Western style living conditions?

[Turbo]

Considering the Pandemic. The immediate future as far as travel is concerned. In the unknown future I plan on investigating the PI for a retirement destination. I do have some general questions about, Where is if best locations to consider living and Keeping some semblance of a western living condition? I am not going to be much limited financially, But of course would like convenience as far as health care and daily living activities. I am 60 years old and single, ready to retire. 

While I know that Boots on the ground is the best method. That is not in the cards currently. So I hope you all can help in narrowing my research.  This pandemic has given some us time to plan better instead of rolling the dice.  

[Old55]

Welcome to the forum Turbo. 

We can't predict when travel to Philippines will open for someone like yourself perhaps late summer early fall? For sure you would want to be vaccinated and in reasonable health. 

As you said "boots on the ground is the best method". Perhaps you could share some more general information on what you may be looking for? High speed internet? Urban environment with Western amenity's? Or rural laid back beach type environment. Hospitals are an issue. There are some reasonable Hospitals in Philippines but most are in major cities. If you were to have a heart attack downtown Cebu City or Manila even though a good hospital is nearby getting there could take an hour or hours. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

Some members have mentioned Subic as somewhat western liiving conditions, except for the dang monkeys. 

[Mike J]

Welcome Turbo.  If western style living conditions and amenities are high on your list you would want to start your search in the larger cities.    Manilla and surrounding area, Cebu City, Davao, etc.   The challenge you face in the larger cities is pollution, noise, traffic, etc.   Another consideration to consider is if the area is typically hit by typhoons which are common here.  You might want to check out this link from Wikipedia, it lists the 20 or so largest cites in the Phillipines.  You can then research info on each one and start making a "short list" of potential sites.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Largest_cities_of_the_Philippines

 

[manofthecoldland]

1 hour ago, Turbo said:

I am not going to be much limited financially, But of course would like convenience as far as health care and daily living activities. I am 60 years old and single, ready to retire. 

For any physically sound man of your age, w/o the need for tight budgeting, you might be better off focusing on what sort of activities you want to build into your future lifestyle.  The Philippines has a lot of limitations when it comes to providing the variety and number of hobbies and activities that most Americans turn to in their retirement.

If you're coming here single, with undeclared intentions re finding a 'relationship' of some type, ignore the above paragraph, since that will occupy all of your time, directly or indirectly.    

[Snowy79]

Where you live I think could also affect whether you need a hospital more. Personally if I lived in a city with the traffic, pollution, day time activities limited to walking around malls I'd be driven crazy. 

I'm biased towards Boracay as it has the Western facilities that I need but with the advantage of no traffic, stunning beaches and a great ex pat community if you need that. If you want peace and quiet but with great views it has that also. 

An airport less than 15 mins away and another International Airport about 2 1/2hrs away.  A ferry port on your doorstep. Satellite immigration office on the island, Western delis and a few medical centre's and two small hospitals. The main hospitals are about 2 1/2hrs away. The similar time it could take you to get to a hospital in a city during heavy traffic. 

[scott h]

Welcome!

3 hours ago, Turbo said:

daily living activities

To me this is the key phrase of your question. If you could be more specific on what you mean (hobbies? interests?), we have members all over the country so you will get a lot of good input. 

In the mean time, as a refugee from California myself let me make some examples.

Metro Manila is like Los Angeles, lots of people, lots of traffic, pretty bad pollution but also has the most in amenities (depending on your interests. Lots of Malls, museums, casinos, airport, best hospitals, restaurants and the like.

Baguio is like Frisco (without fisherman's wharf lol) Picturesqe, small town feel, lots of culture, temperatures are cooler, but still crowded for its size and seems secluded from the rest of the country, and like frisco, only one way in and out.

Subic bay is like San Diego (my hometown ), on the coast and harbor, pretty well developed, most major malls, golfing, water sports, nice beaches nearby, but considered to be a bit of a backwater

Boracay is like palm springs, (but has one of the best beaches in world) touristy, expensive (in comparison) and crowded during the season. 

Tagaytay is like Big Bear, or even Lake Tahoe, again touristy, crowded on weekends or holidays, not as expensive as palm springs but more than most areas. Far away from high quality health care.

So there is a wide variety here. A lot depends on what your interests are 

[Yeochief]

Join as many face book groups about the Philippines that you can find.  Learn about Philippines Immigration.  What kind of budget are you on?  Some live on less than $1,000 a month and some have unlimited budget.  Research this site, a lot of good information.  

 

[GeoffH]

43 minutes ago, scott h said:

So there is a wide variety here. A lot depends on what your interests are 

I geuss that makes Mindanao the Philippines Mexico... interesting place with some big cities but not everywhere is safe for westeners 

[scott h]

1 minute ago, GeoffH said:

Mindanao the Philippines Mexico

coffee through the nose  thanks Geoff,,,I will get you for that one LOLOLOL