How To Choose The "right" Island To Live In ??

[Cyrus]

I have been looking at Thailand and the Philippines for quite a while now, as a place to move to for at least a couple of years or perhaps longer.

In the case of Thailand, it seems really easy to pick the right city, which happens to be Chiang Mai for me,

However, in the case of the Philippines, I am honestly confused and do not really know how to go about choosing the "right" island for me !

I had searched Manila, Makati, and the Metro Manila Areas, but I would rather live on an island like Cebu ,,, and I thought I had actually decided on Cebu, but the more I search, the more I wonder if there is a more appropriate island out there for me that I do not know about yet !

I am single, do my work online, and as long as I can have a good internet connection, I would rather live in a peaceful and inexpensive place, and I see online information about so many other islands that makes it all a bit confusing.

So, how does one go about finding his/her ideal island to live ?

Would one have to travel to each and every island ? so many islands, so little time ! what to do ? what to do ?

[Mike S]

Cyrus ...... if you do your work on line I'm afraid you are going to be kinda limited as to the areas you choose to live in .... it seems through the years I have come to believe that reliable internet connections can only be found in or near large cities ..... so maybe you better check on those first .... especially if you need anything above 2 Mbps and at a reliable steady rate (if there is such here in the Phils) ..... many places claim to have this but from my experience both in living here and people I have come in contact with it is extremely shaky on a good day ..... the favorite saying by the ISP providers here is "UP TO" that means a 2Mbps connection can range from .50 to 2.0 and if you bitch about it you will get that war cry ....... "UP TO ...... SIR" ...... oh .... and it is written in the contract ..... :hystery: :hystery: IMHO

[Panserhansen]

Dumaguete should be the next place for you to check out. It's smaller than Cebu, but still a decent amount of restaurants, a nice mall(several smaller) and also a little nightlife. There are a number of expats there, also some younger guys. Daily flights from Cebu and Manila, or you can take the fastcraft from Cebu. The city is pretty clean, I like the city a lot.

A lot of expats move around the first couple of years. In the beginning, everyone want to live 5 minutes from Ayala, later they tend to move around a bit, both within the city or to other cities. Just

[Dave Hounddriver]

I would rather live on an island like Cebu ,,, and I thought I had actually decided on Cebu, but the more I search, the more I wonder if there is a more appropriate island out there for me that I do not know about yet !

Dumaguete should be the next place for you to check out

I agree with both of these statements, and yet, Cyrus is single. I would lean more towards Cebu as a single guy just beginning his Philippine experience. But I would prefer Dumaguete after getting my 'feet' wet.

[Adventurer]

what are your requirements? No one is going to tell you their special place, I live on a beautiful island with fast Internet but I would not publicize it as the less people that go there the better as far as I'm concerned. As you probably know there are 700 + islands, just grab a large map,close your eyes and where your finger lands start there first but be prepared to move on anytime.... ;)

[Jollygoodfellow]

The keywords to the OP post are, "do my work online, and as long as I can have a good internet connection"

This will remove about 90 % of choices. Also if looking for inexpensive place it usually means moving to the province which excludes first key words. :)

Hey it depends on really how much speed you need and what other things are important to you.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I was giving Chiang Mai some serious thought. But I really like the Philippines too much. I went to Cebu for Christmas last year and really liked it. You really have to just go and see, though. You can't really get a good feel of the place online.

I'm moving in about 9 months and I am planning on starting in Cebu and using it as a base. Then island hop for a while and see if anyplace grabs me... or I end up married and living wherever she is. :)

[billten]

or I end up married and living wherever she is

This should read, "end up getting married and living where her family is not..."

[Steve & Myrlita]

what are your requirements? No one is going to tell you their special place, I live on a beautiful island with fast Internet but I would not publicize it as the less people that go there the better as far as I'm concerned. As you probably know there are 700 + islands, just grab a large map,close your eyes and where your finger lands start there first but be prepared to move on anytime.... ;)

Actually, there are 7107 islands in the RP.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

or I end up married and living wherever she is

This should read, "end up getting married and living where her family is not..."

yes... if I were smarter... :tiphat: