Mr Jet Lag Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 I´m considering a move to the Philippines.But I´m concerned about the crime levels.Most recently I lived in Chile, and crime levels were certainly high in the capital.However, once you leave the big cities, crime levels drop significantly.The small towns of Southern Chile must be some of the safest places in the entire South American Continent.Now I´m wondering if the same applies to the Philippines?I know that the situation is bad in Manila and Cebu. Those places are out of the question for me.But what about the regional variation? Are there areas ( maybe entire islands) that can be considered "safe"?"Safe" as in , me a foreigner living in a small house in a village or small town with no extra security?Places that I am thinking about, in no particular order; Mindoro, Romblon and Samar islands.Are these places "safe"? Are there any other completely "safe" destinations in the country? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call me bubba Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) the only safe place .off the bat i can think of is Corregidor Island,you would only have to worry about the monkeys trying to steal your items,any fruits left outside. Not much of a social scene but truly quite,peaceful and only 35min by banca to bataan ,75min by daily boat from manila Edited February 3, 2012 by Jollygoodfellow attached image correctly again and again,lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 I am on Samar. Only petty crimes I am aware of so far with no foreigner victims. No street gangs, durg addicts hide in the cemetary and if you don't go looking for trouble, you should be fine. 1 Jollibee, several western (somewhat) restaurants here. no real night life, 3-5 SMALL girly bars but no dancing, no aggressive GROs Few small hotels and cheaper slower life her on the coast. 1 hr flight to Manila or Cebu. 2 hr van / bus ride to Tacloban to the airport. Catbalogan has an airstrip but no buildings yet. Go to the website below my name and see the video to see what it looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 Each person has a different experience. In the rural area I live in, I have no hesitation saying it is as safe a rural Canada where I lived before. BUT, I could direct you to a web site where one of my expat neighbors describes this whole area as a den of thieves and there is no law and order and foreigners are routinely victimized so he eventually had to move to Bohol to get away from the bad people.All of my other expat neighbors said he brought it on himself. So . . its up to you how safe you will be. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 Rural Canada? Crime? I think you forgot to mention a HUGE difference between rural Pinoyland and rural Canada.....There are BEARS in Canada! HUNGRY bears! People eatin' BEARS......Now, when I was taught to dive... it was that you ALWAYS went diving with a buddy! What is lesser known is that when you see a man eating shark school, you CUT your buddy then swim for the boat!As for the man eatin' bears.... same logic applies. Hike with a buddy. This way you don't have to out run an angry bear.... just out run your buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Jet Lag Posted February 3, 2012 Author Posted February 3, 2012 So which rural areas are considered "safe" bar for the occasional petty crime incident? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 So which rural areas are considered "safe" I'm going to suggest that it is not possible to answer that with accuracy.That is because I may tell you that Naval, Biliran is safe. I would say it because I live here. But I would have to admit that not all areas of all barangays are safe. Why? Bad people gotta live somewhere. You just may move to a place that has a gang hangout next door to you but the rest of the area is safe.It comes back to putting boots on the ground, renting a place for a while, and checking out the area you have chosen. Another thing worth mentioning. Where I live, the local people will tell me that the next barangay over is filled with bad people and it is not safe there. Friends who live in that barangay feel perfectly safe and tell me the locals over there say the same thing about where I live.You are going to be reasonably safe in any of the rural areas that do not have active militant or terrorist groups. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billten Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) So which rural areas are considered "safe" bar for the occasional petty crime incident?I don't wanna get deep here, but IMO this issue of safety is really about what YOU are comfortable with and not anyone else's opinion matters. Sure, give the inner cities a miss if you want but some guys say you gotta live in a gated sub-division, others live in the bukid in a hut with no door. What is it that YOU think you need to feel safe?My personal opinion is that i live in the mountains among some very poor people, i live as a good neighbor, i respect everyone, demand the same respect back and help others whenever i can. I also have seven very big dogs that are loose on my lot all the time. I feel very safe where i live, more so than any big city i ever lived in.BTW, before i settled where i live, i spent a whole year with my wife, travelling everywhere i could looking for my version of a 'nice place to live'. That probably was the best year i ever spent, it certainly saved me a ton of problems. One thing that was consistant everywhere i went. If i told a local where i was visiting next, they would always tell me that i would never make it out of there alive. Get killed my the crazy bad people that lived there for sure. It never failed, every time... Edited February 3, 2012 by billten 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billten Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 So which rural areas are considered "safe" ?Oh, and its never ever "safe" to live near to the family of your girlfriend or wife, getting the hell away from them was one of the "safest" things i ever did... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 So which rural areas are considered "safe" ?Oh, and its never ever "safe" to live near to the family of your girlfriend or wife, getting the hell away from them was one of the "safest" things i ever did...Hear hear! Hear hear! :) :lol: Most important advice in recent fourm memory! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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