What are the "Pro's & Con's" of living in Philippines?

[Daveyh]

I'm thinking of moving to the Phillipines within the next twelve months to retire. Any advice on the best areas to live, what I'll need & general info on expat life there. I'm ex military so have travelled ........... I'm looking for the quiet life now, so island living & a few home comforts would be welcome. Even a beach house would do & a boat for fishing etc. ..... but I'll not be going very far south there as that would be a little extreme. Cheers.

[pgrahmm]

This topic should be preserved.....There have to be a dozen threads to this & they are not kindly to the PI......

I've spent a lot of time there & unless for a wedding or funeral to attend there's no compelling reason to step foot there again......

Too bad the topic isn't thumbnailed someplace......

[KittenKong]

12 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

There have to be a dozen threads to this & they are not kindly to the PI......

I wonder if that's because this is a Thai forum and so people who read it and post on it would mostly be more likely to live here than in the RP? A bit like asking on a Ford owners forum why so few people own a Toyota?

 

Some things I like about the RP: Friendly people who mostly like foreigners. English is widely understood and all signs are in western script. The local language is very easy to learn, should you wish to. Few strange/inexplicable local customs. Filipinos mostly think like farangs rather than like Asians. The climate is a bit cooler than here. Fairly cheap imports generally. Cheap beer. Cheap cigars. UK pension increases paid in full. Straightforward visa requirements. Filipinos love western music, and you hear it everywhere.

Some things I dont like: Tax on worldwide income. Natural disasters. Poor infrastructure (largely due to the natural disasters). Rather boring local food. The Catholic church. Accommodation is often overpriced and often not very good. Less choice for international air travel.

 

Some say that living in the RP is less secure than it is here, but I'm not convinced. Maybe it's a different type of insecurity.

[Kwasaki]

I agree many negative things are said about the Philippines and unfair to compare, one man's meat is another mans poison.

 

OP it will take you a whiles to find what suits you I would suggest starting with the most popular tourist areas first and go from there.

 

You say an island living & a few home comforts would be welcome and a beach house, well you have aprox 7,600 islands to pick from. ????

 

[watcharacters]

 

I'd direct the OP to take a look at a few of the videos posted by this fellow.

 

 

I've not heard anyone gush more about the PI than he does.    He likes the simple life and focuses on what he sees as a low cost life style.

 

If nothing else a look at one or two of his videos offers some  degree of entertainment.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, watcharacters said:

 

I'd direct the OP to take a look at a few of the videos posted by this fellow.

 

You have to be joking why would OP wanna do that.

[BritManToo]

Booze and girls are much cheaper, VISA is easier (no financials) special VISA for former US military.

Short time accommodation is slightly more expensive, monthly around the same price.

Western food same price, but much more widely available and generally better quality.

Internet and power has a few more gaps. Beaches are nicer.

Everyone speaks English, really good English, and no conceptual misunderstandings they listen to the same music and watch the same movies (mostly in the same language) as us.

 

I like it, but then I like almost everywhere in Asia (apart from Laos which is very boring).

Edited October 31, 2018 by BritManToo

[watcharacters]

3 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

You have to be joking why would OP wanna do that.

 

If you looked at a few of the nut cake's videos you'd see he's an older fellow who enjoys assimilating in the Philippine culture, he leads a simple lifestyle, and he shares the company of more than a few nice looking ladies.

 

He's entertaining I think and not a bitter, complaining, old git.

 

Does that answer your question, Sir?

 

[rskdev]

https://www.philippines-addicts.com/

[namatjira]

19 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

I'd direct the OP to take a look at a few of the videos posted by this fellow.

 

 

I've not heard anyone gush more about the PI than he does.    He likes the simple life and focuses on what he sees as a low cost life style.

 

If nothing else a look at one or two of his videos offers some  degree of entertainment.

He’s just a creepy old sex tourist....the only thing of interest to him for the Filipino girls is the pesos in his pocket...sex tourist that’s all

[watcharacters]

7 minutes ago, namatjira said:

creepy old sex tourist

 

I don't disagree with you that he seems to fit this bill, but my other comments however hold as well.    His videos can give some insight  to life for an expat in the Philippines.   

 

If one doesn't like it there's the free choice option to totally ignore it.

 

[topt]

20 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Some things I dont like: Tax on worldwide income

For foreigners living there? 

 

[quandow]

I know several retirees who moved there and regretted it wholeheartedly. Their major complaint was the crumbling infrastructure/lack of services readily available in Thailand. I would suggest you take as long a vacation there as you can and form your own opinion.

[Johnnyngai]

If your were in the USA military, live near a U.S. VA hospital.  Do they still have VA hospitals in the Philippine ?

The Philippine is a fourth world country, I saw many western retirees in Angle City with swollen angles.   

 

[andre47]

For me it seems too be not save enough. Armed securities in front of each shop with valuables. Many people have guns.

 

I don't like their food.

The only thing for tourism you can do is beach life or exploring the nature.

 

The Catholic Church has a very strong influence.

Edited November 1, 2018 by andre47

[Daveyh]

23 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

This topic should be preserved.....There have to be a dozen threads to this & they are not kindly to the PI......

I've spent a lot of time there & unless for a wedding or funeral to attend there's no compelling reason to step foot there again......

Too bad the topic isn't thumbnailed someplace......

I'm sure you are right about dozens of threads on the subject, but how about an update? I'm looking for something more positive & a recent up to date prior to going & having a look myself.

 

I've always used the "search" option on TV before raising a new topic ........ sadly it does not appear to work that well. <removed>........ but later found a thread where I could copy my posts. Are other members having this problem?? Cheers ..... 

[Daveyh]

20 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

I agree many negative things are said about the Philippines and unfair to compare, one man's meat is another mans poison.

 

OP it will take you a whiles to find what suits you I would suggest starting with the most popular tourist areas first and go from there.

 

You say an island living & a few home comforts would be welcome and a beach house, well you have aprox 7,600 islands to pick from. ????

 

Thanks for your post............. where would you suggest? From what you say you know the area well?

 

[BritManToo]

33 minutes ago, Daveyh said:

Thanks for your post............. where would you suggest? From what you say you know the area well?

 

Baloy Long Beach Road, Barretto, Olongapo, Zambales 

Details, fly to Manila airport, taxi (or walk) to Victory Liner bus station Pasay, Bus to Olongapo, Blue Jeepney to Baloy Long beach.

Bus to Olongapo 240 peso and 4 hours. Departing every 30 minutes, 24/7.

Blue Jeepney (walk out of bus station and there will be a row of them on the right) to Barreto 15 peso and 30 minutes.

Air-con room on Baloy Long beach around 1000 peso/night. Walk down the road onto the private road, and knock on a few doors.

 

My pals love it there, the place is full of bars, western restaurants and resorts.

Arizona Resort has their own Scuba diving boat, Mexican Restaurant and a go-go bar onsite.

Loads of scuba diving in the area, and boat trips to islands.

Blue Rock Resort has a nice beach restaurant, pot of tea 50 peso.

Cheap Charlies rooftop bar has cheap beer all day, 35 peso small bottle.

 

https://www.victoryliner.com/TerminalGuide.aspx

Edited November 1, 2018 by BritManToo

[zaZa9]

Ive only been to 3 southern islands and avoided the big cities as I heard they are dirty and crowded.

I found the south  west coastal area of Cebu very pretty and cheap.

Plus it was an easy  ferry ride to Dumagete on Southern Negros which I found a very pleasant town - with Apo island , a beautiful spot , not far away.

Nice beaches also on Bohol ...

You are kept a lot better informed when you travel in PI and it appeared to have less crazy drivers  , because English is widely used , but PI seems a bit more 'down at the heal' than much of South Thailand .

But I found accommodation cheaper and better in Thailand.

Western food and products cheaper in P.I.

I saw nothing of all the supposed 'dangers' there - people were fair and friendly.

 

Its definitely a case of going and seeing for yourself .

But once you do , constantly watch the weather  over there on the news - it seems that PI  ( particularly Luzon ) cops a great deal  of bad weather , I mean a LOT  and of dramatic impact ,  compared to South Thailand .

[Destiny1990]

I like to answer this with a question. What are the pros and cons of living in Malta in comparison with Thailand?

[BobBKK]

I think I can add to this as I own a home in Thailand and Philippines and travel between the two fairly regularly for 20+ years. I have chosen to live in Thailand and travel to my place in Philippines 3 or 4 times a year and this should tell you something to start with.

 

In my opinion Filipinos are friendlier and far more polite than Thais and I just like them far more (and they speak English).

The service aspect is 100% that in Thailand and they are a warm and friendly people which is why so many nurses in the West are Filipino. Almost innocent some of them and the nationalism of Thailand is far less. So why do I live in Thailand for the most part if I prefer Filipinos?

 

It's simple:  internet number one and infra-structure number two. 

There is NO doubt I would live there if these two HUGE issues were dealt with.  Roads, Hospitals, Shopping Malls (apart from one or two) are inferior to Thailand and it gets wearisome. 

 

Assuming Philippines stays like that then I'll live in Thailand but regularly enjoy Philippines for big vacations.

 

Never in 20+ years have I ever had a security issue in either country but engage brain and keep stuff locked away etc.  Enjoy both!

 

 

[BobBKK]

22 hours ago, KittenKong said:

I wonder if that's because this is a Thai forum and so people who read it and post on it would mostly be more likely to live here than in the RP? A bit like asking on a Ford owners forum why so few people own a Toyota?

 

Some things I like about the RP: Friendly people who mostly like foreigners. English is widely understood and all signs are in western script. The local language is very easy to learn, should you wish to. Few strange/inexplicable local customs. Filipinos mostly think like farangs rather than like Asians. The climate is a bit cooler than here. Fairly cheap imports generally. Cheap beer. Cheap cigars. UK pension increases paid in full. Straightforward visa requirements. Filipinos love western music, and you hear it everywhere.

Some things I dont like: Tax on worldwide income. Natural disasters. Poor infrastructure (largely due to the natural disasters). Rather boring local food. The Catholic church. Accommodation is often overpriced and often not very good. Less choice for international air travel.

 

Some say that living in the RP is less secure than it is here, but I'm not convinced. Maybe it's a different type of insecurity.

It's the 'Regional Forum : South East Asia Forum'  actually. 

 

One assumes those not interested in OTHER South East Asia countries would not read or comment here.

 

 

[Guderian]

1 hour ago, topt said:

For foreigners living there? 

 

Yes, I thought it was similar to Thailand with an exemption for foreign income unless remitted into the country when it's earned. Did they change the rules?

 

I used to visit regularly as I had English friends living and working there. They were both dive instructors and moved around quite a bit from resort to resort, so I've seen the Dipolog area in Zamboanga Del Norte, Dumaguette on Negros, Cebu City and Mactan Island on Cebu, Isla Verde and then they settled down at Puerto Galera in Mindoro where I visited many times (though they were actually closer to Sabang than to PG). On top of that I've also spent quite a bit of time in Manila and Angeles City, as well as on the coast at Barrio Baretto.

 

As people say, apart from a few places where they've spent serious money recently the PI does tend to look (and be) a bit run-down compared with Thailand. A reliable power supply is a major issue for me, so living near a big city or somewhere with its own generator (like Olongapo) would be preferable. One downside of my friends' hotel in PG was that the power came from the regional capital, Calapan City, and when a serious storm was approaching they'd just pull the plug on the power supply as they knew it would go out anyway when the heavy rain started. I was there once for five days with no power, you have to have a diesel generator to keep the fridges and freezers cold but they are expensive to run so you can't use it 24 hours a day. I'm not sure what the internet is like these days but again if you want a decent connection I'd guess you need to live close to civilisation. The problem is that the PI has some gorgeous scenery but you're probably not going to get great internet or electricity supply out in the sticks, while the cities are usually even less pleasant than they are in Thailand.

 

Culture and language are much less of an issue than in Thailand as people have noted. Personally I always got on pretty well with the locals, but of course I've always been on holiday there and it can be a totally different matter when you're living there and dealing with them every day and trying to get things done to a competent standard. I remember that the manual workers had a thing about not working outside in the rain. It basically meant that nothing got done in the rainy season. The local cuisine is not generally great, but in the tourist spots there are plenty of restaurants catering to foreigners. Mo's place in Angeles was one of my favourites. The locals can do good food though, it's just not easy to find. We used to eat in an outdoor buffet place in Dipolog and it was cheap and excellent, the best Filipino food I've had.

 

I guess that more so than Thailand life in the PI is what you work to make of it. It's very important to choose the right place for your needs but with over 7000 islands it's not easy to decide. The southern islands, especially MIndanao, seldom get hit by a typhoon so they are inherently safer than Luzon and the north (as long as you stay away from the areas affected by the Muslim rebels!). My friends also preferred the Cebuano speakers in the south to the Tagalog speakers in the north, feeling they were a gentler people.

 

I also heard that they're clamping down on access to medicines so you often need a visit to a doctor and a prescription even for simple things. Red tape and more expense, but it's not the same everywhere yet so again it's worth looking into. Sensibly priced wine would be a Godsend, I'm bored with paying 100% more for a bottle of something decent in Thailand than I would back home. I'm sure there's a million other things worth mentioning but I think that's enough of my ramblings.

[Danthai]

I have never lived there, but have known many who have. I'm retired AF. Most live somewhere in proximity of Angeles Cit or Subic Bay. If retired military and covered by Tricare, you can use it there, but Tricare users have to use their contracted Doctors and hospitals. Care is considered pretty good. Google Harry the Horse and read over some of his monthly blogs, if still available. Gives you a massive idea of what's going on including very much PI police corruption. Good luck. Agree with poster, go take a long vacation to Angeles where Clark AFB used to be and taslj to expats there.

[watcharacters]

On 10/31/2018 at 12:24 PM, KittenKong said:

ome things I dont like: Tax on worldwide income. Natural disasters. Poor infrastructure (largely due to the natural disasters). Rather boring local food. The Catholic church. Accommodation is often overpriced and often not very good. Less choice for international air travel.

 

Good summary..

 

 

[MaiChai]

The thing about retiring to Asia is to not male any large financial commitments; eg dont buy property, invest in a hotel, etc. Thus go to the PI for a couple of months, travel round, find places you like, etc. You can always take on a month by month rental to get the accomodation costs down, and then move on when you get bored. Trick is to keep the money in the bank and not have some young lady to convince you to buy property, etc...

[watcharacters]

On 10/31/2018 at 11:52 AM, pgrahmm said:

This topic should be preserved.....There have to be a dozen threads to this & they are not kindly to the PI......

I've spent a lot of time there & unless for a wedding or funeral to attend there's no compelling reason to step foot there again......

Too bad the topic isn't thumbnailed someplace......

 

I honestly believe it's always OK to post a topic such as this no matter how many times it's been previously posted.

 

One thing I've come to learn for certain since living in SEA is the changes that happen are far more rapid fire than those in my home country.

 

Information posted two months ago may already be stale for some or even many  topics.

 

Let's welcome the interest and concern shown by posters to simple inquire..

 

 

 

 

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, BobBKK said:

It's the 'Regional Forum : South East Asia Forum'  actually. 

 

One assumes those not interested in OTHER South East Asia countries would not read or comment here.

It's a regional sub-forum of a 100% Thai forum. Clearly most people who post on here will be much more likely to have strong connections with Thailand than with other countries in SE Asia.

The original post actually appeared in the "general" section anyway. It was moved later.

Edited November 1, 2018 by KittenKong

[KittenKong]

4 hours ago, topt said:

For foreigners living there?

As far as I know, yes. They do have some dual-taxation agreements but I'm not aware that the RP has the blanket exemption for earnings not repatriated in the year they are received that Thailand has. I could easily be wrong though as the last I looked into it was about 10 years ago.

Edited November 1, 2018 by KittenKong

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, Guderian said:

Sensibly priced wine would be a Godsend, I'm bored with paying 100% more for a bottle of something decent in Thailand than I would back home.

I'm surprised you can find it that cheap here. Or is "back home" an expensive place for wine also? (I think the US is expensive for wine, compared to Spain or France or Italy.)