Expats Living In Philippines Having Second Thoughts......

[ITGeek]

Good thing I'm used to 40C+ heat during my summers spent in California (arid) and North Carolina (humid).  I picked the hottest part of the Philippines to live, Cabanatuan City.  The climate here is more like that of summers in the Southeast US.  I'm sure the climate here is one reason why some expats decide it's not right for them.  Although I can't wait to see April's electric bill as my aircon has been running 18-20hrs/day because my asawa is now 8 mo's pregnant.

In regards to the cost of food, her family are all farmers so we get lots of great fruits and vegetables from the region for very little money.

I recently watched a show on Travel Channel where people were given 3 days to decide to relocate to a foreign country.  I think there are many foreigners who come here on vacation for a week, think it's a great place to live.  Once they get here and find out about what daily life is really like here are the ones that don't make it.

Myself, I spent enough time in the Philippines for both work and play to get used to what life was like here.  Last year I spent a total of 3 month's making sure it would be the right decision and now I'm enjoying my new life here.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

1 hour ago, Sander Martin said:

Now if you compare the prices on what people earn here, you will see how expensive it is.

Yeah, I was telling a prospective expat that I paid p1,300 a month for internet here, and they said 'that is cheap - under $30 American."  Then I tried to explain that for the locals making p300 a day (if they are lucky) that is almost one weeks salary.  Pretty expensive.  I find meats actual cost to be about the same as I paid in Texas, but there I made in under 2 hours what locals here make in a week... Ouch! 

[chico2663]

1 hour ago, Tukaram (Tim) said:

Yeah, I was telling a prospective expat that I paid p1,300 a month for internet here, and they said 'that is cheap - under $30 American."  Then I tried to explain that for the locals making p300 a day (if they are lucky) that is almost one weeks salary.  Pretty expensive.  I find meats actual cost to be about the same as I paid in Texas, but there I made in under 2 hours what locals here make in a week... Ouch! 

your right about the cost of food in houston texas. my 71 yr old mother and I spend over 300 a month on food bill. prices have skyrocketed here. I just moved from cincinnati,ohio and the cost is so much higher here

[robert k]

For a lot of people the food problem I think is largely the amount of rice. I'm ok with rice but not as the main part of every meal. Every meal can have some rice and I would adulterate my rice with a number of seasoning so it wouldn't be the same every time. Largely, I preferred noodles which are also cheap but usually not as cheap as rice.

My favorite butterfly boneless pork chops were reasonably priced, to me, at about 230 php per kilo. That would be a good bit cheaper than in the US but if you finish the trimming of the chops to get rid of excess fat and gristle, it's still cheaper than the US but not the fantastic deal it looked to be at first. I think chicken is fairly high priced for what you get. I would as soon cut up my own as calling the usual butchering style indifferent would be effusive compliment. But that is how they do it. Probably chopping up the bones lets you get some nutritional value out of the marrow.

Fruit can be very cheap if it is local and in season. No mystery there as transportation in the Philippines is not smooth and middlemen are going to be involved. I have not quite figured out why Bananas are so expensive? maybe it was just the areas I was living don't have any plantations nearby. It is clear to me why so many people have banana trees around their houses.

It is what it is. Cooking at home is a great option if you are really missing anything.

[Gratefuled]

When all is said and done it usually comes down to what kind of life you want. Yes, one can adjust to life in the Philippines and be happy. 

As for me. I do not want to give up the life I have in the states (So Cal) for a restricted life in the PI. We will always have to fight inflation no matter where we live. 

I can hardly wait for my wife to decide to come live with me in my home here. There is so much that I can show her that she has never seen or experienced. She wants to go to New York of all places. We can do that.  I have a sister in New Jersey. I have family all over the states. They are all anxious to meet her. I know she will be homesick and we could still return to the PI occasionally. I would also like my stepson to get an education in the states. 

I just don't want to get older in the Philippines.

I remember saying " I want to die before I get old". That was then, this is now. 

[robert k]

4 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

When all is said and done it usually comes down to what kind of life you want. Yes, one can adjust to life in the Philippines and be happy. 

As for me. I do not want to give up the life I have in the states (So Cal) for a restricted life in the PI. We will always have to fight inflation no matter where we live. 

I can hardly wait for my wife to decide to come live with me in my home here. There is so much that I can show her that she has never seen or experienced. She wants to go to New York of all places. We can do that.  I have a sister in New Jersey. I have family all over the states. They are all anxious to meet her. I know she will be homesick and we could still return to the PI occasionally. I would also like my stepson to get an education in the states. 

I just don't want to get older in the Philippines.

I remember saying " I want to die before I get old". That was then, this is now. 

Take your wife anywhere and tell her it's new York! How would she know? Just kidding.

[Gratefuled]

18 hours ago, robert k said:

Take your wife anywhere and tell her it's new York! How would she know? Just kidding.

Right, but then the never ending questions would start up. I've never been to New York and never wanted to but it would be an experience for me as well. I loved Washington D.C. and Arlington W. Va. and all the sights there. I think she just might enjoy that better. It will all have to wait a while. 

[davewe]

re: food costs

I would agree that overall, unless you are careful, you might not save much on food. Food in the US is relatively cheap, as long as you want to eat American food. Of course when we go to the Asian stores and get Filipino brands for my wife it ain't that cheap.

We just got back from a vacation to PI. As always the foods that Janet misses are cheap foods: street carts with grilled chicken intestines - that sort of thing. And of course she eats mangoes constantly. Granted she complained that the price (80-90/kilo) is way up. But in our home town in the US good yellow mangoes barely exist for any price. When we move to PI next year it sure isn't in order to eat Australian steaks :)

I am an easy eater and will eat most anything and don't obsess over the brands. Basically I have a cheap pallet; I actually like fast food burgers. Like everyone there are a few things I will try to find - a decent pizza, good bread. And I will be willing to pay a bit extra for those few items. But mostly I will be easy, my wife will eat well (she's a picky eater in the US).

The one area where we certainly spend bigger money in the US and expect to save in PI is restaurants. It's our treat to ourselves and we end up going once or twice a week. Even then we are not fancy restaurateurs, but still it's hard with tip to spend under $40 for 2.

Having just spend a week in Dumaguete we found a variety of nice restaurants. Only one place was in my view overpriced; everywhere else was quite reasonable and tasty. Of course as long as I drown it with a San Mig, it's all tasty to me.

So I guess once again I think it all comes down to what kind of person you are. I expect we will save a few dollars on groceries and maybe more than a few on restaurants. 

 

[mogo51]

On 4/28/2016 at 2:58 PM, Sander Martin said:

I mostly eat meat (chicken/pork), vegetables (mostly potsto, beetroot and carrots) and dairy products. Meat is cheap here, but the vegetables not so. Dairy is super expensive.

Somebody who likes fish and rice would say its really cheap here. We are all different and its hard to say if living here is cheap or expensive. Depends on the person.

Hi Sander,

Met with the lads yesterday, great time had by all.  

Your dear fiancee told us you hardly ever eat veges, so you should be ok! haha

[Sander Martin]

48 minutes ago, mogo51 said:

Hi Sander,

Met with the lads yesterday, great time had by all.  

Your dear fiancee told us you hardly ever eat veges, so you should be ok! haha

Shes the one that hardly eats any (except for french fries). Filipinos and me have a different understanding of vegetables. I dont consider tree leaves vegetables like they do :D.