Anyone living in Baguio City?

[MariChris]

2 hours ago, earthdome said:

Hello MariChris,

Welcome to the forum. I lived in Baguio for 2 years, 2013 and 2014. I really liked Baguio, especially the climate. Some do not. The one big down side to Baguio are all the tourists. You can search the forum for posts about Baguio. I have made many posts regarding my stay there. Feel free to ask questions. I would be happy to answer.

Thank you! I shall look it up!! 

[MariChris]

49 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

We have relatives in Baguio and usually get up there 2 or 3 times a year.  It was one of the places I considered for retirement.

I would not consider it now.  Our last few trips up there have not been so nice due to one big factor:  Traffic and related poor air quality sometimes.

I have been going there for 5 years, and the traffic has gotten very noticeably worse.  Our relatives who have been there for 20+ years complain and would like to leave, but their roots are deep.  My wife went to St. Louis university there and liked it back then, but now she is not liking it at all.

The new TPLEX expressway is feeding cars into Baguio faster than they can cope up, and the expressway is not done yet.  Next year it will be ending in Rosario.  The trip from north Manila to Rosario will be not much over 2 hours then, as opposed to many hours before TPLEX opened.  Now there are so many weekend tourist that every weekend is like a holiday weekend there, traffic wise.  The weekdays are bad too.  We used to circumvent the downtown area using the ring roads, but now those are backing up too.

Part of the problem is also the constant road construction that does not seem to have much coordination.  You go from area to area to area, and there is constant road work.  There is a lot news and discussion about how to cope, but the fact is that Baguio is a small area with a lot of geographic issues that make road expansion extremely difficult.

Sorry for the negativity, but I would advise you to go there and try it for a while before making a final decision.  Another thing to consider is earthquakes.  Since the last big one in the 90's, they have rebuilt and in IMHO, overbuilt, very big structures on steep hillsides.  They look like it would not take much of a quake to send them tumbling, but I might be wrong.

I was in your birthplace today, Clark.  Clark is booming and it might be a place to take a look at.  I have been going there once a week to a doctor, and I see more and more I like, if you want a more western lifestyle and good schools for the kids.  I try to post something about Clark soon.

@OnMyWay we don't want to be in central Baguio. Do you happen to know the outskirts of the area where it's more suburban? We are looking for homes in exclusive subdivisions away from all the the chaos and high up where it is fresh. 

The hubby and I were talking about the other places to stay and we really don't want to be too far from family. 

So im wondering if it's possible to really love living there even though it is not like how it use to be. 

I heard tagaytay is nice and almost similar weather but traffic and congestion is getting pretty bad and growing. So I guess with growth comes other issues. Right. 

[earthdome]

16 minutes ago, MariChris said:

@OnMyWay we don't want to be in central Baguio. Do you happen to know the outskirts of the area where it's more suburban? We are looking for homes in exclusive subdivisions away from all the the chaos and high up where it is fresh. 

The hubby and I were talking about the other places to stay and we really don't want to be too far from family. 

So im wondering if it's possible to really love living there even though it is not like how it use to be. 

I heard tagaytay is nice and almost similar weather but traffic and congestion is getting pretty bad and growing. So I guess with growth comes other issues. Right. 

There are 5 major roads in/out of Baguio. The least used of those is Ambaklao Rd which goes east through the mountains towards the Cagayan Valley and Pan Asian Highway. That road was turned into a 2 lane cement road about 10 years ago and when I left almost three years ago there wasn't much development out that way and not much traffic on the road. If I were to return to Baguio this is the area I would look at to avoid a lot of the congestion from tourists and pollution from the city.

[Kuya John]

2 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Sorry for the negativity, but I would advise you to go there and try it for a while before making a final decision.

 Another thing to consider is earthquakes.  Since the last big one in the 90's, they have rebuilt and in IMHO, overbuilt, very big structures on steep hillsides.  They look like it would not take much of a quake to send them tumbling, but I might be wrong.

I was in your birthplace today, Clark.  Clark is booming and it might be a place to take a look at.  I have been going there once a week to a doctor, and I see more and more I like, if you want a more western lifestyle and good schools for the kids.  I try to post something about Clark soon.

Better to know these things and sound advice

1 hour ago, MariChris said:

Thank you! 

We have three boys making the move with us. I need to make sure everything is good before we leave our life in the US and sell the house they love. Got to make sure it's worth it you know.

Yes. We just celebrated our 16 years of marriage this month actually . we have been together for 19 years. You should see the looks we get when we say we have a teenager (my oldest is 13) 

but we def have a mindsight of enjoying life with our kids while we can before it's gone in a blink of an eye 

Some sound knowledge being given MariChris, a big decision for you all to make, a extended holiday might help with any possible future move.

I have got to ask.....how does your son at 13 years feel about such a move and when was the last time he visited the Philippines?

There are teenagers here in UK who love to visit family on holiday, but now consider themselves British, so by the time their parents decide to retire, may not want to give up their way of life here to return to Philippines......once again just another angle to think about. regards JB

Edited September 27, 2017 by Kuya John

[MariChris]

51 minutes ago, earthdome said:

There are 5 major roads in/out of Baguio. The least used of those is Ambaklao Rd which goes east through the mountains towards the Cagayan Valley and Pan Asian Highway. That road was turned into a 2 lane cement road about 10 years ago and when I left almost three years ago there wasn't much development out that way and not much traffic on the road. If I were to return to Baguio this is the area I would look at to avoid a lot of the congestion from tourists and pollution from the city.

@OnMyWay thank you for this! You don't know how this is really having us think and look at our options. We popped open google maps and now we are just studying and trying to see what is the beta place! I did see the area you mentioned and you are right. It looks like it's not as developed as much. It's hard trying to finding the subdivisions go. I do see the main ones like green valley and pinewoods. Our budget for our house is healthy so we are looking at exclusive subdivisions

[MariChris]

21 minutes ago, Kuya John said:

Better to know these things and sound advice

Some sound knowledge being given MariChris, a big decision for you all to make, a extended holiday might help with any possible future move.

I have got to ask.....how does your son at 13 years feel about such a move and when was the last time he visited the Philippines?

There are teenagers here in UK who love to visit family on holiday, but now consider themselves British, so by the time their parents decide to retire, may not want to give up their way of life here to return to Philippines......once again just another angle to think about. regards JB

@Kuya John I so agree. That's why when the hubby and I were discussing we really considered our 13 year old and 9 year old. My 5 year old is a little more easier to just go with the flow. 

The last time we visited the Philippines was when he was only 2 years old. His brothers were not even thought of. Lol 

but we were discussing that maybe we would retire in 5 years time but that timeline will put my 13 year old to 19 years old and by then he will grown and won't be able to experience the move with our family since he may have his own life with girlfriend and such. I feel it is a lot harder. I remember when I moved to the Philippines when my parents retired I was only 16 and I hated it (I eventually loved it and didn't want to leave) but I know how crucial those teenage years and where they are plays a huge influence. 

Thats the main reason we had bumped our plan from 5 years to now 17 months. My son will be in 10th grade by the time we move. So we are racing against the clock. But we will that this is a good time considering his age and the amount of time we need to reallly prepare for such a huge move and decision in our lives. 

All 3 kids are really excited to live in the Philippines. We have been talking about how they feel everyday and what their concerns are and they do have some and we discuss them. But overall they are up to the new challenge and adventure. But we know especially at the age where my oldest is, he will be influenced by his surroundings and he will have strong opinions  and we have such a small window of opportunity where he is still young enough to be pursueded by his family and to enjoy us before he starts making his own decisions. 

But ultimately, our desicion to leave is because we are in a position to live on a fixed income at such a young age and at a time where are kids are still young and we can enjoy and make memories with them. We can do that in the US but it's basically just getting by. And we want more in life and we know if we take our US money to the Philippines,  we can really do the things we want and live the way we want and be able to send all our children to college. If they ever want to leave and go back to the US they can since we will be able to save more in the PI then in the US. I mean who would pass up the fact that we can live pretty well in the Philippines and not have to work? 

Edited September 27, 2017 by MariChris

[Kuya John]

You obviously are looking at all the angles MariChris, I'm sure you will come to the decision that will be right for all the family.

Again good luck for the future and every blessing to the family...... JB

[MariChris]

1 hour ago, earthdome said:

There are 5 major roads in/out of Baguio. The least used of those is Ambaklao Rd which goes east through the mountains towards the Cagayan Valley and Pan Asian Highway. That road was turned into a 2 lane cement road about 10 years ago and when I left almost three years ago there wasn't much development out that way and not much traffic on the road. If I were to return to Baguio this is the area I would look at to avoid a lot of the congestion from tourists and pollution from the city.

@OnMyWay We do own a condo in Baguio that we had invested 2 years ago. It's small but I think we can make it work for us five while we figure out the areas and what house we would like when we get there. It would only be temporary. 

[MariChris]

1 hour ago, earthdome said:

There are 5 major roads in/out of Baguio. The least used of those is Ambaklao Rd which goes east through the mountains towards the Cagayan Valley and Pan Asian Highway. That road was turned into a 2 lane cement road about 10 years ago and when I left almost three years ago there wasn't much development out that way and not much traffic on the road. If I were to return to Baguio this is the area I would look at to avoid a lot of the congestion from tourists and pollution from the city.

@earthdome thank you! I'm still getting use to this forum and how to reply. Lol. I feel I am all over the place! 

This advice helps out so much! We are now looking at this area!

do you happen to know any good and secure subdivisions. We are trying to get connected to a realtor that is good and awaiting for the hubby to talk to relatives that live in that area currently. 

[Clermont]

MariCris, I've read your posts and just a  thought, why not let the older two research the PI on the computer by themselves away from mum and dad, then monitor their enthusiasm, there going to be your downfall if your venture fails, I'm sure it won't and start teaching them the language now, the dialect is mostly Tagalog and ilokano and make it a venture they want to be part of.

I see you already have a house there, my advice go slow before saddling up with an agent from a housing estate, maybe buy a bit of land and build your own dream, and involve the children. 

There is lots of advice on land ownership in this forum, some argumental, some facts, some experiences, just read the links that have been supplied.

all the best.