A chat with a hostel owner in Medellin flipped my view on 'cheap' spots

I was staying at this place in Laureles for $12 a night, bragging about the price to the owner over coffee. He just smiled and said, 'You pay with your time, not just your money.' He pointed out the slow wifi that took me three hours to upload a client file, and the shared kitchen that meant I lost a morning waiting to cook. It hit different because I was so focused on the low cost, I didn't see the work hours I was burning. How do you guys decide if a cheap place is actually costing you more?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant.felix5h ago

Yeah, that's the classic digital nomad trap. You save twenty bucks a night and then blow fifty bucks worth of your own time just dealing with the place. My rule is if the wifi can't handle a video call, it's not a workspace, it's just a bed. That hostel owner was doing you a real favor by pointing it out. Most places just let you figure out the hard way.

ninas6750m ago

Totally feel that. I once booked a place in Lisbon because the photos showed a cute desk. Got there and the "desk" was a wobbly shelf next to the boiler. The router was in the landlord's locked apartment below, so the signal was a joke. Spent the whole first afternoon walking around to buy a long ethernet cable just to send basic emails.

reesel503h ago

Your "just a bed" rule is too real. I've paid less for a room only to spend half my day hunting for a coffee shop with stable internet. That cheap spot really does end up costing you more.