Gunmen abduct a Norwegian, 2 Canadians, Filipino from Philippine resort

[peteregion]

I would consider retirement to the Phils, but too 3rd world and too much crime.

Farangs are targets there, more so than Thailand.

Plus a retirement visa is more costly.

it strongly depends where on the Philipinnes you reside. There are very many absolutely safe places for Westerners. Just to name a few - Bohol, Cebu, Boracay

Filipinos speak a fairly good english, and the internet is fast.

Retirement for 150-200 USD for a one-year Visa "expensive" ?? Compared to which country ?

I wasn't aware of a 200 per year visa?

Phils have a lot to offer and I would strongly consider living there as there are endless options.

Where do you get the USD150 to 200 from???

In addition to the Retirement Visa Deposit of up to USD50000, depending on age, there is the application fee.

Application Fee

Principal Applicants US$1,400

Dependent US$ 300 (each)

Annual Fee (PAF) US$ 360 (covers 3 family members)

* For more than 3 retiree members in a family, an additional PAF of US$100.00 for each additional dependent must be paid.

* Under the SRRV Courtesy/Expanded Courtesy, the PRA Annual Fee of US$360.00 is not applicable. However, in case of more than two dependents, US$10.00 for each dependent must be paid for the issuance of the PRA ID Card.

[peteregion]

In a survey released by crowd-sourced rating site Numbeo.com dated April 30, 2015, Davao City ranked 9th as the safest city in the world.^[9] In the following month, Davao City's rank moved up to the 5th spot^[10] and in June of 2015, Davao City now holds the 4th spot as the safest city in the world.^[11]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Duterte}

[peteregion]

Davao had never been top 10.

Latest numbeo.com Crime Index Rate:

1 Kyoto, Japan

2 Osaka, Japan

3 Seoul, South Korea

4 Dresden, Germany

5 Singapore, Singapore

6 Tampere, Finland

7 Manama, Bahrain

8 Salzburg, Austria

9 Munich, Germany

10 Heidelberg, Germany

11 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

12 Bern, Switzerland

13 Coimbra, Portugal

14 Bergen, Norway

15 Oradea, Romania

16 Boise, ID, United States

17 Davao, Philippines

18 Taipei, Taiwan

19 Zurich, Switzerland

20 Doha, Qatar

Edited September 22, 2015 by peteregion

[MadBum]

Davao had never been top 10.

Latest numbeo.com Crime Index Rate:

1 Kyoto, Japan

2 Osaka, Japan

3 Seoul, South Korea

4 Dresden, Germany

5 Singapore, Singapore

6 Tampere, Finland

7 Manama, Bahrain

8 Salzburg, Austria

9 Munich, Germany

10 Heidelberg, Germany

11 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

12 Bern, Switzerland

13 Coimbra, Portugal

14 Bergen, Norway

15 Oradea, Romania

16 Boise, ID, United States

17 Davao, Philippines

18 Taipei, Taiwan

19 Zurich, Switzerland

20 Doha, Qatar

The same source we both used says it was in June, 2015.

I see it at #17 now. The rankings likely fluctuate somewhat.

Regardless, Davao is a very safe city and I would gladly live there.