Choosing a location to live low budget

[Alexander]

Hello everyone! I'm also looking for a wise advice about a place to live. I stay in Thailand since last New Year, but i'll arrive to Philippines in May, gonna stay there for 1-2 years at least, maybe more... I just wanna compare living on Philippines with living in Thailand (Phuket). But i don't know about RP geography a lot, so i hope someone here can give me a good advice, mm?

I don't need a job as i'm a digital freelancer, but my homeland isn't rich country. I earn in russian currency, so my budget is low, it can't exceed 1000 USD monthly. Now that's enough for living on Phuket...

All i can say i don't like living in a big city, but downtown is a good idea. I live in a small village village now, but if I need something from the city, it takes ~30 minutes only to go to the island main city on a motorcycle. Something alike will be great. I'm browsing an information about Puerto-Princesa or Iloilo now, and i'll be grateful if someone can tell me more about choosing a good place for an expat on Philippines.
Thank you all!

 

EDIT; I moved your great question to a new topic and edited your title to better answer this specific question.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Old55

[Old55]

50,000 peso is around $1,000 USD. A monthly budget that amount living in a rural area can be done if you are willing to live a simple life.

You said in an early post you would like a higher elevation for cooler weather. So the problem is finding a safe rural area (Called Provence) at elevation with good internet not too far from a medium sized city.

[Alexander]

Thank you for editing the start post Old55, now it's better :)

Yeah, i realize that my budged is low, but i guess it's acceptable enough. Now i pay ~250 USD for a brand new fully furnished studio, for example. That's really not expensive for Phuket, but the place is really nice, with very friendly owner and good neighbours. I enjoy living among locals, away from noisy tourist area. Well, i'm not sure but i guess Philippines aren't more expensive in common than Thailand, huh?

In fact i'd like to rent an apartment/condo (studio or 1 bedroom) somewhere in a chill place, not too far away from the city, and also find a bike for rent, because i'll sell my motorcycle here before leave. Weather doesn't matter so much, i'm used to hot one, and i never run A/C at +30-32 because i feel well enough :) Right now i try to choose a location to live, somewhere not far away from the sea and not too expensive. All advices will be appreciated!

[fillipino_wannabe]

IloIlo is decent, you could get an apartment there for 8k pesos per month, 5k if you really look about. Good internet and plenty to do.

Definitely don't tell the IloIlo immigration you're a freelancer though (if you're on a tourist visa), I know from experience they don't like that lol, they'll probably start giving you shit once you're here more than 6 months.

 

Edited December 26, 2018 by fillipino_wannabe

[Old55]

Alex, I don't know how to tell you this but "Quiet" and "Filipino" are mutually exclusive can't be used in the same sentence. 

Filipinos can be VERY LOUD at all hours and thoughtless of others in the noise they make.

[Alexander]

2 filipino_wannabe Thanks for your opinion! Yeah, here in Thailand i don't tell that i'm a freelancer to immigration officers too, due to the same reason. I'm not sure about visa to make, i guess first months i'll keep tourist one, like here i do now.

Iloilo seems to be a pretty interesting location. Anyway i'm looking for more, just to have a choice.

2 Old55 i can imagine that, but i'm alright with this side of local life :) People can be noisy and sometimes annoying, but they still can be a nice and pleasant people at the same time :) I have some experience :D

Edited December 26, 2018 by Alexander

[Gratefuled]

8 hours ago, Old55 said:

Alex, I don't know how to tell you this but "Quiet" and "Filipino" are mutually exclusive can't be used in the same sentence. 

Filipinos can be VERY LOUD at all hours and thoughtless of others in the noise they make.

This is very funny because they speak very loud during a conversation, even if one is directly in front of them. This is even on the telephone. I had to break my wife of that habit when talking to me but she resorts to her normal LOUD voice anywhere or with anyone else. Yes, Very Funny, except when I'm trying to sleep or watch television.

[Gratefuled]

I don't know what to add to the advice already given. My cousin married a Thai girl and they have a home up in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai.

Thailand is beautiful. I wish my wife was Thai so I could enjoy life there compared to here but you will find out on your own and you can compare. 

" I gotta get outta this place" (and I have) just live here part time.

lyrics from an old song

[Alexander]

Well, time will show :) Anyway I wanna compare Thailand to Philippines, because if I won't do that, I guess I will regret...

Any other advices about locations? :)

Edited December 27, 2018 by Alexander

[Arizona Kid]

1 hour ago, Alexander said:

Well, time will show :) Anyway I wanna compare Thailand to Philippines, because if I won't do that, I guess I will regret...

Any other advices about locations? :)

The town I live in in Cavite Province used to be pretty rural. But that was 14 years ago. Malls are popping up all over the place and there are so many brand new cars clogging up the 2 lane roads that it's  becoming a headache just to travel a few kilometers. I got this 2 bdrm house 14 years ago for P7k per month and the land lady has never raised the rent. That's one of the reasons I'm still here. And the internet is fairly good.

You might want to check out some of the smaller towns between Tagaytay and Manila or Batangas Province. Good luck!