Living in the phillippines

i was thinking about going to cebu for approx.21 days and finding somewhere quite. do you know any irish people overthere ?

There are better places to live than Manila.

tom mc cormack wrote:

just wondering how life is there ,im seriously considering moving and living in the philippines after living in ireland  for the last fifty years and would like to live in a warmer climate

Depends on what you are looking for and your attitude. If you are ready to integrate into a wide open culture, and accept your new home at face value you may do ok. If you'd love to change the world and come here to involve yourself in politics and piss people off you'll probably be in the evening news.

Expats here come from all walks of life and you'll no doubt be able to meet some who have accepted life here and have fun living it, it's up to you.

We live near Tagaytay because it's cool, close to hospitals, government offices in Manila, 45 minutes from the beach if we want to go, 20 minutes by car to two large and two small malls with a new one being built in Tagaytay about 10 to 15 minutes away. There are plenty of restaurants, a few golf courses if you golf and a lot of places to go adventuring.

I would rent before buying and spend at least a season in you place of choice before considering buying or building a home on land which you cannot own (your wife can or a lease), though you can own the house. Where we live has dependable power, public water system (wells are also common in lower elevations), dependable wireless internet (close proximity to three cell towers) and Cignal satellite TV (Dish).

Many area like Alfonso, Mendez, Indang, Silang and Amadeo surround Tagaytay and are also cool and breezy and many of the subdivisions have constructed homes with a lot of space between them with lots from around 6000 peso per sq. mtr and up, or you can buy a lot in the country for a lot less and provide your own security. Less expensive housing means young families with lots of kids and lots of noise, dogs and chickens and karaoke. If that's your cup of tea then you can find a place quite cheaply.

You can check a couple online papers here for rentals, etc. if you haven't already, there are quite a few. Two of them area:
Ayosdito.ph   http://www.ayosdito.ph/
Olx  http://www.olx.ph/index.php/classifieds … nce/Cavite

There are expat groups in yahoo groups and facebook who can also help with your decisions.

There are hundreds of places in the Phil a little warmer and near beaches and sea breezes, where a little Air conditioning will get you through the hot weather (except during brownouts). Wherever you land check carefully beforehand, ask a lot of questions, don't drink the tap water or the ice. Typhoons usually come in from the pacific side of the Islands with the South China Sea side being a little calmer.

My wife and I love it here and are quite happy with our area and our lives. The morning coffee on the veranda while watching the sunrise over the coconut palms with the stream rushing in the background is our dream come true.

Good luck and may you find your dreams, some fun, new friends, a little peace and contentment here.

Jim and Terry

wow,sound very relaxed ( and thanks for the good briefing of a typical day  ) do you live in manila ? i dont think i could hack it in such a large city,dublin (our capital) has a population of approx. 450,000 people and thats to much for me i just like piece and quiet,some where quiet where nobody will pay much attention and just live a quiet life by myself near a beach (cause where i live at the moment im 20 seconds from a beach and if i go inland for any amount of time i miss it in a way i cant explain (except to say i can smell the sea air from approx.15 miles away-sounds silly but its true for me )
again thank you for your responce.
talk to ya soon

what do you mean "subdivision"? sorry i know f**k all about the php.(so far) but i am getting there ireland is also corrupt as f**k and our politicans do it with pride as they screw us (but as you i wont go into it as it will only depress me.
(as a serving member of the defence forces i find it difficult to uphold their policies when they are screwing me and every other slob in this country (sorry for my little rant !!)
talk soon

Tom Mc Cormack:  From what you describe as the ideal place you're looking for....go on the website and just type Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro.  Look for their official town website.  It's a day's trip from Manila..and you'll have to catch a ferry to get there.   A old friend of mine from Manila just got a job assignment there...and she loves it!  It has all the basics you need...and the peace, quiet and friendly people you're looking for.   Very affordable also...definitely much cheaper to live in Pinamalayan than Manila.  See if you think that's the right place for you...and if you have specific questions...just post it, pass it on to my friend and try to get you the answers.

I live in CDO, We have a Brit and a irishman here that come to our expat meeting.  After a few beers it can get loud between the 2 of them. But they leave freinds. We also have Spanish,German, OZ, Americans. Something about potatoes usually starts the talk. between them.  Life is simple here. Beach, you can often go to the mall and see free shows, movies are cheap, and dineing out.  It is a good life here. Little on the quit side.  Like all places you need get out ask questions and look around the first 3 months to know the area and what it offers.  For big city life you do need the big city.  The smaller the town the quiter it is and the less to do.  So it is what you want here and what you make it.

tom mc cormack wrote:

wow,sound very relaxed ( and thanks for the good briefing of a typical day  ) do you live in manila ? i dont think i could hack it in such a large city,dublin (our capital) has a population of approx. 450,000 people and thats to much for me i just like piece and quiet,some where quiet where nobody will pay much attention and just live a quiet life by myself near a beach (cause where i live at the moment im 20 seconds from a beach and if i go inland for any amount of time i miss it in a way i cant explain (except to say i can smell the sea air from approx.15 miles away-sounds silly but its true for me )
again thank you for your responce.
talk to ya soon

Subdivision is a community of homes usually built close to one another, some with security, some not. High prices usually mean larger lots most often have larger more expensive homes with security and fewer homes. Often times a little more peaceful.

We live about an hour from Manila near the city of Tagaytay in the province of Cavite on the big Island of Luzon.

If you want the beach, you get the heat. If you get the heat you will probably need Air conditioning. Check on how dependable the power is or you'll be sweating a lot in your new home. Good Luck

Hi,
for 3 tears now

if you are interested the reason the paddy and brit are arguing is possibly about the famine witch happened in the 18 century and england controled/owned ireland and all our food bar potatoes were exported to england,so us paddys survived on potatoes,then came the potatoe blight and approx 4 million irish starved to death or emigrated to america (thats why there is so many irish/americans there)
what you describe sounds like exactly what im interested in ( and whats a cdo ) i dont want a big city life all i want is piece and quiet and be left alone ( from what ive heard about manila it sounds like a misirable place)
talk to ya soon

much appricated i think you nailed it on the head seems perfect,looked up their website and it looks very good.how long have you lived in the php ? and how do the locals get along with you ? and are you from the states ? sorry about all the silly questions ( just trying to learn about the country )
cheers

is the power that unreliable ? also i see from our sky t.v. world weather that a typhoon is kinda heading generally towards the cebu area with heavy rain and still temp.of 31 oc ( hot and wet ) and how long does a visa last (a buddy of mine said if you go out of the php to anywhere else for a day or two you can extend it ? )

Cagayan De Oro.  They have 3 expat meeting here every Wend.  One at Kingston Lodge. Bit uper crust.  1 At the river bar. In the day after noon. Down Town next to the river and sandbar.  Good croud there. Brit, Irish,Spanish, Assie's, Americans, and what ever.  Most have a wife or long term girlfreind. We make them set at there own table on the other side of the room.  And one at the Broken Chicken karakote place, We set outside under the awning there.  Wend night.  More guys who can get out at night but a good bunch to know. After 8pm. Some of the same croud at all 3.  Some have lived here for years. Any thing you need to know they will tell you were and how to do here.  All are open subject meetings so you never know what will be talked about. Good groups to know here.

A visa now last 2 years before you have to leave if you keep getting a extention every 2 months.  You get a visitors card for ID. so you need not carry your passport.  Use the express lane. Here it takes 30 min. to 2 hours to do. Depending on how many expats are there that day. You need photo and passport to extend is all and pay the fee.  Once yo have done the form once it is easy to do. Even take a extra with you home so you can bring back filled out. Just take one of the counter here and go to the desk and fill out. Be sure and bring a blue or black inkpen with you. They never have them here.

Hi! Tom,

Learn about your interest to live in Ph.  I am a Filipino, but i have a brother in-law from Kent.  And i believed that your country is near theirs.

Yes, one guy is right. if the question is living in PH is ok, the answer is with in you actually. You may encounter different feedbacks from foreigners and expats here.  Ive seen foreigners here who are happy going to the market, talking with locals and joke around with them and it seems they are happy.  I have also a Canadian friend who come every 6 months and stays for 6 months, and he is dreaming of staying here forever.  The secret is they know how to integrate with the locals. They blend will with the locals.  They come here not to change our culture, nor trying to change our corrupt politics, but instead leverage on the good side of being here such as beautiful white beaches, friendly locals and cheaper way of living. So the secret of a happy life here is the saying: " IF YOU ARE IN THE PHILIPPINES ", ACT LIKE A FILIPINO". Life is simple here, no where in the world you can see in news videos, typhoon victims, lost relatives and homes, but still wears a smile in their faces.

On the opposite, my brother in-law is not happy here.  But he owns a big house in the city near the beach and in the island. He has been here for more than 10 years,but still don't know how to mingle with locals. he wont go to stores, markets, he wont talk to anybody and my sister do everything. He is annoyed with the trycicle drivers, immigration and until now he keeps on driving without a license.  He always compare PH government systems with their own.He even dont want to follow dress code of our immigration. But, he cant go home and he don't want to go home....

Just come here to enjoy what we have, respect the filipino people and our laws, then it would be more fun.

By the way, since you want to live a quite life, i can invite you to our island and show you a life that is very near to nature, friendly community,white beaches, rice fields, coconut trees.  Its in northern mindanao, near the pacific. 21 days, try our island. i can help you with the accommodation.

I have worked and live in Saudi Arabia and Singapore and i never have a problem.  If you are interested, my email is: [email protected]. I will send you pics, just send me your email.

Johnx

Drifters lodge if they are still there.  Drifters English pub.  Not a bad place but been a few years last there. They use to be on the internet there. English place not Irish. 4 lefts from the airport.  look up drifters English pub in Davao Wait miss read your message no know one in Cebu.  Sorry.

cheers bud  thanks sounds like good advice and a good way to get more info. about the php.

no pens at the visa extension office ? sounds like a place i would fit in perfectly,sounds a lot like dublin

i would definatly integrate wit the ph.people,if im going to move to your country i dont think i would have the right to change your peoples way of thinking ( if im living in your country ill respect all your laws and customs -its the right thing to do ) any way i wont be able to visit for 1.5 years yet but will visit for 21 days to cebu or its surroundings.
p.s. my e-mail is [email protected]
thanks and watch out for that typhoon heading your way

Hi Tom,
            Being from Scotland originally and living also in the North East of England for many years I can sympathize with your urge to come and try living in the Philippines. You have had loads of advice since you asked your original question so I won't repeat what's already been said. I've been coming to the Philippines since the very early 80's and since then seen many changes as you can imagine. When our two kids graduated in the UK and became independent we decided to come and give the Philippines a try as my wife had already built a house in Mindanao (Bukidnon) in 2005. I retired a little earlier than 65 and in 2008 we moved here. Our town is up in the mountains of Bukidnon but only 30mins drive from the city of Cagayan de Oro which has all you could want be it modern living or sea and sand and is also the gateway to Southern Mindanao reaching Davao and General Santos city which are also worth looking at as a location to live. Bukidnon is like Scotland with Palms and Bananas and some wonderful scenery in rustic surroundings.
Weather wise you will quickly acclimatize as we all have to do. Come and try and take your time before you decide where you want to live and just enjoy life.

sounds a lot like scotland with all the palms and bananas  did that  typhoon affect you ? or are you far enough in land and at a safe altitude ?

Hi Tom,
             We have been lucky in Mindanao not to get direct Typhoon strikes which usually occur north of us and we get the periphery wind and rain. The recent Typhoon Ruby did not effect us at all except for the disruption to travel i.e. flights and ferries for 2 days.

Hi! Tom, tried to reach you by email using the email ad you posted. I was supposed to send you some pics for you to refer. Unfortunately it came back to me. There maybe a problem with your email or there was a mistype. Can you send me again your email or send me one and ill just reply.  Thanks. My email: [email protected]


JOhnx