Is it safe to live in Bogota Colombia?

Show all answers

Obama is a socialist

First and foremost on Mike and Mary I call B.S. 100%. It is true that you will often see full auto weapons. (The folder Galil being the mos common and the DAS folks have MP5's sometimes.) However NO cop or anykind is going to spray buildings with machine gun fire for some jewelry. Besides I have read the Bogota paper (El Tiempo) for years and have never ever read ANYTHING like that. I assure you something like that would have made the paper. The Tequendama (If you lived there you could spell it) and Edificio Bochica are in an area that is pretty well patrolled. However, if you have a lick of sense move to the north. Country, La Calleja alto or bajo Santa Barbara is ok, Salitre Plaza is a pretty good area but spendy. go to www.metrocuadrado.com and check out stuff for rent there. Bogota is, for murder and big crimes is safer than most cities it size. For petty theft and so forth there is a lot. So put your wallet in your front pocket. If your unfamiliar with Bogota get a taxi from a service. I also suggest NOT living on the first or second floor of ANY builiding, vigilante or not, your chances of getting robbed are higher. Be smart. Carry your real ATM card not in your wallet. Use DaVivienda ATMS they seem to be the most safe. Parque 93 is a good area and there is an aparta hotel there that is nice. Good knock off Armani suits too.
There is little FARC presence in Bogota. Easy way to tell FARC from reg army. Polished boots = Reg army. Beat to hell boots =Farc. Farc is much more of a presence in Choco or outlying areas. Bad things DO happen. But not like the media would have you believe. Be smart, dont ride the Transmillenio (great place to get pick pocketed) and youll be fine.

Embassy Emeralds

I am a blond hair, blue eyed American who lives in the heart of the downtown area that Chris spoke of. While there is crime in the Centro, I've lived here for a year now without ever being robbed. That doesn't mean you should drop your guard in places like this, but you should be aware and be smart.

In many parts of the city, it is relatively safe. As a foreigner you will probably quickly realize if you are going into areas you should not. The police presence is pretty noticeable in many areas and especially where there are large gatherings. I've never seen any crimes take place except for some kid who got caught trying to steal a purse or something at Carrefour (similar to Walmart) and I've never seen the cops or anyone fire a weapon either. I have however met several Colombians and a tourist or two who have been robbed. Mostly because they made bad decisions.

Some parts of the city are much better than others. Crime is higher than in your average US city, but I think it has a lot to do with the decisions you make as to whether you'll be a victim or not.

People are aware the FARC is out there but they don't live their daily lives fearing them. The FARC are still a concern in some areas (mostly rural) but have been diminished significantly in recent years. Occasionally something will happen in the city to remind people of their presence but targets are mostly police or military related.

My advice to you is to choose where you live wisely and don't be afraid. Colombia is a great place to live in my opinion and I hope to never leave.

Best of Luck!

Maria Clara

It's very safe. Be cautious on public places like malls or the transmilenio but if you stay on the north of the city you won't see any crime, and the farc are not in the cities only in the rural places.

Chris D

depends on how far into bogota you are...The farther into the city you are the more crime you will see...In the inner city drugs and theft are very common along with pick-pocketing (don't go there at night) but the suburbs and outskirts are generally safe to be around.

juancpolo

I just left BogotÃ¡ 2 months ago, Bogota is the most populated and the safest city in Colombia.
In Bogota you will have great places to eat, have fun and many cultural things arround, in fact Bogota was the "la Capital del libro" to Latin america on 2006 which means there is a lot of cultural thins to do and learn from BogotÃ¡, you can find more info on http://english.bogotaturismo.gov.co/ this is an official site but good enough.
Regarding your questions, Bogota is at safe as it could be any big city in the world the homicide rate is 18 per 100.000 people http://www.fac.mil.co/index.php?idcategoria=12877&PHPSESSID=...67bc89b67fbff609069aee1db and in New York it is about 5 per 100.000 people http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/nycrime.htm and you can compare with those in the states http://www.city-book.com/Overview/stats/atlstats.htm.

Regarding FARC the are a guerilla group and they are mainly out of big cities, you dont have to worry about that if you stay in Bogota, but if you travel by highways to others parts of the country be careful or go by plane.

Again You have to be as careful in Bogota as if you were in any other big city in the world

Finally do go to Bogota, you wont regret.

Other web sites to visit (things to do) http://www.planb.com.co/home.aspx, http://bogota.vive.in/bogota/

Need more info....just let me know or contact me.

Ted E

I agree with estrato the most and others similar... I lived there for two years and never had any problems...one only needs to be observant and care full like most large city's

Mary & Mike

Sorry Cris, will all respect I must disagree...it's the opposite...

I've lived at the Tacandama (sp) Hotel in the Heart of the capital, on the outskirts at 'friends' and in Leticia, gateway to the amazon.

The federals carry machine guns in Bogota, and while there is pickpocketing like every big city, it's at a minimum. On Sunday they close the street (Carrera) and you can shop wares from the Indians who come down from the Andes... great deals and if you stay out of big crowds u will not get p.pocketed, too many cops. One time in broad daylight I saw a young boy run past two American women on the sidewalk of Bogota, rip the gold from her neck and run. It all happened so fact, some words were yelled out in Spanish and one hundred people hit the ground. Two seconds later I saw three federals open up with machine guns, bricks were flying off the sides of buildings. The boy dropped and cried aloud in Spanish as the cops walked to him, took the jewelry and kicked his *** (he went to jail I would imagine?).
Remember, this is from three years living there, I'm giving you the worst in the city.
One of the thieves favorite past times is riding around double on dirt bikes, small ones. When you see this u can bet they are bandits. The rider on the back carries an ice pick, and they cruise thru traffic, splitting lanes... when they see an unsavvy tourist with an arm or hand out of the window they insert the pic and remove a watch or purse or ???
Bogota has huge malls, the most gorgeous emeralds in the world and coffee better than Starbucks, lol.
I will warn you though, stay away from the jungle!
I've talked enough. If you need specifics, let me know.
Mean Mike.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: