I'm a Black Expat AMA

[Wiseborn]

1. Title study, if you don't have someone to do it with, bring a bank into the business, they do it.
2. Horizontal property, if the lot is in a rural unit it must have your horizontal property regulations. It is a mess and a must read before purchasing
3. POMCA, POT and CARA, in short, check that the territorial entities do allow you to do what you want to do.
4. Know your neighbors, what easements are configured with your lot.

License

1. I don't know if it happens to you to put a stone without a license, from what you say you have money, if you didn't it would be easier, but the moment they see that you have money and you are doing something illegal, they will all fall like hawks.
2. Get an architect in the area, someone who has contacts and can make the procedures more agile.
3. You have two options: wait a year for the license to be given or give money and have it come out in three months. The advantage of the year is that they review everything and you know that there are no obvious errors in the plans.

Construction

1. Cement is controlled, they are going to screw you to buy it, purchase it in batches of a maximum of 2 tons.
2. Bricks, wood and tiles can be purchased directly from importers/manufacturers, it is much cheaper.
3. Track inventories and purchases, they will steal from you, let it not be much.
4. No importing paints, that industry is protected in Colombia, so the taxes are terrible, buy the national Sapolin and Pintuco are the best.

After finished

1. You will fight with the energy and water supplier if there is one. Be patient.
2. In rural areas, claims of "drinking water" are not trusted
3. The use of rainwater is not regulated.
4. I hired a surveillance service and checked the area for internet service, if you don't feel like anything Star link works fine.

 

[Wiseborn]

Red Flags green Flags

These are some red flags to look out for.

Red flags - to play it safe, she can have a max of 3 points.

• (2pts) She has large tattoos
  • It's considered a bit trashy and ghetto
• (2pts) She won't add you on instagram or says she doesn't have one
  • I guess it's possible but maybe she's trying to hide something.
• (4pts) She does have instagram but it's new and doesnt have comments/likes/pictures of her and her friends. The profile feels fake.
  • She could be a criminal and just set up the IG for for gringos.
• (3pts) She follows more two or more gringo men on instagram
  • If she follows more than 1 gringo, likely you're another gringo for her sugar baby roster. The average colombian/latino living every day life doesnt befriend gringos so often. Gringos are a very, very small minority.
• (3pts) She did not go to college or didn't finish college
  • Nowadays, going to college in Colombia is extremely common and not all that expensive (the gov pays for most of it). Going to college for a few years and then dropping out is as bad as not going to college at all.
• (4pts) She's been to Dubai
  • Latinos have no interest in Arab cultures before other cultures. If she's been to Dubai, it's because she went there to work as a hook r. Miami is also another destination for this line of work but many well intended Colombians also go there on vacation so you def can't dismiss a Miami visit. Dubai? Hell no.
• (2pt) Her dating app profile is all in English
  • That means her only intention is to go after gringos exclusively because she's looking for her first ticket out of the country.

Green flags

• She finished college
  • Again, it's mostly the ghetto (bad) women who commit the crimes. People with hard-worked money are not committing crimes (unless that crime is corruption/embezzlement if a gov employee).
  • Poor girls can 100% be good people. In fact, most of them are. However, you are def taking a gamble (going on a blind date) with those.

This doesn't guarantee she won't do any harm to you but the risk is def lower if you avoid the (bad) ghetto women. If her dating app profile doesn't say anything, assume she's no good. You're gonna have to casually get this info from her before meeting.

This doesn't mean she's a "good girl" who isn't using you for money/green card. It just means that she's less likely to be a criminal.

 

[Wiseborn]

If you have significant bread in the states and want to trade on the US stock Market you might want to set up a single member LLC to guard against capital gains taxes in the states while you live overseas. That would limit your tax exposure here and possibly in the other country (consult a tax lawyer to avoid getting hemmed up

since most people earn money through property this explaination works best with someone selling a house but it could work for selling any investment instrument

When a single-member LLC sells a property, the capital gains tax treatment depends on the nature of the sale and the LLC's tax classification. If the LLC is classified as a disregarded entity by the IRS—meaning it does not elect to be taxed as a corporation—then the LLC's income and losses are reported directly on the owner's personal tax return. In this case, any capital gains from the sale of a property held for more than one year are treated as long-term capital gains and reported on Schedule D of the owner's individual tax return. The long-term capital gains tax rate for individuals depends on their taxable income and filing status, with common rates being 0%, 15%, or 20%. If the property was held for one year or less, the gain is considered a short-term capital gain and taxed at the owner's ordinary income tax rate.

The sale of a property by a single-member LLC is not subject to corporate-level taxation because the entity is disregarded for tax purposes. However, the IRS requires that the sale price be at an arm's length rate, meaning it must reflect what an independent third party would pay, to avoid potential legal or financial issues. Additionally, if the property was used for business purposes, depreciation recapture rules may apply, which could result in part of the gain being taxed at ordinary income rates.

It is important to note that while a single-member LLC can be used to hold real estate, the owner forfeits the capital gains exemption available on the sale of a primary residence—$250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for married couples filing jointly—when the property is held through a business entity. This exemption does not apply if the property is sold by an LLC, even if the owner later uses it as a personal residence.

 

[Wiseborn]

To dudes wanting to meet chicks overseas I can't stress enough go to language exchange groups. That's probably the number one way to meet girls outside of malls and clubs.

 

[Wiseborn]

Pro Tip for traveling to Medelin on the off chance you get profiled flying into Medellin went asked what youre doing here say that you're going to guatape. You can even book a cancellable trip reservation out there on wanderlog

 

[#BOTHSIDES]

Red Flags green Flags

These are some red flags to look out for.

Red flags - to play it safe, she can have a max of 3 points.

• (2pts) She has large tattoos
  • It's considered a bit trashy and ghetto
• (2pts) She won't add you on instagram or says she doesn't have one
  • I guess it's possible but maybe she's trying to hide something.
• (4pts) She does have instagram but it's new and doesnt have comments/likes/pictures of her and her friends. The profile feels fake.
  • She could be a criminal and just set up the IG for for gringos.
• (3pts) She follows more two or more gringo men on instagram
  • If she follows more than 1 gringo, likely you're another gringo for her sugar baby roster. The average colombian/latino living every day life doesnt befriend gringos so often. Gringos are a very, very small minority.
• (3pts) She did not go to college or didn't finish college
  • Nowadays, going to college in Colombia is extremely common and not all that expensive (the gov pays for most of it). Going to college for a few years and then dropping out is as bad as not going to college at all.
• (4pts) She's been to Dubai
  • Latinos have no interest in Arab cultures before other cultures. If she's been to Dubai, it's because she went there to work as a hook r. Miami is also another destination for this line of work but many well intended Colombians also go there on vacation so you def can't dismiss a Miami visit. Dubai? Hell no.
• (2pt) Her dating app profile is all in English
  • That means her only intention is to go after gringos exclusively because she's looking for her first ticket out of the country.

Green flags

• She finished college
  • Again, it's mostly the ghetto (bad) women who commit the crimes. People with hard-worked money are not committing crimes (unless that crime is corruption/embezzlement if a gov employee).
  • Poor girls can 100% be good people. In fact, most of them are. However, you are def taking a gamble (going on a blind date) with those.

This doesn't guarantee she won't do any harm to you but the risk is def lower if you avoid the (bad) ghetto women. If her dating app profile doesn't say anything, assume she's no good. You're gonna have to casually get this info from her before meeting.

This doesn't mean she's a "good girl" who isn't using you for money/green card. It just means that she's less likely to be a criminal.

How about social class? Better to meet hoes in higher class neighborhoods? To also be aware of their social class and job?

Speaking English can also mean that she’s educated right?

Speaking her language should open up more opportunities for hoes in said country

 

[Wiseborn]

How about social class? Better to meet hoes in higher class neighborhoods? To also be aware of their social class and job?

Speaking English can also mean that she’s educated right?

Speaking her language should open up more opportunities for hoes in said country

Yes to all but a scamming ass bytch is a scamming ass bytch so choose wisely. These hoes be chameleons.

 

[Wiseborn]

what's in my travel bag?

I saw these as prototypes as a was leaving the army. And I pretty much stopped carrying a one quart canteen way back in the day and just carried frozen water bottles.

But water bottles break and the plastic is poisionious so they developed the Ice Flask which is better because they don't take up space.

and it can be used both hot or cold

You could use a souce or platypus water pouch but unless you were backpacking you'd look kinda weird

ICEFLASK™ 16.9oz (500ml) Cooling, Heating & Hydration Canteen

ICEFLASK 16.9oz canteen delivers wearable cooling (23W) or heating (17W), fits NATO -152 pouches, stackable for coolers, made in USA, BPA-free HDPE.

www.qoreperformance.com

 

[Wiseborn]

a resource for things to do in the Medellin area

Medellin Community

www.mdecommunity.com

The MDE Community. It´s a clearing house of different groups to join things to do and places to hang out in the city.

 

[Wiseborn]

The expat cost of living project.

I had people ask me and I know a classic passport bro in the states that came up on a cost of living matrix.

The Passport bro who lives in the states is weird but the nikka is a mathematical genius problem is he uses his information to smash hoes.


for everyone else I wanted to put together a cost of living analysis with the assumption that someone received a bag but no residual income.

so generally what would be a Realistic cost of living for a guy who will date and hit the bars on the weekends but having all the money he´s gonna get.


I made one with Santo Domingo as a start point but I want imput from guys who did it.

So @MikelArteta @Afrodroid @Reactor1804 please provide imput based on your situations.


For example if I were gonna move I´d buy some land and build a house if I could. It makes more sense to rent first but if you have no residual income it would be best to buy land and build. Same thing with not getting a car It would be cheaper to get Ubers than to buy a car etc.

Better to build even an expensive home gym than paying for a gym membership etc.

So I would suggest that a dude would need at least 105,000 USD to have essentially fukk you money in most countries.

Again this is a collaborative effort so if dudes could chime in on monthly cost of living minus rent I´d like to hear it.

This could prevent Coli dudes from being broke and abroad.

 

[Wiseborn]

Apartment prices You can get a decent american style apartment in Cali Colombia for about 325 or so.

A decent apartment in Nairobi would be about 400
I paid 283 for a walled Mansion near Arusha Tanzania

You can find something OK in Santo Domingo for about 600.

In Santiago maybe 450

Sosua 550.

I got a buddy in Pattaya staying in a small studio for about 250

anyone with knowledge of housing costs add on.

 

[Wiseborn]

One issue with buying land overseas is a lot of countries don´t have Title insurance.

All they have is a Registry of deeds and you and your lawyer will have to do due diligence to ensure a title is clean.

Other than that you may take on secret debt that you don´t know about and the seller can literally run off with your bag.

Owning Land especially in a tourist area is a wonderful hedge against inflation but be extra careful.

 

[Wiseborn]

when buying an airline ticket if the frequently flyer program is free or a nominal cost sign up for it.

If the flight is cancelled or delayed you get priority if you´re in the frequent flyer program this works best if you haven´t left home and calling about a delayed flight.

 

[Wiseborn]

NCH

NCH is your resource for Nevada corporations, LLCs, asset protection strategies, business credit establishment

nchinc.com

Wyoming vs Nevada.

Short answer Wyoming is better and easier for a simple start up or holding company Business

Nevada is more expensive to set up but more privacy focused and easier to avoid personal lawsuits.

Pick your posion but if you´re concerned about US Taxes for your property in the states Wyoming is better, If you think you might be sued Nevada is better.

 

[Wiseborn]

too good not to share

Coming to Cartagena? 7 mistakes travelers make and how to avoid them​

1. Choosing a villa based only on photos​

Photos don’t show the things that matter most:

• AC strength
• Water pressure
• Street noise
• Nighttime neighborhood vibe
• Rooftop sound restrictions
• Staff availability
• Generator backup (huge in Cartagena)

A villa can look luxury online but feel uncomfortable in real life.
Ask for property details, not videos.

2. Thinking every villa has 24/7 staff​

Many don’t — especially the cheaper “mansions” in Getsemaní.
A group of 10–15 needs:

• Cleaning
• Breakfast support
• Security presence
• Someone to help with small issues

If the listing doesn’t clearly mention staffing → it’s usually minimal.

3. Underestimating Cartagena heat + humidity​

Cartagena is HOT year-round.
You want AC in:

• every bedroom
• the main living area
• ideally the dining area

This is the difference between a great villa stay and a miserable one.

4. Going to the islands without a plan​

Rosario Islands are paradise, but the docks can be chaotic if you show up without a pre-booked boat.
What to avoid:

• aggressive sellers
• “tourist price” inflation
• slow boats
• sketchy captains

Pre-booking eliminates 90% of the stress.

5. Walking with your phone out at night on quiet streets​

Centro and Getsemaní are generally safe, but the real issue is phone snatching, not violent crime.
A simple rule:
Phone stays in the pocket until you’re inside a bar, restaurant, Uber, or your villa.

6. Paying tourist prices at clubs​

Group tables can vary a LOT.
A club quoting $1,500–$2,000 could easily be $600–$900 with local guidance.

7. Poor group logistics​

The #1 thing that ruins group trips is bad coordination between:

• villa
• yacht
• nightlife
• transportation
• chef services
• timing

If you’re planning for 8–20 people, you want one person coordinating everything. Cartagena is incredible — but it’s not a DIY destination.