Visited a friend in Medellín, Colombia, and then decided to move there.
• A couple can live modestly in Medellín for $1,400 a month and well for $2,500. A two-bedroom apartment in a high-end area goes for $700 a month.
• Drawbacks: Driving is tough, pollution can be noticeable, and poverty is widespread. Crime is down dramatically from the cocaine cartel days of the 1980s but remains a worry in some neighborhoods.
• Pluses: clean city, cheap living, great climate, vibrant culture, friendly people.
• "I tell you honestly I have had more fun here in the past four years than in the previous 50."
