For People which move to the Philippines, and what they can do to get integrated fast

Not entirely sure to honest. I'm not going to sell the house in the UK, I intend to rent it out. i think at the moment my plan is to go out there and rent for maybe 12 months and see the lay of the land. My biggest concern with this plan is whether to pay for a 40ft container and take all our stuff out or leave it in storage in the UK. Trouble with that is we'd have to buy a load of gear out there all over again. Also its finding a nice, safe, quite place within distance of an international airport but more importantly I want stuff to do out there so it'll need to be close to malls, bars, resturants etc. I was condiering Tagaytay but I'm rethinking that due to the volcano. Laguna is possibily my next choice. we're going out in sept / oct so we'll have a 3 or 4 days driving around and having a look.

Things are made overly difficult out there due to the general trend to try to rob expats blind. it'll just involve me hiding in cars while the wife goes to look at places. I want to be out the UK but it just seems that trying to set up a decent life out there is stacked against the expat.

The idea that having a decent life out there is stacked against the expat, I can't agree more.

I felt that if I were to relocate to the Philippines, with my skin colour being what it is, I'd really need to actually be rich first.

People say it's cheap to live in the Philippines, and it is true that it can be cheap to live in the philippines, but not always.

My wife spends less money on clothes here in Belfast than she did in the Philippines, and gets the same amount. A car in the Philippines will often cost as much as a house (i b.s. you not). A decent microwave will be more expensive than a decent one from Argos, etc. etc. etc.

Another thing I found was ... a lot of the western ppl who live there, generally old blokes ... tend to be a bit ... well, on the stupid side. They often kinda flubbed up life here in UK, or in USA or wherever, and desperately need the new start. I met a whole different breed of crazy sociopaths in the Philippines who I wouldn't spend time with here otherwise.

It had an effect on me. Also, having been "retired" at 26, when "mini-retirements" were all the rage for the new rich (a la tim ferriss) ... I felt like I had lost something. For a young person there is a certain personal pride and dignity that comes from having a job and doing a good job. I didn't have that, plus. my wife and I were in our adjustment-to-being-married phase. I got depressed, and went quite heavy on the Red Horse, gaining about 4 or 5 stones in weight during that year I lived there!!!!! If you're gonna move to the Philippines, have a CLEAR idea of what you're gonna do when you're there, and make sure that you double your estimates of how much life will cost there.

I was a landlord, as I own my house outright here in Belfast, but we always came up short at the end of the month (and I was getting damn good rent for this house, located as it is close to the city centre)!

Going back to my previous point . . . Probably the only sane and decent westerner I met when in the Philippines was Alan (The Teach).

Its true its not cheap overall if you dont live a very local lifestyle the grocery you might want will be double uk prices and as tom says cheap boose has its downside when coupled with lack of activety

You could always rent furnished to start Sub keep your stuff stored till your sure Im slightly jaundiced as it has become clear to me I will never live in the Fils ,I could i just dont want to Portugal is a much better option in my view

It is a difficult decision to make to move out there. Strangely I think its easier to go to Thailand judging what some of my work mates have said on various ships. There just doesn't seem to be the hassles involved there that there seems to be in the phils.

Tom, i always said i semi retired at 29 due to the work i now do. I only work 6 months of the year and luckly i'm pretty paid so i've got no worries about rent covering mortgage payments etc. I've never had a problem socalising with the older generations due to normally being one of the youngers ones onboard the ships I work on, even at 36 I'm still atleast 15-20 years younger than most of my shipmates. Still it doesn't detract from the fact is nice to have someone closer to your age, no offence OSS!!!!

True about the cost of living thing. i look on that sulit website at housing and can't believe the prices. Everyones heard the stories of the real estate agents out there inflating the prices without the home owner knowing about it. But its the fact that as soon as my ugly mug comes into view it game on for them and they seem to think i can pull thousands out of my arse at will!! Plus it seems the only real option is to live on a secure sub division and I really hate the idea of living on a estate. i feel closed in and no privacy.

So the biggest problems I can see is.
1. Getting taken for a ride at nearly every opportunity due to being forgien
2. The cost of items we consider to be normal for everyday life. This seems to have more relavence when setting up home and buying electricals / white goods and transportation.
3. Finding something to do with your time, every single day
4. Obviously interacting with the neighbours / locals
5. Finding some people who aren't borderline sociopaths / perverts you don't mind making friends with.
6. Do you really need a maid and driver? I've been told that its expected of expats to have home help, but talking to work mates out there more often or not they end up getting rid of them due to petty theft etc.
7. Finding somewhere actully nice to live.

You're joking aren't you?! san mig everyday hands down. As some yanks I worked with once said "whats has been in a canoe and budweiser got in common........................They are both close to water!"

I think food and drink has gone up in price all over the world now but remember the exchange rate is poor for us as well. So from the good ol days of a strong pound i think prices have effectively risen about 30% for us. I think the place you save money is not paying for gas (heating, cooking etc), council tax, mortgage payments if you rent your house out, opt out of national insurance if you want, road tax & mot on car, insurances. i'm sure there are others as well.

i think finding a rented place is the best bet and maybe store the vast majority of our gear (furniture, fridge tables etc) and just take out clothes and tv system etc. Its just finding somewhere to be that has everything I mentioned before. To me the best place I thought was Olongapo about 7 years ago. Went back a couple of years ago and Its been spoilt IMO.

Just a reality check. Last time I was in Pinas was May 2010. I did notice that prices of some things had increased.
But, I'm still under the impression that the overall cost of living is significantly lower than UK. True or False?

What is the average household income now?

I'm not so sure. I know the peso has been one of the stongest and stablest currencies over the last few years but this recession has hit everywhere with differing results. I'd like to believe that it is still considerably cheaper to live out in the phils but it all depends on your lifestyle at the end of the day. Lets just say its not as cheap comparatively as it once was say 4 or 5 years ago.

Thanks Stu, I'd like to think that also, but unless I misunderstood something it seems maybe not.
I haven't done any specific research but I will do so just to compare the numbers

The way I see it ... for a couple ... if you have about £500 or less, you can get by but you will struggle (by western standards) --as was my experience firsthand! If you can afford £1k per month, then you'll have a pretty comfortable life out there

This rings right with me. When I was living in olongapo we'd shop at the royal mall and could easily do £100-120 a week on just the wife and me. Saying that her bloody cousins where round a fair bit eating so that obviously had an effect. Back then apartment rent was about £100 / month as well for a 2 bed place but when I look on sulit or island properties the prices are mental. The way I see it is its going to cost setting yourself up but then it should get cheaper as time goes on. You need a shopping malls for certain items but we used to go to the wet market for meat, fish etc so that helped keeping the prices down. As Tom says about a grand a month should be ok once your settled I reckon.

Glad to hear that anyway. Thanks Tom.
I'm not a person who really wants or needs "western Standards" in most things. Most of my life has been spent in non-western countries.
Even here in UK we are mostly eating rice / vegetables / fish / chicken etc. I do enjoy lamb and beef though and my wife loves yorkshire pudding.

I decided I will take some time to make an updated cost / lifestyle comparison as another project for me.

We are both great travellers and are looking forward to experiencing many Philippines locations, so need to be sure we have enough money for that.

Firstly, You're welcome

secondly, if you're going to be travelling around, just try to make sure that you've got money set aside for that apart from your grand per month, because if you go to places like Bohol, Boracay or Bagiuo (or anywhere else starting with "B" that isn't Bacolod) . . . the costs can SKYROCKET!

Price of SML at my sari in Balamban 480 delivered 25 piso to drink in the store you need more of a tan

Costs of living in the Philippines is still lower then, lets say UK, although i only have practical data from Germany, but i assume, its not much different.
Now, to stop the naysayers i gotta give a few examples.
Lets face it, if one lives in a fancy pancy subdivision in a big city, he of course is confronted with pricing structures similar to moving from UK suburbubia to in Beverly Hills/USA. That makes sense, right ? Of course the PI is third world, so the amenities are uncomparable.
Same applies to foods, if one wants to indulge in Moscow in mcDonalds, he pays 20 bucks for a burger. While eating "bortsch" is still cheap. Who wants to eat imported British Cheddar cheese in the tropics?- Nice, but he certainly would pay more exorbitant prices, if he tries to buy them, lets say, in France.
Improrted stuff is always very expensive. ( On the other hand, i get Wine and delis from an Italian Importer cheaper than in Italy itself...coz he buys ex producer and cuts out the 300% between the actual retail, which enriches him mainly, as the forwarding costs from Genoa to cebu is about the same as from Genoa to London !)
Of course, if one buy the same stuff then in cebu in "Tinderbox" or "Gustavians deli", he will pay a hell of a lot more again.

Basic rule applies, live somewhere where there are not too many expats ( which ruined the prices for rent ) and try to work with local ingredients. Its very much possible, after all, i run Restaurants with this stuff since 14 years now. And the food is the same as one would get in Europe.

Its a bit of a runaround for shopping, but it works fine. Anyone wants something in Cebu City, i be glad to help him, just pm me.
cheers,
Guenther from Balamban