Living the Good Life in Medellin

Since leaving home at 18 years old, I haven’t had three square meals per day in about 24 years. Our new housekeeper Gloria, started today, and it looks like I’m gonna get three squares from now on. Something I never thought would happen again in my lifetime, lol.

It goes to show, that no matter how ridiculous your goals are, they can happen. I asked for three squares per day, and now it’s happening. LOL. GOD is good.

Now, considering we just moved in, we didn’t have much in the fridge, but Gloria did the best with what few items we had (see pic below).

But since Gloria is here, things are about to get much better. Today, she is writing out a grocery list, and will go buy all the food needed to cook us authentic Colombian meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

YEP … In addition to the cooking, Gloria will also clean the house, do the laundry, iron clothes and a few other things as well.

Would you believe me if I said you can have all of this for $20 – $25 per day? Well, you can … It won’t include the 3 cooked meals per day, but you can get your entire house cleaned for a daily rate of about $20 bucks — this includes washing dishes, mopping floors, cleaning the bedrooms and bathrooms, making beds, ironing clothes, cleaning windows, dusting, doing your laundry and more … all for just about $20 – $25 per day. She’s here from 8:00 a.m. t0 5:00 p.m.

I’m paying an extra $15 per day to get the 3 cooked meals added into the routine — plus, she’ll go out and buy the groceries on our behalf as well. Our only instructions — cook the food as though you cook it for yourself. We want to experience the full, authentic Colombian experience. And so far, we’re off to a great start!

Now before I start getting blasted for ‘exploitation’, let’s keep in mind that this is a fair wage in Colombia. Hiring her allows her to provide and care for her family each day. And if y’all know me, then you know I’m going to take very good care of my friends, family, employees, team members, etc…

I bring all of this up because if you’re in America and you’re struggling financially, or you’re on a fixed income, your money can go a long way here in Central and South America. I still can’t wrap my head around how the quality of life here is sooo good. I’m falling more in love with Medellin as each day passes by…

We’ll be making some visits during our stay here to Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Belize, they’re all within this region. I’ll keep you updated!

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