Neighborhoods that are good for remote work in Medellín
View from our Airbnb by the Floresta Station in Medellín – You can’t beat the location, the mountain view, or the price!
Where to stay in Medellín - Floresta
We stayed in the Floresta barrio for a month, by the metro station. Floresta was more locals and families, and not touristy.
We rented this Airbnb listing, facing the metro station where we could hear the train arrival chime all day! Staying right by the Estacion Floresta really helped us connect and see more of Medellín since we could hop onto the metro in minutes. We had 2 bedrooms, plus an office, with fast wifi and a full kitchen. Just two blocks away was a full grocery, Supermercados La Vaquita. There were many street vendors and small restaurants, open day and night. Outside of our building were locals hanging out, snacking on arepas queso, or watching the soccer game outside of the convenience store.
Apartment rentals and Airbnb were much cheaper in this area of town. We read the reviews and went for a less expensive option for our fist month of remote work in Medellin.
Where to stay in Medellín - El Poblado
We also stayed in El Poblado for 3 weeks, which was a pretty big contrast to La Floresta!
This Airbnb we rented was in the La Provincia apartments, up the hill from the main area of El Poblado. It was about a 15 min walk down, but a 20 min walk back up the hill! The El Pablado metro station is still another 1 mile past the central restaurant and bar district. Obviously walkable, but you may want to take an Uber or taxi home, depending on the time of night or your exhausted legs. The hill and distance from the metro gave us a different experience than being in Floresta, as we had to plan the walk time, and train transport time (as Poblado is farther south), or decide to take a terrifyingly fast Uber ride.
While Floresta is families and commuters, El Poblado is tourists and those catering to them. At night, blocks of clubs blast music and young hosts try to coax you inside. It can be a bit much… or exactly your flavor of party. You do you. There are people selling everything that could make a peso- from jerseys and umbrellas to cocaine. By day, there are beautiful coffee shops, boutiques, hotel restaurants, and people trying to make money on the street. I never felt unsafe, but it was a different vibe that kept me aware of my surroundings at all times.
However, day or night, once you walk through the lush green center of town (near El Social or at Lleras Park), you’ll wonder why you spend time in a concrete jungle, instead of this leafy lively jungle!
El Poblado is the party center of Medellín! The bar area is free of cars and covered in lush green jungle vibes.
Envigado gets you amazing views of Medellín – The orange buildings and lush green never get old.
Where to stay in Medellín - Envigado
Envigado is farther south than El Poblado, with condos and apartment buildings rising into the hills. The main center of town is Santa Gertrudis church, with a square park and gathering location. Bustling streets fan out, with small restaurants, bars, and businesses frequented by locals. Like El Poblado, the main part of town is at least a 20 minute walk from the metro station, and most areas where people live are even farther up the hills.
While the hill walking is a lot, it does make for apartments with amazing views, like this one in El Yerbal area of Envigado.
Resources- research where to stay in Medellín
Since we only stayed in a few neighborhoods, I will refer you to this blog, which I thought did a good job of highlighting pros and cons about some Medellin barrios, and did include a review of the area by Estadio (near Floresta).