Any Expats In Cagayan Valley, Isabela Area?

[hk blues]

7 hours ago, Lee1154 said:

 Electricity is higher than the Nashville area.  No aircon during the cool months, about 3000, with aircon for one room runs me during the heat of the summer, 7500.  There are two nice malls here now for walking around but has very few western items.

These figures are indeed expensive.  I'm in Iloilo and we have just had our latest bill - 1600php.  We run 2 a/c - 1 for about 4-5 hours a day and the other for about 8 hours per day all year around. Water is higher though, we pay 250php per month and drinking  water on top. 

[PaulB]

23 hours ago, John Chamberlain said:

Hi PaulB, I have a house in Isabela near San Mariano, we also do a bit of hobby farming among other things, I still live in the UK but hope to stay in Ph next year, at the moment we have a 5 week holiday every year to visit family & check the farm, this year we will be there for the month of April. I would love to meet up for a beer one day, While we are here in April I am getting a new van,  so transport is no problem.

John I will keep in touch and let you know when I will be there. Working in Abu Dhabi and not sure when I will get home. For sure it will be great to meet up one day. Keep in touch.

Paul

[John Chamberlain]

1 hour ago, PaulB said:

John I will keep in touch and let you know when I will be there. Working in Abu Dhabi and not sure when I will get home. For sure it will be great to meet up one day. Keep in touch.

Paul 

Sounds good to me Paul, we will be there from 1st April to the 4th May but hopefully next year we move there next year& retire, many thanks for your reply.

[John Chamberlain]

11 hours ago, hk blues said:

These figures are indeed expensive.  I'm in Iloilo and we have just had our latest bill - 1600php.  We run 2 a/c - 1 for about 4-5 hours a day and the other for about 8 hours per day all year around. Water is higher though, we pay 250php per month and drinking  water on top. 

We have been talking about Solar with a battery system, I have solar in the UK & its great, I think it would do even better in Ph with electric being so expensive & even our water has to be pumped by electric, the mains water is very poor quality as well as being expensive.

[Billoncho]

On 3/12/2019 at 5:16 AM, Lee1154 said:

Billoncho,

Internet speed is okay thru PLDT.  It slows down at times but for the most part, it is not a problem except when we lose electricity.  During the heat of the summer, it is common to have a brown out for one or maybe two days a month.  You can get small apartments for around 6500 to 10,000 pesos a month.  A stand alone house can cost about 15,000 up per month.  Veggies are cheap at the local stands but foods from a grocery store are higher than I pay in Nashville, TN area.  Tricycle rates are high here.  They cost as much as taking a taxi in Baguio.  Supposedly the rate is 15 pesos to go anywhere in the city.  It practice, that is not true.  All of the trikes have their route, if you vary from their route, you will pay 70 pesos.  Water is cheap, normally 118 per month but no one drinks it.  Electricity is higher than the Nashville area.  No aircon during the cool months, about 3000, with aircon for one room runs me during the heat of the summer, 7500.  There are two nice malls here now for walking around but has very few western items.

Thanks for all the info. My wife's friend in Tuguegarao told us PLDT too.  I've been driving a scooter in Taiwan traffic the last 12 years, but my wife is against me getting a scooter or motorcycle there. She says its too dangerous. I think it would be safer than here in Taiwan where they pull out into traffic without looking at all and routinely run red lights.
Are the brown outs announced in advance? I was thinking I could get a generator to run during the brownouts. My job requires me to be online unless I cancel in advance. Too many cancellations and I'll be out of work. I need a dependable download speed of 10 mbps and an upload speed of 2 mbps. My other option is another company that allows working through 4G networks, but I would need unlimited internet. Here in Taiwan my unlimited 4G is only about $12 US a month and 100 mbps home internet is about $40 US. I've read that the Philippines has the slowest and most expensive internet in Asia.
My wife is Illacano and wants our daughter to go to Saint Paul for elementary school and we'll only be 2 hours away from her family in Ballesteros. I may fight her on the scooter. I'll have to see the traffic when we get there. Thanks again for the help. 

[Arizona Kid]

On 3/12/2019 at 5:16 AM, Lee1154 said:

Billoncho,

Internet speed is okay thru PLDT.  It slows down at times but for the most part, it is not a problem except when we lose electricity.  During the heat of the summer, it is common to have a brown out for one or maybe two days a month.  You can get small apartments for around 6500 to 10,000 pesos a month.  A stand alone house can cost about 15,000 up per month.  Veggies are cheap at the local stands but foods from a grocery store are higher than I pay in Nashville, TN area.  Tricycle rates are high here.  They cost as much as taking a taxi in Baguio.  Supposedly the rate is 15 pesos to go anywhere in the city.  It practice, that is not true.  All of the trikes have their route, if you vary from their route, you will pay 70 pesos.  Water is cheap, normally 118 per month but no one drinks it.  Electricity is higher than the Nashville area.  No aircon during the cool months, about 3000, with aircon for one room runs me during the heat of the summer, 7500.  There are two nice malls here now for walking around but has very few western items.

That's pretty much like it is in Cavite where I'm at. We used to get the brownouts so much that I bought a rechargeable fan. Haven't needed it for several years now though. We have a small chest freezer and I give my GF P5000 at the beginning of the month to get all of the meat. Veggies are bought when needed. Electric runs from P4k to 7k. P125 for 25 ga. drinking water. 

[PaulB]

On 3/12/2019 at 6:39 PM, John Chamberlain said:

Sounds good to me Paul, we will be there from 1st April to the 4th May but hopefully next year we move there next year& retire, many thanks for your reply.

John

I am travelling to Isabela on 25th May for 2 weeks if you are around.

Paul

[John Chamberlain]

Hi Paul, I would love to have met up but I am back in the UK after a great holiday, I hope we can have a get together next year when I will be over for 5 weeks or may be longer. Best wishes

[PaulB]

4 minutes ago, John Chamberlain said:

Hi Paul, I would love to have met up but I am back in the UK after a great holiday, I hope we can have a get together next year when I will be over for 5 weeks or may be longer. Best wishes

Sounds like a plan!

[John Chamberlain]

Hi Paul, Such a shame we missed each other this time, mind you we were kept so busy with family and the farm plus a few other business interests that we didn't even have time to go to our favourite place at Palanan which is just like paradise !  We decided to buy a few things to help the farming project, such as a tractor, as I am sure you know there is nothing simple about buying a tractor, 1st we couldn't get my bank in the UK to send the money over like they said they could, Idiots!! Then the finance deal to buy any way was all complicated due to promises that they could do a bank to bank transfer of funds & right at the last moment could not " the frustration " Any way we had some reserves so we paid the deposit in cash & the tractor was delivered, I think all this took nearly 2 weeks to sort out but its all good now the tractor has been working non stop since it was delivered. We hope this will generate a great income as well as a more efficient farming set up, my wife as you can imagine is both delighted & proud !!