Cost of living 2018 in the Philippines

eva.ileen915 wrote:

you can get a massage for $10/hour and that’s including tip. sometimes even less.

I pay $1 each time for about a 30 minute massage in Ormoc.
It is kind of awkward as it is in a chair the middle of my gf parents living room getting a massage from one of the neighbors, but it is definitely worth it!

I am Filipino married to an American who lived in the US for 20 years and now retired to Davao City for almost 4 years now. My husband loves it here! I would recommend Davao City for retiring.

Good luck in your search for a place.

I admit that I have visited Davao city, Tacloban and CDO and felt more t ease in Davao and Samal Island is a lovely place to spend a few days. Life seemed more relaxed in Davao

Yours is my favorite post on cost of living as it is a likely expense budget for me and, as we're both Californians, our references are likely to be similar.   I noticed there's nothing listed for medical insurance.  Are you gambling on that point because you're presently healthy?  Or have you some secret you could share with us?

No secret. My husband and I are blessed to be quite healthy. We also live a healthy lifestyle: we have very little stress, we go swimming almost everyday, eating from what we ourselves grow and/or are locally grown, we engage in things we like to do, etc. Admittedly, though, we are very jaded with western medicine. IMHO people think that western medicine has it all figured out but it's actually far from it. My husband has a medical background, but he is not an MD. We are sensitive to how we feel and we believe that if you are aware of your body, you will know if you are sick. And because of this, we decided not to get medical insurance. At the end of the day, all of us will get old and frail and that's just the natural order of things.

On another note, we didn't live in California when we were in the US. My husband is from the Pacific Northwest and we lived mainly in the East Coast before moving to Davao.

Thanks for liking my post!

I must have sent my PM to the wrong party as I thought it went to Scott 1953 who is/was Californian etc.

Apologies.

Jim

@scott1953

28 March 2018 Scott1953 wrote:

................................Hi Expat Steve 48, I applaud you on the fact that you can raise a family of 3 on 800. dls. per month. Being single allows me to spend 30% of my monthly pension on what i enjoy, entertainment. Filipinas i date appreciate when you take them to the cinema and a fast food restaurant after. Or i will cook them a meal at home that does not have rice in it. I am well rewarded after. Inexpensive, but enjoyable dates. I like your beer budget. Might want to consider a 10% increase due to inflation and it's a new year. lol Cheers!

............Hi Steve, I understand your thinking and wanting to please the wife. Cars, newer home, vacations, etc. etc. I have been there, done that. At 64, retired on a pension and respectable savings for any emergency, i plan on enjoying the last leg of my life my way and i certainly am now. I have 2 suitcases, and a pocket full of pesos to concern my self with now. I vote that you go through with the increase in your beer budget. I am certain you have or will earn it soon. lol

05 September 2018 Scott1953 wrote:

With my Filipina wife, we have 2 loans also with BDO bank. As long as the income is according to the loan applied for and the main mortgage holder being a Filipino citizen (wife), they did not give a lot of problems.
However, we are both in retirement age, so length of loan term is limited to end the amortization when reaching 70 years old.
The application process through BDO was quick, but then signing all the documents with approximately 100 signatures takes a lot of patience.

31 March 2019 Scott 1953 wrote:

I live in a great area across the street from the SM mall and can go for a walk day or nite and not see less than a half dozen security guards roaming around.People are friendly and helpful here. Not a lot of expats here. Kind of feel like a unicorn at times but it's ok with me. Best of luck finding a safe place to roost here in the Phil.

Whatever happened to the Filipina wife?