After living in another country for more than 6 months, you start to notice little nuances and differences about the way things are. Everywhere you look, things that are just… different. Some things are really obvious and you pick up on them immediately. Other things are not so obvious and take some more time to recognize.

I’ve been living in Medellín for over a year, so I wanted to compile a list of things that I’ve learned. Some things are annoying, some are strange, some awful, some funny, and some just the opposite from what you would expect, or otherwise be accustomed to when comparing to your home country.

After one year, I’m still really happy to be living here. Life is good. Medellín has become a very desirable place (even more so in the past 10 years) to live for more than just a few months out of the year.

While some things on the list may appear to be negative or have negative connotations, the majority of the list is actually quite funny. For most things on this list, whether good or bad, I’ve intentionally omitted my personal opinion. There are countless positive things to say about Medellín, and nothing on this list bothers me, even after a year.

OK, so… onto the list! Some things are cultural-specific, some aren’t, but I hope you enjoy it.

70 Cultural Differences Between Medellín, Colombia and the USA

When walking down the side walk, groups of 2 Colombians (or more, but usually no fewer than 5) will walk slowly, side by side in a line, taking up the entire space. This makes passing them a real challenge, because you either have to blaze a trail through some heavily planted area, or run out into the street (and risk a different problem altogether) in order to get around them.

It’s not uncommon for someone coming the opposite direction (even though there’s a sufficient amount of space left on the entire side walk), to still head straight for you on a direct collision course, ultimately resulting in a disturbing crash as you pass by. I’m not going to avoid the collision because already there is no space left for me to maneuver. So, while I never make eye contact before a guaranteed collision, I’ll happily plow through the person, then continue as if nothing ever happened. This is called the Gringo Bump (coined by my friend Carl). It’s never intentional, but I’ve knocked over little kids, plowed through old ladies, and shoulder checked men, all distinctly Colombian.

There are high security gates which surround every apartment building, though the gates seem largely ineffective because the person trying to enter usually isn’t screened until after they’re gone through the gate.

Bartenders will let your glass become totally empty as you sit there with a parched mouth for what seems like an eternity, until you’re finally able to flag somebody down and ask for another.

The process for getting a driver’s license makes the DMV in the US seem like a breeze. After filling out 2 applications, you have to take a basic aptitude theory exam, which proves that you understand signal lights, road signs, etc. Then they test your motor skills with a video game, your hearing (with something similar to what you would find in the US), your vision (also the same box you would find in the US, where you look into it and read the letters), and then you need to get a basic physical examination. Yet while all of this stuff is required, they don’t actually test your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

There is a mandatory helmet law for all motorists on 2 wheels.

The traffic lights change by flashing green for a few seconds, then solid yellow, and then red.

As a pedestrian, you don’t have the right-of-way or anything close, and you’ll definitely get your ass run over if you’re not paying attention when you attempt to cross the street.

Vegetables do not make up any significant portion of the Colombian diet.

While you can find salads at places like Mundo Verde, they’re not popular and it’s usually next to impossible to find a good salad when you want one.

You can have cigarettes and toilet paper, as well as liquor delivered to your door 24/7, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

Colombians hate spicy food.

Most Colombians grew up with their mothers giving them hot cocoa in the morning, so coffee isn’t really that popular, even though they export a shit load of it – 11.6 million 60 kg bags annually, making them the 3rd total highest producer in the world, behind Brazil (#1) and Vietnam (#2).

Every single car on the road is equipped with some sort of car alarm, which is guaranteed to go off for at least 25 minutes when you’re trying to sleep at 3 am.

Apparently in Colombia, plant theft is a thing. The sign says, “don’t steal more plants – we have cameras.”

Colombians will observe 38 holidays in 2016 – 16 more holidays than the number celebrated by the US.

Absolutely everything except Carulla is closed on a holiday.

Pretty much ALL Colombians, both male & female, love football, whereas usually only males love American football.

Liberal use of the horn – Colombians will never pass up the slightest opportunity to really get on it for any reason whatsoever, but usually it’s justified because everyone is looking at their phone and not paying attention, or someone has decided to park in the middle of the lane, or somebody is driving completely erratically.

Colombians’ drink of choice is Aguardiente (also called guaro), which is a licorice flavored liquor derived from sugar cane. It’s cheap and usually ranges in 20% – 60% alcohol by volume. Some of the worst hangovers I’ve ever experienced were aguardiente induced. Possible correlation with the number of holidays.

Colombians LOVE to party. If your sleep is suffering or drastically affected because of this, you’re better off moving into a different apartment. Or joining them. Because they will not stop, even if asked by the Porteria.

Sometimes partying needs variety, so you can rent a party bus, which plays loud music, serves liquor and basically drives around town until everyone finally arrives (sufficiently drunk) at the final location.

Colombians love fireworks. As in, the really, really good stuff you’ll never find in the US – big mortars, bombs, etc.

On any given night, younger people go to dance halls in big groups with their friends primarily to drink (aguardiente) and dance to reggaeton, house, salsa, and crossover music until the place closes at 2.

Taxis use 2 different apps (Tappsi & EasyTaxi) at the same time to find business. However, if you attempt to pay the fare with your credit card, there’s a good chance the app won’t work, and you’re stuck paying with cash anyway.

Uber has established a presence in Medellin as of last year, but the process for getting picked up by a driver is extremely broken. Drivers are having to rely almost exclusively on Google Maps, which is absolutely terrible with addresses in Medellin (I would go so far to say non-functional even). So you may end up going through multiple drivers before you get one that can actually find your pickup location. And in the time you’ve just wasted, you could have already been half way to your destination in a taxi. In other words, Uber in the States is great, but no so in Medellin. Unless I’m going to the airport, I’ll always opt for a taxi because the majority of Uber drivers don’t know where anything is or how to get places.

Large groups of people will gather in public parks on the weekend to hang out, socialize, drink, and enjoy their evening. Occasionally you’ll find some talented street performers working for tips, and far more prepagos & prostitutes than you would probably care to meet.

You can find just about anything you need at the pharmacy, including drugs which would normally require a prescription in the US.

Given the current price of crude oil, the US Dollar is really strong against the Colombian Peso. The rate when when this was written is 3,333.24 COP per 1 USD.

Real estate is inexpensive in comparison with a similar property in the US, and overall cost of living in Colombia is much less than in the US.

At the grocery store, if you buy out everything on the shelf for any one specific item, weeks or months could pass before that item is restocked, if at all.

For every credit card transaction, the clerk will ask you “cuantas quotas?” The Colombian banking system oddly allows you to split up your payment into multiple payments. An answer of “tengo un 1,000,000 quotas” is usually enough to get a laugh out of the clerk.

You can hire two ladies to clean your apartment in 1 hour at a rate of 20 mil pesos. Usually they do a good job, but sometimes you can expect them to spend a lot of time cleaning something which obviously doesn’t need to be cleaned, and then largely neglect to clean important stuff, like the bathroom.

Acquiring a prepaid SIM requires a passport, and you will definitely run out of data at the worst possible time, leaving you searching desperately for an open WiFi network. Keep track of your data usage, and then I like to drop no less than 100 mil every time you need to recharge.

There are a lot of unarmed security guards all of the place, just standing around, doing absolutely nothing. The poor guys must be bored out of their minds.

Armored trucks will roll up to retrieve cash from a bank. The guy with the money bag usually has a chromed out 44 caliber revolver, drawn, and the two guys waiting for him outside have sawed-off shotguns, also loaded and drawn.

Colombians seem to be completely OK with standing in long lines for seemingly endless amounts of time.

A large number of Colombian women have had some form of breast/butt augmentation. There is also a large number with perfect long dark hair, but they’ve added blonde stripes. Funny how you try to do something to be different, then everybody does it, and now you’re back where you started. Kind of how I feel about tattoos.

A large number of Colombians don’t have passports and will never leave their home city. This is because their family is here, their entire world is here, everything they want and need is here, so why go anywhere else?

Few things are more important to Colombians than family. Women will cancel dates and alter their entire schedule, if anything family-related is happening.

Colombians are happy, optimistic people and children are raised with that mindset.

A typical Colombian wage is equivalent to about $350-400 per month.

In general, no matter which restaurant you go to, you can usually always expect the service staff to be very nice & friendly, but the service itself is terrible.

Colombian architects have learned how to embrace the perfect 25 degree climate in Medellín. Thus, almost every public establishment incorporates some element of the outdoors with the indoors. This is amazing on so many different levels.

If you don’t like the food that you ordered at a restaurant, it will not be taken off the bill. Sorry.

Colombians will drive $90K BMWs to a dive restaurant to eat cheese sticks and drink Aguila Light beer with their friends on a Friday night.

If you are not Colombian and you try to do business or negotiate a deal, Colombians will usually find a way to make it as difficult as humanly possible for you, and even go so far as to not honor a signed contract in favor of an interested party who happens to be Paisa/Colombian.

Although Paisas in general are very honest and cordial, they have a tenancy to be opportunistic, liars, and cheaters. Trust can be earned, however, and I have many Colombian friends where this has never been a problem.

If someone gets taken advantage of, Colombians will place equal blame on the victim as they do the offender.

If you are a thief and you try to make a getaway after stealing something, the police will shoot you dead on the spot.

Colombians are far more friendly and hospitable than most of the entire world.

Colombian women are some of the most beautiful women in the world, and there is an overabundance of them. In the US, gorgeous women are not as common and usually have an attitude that you need to break through, while gorgeous Colombian women feel perfectly average and they’ll gladly give you their number if you approach them and ask for it.

Colombian men will impregnate a woman, then completely abandoned the mother & child forever, with zero consequences. Hence the stereotype of being unfaithful.

Taxis and many other cars on the road, run on clean natural gas. Except for buses, all of which leave a trail of thick black smoke for pedestrians to breathe.

Gas stations also have electric charging stations.

Malls are a very popular place 7 days a week.

Street food usually consists of empanadas, chorizo, and arepas.

To this day, Pablo Escobar is a very taboo subject.

It’s possible that you could go into a large Target-like store in search of an electronic device, and after they tell you they don’t have what you’re looking for, the clerk will still try to sell you a shopping cart full of discounted children’s books.

Electronic devices are 25% more expensive than the retail price in the US.

For higher ticket purchases, the seller will always try to impose a gringo tax if you let them.

At the cinema, American movies are shown with Spanish subtitles.

Tipping is not expected, though always appreciated. At restaurants, they’ll ask if you’d like to include servicio or propina. It’s still nothing close to the amount of an average tip in the US.

Colombians usually have fincas (farms, or country houses) a few hours outside of town, where they go to spend a few days to relax and enjoy their time together, or to celebrate one of the many Colombian holidays.

The majority or Colombians are Catholic, but overall, rarely will they blow up or lose their composure (even if they’re pissed). They just keep their cool and aren’t affected by things that would normally cause Americans to blow the fuck up. This is not a characteristic of Catholicism in the US. After living here for one year, I’ve yet to witness any violent arguments.

Virtually every street-side store has a bar cage over the doors and windows.

Most apartments come equipped with a washing machine, but no dryer.

There are no building codes, so it’s very possible the steps could be too short, or the railing too low.

Colombians don’t understand punctuality and will usually always be late.

Paisas don’t understand sarcasm and rarely will they attempt to be politically correct. Missing sarcasm is no fun, but they will give you their honest opinion if you ask for it.

Colombians are far happier in general, than US citizens and most of the world.

Have you been living in Colombia for some time? Notice one or two things that I forgot to mention? I’d love to hear about them below in the comments section.