The Bogotá bubbles

In a Colombian context, especially in relation to employment, Bogotá is where it's at for the most part. 

As the capital and most populated city, it's the place that attracts the most job seekers, both from within and outside the country.

In many employment sectors, such as education and finance to name just two, it's where the best money can be made. Yet, as we've oft mentioned on these pages before, it's a very unequal city.

Bogotá: It looks fairly equal from this viewpoint ...

Colombia's inequality is, arguably, most apparent here. In simplistic terms, financially speaking, it's broken into three groups: 'The have lots', 'The have a littles' and 'The have nots'. 

For our time in the country, putting aside our First World background that, in theory anyway, puts us on a higher plain in this regard, we're firmly in that second group. 

We share this space with perhaps about 60 to 70 per cent of those who currently call Bogotá home. (In actual monetary terms, we're talking about an average monthly wage of roughly 350 to 450 euros at current conversion rates.)

That is to say, if we operate within certain circles of the city, a working-to-lower-middle class bubble so to put it, we can live within our means. 

Indeed, with a not-overly frugal existence, those of us in this middle group can even put some money aside on a monthly basis.

Nonetheless, from a socialising perspective, the likes of the city's exclusive Zona G, Zona T and Parque 93 are largely off limits, save for on very rare occasions.

Not only that, but on the seldom times that we do go out in those places, we tend to be quite uncomfortable. Paying multiples of the price for the exact same product, or something very similar, that we can get, with a smile, in the barrios doesn't sit well with us at all. 

OK, there are some places, although not too many in our experience, that offer both good quality and decent service — this being a particular rarity in these parts — at reasonable enough prices.

The thing is, after six years of having Bogotá as the base, remaining in that more modest income bracket, even if we were to see a significant upswing in terms of take home pay (while we're always striving to improve our lot here personally and professionally in the pursuit of a happier existence, money's not the chief motivation), it's unlikely that our socialising habits would change that much.

We now have a very clear idea of what the price of things should be. So when we're asked to pay significantly more than that for no real strong reason, we don't like to. 

For many of the more well-to-do Colombians, not only do they not have many major issues paying above the odds for things, it's actually a status symbol to do so. 

Going out in the fancier establishments is a true sign that you've made it; style, questionable as it is, but with little substance. It's also a good way to help ensure the riff-raff are kept at arm's length.

Of course, the quest for a life without these socio-economic divisions, or bubbles as we'll call them, is idealistic in the extreme. The best we can hope for is to see a fusion of some of the bubbles, a levelling out of living standards. The likes of Colombia has a long way to go in this regard, but there's always hope.

From a global perspective, it's also worth bearing in mind the following, which we read in an official UN source a few years back: If the poorest 80 per cent on the planet were to live like the richest 20 per cent, at current consumption levels we would need four planet earths to sustain us.

Thus, it's not just a case of improving the lot for our most unfortunate. The richer amongst us need to learn the art of modesty in living. We all can't over indulge in the man-made finer things in life.
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Not-so-price-smart Bogotá

For the last 20 months Bogotá's only regular quiz (trivia) night, IQuiz, has been on the go. It's still quite a niche event, a nature of the beast that it is, perhaps. 

Nonetheless, as a labour of love, it's been relatively successful and, going by the reaction of those who participate, an enjoyable, fun and lively event, which is what we want it to be.

Nice place, but overpriced for what you get ...

From an organisational and venue-sourcing point of view, it's been quite an experience. 

You see, for us, IQuiz is not meant to be exclusive, set aside for just a certain sector of Bogotá's inhabitants. Yet, in such a disparate, economically unequal city, balancing the needs of IQuiz with the desire to make it accessible to as many as possible has been tricky.

Generally speaking, the spacious, bar-style venues IQuiz requires are only to be found in the more affluent parts of the city, and that means paying multiples of what you'd pay in a more bog-standard setting (Colombia's strata system, where certain parts of the city pay much more for services, plays a part in this). 

Or if they're not in exclusive areas, such places usually sell their refreshments far pricier than the establishments around them. A case of 'give it a Western tinge, increase the price'.

More than just giving a place a Western flair (in music and style), the more Westerners or foreigners with money who frequent it, the greater justification for price hiking. Fair enough, if the clientele is happy to pay, repeatedly, your prices and with business going well, why would you consider lowering them?

Indeed, in many of the pubs we're referring to, the customers are people earning salaries that would be considered decent in more developed countries, with some being paid in dollars or euros. 

Also, there's the strategy, so it goes, that maintaining higher-than-average prices helps to keep undesirables away. Yet, for the likes of Bogotá's Zona T and Parque 93, it's unlikely that the ñero types will flock there to socialise, whatever the price. They might come, as some already do, for less innocent reasons. (In any case, gomelos — Bogotá's posh — can be just as unbearable as their ñero opposites.)

Obviously, it's a numbers game on two fronts: if people are still coming and you're in the black financially wise, then great.

However, from what we've witnessed, it appears that some of these 'finer' watering holes aren't exactly fulfilling their potential. It's actually difficult to see how they are making money at all. It's either a case of the owners having deep pockets or the business is being used for more sinister reasons.

Not only are the places that fall into this underperforming category overpriced and generally underwhelming, they have a service charge to boot. 

Now, tipping for a job well done is one thing, but almost forcing people to pay extra for being served when, more often than not, the ones doing the serving behave as if they'd prefer to be doing anything but, that's just a deal-breaker. We'll take the personal touch of the local tienda over such coldness any day.

It would be interesting to see some of these stale Western-style pubs adopt a sort of Ryanair approach: cut back the prices substantially to get customer numbers up. 

The arrival over the last couple of years of the Bogotá Beer Company (BBC) bodega franchise in the city was a half-turn in that direction. However, considering these bodegas only sell the 'fancy' BBC beers, they're still somewhat exclusive.

A lack of start-up capital is why the Wrong Way Pub hasn't opened its doors yet. Of course, were that to happen, we might just find that running a bar à la Ryanair wouldn't be viable. 

Be that as it may, for the moment, we'll try to keep bringing IQuiz and its associated discounts to a venue near you!
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