15

So, what might be the range of rent cost for a room/eff. apt. on a monthly basis in Dumaguete or CDO....I've heard from $150US on up....how accurate is that for a monthly renter....And I keep hearing not to expect too much on the food front, compared to Thailand....should I expect to do some cooking to spice things up or what....didn't really want to spend time in the kitchen...lol

16

well my experience is limited...One thing to take into consideration is the peso has gotten very strong lately so $150 does not buy what it use to. And on the other hand the PI economy is hot so inflationary pressure is going to push prices up particularly with real estate. That being said I did rent a large studio apartment in Cebu in that range. And not that I have looked a great deal in Dumaguete but I have never found something similar though that does not mean it does not exist. Not familiar with CDO but my hunch would be it should be comparable to Cebu city or perhaps even a better deal. There are lots of smaller towns that have expat communities that have looked interesting to me, San Carlos on Negros, Ormac on Leyte. And there is Puerto Princesa on Palawan, that is a great little city, if I had a choice that would have to consider there.

17

What do ya like so much about Port P.? "great" is a strong word to me...

18

again I am no expert and I have not spent a lot of time in PP but I have found it to be a pleasant and pretty city and I like that size. What I am talking about is really having confidence in a place that the residents are committed to protecting the quality of life in terms the environment going forward. What would concern me is choosing a place to settle down and having it turn into a polluted mess in the years to come as you grew older. There is definitely that quality to Dumaguete. PP has the reputation of being the most forward thinking municipality in the PI in terms of environmental issues. That sort of thing would be a factor in my thinking...

here is an article on the subject
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/opinion/columnist1/32963-hagedorn-the-best-mayor-in-the-philippines

19

oh, I didn't address food in the PI, it tends to get dismissed as inferior to places like Thailand. True it does not have the refined cuisine but I do think you can find good food, you just have to be a bit discerning. I do think a lot of the best eating is what you find prepared privately. In terms of spending time in the kitchen, I use to like preparing Thai dishes with the GF. We would spend the day researching a dish and shopping for ingredients and then preparing it at night. It gave us something to do, it was fun as well as some great and inexpensive eating

20

I used to like to do a lot of things...but I'm solo now and don't like just cooking for one person...or washing the dishes...lol...of course that could change if I met Miss Right...but I figure the odds of that have diminished with time....lol....why did ya leave Thailand for P.I.?

21

not hard to find candidates for "miss right" in the PI, the issue is determining if they actually are miss right... We didn't leave Thailand for the PI. The girl is Filipino, we got ourselves a Thai cookbook and both practice making Thai food. An issue with the PI is generally just finding things, if you come up with a interest or activity or something you want to try searching for the appropriate stuff becomes a big part of the process