Latin America Rates High In Violent Cities

[Matiasba]

a couple of cities (if not more, I dont remember now) from the US.... thats surprising to me.

 

[DCexpatstudent]

a couple of cities (if not more, I dont remember now) from the US.... thats surprising to me.

Not really to me as i don't think we realize how much violent crime happens in the US I mean we say we are scared of tijuana and it is safer than all the American cities mentioned. Maybe its just the area you are in but here I worry about my phone but in the states my life sometimes, not saying its a war zone but obviously something isn't working...

 

[splattermatter]

THERE IS NO BEACH IN CARTAGENA

 

[Killarney]

It's funny even with the crime I would take Medellin over Buenos Aires. I started learning Spanish here in BA but it was only after I went to Colombia that it finally "clicked". In Buenos Aires it's all the pollo (POSHO) and calle (CASHE) that threw me off. When I got to Colombia I was shocked that I understood when people spoke! Buenos Aires has to be one of the hardest places to begin learning Spanish. Now I understand everything here but it was stressful at the beginning.
In Colombia there is an irresistble musical tone to the accent ( in Medellin and in my opinion). I could listen to it all day.

There is also the attitude of the typical Colombian. They are really a very happy bunch. Forever dancing and laughing. Buenos Aires seems at times to be kind of grumpy. That may be due to the fact that Colombia is growing and expanding and Argentina is well....you know.

It was friends of my friends getting shot. My friends were all university educated and the guy who got shot for his motorcycle was a doctor.
So it's not just the scum. With maybe 1200 homicides a year for Medellin it's hard not to know somebody who knows some of those people. The city is not THAT big.

 

[wild_horses]

That may be due to the fact that Colombia is growing and expanding and Argentina is well....you know.

I think the thousands of Colombians that flood Argentina every month did not realize about how much Colombia is growing.

 

[ghost]

I think the thousands of Colombians that flood Argentina every month did not realize about how much Colombia is growing.

Huh?????

 

[Killarney]

Exactly. Huh??
I'd say it would be more Argentinians flooding into Colombia at this stage. Colombia has overtaken Argentina in terms of GDP to be South Americas second largest economy. The Colombians that I see here are mostly university students because the fees are much cheaper here than in Colombia.
The economy in Colombia is doing great. They have a very business oriented government and they started free trade with the USA not long back and everywhere you go there are new businesses opening. The people are getting wealthier quickly.
And Argentina has Cristina and learned helplessness.
I like both places but for very different reasons.

 

[wild_horses]

Are you on hard drugs?

Colombia GDP is about 30% inferior, official data from IMF and World bank backs me up. Argentina will have to be in a recession for the next 10 years and Colombia will have to keep growing for them to have the same GDP as us. Where can you read that Colombia has overtaken Argentina? hahahahha with that information that you just gave you look totally ridiculous.
Last year more than 40 thousands Colombian got into Argentina LEGALLY, then you have a bunch of illegal ones, and majority of those do not go to UNI.
There is not immigration deficit in Argentina, again, where are you getting your information from? There is MORE and MORE immigrants coming to live here than Argentineans getting out.
What does free trade with the US has to do? We had free trade with the US in the past and it was a total shambles for this country.

 

[DontMindMe]

It's funny even with the crime I would take Medellin over Buenos Aires. I started learning Spanish here in BA but it was only after I went to Colombia that it finally "clicked". In Buenos Aires it's all the pollo (POSHO) and calle (CASHE) that threw me off. When I got to Colombia I was shocked that I understood when people spoke! Buenos Aires has to be one of the hardest places to begin learning Spanish. Now I understand everything here but it was stressful at the beginning.
In Colombia there is an irresistble musical tone to the accent ( in Medellin and in my opinion). I could listen to it all day.

There is also the attitude of the typical Colombian. They are really a very happy bunch. Forever dancing and laughing. Buenos Aires seems at times to be kind of grumpy. That may be due to the fact that Colombia is growing and expanding and Argentina is well....you know.

It was friends of my friends getting shot. My friends were all university educated and the guy who got shot for his motorcycle was a doctor.
So it's not just the scum. With maybe 1200 homicides a year for Medellin it's hard not to know somebody who knows some of those people. The city is not THAT big.

I'm sorry those people were shot. I didn't mean to imply they were "scum." I simply disagree on how common it is to know people who have been shot and killed, at least now.

And yes, I would also take Medellín over Buenos Aires at this point, if I had to stay in Latin America. It's a damn delight. The city's beautiful, the weather's beautiful, the people are great and finding good, healthy food is not an issue. The paisa accent is my favorite in the country, I think. So fun to listen to. As for Colombia in general, it's such a change to live in a place where the mentality is more, "Hey, we've been through hell, but we're going to have fun and laugh and enjoy life and smile and be happy."

In regards to some other posts, here are some reasons why Colombians continue to move to Argentina:

-Cheaper education (particularly medical school; also, doctors make more in Argentina)
-No more 48-hour work week
-Less work in general. Colombians work like dogs, and often on Saturdays--we all know how Argentines work.
-Less uptight social norms (wear what you want, grow out your hair/beard, dress like a bum, stop wearing makeup, no one cares)
-Relative safety
-The Colombian economy may be doing great if you go by numbers, but most professional salaries are abysmal when you look at the high cost of living, and the job market is extremely competitive.

Why they get sick of Argentina (not so different from everyone else, really):

-Turning into Venezuela and everything that goes along with that--inflation, inability to save in pesos
-Horrible food (the rice, the sugar and salt, the fruits/veggies were the complaints I'd hear most)
-Comparatively rude, unfriendly people; difficulty in making local friends (at least in BA)

 

[DontMindMe]

THERE IS NO BEACH IN CARTAGENA

LOL, yes there is. You just have to take a ferry to get to the good one.