Hello All!
I have posted some on the blog but have yet formally introduced myself.
I was born in Colombia and lived there for about 7 years. I moved with my mother to the U.S then. I've lived in California, Florida, and now in Nevada. When I was in my late teens, I went back to Colombia for the first time. I fell in love with my country and culture all over again. Two weeks after being there I fell in love. After my 4 month visit, I came back to the U.S with an empty heart. I had never entertained the idea of moving back. I visited 3 more times within the next year, mostly to see my now husband. We got married a year and a half later there. After a few years of distance-marriage, I petitioned for him to come live in the U.S with me. He arrived 8 months later.
We now have two children and feel like we lack something in our lives. This is not what we envisioned our life to be like. Kids in daycare/school, work 9 hours a day, see the kids two hours before bedtime and repeat.
We have family in Colombia that wants us to move back. We want to start our own business and feel like we can with the little nest egg that we've built up over the last couple of years. I want to teach english while he gets the business going. My children will be well cared for and will have plenty of love from both of our families.
So, I am here. A Colombian, living in the U.S identifying herself as an American because that's all I've ever known. I'm ready for this new adventure and I would love to meet some expats in Bucaramanga.
We haven't set the date yet, but our move will be anywhere from April - October as I will need to sell cars, house, and other personal belongings that we will not be taking with us.
From Reno to Bucaramanga
At least in Reno you have the "awfulawful" hamburger place....damn good burgers.
...and then you feel awfully bad for eating one. Lol. Good burger when cruising downtown. Don't get me wrong, I love Reno, but it's just not for me anymore.
Go for it.
I hated my life in the US, but now I'm happy in Bucaramanga CO.
Life is short, don't waste a second.
John
ProfessorJohn wrote:Go for it.
I hated my life in the US, but now I'm happy in Bucaramanga CO.
Life is short, don't waste a second.
John
Thanks John. You're 100% correct.
Iryna,
The headline of your posting, Reno to Bucaramanga, caught my eye because I just spent the past seven months in South America (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Colombia) working hard on my Spanish, falling in love, and exploring the continent to determine where I want to live more permanently. Four of those months were spent in Colombia (Bucaramanga, Medellin, and Cartagena). And five of those weeks were spent in Bucaramanga which was my fifth visit there. Next week I am returning for the summer to work on my house in Carson City 30 minutes south of Reno. I will also be finding a new renter, playing racquetball at the Double Diamond gym in Reno (a sport I found in Buenos Aires but not in Colombia), and then I will return by November to Colombia.
So I guess my headline could be From Bucaramanga to Reno, And Back Again.
I am writing this post, which I almost never ever do, because I wanted to say hello and to remark on a couple things. First, I applaud your willingness to embark on such a major change and move with your family to your native country. That is really big and something most people lack the nerve to do. Colombia is beautiful and has much to offer. I rode a motorcycle from Bucaramanga to Pamplona and was amazed by the scenery, which reminded me of a very cool version of Hawaii. In Bucramanga there are only a very few expats, mostly teaching English, which you will eventually find if you want to talk about things North American. You will find them wandering around the shops and restaurants in Cabecera. But Bucaramanga does not have the foreign expat influx that Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena all have. Life in Bucaramanga, or nearby Giron or Lebrija, will be very pure and authentic Colombia,
Also, the comment about "hating" life in the US warrants some reflection. A person capable of "hating" life in one place is capable of hating life in another. After working as a government attorney for 20 years in Nevada and California, I can attest that work and lifestyle in general in the US can be intense and hopefully you will find a more relaxed way of life in Bucaramanga. That said, I expect you will also miss many of the modern amenities and certain other things, such as the higher salaries and lack of 24-hour armed security and bars on your house windows, that you grew accustomed to after years living in the US. And it was the time I spent working, and often very hard, as a well-paid attorney in the US, that gave me the financial freedom and ability to retire at 55 and enjoy a comfortable life abroad.
Bottom line is that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side. It is, however, inevitably greener where you water it. And since no person, thing, or place is ever entirely perfect, I recommend not expecting "hate" to turn to perpetual "bliss." As they say in the 12-step programs, take what you like and leave the rest.
One thing does seem very certain: Bucaramanga is much different than Reno and you will all be much wiser, well-rounded, and in many ways much better prepared in life by virtue of having lived in both hemispheres and speaking both languages. I have been enjoying that very existence for some time now and am very grateful for my experiences both north and south, and the broader world that I now live in. So as you head out on this new adventure, I just wanted to wish you and your family all the best and much happiness.
My apologies if this waxing philosophical was too boring. On the other hand, feel free to contact me if any of this helped and you want to know more about life in Colombia, or Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, or Costa Rica. And most of all - best of Luck!!
Tom, just in from Medellin and writing from Escazu, Costa Rica
TPat,
I appreciate the time that you took to write what you did. I carefully read it and realized how true your words are. I especially loved reading "the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side. It is, however, inevitably greener where you water it."
In the past few months my life has been thrown into one crazy event after the other and we are finally becoming stable. We've adopted a new norm for our lives and are truly trying to "water" our grass 
I think, at least for now, we will be staying in the U.S; however, we are planning a 2-week trip to Bucaramanga early next year. I hope I can meet up some expats while I'm there and maybe bring some things from the U.S that a lot of expats miss (I hear peanut butter is not seen in Colombia).
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