Same age retired Veteran. Been to Colombia and decided on the DR. I have Veteran buddies in Colombia currently. You can definitely live well there. I looked into it because there was a lot to like when I visited and I felt fairly comfortable moving around. Colombia is very affordable indeed and even 2k a month is more than a lot of the locals are seeing. I’d been to the capital previously while in the Army so I was familiar with how things are and some of what to expect. Barranquilla, Cartagena (and other coastal cities) are heavy with African descendants. I felt more comfortable there than Bogota or Medellin where I felt I stood out like a sore thumb. Was I the only Black man around? No, but there are definitely many more Indios and Blancos than Morenas or Negros in the interior of the country. You will “blend in” (physically) living in Cartagena and will notice yourself moving around differently. Your situational awareness has to be really on point throughout Colombia but more so in Cartagena. I was around the law enforcement community and Cartagena is a known hotspot for Venezuelan and Colombian organized crime. The Cartel activity is brazen in Cartagena - good thing you don’t party because you will not be exposed to the worst aspects of the underworld of Cartagena. People have to be careful because in an instant scopolamine could be blown in your face or slipped in a drink and the next thing you know they are cleaning out your bank accounts. It could be a very dangerous place for a single woman and as you see from the news it’s a very dangerous place for single men chasing good times while exhibiting poor situational awareness.

You definitely need to get some conversational Spanish down or I think you would be setting yourself up for trouble. It will take more than a couple of months for you to get conversational in Spanish. In DR I’m seeing non Spanish speakers using AI glasses for easy translation. I’m not fluent yet so I’ve taken a look at them and they are available at various price points. I will be grabbing one of the brands well under $200 lol. There are some areas in CTG where expats tend to congregate and I would focus my initial efforts on sticking close to those areas and meeting other like minded people who can help while you get your feet wet. There is a U.S. consular agency in Barranquilla which covers down on Cartagena that you can rely on for assistance. Make sure you register with the Embassy in Bogota and enroll in STEP in case SHTF https://mytravel.state.gov/s/step. Check into a good travel insurance policy and suitable medical coverage. No one plans to get into an accident overseas but the longer you’re in a country the higher the odds. Open a local bank account in Pesos with a debit card, keep a U.S Bank account and get a virtual mailbox service in Miami that can also forward the important mail to you for a few bucks. Might want to look into downloading the Remitly app on your phone so you can easily send yourself Pesos to your peso debit card for “running money” two or three times a month - keep the rest in your U.S account. Primarily carry your Peso account debit card so you won’t lose or be robbed for your real “bankroll”. A lot of expats get a Charles Schwab Investor checking account because you can open it up with around $100 and it comes with a Visa debit card that doesn’t have any foreign transaction fees and reimburses 100% of any ATM fees worldwide but again if you carry a U.S Bank card around on a daily basis you run the risk of loss if you’re victimized on the street.

That’s my .02 for what it’s worth