Pension House

[i am bob]

My girlfriend's boarding house burnt to the ground this weekend and she lost everything in the fire. She came out unscathed but for her loss of material objects - like all her clothes, text books, spare cash, everything! Just her and her purse got out (and the clothes she was wearing... Watch it!) So this got me to thinking of what she is going to do about accommodations for her last month of classes. And this wondering brought about a few questions of my own.... Such as is there a difference between a pension house and a boarding house? And, if so, what are they? Do they cost about the same?Second part of my question concerns what is the average cost (ballpark) of a decent pension house in Cebu per month... And how low do the prices go for others? I will be finally doing the big move in a couple months and I'll probably stay in one of these fine upper-class establishments with all the fine dining and wine / cigar bars included in the cost... Kidding! :dance: Seriously I would like to find a decent place to live while I take my time to find a decent house to rent. I have not narrowed down the location any closer than being able to say Cebu at the moment! And I am trying to work out a budget for my initial start there. Any and all help on this will be appreciated!!!

Edited March 4, 2012 by i am bob

[billten]

Bob, my suggestion is to let HER find a place that satisfies her needs and then if needs be, get involved. Perhaps you can help with a little cash to replace some of her stuff, but its just for enough time to get her school done and go home. Anywhere you will search out for her from all those miles away will definitely by 5 times the price and probably not as convenient to her than anywhere she can find with her feet on the ground.This is JMO, but 'suggestions' and 'solutions' from the far away BF are often followed by the GF simply to make him feel better and follow his manly lead. These ideas are usually given with the best intentions, but are really not the best solution to the problem, how can they be when you don't personally know the 'on the ground' situation?If you simply supported her emotionally and asked her what she thought was the best course; you might find that she is a lot more intelligent and independent than you thought. Also simply throwing cash at the problem is also a bad idea as it leads to a poor precedent and can also be easily misunberstood.

[Art2ro]

If you both have a good understanding of one another and trust one another, you can just ask her what her immediate needs are and just give her the necessary funds to tie her over until you get to the Philippines! It's just as simple as that!

[Bundy]

Excellent advice as usual there from Bill. Couldn't have put it any better.Just for your information, a Pension House is like a cheap hotel, i've stayed in quite a few (nothing wrong with them at all) they're just very basic but do usually include your own private CR. In Cebu, pension houses can run anything from P500 a day and up. A boarding house on the other hand will usually be a common building with many many small rooms (and room only) Cr will be shared as is the kitchen (if there is one) rates are less and in both cases monthly rates can be negotiated.

[i am bob]

Sorry guys - maybe I didn't explain myself properly...She was staying in a boarding house - I was wondering what the difference was. That was answered very well by Mr Bundy.As for the pension house - that's for me when I do the move. I was just looking for a general idea what the average costs for one is for a month... a ballpark figure so to say.... I want to start putting my budget together with general numbers now and as the time grows closer, I'll look deeper and find the true figures I will need then.

[i am bob]

If you both have a good understanding of one another and trust one another, you can just ask her what her immediate needs are and just give her the necessary funds to tie her over until you get to the Philippines! It's just as simple as that!

That's what I'd like to do... Offer her a little cash to help her get back on her feet for the short term. But trying to get her to accept money from me is a very tough thing to do! Makes me love her more and more! Yup! I've got a keeper!

[i am bob]

Excellent advice as usual there from Bill. Couldn't have put it any better.Just for your information, a Pension House is like a cheap hotel, i've stayed in quite a few (nothing wrong with them at all) they're just very basic but do usually include your own private CR. In Cebu, pension houses can run anything from P500 a day and up. A boarding house on the other hand will usually be a common building with many many small rooms (and room only) Cr will be shared as is the kitchen (if there is one) rates are less and in both cases monthly rates can be negotiated.

Thank you sir! You actually answered my entire question - I only gave you credit for the first part in my second post. And the answers were exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!!!

[volstateguy]

Sorry guys - maybe I didn't explain myself properly...She was staying in a boarding house - I was wondering what the difference was. That was answered very well by Mr Bundy.As for the pension house - that's for me when I do the move. I was just looking for a general idea what the average costs for one is for a month... a ballpark figure so to say.... I want to start putting my budget together with general numbers now and as the time grows closer, I'll look deeper and find the true figures I will need then.

Bob, from what I've seen pension houses run between 10,000-18,000 pesos a month plus utilities. You can do a Google search and find quite a few. The cheapest I've heard of is Pennsion de Portugal....member Happy stayed there long term and paid P10,000 a month for one person and P12,000 once his girlfriend moved in. He seemed quite happy with the place. I haven't been able to find a website for it so you would probably need to wait till you are there to see if the have vacancies. It was located right across the street from Windland Tower condos and is walking distance to Ayala mall but taxis were always lined up just outside so its convenient if you need a taxi.

[MikeB]

She was staying in a boarding house - I was wondering what the difference was.

A boarding house here can be quite different from the western concept. I have seen some more fit for animals then humans. So many people packed together cooking, fires are not uncommon.

[i am bob]

Sorry guys - maybe I didn't explain myself properly...She was staying in a boarding house - I was wondering what the difference was. That was answered very well by Mr Bundy.As for the pension house - that's for me when I do the move. I was just looking for a general idea what the average costs for one is for a month... a ballpark figure so to say.... I want to start putting my budget together with general numbers now and as the time grows closer, I'll look deeper and find the true figures I will need then.

Bob, from what I've seen pension houses run between 10,000-18,000 pesos a month plus utilities. You can do a Google search and find quite a few. The cheapest I've heard of is Pennsion de Portugal....member Happy stayed there long term and paid P10,000 a month for one person and P12,000 once his girlfriend moved in. He seemed quite happy with the place. I haven't been able to find a website for it so you would probably need to wait till you are there to see if the have vacancies. It was located right across the street from Windland Tower condos and is walking distance to Ayala mall but taxis were always lined up just outside so its convenient if you need a taxi.

Thank you sir! I"m not too familiar with where some things are just yet but I believe that is the area I don't want to walk at night if I want to live... That is if I tell my girlfriend I was there.... Or am I thinking of somewhere with a similar name... Edited March 5, 2012 by i am bob