Moving to the Philippines-Advice please

[mogo51]

hello all membersI have joined this forum to seek advice as to where to live in phils and also the likely costs involved. I wanto to gather as much info as possible but realise that only being there and seeing first hand , is the ultimate sensible way to make a decision.I am 60 totally disillusioned with life in Australia, just too expensive to live in Sydney or indeed anywhere else.I want to find a quiet spot near the beach, with decent infrastructure, I did like Cebu when there in March, but am open to other suggestions as to where to settle. Would like to have some other westerners around to interact with naturally. I am single but dont want to stay that way, like everyone want to fined a kind, caring and honest lady, I hace spent some time in Pattaya Thailand so not naive about the pitfalls in Asia. It has been suggested that a single person can live there for about 1000us aand `15-1800 mth for couples? This is living fairly concervatively. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Ron

[Dave Hounddriver]

hello all membersI have joined this forum to seek advice as to where to live in phils and also the likely costs involved. I wanto to gather as much info as possible but realise that only being there and seeing first hand , is the ultimate sensible way to make a decision.I am 60 totally disillusioned with life in Australia, just too expensive to live in Sydney or indeed anywhere else.I want to find a quiet spot near the beach, with decent infrastructure, I did like Cebu when there in March, but am open to other suggestions as to where to settle. Would like to have some other westerners around to interact with naturally. I am single but dont want to stay that way, like everyone want to fined a kind, caring and honest lady, I hace spent some time in Pattaya Thailand so not naive about the pitfalls in Asia. It has been suggested that a single person can live there for about 1000us aand `15-1800 mth for couples? This is living fairly concervatively. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Ron

Welcome RonSounds like you have the right idea as to your budget and desires.Only thing left is to jump in and test the waters.Try a low cost lodging house in Cebu while you check out some other places like Dumaguette,Davao,Tacloban and maybe some others.

[Bundy]

hello all membersI have joined this forum to seek advice as to where to live in phils and also the likely costs involved. I wanto to gather as much info as possible but realise that only being there and seeing first hand , is the ultimate sensible way to make a decision.I am 60 totally disillusioned with life in Australia, just too expensive to live in Sydney or indeed anywhere else.I want to find a quiet spot near the beach, with decent infrastructure, I did like Cebu when there in March, but am open to other suggestions as to where to settle. Would like to have some other westerners around to interact with naturally. I am single but dont want to stay that way, like everyone want to fined a kind, caring and honest lady, I hace spent some time in Pattaya Thailand so not naive about the pitfalls in Asia. It has been suggested that a single person can live there for about 1000us aand `15-1800 mth for couples? This is living fairly concervatively. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Ron

G'day Ron,Know exactly what you mean about being disillusioned with life in Australia, and mate it seems to just get worse every day. Me and the wife will be moving to Cebu next Feb. Trying to find a nice spot near the beach with decent infrastructure could be a bit of a challenge, you seem to get one or the other, especially on the island of Cebu. i suggest you check out the west side of the island when you get there, around Toledo, i believe it has really gone ahead and i know there are quite a few westerners living in the area. There is a place called "Ceasars" which is a resto/grill run by an Aussie, may be a good place for you to start.Plenty of low cost accomodations there too while you look around.As far as budget is concerned, we will be living there on around $1200 Australian Dollars a month and having spent heaps of time there already we know we will have no problem.All the best to you mate......... Cheers.

[Jake]

hello all membersI have joined this forum to seek advice as to where to live in phils and also the likely costs involved. I wanto to gather as much info as possible but realise that only being there and seeing first hand , is the ultimate sensible way to make a decision.I am 60 totally disillusioned with life in Australia, just too expensive to live in Sydney or indeed anywhere else.I want to find a quiet spot near the beach, with decent infrastructure, I did like Cebu when there in March, but am open to other suggestions as to where to settle. Would like to have some other westerners around to interact with naturally. I am single but dont want to stay that way, like everyone want to fined a kind, caring and honest lady, I hace spent some time in Pattaya Thailand so not naive about the pitfalls in Asia. It has been suggested that a single person can live there for about 1000us aand `15-1800 mth for couples? This is living fairly concervatively. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Ron

G'day Ron,Know exactly what you mean about being disillusioned with life in Australia, and mate it seems to just get worse every day. Me and the wife will be moving to Cebu next Feb. Trying to find a nice spot near the beach with decent infrastructure could be a bit of a challenge, you seem to get one or the other, especially on the island of Cebu. i suggest you check out the west side of the island when you get there, around Toledo, i believe it has really gone ahead and i know there are quite a few westerners living in the area. There is a place called "Ceasars" which is a resto/grill run by an Aussie, may be a good place for you to start.Plenty of low cost accomodations there too while you look around.As far as budget is concerned, we will be living there on around $1200 Australian Dollars a month and having spent heaps of time there already we know we will have no problem.All the best to you mate......... Cheers.

Welcome aboard Ron (Mogo51),I hear ya, I feel the same way living here in southern California. I'm waiting for my social security benefitsto kick in when I turn 62, which is a couple years from now. I believe this forum is the best place to getsome valuable advice.For example, Buslot Bulsa who signed up in March already has given an excellent field report about theother side of Cebu. One day I would like to visit that area around Toledo. I would imagine the beaches are cleaner there. Thank you sir.Respectfully -- Jake

[Mr Lee]

I can second the Toledo area of Cebu as a good possible choice, we have family over that way and I had thought of moving there years ago, but at that time there was hardly any shopping, yet it has grown a lot since then with malls, restaurants and other places to make life more enjoyable going up all the time. As Dave said, best to rent an inexpensive place month to month for a while and possibly use Cebu as a base to come back to while scouting out what will make you happy, since we all have different tastes. There are lots of inexpensive places but HERE is a post about one which is right in the city and within walking distance or jeepney to Ayala, Robinsons and lots of banks and fast food places that you might wish to check out, since all amenities are included. BTW it is nothing fancy but is inexpensive. The costs you wrote sound about right as long as you do not live in the city and run your aircon 24/7. The cost of the place you rent will be the key in determining how your money lasts, and places outside the city are much less expensive to rent.