I'm looking at spending a fair bit of time in Venezuela - could be 6 months or a year. Which would be the best cities/towns for this, taking into account safety, attractiveness, things to do, quality of life, friendliness, etc? I speak fluent Spanish and have lived in other parts of Latin America, and I'm interested in renting a flat and going local. Any views on relative merits of Merida, Coro, Ciudad Bolivar? Anywhere else I should consider?
Many thanks for any advice,
Jefe
Sounds like u want a lot of fun in Venezuela, thats good. By now i haven`t been in many cities of this great country, but i can tell u Ciudad Bolivar is great. If u want to do tours, u can take them from here. The people have been really great to me, i was supposed to have only one night in here and now im thinking of stayin for a month or so. Having a fluent spanish its gonna help a lot. U can probably rent a flat near down town or Casco Antiguo.
Other city i`ve heard is really nice is Merida, but that is as much as i can tell u of the place. Enjoy and have a lot of fun. Anything else, send a mail, and be in touch.
foca_mejia@hotmail.com
Alvaro
I have been in just about every "city" in venezuela (over 75000 habitants) except for Pto Ayacucho and San Fernando de Apure.
Valencia would be my choice, because:
Down side, Valencian people have an attitude of sorts, don’t know if this may only be against locals from other parts of the country.
Any were in Venezuela you will need a car mainly because if you like to party the party moves a lot; so does the beach.
I hope this helps.
Personally, I would choose Merida ... and never Valencia unless you are into the middle-class thing, then yes. Merida is a "for all" type of place with lots of artists, night life, universities, calm, green, and somewhat cool at night ... buut far from any real beach (about 12-16 hours by bus). Valencia is hot like hell and sort of flat and desert-looking, one of the main industrial towns and lots of "middle-class" whilst the poorest live in crappy conditions along the outskirts where the industrial areas are ... but it is only about 2-3 hours from a good beach. The rest of the country is a matter of outlook and personal taste ... depends what you want ... but basically Merida has it all and is close enough to all sorts of stuff except beaches and deserts (like Coro). Coro is dry and very hot, in a desert basically but close to the nearby mountain ranges and good beaches ... but far from the Andes and the fertile lands. I live in Caracas, but in a barrio, which is far from the polution and heat of Caracas and I live in a small villages in Tachira, in the lower Andes and at the border of Merida and Zulia in the flat green agricultural area, My favorite place of all is Barlovento, around Caucagua ... but that is a different story ... and a very different lifestyle ... tropical rain forests, thick greenery, and Blacks mostly, descendents from the slaves ... my preference in style. Good luck ... Venezuela has everything you might like to find ... but scattered about in different regions.
