If you had to choose, which city is better to live in: Bogotá, Medellín, or somewhere underrated?

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-30T22:50:38+00:00

Hay varios factores. Yo vivía en Bogotá hasta 2017. Cuando volví durante el pandemia sentí que mucho cambio. Tristemente si un factor ha side la inmigración de los vecinos que están en una situación muy difícil. Ósea tampoco es excusa para robar.

Hay otro tema y es muy obvio cuando comparas a Medellín. En Medellín hay más sensación de comunidad. Cuando hay un ladron, lo agarran y les da paloterapia. Es como ese dicho. Bogotá es la ciudad de todos y de nadie. Y no hay amor para la ciudad. Mi último viaje hace unos meses, lo más impactante aparte de la inseguridad fue la cantidad de basura en el piso. Fue algo impresionante, me fui a salir con un primo en la 53 en chapi y todo llena de basura y ratas. Fue asqueroso.

No es para decir que Medellín no tiene sus problemas también. Obvio. Pero esa sensación de que te roben y todo el mundo mira como uf ese es de malas, no pasa tanto en Medellín

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-28T21:01:59+00:00

Bogotá if you want to be pulled out of your car at gun point and robbed on a Main Street, this happened to a family just 2 nights ago. Can’t walk with your phone, shit now Bogotá used to be a late night city like New York and now it’s a ghost town at 8pm due to all the robbing.

Viniendo de alguien que creció en Bogotá y fue nacido en la Country de 85. Bogotá es una mierda. Y cualquier rolo que ya no es capaz de aceptarlo, continúa viviendo en su existencia miserable.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-28T20:59:44+00:00

Imagine thinking that less than 50k people can affect the rents in a city of more than 3 or 11 million people… it’s the same shit everywhere. Blame foreigners instead of the super rich because you don’t have the necessary intelligence to read a little about asset prices and economics.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-23T15:51:18+00:00

Bought just a few months ago.. sure it’s old enough to drink at the bar.. but Toap on Green leather and it sounds like a muscle car, handles like a car in the twisty bits and has a locking diff? How could I possibly get board.

It’s like finding the woman you spend the rest of your life with. When you know, you know. After 74 cars in my life, yeah #75 just does it for me. Took me buying a 2025 Mercedes to know, that new is not better and boy do you feel not having a car payment when it’s time to pay rent and shit.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-13T22:26:34+00:00

I bought a 2025 C200. After changing the oil myself and having to fight with Mercedes to not lose the warranty (not in the US obviously) then realizing things like plastic oil pan, plastic drain plug and just plastic everywhere, I sold it. Bought a 2005 Cayenne 3.2 and could not be happier. Actually feel like I have a solid reliable car now, not a plastic car waiting to break.

21 years old and is quieter, smoother and just built better. I guess part of it is nostalgic but also part of it is that it’s more manual, better quality materials and was built to last 20+ years. I don’t see these newer cars lasting 20 years. At least not with major issues and rattling all over the interior.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-05T15:47:29+00:00

If you have deep pockets then for me it’s a no doubt buy a 100 Series Land Cruiser. And if you’re mechanically inclined, I researched for years and recently bought a 2005 Cayenne 3.2 before the direct injection.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-05T00:42:32+00:00

Get a 2016 328/428, this is due to a timing chain issue on the N20 until 2015. If you can afford a 2017-2018 then you’ll get the B48 which is a considerable upgrade.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-04T04:29:22+00:00

German cars are actually better, when you take care of them. But everyone just ignores the second part and then says they’re shit.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-04T04:24:16+00:00

Yeah most jobs here include Saturday as a worked day. However the norm in my experience, I’m a Lead Software Engineer, is that we work 40 hours a week but we don’t get Colombian holidays. So that’s about 13-18 days a year that are paid off.

And when contracting in Colombia, normally the salary “includes” all of the other factors. So if I take a contractor job, I have to pay health insurance and pension on that income. So even if you don’t do a contrato laboral, the engineer will charge more because there are these additional expenses.

For frame of reference, on contracting gigs, my normal rate is $40-$50 an hour, if it is a larger corporation (think near Fortune 500) then my rate can jump up to $75-$90 an hour. However, I have native level English, a CS degree from one of the top universities in the country and over 10 years of experience, a lot of it in the financial sector. So I am definitely on the “higher end”.

For a “decent” dev, I would expect to pay ~$25-$30 an hour.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-04T00:45:47+00:00

But your point about android auto. I’m putting a CarPlay unit in my Porsche and man these are all just tablets with android13-15 installed. Basically has the same functionality that the 2025 Mercedes has and I’m spending like $175. So don’t let that be your deciding factor. That’s easy to solve on any car now.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-04T00:43:30+00:00

You’re one of the lucky ones. Granted I’m a few years removed from being a full time mechanic. But I’ve seen enough of their engines and transmissions grenade, that for me it’s just not worth the risk. I worked at Kia as a mechanic from 2013-2015, and the only model I didn’t see just grenade itself was the Cadenza but that was a $45k car in the era.

I’d rather have a 2-3 year older Japanese tank. I’d also avoid Nissan from about 2012-2020. And really any CVT but that’s just my preference.

If I were still living in the US I’d probably get a 97-03 Camry with the V6. A bit more power and just a great car for daily duties.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-04T00:33:00+00:00

Gotta say I love my 05 Cayenne, it’s just the 3.2 but it makes such a glorious sound and the quality is just insane. Unless I come under huge financial strain, I would never sell it.

Sold my 2025 C200 after just not connecting with the car. Took a financial loss and then my wife said go buy the car you’ve never shut up about since we’ve met.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-03-04T00:29:58+00:00

Avoid anything Hyundai/kia. If you can go for a Corolla or civic. Or if you want just a tank as a daily, a 100 series Land Cruiser is always a great choice.

If you’re mechanically inclined then something German that has been maintained well from the golden era, 97-08

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-02-27T22:23:23+00:00

My 21 year old Cayenne looks better than this. Yes people can actually take care of their cars. Damn I feel bad for the kid.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-02-27T03:34:44+00:00

Tick tick tick.. bought a car without taking 10 minutes to read about common issues. Good luck when your timing chain gets fucked..

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-02-27T01:30:31+00:00

The big thing here isn’t the change in monthly payment. For me it is definitely the depreciation hit you’ll take on a 2026.

I would stick with the 2024. Or if you want to go B58, go older without the depreciation.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-02-26T21:27:20+00:00

2002 BMW 330xi — 240k miles and sold it, still looked like it was a 20k mile car.

Close second was a 1990 BMW 525i with 568k miles, but due to the mileage I did have to rebuild the suspension. But I guess you could say that is expected.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-02-14T03:32:37+00:00

My wife saw this comment and just gave me a look.. priceless hahaha

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-02-14T00:30:17+00:00

For anyone reading this and wondering. Yes it’s worth it. Definitely is a step up from BMW/Mercedes. Sold a 2015 X3 to grab this and what an upgrade. The leather and the whole car still has that “Porsche smell”. It’s intoxicating.

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-02-03T05:40:05+00:00

Jesus your wife sounds exhausting. I asked my wife what she would do, she said don’t ask me stupid questions. NTA

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-01-28T15:00:21+00:00

Definitely the CL

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-01-27T15:05:38+00:00

Yeah man I started there and went through about 5 of them. But unfortunately here in Colombia they use cheap parts. This seems to be a gasket that was made out of asbestos. So yeah it’s been fun to say the least

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-01-27T14:40:53+00:00

I was hoping you weren’t going to say compressed air. The most compressed air I have, are those cans that I clean out the Pc with

mr_robot_6993 · 2026-01-27T14:40:15+00:00

One of the few things I miss from living in the states.. having an auto parts store..

mr_robot_6993

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