Foreigners who are moving to Medellin, Colombia’s second largest city, can now count on a company that helps newcomers get settled.
The company, Medellin Executive Location, was founded earlier this year by local Gloria Zuluaga, who spent years of her life in Europe before returning to her home town.
After her return, she noticed that a lot of foreigners making the same move did not have access to a service that helps them learn the language, and find a home and a school for children.
“Because I speak English and know what migration is like, a lot of friends would ask me to help out when foreigners came to Medellin,” Zuluaga told Colombia Reports. “That made me realize there was a need for a service now offered by Medellin Executive Relocation.”
Since then, Zuluaga created a vast network of real estate companies, schools, language institutes, attorneys and interior designers to help her cover the necessities that newcomers to Medellin have.
“It is not easy to settle in a new country especially when you don’t speak the language,” said Zuluaga. “But aside from this, there’s a world of particularities that come with every country. Almost everything is different from home.”
The Medellin native’s company aims to tackle exactly these issues. “We try to make the move to Medellin as smooth an operation as possible. Sometimes this begins even before a migrant has booked a ticket and needs to find out things about the cost of living, what kind of housing is available, etc.”