Questions about Davao

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Dr. Shiva
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Posted

Due some changes in the last few weeks I'll advance some planning. 

Our primary choosen future destination will be Davao City.

Because the city is so big I divided it into 6 sectors for easier researches:

1. Toril, Puan, Bago, Catalunan, Mintal
2. Matina, Ma-a, Bangkal, Ecoland
3. CBD (Central Business District), Downtown, Bajada, Lanang, Agdao, Obrero
4. Sasa, Buhangin South/Southeast (from Airport)
5. Buhangin Proper, Buhangin North (from Airport), Cabantian, Tigatto
6. Remaining areas

Toril would be nice with the Eden area but the decent hospitals are too far away and nearly no public transport available  at Eden. This is generally an issue with the west part (sector 1 and 2) of the city. Most decent hospitals are found in the sector 3. This marks the sector 3 as given.  Some activities like badminton are also found in sector 3. A branch of our church is found in Cabantian (sector 5). With the burning in the NCCC mall in Ma-a that area was falling off the list.  In the Victoria Plaza mall (sector 3) are some meetings of german speaking expats. Sector 5 (Buhangin Proper and Cabantian) will get 3 malls in the future. Now I did checked if all locations can be reached with just one jeepney ride. Yes it is possible as long being staying/living in sector 3 or 5. Sector 4 is a sort of backup if not finding anything in sector 3 or 5.

I was the last time 9 years ago in Davao city and since that time many things changed in that city.

Questions:

1. Are there decent fitness centers available in sector 3 or 5?
2. Possibility to swim in sector 3 or 5?
3. Possibility to play chess in Davao?
4. Are the jeepneys to Cabantian or Tigatto running 24/7?
4a. Are the Buhangin jeepneys running to Buhangin Proper and Buhangin Public Market
4b. Costs of jeepneys from Cabantian to CBD and actual price rates of jeepneys generally.
5. Reliability of the utilities in sector 3 and 5?
6. Availability of Fibr, Cable or ADSL internet in sector 5? I assume, most areas in sector 3 will have at least one of these available.
7. How bad is the traffic in the city?
 

 

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bastonjock
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I found the traffic to be okay in davao ,don't know about the rest of your questions 

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Dr. Shiva
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Posted

Thanks for the responds. 

Some responses did I got on another forum.

Question 1 needs more assistance. The fitness center should be equipped with a rowing training machine in addition of ergometers and other training machines. Just ergometers and treadmills are too less. 

To 2 and 3 it seems only Samal is good for take a swim. Found a chess club on Google maps but I'm not sure if it is really existing there.

To 4 got the response about 24/7/365 but no response on 4a and 4b.

To 5 the utilities are quite reliable and there are rare outages.

To 6 depends on the location. But it seems decent internet is available also in Buhangin.

To 7 I heard the opposite that the traffic is terrible. Especially in the rush hour. Fortunately will Buhangin get soon 4 malls (one already u/c).

 

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PaulB
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Dr.

I think you need to go and have a look.

 

Paul

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Dr. Shiva
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Posted
15 minutes ago, PaulB said:

Dr.

I think you need to go and have a look.

 

Paul

We plan to go there in year 2019.

Davao is a big city therefore it would be nice to get some help.

Available swimming possibilities seems also depending on the subdivision.

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Jollygoodfellow
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Try here for Number 3.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/218092288205678/about/

4b, I think jeepney prices are regulated the same everywhere ?

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PaulB
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7 minutes ago, Dr. Shiva said:

We plan to go there in year 2019.

Davao is a big city therefore it would be nice to get some help.

Available swimming possibilities seems also depending on the subdivision.

Dr.

Problem is my standards might not meet yours. if you are going to live there and need such information, because it is so important you, you should do the leg work.

You would not buy a car without test-driving it I am sure.

The Philippines is all about being there, making the decisions, some right, some wrong, but still going on because in your heart it is where you want to be. You have been bitten by the Philippine bug and it has taken over your heart, body and soul.

Deep I know but that is how i feel. It is how I get up every day, go to work, and I am sure there are many more bitten expats out there too.

Just saying.

Paul

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Dr. Shiva
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11 minutes ago, PaulB said:

You would not buy a car without test-driving it I am sure.

Correct. Check and test before buy. Because a mistake can get enormous expensive.

On the driving case, why I want to check for available public transportation near of a possible living location. When I would be familiar to the city then I can get onto driving on my own. Public transportation is also a sort of backup if the car gets broken down.

 

23 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Try here for Number 3.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/218092288205678/about/

4b, I think jeepney prices are regulated the same everywhere ?

Thanks a lot for the Chess link.

I know that the jeepney prices are regulated but I was not able to find actual jeepney prices fare matrixes especially for the CBD - Cabantian route.

We plan not to move in the next 8 years due our daughter should finish the school and apprenticeship in Switzerland. But due the sick increasements in the real estate prices we will probably buy something next year.

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Dr. Shiva
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Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

So you are just dreaming with all your questions?

I ask because it should be obvious to all worldly men that any place will change in 8 years and in some cases will change drastically so all the answers you get now may be different in 8 years.

Not that there is any harm in dreaming so long as we know that is what you are on about, but some of the more helpful sorts will actually get on their motorbikes and go check out something for a fellow member.  Bit of a waste of time if that is all you are doing . .  wasting time I mean.

In general I would agree but see below.

It is the plan to move in 8 years because of our daughter. But I'm forced to sell our house in Switzerland in this year. Myself being handicapped and the goverment allowance for an apartment is very low. It is very difficult to find a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment with that low amount. And my daughter needs special aid in the school. That aid is only available in few cities and towns, which makes the searching for an apartment even more difficult. A possible result can be that we would have still to move in this or next year to the Philippines. Therefore it is not a dreaming but a preparation of a backup solution if everything else fails. 

Something similar happened to another forum member in a german philippine forum. He planned to move in six years so that his daughter can finish school and apprenticeship in Switzerland. But then his accident insurance did cut his daily allowance by 3/4 after changing it into a pension. Due his pension is not counted as a disability pension he was not entitled to get additional pensions and aids. Result was that he moved with his family the last February this year to the Philippines.

Edited by Dr. Shiva
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