Thinking of moving to Baguio area from the US

[Dave70]

Lucban Quezon and Palawan were recommended but not by someone that has ever been there. Dad was at Subic, USN, but that was many many decades ago

[manofthecoldland]

Re; Baguio.   I went there twice, about 12-14 years ago and we took in the sights. It was something different and the trips up and down the mountain were quite picturesque. I personally would not live there, but you might want to try for a few months. I was excited at first because they had a publicI library downtown, but after I surrendered my US drivers license to gain entry (they hold one of your IDs hostage at the desk) and discovered that all their books were 20-40 years old, and mostly of little use or interest to anyone, we left. Not a borrowing library.

The parks and lookouts were heavily commercialized. I bought a cap and some stenciled backscrathers. The wood carving places were interesting, but they seemed to have a fixed set of types for sale.  The massive wooden furniture places were quite interesting, but the massive, ultra heavy styles were for the wealthy clientele who wanted to exhibit their wealth in very large homes.... it seemed to me. Gave the old US camp a walkabout. OK, but nothing special. The park with the colorful ponies (dyed manes, etc.)for riding was pretty. I would never subject one to my larger, non-Pinoy weight but smaller people might.  At the No. 1 lookout point, I did pay to do a photo op with my Pinay in the saddle of a painted pony, though. 

The city is crammed into a mountain hollow, ridges, etc. There are leveled ridge developments outside the city.

No trikes. Only taxis and diesel jeepneys when we were there because of the steep grades. Almost impossible to get a taxi when it was raining..... which is often.

Nice for a visit.  My expat friend was living/renting in San Fernando, La Union for a while at the time of our first visit. Later he took his GF and her 3 kids to Baguio to live briefly while he taught English to Korean kids for the summer season. He later moved to Bacolod and then Odiongan on Tablas Island.... which he liked well enough to stay for 10 years.

I would recommend you watch the various Youtube vids on line re Baguio and read all the comments. Then visit for awhile before making any decisions, of course.  Its extremely different from the coastal PI lifestyles. You still get sweated up if you walk a kilometer.... at least I did, despite all the tree shade. 

Great mall with vista views from the balconies.  I found it to be too crowded for my taste, and it is also a top tourist draw if you enjoy living in such places. 

[OnMyWay]

Welcome to the forum!  I have spent a lot of time in Baguio but live in Subic.  My wife went to university there and has a lot of family there, so we used to visit 2-3 times a year.  Now we have not been in over a year due to Covid.

I considered living there, but ruled it out because, among other things, it was too far from an airport, and I planned to travel a lot.  When I moved here in 2012, there was no expressway from Angeles up towards Baguio.  A long dangerous journey on National Hwy.  Then they extended the SCTEX to Tarlac and built the TPLEX from Tarlac to almost the bottom of the mountain.  Some more should be opened soon.  Here are some pros and cons.

Pros

The famous weather.  Not only cool but much drier than the lowlands.

The new expressway.  Very fast and convenient.

Many good universities that even attract foreign students.

Some good hospitals and doctors

Hot springs.  Within an hour or so in a few directions, you can find some nice hot springs resorts.

Good int'l cuisine.  This is speculation because I have never actually been to them, but they have a lot

Cons

The new expressway.  Pre-covid, Baguio was flooded with visitors who are able to quickly travel from NCR and Luzon.  The traffic in the city has been very bad and there is constant road construction, trying to keep up.

Earthquakes.  A huge one in 1990.  Earthquakes or the threat of them doesn't bother me much, but.....

Over building.  They continue to forget about earthquakes and many 3-4-5 story residential buildings are pilee all over the hills.  If they have another big one, it will be ugly.

Pools.  Not many.  It is too cold.

Crowds.  It gets really bad on weekends and holidays.  I have never seen the Flower Festival due to not wanting to brave the crowds.  Many times we have a hard time finding seating in restos.

Too hilly for some people.  Unless you are a well conditioned athlete, you can cross off running and biking in most areas.

[manofthecoldland]

Great update, Onmyway !   

I'm glad you mentioned their Great Earthquake. I remember us meeting a Pinay who lost a young sister to it, and was still emotionally affected by the tragedy 12 or 13 years later. The city was devastated at the time and by the time I got to visit, I was amazed at so much 'newness' due to all the reconstruction. Reminded me of arriving in Anchorage, Alaska in 1969, 5 years after its Great Quake. 

I'd have to look at the seasonal humidity charts, since it is a different climatic type. Since you mentioned that it is drier, it has me wondering. Unfortunately, on one several day stay we experienced 3 'bagyo's in a row, so we stayed put in the room since my asawa wanted to stay warm under the blankets and not venture out. No heaters in our hotel rooms.  When the CR's hot water shower unit failed, the staff gave us access to a second room for hot showering after my wife's demands. Only time we ever experienced cold damp in the PI was on our trips there. 

Winter weather there is very rainy and foggy it seemed to us at the time, despite the sunnier morns. If you lived there, I assume you'd need a heavier wardrobe to stay comfortable.

What do you think Onmyway ? Does the family there dress differently than in the lowlands ?

[fred]

We went up there about 3 months before the earthquake.. I loved the place so much back then that we bought a 135 sq mt lot!! 900 Peso per sqr mtr !! I think we over paid!
At that time it was really just a great cool down,summer get away from the sweltering Manila temps.
On the first night I couldn't believe that I was in the P.I and didn't even need an electric fan.
We still own that land to this day but later visits proved a little disappointing due to the huge population numbers since.
It`s still nice to go up there when we can.. I miss going to the market and buying big punnets of fresh strawberries for example.

Anyone wanna buy a titled lot in Baguio?? lol

Edited March 14, 2021 by fred

[OnMyWay]

2 hours ago, manofthecoldland said:

Great update, Onmyway !   

I'm glad you mentioned their Great Earthquake. I remember us meeting a Pinay who lost a young sister to it, and was still emotionally affected by the tragedy 12 or 13 years later. The city was devastated at the time and by the time I got to visit, I was amazed at so much 'newness' due to all the reconstruction. Reminded me of arriving in Anchorage, Alaska in 1969, 5 years after its Great Quake. 

I'd have to look at the seasonal humidity charts, since it is a different climatic type. Since you mentioned that it is drier, it has me wondering. Unfortunately, on one several day stay we experienced 3 'bagyo's in a row, so we stayed put in the room since my asawa wanted to stay warm under the blankets and not venture out. No heaters in our hotel rooms.  When the CR's hot water shower unit failed, the staff gave us access to a second room for hot showering after my wife's demands. Only time we ever experienced cold damp in the PI was on our trips there. 

Winter weather there is very rainy and foggy it seemed to us at the time, despite the sunnier morns. If you lived there, I assume you'd need a heavier wardrobe to stay comfortable.

What do you think Onmyway ? Does the family there dress differently than in the lowlands ?

You should see all the buildings now.  I would have good confidence that the newer industrial / office / hotels are built to high earthquake standards, but not the thousands of residential buildings.  My BIL, a physical therapist, built their large 4 story apt building very well and I think it is strong, but that is only because I know that the family benefactor, a Swiss civil engineer, designed it and supervised the build.  However, just is his area, there are hundreds of similar buildings that are probably sub-standard.  And my BIL said they never got any permits, so you know how that must go with all the buildings.

Actually, I was going to put a con about the weather, but I deleted it because I didn't think it carried enough weight.  Baguio is in the popular typhoon path that hits the East coast around Aurora / Baler area.  However, they ever had any devastating winds in Baguio, recently.  Their rainy season can be bad, but they still get plenty of sun, unlike Subic, where in a bad year the rainy season can be long and without much sun.  Also, it is rare for them to get any flooding because of the terrain and good drainage.  There is one small area that floods once in a while.  The Baguio airport was permanently closed due to fog related crashes.  Funny thing is, I can't remember being in any significant fog there.

I love the cooler temps and I will snuggle up to a cold concrete wall.  Quite a few higher end houses have fireplaces.  My BILs houses don't have air con or heating.  They just have lots of blankets and dress warm.  Usually it will get down below 10C at night, at times, and this year someone posted 7C, if I recall.  I'm fine with a light/medium jacket and my typical shorts, but you would think it was Mt. Everest, looking at the Filipinos.  My SIL is famous for looking like an Eskimo all day long!

I thought of another pro, for some.  Unsafe and insane fireworks on New Years!  We have been there for New Years several times, and they go crazy!

Another con mentioned was air pollution, and I think that varies a lot by area, most of the time.  Except for New Years fireworks smoke, I don't recall feeling like the air was bad, and I have mild asthma.  With all the traffic, they may be having some air pollution events.  Some areas may experience inversions where the air pollution gets trapped at ground level for a day or two.  I seem to recall that Baguio holds their jeeps to very high emissions standards, and I don't recall seeing a lot of belchers.  There is a steep hill near the family complex and I don't recall seeing any smoke from the jeeps on the hill.

Another pro for me, and those who like to drive, is being able to get out of the city in 10 minutes and be on a wide open, beautiful, mountain road that is well maintained.  For a nice drive, head East and go all the way to the Mt. Pulag area.  Great day trip and there are a few scenic cafes along the way.

[graham59]

I live about 40 miles south of Baguio...but not in the mountains.

I found a few pics from one of our more recent day trips there, by bus (mainly of parks and markets) Of course there will be thousands of pics on the internet.  :

.

 

 

[Dave70]

All this input is great! Your pictures are beautiful too. I love cooler weather myself, as long as it is above 40f, I'm usually in shorts and a tank top. From all of y'alls experience,  could a 50 y/o man retire there comfortable but not extravagant if he showed up with 500k usd? Maybe a little more?

[scott h]

3 minutes ago, Dave70 said:

I'm usually in shorts and a tank top.

Well your in luck, I have worn long pants, and sock 3 times in 8 years,,,,2 weddings and 1 birthday. 

5 minutes ago, Dave70 said:

500k usd?

Yes,,,,,,,,,,as long as you remain single,,,,

[Jollygoodfellow]

6 minutes ago, Dave70 said:

All this input is great! Your pictures are beautiful too. I love cooler weather myself, as long as it is above 40f, I'm usually in shorts and a tank top. From all of y'alls experience,  could a 50 y/o man retire there comfortable but not extravagant if he showed up with 500k usd? Maybe a little more?

The lowest temp this year was 48.92 F

Best not to tell anyone your worth. 500k USD is fine for a month or two  Depending on your lifestyle is what counts, years expected to live, cheap existence or lavious. Buy or rent etc. Read up on cost of living and work it out for your situation.