Planning a move to Philippines

Hi guys
I am living in Ireland at the moment , I lived in Thailand for 3 years , it was good fun , I now want to move on and discover the Philippines , I have never been before , so I will be looking for advice on some of the best areas to live , I was talking with some Filipino's friends and they said Baguio city is nice , I googled it and it seems nice.
Have any of you guys been to or living in Baguio , any replies would be great ?

Baguio City is a nice cold place, there's also alot of tourist attractions you can take there, you can also check Cebu City it's a good place also, or check Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines' booming city today. But it depends on your taste, if you like on the mountainside, seaside or a mix of both sides,

Thank you for your reply , so many places to choose from , I like a mix of town and country with maybe 1 or 2 hours from a nice beach.
I lived in Bangkok last time in Thailand and I really want to get away from over congestion.
Where do you live Chubby Girl ?

I see you are from  Cagayan de Oro , brain is running slow today , lol...

Yah promoting my own city. Cebu City has alot of nice beach resorts to choose from compared to Cagayan de Oro. Cebu is also known for it's great beaches,however Cebu is a big city, but there are still remote areas in there. Cagayan de Oro is known for water rafting adventure, and mountain adventures, and traffic is not as heavy compared to other cities.

Thank you for the information , so much to learn before my move , your area sounds ok also , ahhh , so confusing

Hi Fishing-Fox,
  Baguio is indeed a nice place and when it's time for me to make my move most likely that's where I will end up. In addition to the nice surroundings and cooler weather it's also relatively close to a beach - La Union is about an hour away, it's a nice
laid back city. You could also look into Tagaytay.
  take care and enjoy your time in the P.I.

Thank you Zcars for your reply , I have been doing a lot of research on Baguio over the last 2 weeks , it seems to tick all the boxes for me.

You're welcome Fishing-Fox !
   Glad you have narrorwed your search down. if you're a nature
kind of guy you will like it there. good place to ride a mountain bike too but definitely invest in a good helmet (unpredictable drivers all over the P.I.)  When it's my turn to
go there I intend to stay in a pension house for a week while I
go around looking for a good, inexpensive apartment to rent,
you may want to consider a similar approach to increase your
chances of finding a good deal, speaking of - if at all possible
try to get a local to help you find an apt. in general, prices
are higher when a foreigner is the one looking to rent, befriend a few people first and believe me you will have no trouble finding a nice, local Filipina(s)willing to be your friend.
good luck dude !  I kinda envy you - I have to wait a while before I can be 'free' !!!   enjoy what the Philippines has
to offer.   
   Zcars.

Baguio is way so far from the Metro. The climate is cool, if you want to live that far that's okay. If you want the weather of Baguio, but prefer to be near the Metro, then, you might want to consider Tagaytay/Batangas/Cavite areas. It is still a few hours away from the Metro, but nearer. The kind of lifestyle will dictate the location you will want to settle in. Take the time to go around the different islands. Metro Manila, Luzon, Cebu.....
Do you intend to move here for good?
Pinaymentor

Thanks Zcar , maybe we will cross paths one day over there , looking forward to the move , I think Baguio will be the place for me , I am sure I will make many good friends there

Hi again Fishing-Fox,
  Yep I'm sure you will make some good friends over there too.
and like you said maybe someday we may cross paths, you never know. Have a great time but do watch your back though OK ?
Remember it IS a 3rd world country and a few individuals will be
out to take advantage, mostly it will be in the form of higher prices which may be annoying but relatively harmless but it's the scams you really need to watch out for.
Hope I'm not scaring you, just want you to be aware.   
BTW I know you've pretty much made up your mind about Baguio and it's a really nice place but before 'settling down' check out the central and northern parts of Palawan, never been there but have heard and read many great things about it so don't discount that island. It should be worth a visit and on my next
trip to the Philippines I will definitely spend a few days there with my special lady friend who lives in Luzon.  One thing I
can assure you is once you get to the Philippines the young
ladies will go out of their way to meet you.
   take care !
         Zcars.

Zcars

Thank you for you message , I am just after having a 1 hour talk with a Filipino about Palawan , Coron , El Nido , Sabang places like that , it has turned my head , not sure about Baguio now , lol...

It looks an amazing Island and good value for money , I am big in to my fishing so that place really appeals to me also.

I will check it out for sure , I lived on the Island on Koh Samui in Thailand before and Island life was sweet.

When are you planning to go to the Philippines next ?

Hi Fishing-Fox,
  YW - well seems you may have found an even better spot than
Baguio and since Palawan is surrounded by water that should allow
you to do some fishing to your heart's content ! Hope you like to eat fish and if yes then that's a bonus, you catch 'em and
have some one else cook 'em ! From browsing some of the pictures
on the internet of Palawan the place really does look amazing !
guess Baguio just took a backseat but that's OK, you can always
look around there and it's evident you have some experience
traveling around anyway so that should be a piece of cake for you to do. As for me, with luck I'll be in the Philippines for a
couple of weeks around Oct or Nov this year (depending on when my employer allows me to go) 
   take care,
       Zcars

Hi fishing-fox hehe i know you're confused where in philippines would you spend your vacation now eh? But dont you worry you can visit all of the spots metioned by everyone in the forum. And if you want/need a tourguide im willing to accompany you at a reasonable price and not worry no more what to do when you land here in philippines. I know a low price accomadation and such stuff for you to choose from.

try DAVAO CITY sir...

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