3.15/5
137 reviews
Photo by Alexander Schimmeck via Unsplash

Cali

To increase honesty, reviews are anonymous. You can only add one review per city or it replaces/edits your old one. Reviews with URLs or emails are removed. If you're writing about data being wrong, please don't do it here as it'll be removed here.

salsa

learn

major

great

kind

pacific

weather

beautiful

country

Cali offers a warm and consistent climate year-round and is known for its friendly and welcoming locals. It’s a great destination for learning salsa, with many affordable classes and an active nightlife scene shaped around this iconic dance style. Living costs are generally low, though imported goods can be relatively pricey. The city is also a good base for trips to Colombia’s Pacific coast and Coffee region, offering budget-friendly travel options and weekend escapes within easy reach.

However, safety is a notable concern. Petty crime is common enough that many recommend caution with valuables and using ride-hailing apps like Uber at night. Women, in particular, report frequent catcalling. The city also struggles with poor road and sidewalk infrastructure, contributing to heavy traffic and making transportation a hassle in some areas.

Despite the downsides, for those willing to adapt and stay aware of their surroundings, Cali provides an affordable, culturally rich experience with warm weather and welcoming people.

AI-generated summary of reviews
2 years ago

The salsa capital of the world. If you want to learn how to dance, go here. There are so many great places to learn and practice and at a fraction of learning anywhere else. The people are some of the most loving and kind people I've ever encountered. It's a bit of a party scene. You can also access the pacific very easily from Cali. The weather is always beautiful. As is the case with any Latin American country, you need to develop a 6th sense for your belongings and surroundings. Don't pull out your phone in the streets, and take Ubers after dark, as there is a risk of getting robbed.

4 years ago

Cali has beautiful weather and kind, friendly people. You will need to use Spanish here so it is a great place to learn. Locals are very patient with novice speakers. The city has many green spaces and weekend travel to the Pacific region and Coffee country is possible as well as inexpensive flights to other major cities in Colombia. Salsa is king here so it is worth taking lessons, as this is a major part of the city's nightlife. You can live quite cheaply here but expect foreign or imported foods, liquor, and goods to be similar or more expensive than prices back home. The terrible traffic and poor road and sidewalk infrastructure is a major downside. Also expect frequent and sometimes gross catcalling as a woman living here.

7 years ago

Dangerous and the salsa wears out after a while...

8 years ago

✅ Warm all year

✅ Friendly people

✅ Very affordable

✅ Great for learning salsa

✅ Good access to nearby travel spots

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Democratic

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Can be dangerous

❌ Bad traffic and infrastructure

❌ Frequent catcalling

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Not safe at all

❌ Not much to do

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Roads can be dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not safe for women

❌ Not family friendly

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

2882°
warm

2475°
warm

2882°
warm

2984°
warm

2882°
warm

2577°
warm

2475°
warm

Real (median)

2678°
warm

2475°
warm

2678°
warm

2679°
warm

2678°
warm

2577°
warm

2475°
warm

Humidity

nice
83%

nice
81%

nice
83%

nice
84%

nice
83%

nice
82%

nice
78%

nice
79%

nice
83%

nice
85%

Most common

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
344mm

rainy
277mm

rainy
313mm

rainy
306mm

rainy
220mm

rainy
134mm

rainy
124mm

rainy
151mm

rainy
217mm

rainy
379mm

rainy
302mm

rainy
363mm

Cloud

cloudy
82%

cloudy
84%

cloudy
90%

overcast
91%

cloudy
89%

cloudy
85%

cloudy
78%

cloudy
84%

cloudy
81%

cloudy
89%

cloudy
85%

Air quality

clean
44 US AQI

clean
43 US AQI

clean
29 US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

clean
25 US AQI

clean
28 US AQI

clean
23 US AQI

clean
27 US AQI

clean
32 US AQI

clean
36 US AQI

clean
42 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

Remote workers

1,500 people

1,267 people

1,029 people

700 people

1,050 people

1,457 people

857 people

1,200 people

1,133 people

933 people

1,286 people

1,320 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Cali's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

Help pick the best photos for Cali and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

89pts

37pts

36pts

29pts

9pts

8pts

6pts

5pts

4pts

3pts

2pts

1pts

78pts

37pts

35pts

11pts

9pts

7pts

5pts

4pts

3pts

2pts

1pts

46pts

37pts

35pts

9pts

8pts

7pts

5pts

4pts

3pts

2pts

1pts

Salento

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 20° 68° 19° 66° AQI 55 😷

✈️14min

$1,893 / mo

24 Mbps

Pasto

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 53 😷

✈️21min

$1,175 / mo

16 Mbps

Bogota

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 17° 63° 16° 62° AQI 58 😷

✈️24min

$1,915 / mo

11 Mbps

Medellín

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74° AQI 31

✈️26min

$2,332 / mo

13 Mbps

Quito

Ecuador

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 14° 57° 13° 56° AQI 63 😷

✈️36min

$2,635 / mo

14 Mbps

Bucaramanga

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 24° 75° 24° 75°

✈️45min

$1,698 / mo

10 Mbps

Intag Valley

Ecuador

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels -9° 16° -5° 22°

✈️48min

$2,079 / mo

26 Mbps

Panama City

Panama

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 33° 91° 28° 83° Has AC 🥵 AQI 22

✈️56min

$3,338 / mo

22 Mbps

Guayaquil

Ecuador

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 35° 95° 28° 83° 🥵

✈️58min

$1,757 / mo

8 Mbps

Montanita

Ecuador

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 29° 84° 26° 79° 🥵

✈️60min

$1,672 / mo

26 Mbps

Cuenca

Ecuador

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 20° 68° 19° 66°

✈️1h

$1,733 / mo

8 Mbps

Cartagena

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 34° 93° 28° 83° Has AC

✈️1h

$2,692 / mo

10 Mbps

Detroit, MI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 21° 70° 21° 69° AQI 55 😷

✈️6h

$4,939 / mo

103 Mbps

Dallas, TX

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 29° 84° 25° 78° Has AC AQI 22

✈️5h

$5,087 / mo

80 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 46° 115° 32° 90° Has AC AQI 69 😷

✈️24h

$1,664 / mo

32 Mbps

Medellín

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74° AQI 31

✈️26min

$2,332 / mo

13 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 29° 84° 26° 79° Has AC AQI 47

✈️6h

$7,330 / mo

26 Mbps

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 75 😷

✈️4h

$3,322 / mo

21 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 20° 68° 20° 67° AQI 24

✈️19h

$4,435 / mo

25 Mbps

Buenos Aires

Argentina

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 13° 55° 14° 57°

✈️6h

$3,409 / mo

14 Mbps

Bogota

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 17° 63° 16° 62° AQI 58 😷

✈️24min

$1,915 / mo

11 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 29

✈️12h

$6,421 / mo

38 Mbps

Bogota

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 17° 63° 16° 62° AQI 58 😷

✈️24min

$1,915 / mo

🌇 Also went here82 people

Medellín

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74° AQI 31

✈️26min

$2,332 / mo

🌇 Also went here106 people

Cartagena

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 34° 93° 28° 83° Has AC

✈️1h

$2,692 / mo

🌇 Also went here68 people

Lima

Peru

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 28° 82° 26° 78° Barely AC AQI 45

✈️2h

$1,840 / mo

🌇 Also went here56 people

Cusco

Peru

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 60° AQI 55 😷

✈️3h

$1,272 / mo

🌇 Also went here45 people

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 75 😷

✈️4h

$3,322 / mo

🌇 Also went here64 people

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 29° 84° 26° 79° Has AC AQI 47

✈️6h

$7,330 / mo

🌇 Also went here50 people

Buenos Aires

Argentina

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 13° 55° 14° 57°

✈️6h

$3,409 / mo

🌇 Also went here63 people

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74°

✈️6h

$2,717 / mo

🌇 Also went here47 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 26

✈️10h

$4,873 / mo

🌇 Also went here54 people

Madrid

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72° AQI 60 😷

✈️11h

$5,508 / mo

🌇 Also went here52 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 18° 64° 19° 65° AQI 34

✈️12h

$8,195 / mo

🌇 Also went here50 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 29

✈️12h

$6,421 / mo

🌇 Also went here58 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 40

✈️12h

$7,005 / mo

🌇 Also went here52 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 46° 115° 32° 90° Has AC AQI 69 😷

✈️24h

$1,664 / mo

🌇 Also went here48 people

1,800 remote workers in Cali now, of which 4+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.15/5 (Rank #481) 137 reviews
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,920 / mo
📡 Internet	🙂 Good: 46 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Perfect: 23°C73°F (feels 23°C73°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 92%
💨 Air quality (now)	😐 Moderate: 58 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 27 US AQI
👌 Safety	Bad
👩 Safe for women	Bad
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Bad
🤝 Lack of racism*	Bad
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very poor: $714 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Bad
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Colombia
🗓️ Average trip length	8 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	46 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌧 23°C 73°F + 😊 Comfy (92%) = feels 23°C 73°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 58 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 27 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Tappsi
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10,000 COP in USD	USD 3.02
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	COP 1,000,000 = USD 302
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
☕️ Best coffee place	Juan Valdez Café
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
🦷 Fluoride added	🚫 No fluoride added
♻️ Return rate	👍10% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	2,700,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$8,562 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 44% 👱‍♀️ 56%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 79% 👱‍♀️ 21%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Falabella
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Copa Airlines
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Avianca

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,920 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,255 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,580 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$737 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,518 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,717 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$621 / month
🏠 Median home price	$84,214
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$71 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$56 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$90 / month
🍛 Dinner	$5
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$1

Cali

1,800 remote workers in Cali now, of which 4+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Get a free account + 50% off by email