Davao -- The Only Philippines City Included In The Top 100, Davao City Placed 87Th In The List Of Fastest-Growing Cities And Urban Areas In The World.

[Markham]

I moved here from Cebu almost exactly twelve months ago and have never looked back! My wife and I are building a house on a property we own outside the city (in Ula) although we are currently renting in the city proper (Matina). There are far, far fewer foreigners here than in Cebu and one reason for that is undoubtedly the almost total absence of bikini bars. All those I come across are married and settled here but few live in guarded communities such as Royal Pines in Matina which is one of those high-end subdivisions favoured by rich Filipinos. Although Davao is south of the main Typhoon belt, it is also protected on the three sides by mountains and it's harbour is a natural shelter, being protected by Samal island. We do, however, often get heavy rains when tropical storms pass by to the north. As for seismic activity, there is a volcano that last erupted some 300 years ago west of the city and there haven't been any earthquakes here for decades. Tiger Airways recently introduced an almost daily service direct to Singapore in addition to SilkAir's Cebu-Davao-Singapore daily flights and I'm told that either Cathay Pacific or its subsidiary, DragonAir, plans to fly to Hong Kong from here, possibly commencing services in the first or second quarter of 2012. The city is definitely cleaner, less polluted, safer and far better managed than either Cebu or Manila.

Sounds good Markham, the Philippines is so vast geographically that I find it difficult to know where to start looking for somewhere to live. I chose Cebu as a starting point because it is a Major univbersity city and is not in the Typhoon belt and should also not be affected by Tsnamis. I've been thinking of wrting a post to get members views but that would need to be on a Philippines site rather than a Cebu site. I would also need to decide what I will do with myself in retirement.

That's not entirely true. I was in Cebu in 2007 when it was hit by a typhoon in the middle of the season. It doesn't happen that often, but it does happen. If you want to live outside the typhoon belt completely then you should look at southern Mindanao - but stay away from Zamboanga or anywhere on the southwest side of the island. Luzon generally gets hit worst and pleasant places such as Tagaytay and Baguio are often badly affected. Mark

[Curley]

.I've been thinking of wrting a post to get members views but that would need to be on a Philippines site rather than a Cebu site. I would also need to decide what I will do with myself in retirement.

I have to bring this up as the name of the forum which shows at the top of the page is Philippines Expat Forum which means all of the Philippines. We do have a lot of members from Cebu but this site is not limited to Cebu.Hope that clears up any misunderstanding. :thumbsup:

I never checked the domain name..... just searched for cebu forums, had a quick scan, bookmarked it and came back later assuming it was a cebu forum. :10001: I have had recommendations to look at Baguio and someone else mentioned somewhere else 45 mins outside Manila. I need to get my thoughts and requirements sorted.

What's there to sort out? Just start from Manila and work your way out from there from your list of places to see as long as you can afford the transportation, food and accommodations along the way until you find the place you decide to make permanent residence! Travel light and have easy access to your money!

Sounds simple but there are so many towns/cities to chose from and many different areas of those towns and cities, I don't think I have enough time left to me to check them all. I was once given very good advice.... If you think you know where you want to live then try it for a year before deciding.

[Curley]

I moved here from Cebu almost exactly twelve months ago and have never looked back! My wife and I are building a house on a property we own outside the city (in Ula) although we are currently renting in the city proper (Matina). There are far, far fewer foreigners here than in Cebu and one reason for that is undoubtedly the almost total absence of bikini bars. All those I come across are married and settled here but few live in guarded communities such as Royal Pines in Matina which is one of those high-end subdivisions favoured by rich Filipinos. Although Davao is south of the main Typhoon belt, it is also protected on the three sides by mountains and it's harbour is a natural shelter, being protected by Samal island. We do, however, often get heavy rains when tropical storms pass by to the north. As for seismic activity, there is a volcano that last erupted some 300 years ago west of the city and there haven't been any earthquakes here for decades. Tiger Airways recently introduced an almost daily service direct to Singapore in addition to SilkAir's Cebu-Davao-Singapore daily flights and I'm told that either Cathay Pacific or its subsidiary, DragonAir, plans to fly to Hong Kong from here, possibly commencing services in the first or second quarter of 2012. The city is definitely cleaner, less polluted, safer and far better managed than either Cebu or Manila.

Maybe I should try this for a week when I come over in Jan/Feb, a couple of questions. Can you recommend a nice quiet beach hotel or a hotel within walking distance of the beach? If my girlfriend travels from Zamboanga I assume it's either flying or bus, unless there's a ferry? She's never flown or been anywhere for that matter so flying is probably not on.

[JJReyes]

From time to time, you will also come across news stories listing, "Top Twenty Most Desirable Countries for Retirement" or "Top Ten Locations for Retired Persons on a Budget." The articles are interesting to read. Most of the writers have never been to the places they selected. The information is taken from the Internet or tourism publications. By the way, the Philippines is seldom included. My wife and I once visited a small museum in Honolulu listed in the guidebooks as free admission. When we asked why there was a charge, the docent sighed. She explained that one guide writer wrote it was free and everyone copied. As Kama'aina (local residents), the museum relented and allowed us to enter without paying for admission. JJR

[Art2ro]

I know the topic is about Davao, but I'd like to mention that the region of Luzon where we live isn't really all that bad compared to other areas in the Philippines and is the central hub of commerce and tourism! We've lived in Sta. Rosa, Laguna in Northern Central Luzon since 2001 and have experienced every typhoon you can name, but we survived every single one of them without any damage to our home from extremely high winds or flooding and power outages only lasted a short period of time not like elsewhere where it lasted for months and flooding lingered with washed out roads and landslides! Hurricanes are very unpredictable and no one can really predict them, but to just ride them out and hope for the best of outcomes! It's an advantage though if one lives at a higher elevation to avoid those extreme flood areas and that's why we chose the area we live in, because we haven't had any flooding in our area within a 15 mile radius and we lost power only lasting 7 days the longest, but just once in 10 yrs, all other times only 2 to 3 days! Once everything returns to normal, we hardly ever have any problems with power outages until another hurricane comes our way.

[Curley]

Thank you Art2ro, I have a lot of looking to do.

[OnMyWay]

I know the topic is about Davao, but I'd like to mention that the region of Luzon where we live isn't really all that bad compared to other areas in the Philippines and is the central hub of commerce and tourism! We've lived in Sta. Rosa, Laguna in Northern Central Luzon since 2001 and have experienced every typhoon you can name, but we survived every single one of them without any damage to our home from extremely high winds or flooding and power outages only lasted a short period of time not like elsewhere where it lasted for months and flooding lingered with washed out roads and landslides! Hurricanes are very unpredictable and no one can really predict them, but to just ride them out and hope for the best of outcomes! It's an advantage though if one lives at a higher elevation to avoid those extreme flood areas and that's why we chose the area we live in, because we haven't had any flooding in our area within a 15 mile radius and we lost power only lasting 7 days the longest, but just once in 10 yrs, all other times only 2 to 3 days! Once everything returns to normal, we hardly ever have any problems with power outages until another hurricane comes our way.

Art2ro, the first summer I lived in South Florida we had 3 big hurricanes, so you can get it in any tropical place. The most important thing is to have a good strong house and a generator! I'll be in your area at Christmas and I'm looking forward to seeing the area. If you need any small things from the US let me know. I probably have some room.

[Art2ro]

donleathers,We won't be at home for Christmas, but thanks for the offer! Just have a safe and enjoyable trip to the Philippines! Let us know how your vacation went!