Cost of living

[bastonjock]

I read an on line article today that placed the Philippines as being 53_% cheaper than the USA with regard to the cost if living

The cheapest was Vietnam,followed by Colombia, myanmar ,Mexico the Phil's came 5th

The article was posted by the business insiderď

It gave their costs for the Phil's as  Rent $235.75 utilities $74.92 computer pad $9.78 capuchino $2.00 and domestic beer $0.98

 

The countries were listed numerically not by their cheaper cost of living,India came in at 67% cheaper than the states 

Edited September 6, 2017 by bastonjock

[Snowy79]

I think it's all relevant on your lifestyle. I know guys that drink every day and spent about 30000 peso a month on alcohol and others that spent 1000. Some eat out every day and others cook for themselves. There's a massive difference between both lifestyles. 

A drinker who eats out can easily blow 90000 peso. A non drinker who eats in can live on 45000 peso. Most drinkers stick to one location and don't have a life so spend little on travel and exploring. An active non drinker can spend lots sightseeing etc. 

I don't know the figures you've read but a semi active and mobile person can live ok on 80000 peso. Any more and you're really enjoying life and good on you. 

[mogo51]

51 minutes ago, bastonjock said:

I read an on line article today that placed the Philippines as being 53_% cheaper than the USA with regard to the cost if living

The cheapest was Vietnam,followed by Colombia, myanmar ,Mexico the Phil's came 5th

The article was posted by the business insiderď

It gave their costs for the Phil's as  Rent $235.75 utilities $74.92 computer pad $9.78 capuchino $2.00 and domestic beer $0.98

 

The countries were listed numerically not by their cheaper cost of living,India came in at 67% cheaper than the states 

Don't worry, it will change next week when someone else puts out the same stuff.  India could be 150%cheaper, but they still could not get me to go there.

 Was in Vietnam recently and it is quite cheap there, but not a great deal of difference to here.  My initial figures show it is much cheaper here than in Thailand, a lot more than I thought before settling here.

 

[stevewool]

It will cost you what ever you want to spend, just make sure you have a extra fund for the just in case.

[sonjack2847]

3 hours ago, bastonjock said:

I read an on line article today that placed the Philippines as being 53_% cheaper than the USA with regard to the cost if living

The cheapest was Vietnam,followed by Colombia, myanmar ,Mexico the Phil's came 5th

The article was posted by the business insiderď

It gave their costs for the Phil's as  Rent $235.75 utilities $74.92 computer pad $9.78 capuchino $2.00 and domestic beer $0.98

 

The countries were listed numerically not by their cheaper cost of living,India came in at 67% cheaper than the states 

I wonder where that survey took place.Some of the prices are a little high and I have lived in 3 location in the 6 years I have been here. How many different people did they survey.Nice post though.

[Dave Hounddriver]

5 hours ago, mogo51 said:

My initial figures show it is much cheaper here than in Thailand, a lot more than I thought before settling here.

It must be a matter of perspective because the month you moved here from Thailand, a friend from here moved to Pattaya.  He has written to me how much he loves it, how cheap it is, and how he gets more modern conveniences for 3rd world prices.  He is really proud of his condo apartment that he pays 10K pesos (equivalent of) a month for.  It is furnished and the pics look great.  Much better than I could get here for that money.

So the logic is:  You just arrived to live here, he just arrived to live there.  Both of you have a different perspective to someone who has lived for years in the same location.  It is probably why I like to move every few years. It gives a fresh perspective on my surroundings and adds spice to life.  Plus I can adjust my location to my budget, which means if inflation gets too high here I can move to Thailand 

[Jack Peterson]

6 hours ago, stevewool said:

It will cost you what ever you want to spend,

 Now Steve, that is the Truth Believe it or not and Kev (Sonjack) will beare me  out, My Weekly Spend is about 500 per week with an additional 400 once a month when I go to meet the others 

[bows00]

From a drinkers point of view, I tend to drink a lot more in the Philippines - hard to resist a cold San Miguel in the heat.  So even compared to living in Hawaii, I end up spending about the same.

[Snowy79]

Even within the same small town two individuals could spend vastly different amounts on the same things depending on where they shop.An example being a standard meal out my partner and I had. A green Thai curry with rice each and two shakes, a Calamansi and a mango. This came in at just under 1,200 peso. 500m away the same meal would be approx 700 peso and at a local snack bar that I go to you can get two nice chicken and rice meals for 140 peso all in. Buy some mangoes next door for about 80 peso and make your own shake.

It's the same with beer. If you're happy to sit with the drinkers in a cafe with a fan it's 45 peso a beer. If you want a bar type setting with music and some visual delights it's about 80 to 110 peso a beer. 

[BrettGC]

I still refer to this the site below, it's only as good as the contributors but from what I've seen it's a pretty good reflection: 

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp