Colombia is great, I love it here. Ecuador is popular for US retirees because they use the US dollar and the threshold for a retirement visa is low. As Xela said, Cuenca, Ecuador. But if you want class, Medellin.
That said, I do know a couple of traders in Latin America--one in Ecuador, one in Colombia--who are happy as clams.
I'm intrigued by Medellin but my exposure to it is limited to the Netflix show "Narcos." I gather things have changed in the last 25 years?
Yep... I wouldn't give an arm for it... But I'm also pretty sure I can do it with not so dramatic measures, even if it takes some time to do it... Even if I liked my time in Europe, I'd still rather be in a place where I can simply buy a gun and have lots of people always suspicious of government(regardless of party)... In that sense(and MANY OTHER SENSES), there is indeed no place like america...
It is totally different now (safe). I have never watched Narcos on purpose as Escobar is long long dead and nobody wants to think about him anymore here. If it is the show I think, they could not even get a Colombian to play him. Only PITA for some is flights are routed through Miami usually. You might get more direct flights from Quito, I am not sure. I like the mountains and an ideal climate rather than running between aircon buildings like Panama City etc.
Crete Greece, even some of the smaller island not Athens tho. Cheap, safe, great weather and food, I don't think I ever had any more fun anywhere else in the world
Latin America is a nest of Fidel Castro worshipers(Rafael Correa from Ecuador is a great example of this)... Stay away from it... I live in the biggest country from latin america: Brazil... And it's always the same thing: corruption, everybody expects to live at the expense of others, ignorance all around, crime... Not worth it... A few decades ago you could try Chile(even though I wouldn't), but now it`s just another communist shithole...
Don't listen to naysayers. Visit a few places, see how you like the feel and you will make something work.
Sounds like you haven't traveled that much outside of US. Been around the US and don't get me wrong, it has it's charm and the sense of freedom in the air is intriguing but with the relatively high taxes, high crime and ridiculously expensive healthcare - it's not that attractive. Many decades ago people in Eastern Europe dreamed of America but nowadays it's just the poor Ukrainians and Moldovans who would give an arm and a leg to go to the US. This is simply because Western Europe and the Nordics are a much more of an attractive offer in almost every aspect. Always saying "hi" to strangers is not the norm because it's considered a waste of time and fake politeness. If I'm going to see a person only once, what's the purpose of that gesture? I mean, I greet my neighbors and people I have talked with but that's about it. My father who is fairly sociable had an interesting view on it. He was sitting in front of his hotel room on a Greek island just minding his business, an American guy comes around, sits down and starts talking to him out of nowhere. While he probably was polite, he said afterwards "why the hell does he think I'm interested in talking with him, I was just enjoying the moment in silence, alone". I tend to agree with him, don't assume everyone wants to interact with you, you're not that interesting.