Real Talk Between Medellin Locals, Visitors and Immigrants

• 💬 Real Talk Needed – No more sugar coating things. We need to have a conversation.

• 💵 Foreigners: You’re Not a Victim – If you’re being “used,” ask what you’re really here for.

• 🔐 Medellín: Safe for the Smart, Dangerous for the Reckless – Don’t dar papaya. Stay low-key. Use a burner.

• 🧠 Locals: Not Every Gringo Is Trash – Some of us give back, respect the culture, and live humbly.

• 🏡 Mutual Respect or Nothing Works – Foreigners: act like guests. Locals: the root problem isn’t always outsiders.

Yesterday, I walked from San Diego to Parque Envigado alone. I needed it. Over the past few weeks, I've felt a change in the way I see this city, and it has been overwhelmingly positive. Ciclovia offers time to reset my mind and dig deeper within to get to the foundation of what's causing how I feel. Yesterday yacht rock replaced my usual metal and hip hop, and I let the soft sounds untangle the noise in my head. Halfway through the walk, something clicked, I started talking to people. Not just one group. Everyone. Locals. Foreigners. I wanted to know what each thought about the other. What started as a walk turned into an informal survey.

We need to have a real conversation. Both sides. And for the first time on this blog, I'm breaking the English-only rule because the locals deserve to hear this in their language.

For Immigrants and Tourists

Yes, immigrants. I said what I said. That’s what you are if you live here. Check your cedula if you have one. It either says "VISITANTE" or “MIGRANTE.”

You hold a powerful document, a passport. It not only opens borders, but it also makes you a representative. How you act reflects on everyone else from your country. Don’t forget that.

Here’s what I heard from expats:

1. “They treat us like ATMs, so I treat them like sex objects.”

Let’s be honest. If people are treating you like an ATM, you’re attracting those people. If people treat you like an ATM, you allowed that dynamic. Someone once told me, no matter how fun the night is, rent’s always due in the morning.

If you’re 55 chasing 19-year-olds on dating apps, do you really think she’s into your sparkling personality? Before you snap at me about judging you, and that she's legal, so who cares... I'm not judging you as a person, I'm judging your inability to look at your situation, and see that you are being used as an ATM because of your choices.

Want to stop being seen as an ATM? Start bringing better people into your life. If money is all you have to lead with you can't be upset that people who are looking to use you are attracted to you.

Be realistic - about yourself. About what you're actually looking for, and what you bring to the table other than money and some half-baked dream that the women in Medellin will flock to you because you hold the key to them having a better life. If this is what you think, then it might be time to come to terms with some uncomfortable truths. Finding out what they are is all on you.

2. “Girls are more expensive now. No-strings nights aren’t cheap. They’re not even nice anymore.”

This one’s easy. The market flipped.

Ten years ago, being a foreign guy here was novel. You had a dating advantage. Now? Post-2021, Colombia leaned into sex tourism and the floodgates opened. You’re no longer the prize. The girls are the commodity.

If you won’t pay what she asks, ten other guys will. Some even brag about it. There is an epidemic of simp behavior and that has poisoned the well here too. If you're getting played, it’s because you set the rules of the game, and set the market. Want cheap fun, I hear Bangkok is nice this time of the year.

3. “Medellín is more dangerous now. Nobody’s fixing it.”

Ah yes, the old adage - Is Medellin dangerous? Well the short answer is Yes, and no. Medellin is one of the most dangerous cities if you are going out looking for trouble. The uncomfortable truth and the quiet part I'm going to say out loud, most men that come here are looking for trouble and are setting themselves up unintentionally. Scopolamine is the main fear here, and that is such a rare situation to happen UNLESS you are looking for girls on dating apps, then speeding past every red flag in search of something that's easy. Nobody deserves to be drugged, but you did put yourself in that position. So you're a victim of your own circumstances. If it seems too good to be true, run. The other thing which is a huge fear is getting robbed on the streets. There is a saying here, "No dar papaya" which means Don't stand out, don't give bad people a reason to rob you. Gringos especially are the world champions of giving papaya. I'll make this clear and if you don't like to hear it, I don't care - If you stand out here, you are a target and if you let your guard down you will get got. If you are in shorts and flip flops, more interested in setting up your next Tinder date while walking down the street, don't be surprised if your phone gets bipped. If you're coming here to be Drake for a weekend and strike a chord, wearing your jewelry, expensive clothes, etc you're going to be a target. Flossing here is stupid. Because phone theft is the number one crime committed against foreigners, a pro tip is when you get here, buy a cheap burner phone, put only whatsapp on it and buy a prepaid SIM. Just in case you don't know, this is the REAL prepago here, not the date you set up. I will agree with you on one thing - the Colombian government doesn't care your phone got stolen. The police won't even put in effort to look for it, so don't waste your time.

Mi Gente Paisa

No podía dejar por fuera su voz. Hablé con 12 paisas y escuché muchas opiniones fuertes sobre los extranjeros. Aquí van las tres más repetidas:

1. “La mayoría de los gringos que vienen están abusando de niños o solo vienen por sexo.”

A ver, hablemos claro. ¿Vienen gringos a Medellín por eso? Sí, algunos. Pero decir que la mayoría, ¡joda! Eso es tan falso como los gringos racistas que dicen que todos los latinos en EE.UU. son asesinos. Menos mal que Migración Colombia está compartiendo la "Lista de Ángeles" con el DHS de EE.UU. Así, ningún depravado sexual entra a Colombia. Y eso de que "antes de los gringos pervertidos, aquí no había abuso infantil", ¡por favor! Yo conozco gente que fue violada por familiares desde los 7 años. No me vengas con ese cuento. Que muchos turistas vienen por sexo, sí, pero esa es la imagen que le vendemos al mundo. Gracias al reguetón, "+57" y el movimiento "Papacito". Exijamos más a los líderes. Y ojo, ¡todo el que toque un niño merece morir! Sin perdón. Eso es destruir una vida.

2. “Los gringos están subiendo el arriendo. Ya no encuentro apartamento.”

Aquí hay dos cosas. Primero, no le echemos toda la culpa a los gringos. Los dueños son los más avariciosos. Viven en la fiebre del oro y desplazan a la gente. Segundo, hay arriendos amoblados y sin amoblar. Los gringos no arriendan sin amoblar, es mucho papeleo. Usan AirBnB, que es el chivo expiatorio de todo. La verdad es que la avaricia de los dueños sube los precios y amuebla todo. Saben que el arriendo sube 5% al año, ¿pero sabían que los amoblados no tienen control? ¡Le pueden subir de 4 a 8 millones de pesos y es legal! Hay que cerrar ese hueco para frenar a los aprovechados. Así se estabiliza el mercado.

3. “Los gringos vienen a aprovecharse del país y no aportan nada.”

Los turistas impulsan la economía, a veces la economía oscura del sexo y las drogas. Pero se quedan en hoteles, comen en restaurantes caros y hacen tours bobos. Los que vivimos aquí, como yo, pagamos impuestos, hacemos obras de caridad y queremos mejorar Medellín. Los turistas andan en zonas turísticas, casi no usan buses, metro, ni van al centro, les da miedo. Ignoren a los malos. Si ven a alguien en bus o en la Minorista comprando frutas, vive aquí. Esos son los que valen la pena. No generalicen, miren con otros ojos.

What Can We Do?

🗣️ To the foreigners reading this:

Stop acting like Medellín betrayed you. This city didn’t promise you a dream life. You made that up. If you feel “used,” ask yourself: what were you here to take? Cheap rent? Young women? Social status you never had back home? You weren’t scammed. You got exactly what you signed up for: life in a country with a complex history, different values, and very few safety nets.

Some came here with good intentions. You contribute. You connect. You adapt. But many came here for the wrong reasons and now complain when reality claps back at them. Medellín doesn’t owe you anything. If you really want to stay, stop whining and start listening. Learn the culture. Learn the slang. Learn the language. Learn how not to be a target. Earn your place, or pack up and leave quietly. This city feasts on the dreams of people who don't have respect for it.

🇨🇴 Para los paisas que están leyendo esto:

Tienen toda la razón en estar mamados. Los barrios están cambiando a toda velocidad. Todo está más caro. Los rincones de siempre ya no se sienten igual. Llegan extranjeros sin tener ni idea, a veces con falta de respeto, y esperan que todo se les acomode. Eso no es justo. Y tampoco es sostenible.

Pero ojo: no todos somos iguales. Algunos vinimos con cariño y respeto. Pagamos arriendos justos. Apoyamos los negocios locales. Hablamos su idioma. No venimos buscando rumba fácil ni relaciones vacías. Y aunque es fácil echarle la culpa al de afuera, seamos sinceros, los arriendos inflados, la corrupción y la especulación no vinieron del extranjero. Eso también nació aquí.

Si vamos a compartir esta ciudad, hay que tener responsabilidad mutua. Así que sí—sigan señalando lo que está mal. Pero también reconozcan cuando alguien sí quiere hacer las cosas bien.

Medellín’s on the world stage now. As other countries fall apart, more people will come here. We can either clash—or collaborate.

The choice is ours. Let's make the right choices and stop blaming each other and projecting our issues on each other. I would say we are all dealing with the reality and the consequences of what we wanted. Let's get to know each other instead of pushing tired narratives. There is so much to be positive about here, let's do just that.