You ever notice how the same amount of money feels completely different depending on where you’re standing?

Because if you make $3,000 a month in the U.S., people treat it like you just confessed you’re “between dreams.”

But if you make $3,000 a month while living in Colombia, people assume you’re either:

And that’s the weirdest part: the job didn’t change. The money didn’t change.
All you did was move the pin on the map.

That’s what this article is about—how to earn dollars, euros, Canadian dollars, Swiss francs (strong currency) while living in Colombia without selling courses about selling courses, and without pretending everything is “passive” when it absolutely is not.

This is Part 1 of a two-part idea:

But here’s the big shift:
Once you understand how income + geography works, you stop asking “Can I afford to live here?”
…and you start asking “Why did I ever do it the other way around?”

Let’s get into it.

Living in Colombia doesn’t magically turn you into a new person.

But it can do something powerful: lower your baseline cost of living enough that your income finally starts behaving like it should.

When your:

…you get something most people in the U.S. are missing right now:

And breathing room is where good decisions happen.

This is how people go from survival mode to strategy mode.

Let’s start with the least sexy, most effective method.

A traditional remote job.

It’s not viral. It doesn’t come with a “freedom lifestyle” montage.
But it does something incredibly important:

And when your bills are paid, you stop making desperate decisions.

Remote jobs are the foundation because they give you:

Here’s what most people get wrong:
They assume remote employers care where you live.

Most don’t.

They care about four things:

If those are yes, your address is usually just a detail.

Tech & systems (high demand, high pay):

These are the “keep the machine running” jobs.

Operations & project-based roles (less technical, still remote-friendly):

If you’re organized and dependable, these roles travel well.

Revenue & client-facing roles (communication = currency):

If you can stay professional under pressure and communicate like an adult, you’re employable in a lot of markets.

Finance roles (quietly underrated, always needed):

Every business needs financial help—and many prefer fractional support because it’s cheaper than full-time hires.

Because remote jobs are “boring” in the best way:

And when your foundation is stable, your creativity improves, your risk tolerance improves, and your long-term thinking comes back online.

I love content. I do content.

But if anyone tells you content is easy money, they’re either:

Content is a job.

You plan. You publish. You show up. You do it again.
And you do it while the views are low and the feedback is basically your mom and one guy in the comments yelling “FIRST.”

So why do it?

A normal job pays you once. Tomorrow you start over.

Content creates a library:

Every piece stays online. It keeps working.

And as your audience grows, your catalog grows…
…and eventually those two things start feeding each other.

That’s the real power.

None of this is passive at the beginning.

But it can scale beyond your time if you stay consistent long enough.

Colombia gives you:

And that’s huge, because content is front-loaded:
You work the hardest when nobody cares yet.

But if you keep going, there’s a moment when older content starts carrying the new content.

That’s when it stops feeling like a job…
and starts feeling like an asset.

Content doesn’t just create money—it creates:

It opens doors you didn’t even know existed.

If you want the fastest “start earning” option that doesn’t depend on algorithms?

Sell services.

Because services are simple:

You’re not waiting for ad revenue.
You’re not waiting for “the audience to find you.”
You’re getting paid because you’re useful.

If a business needs it and it can be done online, you can usually sell it.

Common, proven categories:

Tech & build:

Marketing & growth:

Media & operations:

Services are:

They’re often the bridge between:

This one isn’t for everyone, but it’s very real:

If you’re a founder—or you want to be—Colombia can be an incredible place to operate if you do it correctly.

Here’s the unlock:
You can earn in strong currencies…
and build locally.

Meaning:

That’s leverage.

Some founders don’t just need help. They need someone who can:

That’s where “operator” roles come in:

It’s not “cheap labor.”
It’s building smarter—with structure and accountability.

And it works best for:

Not for:

Let me be clear:

This isn’t a get-rich-quick plan.
This isn’t “move to Colombia and your life magically works.”
This isn’t “passive income in 30 days.”

Everything here requires:

This is for people who:

Living in Colombia doesn’t fix your life.
But it changes the math.

And when the math changes:

That’s the real benefit.

If you earn globally while living in Colombia, you stop asking:

“Can I afford this?”

…and you start asking:

“How do I want to live?”

Part 1 is active income:

Part 2 is the other side of the equation: