Where Is The Disconnect?? Filipina Is Telling Me $1K Is A Lot!!

[Dave Hounddriver]

So you guys think I can live on $830 a month If I had too?

 

If I told you yes, and you came here and tried it for a year and then went home frustrated because you just couldn't have any fun whatsoever on that kind of budget, would you blame me for saying you could do it?

 

Just in case you would, I will tell you that you can't do it.

 

Edit:  This comes from my personal experience of telling my American friend he can live here on $990 a month US and he spent a year trying it and has been back in the US working for the last 2 years because its just not enough for him to enjoy living here.  You, on the other hand, may e perfectly fine on that amount.  How could I know?

Edited January 2, 2015 by Dave Hounddriver

[robert k]

Good answers here, Thomas and Jack. Much depends on what you are looking for. A nipa hut is not all bad and can be quite comfortable if you are of the right mindset. I had several ladies when I was looking who said they were willing to live in a nipa hut. It certainly wasn't my good looks that would make them say that! :)

[i am bob]

A lot of this issue comes down to the cost for your basics... Housing, food and extracurricular activities! We can't do anything about someone else's activity's but housing and food are something we can help you sort out.

Housing... Where are too going to live? Have you picked out a city or town yet? Will you be living downtown? Out of town? The burbs? Most places well have your prices come down the further you go from downtown... For example: I'm in Davao and looking at renting on the edge of town - a little place called Mintal... Gated and guarded new subdivision, 2 bedroom fenced and gated with dirty kitchen, free pass to the community adult pool (there's also a kiddie pool with slides as well as a playground), free pass to the wakeboard park beside the subdivision, mall, medical, etc in Mintal, 20 minutes by Jeepney to the SM City in Martina and tricycles through the subdivision. P5000 is the going rate to rent.

Food... You can read cheap here or eat at your own cost everything imported... In Davao, you can get fried chicken and rice every 20 meters for P25... There are a MinuteBurger, BunchBurger or BulkBurger on just about every block... Healthy? Not really got every day consumption... But there are lots of restaurants of all levels and type to fit your budget. Or you can cook your meals at home and save money. You didn't live in restaurants before coming to the Philippines, did you? I know I didn't! Every morning I made breakfast - fresh brewed coffee with double cream... What a gourmet chef I was!

:D

[robert k]

Sounds like Bob found a good place. My fairly modern 2 bed one bath with medium multifunction room, kitchen / dining / family room is in Sibulan, Negros Oriental. No carport but plenty of covered space out back to hang laundry and purpose built piping for it and I can pull up and park as close to the front door as I like. I parked the truck in front of the front door in the last typhoon and the landlord called to warn that water may have blown in  under the bottom of the door and there were a few drops, the truck shielded the door though. The road pretty much dead ends since the bridge is out at one end. If I turn the fan off it's very quiet and I turn it off a lot since there is usually a good breeze here. I have beaches fairly close but none great. Resorts with pool charge about 100P per head at the better ones within a short drive, better beach is available 1 hour away. The fast ferry to take me to the island of Cebu is 20 minutes away and once it gets underway you are in Santander in about 30 minutes and a pretty darned reasonable (forgot how much) bus fare to Cebu city, 3 hours later. I am also pretty close to an airport so Cebu city and Manila while not convenient can be reached a couple times a week by air. Not a tremendous amount of night life here, of course on these forums I hear from expats already here that wish for less nightlife and noise at least 5 to 1 over those already here seeking more night life. I am paying a whopping 6k php a month. I also get all the free mangos I want. The owner has a unit here and it's secure, wall/nasty barbed wire/ locked gate. This place had foreigner input when it was built, there are electrical outlets every 8 feet. Smart broadband  internet doesn't work too well here and I'm trying Globe tomorrow. Not everyone's cup of tea but it will do for me for now. not bad for $135 USD a month / 6k php. :) I don't see the need right now to downsize to a nipa house, I just don't need the $60 that bad. :mocking:

[Dave Hounddriver]

I am paying a whopping 6k php a month.

 

Sounds like a great deal.  Methinks there are a lot of expats who would take that off your hands if you wanted to move out :-)..Enjoy.

[Thomas]

 

I am paying a whopping 6k php a month.

 

Sounds like a great deal. 

Yes, and Bob's too.

 

I have seen several ok/good houses/appartments for around 7000 - 9000 p/month  in Cagayan the Oro and Central Visayas (excluding Cebu city, but including other parts of Metro Cebu).

(But some of them I don't know enough about the neighbourhood to judge if it's a good idea to live there, I just checked some to know what cost level to expect during I live - among people !!! :mocking:   - a half year or so, before I settle rural.)

[Craig Albert Witfill]

thank u

[Call me bubba]

So you guys think I can live on $830 a month If I had too?

I know I need more but just in the income does come in more then $830? I just need to know this?

Thanks

to get a better VIEW. i suggest that you find the post(s) of TRAVIS and read.

 unfortunately he is no longer amongst us,

Edited January 4, 2015 by Pittman apartments Sgn

[robert k]

I believe that simply put, those who think you need $2,000-$5,000 a month to live in the Philippines are trying to recreate their home country, but with tropical climate, beaches and possibly younger women who don't mind an older husband. The Philippines will never be their home country, not for $50,000 a month. You could still die on the street because the ambulance is just a van, the ambulance couldn't get there for an hour because of traffic, because a truck plowed into the ambulance because people don't yield to them, because the private hospital would not admit you because you didn't have 10k php cash on you. You could die because the pharmacy does not have what is needed to save your life or because there is no blood in your type in stock... ad nauseum. You can be flattened by a cane truck with no brakes in the province or your vehicle can wind up under a bus that did a high dive off the flyover in Manila. If the weather is the least bit bad, stay off ferries. Even if the weather is not bad, ships collide here at night, think about it. This is not the birth country unless you are a Filipino and most likely you aren't going to naturalize. If you overcome 999 shortcomings by opening your wallet, there will be a #1000, #1001 and so on. I don't believe you can fix this. If you did have enough money to fix it....you would live somewhere else to begin with.

 

All this said, it can be nice here. The one saying eff you Joe is outweighed by the 9 who say good morning to me, at least for me. Just this evening I had them practically rolling on the floor at Birdies Bakeshop because I can twitch my long (relatively) nose, and they can't. I might go into showbusiness. :thumbsup:

[Dave Hounddriver]

All this said, it can be nice here

 

You forgot mentioning that you could die riding your bike as someone throws a firecracker at you that explodes like an I.E.D.  but yes, if you can ignore all the negatives then the positives here are pretty nice.