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Mike J
Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

I've been to Moalboal and wasn't that impressed. It's a bit out in the sticks.

I have lived here in Moalboal for almost 4 years.  I really like and have no desire to move.  It is rural for sure, only one ATM until two years ago when a small shopping mall was opened.  Like Dave Hounddriver said it depends on what life style you desire.  I am not a diver, but there are quite a few diving shops here and people come from all over Europe and Asia to dive and I am told the diving is excellent.  You should not live here if you want to be close to medical care as the closest hospital worth going to is in Cebu City almost three hours away.  There is always a small group of expats who gather at a small resto/bar on a daily basis.  That is not my thing but they seem to be a nice enough bunch although they put away a LOT of beer. :7500::Caught:

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AlwaysRt
Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

Reasonably cheap furnished accommodation

What do you mean by that? Reasonably cheap for someone living on p200,000/month is the entire income of someone living on p35,000/month, which would not be reasonable for them.

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Snowy79
Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, AlwaysRt said:

What do you mean by that? Reasonably cheap for someone living on p200,000/month is the entire income of someone living on p35,000/month, which would not be reasonable for them.

As most places in the Philippines with decent diving are heavy on the foreign tourists you'll obviously pay more than in a non tourist area. In Sabang it can be anything from about 12,000 to the skies the limit. I currently pay 16,000 pho for a great one bed, kitchen and living room with a balcony. Air con and back up generator. 

If you move to Puerto Galera it'll be half that and only 30 mins away, again with great diving. There's plenty of bars and restaurants there. Reasonable access to hospitals,colleges and even a university. 

I spent one week in Moalboal just over two weeks ago and I'd say I prefer it here. The trip into Cebu was my biggest killer. Especially taking 1 1/2 hrs to cover the last 10km to the South bus terminal. 

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jpbago
Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, earthdome said:

Regarding coffee, you find a great deal of instant coffee, especially in the lowlands. You can find good coffee in tourist area's and in some mountain area's which grow coffee and have an established coffee culture. Best way to assure you have access to good coffee is to bring along a french press and buy a kettle you can heat water in on a burner. If you like fresh ground from whole bean bring a manual coffee grinder. You can find real coffee in whole bean or ground at some wet markets and grocery stores. Then even if there is a brown out (black out in western terms) you can still make good coffee.

I love coffee and was very pleased to find that my wife's family who live in the mountains always seemed to have fresh brewed coffee in a big thermos, mostly from beans grown on their own land.

I saw this one, Aeropress, advertised as the best coffee maker so I bought one. So far, no good but I think that the problem is the coffee was ground too coarse as the water goes straight thru the filter too fast, even before the plunge. I will try espresso grind next. I don't have a grinder yet and they say that the burr type is the better one. There are two shops in Bacolod that specialize in coffee of the bean type, both get their beans from the north, Baguio, where you used to live, Benguet and Kalinga, but they are starting to grow coffee in Negros, I think in the Mt Canlaon area. I use the filter cone type of coffee maker. Advise to bring your own filters as they are difficult to find in stock and expensive in small packages. I asked for coffee filters at one store but they brought styrofoam cups to me as they did not speak English and I was using sign language in the shape of a cone (or a cup).

https://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK

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earthdome
Posted
Posted
51 minutes ago, jpbago said:

I saw this one, Aeropress, advertised as the best coffee maker so I bought one. So far, no good but I think that the problem is the coffee was ground too coarse as the water goes straight thru the filter too fast, even before the plunge. I will try espresso grind next. I don't have a grinder yet and they say that the burr type is the better one. There are two shops in Bacolod that specialize in coffee of the bean type, both get their beans from the north, Baguio, where you used to live, Benguet and Kalinga, but they are starting to grow coffee in Negros, I think in the Mt Canlaon area. I use the filter cone type of coffee maker. Advise to bring your own filters as they are difficult to find in stock and expensive in small packages. I asked for coffee filters at one store but they brought styrofoam cups to me as they did not speak English and I was using sign language in the shape of a cone (or a cup).

https://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK

This is the one I use: https://www.amazon.com/SterlingPro-Double-Stainless-French-Coffee/dp/B00MMQOZ1U

All stainless steel, no need to buy filters. This does require that you use a coarse coffee grind to keep the grounds out of your cup. Yeah, I bought Benguet dark roast beans when I lived in Baguio.

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Steve GCC
Posted
Posted

Have done a fair bit of diving in and around Cebu which is great, Mactan have some not bad dives as soon as you land almost.  Moalboal for Whale sharks, Malapascua for thresher sharks and many other dive sites.  Didn't see much life around either Moalboal or Malapascua, just diving.

Interesting to hear regarding Puerto Galera............will have to pay that a visit one day .

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Dave Hounddriver
Posted
Posted
On 7/8/2017 at 4:38 AM, Neil Bauman said:

 Near access to diving

As you can see from the answers, there is good diving within a short distance of any coastal town.  But if I was a diver, I'd be fascinated by the Coron Bay wrecks and other similar places mentioned here:

http://thecoraltriangle.com/stories/top-five-wreck-dives-in-the-philippines

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Neil Bauman
Posted
Posted

Thanks Dave!

I'll check it out.

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mogo51
Posted
Posted
On 7/9/2017 at 6:38 AM, Mike J said:

I have lived here in Moalboal for almost 4 years.  I really like and have no desire to move.  It is rural for sure, only one ATM until two years ago when a small shopping mall was opened.  Like Dave Hounddriver said it depends on what life style you desire.  I am not a diver, but there are quite a few diving shops here and people come from all over Europe and Asia to dive and I am told the diving is excellent.  You should not live here if you want to be close to medical care as the closest hospital worth going to is in Cebu City almost three hours away.  There is always a small group of expats who gather at a small resto/bar on a daily basis.  That is not my thing but they seem to be a nice enough bunch although they put away a LOT of beer. :7500::Caught:

Sounds like a fair thing to do when gathering for a chat!

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Snowy79
Posted
Posted

Sabang, Puerto Galera has just been given a boost from my perspective. I caught the Sea Plane this morning to Boracay. I had the plane to my self and the pilot and co pilot. 6,000 php to Boracay in 45 mins. 

You can also fly to Manila quicker and a few other locations. Including other great diving sites. http://www.airjuan.com/airjuan-destinations.php

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