Looking For Info

[philinfo]

Hi everyone my husband and I are from Ontario, Canada. We visited Philippines last March 2011 and stayed at Boracay Island. We loved it there. We are seriously considering moving to the Philippines.We would love as much info as possible. What is the cost of living like there? Where is the safest place to live regarding crime and weather? Where do expats usually live there? I know we could not live in Boracay Island, too expensive. Is it safe there? I don't want to live where I have to always get a charter plane to Manilla to get a flight back home to visit.I look forward to hearing your responses and any other info you may have to share so that I can make a informed decision.

[JJReyes]

My first and only visit to Boracay Island was some 30 years ago when it was a European hippie colony with lots of German men and women swimming in the nude. Everyone gathered at sunset and clapped their hands with shouts of "Encore! Encore!" if you witnessed the green flash at the end.There were only two places to stay and the cottages were plain nipa huts. To shower, a young boy would have to use a hand pump. You shouted, "Stop!" when it was time to soap. You shouted, "Go!" when it was time to rinse. Meals were fish, sour tomatoes with salt, and rice. You could not trust the meat because there was no refrigeration. (I know. I know. I should have purchased a few hectares then and retire a rich man.) The interesting thing is there are many places like Boracay in the Philippines. These are pristine places. The problem is accessibility to such daily living requirements as comfortable housing, Internet connection, electricity, supermarket, and medical care. Since my two sons were also coming, I chartered a plane. Yvonne, the French bush pilot and aircraft owner, stayed with us just in case our boys got sick and we needed to rush them to a medical facility.There are others in this forum more competent to assist you. It will be a compromise situation between something pristine and an overdeveloped, expensive resort area, which I understand is what happened to Boracay. I think it should be a place within 45 to 60 minutes to a commercial airport.I now reside in Honolulu and walk the entire length of Waikiki three times a week while my wife is at her yoga class. It's hard to imagine that at one time there were only two large hotels on Waikiki beach. There was nothing behind them because the area was only swamps and mangrove trees. (I know. I know. My father should have purchased a few acres of swampland so his son could retire a rich man.)

Edited March 10, 2012 by JJR

[joeatmanila]

Cebu or Manila is the best place for you two. Options unlimited, depends what you want and what you are willing to spend.

[Old55]

Hi everyone my husband and I are from Ontario, Canada. We visited Philippines last March 2011 and stayed at Boracay Island. We loved it there. We are seriously considering moving to the Philippines.We would love as much info as possible. What is the cost of living like there? Where is the safest place to live regarding crime and weather? Where do expats usually live there? I know we could not live in Boracay Island, too expensive. Is it safe there? I don't want to live where I have to always get a charter plane to Manilla to get a flight back home to visit.I look forward to hearing your responses and any other info you may have to share so that I can make a informed decision.

Local produce fish and other food items are generally good quality and inexpensive. Services are mostly cheap but quality can hit or miss. A very rough budget for a moderate lifestyle figure at least $2,000.00 a month.Manila and Cebu City have international airports with departures to Canada. Those city's also host quality hospitals and a good selection of imported items. Manila is a huge city very polluted and is know to be in the path of Typhoons. Cebu City is smaller and more easy to manage major storms are rare but its also polluted. Petty crime is endemic, however simple precautions will mitigate snatching and other crimes of opportunity significantly. IMO Cebu is closer to more islands that feature places you and your husband would enjoy visiting.If you guys were to spend a few weeks or more next visit you will have a much better idea if the Philippines experience is right for you. IMO the best thing about Philippines are the people truly some of the nicest you will find anyplace.If you have specific questions please feel free to ask many members live there full or part time.

[billten]

Hi everyone my husband and I are from Ontario, Canada. We visited Philippines last March 2011 and stayed at Boracay Island. We loved it there. We are seriously considering moving to the Philippines.We would love as much info as possible. What is the cost of living like there? Where is the safest place to live regarding crime and weather? Where do expats usually live there? I know we could not live in Boracay Island, too expensive. Is it safe there? I don't want to live where I have to always get a charter plane to Manilla to get a flight back home to visit.I look forward to hearing your responses and any other info you may have to share so that I can make a informed decision.

I suggest coming here first and then also reading the details of older posts in this forum and once you have culled all the information you can, ask specific questions. Your questions are too generic and every question can be answered "it depends". If you wish to make an informed decision, do your own research as everyone on here has has a different experience with their Filipino life...

[Jim Sibbick]

Hi everyone my husband and I are from Ontario, Canada. We visited Philippines last March 2011 and stayed at Boracay Island. We loved it there. We are seriously considering moving to the Philippines.We would love as much info as possible. What is the cost of living like there? Where is the safest place to live regarding crime and weather? Where do expats usually live there? I know we could not live in Boracay Island, too expensive. Is it safe there? I don't want to live where I have to always get a charter plane to Manilla to get a flight back home to visit.I look forward to hearing your responses and any other info you may have to share so that I can make a informed decision.

Expats live all over the Philippines. They are up in the mountains, in the cities and in tourist locations such as Boracay.Only YOU can decide how much it will cost YOU to live in the Philippines. Some of the forum members can't imagine living on less than USD $4000 per month. I knew a Canadian who used to live on Leyte with his girlfriend on CAD $500 per month. That was living 200 metres from the sea in a low class 2 bedroom house with cable TV and having a motor scooter for transport.There are at least 7 international airports in the Philippines with a couple more on the way, so no need to rely on Manila for entering and exiting the Philippines.I am naturally biased and will tell you to live in Cebu CityI have posted this before so you may have already read itMetro Cebu has- High class medical facilities such as Chong Hua Hospital and the cancer specialist hospital, Perpetual Succour.- Historical sights/sites dating back to 1521- Diving from Mactan island- Island hopping from Mactan island- Multiple Beach resorts on Mactan Island where you can pay to use the facilities for the day- Multiple sports such as Badminton, Tennis, Golf, Ten Pin Bowling, Pool/Billiards, Running, Swimming, Cycling.- Several cockfighting complexes.- A couple of the biggest shopping malls in the world, including SM Mall which is the worlds 14th biggest mall.- Multiple fitness centres- Multiple swimming pool complexes where you can picnic for the day such as Villa Terisita and Tubod Flowing Waters- Western style airconditioned digital surround sound cinemas. including an Imax Theatre in SM Mall.- Multiple locations with live music most nights- There are a huge number of discos to choose from- Multiple dining choices for cuisine from countries such as Japan, India, China, Italy, Thailand etc.- Multiple fast food outlets- Multiple coffee shops- Multiple expat drinking only bars. Usually with large screen TV's for watching sporting programmes- Regular expat get togethersCebu province also has several of the top tourist locations in the Philippines such as Bantayan Island and Malapascua Island. It is also a short trip to the famous tourist island of Bohol.Cebu can also be used as a hub to travel to most of the rest of the Philippines. It also has an international airport for flying to the rest of the world.Regards: Jim

[i am bob]

You are going to find that there are many answers to each of your questions... If I might suggest that you do as I did... Read everything you can about th diferent locations listed on here... Pick an area you find sounds like it might be ideal... And then just rent a place for a while! And you may have to rent a few different places to find one you like! If you try several different places and the whole area isn't what you expected, try another town or city or even island - there's only a couple thousand of them!Just out of curiousity - where in Ontario are you? I'm still stuck in Hamilton for a bit yet but not much longer!!!