At the southern end of the Aburrá Valley, just outside Medellín proper, lies Sabaneta, one of ten municipalities in the Medellín metropolitan area. With an area of just 5.8 square miles, it’s the smallest municipality in all of Colombia. In contrast to cosmopolitan Medellín, Sabaneta is a medium-sized town, but it has the feeling of a village, friendly and cozy.
Like the whole of the Medellín area, Sabaneta enjoys great weather year-round. Average highs are in the upper 70s to low 80s, with lows in the 60s. You won’t need heat, air conditioning or screens on the windows, thanks to the 5,200-foot altitude.
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Apart from its weather, Sabaneta is about as unlike Medellín as you can get. The pace of life here is slow and laid-back. Medellín is modern and energetic. Sabaneta is small-town Latin America and a true community. A few high-rises are appearing on the landscape around town, but these are oddities. The heart and soul of Sabaneta is clean streets, friendly people and traditional life.
Sabaneta’s town square is a picturesque and bustling social center. Young people enjoy the shady sidewalk cafes, and old-timers in cowboy hats relax on benches solving the world’s problems. Saturdays and Sundays the square is crowded with people catching up with friends, enjoying a pleasant day out and attending mass in the stately white church that anchors the square. Folks come from not-too-distant El Poblado to enjoy lunch or dinner and be a part of this homey and pleasant setting. Wall-to-wall cafes along one side of the square mean plenty of dining options. Just off the square is a pedestrian thoroughfare offering more outdoor cafes and eateries where a couple can indulge in a small feast of local Colombian specialties for a total bill of just $20.
Sabaneta’s 38,000 inhabitants enjoy the same excellent infrastructure as the 3.5 million people residing in the Medellín metro area, yet it has the character of a small city in Ecuador or Bolivia. This makes for an interesting mix. You’ve got Latin American colonial charm supported by things like clean tap water, high-speed Internet and a first rate public transit system.
Thanks to this unique mix of old and new, Sabaneta draws people from the rest of the valley who get here via a quick ride by car, bus or metro and who feel like they’ve entered another time and another culture. Some come for dinner or Sunday afternoons, while others choose to live here, commuting to their 21st century livelihoods each day.
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Property prices in all of Medellín are a bargain, especially at the current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Colombian peso. However, property prices in Sabaneta are lower than elsewhere in the Medellín metro area. The best buys are older properties. However, it’s increasingly possible to buy a new apartment for a bargain price that is well under $100,000.
At the starter end of this market would be a small two-bedroom, two-bath condo a short walk to the town square, with low taxes and low homeowners association fees. It’s on the 22nd floor of a 32-story building that offers a pool, steam room, sauna and sports court. The asking price is just 175 million pesos. That’s $57,000 at the current exchange rate.
Higher end would be a brand-new three-bedroom, two-bath apartment a few minutes from the central part, the Mayorca Mall and the nightlife district. This 12th-floor apartment has great views, and the complex features two heated pools, a basketball court, a steam room and a sauna. The asking price is 300 million pesos or $97,800. In this case, financing is an option.
Sabaneta also boasts a luxury market. In this category would be a 2,600-square-foot, two-story penthouse with three bedrooms and five bathrooms with long mountain and city views. It’s just a two-minute walk to the town square and to a large supermarket complex. The asking price is 566.6 million pesos, or $185,000. Again, financing is an option.
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Little-known Sabaneta, sitting on the doorstep of Medellín, is an appealing option for city retirement. It’s an ideal place for a retiree who wants the infrastructure, comforts and amenities of 21st-century living, but the charm and tranquility of a village setting. This combination is difficult to find anywhere in the world. In Sabaneta, you can not only embrace it, but afford it, even on a modest retirement budget. You could invest in a place of your own at today’s bargain property prices and live here comfortably on $1,000 per month or less.
Kathleen Peddicord is the founder of the Live and Invest Overseas publishing group.
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A Comfortable and Charming Retirement in Sabaneta, Colombia originally appeared on usnews.com
