Los Balsos is the family-stage answer to El Poblado.
Los Balsos is the family-stage answer to El Poblado. Gated complexes, pool-and-playground amenities, two-car parking, and proximity to international schools and the El Tesoro mall. The trade-off is honesty about car dependence - walking is not part of daily life here. If you have school-age kids or value complex amenities over walkable cafés, this is the right sector. If walkability is your top criterion, look at Manila instead.
Hillside gated complexes and large-format family residential. Los Balsos #1 and #2 together cover the broad slope between Avenida El Poblado and the El Tesoro mall ridge. The inventory is 3-4BR apartments in gated towers, with pools, gyms, playgrounds, and porteros - geared more toward families and long-stay residents than nightlife-adjacent nomads. The Loma de los Balsos road is the spine; addresses higher up the loma command better views and longer commutes.
The kids' school bus picks up at 6:40am at the complex gate. The Colegio Marymount commute is about 25 minutes by bus. Diana sometimes drives instead and uses the time to run errands afterward.
Marcos works from a home office on the lower floor of the apartment. His meetings are mostly in Spanish, which makes Medellín a comfortable base; he travels two weeks per month to Bogotá or Lima.
Diana's weekday rhythm is car-driven: kids to school, the gym at Atom House in Provenza (twice a week), groceries at Carulla Las Vegas (which has better produce than the El Tesoro Carulla and is barely further by car), a Pilates studio in Manila on Wednesdays, and the kids' afternoon pickups. She estimates she drives an hour and a half on a typical day.
Weekends are mostly inside the complex. Pool, playground, the kids' friends, occasional family barbecues with Marcos's cousin who lives in Envigado. Once a month they drive to a finca in Llanogrande for the weekend.
They have considered moving down to Manila for walkability but the kids would lose pool-and-playground time and the building inventory at Manila family-size apartments is thin. They renew Los Balsos every year and accept the driving.
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| Unit type | Monthly rent (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 Bedroom | $850 – $1,500 |
| 2 Bedrooms | $1,300 – $2,200 |
| 3 Bedrooms | $1,800 – $3,200 |
Rent data updated May 2026.
Walk times on this page are estimated from Loma de los Balsos. Times will vary a few minutes depending on your exact address.