Is It Really Less Expensive To Live In The Philippines?

[Mr Lee]

I have gotten numerous emails of late asking me why people keep saying that it cost a lot less to live in the Philippines and I really do not think it cost less to live a western lifestyle in the Philippines, so I and others seem to be wondering why people keep saying that it is so much less expensive to live in the Philippines? Most things I have seen are actually more expensive, except maybe rents, but from what I have seen, you end up getting a much smaller place for that lower rent, and cable TV is less, but IMO you do not get much to watch, water is less, but we probably should drink filtered bottled water, so when we add that to the tap water it is not that much less expensive, then there is taxes, I find them less expensive on our condo, but maybe someone could tell us if they are actually less expensive on a home with equal property size to a home in a western country? Then there is public transportation and that is way less expensive but if we own our own cars is that really that much less expensive compared to a western country?So who wants to tell me what is really less expensive in the Philippines for what we get?

[Bruce]

From what I have seen in Cebu / Tacloban / Catbalogan is that there decreasing costs in living the farther you get away from Manila. 15 (?) years ago, tricycle taxi rides in Manila were paid in centavos. Now they are 100 pesos +- depending on distance. The same ride in Catbalogan is 5-10 pesos. This is PROGRESS! or is it??? Certain imported items are more expensive than the same item in the US. But the Philippines offers a person the ability to live 'within a budget'. Once certain single purchases are made (tv, air con, motorcycle, etc...) they do not have to be made again for a long time. Healthcare is affordable, especially if you are healthy to begin with. This is a major plus.So, assuming that you have a fixed amount to live on each month, I believe that you have better control over monthly expenses in the Philippines than you do in the US. Less chance to be 'wiped out' by a run of bad luck than in the US. The tax issue is HUGE issue. Average yearly costs of real estate taxes in my area are 3-7 THOUSAND USD per year. Higher in some cases. If you PLAN things right, you can live in Cebu or an outer area of Manila for a reasonable cost. Even lower farther out you go.Here is the important part..... There IS a difference between LIVING and EXISTING. On a fixed income of $1,000 to $2,000 a month in the US, allows you to exist. But not live well. Scrimping and saving all the time in dread of the yearly taxes. Medical costs....Speaking of medical costs, there was a bit in the Miami Herald yesterday about a bunionectomy done on an out patient basis that billed out at $53,000 USD! On that same $1,000 to $2,000, you can actually LIVE in the Philippines, nice place, servant if you want and predictable expenses. This is the 'draw' of the Philippines for those of us who lack a Kennedy trust fund..... So, on a line by line basis, there are real savings to be seen, except with imported electronic items et al. Now, I say this because I do not have a wild social calender, nor a caviar addiction.

[TheMason]

In my personal situation my expenses dropped from about $3500 per month to about $500 per month. Transportation dropped from $450 per month to $50 per month.My rent/mortgage payment dropped from $1020 in the US to $120 in the RP.A $300 monthly grocery budget is now about $150. Utilities (electric, cable TV, internet, phone) went from $400 in the US to $75 in the Philippines.I save a lot because I don't try to live a US lifestyle. If I wanted that, I'd have stayed in the US. I don't see the point of undertaking the adventure of ex-pat living just so you can re-create what you had back home. If you want to make lifestyle changes, the RP is very inexpensive. If you want to live like a Westerner, it's not.

[brock]

Everything is less expensive in the Philippines than it is in the UK, I really cant think of anything that is more expensive, I think that is the main reason that foreigners come to live here.

[No name]

Lee, you're leading a different life than I am.Its true if you try to maintain your US or Western life style you can pay a lot for that. Brand name electronics are higher, I've bought them from the US and shipped them to me cheaper than what they sell for.Rent more? No freaking way. Even when I rented furnished apartments they were cheaper than what I would have got in the US and they were larger too. One was three story and quite nice. I don't recall the square footage though it was three stories.Now I'm living in a four bedroom home with marble and wood floors on three levels for about $250 a month. The home I owned in the US was not this large and I'm a half mile from the beach and two hours from some of the finalist islands in the world. I looked at apartments in Memphis a couple of years ago.. A room about the side of the bedroom I have now would have cost me $550+ a month and that was if I rented a place in the hood!My medication cost me $300 a month while in the states it was $1100 and the food bill is next to nothing. Maybe $200 to $300 a month for four adults, two kids and a monkey. Today I saw an article about the cost of Tamiflu going up to P140 or about $3.00, Ii thought it was about $30 in the USA?I can go out to eat, a bunch of pork chops on the BBQ down by the bay for less the P300 or $6.50. And that pays for 2 adults with a couple of beers. I don't think you could get the beer for that in many restaurants in the US.Automobiles can be had for significantly less here too. They don't have all the US safety standards though.Now, I'm not super rich like most Filipina told me I'd be. But as my GF said, I have a lot of expenses.

[tom_shor]

If you want to live a western lifestyle in the Philippines you will most certainly pay more than you would almost anywhere in the US. If you are willing to do with more local products then you can certainly live cheaper. A lot depends also on where you live. As was mentioned before rents are higher in the city than they are further out. For between $1000 and $2000 you can live comfortably in the Philippines that would be harder to do in many parts of the US. I've been checking costs and prices of things on my trips and I am confident I can live quite nicely for about $1200 a month which will still leave money available for savings and investments. I can't do that here anywhere I would care to live.

[Old55]

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[Travis]

for me, rents and transportation and not having to pay insurance are the things I save the most money on here

[Mik]

Cheaper here are insurance, taxes, labor, and local products. Health insurance in the US was something like $300 a month, but here in Cebu hospital costs are affordable without any health insurance. My house is paid for so I don't bother with fire insurance. It's mostly concrete anyway. Auto insurance is so low it's negligible. The same with property taxes. In Oregon I used to pay about $200 per month property tax on a small house and lot. I don't pay any income taxes to the Philippines because I don't work here. They don't tax my foreign income because I am not a Philippine citizen. The US IRS doesn't tax my pension because my income is below the tax threshold (though I still go through the formality of filing a federal tax return). I pay no state tax to Oregon because I am no longer a resident of any US state. There is a 12% VAT here which is like a sales tax. But even with the tax, local stuff is still cheaper. I don't have much experience with tobacco but a pack of Marlboro cigarettes (assembled in the Philippines) cost P32. A 70 cl bottle of good 15 year old Tanduay rum is only P250. Matador Gran Reserva brandy is even less than that.In 2007 I hired my own guys and built my 112 sqm house for P2 million ($45,000). That includes ducted central aircon and the large covered terrace. You can pay construction helpers P150 to P225 per day and skilled workers P225 to P300 per day.It's better not to drive here especially if you have a problem with stress or anxiety. A 30 minute taxi ride from my house into the city only cost about P120. There is also a bit more freedom and also less socialism here. You can't put a price on that. You are on your own though. Just have some money in the bank for emergencies and/or a high limit credit card. Keep a zero balance on that card and never use it unless someone is dying. You should live within your income and always put away a few hundred dollars every month to save for the unexpected.

[mikejwoodnz]

I have gotten numerous emails of late asking me why people keep saying that it cost a lot less to live in the Philippines and I really do not think it cost less to live a western lifestyle in the Philippines, so I and others seem to be wondering why people keep saying that it is so much less expensive to live in the Philippines? ........So who wants to tell me what is really less expensive in the Philippines for what we get?

My lifestyle in the Philippines is way cheaper than in Australia or New Zealand. I like to live in a Hotel 24/7, have gourmet foods cooked for me and room service 24/7, drink about 20 stubbies of beer a day and have a car and driver at my disposal 24/7. I like my clothes laundered and daily housekeeping and clean linen. I appreciate armed or at least combat ready bodyguards. Since I sold my Hotels in NZ, and must now pay for these services out of my tax paid income, I can only find these services at a reasonable price in the Philippines. My wife and I live at Kiwi Lodge when in Cebu and the Gilarmi Hotel, Makati, when in Manila. This cost is about 10% of what I would pay in NZ.