My Retirement Stategy For The Philippines, Insights Please.

[jon1]

 

After I have settled RURAL I will need a car, but in your case I would wait to get a car - perhaps wait for ever      because the not "kano priced" taxis, tricycles and public transports are so cheap in Phils.   If you want to explore the provinces, it can be done without OWN car e g by rent a car with driver, or go by a (VIP airconed) bus to the interesting province and use taxi/tricycle there.    

 

 

The idea  of having a driver is fascinating to me if I can afford it, also as long as I don't open my mouth, I don't have to deal with kano prices, it's a few hundred percent haha

 

I imagine the local cars/SUV will be way cheaper in maintennace at the neighborhood service shops with the manongs :)

 

Hiring a driver can be relatively cheap. I always hire a driver with vehicle to travel to Manila. It costs me about 4000p. This alleviates stress on my blood pressure of driving in Manila (no longer have patience for that between the traffic, construction and selective traffic law enforcement).  Now this ends up being a whole day trip as it can take 3-4 hours each way alone. 

 

So hiring someone for a weekend wouldn't cost too much more, just depends on the vehicle and who you are renting from. For my last trip to Baguio, we rented a Toyoto HiAce van for 3000p per day. I drove but when we got to Baguio, I hired a local (at recommendation of the Pension house) to drive us around for a day (cost me 1000p plus meals). It was well worth it as we got to see all of the major tourist spots there in one day. Baguio is very congested and hard to get around with all of the one way streets and traffic. So the vehicle cost us 10,000p for three days plus gas and tolls. We split that three ways as there were 3 of us couples traveling together. 

 

We could have gone cheaper but it was much more comfortable and plenty of room for all of us plus our baggage.

Edited May 28, 2015 by jon1

[scott h]

I don't have to deal with kano prices,

 

You know NYM, to shift this just a bit, I have heard about Kano prices for years, and since I have moved here (going on 3 years now) I can honestly say that I have only been exposed to it once. (at the local pelenki, lady tried to double the amount for grapes, she said P200 when she sold the same amount to a lady in front of me for P100. I shook my head, pointed to the other customer, held out P100 and stood my ground. Vendor took the money and I got my grapes).

 

How to avoid the possible Kano trap? 1. Just shop where prices are marked (even most stalls have prices listed I have found) 2. Don't get flustered. In the past during my travels I just don't want to "appear" as an idiot and have just handed over what was asked. As I have gotten older, more experienced and frankly don't care what others really think of me that much, if it doesn't sound right, look else where. 3. Compare prices: when we built our house when we first arrived, I got a list of starting materials from my contractor, I personally took them to 3 building supply places, all three were very close to each other. I then had my brother in law take the list to 2 other places, and guess what? They match the quotes I was given.

 

Now the above is all base upon where I LIVE, and upon MY experiences. Others may have experience in different parts of the country.

[Thomas]

 

After I have settled RURAL I will need a car, but in your case I would wait to get a car - perhaps wait for ever      because the not "kano priced" taxis, tricycles and public transports are so cheap in Phils.   If you want to explore the provinces, it can be done without OWN car e g by rent a car with driver, or go by a (VIP airconed) bus to the interesting province and use taxi/tricycle there.    

 

The idea  of having a driver is fascinating to me if I can afford it, also as long as I don't open my mouth, I don't have to deal with kano prices, it's a few hundred percent haha

 

I imagine the local cars/SUV will be way cheaper in maintennace at the neighborhood service shops with the manongs :)

Specialy when going longer distances, it's the car and FUEL which are the main cost.  A car driver earn around 240p-440p per DAY normaly (plus some to SSS, PhilHealth and such if they are connected) so that's a very small cost.  The drivers, who have franshise with car/tricycle, need to pay that if they drive you SHORT distances too, so if you want the driver to drive you around shorter distances and WAIT for you, then you may need to compensate him for his vehicle stand still too, but that's not much either. How much is up to who you talk to and your negotiation skill   :)   But I wouldn't push to hard, better have a good driver, who LIKE to drive you "anytime" you want to for a price you BOTH find satisfactory.

 

Yes, much biger chance a local repairshop can manage a Toyota/Suzuki MT.  They can't afford the special equipment normal "western" cars need to be repaired.  A disadvantage can be the engines are old and/or to small for the car size, so they can need more fuel and repair more often.

[newyorkmind]

 

 

2. Don't get flustered. In the past during my travels I just don't want to "appear" as an idiot and have just handed over what was asked. As I have gotten older, more experienced and frankly don't care what others really think of me that much, if it doesn't sound right, look else where. 3. Compare prices: when we built our house when we first arrived, I got a list of starting materials from my contractor, I personally took them to 3 building supply places, all three were very close to each other. I then had my brother in law take the list to 2 other places, and guess what? They match the quotes I was given.

 

Now the above is all base upon where I LIVE, and upon MY experiences. Others may have experience in different parts of the country.

 

Great Insight Scott, I now what you mean, actually all the small amounts adds up,Thanks for sharing!  I tend to ignore the few pesos but n my last few trips, I realized the few pesos here and there really adds up if I don't play it smart, I easily blow $100  or so from a few pesos each time

 

I glad you have gotten comfortable, very interesting story on construction materials, and I take it, most construction work there is directly out of pocket, no loan, I imagine you're happy with your construction project. I'm fascinated also that everything inthe Philipines is solid concrete.

 

Specialy when going longer distances, it's the car and FUEL which are the main cost.  A car driver earn around 240p-440p per DAY normaly (plus some to SSS, PhilHealth and such if they are connected) so that's a very small cost.  The drivers, who have franshise with car/tricycle, need to pay that if they drive you SHORT distances too, so if you want the driver to drive you around shorter distances and WAIT for you, then you may need to compensate him for his vehicle stand still too, but that's not much either. How much is up to who you talk to and your negotiation skill      But I wouldn't push to hard, better have a good driver, who LIKE to drive you "anytime" you want to for a price you BOTH find satisfactory.

 

Thanks for the info Thomas! This is very interesting,  In a recent trip to Manila I was hanging out with some local friends at some restaurant and when done and as we walk out to the lobby, they all started sending text messages to their drivers, after a minuite their cars pull up and the drivers comes over to open the door for them. I was driven to my hotel by one of the drivers. That was surprising to me and their lifestyle, I never thought they lived liked that but I ralized too that it is just more convenient and productive for a lot.