I'm new here. Can I live well on $1800 a month in Cebu

Being a chef it should be easy on $1,800/month.  You will be able to make your own baluts.

Hi Wayne
yee that 72,000p is more than we spend raising & schooling 3 kids
but we have no rent, I would say the kids cost half of our budget
u will need to have some backup for urgent medical/dental
but I would think u could save half of that particually as u don't drink
Pete

$1800 is ok for one person. Just dont get into a relationship in which you add a family.  Unless you have an established savings, you need to budget that in as well as $1800 may not go that far in a few years time.  Inflation and USD depreciation will eat into that.

Thank you for the input guys. I will be three in March to look around, I know things are different once you get on the ground, as for medical I'm a disabled veteran so I would the Veterans clinic and I'm pretty healthy.
Thank again
Wayne

Not sure if there is a VA clinic in Philippines any more. I thought there was one in Manila but they may have closed it.

I looked them up online and from what I can tell they just opened new facilities. It's one of the reasons I looking into the Philippines

I stand corrected. 
he Department of Veterans Affairs has maintained a Regional Office and Outpatient Clinic in the Philippines since 1922.

The Regional Office and Outpatient Clinic are located at Seafront Compound, 1501 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City (near Cuneta Astrodome).

From Cebu, you would need to fly over. But if your healthy, not a big problem. Otherwise consider Subic.

Thanks

you can get Philhealth it  is  available  to Foreigners  and  low cost pays  around 80%

Thanks I'll look into it when I get there in March. The Vet hospital might be to far to go to, to offset the cost.
Wayne

the  VA clinic  is  only outpatient and  covers  service  related issues only

dhnindc wrote:

Just don't get into a relationship in which you add a family.

This is really true. Don't find Filipina who has already kids and do not have normal jobs. Some Filipinas ask money from foreign boyfriend in order to feed the family.

Okieboy wrote:

you can get Philhealth it  is  available  to Foreigners  and  low cost pays  around 80%

This is true!

PhilHealth
Frequently Asked Questions
Membership and premiums concerns

Type of Membership: Individually Paying

Can a foreign national enroll as an Individually Paying Member?

YES, the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 7875, as amended by RA 9241, provides for the inclusion to the National Health Insurance Program the citizens of other countries residing and/or working in the Philippines. If the foreign national is employed, he/she shall be registered under the Employed Sector Program. Meanwhile, if he/she is self-employed or merely residing in the country, he/she may enroll as an Individually Paying Member. He/she only needs to accomplish and submit to any PhilHealth office, the PhilHealth Member Registration Form (PMRF) and a photocopy of his/her Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to prove his/her residency in the country.

Source:
http://www.philhealth.gov.ph/members/in … /faqs.html

I arrived in Cebu City in June. Like you, I'm a single guy who doesn't drink, and my income is just a bit more than yours.

I am spending 50k-60k pesos/month (about $1300-1500), without being very cautious about it. The big item, of course is rent -- I pay 18k.

If you want to live on a beach, then you're not going to be in the center of the city, as I am, which is why my rent is relatively high. But being here keeps my transportation costs down -- you might feel you need a vehicle if you're in the countryside somewhere.

Your budget will depend on a lot of factors, as it always does, but the short answer is that $1800 should be enough to get by without any problems.

Hi Wayne!

I just spent a year in Makati and couldn't survive off of $1,800/month... However, I hear Cebu is less expensive...

I've actually lived in both Thai and Phils and find Thailand less expensive (basically 1/2 price) when comparing comparable cities...

The 2 biggest differences I found are rent and cost of food... rent in approx. double in the Phils and because I'm not a fan of filipino food (no offense anyone) it costs me about double to eat out...

I'm actually moving to Cebu in 3 weeks... So, if you're around, let me know and maybe we can convince someone that's been living there for a while (BobH?) to meet for a coffee and let us know where to go... and where to avoid?

All the best!

J

Davao is  less expensive  than Cebu, the  second safest city in Asia, Cebu has some nice  subdivisions but  the  city is  old and dirty

Johnny: If you (or anyone) wants to meet up for coffee, that would be great. But I'm sure there are people here who have been around longer and know the city better than I.

Great! Would just be nice to meet some other expats there.

Okieboy wrote:

Davao is  less expensive  than Cebu, the  second safest city in Asia, Cebu has some nice  subdivisions but  the  city is  old and dirty

Is there much to do there? I was thinking of checking it out...

Thanks everybody It looks like I'll be alright, I'm kind of a low profile guy anyway.
Thanks for the advice Azumi. I have heard this a lot and I don't give money away so I might have a problem in the relationship department there. Not that I'm looking but who knows. Ran into the same thing in Thailand while I lived there.
Johnny5 I'll let you know when I get there and we can get together for coffee

It is enough here, just live simple and take care of your health..

If you will stay for good, buy a house, dont rent.

chefwayne wrote:

Hi,I know his has probably been done to death but I'm new here and need to ask. I've been living in Thailand for a while and now want to move to the Philippines. My question is can I lie well on $1800 a month in Cebu?
I don't drink I'm a retired chef so I cook for myself. I don't do the bar fine kind of life style, and I want to live close to the beach.
Is it doable?
Thanks
Wayne

yes, with your monthly of  $1,800, you can live in cebu comfortably. if you want to stay near the beach, its possible. just buy a house near a beach that is on the suburb, not on city proper.am selling house and lot, just let me know how much you want to spare for your purchase of housing. i have listing to offer to you.

Sounds good Wayne!

Also, be leery of all the Realtors that register on here just to target expats...

Spend some time in the Phils before deciding if you want to buy or not... I have spoken to numerous expats that have bought and regretted it... However, there are also plenty that are happy with their purchases... All depends on what they are looking for...

Chat soon!

J

Check out my blog on all your living in the Philippines questions. I have a special section called Living Costs. Should help you there.
My Life in the Philippines from 2005 to the present

Had a beach house for a couple of years right on the water with driveway down to the water, purpose was to build some plywood boats. This was fine for a while but the living standards of the surrounding neighbourhood left much to be desired. Very friendly people but large poor famlies who fished for a living.
Couldn't take the bad social habits any longer and moved on. some things get to you after a while.  Some people spoke english but no one stopped to chat or even made an effort.....smiled though hahaha

LaoAnita wrote:

yes, with your monthly of  $1,800, you can live in cebu comfortably. if you want to stay near the beach, its possible. just buy a house near a beach that is on the suburb, not on city proper.am selling house and lot, just let me know how much you want to spare for your purchase of housing. i have listing to offer to you.

This should create a big RED FLAG to all!   Do not get involved with any RE person that makes an offer on listings but fails to tell you in that offer that the listing are all TCT properties.    If I missed the TCT/CCT status declaration in the above "offering" please point it out....

We can only buy CCT unless we incorporate with 40% or less ownership. Some get to this point or further along to be told after a deposit that "ohhh, just get a gf to put it in her name".  Wrong move there....  After 15 trips in 39 months to the PI, I am currently filtering out bad RE's from my search in Tagaytay, for this very same reason.

I would say to not buy anything until:

1) You know you want to stay;
2) You know where you want to live;
3) You have a reasonable understanding of Philippine real estate laws; and,
4) You feel qualified to make a guess as to the future of the real estate market in the chosen area.

That will take a while. #1&2 will take at least six months or so for most people, I think. #3 might depend on whether you can get good advice. #4 is up to you as to how much risk you're willing to take.

For me, the overall time period on these is 'Never' -- but each of us is different.

Bob

Yes you can. I've lived in Cebu for 12 years. You need to decide if you want to live in Mactan or Cebu city. I'm sure you're not going to the beach everyday. I prefer to live in Cebu and go to Mactan twice a month rather than live in Mactan. It's overall kind of rustic, 2  Gaisano malls and a small Marina mall. But the "Eye candy there is great!" Also are you going to rent a house or Apartment? Own a car or motorcycle or just take aircon taxi to get around? Have a Maid / Helper (Live in or out) or not. Once you accomplish the above, then you can really start enjoying life in Cebu City. Many expats come here for a week or 2. Go to Ayala mall, SM and Osmena circle and they get bored here. Yet there is so much to see and do. I advice all to meet up with an expat that has lived in Cebu for years and "Pick their brain". That will save you a lot of time getting settled here.

Your $1800 monthly budget can go a long way living in the Philippines.Welcome!

Haha, sorry for that, maybe they are just shy or not confident enough to chat with you..

Cheers!

Peter Clark wrote:

Had a beach house for a couple of years right on the water with driveway down to the water, purpose was to build some plywood boats. This was fine for a while but the living standards of the surrounding neighbourhood left much to be desired. Very friendly people but large poor famlies who fished for a living.
Couldn't take the bad social habits any longer and moved on. some things get to you after a while.  Some people spoke english but no one stopped to chat or even made an effort.....smiled though hahaha

Very well said!

BobH wrote:

I would say to not buy anything until:

1) You know you want to stay;
2) You know where you want to live;
3) You have a reasonable understanding of Philippine real estate laws; and,
4) You feel qualified to make a guess as to the future of the real estate market in the chosen area.

That will take a while. #1&2 will take at least six months or so for most people, I think. #3 might depend on whether you can get good advice. #4 is up to you as to how much risk you're willing to take.

For me, the overall time period on these is 'Never' -- but each of us is different.

Bob

Hello!

I am Janice, working as Sales Administrative Assistant in the developer and seller of condominium.

Based from my legal knowledge and experience, Expat can own a condominium and can get Condominium Certificate of Title,
foreigners are cannot owned a land, unless it will be on sharing..can''t elaborate it all here, just search in in philippine law brokerage website..

My point is, YES, you may own a Condo paid thru cash not by bank financing..that is very complicated.

Thanks!

Calif-Native wrote:

LaoAnita wrote:

yes, with your monthly of  $1,800, you can live in cebu comfortably. if you want to stay near the beach, its possible. just buy a house near a beach that is on the suburb, not on city proper.am selling house and lot, just let me know how much you want to spare for your purchase of housing. i have listing to offer to you.

This should create a big RED FLAG to all!   Do not get involved with any RE person that makes an offer on listings but fails to tell you in that offer that the listing are all TCT properties.    If I missed the TCT/CCT status declaration in the above "offering" please point it out....

We can only buy CCT unless we incorporate with 40% or less ownership. Some get to this point or further along to be told after a deposit that "ohhh, just get a gf to put it in her name".  Wrong move there....  After 15 trips in 39 months to the PI, I am currently filtering out bad RE's from my search in Tagaytay, for this very same reason.

Yes... You can own a condo... However, be very careful! There are many people that will try to sell you new condos that aren't built or don't have their 'occupancy'  permits yet... These can be HUGE issues...

There are only a small handful of developers you should buy from...

I have lived in Serendra 2 in Fort Bonifaciao and the Columns Ayala in Makati and while they were both developed by reputable companies, they weren't maintained well and the workmanship wasn't great...

Just be careful... Personally, I wouldn't buy an investment in the Phils...

All the best!

J

Megaworld is the worst developer, stay away from them. Ayala tends to be better. Fort Bonifacio is an Ayala stronghold.

for that amount in Cebu would be enough as long as you dont get a money eater gf in the future :-)

i live in sta.rosa, Laguna 20mins drive to makati. sta.rosa is an evolving place to live where there are many celebrities/politicians lived. that is because its a little bit away from a crowded manila.

i have a house in Bel-air3 sta.rosa...if anyone interested for rent or for sale just send me a mail. i'm currently out of the country but i have a caretaker so the house is always available for viewing.

thanks!

yes the life in phil is cheap and but better u ll can do small buseness too

yes, you can have a decent living and do some investment if you could afford

Although the $ is down to 40 peso you can comfortably live of 1800 $ a month in Cebu City.
Invest a bit of time to look for an appartelle, either serviced or private.
You appear to be a decent fellow, so I would also not see any problems to live in a sole Pinoy neighborhood.

There are two decisiomn to be made -
Do you want to hang around with plenty of Foreigners ?
( it always puzzles me, why people then migrate at all)
Then Mactan would be your Place in cebu.

Or do you want to mingle more among pinoys?
Then anywhere in Cebu City or outskirts is fine.

Since you come from Thailand, you may be disappointed in regards to Food (Shopping and Restaurant) costs.
They are way higher and the selection is lousy in comparison.
Almost everything we ( I am a Chef also) use for cooking is imported and fresh market goods are rather "interesting" to buy ( Carbon Market).
But you get there after a few months.

Other (secret) Tip for you -try to hang around in Italian Places and meet the owners, first of all they are a very nice and fun bunch and second they have the best resources for food ingredients.

However, one does not has to cook actually, if you dine out twice a day and mingle a lot socially with Pinoys you can live good for less then 500 php/day . That's 200 for Lunch and 300 for dinner with a pop soda or water.
Most people spend a huge part of their money for booze and therefore can't make ends meet. But of course nobody admits that.

Now, with a bit of know how and connections you can also self sustain yourself as a Chef for about 10.000/month easy and live like a king !
I know what I am talking about, I ran two Restaurants and the shopping isn't much different in reality, just more, but the prices are the same
( to my disappointment!)
Add the Rent for above and you got a figure.

other advice- try to think about living in the Province, not the dead villages of course, but places like BALAMBAN on the other side. Or  abit north of Cebu in LILOAN, south in TALISAY or CARCAR and even ARGAO and ALCOY.
Better Air and a healthier lifestyle. And not to far from the City either.

For Island living I would suggest Bantayan (secret again)

MOST IMPORTANT, TAKE YOUR TIME and THINK A LOT BEFORE YOU HANG YOUR HAT

Thats all from Cebu so far.