Any information on life in the Philippines

Hello jab1955.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Maybe you could introduce yourself and give more details of what you are looking for.

Thank you,
Aurélie

You need to research and make friends and decide where you want to live, which will have a direct affect on housing and prices for other items.  I would suggest spending a few months there before you decide, having a Filipina mate would aid your decision.

For cost of living check out www.numbeo.com

hello jab1955 ...JUST GET ON A PLANE...YOU WILL LIKE THE PI...LIVE IN THE RURAL AREAS..TO LIVE AS CHEAP AS $700 US A MONTH OR LIVE IN MANILA $3,000 MONTH AVERAGE..

philippines has something for everyone really.. all depends entirely on what you're looking for.. on any count - if you go country to land in the wrong location, then you're naturally inclined to have the wrong impression.  thus having a better idea of what you're looking for, i'm pretty certain expats like myself can offer you a thorough guide..

things we're looking for are: why philippines? retire? work? explore? what do you plan to do? who do you want to interact with? quiet or bustling? shopping or beaches? low cost, average or high-end? are you american, european or asian? food preferences (well food all over this country is amazing), but still, worth knowing..

just to get the ball rolling:

subic - little american town, great beaches, excellent life, nice clean city, enough to keep you comfy and looking at about 45 to 60k pesos per month for a comfortable stay.

makati - metro, fast, excellent shopping and entertainment, 45 to 60k means a small space but close to everything.  but a real melting pot..

davao - 30k to 50k per month, not as well organized as makati and subic but excellent very comfortable and great beaches.

cebu - consider it like another davao, perhaps slightly more expensive, and very touristic.

Baguio - in the mountains, a lovely city, 40 to 50k per month, get very cold during winter months.

boracay - paradise with upscale beach resorts, expect the place to be a little pricey too.

palawan - very quaint, beautiful beaches, not expensive at all.

san fernando, La union - beach parties and surfing, you can probably live in a beach hotel long term, as it's not really expensive.

the list can go on and on and on..

hello:
      i have been here a few years...before i taught in thailand...now getting my ssa retirement each month which is enough here ... its direct deposited into BPI bank...i am now 71 yrs old living with a young filipina...we do travel sometimes...thailand, singapore, malaysia and around the PHP...
   if have any questions , please ask
regards
joe clough

go on the  Blogs  and  Forums but  take  most things with a grain of salt, people  live  here for  years and  never find  out  about  the Philippines,  they are  in their  subdivisions and  only go to Malls and  tourist spots, vacation in resorts, and  never  know  the  people and  places, and  spend  twice what  they should, take  your  budget  and  start  looking  for  a  place  to  stay, go on Ayosdito or  Sulit and  look at  house  or  apartments for  rent  that  will give  you an idea of cost, all other  is  about  the  same no matter where your  at  electric,water  phone  internet

rentals online  tend to be  on the expensive side   most  locals here  just  find rentals thru word of mouth  or looking around in areas  they would like to live.

U have to visit here and try it  for u really  to decide   i have lived here for almost  for 5 years   and have  lived almost everywhere        Im currently living in cebu   but  not for to much longer  as city life  does  tend to get a bit on the rich side            come here   expect to spend a bit for the first few months  while u get yourself used to localizing.      Some people  as has been said  in an above post  live here for years   yet never  see the phils       i live on 1400   a month here  and we dont save a cent     but    then again   my partner and I are a young  couple and we tend to get around a bit

we live here in negros and its cheaper than cebu....

The very best that you should do is go and see for your self how it is there.Do not listen to people,saying this place is nice,as you may just not like the place.As i recently went for two months to see if i would want to live there.Spent that time mainly with the locals and went to several islands.And now after visiting the place i would not want to live there.I know that this will not make some happy who read this,however i am just being honest

why would that not make people happy   it is the truth

one mans trash is another mans treasure after all

some people are city boys    some are not 
depends on who u are   how u are   how u deal with the locals     Negros is actually   quiet good    sure there are some people there that don't like a lot of the expats living in the area    ha    but  u know what  there are guys that dont like expats  in every part of every country   

With out a question   if u were  going to live somewhere  u should probably visit and check it out first     those that don't  obviously aren't to bright    but then again    how  do u know  if u like a place  unless spending  2  to 6 months there     
that's why u rent  rent rent   and if and when  u find  what YOU decide is YOUR only little piece of heaven  or perfect for YOUR lifestyle u lease or buy.

Locals generalize here and some at times can be quiet racist
( changing my name to Joe)
In all honesty  I have lived all over this country and for me  negros  is  fine    cebu is expensive   that is why my partner and I are moving there   end of this month     alas      just looking for a rental for now  lol

Yes visit by all means,i have  been living  in the  Philippines  for  a  few  years but  started coming here in 1963, and  things  change, no simple  visa when i came first time  the  Piso to dollar  1 to 1, and  places i would  love  to live  are  not  safe  now, i own my own home but  i recommend renting at  first, no matter  what people  say when the  locals see you are foreigner the  rent goes up, also if  you are  not  fluent  you might  not  know the  ups  and downs  of  the  area you are going to rent  in, you will not  be  harmed by Muslim or  NPA it  will be  a local carnapper or  just  thief. better unless you are fluent to live  in better area, me  and  my  wife have  a  house  we  rent  out  but  i would  never  rent  to a foreigner because  of some of  the  people  living  there, they know  me  and  i have  no trouble, and  my family are in the  local Government and  police

sanjayh wrote:

philippines has something for everyone really.. all depends entirely on what you're looking for.. on any count - if you go country to land in the wrong location, then you're naturally inclined to have the wrong impression.  thus having a better idea of what you're looking for, i'm pretty certain expats like myself can offer you a thorough guide..

things we're looking for are: why philippines? retire? work? explore? what do you plan to do? who do you want to interact with? quiet or bustling? shopping or beaches? low cost, average or high-end? are you american, european or asian? food preferences (well food all over this country is amazing), but still, worth knowing..

just to get the ball rolling:

subic - little american town, great beaches, excellent life, nice clean city, enough to keep you comfy and looking at about 45 to 60k pesos per month for a comfortable stay.

makati - metro, fast, excellent shopping and entertainment, 45 to 60k means a small space but close to everything.  but a real melting pot..

davao - 30k to 50k per month, not as well organized as makati and subic but excellent very comfortable and great beaches.

cebu - consider it like another davao, perhaps slightly more expensive, and very touristic.

Baguio - in the mountains, a lovely city, 40 to 50k per month, get very cold during winter months.

boracay - paradise with upscale beach resorts, expect the place to be a little pricey too.

palawan - very quaint, beautiful beaches, not expensive at all.

san fernando, La union - beach parties and surfing, you can probably live in a beach hotel long term, as it's not really expensive.

the list can go on and on and on..

Nice going Sanjayh.... your quite a traveller around the islands. Thumb Ups!!

Hi Jo

I am interested in finding out what you think are the positives and negatives of living in Thailand compared to the Phils. I understand language might be one positive aspect of living in the Phils. However, other things like traffic, crime, personal safety, cost of rent, quality of food, girls, bars, noise levels, roads quality, general acceptance of foreigners in one country compared to another or any other comment you care to make would be useful to me.

Cheers
Rob

Last posting on this thread was 17 months ago

As any other country, there are places that are safe and places that you need to put extra care; as to cost of living, it depends on the standard of the individual;