Is It Really Cheaper To Live In The Phils

[Mr Lee]

Anyway, get out of bed the wrong side today huh

I have listed quite a few other items and there are so many more, so the chickens are not just a draw and the penny hotdogs I have seen at times outside of some stores here would be considered a draw. Yes you heard that right, buy a soda for $1 and a hotdog for a penny, although I do not think I have seen any deals as good as that lately except at car dealers. I will agree that rents are lower in the Philippines most of the time, yet when compared to the size and workmanship of the places in the US and service you can get in the US, rents are not really less per square foot, it is just that they make things much smaller in the Philippines most times, so yes they will cost less but you most often get less. People tend to live in a province where it is less expensive and then try to compare that to living in a major city in the US, so if a person was to live in the boonies in the US, then rents there and other items are even less than those I have quoted. One guy I know rents a two bedroom cabin in North Carolina for $200 a month, but he said he has to drive an hour to shop at a real store, yet he says they have general type stores where everyday items can be bought at a higher price, sort of like some of the provinces in the Philippines with all the sari sari stores. So yes I woke up on the wrong side of the bed with a few emails complaining to me how topics keep going way off topic, and after reading some, I do not blame them for being nice enough to tell me that they are getting upset with how they drift. Thank you to those of you who emailed me because I see exactly what you meant and will try my best to get it corrected as much as possible. So back to costs, members feel free to list the cost of items and I will do my best to list the costs of the same items here in the US. I suspect most will be less here. Oh and Rusty mentioned not needing a car, well there are places here for over 55 people but nowadays they do not seem to enforce that rule, where a car is not needed either because they have daily buses and trams that take people to the movies and shopping etc, so if living in those places, a person would not need a car, so therefore no car insurance either, and many who live in them do not have cars, also a person would not need home owners insurance either, so those are two major items which would keep costs down living in Florida verses the Philippines.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Anyway, get out of bed the wrong side today huh

So back to costs, members feel free to list the cost of items and I will do my best to list the costs of the same items here in the US. I suspect most will be less here. Oh and Rusty mentioned not needing a car, well there are places here for over 55 people but nowadays they do not seem to enforce that rule, where a car is not needed either because they have daily buses and trams that take people to the movies and shopping etc, so if living in those places, a person would not need a car, so therefore no car insurance either, and many who live in them do not have cars, also a person would not need home owners insurance either, so those are two major items which would keep costs down living in Florida verses the Philippines.

I have no reason to want to live in Florida so it does not interest me. Taxis are much cheaper in the Philippines than Australia and a jeepney even cheaper so a car is not necessary,could even hire a taxi for a day quite cheap.If food cost a bit more so be it but rent,travel expenses,movie tickets etc etc are cheaper so it counter balances a slightly hire food cost.

[stef]

all i can say is try living in London for a day then you will see the cost of living is much cheaper here

[piglett]

so the cost of food in the Philippines can be more than at Cosco ..........well that's good for me , you see i am too fat anyhow & i'm also a cheep prickeveryone that knows me knows how cheep i am so next month when i am in the PI i'll be saving a bunch of money on food by not buying much of it :) :) :)take care allpiglett

[Bruce]

First and foremost, I see that no one has compaired the cost of 'entertainment'! Nor have I seen any posts about INCLUDING entertainment in your weekly or monthly budgets. Why the savings alone on Philippine Entertainment over say the US or UK is huge! As a Public Service Announcement, and as an unappointed advocate of 'working women supporting their families'....... Guys! your local GRO needs to eat too. This is June and school is starting, school fees need to be paid (I am up to 15 kids now). If you fail to remember to budget in costs for 'entertainment' then the local economy suffers...... I think Dead President Reagan said it well when he described his financial plan for the US as the 'trickle down' plan..... (a true fact, not a sex joke)So, I want everyone to rethink their budgets, squeeze out some non essentials (heart meds, bangus / balute etc) and find those pesos for the local working woman! Aside from your entertainment...... I have another way for you to slowy rot into your retirement in the Philippines. It seems to be working well for me and it is really suited for those of us who are still working but even if you are retired now, you can tailor the plan to fit your needs. Think LONG TERM. While we, the (damn) foreigners are unable to actually own land we can own a house on someone elses land and of course the condo / townhouse 40% thing....What I did was to MAKE A DECISION. Rather then spend years in time and vast amounts of money searching the 7000++ islands of the Philippines for the 'right' place to retire, I did some cursery looking on the internet, talked to Lee about Cebu and what / where he thought Cebu would be in 10-20 years. I met some other people, traveled some in Manila and to Leyte / Tacloban and Samar. Then......... I MADE A DECISION. I decided on Catbalogan in Samar which is remote enough to not be over crowded or polluted (much) is 1 plane ride from Manila (at least 2 flights a day) and then a 2 hr ride to Catbalogan. There is no where I need to be that I can not walk to in Catbalogan. No taxis, but many pedi cabs and motorcycle cabs..... I have a woman friend who is dirt poor, but did inherit land and has a house. And THAT is the key to the plan! Find an agreeable woman with a house. Spend your money in fixing the house up to 'your' standards. Slowly or quicky depending on your budget. In time that house (your house ?) will be home and you can do what you need to do on a budget. The rent you would pay some where else.... 5,000 - 12,000 pesos a month adds up to enough money to add air con, hot water, remodeling as need to fit your needs. I guess my point is that there is nothing wrong with doing research and trying tro make the best decision you can. But there is a cut off point in which you are no longer doing research, but instead stalling and 'finding' reasons not to act. Where are YOU in the that process? Doing research, building your retirement, or stalling??I have already finished remodeling the house. As a source of future income, I am now building a boarding house. Currently, I have 7 'unskilled workers' bweing paid 200p A DAY and 2 skilled workerd' being paid 300p A DAY. The underground / foundation and concrete pillars / beams are now being done. One these are completed, then I will cut back to 2 skilled / 3 unskilled workers to do the block work. All on a budget. FOr those of you living in the UK or US, do the math to see the huge savings! I will end up with 12 rooms to rent in a concrete house, for less than $50,000 USD. If I allowed the woman friend I have to do it 'her way'..... it would be MUCH less! But as a Kano, I have certain standards so we are doing it my way.... So when I retire, I will have a small SS check for the US and then rental income. I did my research, made a flexible plan, and started that plan in motion. I MADE A DECISION. Now, I did not mention all the legal aspects of my PLAN. I do have a local attorney involved. I fully accept that when I die, all improvements I have made stay in the family who owns the land. The next post you read will be from Lee, detailing all my errors and pitfalls of being so trusting with the local woman and her family...... So, after reading my post and then Lee's post and finding a balance between them, MAKE A DAMN DECISION! It is your retirement, so what are you waiting for? Lee and I are friends in the US. We have one of those ying and yang relationships where I make mistakes and he points them out to me! Hehehehehe(And please, don't forget to budget in some ENTERTAINMENT!)Bruce

[Mr Lee]

Good post Bruce, so I do not disappoint you I will respond. I think you know the woman well enough to know what you are doing, so it should work out and all you can lose is the money, so nothing ventured, nothing gained, as long as you have legal documents from her and her estate allowing you to stay there if something were to happen to her (these things do happen unfortunately to all of us). I am sure you were smart enough to do that, so I mentioned it because I am sure someone else will if I do not. The best of luck with your projects. :) It seems Bruce has set the cost of living for his future his way and in a place less expensive than Cebu.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Kuya Lee
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[sjp52]

That,s what I,m doing Bruce. Slowly fixing up the wives little house. Maybe not for me to live in but you never know. I love how cheap it is for labour here and materials. When I first came to visit my wife I could not believe what shape the house was in. It was not her fault as there was never any money to fix it up. I was shocked to learn that the kids all slept on the floor, So of course I bought all new beds, The kids looked like they had died and gone to heaven.

[Bruce]

That,s what I,m doing Bruce. Slowly fixing up the wives little house. Maybe not for me to live in but you never know. I love how cheap it is for labour here and materials. When I first came to visit my wife I could not believe what shape the house was in. It was not her fault as there was never any money to fix it up. I was shocked to learn that the kids all slept on the floor, So of course I bought all new beds, The kids looked like they had died and gone to heaven.

Uh, YEAH! Wives is plural of wife. So I assume you got more than one! Way to go! I like your way of thinking...... hehehehehe Nice photographs..... And about the kids sleeping, I was amazed to see them sleep on a couple of chairs, all lights on, no problems with noise!To see more about me and what I do, use the link under my name. And make sure to expand the video and turn the sound up for the full effect... sleeping kids in the video too..... Bruce

[No name]

The cost of food in the Philippines is no where near as high as that in the USA. A loaf of bread is still under a dollar. Last time I checked, way below. The list is endless. Pizza Hut and McDonald's are closer to the same cost as the US but they are a little cheaper too. But the fries at McDonald's in the Philippines are still good. Probably worse for you but they are good. lolI can go out to eat and eat till I'm about to burst for less than $5.00. I once took 10 people out to eat and the cost was about $15. I defy you to do that in the West.You can get a nice place to live in Cebu City for P10,000 a month, less actually. I once paid P30,000 for a very nice place that was well furnished in a really nice area. I likely overpaid for it because I rented it before I got here. I was paying the same as everyone else but things can be found cheaper. I saw a place with a pool for P45,000 that was very nice. That's when I first got here, three years ago. I'm sure some of the prices have gone up a bit and I've not really looked into it.If I had the money for the down payment, I could have bought a fully furnished home for P25,000 and it would be mine in 5 years. A very modern home, very nice. I could have rented it for the same but didn't see any reason to more than double my rent.I've seen homes on Bantayan Island selling for less than $150,000 USD that would cost you more than a million in the USA.

[No name]

Oh and on entertainment, go to a movie in the USA lately? I spent about $50 last time I went with two people.In the Philippines? about $5 but the popcorn is horrible. lol