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

[phillo123]

53 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

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. 

 

 

Can you give some examples of places I should look for "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."

[Old55]

8 minutes ago, phillo123 said:

Can you give some examples of places I should look for "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."

I'm not Brett but will add this important information. The real estate market in Philippines is nothing like here in the States or what you have in Australia. There is no way to gauge the market it's very secretive and fraud is common. You will be renting but there are few or no reliable online showcases for homes renting or for sale. The prices listed are hugely inflated hoping a rich foreigner will buy over market value. Whatever market value is because no one I've ever met knows. We have looked at homes and condos online in the past and found it lacking to say the least. 

[hk blues]

45 minutes ago, Old55 said:

I'm not Brett but will add this important information. The real estate market in Philippines is nothing like here in the States or what you have in Australia. There is no way to gauge the market it's very secretive and fraud is common. You will be renting but there are few or no reliable online showcases for homes renting or for sale. The prices listed are hugely inflated hoping a rich foreigner will buy over market value. Whatever market value is because no one I've ever met knows. We have looked at homes and condos online in the past and found it lacking to say the least. 

Yep.  I was one of those dumbass foreigners who relied on the online ads (then again how would I know?) - I ended up renting a place for 2.5 times the "real" price.  It was only for 3 months and only cost me an extra $500 in total so a lesson learned at a not too high cost.  

I'm always amused/amazed at the fact that people here think they can sell their 6-year old unit for the same/more than the new model when supply overstrips demand considerably.  The same applies to other stuff here to, they genuinely don't seem to understand the concept of depreciation WHEN SELLING!

 

[phillo123]

Thanks guys, 

 

So suggestions of places with 

- Beachfront or close to, or

- Condo with amazing pool (swim up bar a bonus, although maybe I should just pay a bartender lmao.

- Closeish to amenities

- Closeish to amazing natural beauty, waterfalls etc

- Closeish to great winding roads a bonus (or a racetrack?)

- Some form of international school in the area

 

Suggestions would be amazing! 

Some places so far,

- Nearish Cebu City

- Boracay?

 

[Clermont]

15 minutes ago, hk blues said:

I'm always amused/amazed at the fact that people here think they can sell their 6-year old unit for the same/more than the new model when supply overstrips demand considerably.  The same applies to other stuff here to, they genuinely don't seem to understand the concept of depreciation WHEN SELLING!

I'll add a little to this, banks are one of the worst, Foreclosed houses, they want the original price plus extra from when it was first built, they've pocketed the deposit plus monthly payments for say 5/6 years. The building is stripped of interior fittings, tiles broken, walls marked, doors & windows beggared, plus no ceiling. And the agents smiling face told me, " You can repair it " 50% of asking price and we started talking turkey, be careful they have more moves than a swiss watch with their add on's, they own it once it's legally foreclosed so all taxes and fees are their problem. Read buying a Foreclosed house of a bank and do it through a solicitor, plenty of fun buying a house in the Philippines. 

[phillo123]

2 minutes ago, Clermont said:

I'll add a little to this, banks are one of the worst, Foreclosed houses, they want the original price plus extra from when it was first built, they've pocketed the deposit plus monthly payments for say 5/6 years. The building is stripped of interior fittings, tiles broken, walls marked, doors & windows beggared, plus no ceiling. And the agents smiling face told me, " You can repair it " 50% of asking price and we started talking turkey, be careful they have more moves than a swiss watch with their add on's, they own it once it's legally foreclosed so all taxes and fees are their problem. Read buying a Foreclosed house of a bank and do it through a solicitor, plenty of fun buying a house in the Philippines. 

Good info thank you. Personally I'll stick to renting for at least a few years. 

[Snowy79]

2 hours ago, phillo123 said:

Thanks guys, 

 

So suggestions of places with 

- Beachfront or close to, or

- Condo with amazing pool (swim up bar a bonus, although maybe I should just pay a bartender lmao.

- Closeish to amenities

- Closeish to amazing natural beauty, waterfalls etc

- Closeish to great winding roads a bonus (or a racetrack?)

- Some form of international school in the area

 

Suggestions would be amazing! 

Some places so far,

- Nearish Cebu City

- Boracay?

 

I'm Boracay based and live a good life spending about 60k peso ($1,250) per month on two adults but no rent as I own my condo. For that I get a 64sqm condo with a decent balcony, two pools, jacuzzi, great views and one of the best beaches in the World with plenty of amenities and access to a Western lifestyle. 

For 40k to 50k peso ($1k ish) you could get a fantastic modern apartment with pool, gym, views etc 150 sqm plus. It's up to you then how much you want to spend on food etc and for the kid there is a European School. The added bonus of an immigration office on the island, airport, ferry port etc and if you want to escape it's 15 mins to get off the island then hundreds of miles of uncongested roads. Plenty of waterfalls etc on the main land. 

[hk blues]

2 hours ago, Clermont said:

I'll add a little to this, banks are one of the worst, Foreclosed houses, they want the original price plus extra from when it was first built, they've pocketed the deposit plus monthly payments for say 5/6 years. The building is stripped of interior fittings, tiles broken, walls marked, doors & windows beggared, plus no ceiling. And the agents smiling face told me, " You can repair it " 50% of asking price and we started talking turkey, be careful they have more moves than a swiss watch with their add on's, they own it once it's legally foreclosed so all taxes and fees are their problem. Read buying a Foreclosed house of a bank and do it through a solicitor, plenty of fun buying a house in the Philippines. 

We have a few such properties in our area, including one opposite. We toyed with the idea of buying but passed on it.  I've never seen anybody look at it other than a contractor a couple of weeks ago who gave it a quick check (he also left the door unlocked!)

[Shady]

18 hours ago, phillo123 said:

So suggestions of places with 

- Beachfront or close to, or

- Condo with amazing pool (swim up bar a bonus, although maybe I should just pay a bartender lmao.

- Closeish to amenities

- Closeish to amazing natural beauty, waterfalls etc

- Closeish to great winding roads a bonus (or a racetrack?)

- Some form of international school in the area

 

Start here: https://queencitycebu.com/list-here-are-the-best-international-schools-in-cebu/

None of those are near anything nature-related on your list, Cebu City is highly urbanized, amenities and condos with pools are everywhere.  Your best option is the massive Maria Luisa subdivision, the closest thing to natural beauty you can find anywhere in or around the city, leading up in the hills, all the windy roads you want, not far from all the international schools including the best (CIS), and there are many houses with pools available to rent.

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 5/27/2021 at 10:01 AM, phillo123 said:

I'm permanently incapacitated with a pension. Not rich, especially by Australian Standards, just median income.

Have you checked your entitlements if living overseas depending on a pension?