If you live in Cebu

[JJReyes]

11 hours ago, Freebie said:

Philippines is substantially overpopulated

As Freebie says, the country is overpopulated.  People everywhere.  Lots of small children.  The fantasy dream of being able to walk alone on a beach is only available in the movies.  

Earlier this year, we stayed nearly one month at the Seda Hotel at the IT park.  The Ayala Mall next door is rather small.  There is another Seda Hotel next to a much larger Ayala mall which we visited several times.  For our next Cebu trip, this property will serve as our base when exploring this part of the country.

If your question is which area, Metro Manila or Metro Cebu would be better for retirement, in my opinion, Cebu is better.  The reason is both offer the same critical infrastructure needs for retirees.  They have good condominiums, medical care, access to supermarkets, etc.  However, the islands surrounding Cebu City are more interesting and accessible. 

[Cola Cubes]

The whole country is a toilet.  Generally the long term kanos here (mostly yanks) have limited experience of the world or are skint.  There are much, much, better places to live (south america for one). 

Kanos by and large are here because they are married and choose to be stuck, or because they are making so much money they can`t easily leave. 

It is winners and losers.  Not much in the middle.

[MotorSarge]

1 hour ago, Cola Cubes said:

The whole country is a toilet.  Generally the long term kanos here (mostly yanks) have limited experience of the world or are skint.  There are much, much, better places to live (south america for one). 

Kanos by and large are here because they are married and choose to be stuck, or because they are making so much money they can`t easily leave. 

It is winners and losers.  Not much in the middle.

The whole country is a toilet. 

Generally the long term kanos here (mostly yanks) have limited experience of the world or are skint. 

There are much, much, better places to live (south america for one). 

Kanos by and large are here because they are married and choose to be stuck,

or because they are making so much money they can`t easily leave. 

It is winners and losers.  Not much in the middle. 

[Old55]

19 hours ago, Georgebob said:

Last year I spent 3 days in Cebu City 

I stayed near the Ayala mall

But I would like to know your lifestyle if you live there ?

What is the IT park like ?

I dont  think I explored Mactan island 

Yes there's plenty of YouTube videos but I would like to know you guys opinions on Cebu , did you like it if visited , do you enjoy it if you live there ?

Is there quiet areas near the beach to live away from that beeping of the city? 

I wonder why they have to beep beep beep their horns all the time when in Thailand they can get through the day without doing it?

 

Staying in a hotel or condo near Ayala is great for a few weeks or a month after that I get bored. I know folks that own condos right next to the mall and enjoy living there. It's convenient for eating out or shopping. My friend goes to the grocery store and has all his items brought up for him by one of the employees. 

IT Park is a vibrant area not far from Ayala with many restaurants/bars with covered open seating. It's busy with younger Filipinos working in the Telecom industry located there or nearby. 

CEB International airport is located on the north end of Mactan Island. There are three bridges that connect to Cebu Island. Mactan is extremely crowded with substandard roads even by Philippines standards. Traffic can sometimes become so gridlocked that it's simply unmanageable.

The north east end of the Mactan has a number of nice resorts some exclusive. The past ten years or so the majority of guests are Koreans some Filipinos, Chinese and Westerners. Not all the resorts on the ocean have a beach. Some have breakwaters others a rocky beach but most have at least a small sand beach. I would NOT go SCUBA diving or swimming in the water any place within metro Cebu City or Mactan Island area.

We have family and a number of Filipino and Foreigner friends living in or near Cebu City. We've visited Cebu City the past 25+ years now. We choose not to live in Philippines full time for a number of reasons. In the near future we will spend part of each year living in or near Cebu City. Back to your question..... Cebu City could be a good place to live. It has a number of positives and a few negatives. The main issue for some would be traffic at times the air is polluted as well. Most of the time you deal with heavy traffic. Rush hour is ugly with some places becoming gridlocked.

Filipinos "Honking". Almost never road rage or anger. Think of it as a type of radar, beep... beep... beep.... a driver politely saying "I'm here".

Quiet areas on the beach away from the city? Yes, but far from the city. I know areas south of Cebu City much batter than north. Some very nice areas both. A better idea for someone living on Cebu would be the to live on the west side. It's not far but there are fairly high hills/mountains with just Okay roads. The west side is nice!

 

[Gutenberg]

2 hours ago, Cola Cubes said:

The whole country is a toilet.  Generally the long term kanos here (mostly yanks) have limited experience of the world or are skint.  There are much, much, better places to live (south america for one). 

Kanos by and large are here because they are married and choose to be stuck, or because they are making so much money they can`t easily leave. 

It is winners and losers.  Not much in the middle.

Phillipines is very attractive for the 'digital nomad' crowd (probably just guys around 20-40) besides the retirement age guys, because of the territorial tax regime and the beaches and the dating experiences and the easy visa for under 50 yo's. I am not married to a Fillipina, not 'skint', have wast experience of living in various countries and still choose the Phillipines (ok, well, to be determined after a year).

You are mostly affected by your peer group. Hanging out in fancy cocktail bars where everybody dresses nicely gives you a completely different view on things than if you make your conclusion based on a crowd in tank tops and flip flops.

 

 

Edited June 1 by Gutenberg

[Jollygoodfellow]

21 hours ago, Georgebob said:

What is the IT park like ?

Is it just condos?

I live in the IT Park

No not condos but mostly Call center buildings. 

To me and talking about 8 years this is a great place to live. Modern, safe and all that one needs is here.

Someone mentioned the mall is small but it's not. Now days mostly filled and busy.

What people say is often from experience years ago, For example, the supermarket has expanded. Lots of foreigner foods now but if you don't live here you won't know, 

[P_X]

I live in Cordova cebu, just outside cebu city on mactan.  Cclex bridge takes you to sm seaside mall. Pretty much a straight shot. 

 

Cordova has been chill. However they recently opened a McDonald's and it's causing a lot of traffic.  I'm hoping after the novelty wears off it won't be as congested as it's been this last week

[Georgebob]

On 6/2/2024 at 8:21 AM, Jollygoodfellow said:

I live in the IT Park

No not condos but mostly Call center buildings. 

To me and talking about 8 years this is a great place to live. Modern, safe and all that one needs is here.

Someone mentioned the mall is small but it's not. Now days mostly filled and busy.

What people say is often from experience years ago, For example, the supermarket has expanded. Lots of foreigner foods now but if you don't live here you won't know, 

What a positive post 👍

 

[craftbeerlover]

2 hours ago, P_X said:

I'm hoping after the novelty wears off

The novelty of Mcdonalds, now that is a head scratcher 

[craftbeerlover]

On 6/2/2024 at 3:18 AM, Cola Cubes said:

Generally the long term kanos here (mostly yanks) have limited experience of the world or are skint.

Couple things come to mind, first would be deleted so I will abbreviate  F Off.   You speak as if you really know what you are talking about, and as a "Kano" that has lived here almost 13 years, I can tell you that you are wrong.  Are there foreigners here that fit into your ill-informed statement, well of course there are.  Are most of that "group" yanks, I highly doubt it.