High budget family expat living - What's it like?

[Snowy79]

As an add on one thing to be wary of is they smell money here. As a crusty 56yr old even I have had my fair share of local women trying to ruin my relationships and it will affect your wife. 

A guy in his 30s with your money will be like a rockstar, they will start rumours, friend your wife to find her weaknesses and play on it. Flirt and generally play on hoping you and your wife split up. Some of the women are stunning and have nothing to lose, it's not like back home where most women are self sufficient, here they can win the lottery by catching a wealthy Westerner.  

[graham59]

If you have no existing family connections here, then by all means come and have a holiday, but I can think of much better places to speed around on your big motorbike and distribute your big budget.

Shouldn't be a problem carrying the 3 year-old on your fuel tank here though.  

[OnMyWay]

10 minutes ago, graham59 said:

Shouldn't be a problem carrying the 3 year-old on your fuel tank here though

And 3-4 neighbor kids too!  

[phillo123]

Thanks for the honest advice everyone! 

 

Boots on the ground will be a must. 

 

My wife is Australian also. Visas not really an issue I don't think, we will be happy enough to do visa runs even out of Thailand or an elite Visa etc and I guess Philippines is even easier to just extend. 

 

Ok, valid points taken re: riding. I'm thinking maybe a supermotard would be more appropriate! I've had a ZX6R in Australia for years and now have an all electric Sur-Ron dirtbike.

 

@graham59 what would be a much better place to speed around and enjoy life?

@Snowy79 Thanks for the advice. Yes it will be a challenge wherever we move to I guess. I think having a smoking hot maid would be a no-no. 

 

Thank you all again, and if you have any suggestions on the sorts of rental places I should be looking at let me know. I have money but spending 100,000 PHP on a 1 bedroom condo in Cebu city is crazy. I can afford it but it would want to be an amazing place with incredible views or right on a beach and modern for that price...

[graham59]

Wish I was rich. 

.

 

[Shady]

18 hours ago, phillo123 said:

At first I was really focussed on Thailand because I've enjoyed my time there in the past, but their import tarrifs on most motorbikes and cars puts me off (I love fast bikes and cars)

PH is equally pricey

 

18 hours ago, phillo123 said:

Are the International schools decent? Especially in Cebu? I know in Thailand they were going to cost me something like USD $15-20k a year, which completely negates the whole lifestyle savings of SE Asia when I can school for free in Australia. 

Here again PH is equally pricey for the two accredited International schools (USA and UK) in Cebu. There are a few cheaper schools though that are decent for foreign students, nothing great though.

The only decent beaches in the city are private, so you'd need to rent a condo in Mactan, which is filled with Chinese and Koreans.

If you want a shared pool you can a rent a decent condo anywhere or pay a lot more and rent a private house in a compound.

So rent will be a minimum of $12000 a year, double that for something really nice.

Maid or nanny will be around $3000 per year.

[phillo123]

20 minutes ago, graham59 said:

Wish I was rich. 

.

 

I'm permanently incapacitated with a pension. Not rich, especially by Australian Standards, just median income. Of course by SEA standards, it's a bit different. One of the reasons for moving. 

[Freebie]

Ive ridden motorbikes in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and China.....and in all cases you need to have eyes in front, at sides at back.

 

Ive also ridden motorbikes in Guimaras, Southern Leyte, Biliran and Norther Leyte, , Southern CEbu adn Moalboal, Bantayan, Siquijor, Dumaguete, Pagudpud and Northern Luzon and  probably a few other places... and as always eyes are needed everywhere. Other drivers can and  do incredibly stupid things.

Came off a bike in Puerto Galera when a combination of black out, rain on road, giant pothole and two dogs who ran into road as I was approaching all combined to throw me off. Lost a lot of skin and ended up paying P7500 for a lot of antiseptic, few stitches  and a lot of bandages. Anything can happen anytime on the roads here and elsewhere in Asia.

Police in most places in Philippines are polite and courteous to a foreign rider and ( yes weve had this licence  discussion before lol ) sometimes will ask for licence etc but mostly in the provinces they leave a non filipino bike rider alone .

A fast motorbike though will attract lots of problems both from other drivers who may want to race, and from trike drivers buses etc who have no idea about "normal " road rules .

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, phillo123 said:

I'm permanently incapacitated with a pension. Not rich, especially by Australian Standards, just median income. Of course by SEA standards, it's a bit different. One of the reasons for moving. 

Just a word of caution - Yes, the Philippine scan be as cheap as chips if you are living the local life. Based on what you've already posted, that's not the plan.  The cost of "luxury" living here is at least as expensive, if not more, than you may be used to in Australia.  I say luxury meaning by local standards, normal by Western standards,  You can have a comfortable life here on your budget, but you won't be living like a rockstar sipping cocktails at the country club next to your 5-star condo building while the army of staff look after your kid and the apartment.

Also, as well as income you'll need a significant cash reserve to cover emergencies.  How much?  How long is a piece of string?  Just be aware you may need to access significant funds quickly 

I wonder if you couldn't have a similar(ish) life in Oz for about the same cost with none of the challenges living abroad, and particularly the Philippines, gives?  I like my life here, but I'm a family man living a normal life with modest tastes and a "normal income". 

More experienced than me have chipped in - boots on the ground is the only advice you should listen to.

[BrettGC]

I'm a Ducati sports bike rider and I used to race 2-stroke Aprillas (125cc weekend club racing) so no lack of experience but unless you're going to stick to the freeways in Luzon (boring) I'd give the sports bike idea a miss for all the reasons others have mentioned, plus trying to track some one's 3rd party insurance for a non-at fault (on your part) accident would be nigh on impossible if they wanted it to be.. That's if they have insurance at all; remember, this is the country where it's difficult to get insurance on a rental car. 

@GeoffH's suggestion of a cruiser is a good one, or even a muscle style v-twin (Monster is an example) as a compromise.  Comfortable cruising and power/torque if and when you need it.  

When I finally arrive, my budget will be less than yours but not significantly so.  I expect to live a blended western/Filipino lifestyle in a major provincial city (Dumaguete) very comfortably.  The kicker is we'll own our residence and won't be paying for a private school as our respective kids are now adults and pretty much self-sufficient (well as much as any 20-somethings are self-sufficient these days ) so our costs will be significantly less.  Are you tied to the idea of Cebu for anything other than schools?  Depending on the age of your daughter, there's some pretty good private schools for younger children in most of the capital cities but with significantly lower overall cost of living. 

You can find the beach frontage just about in any province for a lot less than Cebu with similar amenities close by without the pollution and traffic - traffic is subjective depending on your norm.   

Anyway, just some thoughts from someone who's spent a lot of time there but has yet to spend longer than 6 months in one go. 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2021 by BrettGC