, friendly, and neighborly. Like many big cities around the world, chaos and individualism trump kindness and neighborly cultural norms. Medellin has the latter.
5. 

   Sam June 15, 2019

   Nice post. I lived in Mexico City for two year and agree with your comparison. It can get much colder in Mexico City and my cost of living dropped by about 25% when I moved to Medellin. Also, Mexico City is HUGE and expats live all over the huge metro area so in my experience much fewer expat meetups than are inMedellin.
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  Mark June 15, 2019

  Sam I agree with you. I checked out Mexico City for 6 months and then discovered Medellin with a better climate and lower cost of living. Apartments I looked at in Mexico City are much more expensive than in Medellin for similar places. And when I was in Mexico City it got very cold several times in the 30s and the apartment I was renting didn’t have a heater so I froze. For me Medellin easily beats Mexico City.
6. 

   Daniel May 9, 2019

   Nice comparison that I completely agree with. I lived in Mexico City for over a year but met some expats that convinced me to check out Medellin. I visited Medellin and fell in love with the city. I now live in Medellin and it doesn’t get as cold with less traffic and the cost of living is much lower than what I was paying in Mexico City. The apartment costs in Mexico City are much higher than in Medellin.
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  Paul May 9, 2019

  Hi Daniel, I agree. I checked out Mexico City for a few months and also Cuenca and Panama City before coming to Medellin. Medellin easily beats them all with a better climate and lower cost of living. I found the apartment costs in Mexico City were very high like in Panama City. You can find so much cheaper in Medellin. Also the traffic was horrible in Mexico City. Most important for me is cost of living, climate and good healthcare and Medellin wins in those categories.
7. 

   Kate Waters May 9, 2019

   Hello Jeff,
   I have been to Medellin, (loved it) and am going back again in @ a week. Here’s my question, I will be retiring in 3 years and want to retire in Medellin. My Spanish is decent and I want to keep in going and not retire in an expat Community, however, I know for some business advice I will need an English speaking connection. What do you suggest I do as far as where to live etc. In other words, where I could get the help if I needed it, but not have a crutch.
8. 

   Jay May 7, 2019

   i was not aware that Colombia no longer taxed foreign pensions. When did this take effect?
• 

  Jeff May 7, 2019

  You should talk to Paula Cruz, Colombian Public Accountant, email: paula@usatax.com, Skype: cliping21. She told me that foreign pensions are no longer taxed in Colombia up to a limit.
• 

  Jay May 7, 2019

  No offense, but you published this as a fact base upon one CPA’s opinion. I have not seen any sort of rule change related to this published by the Colombian authorities or anyone else; nor have I heard anything about the tax treaty between USA and Colombia being signed.
• 

  Jeff May 7, 2019

  I have had this confirmed from 2 other Colombian accountants as well. Also, I talked to several retired from the U.S. living in Medellín that used this when filing Colombia taxes and their U.S. social security wasn’t taxed. In addition, there is no tax treaty between the U.S. But Colombia still permits you to deduct income taxes paid in the U.S. from income taxes due in Colombia so you aren’t double taxed, as some people mistakenly think.
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  Ken May 7, 2019

  I can confirm what Jeff says as I talked to 2 accountants that told me the same that Colombia no longer taxes foreign pensions.

  Jeff, thanks for the nice comparison article. Mexico City traffic is horrible and it gets cold there plus apartments are expensive so definitely not for me.
9. 

   geoffrey May 7, 2019

   Mexico City (DF) is a city that I could easily live in if it weren’t for the apartment rental prices which can cause a serious nose bleed. I had the retirement visa in hand and made a serious effort to find digs there during 5 or 6 trips but gave up and moved up country. While in DF I often noticed the sidewalk slabs tilted up at sharp angles due to the savage earthquakes that have periodically shaken the city to its core and killed thousands; not a good feeling. In my Medellin high rise I occasionally feel “replicas” or aftershocks of earthquakes that happen far away. That I can deal with.
• 

  Jeff May 7, 2019

  Thanks, I added seismic risk to the article.
10. 

    Dan Dascalescu May 7, 2019

    Thanks for yet another interesting comparison!

    Re. the English proficiency link that I’ve seen used in many posts, here’s a more accessible and more recent one:
    https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/

    It’s also in English 🙂
• 

  Jeff May 7, 2019

  Thanks, I added that to the article.

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