11 Reasons I'm Raising my Kids in Colombia – Not the West.
After 10 years and 4 children, the difference is hard to ignore...
It’s Easter weekend here in Colombia. The most important national holiday on the calendar for Colombians.
During Easter in Colombia families gather, the streets empty and the churches fill to the rafters. It’s a very different atmosphere to where I grew up in England, which is more about stuffing your face with chocolate eggs than any kind of spiritual piety or public display of faith.
Semana Santa is a great time to slow down, give thanks for everything you have and reflect on just how great life can be here in Colombia.
Many in the West assume that a developing nation like Colombia could never compete with the likes of England, or Germany, or the US on quality of life.
Colombia is portrayed as wild, dangerous, and lacking modern infrastructure.
That assessment is partially true. But it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Colombia has it’s problems, nobody would deny that.
But it also has a great deal to offer that simply isn’t easy to find in the developed West anymore.
Which is why even if money were no barrier, I’d still choose raise my family here.
Here’s 11 reasons why...
Faith in everyday life.
Holy Week is an example of something deeply valuable that the West seems to have forgotten.
Here in Colombia, the Holy Week processions are beautiful. But what I find even more endearing, is how faith can be seen in everyday life.
Rosary beads hanging from the cab driver’s rear view mirror.
A friendly “Dios te bendiga” from a neighbor
Prayer chapels in hospitals & bus terminals
The Marian shrines dotted about that draw crowds daily for prayer and reflection.
When I first came here 10 years ago, it immediately stood out to me how normal it was for people to talk about and display their faith in God openly.
I grew up in a “Christian” country. I went to a Christian school. But faith was never deeply embedded in everyday life when I was growing up like it is here.
Now I’m a father raising my own children, I’m grateful that we live in a country where the true meaning of Easter and the Christian values behind it, haven’t been entirely lost.
Kids get a real childhood
People hesitate when you mention Colombia, because of it’s history and reputation for crime and violence.
But here’s something that’s hard to appreciate without living here.
I would never let my son play outside on the streets of London, but here in “dangerous” Colombia, I can allow that with complete safety.
The reason is simple. Like many expats, we live in a gated community with huge open communal spaces that includes parks, playgrounds, football pitches and pools - all protected by 24h armed security.
My kids can go outside and play. They can run around in the sun, climb trees and play games on the grass.
They can have a relatively normal childhood, something that just isn’t possible for many families in the UK.
And we’re not raising our kids in an ultra-wealthy, expat bubble either. 99% of the families that live in our residential unit are normal, everyday Colombians.
Yes you do need to take precautions and keep yourself protected in Colombia, but the lifestyle we’re able to live gives our kids something many in the developed West don’t have anymore... The freedom to have a normal and healthy childhood.
You don’t need a 6-figure income to live well.
The upside of earning in Dollars or Pounds, and spending in Pesos is hard to overstate.
Colombia isn’t as cheap as it was a few years ago, but it still remains one of the best value countries in the world for living and raising a family.
In my first year in Colombia, I lived on just $1k a month in a small town called Tulua - the kind of place that most expats will never have heard of.
It was extremely hot, humid and pretty unremarkable. But as the only foreigner in the entire town it gave me a unique appreciation for everyday Colombian life, away from the tourist traps and gringo zones.
My apartment cost me $100 a month, I’d work from the only cafe in town with air conditioning and eat a menu del dia lunch that cost me just $4,500 pesos. Around 1.50 USD.
Now I’m not going to tell you that you can still find prices like that today, especially not in the major cities, but the point still stands. Life in Colombia is very affordable.
As a dad, that means I’m able to work less and spend more time with my wife and kids.
It means I can take the kids for a few hours while my wife takes a nap. It means I can take the afternoon off to hit the pool or the shopping mall. It means romantic brunch dates with my wife on weekdays and not living with the stress of unbearable living costs and rising debt.
Colombia may not be as cheap as it was back in 2015, but even today it offers amazing value and in my opinion, some things that money just can’t buy.
Healthcare is accessible, and affordable.
If you’ve ever been up all night looking after a sick toddler, then you know that with kids, healthcare matters.
Here in Colombia, healthcare is both affordable and high quality. Especially in the major cities.
Colombia is now home to around 40% of the top-ranked hospitals in Latin America, and the government is actively investing in positioning the country as a leading medical tourism destination. That means new infrastructure, training, and international accreditation being put in place.
We pay for a private health plan (a prepagada) that gives us access to excellent hospitals and specialists for a fraction of the cost in the US.
And appointments are quick and easy to obtain without the endless waiting lists common in the UK.
We’ve had four children born here and the care was always professional, attentive and affordable.
I can’t say it’s perfect, Colombia suffers from inefficiencies and bureacractic mismanagement too, but for the price, I think it beats many developed countries by a wide margin.
The climate makes life easier
My favourite climates in Colombia are the ‘eje cafetero‘ coffee region and Medellín.
They hit the sweet spot with their stable, temperate climate year round meaning no central heating, or air conditioning, is necessary.
We keep our large balcony doors open, get a regular natural breeze and live very comfortably, even on the warmer days.
Colombia’s geography gives you an unusual amount of choice.
If Cali is too hot and humid for you, try the cooler Manizales or Pereira.
Want tropical sun and the beach life? Check out the Caribbean coast.
If you prefer sweater weather and chilly evenings, Bogotá could be the city for you.
What I love about the Colombian climate is that sunshine is never far away. We have no brutal winters keeping the kids cooped up indoors, and importantly, no huge energy bills.
It’s one of those simple, but practical advantages that doesn’t make the headlines but makes a real difference to your monthly budget and your quality of life.
People are warm, and sociable
Colombians are warm, friendly and sociable people.
Coming from grey and miserable London where people avoid eye contact at all costs, the bright and social nature of Colombia is a welcome change.
Colombians will say hello to each other as they enter an elevator, or climb aboard a public bus. They love to talk, they love to dance and sing, and they’re friendly and welcoming to foreigners.
What I love about Colombians, is they prove that material wealth isn’t necessary to be happy.
Despite living with less than much of the world, they’re some of the happiest people I’ve ever met, and as a parent I think that matters.
My children are growing up in a culture where they’re encouraged to be sociable, to be positive, outgoing and friendly.
I think those are traits that will serve them very well into adulthood, and the sunny and sociable nature of Colombians is something to be admired.
Colombia is outside the danger zone
With the turmoil and political upheaval going on around the world, it turns out that geography matters a great deal more than we assumed.
The war in Iran is wreaking havoc across the Middle East, and suddenly the more trendy and luxurious expat hotspots like Dubai and the Gulf States don’t seem as attractive as they once did.
South America on the other hand, is thousands of miles and two huge expanses of ocean away from all of these major theatres of war and conflict.
We’re outside the blast radius of a potential nuclear exchange, and we’re members of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, a pact that secures regional stability and that South America will remain free from nuclear weapons.
In a world where the global order appears to be shifting, and war and conflict are becoming a very real reality, consider that Colombia is very strategically placed to avoid much of the negative effects of global war.
Colombia can stand on it’s own
Aside from being far away from the fighting, Colombia is also very well set up to ride out a prolonged crisis in the economy too.
The country produces its own oil, generates the vast majority of its electricity from hydropower, has some of the highest per-capita water availability on the planet and has significant natural gas reserves.
When energy prices spike globally, Colombia isn’t entirely at the mercy of foreign suppliers the way many European and Asian countries are.
When it comes to food security, Colombia has an incredibly diverse agricultural base that means we’re much more resilient than other countries that rely heavily on imports.
Coffee, bananas, avocados, rice, corn, sugarcane, tropical fruits, cattle — the list of Colombia’s agricultural output is long, and in a world where food supply chains are increasingly fragile, that kind of self-sufficiency is not a small thing.
This doesn’t make Colombia invincible. We still import a lot of what we consume, and disruption to the global fertilizer and energy markets is going to squeeze our wallets at some point.
But compared to many other nations, Colombia is well positioned to weather the storms of economic disruption better than most.
Dios y Patria
Colombia has a very strong national identity and sense of patriotism.
Just drive around and it’s impossible not to notice how much Colombians love their country.
Whether it’s flying flags or wearing the national football team uniform, Colombians genuinely love their country in a way that many Western nations have forgotten the importance of.
In my own country, people seem ashamed of their national flag, or see it as racist, but patriotism is an important and honorable virtue.
It teaches respect for where you came from, and gratitude for those who came before you.
Although I’m not a Colombian myself, I’m proud that my wife and children are, and I’m very grateful that Colombian culture encourages them to have pride and love for the nation that bore them.
Education on your own terms
Unlike many Western countries, where the state injects itself into every aspect of your child’s life. In Colombia, parents have a remarkable amount of freedom to choose how they educate their kids.
My children study at an online international school. They follow a curriculum built for the modern world, not one that was designed in the 1990s and never updated.
They take classes in entrepreneurialism, coding and AI, and are learning skills that will actually matter in the economy they’re growing up in.
Colombia also has some excellent international schools for families who prefer a traditional classroom setting, many of them bilingual and following internationally recognized curricula.
The point is, you have options here. The government isn’t breathing down your neck or insisting your child must be in a state school.
For us, that means we’ve been able to build an education around our children’s needs and interests, rather than forcing them into an outdated system that doesn’t truly prepare them for modern life.
Entrepreneurialism is in the culture
Colombians are resourceful, creative and self-sufficient.
In a country with an economy where wages are very low and almost no social safety nets available, my experience is that Colombians often learn quickly how to be independent and make ends meet without relying on handouts.
As a dad who is trying to raise his kids to be independent and self-starters, and as the economy shifts away from the traditional 9-5 model, I feel like the culture and atmosphere of Colombia is a great environment to raise my kids in.
They’re picking up the mindset and habits that are going to be essential in the age of AI. And with an uncertain future ahead, I’m confident that the skills they’re learning are going to help them succeed no matter what they choose to do.
The bottom line
Colombia isn’t perfect and I’d never say it is.
The bureaucracy will test your will to live and some of the customs and cultural oddities are still confusing to me even after 10 years. Milk in a bag anyone? What’s that about?
But nowhere is perfect, and what matters for us is that Colombia offers a great deal to families that can’t be found easily elsewhere.
Faith in daily life
Real childhoods spent outdoors
Time with your family
A warm and sociable culture
A location away from global chaos.
In a world that seems to be tearing itself apart, Colombia seems to be one of the safest, and sanest places on earth right now.
A place where raising a family still makes sense.
If you’re a young single guy, a couple or an established family looking to live life on your own terms, Colombia is a place you should seriously consider.
After ten years and four children, we’re happy, and we’re not going anywhere.
Considering a move to Colombia? I offer lifestyle and relocation consultations for families of all shapes and sizes planning a move to Colombia. Reach out to me directly for more information.