Dumaguete Goods Prices High

[Ruddy_Rooster]

I guess Dumaguete has become an unofficial extension of Cebu so no surprise prices are similar, too many foreigners living there sigh.

That said, imported goods being equivalent to US prices doesn't seem like breaking news. The high price of processed canned junk is of no interest to me (I do like the tinned tuna though but can live without it). With bananas, coconut, pineapple and presumedly rice, so long as the price of pig or chicken doesn't sky rocket, I'm sure I can eat well affordably. Rents still appear affordable compared to US. As a Brit I could do without the scaremongering :)

[simplymikee]

I guess Dumaguete has become an unofficial extension of Cebu so no surprise prices are similar, too many foreigners living there sigh.

That said, imported goods being equivalent to US prices doesn't seem like breaking news. The high price of processed canned junk is of no interest to me (I do like the tinned tuna though but can live without it). With bananas, coconut, pineapple and presumedly rice, so long as the price of pig or chicken doesn't sky rocket, I'm sure I can eat well affordably. Rents still appear affordable compared to US. As a Brit I could do without the scaremongering

I will answer all the posts here. The prices are HIGHER here compared to cheaper USA cities. I am not comparing to NYC or Washington DC or even Minneapolis. I am comparing to medium sized city in AZ, NM, NV,TX, FL, etc.

 

It's not the brand name, it's that everything is imported and undergoes extortion type customs and shipping fees and it's not made here. Even local mfg and processed products are frequently higher because they are priced in relation to imported.

 

I am spending and estimated 30-75% depending on the item more for most things that I can buy in the USA more cheaply, even more cheaper online (and I don't have to worry about shipping problems as much back home compared to here).

 

And rents are a little cheaper but not that much. A fully furnished apartment I rent for $400 USD, for the EXACT same apartment and ameneties here cost me minimum $300 here and often higher, so you're talking maybe 25% lower in R.P. And in the US I do not have to pay multi-month deposits as many landlords ask for here. Also there are renter protection laws in the USA that are enforced, not so here.

 

Really the only thing consistently cheaper here is the labor. In looking at wages vs COL here, it's hard to understand how the average Filipino doesn't just dry up and die. But when you see the standard of living they endure, easy to see how they can do it.

[brock]

I agree with Simplymikee, imo, Most things in the Philippines cost more than they do in the UK, The local grown vegatables more expensive in the Philippines, The meat too, Cheaper to buy a chicken in the UK,

10 years ago I would have said it was cheaper, But now it is getting expensive.

Also take into account that if you are unemployed or a pensioner in the UK, You get free medicine, hospitals, eyes, teeth, education, Bus travel, free housing,,reduced prices because you are a senior citizen, Take all that into account and its cheaper then the Philippines.

[KanoJoe]

Well, so much for all the pundits claiming that they "can live in the PI on $500 a month".  I have been in the PI for the last 3 weeks doing price comparisons between the US and the Phils. I have been in Manila, Subic and Clark. I have also talked to several expats living in each place and the takeaway is that they are spending the same or more than I am living in the US. Some guys were spending more than I am living in a crappy barangay townhouse, while I live in a 3-2-2 home in a gated community. I was shocked. 

 

Part of the reason is the devaluation of the USD since 2008 and part of it is Walmart, Costco and every other manufacturer on the planet targeting the US market. When a supreme pizza costs twice as much in the PI compared to the US, something is wrong.

 

I am in Davao this week scouting the area. I really like Davao and hope that I can make it work here. I can't stand the US anymore due to the stress of everyday life and our course, our wonderful government. I really want to escape, but it may be to Thailand as it is cheaper to live there as compared to the US or the PI. 

Edited July 6, 2013 by KanoJoe

[Dave Hounddriver]

Well, so much for all the pundits claiming that they "can live in the PI on $500 a month".  I have been in the PI for the last 3 weeks doing price comparisons between the US and the Phils. I have been in Manila, Subic and Clark. I have also talks to several expats living in each place and the takeaway is that they are spending the same or more than I am living in the US. Some guys were more than I am living in a crappy barangay townhouse, while I live in a 3-2-2 home in a gated community. I was shocked. 

 

I been saying that on here for years but no one listens.  There is always someone who will speak about about how they can live here on next to nothing.  I could introduce you to an expat named Ray who lives here on 50 pesos a day and is proud of it.  But you could be a homeless person in the US for the same.  Anyway, good to hear you made the trip here and found out for yourself before selling everything and moving.

 

PS:  Yes you can live here for less.  You can live here for any amount you have to spend, just as you can in any country.

[KanoJoe]

Dave: I've been to the PI many times, although for holiday where I was not examining costs too closely. This trip was to get down to brass tacks on prices as the time is nearing for me to leave the US. I will be leaving as at least for me, it is no longer an option with what the future holds for those in the US. The only question is where I will be hanging my hat in the future.

 

I ran into a German fellow last week in Manila that is living on 500 euro a month. He lives in a Filipino style apartment for 2500p a month and eats out most meals. He even said he has a few pesos left over at the end of the month. Not something I would want to try, but more power to him. 

[Curley]

Well, so much for all the pundits claiming that they "can live in the PI on $500 a month".  I have been in the PI for the last 3 weeks doing price comparisons between the US and the Phils. I have been in Manila, Subic and Clark. I have also talked to several expats living in each place and the takeaway is that they are spending the same or more than I am living in the US. Some guys were spending more than I am living in a crappy barangay townhouse, while I live in a 3-2-2 home in a gated community. I was shocked. 

 

Part of the reason is the devaluation of the USD since 2008 and part of it is Walmart, Costco and every other manufacturer on the planet targeting the US market. When a supreme pizza costs twice as much in the PI compared to the US, something is wrong.

 

I am in Davao this week scouting the area. I really like Davao and hope that I can make it work here. I can't stand the US anymore due to the stress of everyday life and our course, our wonderful government. I really want to escape, but it may be to Thailand as it is cheaper to live there as compared to the US or the PI. 

 

I agree with you 100% if you really compare like for like then it isnt any cheaper to live in the Phils, sure you can get a very cheap meal from a roadside cart, but what would the same amunt of food cooked and served in the same sort of surroundings cost in a Western country?

 

The main thing that is cheaper AND available in the Phils is a lovely, much younger wife, girlfriend, companion. :thumbsup:

[stevewool]

 

Well, so much for all the pundits claiming that they "can live in the PI on $500 a month".  I have been in the PI for the last 3 weeks doing price comparisons between the US and the Phils. I have been in Manila, Subic and Clark. I have also talks to several expats living in each place and the takeaway is that they are spending the same or more than I am living in the US. Some guys were more than I am living in a crappy barangay townhouse, while I live in a 3-2-2 home in a gated community. I was shocked. 

 

 

 

PS:  Yes you can live here for less.  You can live here for any amount you have to spend, just as you can in any country.

wish words indeed

[JJReyes]

I agree with Simplymikee, imo, Most things in the Philippines cost more than they do in the UK, The local grown vegatables more expensive in the Philippines, The meat too, Cheaper to buy a chicken in the UK, 10 years ago I would have said it was cheaper, But now it is getting expensive. Also take into account that if you are unemployed or a pensioner in the UK, You get free medicine, hospitals, eyes, teeth, education, Bus travel, free housing,,reduced prices because you are a senior citizen, Take all that into account and its cheaper then the Philippines.

 

It is unfair to compare the situation of someone who is unemployed or a pensioner in the UK with an independent living person who has relocated to the Philippines. It sounds like the UK is a paradise with free medicine, hospitals, eyes, teeth, education, bus travel, free housing, reduced prices, etc. for retirees and those on the dole. But that comes from paying all your life high income taxes, user fees, value added taxes, etc. and having a socialized system that is bankrupting the government. 

 

For an American, the fair comparison is what it would cost me to retire in the UK (I really like Wales) compared to the Philippines. Our stay in Bristol was at a full service apartment paid by our son's company. We had breakfast and dinner at the apartment. Our eating out was usually lunch. The restaurants were very expensive and it was the same for grocery prices. Nothing was cheap, except for the British Rail passes, purchased in the United States, to visit Wales and Scotland. Our moderately price hotel with breakfast in York was nearly $450 a night. We missed the bus, so the only option was a $200 taxi ride to Fountain Abbey. That's one way. We took the bus for the return trip. 

[Thomas]

I have been in the PI for the last 3 weeks doing price comparisons between the US and the Phils. I have been in Manila, Subic and Clark. I have also talked to several expats living in each place and the takeaway is that they are spending the same or more than I am living in the US.

That's the most expensive region in the Philippines, followed by Cebu. Davao I believe is third.

 

I wonder if you do a fair comparation. 

1. Big city to big city?

I don't like big cities, so I don't go there volontaringly  :)   so I don't know, but according to official information (a bit old) it's a huge difference between Manila and provinces with Cebu in between. E g the minimum salaries are almost double. (E g I know a mall saleslady from province but working in Manila, (when she work some extra) she earn similar as an university examed high school teacher do in province.) 

I asume it's a big difference in costs for a living place in the capital city and rural in your country too. In Sweden the cost for my rural 6 room villa is similar to a 1 room appartment in Stockholm...)

 

2. What are you comparing? 

To be fair you can't compare same products, if they don't have production of it in RP. Because of high RP custom fees, you need to count things they are good at making in RP, which it's common FILIPINS use. It's OK to compare with things Americans use instead in USA, because otherwice it wouldn't be fair to USA  :)

 

3. Are you paying "kano prices"?  

If so it isn't odd it's expensive in RP  :)

(Hard to avoid, if you don't have a Filipina doing the deals for you. Yes you can shop in malls, who has static prices, but you can't get everything there.)