Davao City

[Inspector]

Since my landlord has passed on to meet his PI maker leaving us in a limbo...while adding in the usual begging family, all too familiar here to us foreigners, we have decided to move further away to see if this stops the silly "needs" I never seem to fall for. In the next few months I will be traveling to a few places in the PI, as well as Thailand. First stop...a place many say is the best city in this country. Personally, Cebu City has become mini Manila to me, and while I want some city near by, I would prefer one a bit cleaner, safer and run better. Davao City has this reputation, and I will be traveling there within the next few weeks.I have a few real estate agents taking me a round to look at a few places, and while the on foot method is better...at least I will have an idea while getting a ride around town a few days and seeing all the pretty places. Anybody have any input on the city itself?

[Jollygoodfellow]

Since my landlord has passed on to meet his PI maker leaving us in a limbo...while adding in the usual begging family, all too familiar here to us foreigners, we have decided to move further away to see if this stops the silly "needs" I never seem to fall for. In the next few months I will be traveling to a few places in the PI, as well as Thailand. First stop...a place many say is the best city in this country. Personally, Cebu City has become mini Manila to me, and while I want some city near by, I would prefer one a bit cleaner, safer and run better. Davao City has this reputation, and I will be traveling there within the next few weeks.I have a few real estate agents taking me a round to look at a few places, and while the on foot method is better...at least I will have an idea while getting a ride around town a few days and seeing all the pretty places. Anybody have any input on the city itself?

I would consider Davao,it is cleaner or was when I was there a few years back,they had 2 malls at the time but I think I read some where of another being built.From memory the traffic wasn't to bad and the army's big guns at the airport were just a little intimidating for a minute or two.You might be interested in a lot in the subdivision I opened? See picture.Seriously I thought it was a nice city.

[Inspector]

I have already been to that sub division as a real estate agent warmed me up to it as a place better to live then the USA because there simply would not be a housing crash, unless too many people were on one sideSurprisingly .... it wasn't as bad as it looks. Never a line to use the CR being there was none, and I was able to cool off from the heat at any time with a quick swim and round of antibiotics. :DThanks for the DC input...I am hearing so many great things about this city, makes me wonder why I did not move there in the first place, but need to see her before making my move. The manila forwarder contractor in cebu will move out stuff there cheap, can get the dog there on a ferry and a drive...cebu pacific has silly cheap flights to check her out, so it's a first go on my see where I want to truly live if I stay here in the PI. I will post the trip and take some photos in case others might be interested.

[Travis]

I have already been to that sub division as a real estate agent warmed me up to it as a place better to live then the USA because there simply would not be a housing crash, unless too many people were on one sideSurprisingly .... it wasn't as bad as it looks. Never a line to use the CR being there was none, and I was able to cool off from the heat at any time with a quick swim and round of antibiotics. :DThanks for the DC input...I am hearing so many great things about this city, makes me wonder why I did not move there in the first place, but need to see her before making my move. The manila forwarder contractor in cebu will move out stuff there cheap, can get the dog there on a ferry and a drive...cebu pacific has silly cheap flights to check her out, so it's a first go on my see where I want to truly live if I stay here in the PI. I will post the trip and take some photos in case others might be interested.

please post more about Davao when you find out more & some photos will be great to see too. I am not sure that the other end of the world would be far enough from some of these leach :yes: type families but maybe far out in a province where cell phones do not work might be ok

[Inspector]

Review of Davao CityBy far...not even close, the BEST city I have visited in the Philippines. This has got to be a secret to many expats, or...some simply do not visit the place due to the fact it is in Muslim land. The city...you see a few, but the safety of the entire place is so obvious, it must be one of the safest places in Asia, let alone the Philippines. We arrived early in the morning as our stay was short, with our helper watching our dog alone for the first time for a few days, and I wanted to keep it short in case she was eaten quickly. The first thing I noticed upon arriving was the air, it was clear with no pollution...followed quickly by the order of the airport. Once we hit the cab, we then noticed something odd....the place was clean, almost as if I was in another country. We drove our way to our hotel, the Lispher Inn, and kept noticing the fact there were not so many people, and while there are...the vastness and the way the city is spread out, created this amazing feel of not being in a zoo of people. The scenery was almost Costa Rica like...the mountains and greenery, as if a place in the Philippines...a CITY, knew how to keep their beautiful tropical environment in tact. Immediately, within one drive I said to myself....THIS is where I could be. I kept my joy in check, as I still had a lot of things to see, and a lot of questions that needed asking. Would they allow me to sell crack cocaine?Would the toilet paper in the hotel have the little triangle at the end?Would I be able to find cock fighting?Well, to my dismay, selling drugs would get me killed. the hotel did not have the triangle and it took me an hour to start the roll...and the only cock fighting I had was trying to get an erection down when room service came to the door.We were allowed to check into the the Lispher Inn early, a hotel that was located in sight of the NCCC mall, and a very short walk to the Matina Town Square...a great place to find a live rock band or three gay guys singing karaoke. Anybody who has been to IloIlo knows of Smallville...a small area of music, eateries and the like. The Matina Town Square, MTS, was Smallville on steroids, the kind Arnold used. It was huge, clean and so safe it had a police station on the corner to get in. The Inn was great with a new feel and look, despite my troubles with the roll of toilet paper, and clean. HIGHLY recommended...cost 1500 to 1800 a night depending in ref and size, and came with a free breakfast. The malls were checked out for my western ingredients, and while they lacked an Ayala Terrace, they are building an Alyala Mall...as well as a few others. ALL the items you can locate in Cebu are indeed there....and I am fussy. Another GREAT aspect of the city...while they are tough on jaywalking, the traffic STOOPED when you used the crosswalk! I was shocked....almost as shocked as trying to find any trash on the streets and not finding ANY. This was so odd, I found myself consumed with locating garbage on the steets...from when I was in a cab, to just walking. I seen a piece on the way to a look at a house, but the real estate agent quickly informed me that piece was already fingerprinted, and was an actual crime scene...with the culprit now in custody and doing 5-10. I felt safer upon this news.We then spent much of the rest of the day looking at houses. I noticed a few expats, and a housing market that was VERY alive....with rents near the malls averaging 25,000 that had a yard, 2 car garage and 4 bedrooms...amazingly, split air cons in most of the places...at least the master bedrooms, that had private CR's. One area had a private jeepney that took you to the highway, and a beautiful pool and clubhouse. 82 pesos to the NCCC mall. We are now working with a sole agent, a pinay and her pinoy husband, that are so sweet I would suggest anybody use them. We had 4 different agents, one from realtor hell...this couple were the only one with a car, and honest. How honest? Well, Julz lost her cell phone the last day as we were at a cafe talking to the helper and seeing how our dog was. She realized this on the way to the airport, and told her when we got back to call on our other phone the real estate agent our new number, and that you lost your phone. With a 2 hour delay at the airport, thanks Manila...this was important as she was texting us some information. So upon arrival home, we contact her and inform of our new phone number and explain what happened. Within 5 minutes we hear her phone ring from her bag...we look at each other like WTH?...she grabs the bag and feels it...her phone fell INTO a rip and was in the bag. So, we pull it out and the message was the real estate agent telling the taker of the phone that they should return the phone as we were so nice, and taking a phone is not a good thing to do. I had to giggle, wanted to play a game with her texting her that I was a serial phone taker, and her phone was next.... before saying what happened...but I was ordered to not do that, and that a NEW bag was needed. :lol:Anyway...long story short.Davao City >>>>>>>>>> Cebu CityIt is paradise in the Philippines. With permission, I would like to suggest the real estate agent we used, of course no profits for me...just solid advice and a recommendation of an agent that is indeed looking out for you. LMK Tom.Another thing, while I am sure there are those girl bar areas, I am not into them nor would I promote them even if I knew. It seemed to me, from my quick observations, this was more of a family oriented place, and while I had the usual smiles and stares from the pinays at the malls, you would not see those aged grandfathers walking around with 18 year olds...many long time relationship types with kids ect. Again, IMHO. Another thing, this place was not cheap...well, cheaper then cebu in comparison...but near the malls there are far more affluent developments, and in comparison to house rental of this new type, if it was near walking distance to the Ayala Mall of Cebu, it would be at least double. So...much more house for the money....but most houses are in gated guarded areas close to the malls...and VERY nice. Oh, you need a car for the city eventually as it is HUGE...next trip when we will sign a lease, we will want to see more of a large city area, and will rent a car.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Review of Davao CityBy far...not even close, the BEST city I have visited in the Philippines. This has got to be a secret to many expats, or...some simply do not visit the place due to the fact it is in Muslim land. The city...you see a few, but the safety of the entire place is so obvious, it must be one of the safest places in Asia, let alone the Philippines. We arrived early in the morning as our stay was short, with our helper watching our dog alone for the first time for a few days, and I wanted to keep it short in case she was eaten quickly. The first thing I noticed upon arriving was the air, it was clear with no pollution...followed quickly by the order of the airport. Once we hit the cab, we then noticed something odd....the place was clean, almost as if I was in another country. We drove our way to our hotel, the Lispher Inn, and kept noticing the fact there were not so many people, and while there are...the vastness and the way the city is spread out, created this amazing feel of not being in a zoo of people. The scenery was almost Costa Rica like...the mountains and greenery, as if a place in the Philippines...a CITY, knew how to keep their beautiful tropical environment in tact. Immediately, within one drive I said to myself....THIS is where I could be. I kept my joy in check, as I still had a lot of things to see, and a lot of questions that needed asking. Would they allow me to sell crack cocaine?Would the toilet paper in the hotel have the little triangle at the end?Would I be able to find cock fighting?Well, to my dismay, selling drugs would get me killed. the hotel did not have the triangle and it took me an hour to start the roll...and the only cock fighting I had was trying to get an erection down when room service came to the door.We were allowed to check into the the Lispher Inn early, a hotel that was located in sight of the NCCC mall, and a very short walk to the Matina Town Square...a great place to find a live rock band or three gay guys singing karaoke. Anybody who has been to IloIlo knows of Smallville...a small area of music, eateries and the like. The Matina Town Square, MTS, was Smallville on steroids, the kind Arnold used. It was huge, clean and so safe it had a police station on the corner to get in. The Inn was great with a new feel and look, despite my troubles with the roll of toilet paper, and clean. HIGHLY recommended...cost 1500 to 1800 a night depending in ref and size, and came with a free breakfast. The malls were checked out for my western ingredients, and while they lacked an Ayala Terrace, they are building an Alyala Mall...as well as a few others. ALL the items you can locate in Cebu are indeed there....and I am fussy. Another GREAT aspect of the city...while they are tough on jaywalking, the traffic STOOPED when you used the crosswalk! I was shocked....almost as shocked as trying to find any trash on the streets and not finding ANY. This was so odd, I found myself consumed with locating garbage on the steets...from when I was in a cab, to just walking. I seen a piece on the way to a look at a house, but the real estate agent quickly informed me that piece was already fingerprinted, and was an actual crime scene...with the culprit now in custody and doing 5-10. I felt safer upon this news.We then spent much of the rest of the day looking at houses. I noticed a few expats, and a housing market that was VERY alive....with rents near the malls averaging 25,000 that had a yard, 2 car garage and 4 bedrooms...amazingly, split air cons in most of the places...at least the master bedrooms, that had private CR's. One area had a private jeepney that took you to the highway, and a beautiful pool and clubhouse. 82 pesos to the NCCC mall. We are now working with a sole agent, a pinay and her pinoy husband, that are so sweet I would suggest anybody use them. We had 4 different agents, one from realtor hell...this couple were the only one with a car, and honest. How honest? Well, Julz lost her cell phone the last day as we were at a cafe talking to the helper and seeing how our dog was. She realized this on the way to the airport, and told her when we got back to call on our other phone the real estate agent our new number, and that you lost your phone. With a 2 hour delay at the airport, thanks Manila...this was important as she was texting us some information. So upon arrival home, we contact her and inform of our new phone number and explain what happened. Within 5 minutes we hear her phone ring from her bag...we look at each other like WTH?...she grabs the bag and feels it...her phone fell INTO a rip and was in the bag. So, we pull it out and the message was the real estate agent telling the taker of the phone that they should return the phone as we were so nice, and taking a phone is not a good thing to do. I had to giggle, wanted to play a game with her texting her that I was a serial phone taker, and her phone was next.... before saying what happened...but I was ordered to not do that, and that a NEW bag was needed. :lol:Anyway...long story short.Davao City >>>>>>>>>> Cebu CityIt is paradise in the Philippines. With permission, I would like to suggest the real estate agent we used, of course no profits for me...just solid advice and a recommendation of an agent that is indeed looking out for you. LMK Tom.Another thing, while I am sure there are those girl bar areas, I am not into them nor would I promote them even if I knew. It seemed to me, from my quick observations, this was more of a family oriented place, and while I had the usual smiles and stares from the pinays at the malls, you would not see those aged grandfathers walking around with 18 year olds...many long time relationship types with kids ect. Again, IMHO. Another thing, this place was not cheap...well, cheaper then cebu in comparison...but near the malls there are far more affluent developments, and in comparison to house rental of this new type, if it was near walking distance to the Ayala Mall of Cebu, it would be at least double. So...much more house for the money....but most houses are in gated guarded areas close to the malls...and VERY nice. Oh, you need a car for the city eventually as it is HUGE...next trip when we will sign a lease, we will want to see more of a large city area, and will rent a car.

ah good,been waiting for this report. Sounds just as I remembered the city when I was there last. :(

[Jake]

Excellent field report Inspector!. As Boss Man suggested a long time ago, personal stories like this involving everyday lifeand travel to different parts of PI is a good read for my morning coffee. Your style of writing is worth mentioning, especiallywith some humor thrown in:"and the only cock fighting I had was trying to get an erection down when room service came to the door" Thank you sir -- Jake

[Inspector]

Excellent field report Inspector!. As Boss Man suggested a long time ago, personal stories like this involving everyday lifeand travel to different parts of PI is a good read for my morning coffee. Your style of writing is worth mentioning, especiallywith some humor thrown in:"and the only cock fighting I had was trying to get an erection down when room service came to the door" Thank you sir -- Jake

Hehehe...it's funny because it's true. When I need to win that fight, I always think of something that caused great distress to my sexual desires, and that was the time I seen my grandmother topless.This image has always provided victory against a tent in unwanted situations such as Male Massage, George Cloony flicks, or when I am in a Turkish Bath with three bearded guys.

[ekimswish]

I gotta say, I shared your relief not only in hearing about your Davao experience, but when I went to Tacloban, myself. I hear it used to be labled the dirtiest city in the Philippines, and my wife never described it very well. But when we landed at the airport, it was like a breath of fresh air, compared to the big city living of not-bad-itself Marikina. The runway strip was right beside the ocean, with lucious green mountains in the backdrop, and Samar across the pond. And the city must've made some huge improvements, because, while no Davao, it was no Manila either. It felt like a lil' ol' country western, as a small city with grid blocks, and low-lying buildings, and not that dirty, but not that rich. The rest of the Philippines has a lot to offer. I came from prairie Saskatchewan cities in Canada to the big city living of Hong Kong, Taipei, and Seoul. Now I'm looking for something not boring like home, but not big and dirty and dry of ocean like the megalopolises (new word?). So I congratulate you on finding what you're looking for, and hope you have some major fun and relaxation.

[Jake]

Excellent field report Inspector!. As Boss Man suggested a long time ago, personal stories like this involving everyday lifeand travel to different parts of PI is a good read for my morning coffee. Your style of writing is worth mentioning, especiallywith some humor thrown in:"and the only cock fighting I had was trying to get an erection down when room service came to the door" Thank you sir -- Jake

Hehehe...it's funny because it's true. When I need to win that fight, I always think of something that caused great distress to my sexual desires, and that was the time I seen my grandmother topless.This image has always provided victory against a tent in unwanted situations such as Male Massage, George Cloony flicks, or when I am in a Turkish Bath with three bearded guys.

Yuck, no double yuck! Had to insert a finger down my throat to induce vomiting. Anyway, we're glad you have made it safely to your new home and found another paradise. I don't want to be an alarmist, but read the below link regarding DDS. Just want for you to be cognizant of your surroundings when you're out and about. Someday, I would like to make a visit there. Please have a pitcher of MoJo ready for me, OK?http://www.davaodeathsquad.net/Have fun but stay safe -- Jake