City Vs Province, How Satisfied Are You In The Province?

[Curley]

I have plenty to do, we live right on a dream beach, white sand and crystal clear waters, swim each day, we enjoy sports like badminton, volleyball and tennis to keep us fit and active.

I too am torn between the city for some things and the province for others. Your situation sounds like the absolute ideal to me Adventurer, trouble is I haven't been able to find something like that to rent and I do have a decent budget to spend.

[Panserhansen]

I were in Cebu City for 1 1/2 years and now two years in the province.

Worst thing about the province is the lack of options. You want taco for dinners, but even at the Gaisano supermarkets there's usually something missing, either taco mix, shells, cheese or everything. You want a good BBQ sauce you often have to make it yourself. You need to stock up when you are in the city.

Nightlife after 10PM is usually limited to shady KTV bars with luke warm red horse. Forget about finding a pub where you can watch a football game. No taxis and often hard even to find a tricykle late night.

As for expats, you seldom find anyone below 55. Most of them like things to be really peaceful and quiet. There is a much more variety of expats in the city. Not easy to find a local friend - their English is quite limited, often nothing at all. The ones who speak English fluently are usually educated and working in the city. I am not disrespecting the uneducated, it's just a fact. The cultural gap is also much bigger in the province than in the city. If you are a sucker for small talk you might be fine, but if you like to meet someone who speak English well, been traveling, reading books and can talk about politics, history, sports, food or others of your interest, you might be disappointed.

Still, I think you should spend some time in the province. There's a saying you need to understand the province before you understand the city. You learn a lot, even though you don't like everything you see.

We will probably relocate to Cebu City in a few months. I've surprised myself being two years in the province. Without internet or monthly trips to Cebu I would go nuts..! :-)

[S123]

Not that I want to be negative but those pictures from the Boulevard is a bit misleading and painting a much nicer picture of Dumaguete than it is. While they are very nice and beautiful they do not represent Dumaguete as a whole. Infact, Dumaguete is a dirty, worn down and busy city, or atleast was. Totally congested with tricycles. Last time I was there was 6-7 years ago. Except for the Boulevard there isn't much else unless you get out of city to the resorts.

[Jack Peterson]

Not that I want to be negative but those pictures from the Boulevard is a bit misleading and painting a much nicer picture of Dumaguete than it is. While they are very nice and beautiful they do not represent Dumaguete as a whole. Infact, Dumaguete is a dirty, worn down and busy city, or atleast was. Totally congested with tricycles. Last time I was there was 6-7 years ago. Except for the Boulevard there isn't much else unless you get out of city to the resorts.

But you don't want to be negative.

[S123]

Not that I want to be negative but those pictures from the Boulevard is a bit misleading and painting a much nicer picture of Dumaguete than it is. While they are very nice and beautiful they do not represent Dumaguete as a whole. Infact, Dumaguete is a dirty, worn down and busy city, or atleast was. Totally congested with tricycles. Last time I was there was 6-7 years ago. Except for the Boulevard there isn't much else unless you get out of city to the resorts.

But you don't want to be negative.

Perhaps, my statement came out a bit more negative than I meant to. It's just that I think it's not fair to give an unbalanced, one-sided image of a place. I, myself, always want to know what is good and what is bad in a place.

To make it clear, I have been there numerous times and I love that Boulevard strip.

[CebuAndy]

I were in Cebu City for 1 1/2 years and now two years in the province.

Worst thing about the province is the lack of options.

You need to stock up when you are in the city.

The cultural gap is also much bigger in the province than in the city. If you are a sucker for small talk you might be fine, but if you like to meet someone who speak English well, been traveling, reading books and can talk about politics, history, sports, food or others of your interest, you might be disappointed.

Still, I think you should spend some time in the province. There's a saying you need to understand the province before you understand the city. You learn a lot, even though you don't like everything you see.

We will probably relocate to Cebu City in a few months. I've surprised myself being two years in the province. Without internet or monthly trips to Cebu I would go nuts..! :-)

Thank you Panserhansen. The lack of options, need to stock up, and often missing some items would irritate me a lot. I had that in Thailand before. I don't want to live a life in isolation, so foreigner friends is a must imo. Makes daily life so much easier.

[Curley]

Worst thing about the province is the lack of options. You want taco for dinners, but even at the Gaisano supermarkets there's usually something missing, either taco mix, shells, cheese or everything. You want a good BBQ sauce you often have to make it yourself. You need to stock up when you are in the city.

What's wrong with making things yourself? It used to be that way not so very long ago :)

[i am bob]

!I agree with Curley!

Make your own and, not only does it taste better but it's healthier too!

:attention:

[Panserhansen]

Thank you Panserhansen. The lack of options, need to stock up, and often missing some items would irritate me a lot. I had that in Thailand before. I don't want to live a life in isolation, so foreigner friends is a must imo. Makes daily life so much easier.

Yes, but is being a foreigner enough to qualify for a friend? In the city it's much easier to find friends with the same interests. In the province, most foreigners don't do sports. In the city, you can join a gym, a soccer team, a poker club or whatever interests you have. In the province it's much more limited. Most foreigners in the province don't do anything at all but to drink beer at the local expat place or at home - complaining about their pension. Believe me, it's different having conversations with working people or people that live an active lifestyle. Another thing I don't like about the province is the big gossiping. I did not experience that in the city.

I know plenty of foreigners here and see them maybe twice a month or so at the café. But my handful of close friends are in Cebu City.

What's wrong with making things yourself? It used to be that way not so very long ago :)

I make a lot of things myself, like BBQ sauce, liver pate, bread, pickled herring from bangus etc. Some things you cannot make, like good cheese etc. It's ok but sometimes you just want to grab what you want from the ref and not spend an hour or two making it...

[CebuAndy]

Yes, but is being a foreigner enough to qualify for a friend? In the city it's much easier to find friends with the same interests. In the province, most foreigners don't do sports. In the city, you can join a gym, a soccer team, a poker club or whatever interests you have. In the province it's much more limited. Most foreigners in the province don't do anything at all but to drink beer at the local expat place or at home - complaining about their pension. Believe me, it's different having conversations with working people or people that live an active lifestyle. Another thing I don't like about the province is the big gossiping. I did not experience that in the city.

I know plenty of foreigners here and see them maybe twice a month or so at the café. But my handful of close friends are in Cebu City.

Being a foreigner don't automatically qualify for a friend. However when you find a foreigner who have other interest than drinking 2 pm, one might find a foreigner with something in common. Meet 10 foreigners, and maybe 1 or 2 had similar interests, and like to stay in contact. I like to be around expats older than myself, they have local knowledge and wisdom I learned a lot from. Met a few expats age 30+ and they mostly talked about nightlife, best place to go out, not much in common. I love the local people, however one can only take so much talk about the price of rice and pork, or get asked for a load loan. This habit seems to be the same all over SEA. However I find the locals in the Philippines to be way more polite, decent and helpful, than in other country nearby.