Airline Miles to Medellín Smiles: Tomek’s Colombia Playbook

In this episode of the Where Do Gays Retire podcast, Mark Goldstein speaks with Tomek Gurzynski, a 54-year-old Polish-born adventurer and longtime airline professional who lives in Medellín, Colombia. Tomek shares his journey from the United States to Colombia, discussing the climate, cost of living, healthcare, and vibrant culture of Medellín. He emphasizes the city's safety, LGBTQ inclusivity, and the affordable yet high-quality standard of living. Tomek also offers practical advice for those considering a move to Colombia, stressing the importance of preparation, learning Spanish, and understanding local customs. His personal experiences illuminate why Medellín could be an ideal retirement destination for the LGBTQ+ community.

Takeaways:

• Medellín has a vibrant LGBTQ community that is super welcoming and friendly. Seriously, it's like a big hug every time you step out!
• The cost of living in Medellin is way lower than in the US, so you can live like a king or queen for way less. Talk about winning!
• Colombia's healthcare system is top-notch and super affordable, making it easy for retirees to access quality medical care without breaking the bank.
• Medellin has a fabulous climate, so you won't have to sweat like a popsicle in the sun! It's like eternal spring here, and who doesn't love that?
• Finding community is key when moving abroad, and Medellín has plenty of events and groups where you can connect with fellow LGBTQ folks.
• Safety in Medellín has significantly improved, allowing you to enjoy the city without constantly looking over your shoulder.

Links referenced in this episode:

• lgbtqseniors.com
• wheredogaysretire.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Introducing LGBTQSeniors.com – A Free Community for Connection & Pride

Mark Goldstein, host of the Where Do Gays Retire Podcast, shares exciting news: LGBTQSeniors.com is live! It’s a free online community for LGBTQ folks 50+ featuring: Private messaging & forums Monthly Zoom meetups Real connection—without the social media clutter If you love what Mark’s building, please support the cause at 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/unlonelylgbtqseniors 🌈 Join today at LGBTQSeniors.com — because pride doesn’t retire.

Episode Transcript

(01:13):
Welcome to the Where Do GaysRetire Podcast where we help you
in the LGBTQ community.
Find a safe and affordableretirement place.
Join Mark Goldstein as heinterviews others who live in gay
friendly places around the globe.
Learn about the climate, costof living, health care, crime and
safety, and more.

(01:33):
Now here's your host, Mark Goldstein.
Have you ever wondered whatit's like to retire in Medellin,
Colombia?
Joining us today is tomekGurzynski, a 54 year old Polish born
adventurer and longtimeairline professional.

(01:57):
Tomek moved to the UnitedStates in 2002 and spent his first
eight years in Los Angeles,California before settling in Orlando,
Florida in 2010.
He has been soaring high inthe airline industry for 31 years,
including 20 years with amajor US airline.

(02:17):
Celebrating his 20thanniversary on April 20, 2025.
Congratulations.
After several exploratoryvisits and careful planning, Tomek
moved to Medellin, Colombia inNovember of 2024.
He he now lives there with hispartner, a Medellin native whom he

(02:40):
met shortly after arrivingfrom the skies of the US to the mountains
of Colombia.
Tomek's journey in one of themost thoughtful transitions.
Love and finding community ina new country.
Welcome, Tomek.
Welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much for coming.
It's a pleasure to have you.

(03:01):
Thank you so much, Mark, forhaving me and thank you for this
amazing introduction.
Thank you.
So let's get into Colombia.
Tell us a little bit moreabout yourself and what brought you
to Colombia out of all placesin the world.
Since the very early age, Iwas exploring different parts of

(03:24):
the world.
I've been traveling since Iwas 19 years old, shortly after the
Wallace came down in Europeand my country, Poland became a free,
open country and we could getthe passport was my dream.
And I successfully did thissince that moment up until today.
Getting involved meanwhileprofessionally in airline industry,

(03:46):
which allowed me to evenexplore more places.
And I guess my mom passed mein my genes continuity of life and
approach very openly todifferent cultures.
Even we had a very specificand strong culture in my country.
I've always been very open toexploring, moving around, getting

(04:07):
to know people instead ofstaying in a hotel, staying with
family, so staying in homes ofpeople who live where I went to.
So that was always passion ofmy life and it's still, till today,
it never died.
Wow.
So, okay, and first the US andnow Colombia.
Correct.
So that's a pretty big move in itself.

(04:30):
So.
Absolutely.
It is, it is, it is because itis different culture.
US is a wonderful country, acountry of many cultures.
You can Meet anybody from allover the world.
It's a country of immigrantssince the very early ages, but it
offers completely different climate.
Colombia.
I find Colombia much closer tothe culture of my country, where

(04:53):
family is the strongest pointand core of life, where food, music
and social life is extremelyvibrant and very open towards people
who are coming to visit.
And that is something whichnot many countries offer in the world.
I find that a little bit moreoften now when people speak about

(05:17):
their country, especially inEurope as well or Mexico, it's very
family oriented.
And they all also think offamily and friends before work too.
Kind of like that work lifebalance that the US always maybe
pretends to have.

(05:37):
I don't think there's worklife balance.
I think people have workedvery hard in the U.S.
and maybe they should takeafter other countries.
You know, I do agree with you,but I don't think this is only a
trend in the United States.
I think it's part of thesystem we were born into.
Because when you think aboutit, there's nothing natural in what

(05:59):
we do every day.
And majority of times what wedo, we work, right?
So we have to work to earn ourliving, to buy those luxuries, things
we want to have in life, oreven travel around.
We have to be part of that system.
And when you think about it,you have a moment to kind of wonder
around why it is like that.
It is not natural that nothingcomes of that system from nature.

(06:22):
It is purely created by human beings.
And it exists in United Statesand Canada and Colombia and Poland
and many in all other countries.
We do exactly the same thing.
Wake up, go to work, earn ourmoney so we can pay for food, travel,
our housing, transportation, anything.
Is it possible to escape it?
To the certain point, yes.

(06:43):
But we have to be aware of itevery single day.
We cannot let our existencedepend on it.
And a lot of people do, unfortunately.
And United States, I found itextreme in the past years where basically
you work all the time and youenjoy the life only a very small

(07:03):
portion of the hours of day.
That shouldn't be like thislife, not.
It is what it.
What the system tells us it is.
We should live to the fullest.
We should work to live to thefullest, not live to work.
Right.
And that's what I had to makea decision later in life.

(07:24):
You know, I worked so hard onWall street all my years, and then
it came to a point where itwas, you know, either burnout or,
you know, do I stay doing whatI'm doing in, in stressful situations,
Until I retire or maybe move somewhere.
Where do gays retire that Icould, you know, I could live and

(07:45):
afford without having thatstressful situation.
But anyway, let's get back towhat we were talking about.
Let's talk about a little bitabout the climate and geography of
Medellin.
Can you describe the climateand geography for our listeners?
I've always been a person ofthe ocean.

(08:06):
I love the ocean.
I'm a scuba diver at heart.
This is my biggest passion ofmy life since 2012.
And I never imagined that Icould live in the mountains.
And this is where I am right now.
Medellin is very uniquelysituated between the mountains.
It's kind of in the valley.
And we are surrounded bybeautiful hills and mountains going

(08:27):
even up to 2400 meters abovethe sea level, which is about, what,
8200ft, which is pretty high.
The climate is.
Because we are very close tothe equator.
So the climate is therainforest climate.
That.
That's what formal, formalname of the climate is over here

(08:47):
in this region.
However, it is not as hotsimply because of the elevation.
So it's very fresh.
Coming from Florida, whereevery single day I was struggling
sometimes to breathe,especially during the summertime,
being over here in thisclimate is just a great break.
It's very nice, very warmduring the day.

(09:08):
Nights could be a little bit chilly.
Depends on the day, of course.
And there is a lot of rain.
The rain season usually isbetween the wettest months, usually
are between the mid March toJune and then it starts from September
to December as well.
And then the dry season overhere is mid December to approximately

(09:29):
mid March.
However, this year it's alittle bit different because we feel
effects of El Nino and El Nina.
And that's kind of like aturnaround year where when we had
a lot of rain recently,especially in the past two or three
months, there's been tons ofrain almost every day.
So this year is a little bitdifferent, but hopefully we'll pass
it through and we come back tothe normal routine of having those

(09:51):
dry and wet seasons.
Vegetation is absolutely stunning.
It's a very green city.
As you know, Medellin iscalled the City of Eternal Spring
because of its climate.
So we don't get the snow, wedon't have minus temperatures over
here, and everything is justblooming and glowing.
Thank thanks to amount ofwater we have and just amazing climate.

(10:14):
Average temperatures, I wouldsay probably around 74 to 75 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Very comfortable temperature,24 degree degrees Celsius.
Yeah, beautiful.
And that's winter and summer.
That's a winter.
And summer is basically steady spring.
That is correct, yes.

(10:35):
What more can you want fromclient climate?
It's beautiful.
I can exchange the view of theocean for this type of climate, to
be honest.
I hear you, I hear you and Idefinitely get that.
How about climate change?
Do you think climate changehas affected Medellin?
I know that you haven't beenthere for that long.
Maybe not too.

(10:56):
I do have friends who havebeen here for longer.
One of them actually is fromColombia, from a different city,
Kokuta, but they've beenliving here for several years.
Definitely the summers didn'tused to be that hot.
Probably about 10, 15 yearsago, you can feel a little bit more
heat.
What I love is the approach ofthe government of the city.
A few years ago they startedsomething which is called a green

(11:19):
corridor project, which aimedto plant thousands and thousands
of trees and vegetation in thecity along its highways, freeways.
And They've achieved about 2degrees Celsius reduction in temperature
inside of the valley, insideof the city, which I think is absolutely
amazing.

(11:39):
Besides the.
The whole entire visualconcept, which is very impressive,
it also allowed people tospend more time outside.
And you can see part of theColombian culture is to gather and
socialize not only in therestaurants, but also in parks.
If you go to, for instance,Parque Poblado or Parque de Sabaneta,

(11:59):
which is right here next to myhouse, every single day, basically
down to dusk, you see peoplesitting around talking, playing card
games, chess, you know, and Iabsolutely love that.
And this is in the coverage ofthose beautiful trees, which are
everywhere.
So, yes, that's somethingwhich you can feel.
However, you know, they'redoing a lot of projects here.

(12:21):
They're trying to achievecompletely carbon free life over
here up until 2050.
That's also a very officialproject which started in 2020.
That's a climate action planthey implemented over here.
They also have sustainabletransportation system, two metro
lines, one of them which runsfrom south to north, and the other
one from west to east,connected with bus lines and cable

(12:45):
cars.
You can see more and moreelectric buses in the city as well.
So it's very.
It's pro climate, definitelywhat they do over here, and I like
it a lot.
Would you say it's a cafe culture?
Like there are cafes andpeople drinking coffee outdoors and
coffee.
I love coffee and Colombian coffee.

(13:09):
Absolutely.
I mean, that's what I wantedto say.
Come on, Mark.
This is a coffee country.
Being in Colombia, you cantruly experience what Coffee is all
about not only just byvisiting, but, you know, if you live
over here, every single dayyou go to different place, and every
single day you can have adifferent type of coffee.
I drink coffee with no sugarbecause you just simply like the

(13:31):
taste of it.
And I feel like I'm black.
Yes.
So when you drink a blackcoffee, you see that you can taste
the difference betweendifferent types of coffee over here.
Yes.
Everywhere, on every corner ofthe street.
You know, one of the veryfamous drinks over here is coffee
with cheese.
Cafe con queso.

(13:52):
They do drink it more eventhan coffee with cheese.
There is chocolate with cheese.
Now, wait a minute, explain.
The cheese is on the outside with.
You have it with it or is itin the coffee?
It's in the coffee.
It's in the coffee.
And I feel, I mean, I was toldat that time, I've tried that once,
I like more chocolate withcheese, which is completely different

(14:16):
flavor.
It's got that typical sweetness.
It's kind of like a ritual inthe afternoon.
Sometimes they take it as anafternoon drink over here, so I like
that much more.
But they do all the variationsof either coffee or chocolate, and
they add cheese into it.
It's absolutely delicious.
Delicious.
You know, I'm a black coffeeguy, but, like, if I go to Europe,

(14:40):
if I'm in Spain, I want a cafecon leche.
So it's just the espresso.
Espresso.
Coffee with the, you know, the milk.
Correct.
Steamed milk, yes.
Over here, the greatestexperience I had with the coffee
was when we went to Pereira.
Pereira is a townapproximately four and a half hour
drive from here towards thesouth, and that's considered a coffee

(15:03):
country.
And over there you can experience.
You can actually go for manytours here in Medellin as well, but
over there, especially formany tours, and you can experience
how they make coffee and whatare the differences and how they
prepare it, how everything isdone, you know, the proper way.
So, yes.
And it's cheap.
Is definitely cheap.
So, yeah, I'm sure.

(15:25):
How about.
Let's get into the cost of living.
I know compared to the US it'sprobably a lot less expensive.
Tell us a little bit.
How would you overall describethe cost of living in Medellin?
If you are someone who isplanning to either retire and you
have an income from adifferent country and you live here,

(15:48):
it's absolutely much more affordable.
And starting from the simplestthings as shopping and food ending
up on.
On the cost of housing isdefinitely the place where you will
spend your buck and you willFeel like you have bought something
and you know, average price,let's say right now I'm in the stage

(16:09):
of renting, so I'm not, youknow, I've been here for several
months since November last year.
And I decided I, you know,with still my income being created
in the United States, I cancome and enjoy life and rent a place
for.
There are six different levelsof luxury over here recognized which
is called estrato in Medellinand in Colombia as well.

(16:32):
And every city has those levels.
The level one of course isthe, the most affordable, maybe not
that luxurious as those aresmaller apartments in different parts
of town when there's not asmuch money involved in purchasing
or renting the property.
And six being the most luxurious.
Definitely.
As someone who is, who earnsthe money over there or someone who

(16:55):
is, let's say from UnitedStates and gets his retirement, he
can easily afford level numbersix over here.
Because currently, I mean, I'mgoing to share it, I'm not going
to lie.
I'm paying approximately $950for beautiful two bedroom apartments
in Sabaneta with the viewwhich people would die for.
And I have a balcony and Ilove spending my time on that balcony.

(17:17):
Everything is finished to thehighest standards.
And I have a 24 hour securitydownstairs with a porter swimming
pool, dry and wet sauna.
You know, some places havejacuzzis and jean gyms as well.
And this is the level six andwe're talking about $950.
Are you kidding me?
For that price you wouldn't beable to rent a studio and anywhere

(17:38):
basically in the United Statesthat's in state.
So it's crazy.
But I'm moving.
I'm moving.
I'm finishing my contract atthe end of this month and I'm moving
in the beginning of May toanother part of town which is called
Envigado, also a reallybeautiful place.
Currently I live in Sabanetaand Vigado is right next to Sabaneta.
And I'm going to be in thebrand new apartment which was just

(18:01):
built this month.
As a first renter over there,my rent is going to go up to about
$1200 a month for even biggerapart with the better views.
So.
So you still can't beat it.
Yes, yes.
And of course, you know,thinking about the future, I don't
want to rent all the time.
Although if I keep the sameincome or even retirement later,

(18:24):
you can easily afford it.
But the prices are going up.
We can feel it over here.
People can feel it every Yearbecause of the influx of all the
people from other countrieswho just come over here and want
to live here and they'rewilling to pay a little bit higher
price.
It's one of the most commoncomplaints of Colombians because
their life is becoming lessand less affordable for them and

(18:45):
their income is completelydifferent than ours.
Average income probably overhere is about two to two and a half
million pesos, which isapproximately five to 750 maybe dollars
a month, you know, so, youknow, they can't afford that much
as we can.
But definitely, you know, I'mthinking about buying.

(19:06):
And if you want to buy anapartment over here, probably you
should think about betweenUS$80,000 up to 160, $180,000 some
of the apartments go for.
And we're talking about veryhigh standards.
I mean, apartments whichnormally in US would be for 380,
450 to $500,000 and someplaces, you know, wow.

(19:30):
So definitely more affordable.
Yeah, that sounds great.
Hey, yeah, that's.
And also what is veryimportant, what is very important
that besides that, the media,which you pay.
So for instance, if you rentan apartment, a lot of places offer
you.
A lot of places you pay water,waste, electricity and Internet separately.

(19:54):
My place, for instance,everything is included.
So I don't pay any additionalfees, neither for my Internet nor
for anything else up tocertain amount of money.
But just to give you a glimpseof what the cost would be as far
as, you know, all that smalllittle things.
Gas is probably the leastexpensive, two to four dollars per

(20:15):
month.
And with the usage over here,we don't have boilers.
Our water, which we use, thehot water is heated by the gas.
So that's a huge saving.
What you could also consider,and I have to look at my notes because
I, you know, since I haveeverything included, I was asking
people how much they pay andit just shocked me.
A cell phone, for instance, ifyou have your normal cell phone line.

(20:38):
That's what I'm planning to doin the next few, few probably weeks,
15 to $20 a month.
And this is the plan whichincludes, you know, tons of data,
very high speed Internet andyou know, depending on where you
live.
Also on those levels which Itold you about before Estrato, those
prices also go either up or down.
Internet probably is around 18to $25 a month for high speed.

(21:02):
Then water and waste could endup to maximum.
Even if you have three or fourpeople in your family living in the
same place, $20 if you'reliving by yourself or with Your partner,
I would say probably around 10to $12 a month.
So if you think about it, youradditional costs over here, for all
the necessary stuff you needto have in your apartment, including

(21:23):
your cell phone, could end upto be probably between 50 to $80
a month.
That's insane too.
Now, let me ask about water.
Can you drink the water?
But you're drinking waterright now.
This is the water straightfrom the top.
So we get this water, ofcourse it is treated, but it's not
as this is purely drinkable water.

(21:44):
And this is what we get overhere in Medellin.
To my knowledge, in Bogotaalso, you can drink water straight
from the tap.
I have been there a few timesbefore on the layovers only.
But it's a great taste.
And we fill out the glasses,we fill out our containers in the
fridge, and you can drink itfrom any point.
We've been to many placesoutside of Medellin, high in the

(22:06):
mountains, and they take waterstraight from the rivers and streams
which are out there, which isvery fresh water.
They just minimally treating it.
And then you can drink itbasically straight from the glass
as well.
So it's very safe.
Other than the big citiesthough, and the places in the mountains,
is it like Mexico where youcan't drink the water?

(22:29):
Not to my knowledge.
Majority of the places havehave a drinking water.
They don't have any pollution.
Major pollution problems over here.
As far as the drinking waterstuff that comes from.
I've asked my partner, he'sfrom a different originally, he was
born in Barranca Bermeja andhe's from there.
He says absolutely, you candrink water straight from the top.

(22:51):
Cool.
How about groceries and diningout, transportation?
You talked a little bit about utilities.
But when you come over here,there are stores obviously everywhere,
almost on, on every corner ofthe street.
There is a lot of smallbusinesses here, which we don't see
anymore in the United Statesbecause we are majorly taken over

(23:15):
by the big corporations likeWalmart and you know, and other places.
So it could be Ralph's in California.
Over here there's a lot ofvery small grocery stores where you
can get fresh productsstraight from the farmers.
There are also bigger stores,so it depends where you go, the price
vary.
The most expensive place isthe chain of grocery stores which

(23:38):
is called Karuya.
And Karua usually offersabsolutely everything and anything
and with a beautiful and highend quality food.
And nothing is reallyprocessed over here.
That's another thing which isgreat and I love about about Colombia.
They don't process food.
And in Karua, probably themost expensive place, when you go

(23:58):
for shopping for approximatelyone week for one person, I would
say it would be around $100.
But there is a chain of storeswhich is called Exito, which is definitely
much more affordable.
And in that stores, when I gowith my partner, we usually do for
the same price.
We do shopping for two people,and that's for a week.

(24:19):
When I counted, I spent most300, $350 a month for the food a
month.
And I am not looking at the prices.
Trust me, if I was looking theprices, I could bring it down to
probably about 200, 250.
But if you want to save, ifyou're on a budget, yes, definitely.
But you don't have to be on abudget in Colombia.

(24:43):
When I went to.
Me and my husband and I wentto rent in California in the Palm
Springs area for three months,and our first shopping experience
was, you know, we had to loadup the refrigerator.
So of course we're buying more.
But still, this was one week,and it was about $350 for that one

(25:06):
week.
Let me tell you, right beforeI came to Colombia, I lived in California
for about a year in San Diego.
There was just.
I rented my house in Florida.
I decided to move over thereto kind of clear my head and to make
the right decision in my life.
Thank God I was in luxury ofdoing this with no problem whatsoever.
So I moved over there forabout a year.

(25:26):
And I will never forget, Iwent for the first time to the store
and I.
And it was Ralph's and I madea little shopping and it was literally
small, little plastic bag of stuff.
And when the price came out onthat cash registered, I almost sit
down.
You know, being from Florida,I was like, are you kidding me?

(25:47):
I think that under my nose, Isaid few unsettled, uncensored words
at that time.
I was like, what the hell didyou do?
But true.
I mean, it's.
It's just.
It depends also where you arein the United States.
Then I came back to Floridaand I found out that prices went
up like crazy as well in thegrocery store.
So for comparison.
And I can tell you that'sgoing to make you smile as well.

(26:10):
I just went right before theshort little trip we just did for
the weekend with my partner tothe mountains.
We went to do some shoppingand I said, okay, we need some wine.
So I bought four bottles of wine.
I went to the store, which iscalled D1 de Uno over here.
Very nice.
But Discounted store, muchsmaller size, it's a chain.
And I bought some groceriesand I bought five bottles of wine

(26:33):
and guess how much I paid.
I bet you the wine is likereal, real cheap too.
The wine was from Spain andfrom Italy, so there was Spanish
and Italian wine, whichusually I buy for about 20 bucks
or 22 bucks.
In the United States, fivebottles of wine and the grocery for

(26:55):
about two or three days, Ipaid about $35.
So the difference is tremendous.
And as I am saying, I mean youcan go and you can buy more expensive
wine because there are somewines over here which are, let's
say $15 or $17 in translationto US money.
But where you live here, youknow where to go, you know.

(27:17):
And this is all thanks to thetime I spend over here and my friends
Juan and John, who I stayedwith several times when I was here
and they passed that knowledgeto me and we went to many different
stores and they said, youknow, this is where you have to go
for your food, this.
So it's really nice to havesomeone to advise you before you
move over here how you shouldstart your life because it's definitely

(27:38):
smoother.
Yeah, reminds me in Californiatoo, there was a place called Food
for Less.
So they were owned by the sameKroger establishment, but they were,
you had to pack your own bags.
It was like no frills.
But the Food for Less priceswere the same as my Phoenix prices

(28:00):
and that was less.
So yeah, there is quite a big difference.
The other thing is, the otherthing is that for, let's say for
people like myself or someonewho is coming here either for vacation
or even to live, dining out isextremely inexpensive as well.
I mean, you can go from manydifferent levels of restaurants.
But the most I have spent fortwo people in the most luxurious

(28:24):
restaurant with five coursedinner, with wine, with everything
was 100 bucks for two people.
So, so that's, you know, thisis the price which I paid, sometimes
half of that I paid in fastfood restaurants in the United States.
Over here I can have aluxurious dinner for two.
And normally when you go tothe restaurant, street food, for
instance, absolutelydelicious, natural, made by the people

(28:46):
who live here and they are inevery park almost, you can find a
little stands when people areselling food, there's up for pennies
on a dollar.
But if you want to treatyourself, you can go to a little
bit better restaurant than fortwo people.
Let's say you pay 25 bucks or$17, you know, and you still have

(29:06):
a five course dinner withdrinks, you know, so definitely something
which is very attractive.
As far as life over here, what's.
The dining culture like?
Is it.
Do they eat late or do theyeat early?
Like here, like, I'm ready to eat.
At 5pm so they.

(29:27):
They do spend a lot of timetogether as a family at night, usually
when I was going out, Iusually go out during the day.
So you can see more peopledining out during the day.
But Colombians, they do have.
They do.
They have a culture ofcooking, so they cook a lot at home.
My partner is an excellent cook.

(29:48):
I always tell him this becauseI love.
He loves cooking and he cooksfor me, and I absolutely love his
food.
But as far as the eatingtimes, they have a little breakfast.
Usually it could be chocolatewith cheese or a little arepa.
Arepas are very popular over here.
That replaces the bread asequivalent of bread.
And they are made in manydifferent ways.

(30:09):
You go to grocery store, youcan buy about six or seven different
kinds of arepas.
There are also private standsfrom people who are making and cooking
that at home, and they areselling that on the streets.
And I have over here a littlesmall stand which is a little store
with arepas, which is called chachas.
And I always go to chachasbecause I get my pack of arepas,
which is about 10 of them forapproximately $3, and I usually pack

(30:34):
over arepas.
Lasts me for about four orfive days, you know, with no problem
whatsoever.
So it's very inexpensive.
But yeah, as far as the times,they usually go for breakfast and
they have a lunch in the afternoon.
Remember that those people wholive here, they do work, and majority
of them, they work seven daysa week.
Some of them, they don't evenhave a day off.

(30:56):
If they have a day off isusually one very uncommon thing is
to have a two days off duringthe week.
Wow.
So they, you know, as I wassaying before, you know, we're part
of.
Part of the system, andColombia is not free of that neither.
They are very hard workers,but in the same time, they don't
forget about what life is all about.

(31:18):
I love about Colombian culture here.
Did they do siesta?
They don't do siesta over here.
No, they don't do siesta.
This is Spain.
Colombia is made.
Even was colonized, but atsome point by Spanish empire.
It has a lot of influences,but no, they.
That's something which theydon't have over here.
They work really hard.

(31:38):
Definitely got it.
All right.
You were asking me abouttransportation, right?
Because this is Very important part.
I just recalled 80 cents.
That's what you pay for the pass.
And with that pass you canenter the metro station over here,
go to the other side of town,take a bus, go to maybe three or

(32:00):
four stops and take a metrocable car.
They have a system of metrocables here all around the city since
a lot of communities are builton the side of the hills.
So in order for people to getto their homes, if the system that.
If the cable cars were nonexistent, they would have to work

(32:21):
sometimes for 45 minutes or anhour on the 35 degrees heel, which
is, you know, pretty good workout.
But they build this systemabsolutely perfectly.
You can get to any part ofthis, of those communities within
minutes and it cost you 80cents, literally.
So you can live here with nocar whatsoever and be happy.

(32:44):
Cost of taxi is also extremely low.
I use the app over here whichis very popular, it's called Indrive.
It's kind of like equivalentof Uber.
You can take a regular taxi,but a lot of people take in drive.
You simply order the car, youagree to the price or you propose
the price, they accept it,they come to pick you up.

(33:04):
Average cost for 2030 minuteride is about four or five dollars.
Some of the rides closer tohere, let's say from Exito.
Because Exito, which I havethe grocery store which I just mentioned
to you is located very low onthe lower level.
So I have going to myapartment is really uphill, especially
the last part.
So if I have a lot ofgroceries, I usually take a taxi

(33:26):
from there and it'sapproximately $2.
So it's extremely low.
Yes.
As far as the cost, it'sinexpensive for sure.
Do you know if they have.
I know you're not there yet.
Do they have anything for seniors?
Like is it free for seniors?
To be honest with you, thatsubject I did not explore yet.

(33:47):
They do probably they have alot of programs over here for senior
and especially for people withthe lower income.
They.
I forgot the name of this, ofthe system, but they do certain type
of qualification.
They visit your household, youordered some sort of inspection,
they come to see how you live,what kind of income you have, they

(34:07):
analyze everything and theyassign you a certain level as well.
The same as level of livingover here as far as the quality and
luxury of apartments.
All the citizens who are hereare assigned a certain level of.
They say either, you know,they live a normal life, they're
close to, let's say low income people.
There are very low incomepeople and those who have the lowest

(34:29):
income.
They qualify for theabsolutely, completely free health
care.
And they do also some.
They do have some otherbenefits from the government and
help which they receive,including, you know, childcare support
and all this kind of stuff.
So they do have thoseprograms, but I'm not there yet.
I don't have many information about.
I know you're not.

(34:52):
Okay, let's go on to the LGBTQ community.
What's the LGBTQ communitylike in Medellin?
There are specificneighborhoods, bars, restaurants.
Absolutely.
The marriage was legalizedover here in 2016.
That year was extremelysignificant for Colombia because
it was the same year as theysigned a piece of accord ending the

(35:16):
armed conflicts over here inColombia, which obviously people
who study the history of thiscountry or even know something about
this country, they know very,very well.
And it was a year of completetransformation of this country.
I think that even we still,when we hear Colombia, we may think
many different things.
We have stereotypes.
We're going to probably talkabout it a little bit later, but

(35:37):
it's completely differentright now.
That also marked the pointwhen the whole entire country became
more open.
There's a lot more acceptancetowards LGBTQ community.
And I think Medellin, as faras my knowledge and what I've heard
from other people, isconsidered as the most gay friendly

(36:00):
city in Colombia.
I mean, there are communities,gay communities everywhere in Bogota
as well.
But as far as.
As far as life over here forand gay community, Medellin is probably
the most welcoming and open.
You can see, I've seen manytimes people holding hands, kissing
on the street.
No one really cares about it.

(36:20):
The rest of the country iscatching up, although it's a little
bit behind.
So I would not recommend foranyone to travel outside and explore
the same type of behavior onthe streets, because they might get
few words here and there from someone.
But definitely country isprogressing in a very fast pace considering
2016, just nine years later,to have, you know, the whole entire

(36:42):
community being so accepted,it's a great accomplishment, I would
say.
The.
There is.
There are two different areasover here in Medellin which are considered
the gay areas.
This is El Poblado, which isthe center of the town, and Laureles,
which is very close by.
Two of those parts also arethe most popular among the tourists.

(37:02):
There's a lot of bars, gaybars, gay nightclubs, cafes, also
hotels, gay friendly hotelswhere you can stay among other businesses
as well.
And you can see communitybeing very vibrant over there.
Early in July, I think firstweek of the most famous gay Pride
is happening in Medellin.

(37:23):
I haven't experienced thatyet, but I'm planning to attend this
year and to see how it goes.
I've seen Pride in San Francisco.
I've seen Pride in la, in Longbeach and in New York.
So it will be very interestingfor me to also experience this one.
And I'm looking forward to it.
From what I've heard is agreat celebration.
This is just a weekend, butpeople from all over Colombia and

(37:44):
also all over the world cometo experience it over here.
So I'm definitely lookingforward to.
To do that from the bars.
I am not really a night guy.
I don't go out that much tothe bars, but I've been to few and
I had a very pleasant experience.
The only thing which I wouldrecommend is just to be a little
bit careful, you know, whenyou go out, especially at night,

(38:05):
even in those areas.
But other than that, placesare absolutely great.
Bar Chiquita is one which Iwent to.
Absolutely great place.
Or Club Oraculo over here, orPurple Club Medellin, I think that's
what it's called.
That's a big disco place, a nightclub.
I went there twice.
One on my layover and once onmy layover and once when I was already

(38:27):
living here.
So, yes.
Is it easy to find LGBTQexpats around?
So I'll tell you that way.
When I came to United Statesfor the purpose, I didn't come to
Chicago or New York.
When there is the biggestPolish community, usually people

(38:51):
look for it when they move todifferent country, look for people
like themselves who juststarted their life, which is kind
of a.
You know, it's normal to do itthat way.
Very comfortable for people.
I went straight to la.
There's not a big Polishcommunity out there because I just
wanted to taste the culture.
I wanted to see what it meansto live an American life.
And I did exactly the samething over here.

(39:14):
When I came over here, Ididn't look for.
Although I.
I know that the expatcommunity exists, and I'm part of
the group on Facebook andsocial media.
I try to get my personal own experience.
But there's a huge group.
They have meetings also everyonce in a while, and they enjoy their
life.
I know that there arewonderful people who meet together

(39:35):
and they spend time together.
They get to know each other.
They have a kind of insidesupport group.
I had my friend support, andthat was the most important for me
over here.
They helped me a lot.
But you can definitely rely onthe expat Group, and you just need
to get yourself involved alittle bit, probably right before
you come.
Very helpful.

(39:55):
Facebook group for expats.
And Medellin is functioning ona daily basis.
People post great questionsout there and they help one another.
Even people who are justplanning to come here and they don't
know where to start.
So that's a great source.
Absolutely.
LGBTQ is not that visible onthat page, I guess.

(40:17):
You know, I maybe have seenone or two posts itself, but it's
mainly related to changingtheir life and assimilating to living
conditions over here inColombia, rather than the community
itself.
Important question.
Did you know Spanish when you moved?
That is something which isextremely important.

(40:38):
I think where you move, itdoesn't matter where you move.
I did know Spanish, yes.
I do speak fluently Spanish,and I cannot tell you enough how
much it helps not only withestablishing your life, but also
with getting to know peoplewho live here.
They approach in a differentway if you speak their language.
My great advice to anyone whois planning to move to a different

(41:01):
country.
I am not saying learn thelanguage before you come here, but
at least make a huge effort tolearn the language when you come
here.
Two of my friends, which Ijust mentioned, Juan and John.
John is.
Is American.
Juan is from Colombia.
They lived in the UnitedStates for many years together, and
John didn't know Spanish thatmuch, and they moved here about three,

(41:23):
I would say, two and a half orthree years ago.
And absolutely amazing progress.
John is speaking fluentlySpanish right now.
He's part of the conversation.
It's great to see because youcan't taste the culture.
You can't know this place theway I know it if you don't speak
the language.
So, yes, you miss out on a lot.

(41:43):
You want to move to adifferent country, make sure that
you at least make an effort tolearn the language.
It's very important part of it.
Yeah.
Especially even before I move,I would like to know at least some
restaurant Spanish so I canget by in a restaurant.
It starts from there, and it'sa great starting point.

(42:04):
Absolutely.
Even few words in Spanish overhere in Colombia will make some other
people, they know that you'renot from here, but they appreciate
that you at least making aneffort, making the effort to speak
in their own language.
And, you know, and there'salways someone, you know, there's
always.
I say that, you know, touristcommunity could be.
Could have a good positive andnegative effect on the society.

(42:27):
There's a lot of people whodon't really know how to behave.
And they kind of, you know,they're kind of ignorant.
They come here and say, Ispeak English.
Everybody speaks English.
You should speak English.
English as well.
No, it doesn't work that way.
I'm sorry, but that's the wayit is.
You know, when I came toUnited States, I learned the language
before I came to UnitedStates, and I spoke English fluently.
I do right now.

(42:48):
Before I came to here, I look,I spoke Spanish.
You know, you just have to be responsible.
You have to move when you'reprepared for it, and that's part
of the progression.
How many languages are you fluent?
I speak my native Polish, Ispeak Spanish, I speak English, and
I speak Russian.
I think it's enough for.
Right, Got it.

(43:09):
Yeah.
That's enough, considering Ionly know one.
Yes.
Excellent.
All right.
What's your experience?
Have you made friends withlocals or locals a little bit more
standoffish?
No.
Colombians are extremely open,especially when you try to speak
their language or you speaktheir language.

(43:29):
Open book?
Absolutely.
The very first few people Ifound over here were drivers.
And drivers are also extremely friendly.
When I arrived or I arrived atthe airport.
In here in Medellin, there aredifferent options.
You can take a regular taxi.
You can order in, drive, orlike myself, I have one driver, which

(43:50):
I know right now, who alwayspicks me up and drops me off at the
airport.
That's probably the best waybecause you know one another.
You can always count on thatperson, you know.
But taxi from the airport tothe city is approximately, I would
say, between 28 to 32 dollars.
It's about an hour and 20minute drive to where I am, so it's
actually pretty long.

(44:11):
But those are the first peoplewho you meet.
And you would be amazed howknowledgeable their people are about
their culture, how willingthey are to talk about Colombia,
about, you know, they ask youmany questions as well, because they
want to find out where are youfrom, you know, are you from United
States, you're from different country.
And then it's.
The conversation starts, andthen you find out.

(44:34):
Their historical knowledge isjust stunning.
They know everything not onlyabout their own country, but other
countries as well, and othercultures even.
They've never traveled before.
Not a lot of them, because,you know, they can't afford it.
A lot of people can't affordtravel like we do.
And.
And it's just.
It amazes me the level ofknowledge they have.
Some of the very first lessonsabout history of Colombia got from

(44:57):
taxi drivers.
You'll be surprised.
I'm sure my Father was a cab driver.
When he was alive, he was ataxi driver.
You gotcha.
There you go.
Let's get a little bit backinto the transportation questions.
Is everything walkable?
So in town, do you.
Can you walk to the grocery market?

(45:19):
Doctor, hospital, bank, shoemaker?
Absolutely.
Absolutely, yes.
And every.
The structure of the city is.
Is, I would say, very uniquebecause living in the United States,
I remember there are certainparts of the city you live and you
have to drive to the grocerystore because it's two and a half
or three miles away.

(45:40):
Now.
Everything, the city is very condensed.
And remember, it's surroundedby the mountains, so there's only
certain amount of space.
They.
And it's a very big city.
So you can find either smallgrocery stores everywhere or you
can find bigger ones.
At least one per.
Or two per community.
And everything is walkable.

(46:00):
I usually walk down and I comeback with a taxi if I have to do
a lot of.
A lot of shopping.
I also walk to my gym overhere, which is very close, and Parque
Poblado, and I'm sorry, ParqueSabaneta, which is right down there.
It's.
There's tons of restaurantsout there, also walkable distance.
So I don't have to go downtownin order to experience great dining
because I have it right nextto me.

(46:22):
And every part where this isItakui or Boneta or Poblada or this
or Bayo, all those places,they do have everything reachable
within walking distance.
And it's a pleasure to walkoutside because it's not that hot.
The climate is amazing.
One thing, that's why you'reso fit.
I'm trying always take yourumbrella with you, always.

(46:45):
Because over here you neverknow when the rain starts.
And when it.
It rains, it's a wall of rain.
So, yes, always take yourumbrella with you.
Good to know.
Good to know.
Okay, so that's great.
Everything is walkable.
If it's not work, walkable,and you want to go to the other end
of town, you have the trains,which are really inexpensive.

(47:07):
I wanted to tell you somethingwhich I found here extremely fascinating.
There is a culture of theshopping centers.
It's about 36 of them in theentire city.
And I'm talking shoppingcenters like malls.
So for the size of the city,which is about what, two and a half,

(47:27):
three million people, 36shopping centers and basically limited
space.
It's a lot.
But let me tell you, thestructure of the mall is nothing
comparable to what we have inthe United States.
You have a one floor which ismedical floor, you can go to that
floor.
You can take care of all yourmedical stuff, including plastic

(47:50):
surgery if you want to.
People love hanging out in the mall.
You can find everything in themalls from the grocery stores to
the high end, you know, brandsand stores and clothing stores which
you have out there.
Not only the fast food is onlya small portion of the mall.
You can go to a different partof the mall when you have a very

(48:11):
high end restaurants.
A lot of people go to themalls and shopping centers to spend
an afternoon and have either abusiness dinner or social dinner
with their friends if theywant to eat out.
A little bit higher on thehigher standard, which I don't find
at all in the United States.
United States usually.
We usually have a subway and afew other small restaurants.

(48:32):
And that's about it.
Right over here there's awhole entire food section.
It's like a small little citywhen you walk in between the aisles
and you have this beautifulrestaurants here with the view for
the mountain, open view forthe mountain with no windows.
So you're sitting basicallyinside, but you can see everything
outside.
And it's.
It's an indoor mall or it's an outdoor.

(48:53):
It's an indoor mall.
It's indoor, it's indoor.
But wow.
There.
Because there are many.
The depends on the size of the mall.
But for instance, the EnvigadoMall, which is right over here, there
are two sides which areconnected by the walkways.
And walkways are wide enoughto also include restaurants in the
middle of it.
So you walk outside with nowalls on the sides and you can sit

(49:14):
down in the coffee shop andhave a coffee overlooking the beautiful
hill on the other side.
And then you can walk insideof this beautiful area where you
have those great restaurantsand you can sit with your friend
or your partner or someoneelse and just eat absolutely amazing
food for not that much.
And.
And look at the beautiful view outside.

(49:36):
So it's a very different thing.
People, local people, theylove those smalls are constantly
full.
They are full of people frommorning till night.
And it sounds like they're inthe 70s of the United States because
that's when the mall startedbeing built and they were these huge

(49:58):
places.
And now today in the UnitedStates, the malls are pretty much
no more.
Absolutely.
I was in shock when I cameback from California to Florida.
Florida Mall in Orlando I usedto go to.
It was a vibrant place and itwas almost half empty when I went
over there.
Stores are closing down.
People don't go out, peopledon't socialize anymore.

(50:20):
And that's really sad.
And I came over here and justlet me tell you when I'm coming back
from work because I'm stillnot retired, but.
And I feel like I am retiredbecause I work for two weeks and
I'm coming back over here fortwo weeks.
I can do whatever I want.
And I feel like, like thisplace, it just pulls you in with
all the richness of thepeople, the culture, the food, the

(50:46):
social life.
You know, whether you're asocial person or not, you can, let's
say a few days, you can stayat home by yourself and just, just
look outside of your balconyand breathe this fresh air and look
at this beautiful view.
But then another day changesand you want to go and see the people,
be my guest.
You can go anywhere.
You can go to the shoppingcenter and you have this amazing

(51:07):
experience over here.
I absolutely love it.
That's so different.
Let me guess, they don't yethave Amazon.
They do.
They do.
They do.
They have the equivalent ofAmazon in their own country over
here.
And they do have Amazonbecause Amazon actually, in a matter
of fact, sells the productswhich can be shipped to Colombia.

(51:29):
So you just need to change thecountry in your settings.
So I would think they wouldn'thave Amazon because they go to the
malls.
Well, yes.
I mean, this type oftechnology, I think it's still in
the early stages like we usedto have about eight, nine years ago.
I don't think.
I don't think, to be honestwith you, that they will ever give

(51:50):
up doing this.
It's not what who Colombians are.
Colombians love to see others.
Colombians love to socialize,meet together.
And you can see it everywhere.
You can feel it everywhere.
So I think it's going to be alittle bit different.
United States and Americannation is the nation of convenience.
So probably that's why we wentthat way.

(52:11):
But Colombians are a littlebit different.
They still have the familyvalue, social values, friendship
values.
Got it.
All right, how about health care?
So how is healthcare access in Medellin?
Is it.
Do you have long waits?

(52:31):
Have you gone to a doctor?
Do you have long waits?
What are the waits?
And can you also explain the.
The different types of healthcare system.
That Medellin, COLOMBIA sohere's the thing.
Extremely affordable for us.
It's a social healthcaresystem which Colombian citizens,

(52:53):
residents are part of andmajority of people are under that
healthcare system.
There's a private sector aswell, which, you know, a lot of people
use, but mostly those are foreigners.
Like us or expats.
I don't know if people, youknow, maybe this is something I'm
going to reveal, but in WorldHealth Organization has this ranking

(53:16):
of the best healthcare systemsin the world.
And Colombia is on, on the21st place out of more than 100 where
United States is almost at theend at this stage.
So they have one of the besthealthcare systems existing in the

(53:38):
world.
41% of best hospitals in LatinAmerica are located over here in
Colombia, including one overhere in Medellin.
It's called the Hospital PabloTubon Uriba.
I think that's the name.
It's one of the best hospitalsin the city.
But the quality of thehealthcare also depends where you

(54:00):
go.
But it.
I would say I definitelyconsider rehigh for us.
Whether you are under theirsystem, if you live here permanently,
you have residency or yourvisa, your visa holder, you, you
can sign up for their, for thesystem and you can have a free health
care as well.
Sometimes you wait a littlebit, but you don't need any.

(54:21):
Let's say if you needspecialized tests, you don't need
any recommendation from yourfamily doctor.
You can just simply go andorder that when you come here.
First.
What I would recommend to getyourself a visa, because visa entitles
you to sign up for the ep,what is called EPS insurance, I think
it's called promotoras de Salut.

(54:44):
And once you sign up for thesystem, then you're eligible for
their health care and you canuse that healthcare or you can use
the private, private system.
When you are under EPSinsurance, the copay is between,
I would say, three to tendollars per visit or per procedure,
whatever that is.
The rest of it's for free.
Hospitals visits as well.

(55:06):
There's a very little copay to that.
Almost nothing I'veexperienced only one kind of.
It was not a big emergency.
But last December I came backfrom my vacation in Indonesia and
being there in one of the hotsprings, I.
I contracted some sort of avirus in which was in the water.

(55:26):
I was not aware of that.
I just had a high fever.
Came back on the plane overhere, came home and I.
That was the first time.
It was like two, no, one monthafter I moved here, so I didn't have
anything established.
I literally went outside toParque Sabaneta.
I went.
One went to one of thepharmacies over there and she gave
me a phone number, says, Iknow this person.

(55:47):
This is a doctor who does the visits.
You can actually call him andhe can either come to your Place
you can go to him or you cando online visit.
So the online Visit costed me20 bucks, which for this standard
is really expensive, but ofcourse for us is nothing.
And he did troll evaluation.

(56:09):
That was 11 o'clock in themorning when I called him at because
he didn't know what kind ofbacteria I contracted.
So at 2pm I had knock on my door.
There was a person from thehospital with ready set to do the
blood tests, which I had at mycomfort of my own home, which I paid
about $30 for.

(56:30):
And two hours later I had afull results sent to me via email.
And at 7pm I had another knockon my door with all the medications
delivered to me forapproximately $20.
So I spent what, 50, 16, maybe$65 for the whole entire event in

(56:50):
a one day and I was fullytaken care of.
And this person, actually Ihave this doctor till today because
anytime I need any tests, evenmy annual tests, he sends people
to my house, they do whateverthey wanted that they need to do.
Literally a few hours later Ihave all the results.
So it's.
I'm just going to leave it atthat because it doesn't need to be

(57:13):
said.
In the US growing up, I wouldsay I remember in the 60s, maybe
the se.
No, not even probably in the70s, maybe in the 70s that doctors
made house calls, but afterthat, nada, nothing.

(57:34):
It's unheard of.
Now even in my country, inPoland, I can see the huge difference
in the quality of servicebecause I still have my mom who is
there and, and she needs somemedical attention sometimes.
And it's extremely difficultto get it if you're part of that
social system.
Our system is not probably thebest in Poland, but here in Colombia

(57:57):
it's extremely accessible.
And as I mentioned to you, yougo to the mall, you have the whole
entire floor dedicated tomedical services.
You can do, you know,everything from regular tests to
even plastic surgery if youwant to, you know.
So it's extremely well known,you know, the medical tourism is
very popular in Colombia.
A lot of people come here todo all the dental work because it's

(58:22):
affordable.
The prices of, let's sayInvisalign in the United States can
reach four or five thousanddollars over here, therefore maybe
two, two and a half thousanddollars, you know, basically half
a price or spending fewhundred dollars of very complicated
work which would cost youthousands of adults in the United
States.
So this country is verypopular for that.
I have many friends who arecoming just to stay here for a few

(58:45):
days.
To their dental work and goback to us.
Yeah.
Do you have any idea for Thosein the LGBTQ+ community that need
some HIV services or medication?
Do you know if they providethat as well?
They do provide all the tests.
Tests are.
Though the medical servicesare not really directed to.

(59:07):
There's still this little bitof that stigma.
Remember, everything changedin 2000.
I think we need to giveColombia a little bit more time to
kind of transfer that intoother stages.
So right now I would just say,you know, if you need that type of
test, just tell your doctor,hey, I need this test, I need that
test.
You don't need to reveal anything.
If your doctor knows you andknows your situation, that's not

(59:29):
going to be a problem whatsoever.
There's no very specific places.
I don't think that I found anyclinic over here dedicated to our
community.
But other than that, I thinkit's very easy to get any type of
test you want.
And I'm sure they wouldprovide meds if you needed it.
Oh, yeah, definitely.
You know, there's, you know,there's not a lot of branded medications

(59:49):
we see in United States.
I mean, there are a few, butmost of the medications over here
are generic and fullyapproved, you know, and as effect
as effective as other brandsof main medication.
And definitely much cheaper.
Definitely much.
Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure.
Even without an insurance.
Even without an insurance, I'msure a.

(01:00:11):
Lot of people pay it out of pocket.
Oh, yeah, we're talkingthousands of dollars in difference,
let's say to have a permanentcondition, a health condition, which
you literally spend thefortune or ruin yourself with in
United States.
You can easily manage thatcondition over here with no problem

(01:00:31):
whatsoever.
Yeah.
This is why people go to other countries.
Absolutely.
All right, thank you for that.
Let's talk a little bit about.
We talked about restaurants,but we didn't talk about really like
culture and the arts.
Are there any theater, likelive theater?

(01:00:53):
Is there, are there museumsthat one could go to do what?
Tell us a little.
So when you think aboutsomeone who comes here, let's say
for the first time, if you've.
Even if you come for a visit, Right.
The first thing which comes upto mind you, when you hear Colombia
people say, oh my God, Pablo Escobar.
Right.
Hey, what I can suggest, thinkFernando Botero, not Pablo Escobar,

(01:01:21):
because Fernando Botero is theworld known artist, unfortunately
passed away in 23 already.
But this, he's originally from Medellin.
And this is something I hadseen for the very first time when
I came over here years ago, in2014, and I visited Medellin, and

(01:01:43):
the first place I went to wasdowntown in Botero park, which is
a place where his sculpturesare situated.
And it's literally in thefront of the Botero Museum.
Absolutely fascinating art.
Very.
You know, for those who don'tknow who Pablo Botero is and his
style of painting and doingsculptures, he loves the curves of

(01:02:07):
human body.
So a lot of his paintings,they feature people in the round
kind of shape, but it makesthe style very unique.
And he made a lot ofsculptures which he donated to the
city of Medellin, as well ashis paintings over the years.
He was born in Medellin,passed away, I think in Monaco, as

(01:02:28):
far as I remember, in 23, in September.
So he lived a lot of time, alot of his last years of his life
somewhere else.
He studied in Spain, and it'sjust amount of things.
And the love he had for thiscity was amazing.
And he is featured everywhere.
You can even find arestaurant, I forgot the name of
it, but you can go to thatrestaurant, they give you a different

(01:02:52):
type of sculpture, and you canactually ask for Botero sculpture,
and you can sit, eat yourmeal, and they give you different
type of paint, and you canpaint the sculpture and then take
the sculpture home with you.
You pay for the sculpture andthen a dinner.
It's such an amazingexperience just to see it.
But Pablo, excuse me, the.
Fernando Botero was a verypopular painter and artist over here.

(01:03:15):
And this is what usuallypeople start with.
Other than that, there's.
There are restaurants there.
I'm sorry, restaurants,theaters and movie theaters everywhere.
I haven't experienced themyet, to be honest with you, but I've
heard people going there andthey enjoy themselves a lot.
There is a lot of festivals.
One of the most famousfestival in the world is the.

(01:03:39):
The Festival de los Flores,which is the flower festival.
It's happening, I think, inAugust, as far as I remember.
Unfortunately, I missed itlast year, but this year I will make
sure that I'm going to be herebecause to the description of the
people who have, you know, myfriends who are here, and other people
have seen it, it's anexperience on its own.

(01:03:59):
It's a celebration of the artof flowers.
And you see farmers from allover Colombia coming over here to
display their beautiful flowerart, which they carry on their bags.
And.
And there is a competition andthey choose the winner.
And the festival takes placeduring like two or three days, I

(01:04:21):
believe, and it's absolutely amazing.
Experience.
I've seen the videos and pictures.
This year is going to be thefirst year I'm going to experience
that on my own.
So the La Feria de los Flores,this is what it's called, so it's
definitely something to see.
Christmas, for instance, thereis another very important day which
marks the beginning of Christmas.

(01:04:42):
And here in Medellin, we havetwo very beautiful events.
The first one is more of thecelebration the whole entire Colombia,
which is called El Dia de lasVelitas, this is the day of the little
candles.
It's more connected to theCatholic religion, but it's also
a tradition on that day, whichis marking the beginning of Christmas,

(01:05:06):
everybody puts little smallcandles outside of their homes on
the street, and you canliterally ride through the street,
and you see those beautifullit streets on both sides and people
walking, and it's just.
It's just very special atmosphere.
And that is some sort oftradition which has come from, as

(01:05:27):
I said, Catholic religioncelebrating the Catholic feast.
And so that's something whichis definitely.
Those two events areabsolutely amazing, and I would definitely
recommend it.
And, of course, if you're partof the LGBTQ community, I think that
everyone should be part ofthe, you know, gay pride over here
in July, the first weekend of July.

(01:05:48):
It's something to experiencebecause it's from the different country,
and.
And it's definitely nice tosee how different they celebrate
that day.
That would be very interesting.
All right, next topic is crimeand safety.
So everyone's thinking, oh,Colombia, Medellin, crime.

(01:06:11):
Tell us a little bit about crime.
It has a complicatedreputation historically.
What's your honest experiencewith safety today?
I would lie if I was not,though, one of those people who are
coming here with certainfears, at least for the first few
times.
But things have changed a lotin Colombia since 2016, as you.

(01:06:36):
As I mentioned to you before,safety became kind of one of the
priorities for the government,and they managed to achieve a lot
of great things.
Things.
If you think when you over.
When you come in over here,that this is absolutely dangerous
place, you're wrong.
It's not.
You can be on the street.
You can feel safe.

(01:06:57):
I feel here much safer.
And I'm saying that with thehand on my heart that I received
feel safer there.
I do.
Of course, crime is everywhere.
It is also over here.
And, you know, we hear a lotof about people coming here from
the United States or fromother countries and being drugged

(01:07:18):
up with scopolamine.
That's, you know, thescupplane problem, as they call it
in Medellin or in Colombia in general.
But this are usually peoplewho are careless.
They don't know, you know,they just don't think of what they
do when they come here.
Whenever you travel orwherever you travel, you always should
be aware of things, and thecity is no different.

(01:07:40):
I would say that, you know, ifyou have a head on your shoulders,
you do everything responsibly.
You shouldn't be worried about anything.
Having said that, however,when you go out, especially at night,
especially to the bars and youhave a couple of drinks, just simply
be aware because of the influxof tourists and people with money

(01:08:03):
who are coming to visit this,this, this country and this city.
Yes, there is elevated risk ofhaving someone, you know, drug you
up and then basically steal alot of stuff from you, including
emptying your bank accounts.
Scopolamine is a very specificdrugs drug.
It's called, among many, as azombie drug because you don't really

(01:08:25):
appear that you're drugged up,but then you allow basically someone
to tell you what to do, andyou do everything what they tell,
including going to the bankingmachine and pulling everything out
of your bank account.
You don't have completelycontrol over what you do.
So what I would saydefinitely, you know, be.
Have your eyes open, don'tleave your drink on the table and

(01:08:48):
go to the restaurant and comeback because people observe.
There's a lot of opportunisticpeople who live in this country over
here who know that we'recoming with the money and we're not
talking about money.
If you feel like you'reworking for, let's say, a regular
company, you're not makingthat much.
You come in over here, youbecome a millionaire.
You are, and you perceive like one.
So if you, let's say, havethis type of carnation like me, which

(01:09:11):
is white, and I come across asgringo, even I'm not a gringo, I'm
a Polack.
The, you know, the people seethat, people see that and, and, you
know, just don't be irresponsible.
I would definitely notrecommend people to come here to
look for love only with that purpose.

(01:09:34):
This is not the place to do that.
You will get yourself in trouble.
If you really want to findlove, do it the regular way.
Don't use any apps.
Do not use Tinder.
Tinder is full of people whoare just waiting for the opportunity.
And this is not the placewhere you should look for love.
Just do the same thing as youwould do in your country.

(01:09:56):
Don't be.
I'm Sorry for that word, stupid.
But a lot of people are,unfortunately, and they end up later
on in news or, you know, theycome back to United States and they
say I was robbed and myaccounts were emptied, and so on
and so forth.
So how'd you find love?
Love found me.
I was not looking.

(01:10:16):
Okay, that.
That does not mean that Ididn't date someone here before.
Yeah, I tried, but this is.
Again, this is what happened.
When I tried and I had my eyesopen, I saw that someone was looking
for opportunity rather than love.
So I gave up.
And the moment I gave upcompletely, and I didn't care.
That's when love found me.

(01:10:37):
There you go.
He's a very lucky person.
But to, you know, to kind ofround up that subject.
I lived in Orlando for manyyears, and I used to go out in Orlando.
I used to have fun.
And once Pulse happened in2016, yeah, I think it changed the

(01:10:58):
whole entire community.
I think it changed the wholeentire gay community all over United
States because we didn't feelany more safe going out.
And I don't anymore.
When I am in the UnitedStates, anytime I go out, I always
look around, and I'm always.
I always have the thought inthe back of my mind that anybody

(01:11:20):
can come up, open the door,and another tragedy can happen.
So, to be honest, I feel saferhere than I feel in the U.S.
and I own the gun in the U.S.
i believe it, which I'm notfond of, but I recently, I had to
do that, unfortunately.
I mean, we have certain lawswhich allow people to carry and.

(01:11:42):
And, you know, ourunfortunately, health issues were
neglected for years in theUnited States.
And since everybody can accessany type of weapons, this is what
we have, you know, we deal with.
I come here, I.
All I need to care about isnot to be drugged up.
That's much easier than not tobe shut.

(01:12:02):
Got it.
All right.
So are there any particularneighborhoods that are better than
others in Medellin?
I would not say.
I think you know it.
Poblado and Laurel, two mostpopular tourist places.

(01:12:24):
Obviously, when you're goingout at night, if you see a small,
little dark street and yourconscious mind tell you, do not go
over there by yourself.
Just please don't.
That's a general rule everywhere.
There is nothing more into it.
If you look for trouble, you.
You will find trouble.
Find it.

(01:12:44):
If you stay away from trouble,you will trust me.
Things like, you know, valuables.
What I would definitely say,people walk over here around the
town, and I don't see any hugechains of Gold anywhere.
I don't see 27 rings on twodifferent hands.
That does not happen.
So if you're wearing that inUnited States or any other country

(01:13:04):
and you coming over here, justplease take it out.
Because you're asking fortravel, you're asking for someone
to see, oh my God, this is abig opportunity for me to steal from
him.
Don't put the phone in your pocket.
I wouldn't do that in Europe,I wouldn't do it here, I wouldn't
do it anywhere else.
But it is the same thing.
If you put something in yourpocket in the back, it just asks
for the person to come overand pull it out.

(01:13:26):
IPhone over here.
And just to give you anexample, it's almost absolutely inaffordable
for regular people.
So majority of the phonespeople have over here are Androids,
which are definitely cheaper.
IPhone over here, actually inColombia is more expensive than in
the United States if you wantto buy it new.
So, so imagine if you earn,let's say on average $400 to $600

(01:13:49):
a month, you know, paying$1,500 per phone.
It's a three month salary.
You know, it's not somethingyou want to go around the city and
show everybody that you have, have.
So just be careful.
And that's the only thing.
Got it.
What would you say to someonewho's skeptical about retiring in

(01:14:10):
Colombia or Latin America?
You know where the skepticismcomes from is from the point that
someone is afraid of theirsafety or the point that somebody
is not prepared.
Because those are twodifferent things.
If it comes from the point ofsafety, I just mentioned that right

(01:14:31):
now I don't think that youshould worry about anything because
the risk is as big as anywhere else.
I would probably say less overhere than anywhere else.
Just be mindful, be smart anddon't do stupid things, don't look
for trouble and you're goingto be perfectly fine.

(01:14:53):
You can walk on the streets,people will smile to you, they will
talk to you, everything isgoing to be okay.
I don't think that theskepticism should be, I mean that
that type of fear should exist.
That comes usually fromstereotypes, from what we read in
the newspaper so see on the TV news.
And that doesn't give us thefull picture.

(01:15:14):
Living here gives you adifferent perspective and you can
see it right away as soon asyou come over here for a few weeks.
If it comes from the point ofnot being prepared.
Prepared, true.
Prepare yourself.
That's not like a vacationthat you pack two of your bags and
you come and Say, oh, I'm justgonna live here.
I'm here.
You think you have to thinkabout the way you have to communicate

(01:15:37):
with others.
You think about where you needto live.
Surely you can come over hereand stay in a nice hotel for very
little money.
That's not a problem.
Meanwhile, you do yourresearch, but just prepare yourself.
My preparations, even I knewthe language already before I came
over here.
Started months before.
Actually, about a year beforeI moved over here, I started to think

(01:15:59):
about it, and I visit my friends.
I was invited over here bythem, and if they are listening or
watching God.
Juan and John, you're my two angels.
Thank you so much foreverything you have done for me.
And, you know, I was able tokind of adjust my thoughts and make
the plan.
Make the plan.
Don't be skeptical.
It's all about how you do it.

(01:16:20):
It's not.
You know, don't be afraid ofjumping over, because it's not such
a big deal.
Remember, your happiness iswhere you feel happy.
It's not where your home is,what you just bought for $650,000.
It's where you really feelhappy, which.
Where you can meet otherpeople who make you happy.
So I go along.

(01:16:40):
That's why I sold my house in Orlando.
And I was like, I'm done.
I'm coming to the place, tothe people, which makes you happy,
which make me happy.
That's great advice.
So before we wrap up for ourLGBTQ listeners considering a move
to bettering for retirement,what advice would you give them before
making the leap that.

(01:17:01):
That's exactly what I said.
Please study Spanish.
You will make it so mucheasier for yourself if you know at
least basics like you just said.
Mark, restaurant Spanish is enough.
You're gonna make.
You're gonna say something wrong.
Don't be afraid.
They're gonna correct you, butthey're gonna appreciate that you
speak their language and also,you know, research a little bit,

(01:17:25):
know something about theculture, about the people.
It's a very beautiful nation.
Colombians are absolutely richin culture and in taste, in their
foods, in.
In their knowledge about evenus Americans, you know, but prepare

(01:17:47):
yourself.
Don't just leave it out andsay, whatever comes, it comes.
I'll be, oh, yeah, I'll go there.
Don't.
It's not like a move fromCalifornia to Florida or, you know,
like, oh.
It'S a big move.
It's a huge move.
It's a huge move because you.
And of course, you know, dolegally everything.
Do not overstay or stay over here.
Americans and most of theother nations can stay here up to

(01:18:09):
180 days, which is six months.
If you overstay your visa,you'll be the same treated, you know,
as you overstayed in theUnited States.
You'll be denied entry and youwill never come back here again,
you know, or for.
Not for a long time.
Just plan everything legally.
There's plenty of servicesover here in, you know, where lawyers

(01:18:29):
are speaking English, whereyou can get immigration advice.
Just see where you fall.
If you're planning to be hereall the time, you can be here up
to three months and then youhave to apply for the visa.
Once you apply for the visa,you can apply for cedula, and cedula
is, is their own ID over here.
And with that id, you canstart, you can go and get your health

(01:18:51):
insurance and, and you can beunder their free healthcare system,
them over here and just pay alittle bit, you know, of the fee
every month and use all their services.
So, you know, plan this correctly.
I would say don't leave toomany details outside because you're
going to be surprised.
You don't want to get yourselfin trouble, and you're going to be
absolutely and perfectly fine,and you're going to fall in love

(01:19:14):
with this place, with thisculture, with this food, with its
people.
Do you know, do they offer.
Does Colombia offer aretirement visa?
I believe.
I believe yes.
There are certain rules.
I've read about it, and thereare certain rules as far as the amount

(01:19:35):
of money come they require.
I would have to research thata little bit more.
I would advise definitely foreverybody to go online.
There's detailed informationonline about it, how much money you
have to have, how much or howmuch of the retirement you have to
get per month in order to movehere on the retirement visa.
There are people who are doingthis, and there are also people who
come here on investment visas,which also has its own financial

(01:19:59):
limits.
You need to invest certainamount of money, I believe, I don't
want to lie, so I don't wantto say, but there is a certain amount
of money you need to invest.
You get an investor visa, oryou can get it on an expat visa over
here.
You know, if you have abusiness, online business, you come
over here, here can live here,but you just have to, you know, fix
all those formalities before.
And for someone who comes overhere, please do not think that everything

(01:20:22):
is fixable the same way withthe same speed as in US.
Remember, it takes time.
Everything is the bureaucraticsystem over Here is build up.
So it's not like that we makea phone call instantaneous, everything
over the phone.
No, it doesn't work that way.

(01:20:43):
It's much slower system.
Be patient.
It doesn't work like in UnitedStates and you know, in US, that's
what we say that we.
You pay, you require, yourequest a good service.
You know, you pay over hereand then you have to wait the service
you're going to get perfectly.
Yes, very high quality service.
People are extremely serviceoriented over here, but it will take

(01:21:07):
some time.
So just be patient.
It's not a us.
It doesn't function the same.
Yeah, got it.
And finally, what do youpersonally love the most about living
in Medellin?
If I was able to pick up thatcomputer, walk outside of that balcony
and show you the view I have,I wouldn't have to say a word.

(01:21:28):
I know that's one of the things.
I've seen your pictures onyour vacation.
That is correct.
Yesterday I went to Santa Elena.
I came back from Santa Elenaafter three days of being there with
my partner and we were abovethe clouds, overlooking the whole
entire valley where Medellinlies, literally.
And it's.
It was just breathtaking.

(01:21:48):
But my.
I think that the whole entireclimate, the views, the culture and
the food, I don't think thatthere is any other place like this.
And I've traveled all over theworld for 31 years.
So you know that, you know, ifyou travel all over the world and
you say this is probably thebest place to live, it must be a

(01:22:10):
very unique place to be ifyou're not planning to retire over
here.
Just come here and experienceMedellin and you will see what I'm
talking about.
It's beautiful.
I'd love to always work right.
Thank you.
All right, Tomek, thank you somuch for being a part of the podcast.
Thank you for your time.
Time.

(01:22:30):
Definitely appreciate all ofthe wealth of knowledge that you
brought.
And personally, I feel like Imade a new friend.
Absolutely.
Thank you so much for invitingme for that, Posca.
It was an absolute pleasure toshare all those details which I know
so far.
We can repeat it again inabout a year and you'll see my perspective

(01:22:50):
changed a little bit.
But definitely from all thoseadvices, it was a pleasure to share
that with you.
Thank you so much, Mark.
And you always invited.
I have a spare bed.
Thank you.
Thank you, my friend.
Thank you so much.
And for those out there, Ijust want to plug also myself, I
just started a new website forLGBTQ seniors and it's at www.lgbtqseniors.com.

(01:23:17):
feel free.
It's to create an account.
It's totally free.
And it's for those people, youknow, for our community that are
growing older and we want togrow old world together with some
sort of community.
So thank you for that.
All right.
Thank you, Mark.
Well, again, thank you so much.
And we'll talk soon.
Talk soon.
Bye bye.

(01:23:39):
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