My First Month into Retirement.

[Jake]

Just to balance out your observations and opinions of the Philippines, I would suggest visiting the rural areas, like central and northern Luzon where you might find a nice provincial  girl that is not corrupted by the western culture of getting a status symbol.  

You never know.......she may be a diamond in the rough.

[bows00]

18 hours ago, Jake said:

You never know.......she may be a diamond in the rough

That's what I'm looking for, for sure.  And I have learned to take my time with my commitment.  And based on your comments and further research, it has opened my eyes to check out some cities on the outskirts of Manila .

As much as I am enjoying my stay here in BGC, my next stop will be the smaller town of Dumaguete...

But so far, BGC is going to be hard to beat.  It is hard to get bored here... and it has a lot of amenities that retired expats want, including the state of the art Luke hospital.  

[OnMyWay]

32 minutes ago, bows00 said:

BGC is going to be hard to beat

What about the air quality?

[Gary D]

I don't think moving to Dumaguete is going to improve the air quality. The downtown is getting pretty poluted with all of the trike running about.

[bows00]

5 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

What about the air quality?

Whew, that's a big minus.  Something to consider.  But if you seek modern amenities, it would be hard to find a location with good air.

[softail]

My suggestion would be to check out Tagaytay on the Taal volcano. Is a beautiful area with all the amenities anyone could want, an added bonus is great clean air.

[Dr. Shiva]

9 hours ago, softail said:

My suggestion would be to check out Tagaytay on the Taal volcano. Is a beautiful area with all the amenities anyone could want, an added bonus is great clean air.

I would agree if there is enough money available because services and real estate in Tagaytay are quite pricey. I would recommend an income of US$2500 / month or more for that area. 

A forum friend was there a month ago and told us, that Tagaytay have a big traffic issue primary due lack of parking spaces.

[bows00]

On 2/12/2018 at 4:32 AM, softail said:

 

Made my way down to Dumaguete and tried an AirBnb place, and what a culture shock!  I went from the modern BGC to dirt roads and chickens.  I picked a place that placed me smack in the heart of Filipino middle class living.  It's about a 1/4 mile walk on a very skinny dirt road to get to my apartment.  But once there, it is maintained very clean and the host is super cool.  It's about a block from a sports complex with a running track and olympic size pool.   

I will be here for the next 10 days and I have a feeling this place is going to grow on me.

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 2/10/2018 at 2:33 PM, bows00 said:

So modern with sidewalks, nice infrastructure, very little street trash and tons of shopping and restaurants at walking distance away.  What's even more impressive is that the majority of city is handicap friendly (wheel chair ramps).

Well if you pop over to Cebu and visit the IT park you will find its pretty much like your description above. 

[bows00]

Well, after spending a relaxing 10 days in Dumaguete, I have concluded that this city has a good balance of amenities for any expat, from good food, malls, many exercise activities and great diving just a couple miles outside the city.  The only negative (and it's a whopping one), is the traffic and air pollution as mentioned previously.  If I decided to live here long term (i.e., attend Silliman University), I would opt to live just outside the city and plan my visits downtown during non-rush hours.

Today, I am catching a Ferry in the Philippines for the first time, and I am off to Bohol.  Several Dumaguete expats have warned me that I will easily get bored there.. oh well, we shall see..