Vietnam Vs Phillipines

[freeurmind2]

While some think "the Philippines is a mess" I will assure you there are many places that are not.

Go to Panglao, Bohol. Residential rates for long stay are similar to those in Home in Park, Koolapunt, or Baan Nai Fun. Beautiful beaches, several A or AAA resorts to choose from (thus the "expensive" comments from the cheap charlies ) and to a man they speak English, will treat you as VIPs, and are very helpful/hospitable. Yes, it's also safe. As for vehicles, you would get daily/monthly rates for cars and insurance, similar to Chiang Mai rates.

If you must see Manila, stick to Makati City, a farang playground. I would recommend no place else in the capital. Those travel advisories do not differentiate the "good" areas from the "bad" areas. To some westerners, most of the Philippines is a "mess" as it doesn't meet their comfort and convenience standards.

Go to Boracay, Aklan. July would be a low season month and fewer tourists are around. But it's also rainy season, so expect some rain some days. Residential rates depend on location. I would stick with the more commercial hotels though for short term. Fairways Bluewater and Boracay Hotel should be a good bet. I'm not familiar with car rent as this is a mere 4-kilometer long island.

Hi Freeurmind2, thanks for the positive reply, and I do agree that the whole of the Phillipines is NOT a mess. I've never been in the PH. but than again I lived nearly all over the world, including 3 years in Russia, 4 years in India and now 2 years in Thailand (never been to those countries before living there!). I want to go and live somewhere I've never been before and enjoy as much as I can for my budget (1800 US$/month), and spend it all. as said before, the only thing I want to buy is a 15-20 year old car, I want to rent a 2 bedroom fully furnished house (because we're not staying longer than a few years anyway) for about 10-15000 Pesos, around 10-15Km. away from a beach and the same from town. Possible?

We will never go to Manila, Cebu and so-on. It's only Bohol or Bacalod in negros.

So again, it's only for a couple of years, no interest in the culture whatsoever, just live, enjoy and spend. Living in Chiang Mai for 2 years means time to move for us.

Do you think this is possible in the PH. ?

Thanks.

Hello Raybona,

Apologies for the late reply as I've been traveling myself.

The budget you mentioned should more than cover your daily and monthly needs for 2 years and more in Bohol. You will find a house to rent long term within that bracket, but do note that you will need to live within Tagbilaran city limits because Panglao only has commercial/resort units. You will have to cross a land bridge to get to Panglao beaches from Tagbilaran.

Between Bacolod and Dumaguete, I'd rather be in Dumaguete (which is in Negros Oriental). Someone mentioned it's a college town, quite right, but it's not wet and wild like in the west. Kids are tired of all that cave exploring and reef diving, so on their breaks they go to the city instead. The oldest and largest university is Silliman which was founded by American protestant missionaries. So maybe you'll find more Western style conveniences in this area. I was once considering retiring here.

Whatever you decide on, I wish you the best.

[filguy]

While some think "the Philippines is a mess" I will assure you there are many places that are not.

Go to Panglao, Bohol. Residential rates for long stay are similar to those in Home in Park, Koolapunt, or Baan Nai Fun. Beautiful beaches, several A or AAA resorts to choose from (thus the "expensive" comments from the cheap charlies ) and to a man they speak English, will treat you as VIPs, and are very helpful/hospitable. Yes, it's also safe. As for vehicles, you would get daily/monthly rates for cars and insurance, similar to Chiang Mai rates.

If you must see Manila, stick to Makati City, a farang playground. I would recommend no place else in the capital. Those travel advisories do not differentiate the "good" areas from the "bad" areas. To some westerners, most of the Philippines is a "mess" as it doesn't meet their comfort and convenience standards.

Go to Boracay, Aklan. July would be a low season month and fewer tourists are around. But it's also rainy season, so expect some rain some days. Residential rates depend on location. I would stick with the more commercial hotels though for short term. Fairways Bluewater and Boracay Hotel should be a good bet. I'm not familiar with car rent as this is a mere 4-kilometer long island.

Hi Freeurmind2, thanks for the positive reply, and I do agree that the whole of the Phillipines is NOT a mess. I've never been in the PH. but than again I lived nearly all over the world, including 3 years in Russia, 4 years in India and now 2 years in Thailand (never been to those countries before living there!). I want to go and live somewhere I've never been before and enjoy as much as I can for my budget (1800 US$/month), and spend it all. as said before, the only thing I want to buy is a 15-20 year old car, I want to rent a 2 bedroom fully furnished house (because we're not staying longer than a few years anyway) for about 10-15000 Pesos, around 10-15Km. away from a beach and the same from town. Possible?

We will never go to Manila, Cebu and so-on. It's only Bohol or Bacalod in negros.

So again, it's only for a couple of years, no interest in the culture whatsoever, just live, enjoy and spend. Living in Chiang Mai for 2 years means time to move for us.

Do you think this is possible in the PH. ?

Thanks.

Hi Raybona,

There are lot of nice places in Philippines depending on what you like.

If you like beaches, like Bohol, Cebu and Davao are quite popular.

If you want cold almost the same as Chiang Mai, go to Baguio, north of Manila.

I'm from Bukidnon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukidnon), our place is cold but not the same with Baguio. I have lot of farang friends who have been there and feel in love with the place. The people are friendly and can speak good english. The environment is nice. Lots of green trees. They said our place is good for retirees but for me it is quite boring. It is quite peaceful. I only go home during Kaamulan Festival.

Bukidnon, same as Chiang Mai, where there are many ethnic tribal groups.

[wheatbreadeater]

oh hi guys its me again, whatbreadeater.

upon my experience in manila..i was sort of..shocked..culture shocked u know. i been living in this country forever (born here) and i been to manila several times with my mother if she wants to go buy clothes there or stuff for our business. we would go to malls and stay in a hotel but ive never been to manila on foot and without a car.

3 months ago i was there and i didnt really know my way around, i was with my bf (Who is a viet-american) and i was really..feeling ashamed to seee a lot of dirty places and beggars. it kind of ruins the romantic mood if u see kids in the street sniffing rugby or glue or whatever it is they are sniffing. (it looked like a cloth)

we had to take a cab and i always get mad at my bf when he talks cause then the driver will find out he is foreign and thus charge me twice the price. example the meter says 90.00 he asks for 200.

this is within the city of ermita/malate because i thought it looked nice...from pictures online.

but this is manila, it is a big city..cutthroat. lifestyle of living here is expensive. thus the people here are more on the edge. take bigger risks. u will notice in provinces like davao, cebu, gensan, etc people are more hospitable and respectful.

i dont know what people are looking for when they go to manila. they probably think they will see stuff like cultural arts..historical stuff. nothing. there is jsut so much traffic and pollution and garbage.

and i realize thats why a lot of foreigners talk bad stuff about my country, because they go to manila. seriously ...if u want to see the real beauty visit the islands.

ive never been to vietnam but im excited to visit soon. maybe next year or something.

oh and by the way remember, this is a 3rd world country. wel,probably 5th world. but give it a chance and visit the smaller cities.

in manila i found:

a)great restaurants, places to watch movies in ..shopping is nice and there are more variety..

a long time ago someone said the provinces are "boring". what do u want as excitement? kayaking , scuba diving, mountain climbling, horseback riding , island hopping or night clubbing? the latter is somewhat nonexistent in the provinces (not unless u really look for it) and im happy about that.

[craigt3365]

I just had dinner with a friend who has worked in Nha Trang for 3 years. Nice British guy working in the oil biz. Lives here in Pattaya with his wife, but works offshore. His job has changed to another country and he said he was really happy. He did not like it at all. He listed quite a few reasons. A few have been mentioned here. And according to him, how unfriendly everybody was is a big problem.

Anyway...just another note recommending that you head there for at least 2 weeks before committing to a move. It's a big difference between CM and VN or the PI...not for everybody...just as Thailand is not for everybody...

[PattayaParent]

^all these reports of unfriendliness in VN come from the South (except Lekatai).

Maybe you should consider the North, I've not encountered any unfriendliness in 10 years of going there.

[thedistillers]

I was in Nha Trang last month for a week and I thought it was a shithole. How depressing it would be to move from the lovely Chiang Mai to Nha Trang.

1) Nothing to do 2) pushy sellers and motobike drivers everywhere 3) I went to the market, dirty... 4) Too touristy, most people who are doing Vietnam overland stop there for a day or 2. 5) Scammers and theives hang out in the beach, I was approached with the "my sister is a nurse in your country" line. 6) Did I say there's absolutely nothing to do. 7) Not entirely safe at night + rats.

There's not even a shuttle bus from the airport to downtown, which is far away.

The cost of living here is far cheaper than Thailand,e.g.for food drink and rent.I'm living in a small town on the South coast,not far from the Cambodian border,and as far as I know am the only foreigner living here

I don't think that is true at all. Perhaps if you live in a small town the cost of living will be low, but then the cost of living in Issan is low too...

Edited September 21, 2010 by thedistillers

[lekatai]

Well,I'm not quite sure what you think isn't true,but just to clarify what I originally said.I do live in a small town(Ha Tien)in the south of Vietnam.Nothing has happened so far to change my view of the people here,they are very friendly and helpful.I came back here yesterday from a week in Cambodia and Thailand,and I can assure you things are far cheaper here in general,than in either of those two countries.Food here is very cheap,as long as you buy what is local and in season,obviously things such as imported apples or peaches are more expensive than local fruits( but still cheaper than Thailand though)A friend of mine,who runs a bar/restaurant in Koh Kong pays twice,or even 4 times what we do for basic foodstuffs,and that's right on the Thai/Cambodia border.A licence for my wife to run a business cost 25,000VND (about 40THB) Electricity is priced on a sliding scale,the less you use.the cheaper the units,the price starts at less than 1 THB a KwH Our water bill last month for a massive house was 61,500VND (about 100THB).OK I've never lived in Isaan,only Pattaya and Bangkok and it might well be that Isaan is a lot cheaper,but of the three countries I have lived in (Thailand,Cambodia and now Vietnam) it's overall much cheaper here(and the food, infrastructure and services here are far better than Cambodia)