Retirement

[RBM]

18 hours ago, Guy F. said:

More good advice. I won't drive in Cebu either. In Bohol I won't drive late at night unless I absolutely must.

Interesting comments here, for myself no issues at all driving Cebu. having lived there a few years guess helps. Bacolod is pretty much as bad as it gets, the me me situation goes to a very high level. My only rule here is almost no night driving where its worse.

Now with the phasing in of the new min buses and not renewing the rego on these horrible old dilapidated smokey jeeps its improving a little. 

[BrettGC]

10 minutes ago, RBM said:

Interesting comments here, for myself no issues at all driving Cebu. having lived there a few years guess helps. Bacolod is pretty much as bad as it gets, the me me situation goes to a very high level. My only rule here is almost no night driving where its worse.

Now with the phasing in of the new min buses and not renewing the rego on these horrible old dilapidated smokey jeeps its improving a little. 

Are there still trikes in Bacolod?  They're still in Dumaguete but Governor Teves is talking about phasing them out next year.  They're probably the biggest hazard on the roads in Dumaguete, completely oblivious to anything going on around them, they'll even look at you approaching and still pull out...

[RBM]

32 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

Are there still trikes in Bacolod?  They're still in Dumaguete but Governor Teves is talking about phasing them out next year.  They're probably the biggest hazard on the roads in Dumaguete, completely oblivious to anything going on around them, they'll even look at you approaching and still pull out...

The trikes in Bacolod are few compared to Dumaguete, its the crazy old jeepneys that create most accidents.  Also like many cities here the entitlement attitude.

I was last in Dumaguete a year ago, thought traffic vastly improved since few years before, although the number of motor cycles has increased, crazy.

[Guy F.]

8 hours ago, BrettGC said:

Are there still trikes in Bacolod?  They're still in Dumaguete but Governor Teves is talking about phasing them out next year.  They're probably the biggest hazard on the roads in Dumaguete, completely oblivious to anything going on around them, they'll even look at you approaching and still pull out...

I thought the rule of thumb to be "the larger vehicle has the right of way."

[BrettGC]

3 minutes ago, Guy F. said:

I thought the rule of thumb to be "the larger vehicle has the right of way."

Right ow way.. interesting concept to Filipinos.

[RBM]

13 hours ago, Guy F. said:

I thought the rule of thumb to be "the larger vehicle has the right of way."

That is my understanding in Bacolod without doubt.

[Onemore52]

13 hours ago, BrettGC said:

Right ow way.. interesting concept to Filipinos.

No such thing Brett. I have said before road signs in the Philippines are a waste of paint.

[Sheriff2144]

Thank you all so much for your replies. It is very much appreciated.

Yes, we are planning a trip to Philippines as we have done with the other countries we have looked at to get a better idea. 

Culture shock --- well, I'm sure it happens and can be overcome with time with commitment to a new country and lifestyle.

Poverty, Beggars etc. Have seen the good and bad of China, Thailand, Bali, and Malaysian areas, so nothing new to us there.

Have watched a lot of YouTube to get a snippet of an idea as where to start.  IloIlo seems like that might be the first starting point, but Guihulngan might have to be explore now as well.

Health Care --- Well, we are both fairly healthy so far but I guess as we get older like we all do, Health care becomes more of a priority. Can I ask what private health care plans people have, Local? Inernational? etc and roughly the cost. I have one some online quotes here and have ranged between 8k to 10k per year for both my wife and myself.

Again, thank you to all in advance for any answers. 

[hk blues]

44 minutes ago, Sheriff2144 said:

Thank you all so much for your replies. It is very much appreciated.

Yes, we are planning a trip to Philippines as we have done with the other countries we have looked at to get a better idea. 

Culture shock --- well, I'm sure it happens and can be overcome with time with commitment to a new country and lifestyle.

Poverty, Beggars etc. Have seen the good and bad of China, Thailand, Bali, and Malaysian areas, so nothing new to us there.

Have watched a lot of YouTube to get a snippet of an idea as where to start.  IloIlo seems like that might be the first starting point, but Guihulngan might have to be explore now as well.

Health Care --- Well, we are both fairly healthy so far but I guess as we get older like we all do, Health care becomes more of a priority. Can I ask what private health care plans people have, Local? Inernational? etc and roughly the cost. I have one some online quotes here and have ranged between 8k to 10k per year for both my wife and myself.

Again, thank you to all in advance for any answers. 

I'm in Iloilo so feel free to message me if you have any specific questions that I may be able to answer.

[BrettGC]

2 hours ago, Sheriff2144 said:

Thank you all so much for your replies. It is very much appreciated.

Yes, we are planning a trip to Philippines as we have done with the other countries we have looked at to get a better idea. 

Culture shock --- well, I'm sure it happens and can be overcome with time with commitment to a new country and lifestyle.

Poverty, Beggars etc. Have seen the good and bad of China, Thailand, Bali, and Malaysian areas, so nothing new to us there.

Have watched a lot of YouTube to get a snippet of an idea as where to start.  IloIlo seems like that might be the first starting point, but Guihulngan might have to be explore now as well.

Health Care --- Well, we are both fairly healthy so far but I guess as we get older like we all do, Health care becomes more of a priority. Can I ask what private health care plans people have, Local? Inernational? etc and roughly the cost. I have one some online quotes here and have ranged between 8k to 10k per year for both my wife and myself.

Again, thank you to all in advance for any answers. 

I'm in Guihulngan and I really like it but wouldn't recommend it for a first timer, probably an option if you really love other areas of Negros as it's central and worth looking at a later stage in the process.  It's relatively isolated and the shopping options are few and only get marginally better within an hour's drive radius, rental options are limited and mainly geared towards the local population - we own our own home here.  On the upside, very friendly people, negligible traffic and everything, even fuel, is cheaper than the larger population centres.  This may be a plus or minus for you, there's relatively few expats, only 3 in town so far

Another unfortunate turn of events is that the NPA - National Peoples Army, the military wing of the Philippine communist party - has been very active recently and there's been some skirmishes between them and the Philippine National Police (PNP).  Whilst they historically don't tend to target foreigners and mainly concentrate on local officials and PNP, there have been incidents in the past such as kidnappings etc. Yes, this is mainly happening "over the mountain" and closer to Bacolod than here, "over the mountain" is only an hour away and in the past they have been active here.  Am I concerned?  A little of course, but this possibility was weighed up when we made the decision to move out of Dumaguete for the "quiet" life.  I'm not quite at the point of wearing my Che Guevara t-shirt.... Yet .

Just for info, if you or your wife have done any military service in Australia, you qualify for the cheaper SRRV.  I think it reduces the deposit amount from $10,000US to $1500US.  

Anyway, drop me a PM if you want my take on it here, I've been visiting since 1990 for work (navy) and holidays and living here since January.  Like you, I'm only mid-50's as well and was fortunate enough to retire early.  

Edited October 15, 2022 by BrettGC