Best City For Expats Is? Cebu Or Manila Or Elsewhere?

[CebuJoe]

Hi, new member, just joined.  Might be donating or become a premium member if this site is useful.  It seems heavily moderated however, which does have good and bad qualities.  Also Alexa shows the server is in the USA, interesting.

 

Anyway, the best city for a US expat, mid 40s, single and looking, "handsome man" (lol as the local girls say to every tourist), successful, has an online business that pays the rent and then some, has lived in SE Asia (Thailand, now the Visayas, Philippines) is...?

 

Reason I ask:  I moved here from Thailand, and figuring I would avoid the hustle of Manila, moved to a sleepy town in the Visayas (name withheld since it's small).  While it's a wonderful little town, making new friends daily, it's a bit too sleepy (curfew is 8:00 pm for nearly all stores) and most people here are married, their kids are too young, and it's basically a farming community. 

 

So, I have a choice (I am told) of moving to either Cebu or Manila, but nobody is much more specific than that.

 

Since I don't have a lot of good advice, I throw this question to the board:  if Cebu where?  I visited Cebu and it's small but housing was an issue (I need high speed DSL preferably with a wired connection, and most places I saw had rather dilapidated buildings with dial up or bad wireless--not uncommon here in PH as opposed to more tech-savvy and connected Thailand).  BTW where I'm at the internet is the best in town but pretty bad--one thing I learned is that internet connections in the PH depend on where in town you are--the closer to the 'business center' the better, and the Ayala land type suburbs are typically not well connected.  Cebu seems like a party town (I made new friends near the waterfront rather quickly and we partied like the 20 year olds that *they* were, it was LOL fun).  But perhaps Manila is even better for a professional as opposed to a tourist?  If so, what parts?  I would imagine near "Subic Bay" where the US military used to be, since lots of expats there?  Can anybody be more specific?  Sorry for the newbie question, but I'm really 'fresh off the boat'--and don't know much about this place, though I've  been here about six months total (on and off--I also travel back to the USA a few times a year).

 

I am paying 10000 pesos a month here, which is dirt cheap but considered "high rent"--I'm OK with going higher.

 

I will check this post in a week's time and hopefully it will be posted by the moderator.  Good to meet you all reading this.

 

CJ

[earthdome]

Both Manila and Cebu are too large for me.

 

You may want to check out Baguio in North Central Luzon. It is a mountain city of over 300K population with a moderate climate. It is a bit of a college town with many korean students and has some high tech and call centers. It is a 6-8 hour bus ride north of Manila. There is a growing expat community and you can meet some of them if you stop by the Red Lion Pub in the evening. Baguio is only 50km (2 hour bus ride) from the beach in La Union.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I am outside Iloilo.  I enjoy it but still can't get internet at the house - hell they can't get the satellite TV to work!  I was going for Cebu in the planning stages.  But a friend introduced me to a girl on Panay island and here I am.  I can't recommend it for internet connectivity.  But I like it.

 

I have never been to Manilla but all I hear is bad things... I really enjoyed Cebu.  And where I was had good internet but that varies by neighborhood I expect.   I stayed near IT park and internet was everywhere.

 

I am curious was there anything wrong with Thailand? 

[bootleultras]

If your thinking Manila, you want to look more at Fort Bonafacio or Makati. While there certainly is more of the hustle and bustle of city life, they are also the high end areas of town, being the business districts the internet you can get here is first class; I have some freinds in the networking business who just recently visited and needed top speed internet which they got no problem renting a condo in the Fort for a couple of weeks. Prices are obviously higher at the same time, you can get a nice place in either for around 20k though. The nightlife has all you can think of and more & while there are alot of tourists, there are also alot of business professionals who like to go out for a quiet few bevvies of an evening after finishing work. I cannot comment on Cebu having never been there but theres plenty of members over there who may be able to shed some advice there. Good luck! :)

[Jollygoodfellow]

It seems heavily moderated however, which does have good and bad qualities.

 

So we don't get off on the wrong foot here I will let you know the forum is hardly moderated at all but we only attract decent members and the rest can go talk their crap elsewhere.   :tiphat:

 

Also Alexa shows the server is in the USA, interesting.

 

 

What's so interesting about that, the owner is me and I am Aussie but I choose to host from the US.

[Mike J]

You may also want to consider Dumaguete and Davao.

 

[softail]

You might want to consider Tagaytay, is located 60 km  or I believe 37 miles SSE of Manila in Cavite.  Is high enough to provide you with all the fresh air you need, as well as being a lot cooler weather.  Lots of great dining, a large expat population and just a beautiful area in my opinion. 

Doug

[boring]

Eastwood is an upmarket nice spot in Manila with a similar feel to the Fort and Makati. But I wouldn't want to live here unless I was working here. 

[CebuJoe]

 

It seems heavily moderated however, which does have good and bad qualities.

 

So we don't get off on the wrong foot here I will let you know the forum is hardly moderated at all but we only attract decent members and the rest can go talk their crap elsewhere.   :tiphat:

 

 

 

Also Alexa shows the server is in the USA, interesting.

 

 

What's so interesting about that, the owner is me and I am Aussie but I choose to host from the US.

 

G'day mate!  I like your site, but you do have restrictions for new members, something like four posts have to be approved... so approve me please! :-) 

 

Also I agree with your philosophy--the 'addicted to Philippines' sexpat site has much more traffic than your site but if we want that kind of 'conversation' (akin to writing on a bathroom wall!) we can always go there, no need to soil this site. 

 

CJ

[Jake]

 

 

It seems heavily moderated however, which does have good and bad qualities.

 

So we don't get off on the wrong foot here I will let you know the forum is hardly moderated at all but we only attract decent members and the rest can go talk their crap elsewhere.   :tiphat:

 

 

 

Also Alexa shows the server is in the USA, interesting.

 

 

What's so interesting about that, the owner is me and I am Aussie but I choose to host from the US.

 

G'day mate!  I like your site, but you do have restrictions for new members, something like four posts have to be approved... so approve me please! :-) 

 

Also I agree with your philosophy--the 'addicted to Philippines' sexpat site has much more traffic than your site but if we want that kind of 'conversation' (akin to writing on a bathroom wall!) we can always go there, no need to soil this site. 

 

CJ

 

Sorry CJ, it took us nearly 15 minutes to approve your post above.  We have moderators that live in all

time zones and we try to monitor and approve new members' post as soon as possible.  If you think that

this forum is heavily moderated......well, you have the right to express your opinion.  And we have ours.

Right off the bat, you are coming off questioning on how we do business here.  Our forum owner Tom

(JGF, Boss Man from Australia) has expressed his opinion as well and is well respected here.

 

Have a nice day sir -- Jake