Who Is Behind GeoGringo? Six Years in Colombia, All First-Hand
- 6years in Colombia, not a long visit
- 5cities lived in, across four regions
- $0commissions or referral fees, ever
Why did I move to Colombia, and why have I stayed?
I’m Shep — an American living in Colombia, and the person behind GeoGringo. I came here from Los Angeles in 2020 and Colombia has been home ever since. Since then I’ve lived in five cities, bought an apartment and a car, and got my visa. I’ve learned how to navigate a lot of paperwork the right way. Everything I advise on, I went through myself before anyone paid me for an opinion about it.
How I ended up living in Colombia
Back in 2020 I got laid off, so I came down for what turned into ten months. Then I went back to the States, picked up a job I could do remotely, and went back and forth for the next two years. In 2022 I was laid off again, and that one was the six-figure job. Then I had two surgeries in the US that year, one after the other. After I went through all of that I came back to Colombia, and this time I sorted out a real visa instead of living on tourist entries.
Before all that I spent years working in technology and running my own businesses. That is where I picked up the habit that matters most here: slow down on anything expensive, read the details, and understand what you are getting into before you sign it.
Why I am still living in Colombia
At first, the low cost of living is what got my attention. But it is not why I stayed. I stayed because I like living here — beautiful beaches along two coastlines, scenic mountain views, cities with “eternal” spring-like weather, friendly people, and a pace that suits me better than the one I left.
- 2020Laid off. Came to Colombia and stayed ten months.
- 2020–22Back and forth from the US on tourist entries, working remotely.
- 2021Bought my first place here, off plan, on the Cartagena coast.
- 2022Laid off from the six-figure job. Two surgeries in the US.
- 2022–23Came back, then got a proper Colombian visa.
- 2023–26Barranquilla, Cali, then the Pereira area.
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What have I done as an American living in Colombia?
Bought property in Colombia while living here
In 2021 I bought a pre-construction apartment in Cartagena. I visited the developer’s finished buildings, went through the title history, handled the foreign investment registration with the Banco de la República, negotiated the price and went through the closing. How the process works →
Been a patient in the Colombian system for years
I see a doctor here every three months. I have had an MRI, EKGs and echocardiograms, regular blood work, a cardiologist, a urologist, a respiratory therapist and a general practitioner, plus injections and infusions. In fact, I pay for all of it privately. I also had two surgeries in the US and did the follow-up care here, which is a route a lot of people end up taking. What I look at in a clinic →
Handled my own paperwork living in Colombia
My first years here were tourist entries, going in and out, before I had a visa. So I know that route and where it gets complicated. Since then: a visa through the Cancillería, tax residency with DIAN, a car registered and transferred through the RUNT, and time in person at Migración Colombia.
Learned enough Spanish to do it myself
Functional, not perfect. That is, enough to read a lease, sign an escritura at a notary, deal with my bank and answer a migration officer’s questions without anyone translating for me. How I learned it →
Lived in different cities here, not just visited
Bucaramanga, Santa Marta, Villavicencio, Valledupar, Montería, Riohacha, Buenaventura and plenty of small towns. Every city here is its own place, and the culture shifts noticeably from one region to the next — the coast is not the interior, and paisa is not costeño. I have rented here, bought here, driven here, dated here and sat in plenty of government waiting rooms. You find out which neighborhoods are different once you live in one. What I tell people about safety →
What do I walk you through on a call?
Property is where this matters most — one wrong call there costs tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars — so here is a property example. The same six steps run a move or a course of medical treatment. Only the detail inside each one changes.
- Define the goalRental income, resale, a home, a visa, or a procedure with a date attached. Every step below depends on this answer, and it is the one people skip.
- Choose deliberatelyThe city, then the neighborhood, then the block — or the clinic, then the surgeon, then who handles your aftercare. This is the choice that is expensive to undo.
- Compare the optionsNew build against resale, one city against another, private care against public. Two real options tell you more than one good story.
- Verify it independentlyThe land record, the medical license, the zoning plan. Colombia publishes nearly all of it, and this is the step where deals fall apart.
- Structure and negotiatePrice and payment schedule, what a quote leaves out, how your money enters the country, and who is responsible if something goes wrong.
- Plan the exit firstHow you would sell, how you would leave, who handles the follow-up once you are home again. Decide it before you commit, not after.
The long version is in my Property Buyer’s Guide.
Everything in one place
If you would rather read than talk
A lot of this is written down. The Colombia guides cover the move, the visas, the cities and the property side, free and paid, on one page. The free tools run the numbers for you — the visa income line, a monthly budget by city, and which city fits how you want to live.
How I verify information?
I do not hand you an opinion and ask you to trust it. Anything I tell you about a title, a doctor or a transfer traces back to a Colombian public record, and on a call I open that record with you and show you how to read it.
A property title
We pull the Certificado de Tradición y Libertad and go through the chain of ownership and anything registered against the title. Then I will show you what matters in it, what to hand your Colombian attorney, and what to ask them.
A doctor or a clinic
We look the professional up in ReTHUS to see whether they are licensed, and the clinic in REPS to see whether it is authorized for what you want done. Then we go through what the quote leaves out, who handles a complication, and what the aftercare really involves.
Moving money into Colombia while living here
How your funds enter the country affects the investment record, your tax position, and whether a purchase can support a visa later. It is registered through the Banco de la República. We go through what your situation needs before you move anything, and I will tell you when it is time to bring in a Colombian attorney or accountant.
How do I create a City & Market Intelligence Report for you?
The records tell you what a place is on paper. They will not tell you which blocks change after dark, whether the new road is funded or only drawn, or what a unit like yours really sold for. That part comes from being an American living in Colombia for six years, in five of these cities.
- What places actually sold for, and the price per square meterColombia has no MLS and no state-licensed realtors, so there is no database you can look this up in and no license board standing behind whoever quotes you a number. You have to assemble it: closed prices rather than asking prices, how long things sat, and the price per square meter — listings here are priced by the meter, not the foot, so convert before you compare anything to a US number. Then look at which way the trend has gone over a few years.
- What new construction is coming online at, and how much of itNew supply sets the ceiling on what you can ask later. Several similar towers within a few blocks can mean the area is growing. It can also mean those are the units you compete with when you sell.
I also gather information that other reports miss
- Safety, block by blockNobody wants to buy somewhere that is not safe, and in a Colombian city that changes street to street. So I walk it in daylight and again at night, and I ask the people who live there.
- Whether the city is really being built upRoads, the electrical grid, water and sewage — not the render of the new park. What the POT allows versus what the Plan de Desarrollo actually funds. And whether Aerocivil’s monthly passenger numbers back up the story people tell about the place.
I have talked myself out of two cities that looked perfect on paper, and walked away from a closing of my own when the paperwork did not hold up.
How does GeoGringo make money?
Two things: one-on-one calls, and a few paid guides. That is the whole business. No agent, clinic, developer or agency pays me anything to send you their way, so nothing I tell you is bent by where you end up spending your money.
What you are paying for is an hour of my time and six years as an American living in Colombia — which visa your income actually clears, whether a building is worth what they are asking, what a medical quote leaves out, whether a city suits the way you want to live. What you get from me is experience, not legal, tax or medical advice — I am not a lawyer, a doctor or an accountant. When your situation needs one, I will tell you, and I will tell you what to ask them.
Talk to an American Living in Colombia About Your Plans
Bring whatever you are working on — a city you are considering, a building you are looking at, a clinic, a visa question, or just whether this is realistic for you. You fill in a short questionnaire first, so we do not spend the hour on the basics. Nobody pays me to point you anywhere, so the hour is only ever about what actually fits you.
Not ready for a call? Start with the free Colombia Field Guide — real costs, the legal visa paths, and the first-year mistakes that cost people the most. Or email me at [email protected].
Disclaimer: I am an independent advisor and an American living in Colombia, sharing firsthand experience — not formal professional advice. I am not a licensed attorney, medical practitioner or accountant in Colombia or the United States. For legal filings, medical evaluations or tax returns you will need a licensed Colombian professional; on a call I will say so plainly and help you understand what to look for before you hire one.
About · GeoGringo · v8 · last reviewed September 5, 2026. The personal accounts here are my own experience. The government references and links were checked against current official sources on that date.
