Digital Nomad Life in Cali, Colombia: Cost of Living, Culture & Remote Work with Kent Cameron | Nearshore Cafe

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Brian: Welcome to the Nearshore Cafe podcast, home to the most interesting stories and people doing business in Latin America. Welcome everyone to the Nearshore Cafe podcast, sponsored by Plug Technologies. My name is Brian Sampson, I’m one of your co-hosts here today. A time, eight-year founder of Nearshore LatAm-based companies. Along with me is my co-host, Kent Cameron, a digital Nomad currently living in LatAm. And we are super excited to be here.
Kent: Super excited, looking forward to thriving in… Sorry, yeah, let’s get into it.

Brian: All right, well, Kent, you have a really interesting story, and I really want our listeners and viewers to understand just what it means to be a digital Nomad in Latin America, and how you got into this world and all that stuff. But I think what would be really interesting is if we can kind of plant where you are today. So, where are you living? What’s daily life like? It looks like you’re in a pretty cool and modern background. Yeah, tell us a little more about daily life.

Kent: Yeah, no, it’s great. I’d love to share that with you, Brian. So, right now, I’m based in a place which is in Southern Colombia, called Cali.
Brian: Okay, yeah.
Kent: C-A-L-I, right? C-A-L-L-A?
Brian: Yeah, that’s it. Cool. Right.
Kent: Yeah. So, I’m based in Cali, and it’s known as the salsa capital of the world. And, to be brutally honest with you, I don’t know if that’s 100% legit. It’s definitely something that the culture here is based on, and it’s a big thing. So, you know, the culture passes down generation to generation and all that sort of stuff. So, you can’t deny that it’s pretty popular. Yeah. So, salsa is a big thing in this town. It’s probably the third largest city in Colombia. So, I actually moved down here about eight or nine months ago.
Brian: Okay.
Kent: But, yeah, interesting stories behind that because I’ve been coming here for a long time. Because, you may or may not have been to Colombia, but in Colombia, it’s very culturally rich, up to the eyeballs, you know. There’s so many things to do, and this is one of the things I discovered on my journey. So, yeah, funny stories, my parents actually were professional dancers. They met each other, and that’s how they met. And so, essentially, I didn’t know that I actually got into this. It wasn’t necessarily my thing, right? I didn’t know I liked this, but somehow it’s in my blood, I think.
Brian: So, yeah, that’s great. And so, you said Cali is in the southern part of Colombia. What’s the weather like out there?
Kent: Great question. Yeah, so it’s super hot here. So, what I love about it is that it’s really predictable. So, it’s hot all year round. And, me being from, you know, Australia, you know, there’s pretty good weather there in the north, so it’s sort of just been a natural transition for me.
Brian: Yeah, right on. And so, you said it’s the third biggest city. Tell us a little more about daily life there, and, you know, are people going to the markets all day, and the food, and the culture, the coffee culture? Nearshore Cafe, we love our coffee here.
Kent: Absolutely, absolutely. So, yeah, I think, day in a life here, it’s kind of interesting. It can be a little chaotic. You know, obviously, but it’s also, I would say, kind of a destination. You don’t really go for coffee. The altitude isn’t really primed for that, you know. So, it’s dry and hot. But there’s lots of trees, and it’s very nature-based, you know. Most of Colombia is pretty diverse. Yeah, so I would say people drink a lot of coffee, but we don’t produce a lot of coffee here. But there are lots of farms that they produce lots of other things. Don’t quote me exactly on what they do, but there’s a lot of different things they produce in agriculture, you know, it’s a big thing. So, yeah, as you maybe could imagine, if you’ve been to Latin America, right? So, you’ve been, and you’ve seen markets and all that sort of stuff, there’s definitely a really vibrant culture where you can go and buy anything really cheap. Fruits, there’s a crazy amount of fruits and different vegetables. As I mentioned, it’s quite diverse, so it depends on what location, depending on what you’re going to get. So, yeah.
Brian: Yeah, very interesting, dynamic kind of first place. What are the typical people eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner out there?
Kent: Yeah, so, again, it’s kind of specific, but also there seems to be the same thing. So, in the morning, most people have wraps, and they have avocado, and they’ll have some meat or something like that. It’s very, very common. Eggs as well. You know, that sort of thing. It’s a combination of fairly hardy food. Lots of soups and different food like that. Sorry, I can’t say all the names.
Brian: And is rice and beans a staple, or is there a certain meat that’s more commonly used than others?
Kent: Okay, so, meat. Yeah, I think chicken and rice, like kind of steak or beef, is a staple. Yeah, in every meal, you get that. Yeah, for sure.
Brian: We know that you’re a digital Nomad, which is something that, as you said, has really become popular about a decade ago, and especially, you know, driven by COVID. For those that don’t know, I live in Hawaii, and there’s been a lot more digital Nomads that live here too, you know. As long as you have internet and a laptop, we can all make it work. How is the infrastructure out there? Internet and phone service and technology? And are there other people like you? Are there other digital Nomads in Cali?
Kent: Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I can talk about that. So, over the years, I’ve been going in and out of Colombia for the last five years. It seemed like the infrastructure really changed and become a lot more robust. You know, post-COVID, it’s a great reason. And also, I think, I don’t know if you’ve seen Starlink; I think it’s also available here as well.
Brian: Oh, cool. Yeah, isn’t it?
Kent: Yeah, internet’s not really an issue. You know, and so, really fast internet, readily available. So, yeah, in terms of foreigners, it’s a real popular place. Lots, lots of people, you know, travel all over the world here, including, you know, a lot of people from America; there are lots of people from America, interestingly now. So, yeah, it’s a really popular, touristy kind of place to come. I think the salsa is the key thing that drives people here. They come down, you know, they want to get all the good clubs, and, you know, they want to try all the different things. And so, yeah, it’s a really unique place for that reason.
Brian: Right on. Now, have you partaken in the salsa culture?
Kent: Yeah, yeah. I try, yeah. You know, it’s a great opportunity to get out and do that. You know, obviously, you need to be disciplined because the culture here, you know, it’s very collective. People want to share their culture; it’s something they’re very proud about. And I think, and they have every right to be, right? But also, you know, sometimes when you’re juggling work and also seeing a country and all that sort of stuff, you need to be disciplined about it, right? Otherwise, you could be dancing all night, you know. So, you know, that’s just my 10 cents. Yeah. So, the weekends, it’s pretty common to go out with friends and just go and casually dance at various clubs and bars and things like that. It’s super, very, very friendly for anyone coming all over the world. You’ll find that there’s a very easy transition. Yeah, for sure.
Brian: Yeah, it seems like a very welcoming place. And, you know, just back to the digital Nomad environment, are there startups here? Are there co-working spaces? How do you guys meet each other and find each other out there?
Kent: I think the most common go-to point is a WeWork. They’re all over the world. You’re familiar with those, right?
Brian: Of course.
Kent: Yeah. So, there are several locations here where you can plug and play, and it’s pretty economical. And, yeah, I think the other go-to which I’m a fan of is just going to various online Facebook groups and things. And that seems to be the easiest thing, you know. Sometimes you might be in different places, and, you know, it’s sometimes a drama to get around at times. So, yeah, busy, all those things. Yeah. So, there’s plenty, there’s plenty of room to meet people. There’s this thing, I noticed the other night, I went past it, I haven’t been, but there’s a Gringos language night, Spanish night, or something like that. And it’s, you know, it’s one of those classic things. So, there’s a lot of those sorts of, you know, initiatives. So, if you came down, anytime, you’re more than welcome. You could essentially go and learn Spanish pretty quickly.
Brian: Yeah, by the way, sorry to break your flow, but let’s do Spanish. Interestingly enough, my Spanish has been pretty stagnant since I became a Nearshore entrepreneur, for the very reason that everyone that I interact with, the English level is so high. There’s really, you know, I just kind of throw in some Spanish words, I think, for fun. But otherwise, the population that I work with, the English is so abundant, fluency is so advanced that all my conversations are just easily in English, and it’s just super unscripted and just casual, which is something that really attracted me to the region.
Kent: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it’s one of those things that’s kind of elusive, right? You need to use it or you lose it, sort of thing. So, yeah, it makes sense. Yeah, it’s no easy feat either, the Spanish language. If you didn’t learn when you were at school or something like that. So, yeah, it’s a good one, that one.
Brian: Well, tell us a little more about, you know, as a digital Nomad, that’s a pretty vague thing. But, what do you do day to day? What do you do for work?
Kent: Yeah, absolutely. So, I think the whole digital Nomad thing, there are many different variations and models of how you can work. And, it could be anything from you could be a freelancer, you could be remote employment, one another one. You could be an entrepreneurship is an obvious one. You could be a content producer, maybe you’re an investor, you know, getting the finance side of things. So, there’s a ton of different ways, and I guess my categorization of it was, I took the entrepreneurship route and also the freelancing route seemed to be the right one for me. And I probably didn’t anticipate as many learning curves. So, you know, there’s a ton of stuff I didn’t know before I left, and now I know. So, that was really cool, and, just really, the main thing I do is I played with coding, I played with recruiting, teaching. I’ve done a number of things, and that seemed to get me across the line.
Brian: Yeah, and recruiting and coding are two often in-demand skill sets. And I’d imagine the cost of living in Cali is a little bit less than the cost if you were to move to the U.S.
Kent: It’s a great point. Yeah, I’ve had this question so many times. So, yeah, Brian, I think the motivation for me to originally go was that I was trying to fix that overhead cost problem. You know, so, you want to minimalize your overheads, maximize your income. So, I was thinking in the same vein. Yeah, it was, I was thinking in terms of options. I could, you know, before I left, it was, “Do I live with my parents? Do I stay in the job and do a side hustle thing? Do I raise money, or what do I do next?” And so, it kind of came to a point where I was, “I need a fourth option.” I need another option because neither of those appealed to me at all. And I was, “What is that option?” And I came up with South America, starting in Mexico. Because, I guess, just to share with you, I think if you look at the problem statement, it’s trying to minimize your overheads. You know, Mexico automatically is very different in terms of purchasing power when it comes to Australia versus Mexico or Sydney versus, say, the beaches in Mexico. It’s a very different thing, so, to achieve that goal. And then, the other one I liked was it was on the same time zone as the U.S., so I could effectively access this massive market, right? So, I looked at it and I thought, “Well, this is classic Arbitrage.” It’s almost I checked up, I checked out the actual terms, called currency Arbitrage or Forex Arbitrage, is that right? Yeah, and so that was the initial incentive. You know, five years later, I’m here, so I guess it worked. But, you know, so, yeah, so that was the appeal to get started.
Brian: Yeah, I also think it can make someone like you incredibly attractive for companies looking for that talent Arbitrage. You know, because here you’ve got a digital Nomad with skills that easily adapt to the Western world, because that’s where you’re from. Because your overhead is just a fraction of what, your competition in the U.S., your overhead is a fraction of that cost. So, it allows you to still make a massive margin, but also price your own personal services more competitively. And I think that you’ve really cracked the code, you really cracked the system on that.
Kent: Thanks. Well, I’m getting there. I didn’t. Well, yeah, I think I got some things in retrospect straight away. You know, you obviously get, by default, a cheaper environment in that sense or a less cost. And then, you know, the other things, it was fraught with plenty of challenges I can share with you and takeaways. But, it’s a journey, and, you know, you get certain things up front and other things later on. So, yeah, that was generally the cadence of it all. So, yeah.
Brian: Cool. You know, forgive me. We haven’t really spent much time on your overall backstory, Ken. Obviously, you’re an Aussie. Tell us, just tell us a little more about growing up and how you, you know, I know you talked about the fourth option, but just tell us a little more about, you know, Kent growing up, Kent in high school, and your journey to this exciting continent.
Kent: Awesome question. Yeah, thanks, thanks for asking. I guess, so yeah, Aussie, born and raised in a place called Brisbane, out in the other country in between, it’s a place called Ferny Hills. So, I went there, you know, I was classically educated, went through all that. Very, very entrepreneurial family. So, yeah, it was, you know, sitting there watching, you know, Dad in the full room downstairs, you know, build up on a sales service business. And that led on to a number of international companies, which was interesting. And so, I spent a lot of my time just arguing with my parents about business decisions at a dinner table and, you know, building prototypes of things. So, that was kind of my background; fairly creative, practical. And then, yeah, so, first overseas trip out of Australia, I was always seeking diversity. You know, I think it came from one of the schools I went to, it was super diverse, and I was, “Wow, let’s get out and see what’s going on.” No, yeah, I guess, sorry, just touching on school. Yeah, definitely always in trouble, you know, always looking for a response, pretty much, you know. So, a bit of a character, definitely played a lot of sport, quite athletic, athletic career. You know, basically, tons of those normal things. But, yeah, so, my first trip was to London, so I went to Europe and did the Europe side of things. Yeah. And, yeah, my career sort of bloomed getting into IT recruitment, property development, accounting. I did a whole different heap of different disciplines and then landed on technology, and 20 years later, here I am. So, yeah, that’s the story.
Brian: Well, talked about, you know, what you expected when you came to Latin America, if anything, right? It’s kind of hard to anticipate, and then, what surprised you in a good way, what surprised you in a not-so-good way? You know, tell us some more about that.
Kent: Yeah, absolutely. So, I guess, there were a couple of things that really stand out. So, I’ll probably start by talking about Spanish. Maybe that’s a good one. We kind of touched on that. So, my interpretation was that, you know, you go online and you can learn Spanish in a month. You know, no problem, done, thanks for coming, guys. So, that was the biggest misconception. I never knew any Spanish growing up. I learned some German, and English obviously was the dominant language, so I really didn’t know any Spanish at all. Okay, I spent about a month and became conversationally fluent. I think it’s pretty, it’s easy to, you know, have a conversation, people can understand you, you know. But then, I bumped into, you know, all sorts of challenges which were much more, much more difficult to communicate through. And I realized soon that I really didn’t know anything, and that the learning curve and the type of learning curves in Latin America for me were getting my head across that language to the level that I needed. Because I love getting on the road, I love getting out and about, and I needed a lot more. A lot of people here speak English, so, super widely acceptable to, you know, speaking English to some extent in major cities. But when you go off the beaten track, it’s a different story. When you work, it’s a different story. So, yeah, so that’s the first thing. So, learning Spanish after going to universities here, working in the workplace, you know, dealing with meeting friends and having social situations, and, you know, even some working contexts. So, yeah, I realized that, yeah, it was a big journey, and it’s still ongoing. I think I’m at nearly a high E1 or maybe B2 level in university standards. But, you know, you can get away with it now. I can get away with it better now than I did back then. But, yeah, so, yeah, so that was the first one. Okay, I might lean on this. So, major world events. So, when you are traveling and you’re, you know, nomadic, essentially, if there’s a major change in the world, you know, that can be challenging on a local basis, like, you know, when you’re at home. But when you’re away, I found that was kind of interesting. So, that was interesting. And I’d say also, migration to some extent. So, systems are a little, you know, a little slower. You need a little bit of help; those things are really important. So, that was a little challenging. So, yeah, so I was expecting, you know, it’s going to be different, but I could just slot in, but it was much longer, kind of timeline. Yeah, so, yeah, so what else? Just also learning new skills. So, you think sometimes that a skill, you know, translates in your local market to, say, another market. And I had to learn the whole U.S. market and understand exactly, you know, what was needed, and also where I could work. You know, sometimes there’ll be companies that will say, “Oh, look, we’re hiring a remote,” but that’s remote in U.S., and they make you necessarily open. So, you have to figure out your framework for that, which is an uphill climb, for sure.
Brian: To jump on that for a second, so obviously you’ve worked with some U.S. companies. How did they pay you?
Kent: Yeah, that’s a good question. So, one of the things, because I’m an Australian resident, the interesting thing was, I found there were companies that were open to paying me as essentially as a contractor to some extent, but not a locally based contractor. Like a contractor who would, you know, help them out, you know, and consult on whatever it was. And then, it’d be a month-by-month basis, and there’s a ton of companies that will do that. So, it was interesting to explore that because, again, the goal was to have some form of Arbitrage around the earnings, right? So, get some U.S. dollars and live in a location which is obviously not as expensive and go from there. So, yeah, there’s actually quite a lot of companies who are open to that, but you have to, you have to definitely search. It’s not a straightforward, you know, how everyone’s putting their hands up, so you have to go and have those conversations. Yeah, that’s how it works. So, there are a number of options out there. So, there are payment platforms which are really useful, really easy to use. You can just set up an account, and they’ll utilize your bank account back in whatever location you are based, originally based in.
Brian: You know, for those that are interested, could you share a couple of those companies?
Kent: Yeah, so, the first two that I’ve used, I had experience with, were Payoneer and Deal. (I believe it’s D-E-A-L, with two E’s.) By the way, there are many others, but they’re the two that I actually have experience with and found them to be quite good and effective in terms of getting paid from an international company to a local bank account.
Brian: Yeah, okay, cool. Cool, right. And then, I want to go personal for a sec because you, and I know you as a cyclist. Talk about, you know, cycling around Colombia and elsewhere, the event, in Latin America.
Kent: Yeah, happy, happy to talk about that. Yeah, I think this is one of my favorite topics. And, I guess, yeah, I’ve always been a cyclist, and it’s one of the reasons why Colombia worked as a location for me. If you haven’t noticed, there are some pretty big hills. Yeah, you know, it’s pretty diverse, so they produce a number of really competitive cyclists in the Tour de France. You’ll see, you know, taking out, helping with places, a couple of competitions. So, yeah, basically, it’s a religion here. And I’ve had a number of experiences, but probably the two that stick out to me are, so, I was living near Medellin. It’s the second largest city, the City of Eternal Spring, they call it. And I was living in a place called Rio Negro, near the airport.
Brian: I have not, but that is high up on my list, and I was just writing about that the other day. The City of Eternal Spring, the climate just sounds perfect.
Kent: Yeah, absolutely. So, just imagine, every single day you get up and it’s spring. Every single day there are technically two seasons in Colombia: one is rain, one is summer. So, that’s all right. So, yeah, so in this place called Rio Negro, which is near the airport when you enter Medellin, there are basically a ton of opportunities to join groups and ride. It’s a very affluent area. And there are all these little small nooks and crannies, little pueblos and towns. And there are all these amazing hills and there are all these places to go, so you never, you never short of a challenge. And long rides, you could ride, you know, 120 K’s with a group, and that’s the standard thing. They cycle pretty hard here, yeah. But there are many other places to go. The other one I would recommend is I went to a ride that is about roughly 100 to 120k uphill, so it takes all day to do. Yeah, you know, obviously. And it’s called “Letras de Altos,” I believe. Yeah, you have to excuse my accent, but basically, that is an opportunity where you can ride all day, every day, if you want to do that, Brian.
Brian: So, yeah, if you choose. Years ago, I think I was pretty into cycling, nowhere near the level you were, but I did most of my cycling in Southern California with a big reason of predictable weather, right? For about eight months a year, I didn’t have to worry about getting downpoured on or anything. And it sounds like that’s a benefit of cycling in Colombia: you’re probably not going to get downpoured on in the non-rainy season.
Kent: Yeah, yeah, depending on the location, but, yeah, you’re absolutely right. You know, it’s a little bit more predictable. So, yeah, but lots of cycling in Colombia, lots of opportunity to be active. You know, nature cycling seems to be a massive thing. So, yeah, I’ve had plenty of punctured tires out of the middle of nowhere. The roads are actually, depending on location. So, maybe talking about infrastructure in Rio Negro and Medellin area is probably the best, I’d say, out of most towns and cities. So, you can have pretty smooth ride, and people know and respect cyclists. You know, they’re fully aware of them, and, you know, so you can definitely, you can ride quite safely, and it’s a great activity.
Brian: Yeah, so, Kent, tell us a little more about daily life in Colombia and Cali. You know, what’s that look like for you?
Kent: Yeah, so, generally, I try to keep things simple, okay? That’s a rule, I think, over time. I try to keep things simple. So, one part of it is, okay, you work as a digital Nomad; you work with the New York time zone. So, you’ve got your daily work, right? So, I’ll be definitely respectful of that and protect that because, you know, you’ve got lots of distractions. You know, so, there are lots of great things to do. So, I think the morning for me, I try and get up really early. I’d probably be, let’s say, about 4 a.m. my job, and I’m one of those early risers. Yeah, yeah, it’s just the way I work, and I shoot off, you know, with the team, and hit some slopes, in terms of cycling. Hit the hills, I should say. And then, you know, come back, we’ll have coffee, breakfast, socialize, same sort of thing. It kind of reminds me of Brisbane when I used to cycle with my buddies there. So, basically, it’s the same sort of thing; it’s a different world, though, in the same vein. So, yeah, it would be, try and dodge some potholes, you know, early in the morning. Get a good ride in, usually about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on that. So, get back, probably rehydrate, more coffee, obviously. Big fan of the coffee, and then I’ll probably just get straight into work. And, you know, I’ve got meetings, and I’ve got to basically get there, fairly straightforward and somewhat boring, actually. You know, you’ve got to be somewhat boring to get things done. But then you also got to have your fun time. So, you know, when night time comes, you’ve got opportunities to go out, do things, especially the weekend. Usually the week I’m fairly reserved, on the weekend, it’s pretty, it’s pretty common for me to jet somewhere. Or just getting a bus and go and see somewhere local. So, that’s generally the things I do. I think one of the things that’s different in terms of my lifestyle compared to living in Medellin versus living in Cali, for example, is that down here, it’s obviously a different style of music. So, in Medellin, you have Reggaeton, it’s a capital for that. And down here, it’s basically a capital for salsa, and it’s a capital for nightlife and all that sort of stuff. So, it’s a little different, but, you know, just different culture, different things to do.
Brian: Thanks for sharing. So, I want to close out our podcast today with three hard-hitting questions, I guess you could say. So, the first one is, what is your favorite Spanish word?
Kent: Okay, Fuerte. Strong.
Brian: I like it, I like it. Good, good. So, Ken, being that you’ve been a digital Nomad, remind me, for how many years now have you been in LatAm?
Kent: I think it’s approaching five. I think it’s five years.
Brian: Five years. You are, you are the veteran of digital Nomad, in being a digital Nomad in LatAm. So, for those that are considering, “Hey, that sounds really cool what Kent’s doing, I might want to do that,” what is your number one piece of advice for those, say, in Australia, America, or Europe, that are considering following in your path, in your footsteps, and moving to Latin America?
Kent: I think the best piece of advice is, I think, be self-aware to deal with distractions. And I think, if discipline’s your thing, you’ll find that that’s what we’re going to serve you pretty well here.
Brian: Good, good advice. Good, good advice. And my last question for you, Kent, is, tell us about the best purchase you’ve made in Colombia under fifty dollars U.S.
Kent: Yeah, it’s a great question. I think it’s a hard one to answer as well. And I think that everything’s so cheap here, yeah. You know, for example, let’s take eggs and breakfast or something, and a coffee. You know, I would be hard-pressed to spend more than a dollar U.S. on that, depending on the location. Yeah, so, breakfast here is pretty awesome, yeah.
Brian: And that sounds great. I love it. So, Kent, the background looks quite cool, by the way. Looks like a pretty modern building. Tell us about, you know, where you’re living exactly, what kind of building it is, and, you know, so forth.
Kent: Yeah, yeah. So, quite fortunate. I live in this, yeah, as you can see, fairly modern apartment. So, this apartment is, I think it’s only five years old or something like that. And I’m in South outside of the city, and basically, this building here is, I do a lot of my work from here. Just out of choice because I get so much for my dollar here. I can pretty much have anything I want. On the roof, there’s a pool and a deck; it’s a massive pool and deck. So, you know, it’s a really modern building. There’s, I’ve got a gym inside my apartment, and also there’s a gym on the other side of the road. Then there’s, you know, a whole heap of parks and, you know, wildlife and everything. But it’s just super close to restaurants and cafes, and it’s everything that I would have in Brisbane, but just Colombian, if that makes sense. So, yeah, this little place, it’s all great internet, great air conditioning, great everything. So, yeah, I’m pretty fortunate.
Brian: Very cool. Awesome. Yeah, Ken, this has been a blast. Super fun. I learned a lot. I learned a lot about you. I learned a lot about Cali, Colombia. So, just a whole lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to doing more of these, and thankful for our sponsor, Plug Technologies, for producing this for us. And I’ll see you again soon.
Kent: See you again soon, Brian. Thanks for having me.
Brian: All right, thanks for joining us at the Nearshore Cafe podcast. Tune in next week for a new episode featuring another special guest with exciting stories.