12 months in Manila

do you mean buy condo units?

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You should Visit Corrigidor Island ... historical place near manila... less than an hour by fastcraft.. there are daily tourd that includes lunch as well... its fun :-)

In reference to you statement to buy property.

Are you a Philippine Citizen?    If you are not a Philippine citizen, then you can not own land or the home built on it.  The only available housing that can be purchased is a condo, which leaves you at the mercy of the property owner.

Are you a foreigner?    Foreigners can not own land or businesses in the Philippines.  There will always be a Filipino Partner with controlling interest.

Do you have a Filipino spouse?  If you have a Filipino spouse, you can buy land in her name, but you are limited in the amount of your interest in the property you have.

Do your due diligence when buying anything here, and use an attorney not in the area or related to the project.  The Philippine laws are published on the internet and anyone can read them.  And yes, there are a lot of people out there that will tell you that you can own here, but they have only one interest, "money".

I would also recommend staying away from the highrises.  This is earthquake country and the construction here can vary from floor to floor.

Hope this helps, RAC, ICBO Certified

OK Thanks again Mum , sounds like a good way to fill in a day or two

Cheers

Thanks for the advice ,

No im not interested in a condo in Manila or anything in manila at all really

I am renting in Marakina at present for $2500 a year , cheap as chips , i will stay till next june

I do have a spouse & will spend the next 12 months seaching some islands , when i do purchase some property i can have it in her name for what its worth.


I will budget for around $50,000 AUS   , thats not much


Cheers

Cheers

Hello James63,

If you stay out of the big and medium size cities and stay away from the tourist hot spots, you can build or buy a nice home for 2,200,000php in the Philippines, which is your budget.  Do not mention what you budget is to anyone, or the price may go up unexpectedly.

If you are going to travel the islands then I would plan to loop Luzon Island, then go south to Samar Island riding the ferries between the islands, crossing the bridge to Leyte Island looping each island as you visit and see the different areas of interest on each island.  Then to Cebu Island by ferry from Ormoc City, Leyte where I reside.  Then take another ferry to the next large island and so on to Negros Occidental Island, Guimaras Island, Payan Island, Mindoro Island, Palawan Island and so on.  Google Earth can display the country and the islands that make it up.  You can spend years visiting all the Islands that make up this country.

A big consideration in deciding where to settle is the weather.  The weather here is affected by the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone.  This area moves up and down the length of the country affecting the weather.  Basically the weather is as follows, Northern end of the country lots of rain, central area or east and west Visayas have a more moderate climate and less rain, southern end of the country has lots of rain.  The country experiences many tropical storms each year, most of which stay off shore, but then every once in a while you get the super typhoon like Yolanda that destroys everything in its path.  The country also is very earthquake active.  Some areas more than others.  You can check the climate thru the PAGASA website and the earthquakes thru the PHIVOLCS website.

As for what to do here, you pretty much mentioned all that is available for entertainment.   The Filipino loves Karaoke bars, Discos and basketball.  They love their fiestas and there is always one happening around the country.  You may want to look up the fiesta schedule in the country and islands you want to visit and time them to your travels.

Welcome to the Philippines and we hope you enjoy your stay.  If you are in my area during your travels, drop me a note here in advance and I will get back to you.

Take Care, RAC

Hi James,
I would also recommend going to Corrigidor Island , very clean and lots of war time history.
I also would recommend staying there two nights and to take bicycles with you.They are free to take on the ferry and they do not rent them on the island.The roads are in great shape for biking with basically no traffic only tour buses.
The island is only inhabited by workers that live there ,approx. 300 including the hotel staff.

Réal D

Thanks real D ,
Thats the second recomendation i have had for corrigidor island , sounds like a great couple of days for bike riding , will bring my teenage son over from Australia in December , the history of the war will benifit him

Cheers

James

Thankyou RAC
Huge amount of usefull information , i am in no rush to buy so i will enjoy my time looking at all these different places,

I spend 6 months of the year working in Iraq , so the philippines is just a stop over point for me at present till i find my Haven , will stay in touch if im in your area

Cheers

James

hi james - until you get to know manila stay within the areas visited by expats such as greenbelt, makati ave and burgos street, and malate - for something different see the cabaret chow at jools cabaret on burgos street

If you want to go to a good gym, go to fitness first, there are many branches around makati and manila, go to fort bonifacio if you want to bike

rcampsr wrote:

Hello James63,

If you stay out of the big and medium size cities and stay away from the tourist hot spots, you can build or buy a nice home for 2,200,000php in the Philippines, which is your budget.  Do not mention what you budget is to anyone, or the price may go up unexpectedly.

If you are going to travel the islands then I would plan to loop Luzon Island, then go south to Samar Island riding the ferries between the islands, crossing the bridge to Leyte Island looping each island as you visit and see the different areas of interest on each island.  Then to Cebu Island by ferry from Ormoc City, Leyte where I reside.  Then take another ferry to the next large island and so on to Negros Occidental Island, Guimaras Island, Payan Island, Mindoro Island, Palawan Island and so on.  Google Earth can display the country and the islands that make it up.  You can spend years visiting all the Islands that make up this country.

A big consideration in deciding where to settle is the weather.  The weather here is affected by the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone.  This area moves up and down the length of the country affecting the weather.  Basically the weather is as follows, Northern end of the country lots of rain, central area or east and west Visayas have a more moderate climate and less rain, southern end of the country has lots of rain.  The country experiences many tropical storms each year, most of which stay off shore, but then every once in a while you get the super typhoon like Yolanda that destroys everything in its path.  The country also is very earthquake active.  Some areas more than others.  You can check the climate thru the PAGASA website and the earthquakes thru the PHIVOLCS website.

As for what to do here, you pretty much mentioned all that is available for entertainment.   The Filipino loves Karaoke bars, Discos and basketball.  They love their fiestas and there is always one happening around the country.  You may want to look up the fiesta schedule in the country and islands you want to visit and time them to your travels.

Welcome to the Philippines and we hope you enjoy your stay.  If you are in my area during your travels, drop me a note here in advance and I will get back to you.

Take Care, RAC

I really enjoy reading your posts on this forum, learning lots from reading your input and appreciate the information and insights.
Sometime in the next year or so I plan to visit the islands to tour around and find a place where I can use as a base for a few months each year when the snowbanks get too cold for comfort here in Canada.
Most definitely wish to chat with you face to face, by yourself and your family lunch or dinner or whatever as a token of my gratitude! :-)

Just drop me a note when you are in the area and maybe we can meet up.  TC, RAC

Hi,

Questions: How far to the nearest swimming beach?
Answer: 4 hours, Which is in Batangas you could go Canyon Cove, Punta Fuego or Laiya. You could also go tom Puerto Galera where in there are also a lot of beaches but it would tike around 6 to 7 hrs for you to go there you need to ride a boat from batangas port but unlike Batangas in Puerto Galera you have a lot of options for beaches where you could stay. I recommend Coco Beach in Galera because its not crowded like White beach in Galera and there are a lot of foreigners as well in Coco Beach. Price is not that pricy its still cost effective.

Question: Any good gyms around?
Answer: Fitness first will be the best pick because they have big venue, a lot of equipments and complete facilities. They have a big Sauna specially in Bonifacio Global City in Fort Strip Taguig.

Question: Any where to ride push bikes with out being hit by a car
Answer: Luneta is good. They have wide place for biking without you being hit by a car.

Q: What places shouldn't I go to late at night?
A: All places in the Metro except Makati and Taguig. Those 2 cities are the safest place to go in Manila specially when u go clubbing.These are secured places. I may also say one of the nicest place because of nice ambiance and good crowd.

If you have any questions feel free to reach me at [email protected]

Thanks,
Paul

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