Foreigners in BUCARAMANGA!!

Hey! I'm from Bucaramanga currently living in the U.S and will be moving back soon. Bucaramanga is safe. It's like any other city that has it's bad neighborhoods. The rent for a 1 bedroom is about 500,000 COP plus utilities, but you can look around. The prices fluctuate depending on the part of the city you want to move to. You can live comfortably on about 1,500,000 COP for a single person. I got these numbers by talking to my sister that lives in Bucaramanga. If others have any more info, they'll let you know.
I hope everything goes well for you down there! Keep us poste (well, at least me)!

thanks for the information!! for sure will keep this blog updated, i am excited to move to colombia as well a little nervous because media highlights negative things too much, but i also got to know that Bucaramanga is considered as safest place in colombia!!

Rahul, have you ever been? It's absolutely beautiful. Make sure you go to Chicamocha and the surrounding cities as well. I've heard great things about Barichara but I have, unfortunately, never been able to go. Thank you for adding me to your contacts. I'd love to keep in touch with you!

Hi,
Bucaramanaga is a great place to live, reasonably safe (Much safer than Bogota) General costs of living is low, all depends on your life style. This goes for you accommodation also.

Where are you going to work?

that's great, well i will be working in a school as an intern teacher,the name of the school is Colegio divino nino bilingue!! as you are also an expat, is it possible to get a rough idea about the living cost for one month, like what could be the minimum cost??

Rahul2604 wrote:

that's great, well i will be working in a school as an intern teacher,the name of the school is Colegio divino nino bilingue!! as you are also an expat, is it possible to get a rough idea about the living cost for one month, like what could be the minimum cost??

I found this website. http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ci … rrency=USD

I'm not too sure how accurate these prices are but they don't seem too far off.

You can rent a room for $150 USD a month. Most all is safe. John

I would say, in all honesty, you will need around 4 milliion per month to live decently. If you dont mind watching every penny you spend and not travel anywhere, 2 million will get you by.

Hi Rahul,

I lived in Bucaramanga for nearly 2 years until Nov 2013 and I think Iryna is about right with the prices. 

Buses in the city cost 2,000 COP (1USD) per journey and taxis about 4,500 minimum. Traveling to Bogota costs 100,000 COP (50 USD) by bus - 10 hours, or up to 250,000 (125 USD) by plane return - 45 minutes. Buying a car is expensive, but small motorbikes are everywhere, so a reasonable alternative if you don't mind the risky traffic.

Your colegio is in Provenza, a busy place. It's near the bus terminal, but the traffic on the main highway (autopista to Floridablanca) is bad and the Metrolinea buses get very crowded at peak times. The congestion will be much worse soon due to roadworks. The main streets of Provenza can have noisy bars & discos but the smaller streets are quieter. My wife says that San Luis barrio nearby can be good, but perhaps more expensive.

Barichara is very pleasant and worth a visit.

Hope your English teaching goes well.

Rob

thanks iryna for your help, this link give's much more clarity about the cost of living!! ;-)

rob_d wrote:

Hi Rahul,

I lived in Bucaramanga for nearly 2 years until Nov 2013 and I think Iryna is about right with the prices. 

Buses in the city cost 2,000 COP (1USD) per journey and taxis about 4,500 minimum. Traveling to Bogota costs 100,000 COP (50 USD) by bus - 10 hours, or up to 250,000 (125 USD) by plane return - 45 minutes. Buying a car is expensive, but small motorbikes are everywhere, so a reasonable alternative if you don't mind the risky traffic.

Your colegio is in Provenza, a busy place. It's near the bus terminal, but the traffic on the main highway (autopista to Floridablanca) is bad and the Metrolinea buses get very crowded at peak times. The congestion will be much worse soon due to roadworks. The main streets of Provenza can have noisy bars & discos but the smaller streets are quieter. My wife says that San Luis barrio nearby can be good, but perhaps more expensive.

Barichara is very pleasant and worth a visit.

Hope your English teaching goes well.

Rob

thanks rob,for the detailed information, really appreciate it,as i can see from your profile that you are currently living in bucaramanga,so is there any kind of expat community in the city where everyone get's together to celebrate some kind of festivals or just to know each other??

Stevens925 wrote:

I would say, in all honesty, you will need around 4 milliion per month to live decently. If you dont mind watching every penny you spend and not travel anywhere, 2 million will get you by.

hey steven, hope you are doing good, as i can see from your profile that you are a teacher, so could you tell me something about the education system in colombia??

ProfessorJohn wrote:

You can rent a room for $150 USD a month. Most all is safe. John

thank you professor,could you tell me about the teaching experience over there, i mean in terms of non spanish speakers!!

You need some Spanish, but most schools like the fact you will not waste students time speaking Spanish.(:

Rahul2604 wrote:

rob_d wrote:

Hi Rahul,

I lived in Bucaramanga for nearly 2 years until Nov 2013 and I think Iryna is about right with the prices. 

Buses in the city cost 2,000 COP (1USD) per journey and taxis about 4,500 minimum. Traveling to Bogota costs 100,000 COP (50 USD) by bus - 10 hours, or up to 250,000 (125 USD) by plane return - 45 minutes. Buying a car is expensive, but small motorbikes are everywhere, so a reasonable alternative if you don't mind the risky traffic.

Your colegio is in Provenza, a busy place. It's near the bus terminal, but the traffic on the main highway (autopista to Floridablanca) is bad and the Metrolinea buses get very crowded at peak times. The congestion will be much worse soon due to roadworks. The main streets of Provenza can have noisy bars & discos but the smaller streets are quieter. My wife says that San Luis barrio nearby can be good, but perhaps more expensive.

Barichara is very pleasant and worth a visit.

Hope your English teaching goes well.

Rob

thanks rob,for the detailed information, really appreciate it,as i can see from your profile that you are currently living in bucaramanga,so is there any kind of expat community in the city where everyone get's together to celebrate some kind of festivals or just to know each other??

Rahul, I was wondering the same. I read somewhere on here that a few of them get together. I can't recall the post off of the top of my head. It was back from like 2011. I wonder if it's/they are still active.

Hey rob hows it going????? long time no speak

With regards to the 4 million peso mark.. i think this is a little high to be honest. the average here for a manager is probably 2.5 million.

Bucaramanga is cheaper than Bogota

With regards to expat groups we have a networking group in facebook if any of you are interested  in joining.
- facebook.com/groups/459397654134612/

This could be true. I am referring to living in Bogota.

Hi Rahul
I am from Bucaramanga and am planning to go to India, so we can help each other.

Bucaramanga is a beautiful city with great weather and average lives depends on your lifestyle but it is usually economic.

hello sonia me nombre es benjamin
yo vivo en bucaramanga por 3 años
en real de minas
ahora soy en santa mara
yo nunca fue a india pero soy un expat desde eeuu

Hello vacationsextreme,

Could you please write in English in this English speaking forum so that everyone can understand?

Thank you very much
Christine

hello sonia me nombre es benjamin
yo vivo en bucaramanga por 3 años
en real de minas
ahora soy en santa mara
yo nunca fue a india pero s
oy un expat desde eeuu

i said hello sonia my name is benjamin
i lived in bucaramanga for 3 years
in real de minas
now i live in santa marta
ive never been to india
but im an expat from the usa
ive lived in colombia for 17 years

Bucaramanga is awesom because there is a plethora of great Mexican food. There are taco stands on almost every corner. Three tacos for a dollar. Also in Bucaramanga is a HUGE Chinatown, with world class Chinese food.

So it's been three months already since I am living in this beautiful city bucaramanga, and I didn't even realise how the time went by so quickly, everything if this city is quite simply amazing, the culture, the kindness of people the words can not describe about how good I feel to live in bucaramanga!!
And thanks everyone for your advice, looking forward to make some new friends here in bucaramanga!! ;-)

Good afternoon,
  My wife and I moved to Bucaramanga about nine months ago for work after living in Canada for many years. She's originally from here, while I'm from Winnipeg, Canada. I'm not sure if there are any kind of get togethers in the ex-pat community here, but it would be neat to get together and speak in English for a bit every once in awhile.

Cheers,
Emile Blanchette

Hi did you make it to Bucaramanga? I'm considering moving to Bucaramanga I been an educator for awhile and would like to know how you went about finding the job opportunity if you could please share that with me. Also how do you like it so far? Thank you!

Bucaramanga is a great place, even better if you have abit of Spanish


i have been here for over a year

Hi donWon, I can see that you have been living in buca for a while now. Could you give me any tips on finding a shared flat as i will be moving over there in June and also meetups for other expats there. Thanks.

Ps- any advice is also welcomed.

there is a network on facebook networking bucaramanga which has lots of expats. Also you might want to hangout at kasa huane the local hostal, plenty of expats go there for a beer at the weekend.
that is probably a good place to find a shared flat.

finding flats here is probably best to do once you are here as you can walk around the areas you like and see the notices in the windows. Or find someone advertising locally.

Thanks Don,

just joined the FB page and had a look at the hostel. Would like to set up a meetup group once im there on meetup for people in general who speak english in Buca or who would like to learn. That way we can have fun get togethers. Hope to see you....

Good morning Titanlo,
  Definitely agree with what Don mentioned... the city is quite diverse, and it's a good plan to get a feel for what areas you like. I also have a friend here who works in the apartment rental field (and speaks pretty good English), so if you like, I could try to put you in contact with her when you arrive, as she might be able to help you find something nice.
  There seems to be a reasonably small group of "permanent" expats in the city (many of those who only come to teach English only stay a year or so) and most of us know each other, so excuses for get-togethers are always welcome.

Cheers,
Emile

Hello Emile!

Yes, that does sound like a good idea to have a feel for what areas you like before deciding. I agree! excuses for get-togethers are always welcomed! Hope to see you when Im there,

xx:)

they already exist , infact i think there is one in meetup already

Really!? I tried to find it on meetup but couldnt...I'll have another look.
xx

I am new to this blog. I have been going to Colombia several time; Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena. I enjoyed my time in those cities and a friend invited me to visit her in Bucamaranga. I will be going there in April. What neighborhood would you recommend at first. For safety and quality of life?

Hi Benjamin,
I went to Santa Marta... So I can appreciate the comparaison. How was your experience in Bucamaranga? Did the people liked you there?

Dear Claude,

Welcome to the Colombia forums of expat.com ....

For an early introduction to the best of Bucaramanga, consider staying for at least several days at the Holiday Inn Bucaramanga Cacique.

The hotel has a swimming pool on its rooftop .. and is connected to the widely-acclaimed Cacique mall or centro comercial, with great shopping, restaurants and a casino. 

Nearby are parks and other commercial districts.  According to booking.com, the hotel is rated highly by its guests for location and value per dollar.

----

For backpackers and budget travelers desiring to book ahead online, visit booking.com or hoteles.com for rates and dates more suitable to your plans.  Seek the genius discount at booking.com, where the close-to-center-city Hotel San Rey (rated 8.0 "muy bien") currently has a nightly rate of 30,920 COP per night (under $11 US midweek) with the discount. 

cccmedia

I stay at the BuenaVista near the Megamal

One time a little trouble with hotwater in one habitacion but otherwise okay

Lots of safe barrios in Buca

Bucacan get very hot