Cost of living on Samar

Hi Gordon, welcome.

It is still pretty rugged over there from what I hear, especially inland. Still lots of remote and scenic places (waterfalls, rivers, etc).  A couple of small to medium sized cities like Calbayog. They get hit pretty hard by the typhoons, especially on the east coast. I don't know of any other expats living there.

I imagine it would be quite inexpensive, even by Filipino standards. Probably $2-300 for a decent apartment, $100-150 for utilities dep on AC usage, another 30-50 for internet, $300 for food, water, sundries, and local transportation. Probably best to buy a motorbike to get around.

Thank you,a great help in an assist in moving to location. I am,like many others, just waiting here in Oz for the borders to open.

Gordon H wrote:

Hi,I am seriously thinking of moving to Samar, I have lived in Mindanao,I am seeking information of costs of Samar living. Renting a reasonable apartment plus local living costs for 1 person.
Comments would be muchly appreciated

I have an acquaintance who lived in Samar (stills owns a house there) and he said that it is a pretty inexpensive place to live.  Though he did say that the typhoon season brings a lot of storms to the area.  Something to consider.
He also said that there are a few expats in the area to share a beer and some bs with, though it can be a little boring. 

The expat blog is pretty recent and gives a good overview of the area.   

https://www.poppinsmoke.com/expat-milit … ilippines/

Regards and good luck.

Thanks Teejay,I am building up sort of a profile on Samar and Leyte,.they both seem to be quiet, non hectic sorts of places which suit me.i don't need an exciting frivolous place to live.  Just to get a good scooter to move about.  Thanks

Would prefer Samar over Lithuania.

Haha,when I registered to expat.com my finger hit Lithuania and I thought that I had hit Philippines and so...I have asked admin to correct but I haven't checked.
Thanks

Samar is in "The Northen Typhon belt"...

I don't know if it's changed but years ago NPA was very strong there, which many people LIKED saying "NPA do better police work than the police."
NPA did some actions too during Yolanda, which some people living elsewhere found outragerous, when NPA took an aid convoy and gave it to other hard hit parts, but all aid was sent to Tacloban. So not odd NPA did that...

An American has done much for an orphanage at Samar and have given some rice to poor tricycle drivers too there. He got scared when he was followed by a shady character when driving motorbike in that town. But then the shady persons got told to "don't bother the guy in that hat" and no problem after that.
(Back when I got it told, I don't have any contact with any people ftom Samar anymore.)

coach53 wrote:

Samar is in "The Northen Typhon belt"...

I don't know if it's changed but years ago NPA was very strong there, which many people LIKED saying "NPA do better police work than the police."
NPA did some actions too during Yolanda, which some people living elsewhere found outragerous, when NPA took an aid convoy and gave it to other hard hit parts, but all aid was sent to Tacloban. So not odd NPA did that...

An American has done much for an orphanage at Samar and have given some rice to poor tricycle drivers too there. He got scared when he was followed by a shady character when driving motorbike in that town. But then the shady persons got told to "don't bother the guy in that hat" and no problem after that.
(Back when I got it told, I don't have any contact with any people ftom Samar anymore.)

Now can you tell us any stories about the cost of living in Samar?

TeeJay4103 wrote:

Now can you tell us any stories about the cost of living in Samar?

My post were thinking about IF moving to Samar   

The info I have about costs are from before Yolanda, 
but I suppouse similar as at  Mindanao       (poorer parts)   
plus the extra costs for breaks by typhons.

Gordon H wrote:

Thanks Teejay,I am building up sort of a profile on Samar and Leyte,.they both seem to be quiet, non hectic sorts of places which suit me.i don't need an exciting frivolous place to live.  Just to get a good scooter to move about.  Thanks

.
Gordon, I also liked this idea of living you mentioned. I just wish I can get to it.
.
I am guessing about 2k USD will get you and your spouse/partner (pardon me for assuming there is one) will give a good living. This is just for Philippine living expenses. If you like western food on cannot take local cuisine, expensive restaurants and fancy lifestyle and vacations, this will not work.
I came up with this budget with a very small sampling from another forum thread in this site. I compared that with to investing & retirement websites (not y0utube) and convinced myself 2K is the magic number for me.
I am offering this info as an opinion as I like a simpler lifestyle on retirement and not a fan of fancy restaurants and expensive stuff. (no Fabergé  egg for me 🐣).

coach53 wrote:

TeeJay4103 wrote:

Now can you tell us any stories about the cost of living in Samar?

My post were thinking about IF moving to Samar   

The info I have about costs are from before Yolanda, 
but I suppouse similar as at  Mindanao       (poorer parts)   
plus the extra costs for breaks by typhons.

So the answer to my question is no.   

TeeJay4103 wrote:

coach53 wrote:

TeeJay4103 wrote:

Now can you tell us any stories about the cost of living in Samar?

My post were thinking about IF moving to Samar   

The info I have about costs are from before Yolanda, 
but I suppouse similar as at  Mindanao       (poorer parts)   
plus the extra costs for breaks by typhons.

So the answer to my question is no.   

Why would it be any big difference from other poor provinces at Samar? 

Btw - A good gf can SAVE money   
A wife to an old foreigner at Bohol said  If the pension is 5-600 no problem. Can earn some by for instance chickens. 
The husband worried what would happen economical after he die if they get child. "No problem. I have worked before and I can work again."   
I believe she know what she is talking about because that foreigner has low SSS and the wife handle their economy.

coach53 wrote:

TeeJay4103 wrote:

coach53 wrote:

My post were thinking about IF moving to Samar   

The info I have about costs are from before Yolanda, 
but I suppouse similar as at  Mindanao       (poorer parts)   
plus the extra costs for breaks by typhons.

So the answer to my question is no.   

Why would it be any big difference from other poor provinces at Samar? 

Btw - A good gf can SAVE money   
A wife to an old foreigner at Bohol said  If the pension is 5-600 no problem. Can earn some by for instance chickens. 
The husband worried what would happen economical after he die if they get child. "No problem. I have worked before and I can work again."   
I believe she know what she is talking about because that foreigner has low SSS and the wife handle their economy.

You're a good dancer coach.  I see the answer is still no.

TeeJay4103 wrote:

You're a good dancer coach.  I see the answer is still no.

Not anymore because of an injury      but many years ago I got picked to the county team in"bugg" dance, which was big here back then.  (Some similar to jitterbug but no throwing.)

Rhetoric?

Ask me about Bacnotan La Union, perhaps we can help as we live here but not about Pagudpud some 350 miles north of Manila.

Cheers, Steve.

coach53 wrote:

TeeJay4103 wrote:

You're a good dancer coach.  I see the answer is still no.

Not anymore because of an injury      but many years ago I got picked to the county team in"bugg" dance, which was big here back then.  (Some similar to jitterbug but no throwing.)

A cmon coach, you're a great tap dancer, and apparently the answer is still no.

Did the county team pick you up because of your injury.  How far did they carry you?  I can remember riding my bike and hurting my knee, I managed to make it home, though I limped for quite awhile. 
A few years later I tried dancing, though I was never quite as good as you.

Aw shoot, now you've got me going off topic too,  Though  I can remember a pineapple farmer who with his wife amassed a small fortune they shared with their family. They have retired and now live quite comfortably. 
Ok for now coach.  Can't wait for the next inane response.

Have a nice trip.

Just a heads Up (Stereotypes maybe)/ I too have had some unpleasant dealings with them (maybe it was just my bad luck but I'd still like to share & I'm sure there are wonderful people there too Its just that I got to deal with the bad apples)

Majority of the household population in Samar classified themselves as Waray (>90%).
As per Wikipedia : "Stereotypes Details"
The Waray-Waray are often stereotyped as brave warriors, as in the popular phrase, Basta ang Waray, hindi uurong sa away, meaning "Waray never back down from a fight". Most of the negative connotation of this stereotype however, which depicted Warays as violent and callous, were caused by the notorious Waray-Waray
Again omho with the very limited experience I have had with them.

Thanks for your posts.i had a thick thumb when I was setting up my account.i will revisit my profile setup and instal Philippines not Lithuania
I am enjoying lots of posts re
Samar . I think  Samar or Leyte will be fine for me.
I am fully retired, I have lived in Mindanao and for various reasons I have no wish to return there.
Methinks that I have a reasonable take on living in the Philippines, that may be debatable as things change the so quickly
Thanks

Thanks for your posts.i had a thick thumb when I was setting up my account.i will revisit my profile setup and instal Philippines not Lithuania
I am enjoying lots of posts re
Samar . I think  Samar or Leyte will be fine for me.
I am fully retired, I have lived in Mindanao and for various reasons I have no wish to return there.
Methinks that I have a reasonable take on living in the Philippines, that may be debatable as things change the so quickly . My main direction of my enquiry here is the  cost of apartment rentals in Samar and Leyte.
Thanks
Gordon

Gordon H wrote:

I think  Samar or Leyte will be fine for me.

At Leyte there is chance to get away from "The Northern Typhon belt". 
E g far south at Leyte there are nice parts.
But parts of Leyte have hard earthquakes, which can be ezpensive to recover from.

coach53 wrote:

Gordon H wrote:

I think  Samar or Leyte will be fine for me.

At Leyte there is chance to get away from "The Northern Typhon belt". 
E g far south at Leyte there are nice parts.
But parts of Leyte have hard earthquakes, which can be ezpensive to recover from.

Great generalities coach. 

So only south of Leyte has nice parts and parts of Leyte have expensive earthquakes.  Very helpful.

TeeJay4103 wrote:

coach53 wrote:

Gordon H wrote:

I think  Samar or Leyte will be fine for me.

At Leyte there is chance to get away from "The Northern Typhon belt". 
E g far south at Leyte there are nice parts.
But parts of Leyte have hard earthquakes, which can be ezpensive to recover from.

Great generalities coach. 

So only south of Leyte has nice parts and parts of Leyte have expensive earthquakes.  Very helpful.

I notice you are in BS writing mood     
Do you mean I should have told too about the parts of Leyte I don't know of or what...?   

Only an observation from another B/S professional (apparently from here and other sites), boots on the ground and readily available figures off the internet and expat sites by those that live there, not suppositions and extrapolations or a little hearsay and constant wandering will help the OP with his questions and offer credible information. Typhoons and earthquakes in different regions are for a new topic. We all did our own research on those topics.

"I notice you are in BS writing mood     
Do you mean I should have told too about the parts of Leyte I don't know of or what...?"

I was under the impression that you know all.

To the OP, Gordon, welcome to this forum and I sincerely hope you find the answers you are looking for from some members that live in or have lived on Samar island from their personal experience. Google can be your best friend, rental properties? Try many type ins for rentals on FB in the area you are looking at, most Filipinos go local first and FB is a Filipino mainstay, can be a good place to find all sorts of things, we found a lot of properties that we looked at for sale on FB and most times our biannual 3 to 4 weeks stays we negotiated longer term rentals on airbnb or through FB, car rental for many years was from a company off FB until we moved here permanently.

Good to hear plenty of input but should be backed up with research and ultimately boots on the ground.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

Well said as usual Steve

Yeah well, you know how it goes and at times? One just says what they think.

Cheers, Steve.

Thanks Steve, I will go with complete and knowledgeable/informative posts. I have been to Manila Cebu,and elsewhere, lived in Mindanao and now sussing out Samar.
I don't want/need the high end living so Samar maybe will be fine for me  to live quietly, make friends with some expats and locals weeding out those BS ers who tend to crop up every where
Just waiting for the borders to open
Gordon

In 2016 I renewed my Philippines driver's licence. I don't now have that plastic.
Question..how long is is Philippines drivers licence valid for?
Q..if expired how long is it ok to be renewed?

Gordon

bigpearl wrote:

Only an observation from another B/S professional (apparently from here and other sites).

You proved you are BS writer, when you several times claimed I hadn't answered a question, which I had answered several times in that topic even before you even asked it....  And you still haven't admnited I were right and you were wrong about the law thingy you claimed Ben  was right about just because he being Filipino!!!  Do you believe all Filipinos study law...?           
(I have studied Phils laws during several years.)

And concerning an other topic you wrote a lot of BS in:
Slow progress, but progress.The internal business documents are done, but some unclear still about the wrong handled business we aim at buying. Not odd it's slow when not even the permit handler center know what's needed to get the needed permit!!!  But we got one aproval from the baranggay today plus  an useful classification info, which made we got one step closer to solution of the missing permit.  Left to see if the permit handling centre will know what to do when we go there with this new info   

C'mon guys, let go of the personal attacks on each other. How does that help anyone seeking information?

I just saw this sight. I been living in Baguio, Benguet Province since June 2015, where it is cool of course but thinking about moving to where my fiancée is from, 2 hour by boat to her island, but not exactly to her island but Catbalogan Samar. I went to her island the end of last month. She is from a island next to Damar, can't think of the name at this moment. If any one could give me info about Catbalogan to rent please let me know, Thanks Terry from Baguio!

I just saw this sight. I been living in Baguio, Benguet Province since June 2015, where it is cool of course but thinking about moving to where my fiancée is from, 2 hour by boat to her island, but not exactly to her island but Catbalogan Samar. I went to her island the end of last month. She is from a island next to Damar, can't think of the name at this moment. If any one could give me info about Catbalogan to rent please let me know, Thanks Terry from Baguio!
-@terrytime

Welcome to the forum Terry. I can't help you with the rent on Catbalogan but I can see that area of Samar from my island of Biliran. It would be a short boat ride but 8 hours travel by road. I've been to Samar a couple times and I liked what I saw. My wife's uncle had a little farm there that was isolated and a sight to see. Beauty abounds on Samar.

Welcome to the forum Terry.

Only a thought but if you live in Baguio then any of the smaller islands will be cheaper to live,,,, well maybe not Boracay.

Go to FB market place and search rentals in the areas you are looking at, if that fails boots on the ground, time for a holiday or better still ask your fiancé and her family.

Good luck.

Cheers, Steve.

Sorry, no idea of Samar (although I used to know someone from there when we were in Canada), but some insight into non-city living...

Someone above mentioned 2 to 3 K US$...

You can live quite well on a lot less if you do not want fancy restaurants and expensive vacations all the time, and do not live in a large city. My pension is much less but we do not rent, we (my wife) owns our house.

We live just outside a small town, everyone here knows me and waves, never really had any issues except once when I asked a neighbor to turn down the volume on his music (which literally made your clothes shake) and he and his drunken buddies got all riled up. Ended up someone called the cops and they settled things down. We dont live there anymore but still own a kubo and lot there and I go to see friends a few times a week, There are good and bad everywhere, Phils included but you go with the flow. The country folk here are very friendly, I guess it does help that I know a few people that makes others not want to mess with me (affiliated with PNP). I regularly ride my mountain bike or small motorcycle up the mountain roads, enough so that even the people there recognize me and wave. I love the Phils, best decision I ever made was for us to retire here.

Robert thanks, I been in pH since Jan 2015 June 2015 moved to BAGUIO, from Butuan Mendanao because of mountains and weather.

But now I want to go to where there is islands and not ocean side, and my fiancee is from one of those islands close to Catbalogan.

I don't think you mention what you were/are living, let me know thanks.

I didn't see BI in Catbalogan just north of there is another city where Airport is they have BI

I pay lots here in BAGUIO, I know it will be cheaper there. I only have ss from USA. Hopefully we will get increase this year another good one haha!

I'm thinking of riding my motorcycle down if I'm crazy enough. But it's 250cc so small but that what I have. Just bought it. I got to find someone to move my things, nothing that is really expensive but maybe if I can find someone who will put my motorcycle in a moving van would be good etc etc.

So let me know anything else about what you live and cost etc if you would.

Thanks Terry

@bigpearl

Thanks I'll try that.

I have heard that Samar is very rural and undeveloped with the exception of Calbayog and Catbalogan. Which means it will be *much* less expensive than Baguio, but will also not have as many services. I would imagine you could get a nice apartment for 8-10K/mo.. IF they have any that meet your requirements.

It also gets hit really hard by typhoons coming in from the Pacific as it is the first island in the way. That happened with Yolanda in Nov 2013 and again with Odette in Dec 2021.

Good luck with the move, Terry.

@pnwcyclist

We are talking about the leeward side of the island so there should not be any significant storm surge. There is also a bit of mountain range down the center of the island to help knock down the wind. That area of Samar is just across the bay from my island so we get pretty much the same storm effect. Our island (Biliran) is actually protected my Samar. None of the old timers I've spoken to remember a storm surge. My wife's grand parents' house is a rickety old structure made of wood and it is near the water. It has been there at least 65 years going by the ages of the children who were born there but it has never been damaged by a storm.

Thanks Moondog, I knew it was the leeward side of the island, but had no idea it had such a minimizing effect.

Good to know.