This means that you need to report the crime to the guys sitting in an office first before the guys on the streets with the handcuffs and guns will actually go find the person doing something. Colombia usually requires a report to the prosecutor directly instead of the American system of referrals from the police to the prosecutor. One reason for this is because getting the authorities to actually do something is often difficult. Often when a crime occurs and others are around, someone could yell "rata" for rat and the neighborhood would come together and collectively go Mike Tyson on the thieves, most of the time without any police involvement. The locals trust the police much much less than Americans do and most crime goes unreported and is even dealt with extrajudicially. This is indeed true, but the reason might shock you. On paper, Medellin is safer than Chicago. Medellin is not safer than Chicago, Baltimore, New Orleans. Upon return to the US even my Colombian wife's gastritis improved much as did my dog's. Some studies point to 60% of the population having multiple parasites, while others point to 60% having specifically one parasite called Blastocystis. The reality of it is, Colombia has a huge parasite problem. Finally, I was just diagnosed with a "gringo stomach" that might never improve because I lack the natural immunity to parasites that Colombians get from birth. I had biopsies, endoscopies and colonoscopies. I spent many hours in the doctor's office trying to figure out what was wrong. ![]() My entire 4 years in Colombia I had gastrointestinal issues. The pollution is truly horrid many days of the year. The air pollution monitors are not accurate because they are not placed on the streets where you'll be walking or stuck in traffic. When we'd go to the mountains for a weekend trip my energy levels automatically shot up despite going up 1500ft in elevation. Often I felt sluggish, got a sore throat and felt overall sick on bad pollution days. Pair that with one of the deepest valleys in the world, the smog just hangs in the air. Nobody is required to put a catalytic converter on their car. One of the biggest motivations to say goodbye was the air pollution. Let's start with the pollution, health and safety. So before you go there here are the the not-so-peachy things you should know about it. ![]() On top of that the locals are suffering because the tourism to Medellin isn't sustainable. However, I see many people going and regretting it. ![]() I'm married into the city now regardless of having moved back to the US and almost every major milestone of my personal adult life has happened in Medellin. Keep in mind the goal isn't to bash Medellin. I just ended my multi-year stint as a DN in Medellin and while I usually see overwhelmingly positive write ups in Medellin I think the "other-side" isn't talked about enough.
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