Is It Really Cheaper To Live In The Phils

[sjp52]

My son here in Canada has a friend who is married with one kid. They rent a condo (1 bedroom) all utilities included for 600 a month. He survives here on $1000 a month. If he found he was short on funds some months he could always go to the food banks we have here. They supply any one the necessities in food every day for those that need it. If he moved to the Philippines I wonder if he would live the same there. When you move to another country especially a third world country you are on your own. No one to help you out in tough times. Here in Canada we have health insurance that is free. We have our families that would help us if need be. I don,t think I would move to the Philippines on a small budget. When I am living in the Philippines I have a $1500 monthly budget but I also have a decent size bank account and credit cards and line of credit to back me up just in case. These people who are living here on a $1000 or less a month better hope that all the problems in life that people have had better bypass them. If you are just making ends meet and you get sick, you could be in trouble.One time I tried to get money out of a couple atm,s and they did not work. I thought I had a problem with my card. I could not believe the panic feeling I had when that happened. It was the first time I had stayed here. Since then I have my own bank account here. But I,m just trying to show that it would be scary to be in the Philippines with out any money.I think most things here are a little cheaper and some a lot cheaper but the quality of most things here is less and the services you pay for are less most of the time. The old saying you get what you pay for is true here for the most part. There are 4 things here in my oppinion that draw me to this place. The women ( my wife ), The people, The laid back way of life ( perfect for a retired person ) and the scenery is unbelievable in some places. Sorry one more thing the cheap beer and the quality is not bad at all.

[joeatmanila]

Well, i live at Rizal Montalban.I own a huge house which we build ourself (NOT CONTRACTOR!!!!). The way we made the house plus the location of our area, we hardly ever need aircon. Our area offers everything a family man would want, Robinsons, a modest town mall, clean air, peace, tranquility, safe, great views. And huge malls such as SM north, Trinoma, SM fairview are just 40 minutes driving (in the middle of the day).My bills are more or less as follows6000p/month for helpers3000p/monts water and electricity1000p/month subdivison dues2000p/month phone and internet25.000p/month groceries and food for a family of 3+2helpers (yes i am a fat guy and i love good food)10.000p/month clothing, bling blings and stupid buys10.000p/month kid's school and school busEntertainment expends do vary a lot depending on our plans (if we have a project to buy something or have more or less work) but it varies from 5000p/month to 30.000p/month more or less.So my monthly expends are from 90.000p/month (living all the lavishes more or less) to 60.000p/month (living modestly on entertainment).In US$ it is from 2000$/month down to 1400$/month. Now that is the monthly expends without buying any more properties or car etc.I am not from United States but i bet that if you own your house you can live just fine a family of 3 with 2000$/month on a modest life.Yes for Filipinos i am considered rich but that is the life i want to live and that is why i stay here and that is the life i want on my retirement which i have already secured more than 2000$/month on my 55.If it was about survival then i could have lived here at the same area i am for 650$/month as a friend expat lives here and let me count it downHe own his house (75m2) but he could have lived in a 40m2 house for a rental of 4000p/monthUtilities electricity water phone internet 3000p/monthSubdivision dues 250p/monthHelper 0p/month (he owns an FX and he is providing housing to his driver and his wife so in exchange of the housing the driver's wife does the helper too, no he is not touching her)Girlfirends 5000p/month (the guy is 65 and he changes 1-2 gf's per month, he is not going to girlie bars neither utilizies girls who offer "services" simply he is good on selling love and he does that 6 years now that i know him)Food and groceries 5000p/month since he buys only for him self.Entertainment-clothing 1000p/month, he is not drinking neither needs to go out, whenever we go out for coffee together that is all his expends. His clothes he buys ukai ukai.That is 28.000p/month and he is happy with his life plus people think he is rich!!!!! That is 650$/month.

[Travis]

Well, i live at Rizal Montalban.I own a huge house which we build ourself (NOT CONTRACTOR!!!!). The way we made the house plus the location of our area, we hardly ever need aircon. Our area offers everything a family man would want, Robinsons, a modest town mall, clean air, peace, tranquility, safe, great views. And huge malls such as SM north, Trinoma, SM fairview are just 40 minutes driving (in the middle of the day).My bills are more or less as follows6000p/month for helpers3000p/monts water and electricity1000p/month subdivison dues2000p/month phone and internet25.000p/month groceries and food for a family of 3+2helpers (yes i am a fat guy and i love good food)10.000p/month clothing, bling blings and stupid buys10.000p/month kid's school and school busEntertainment expends do vary a lot depending on our plans (if we have a project to buy something or have more or less work) but it varies from 5000p/month to 30.000p/month more or less.So my monthly expends are from 90.000p/month (living all the lavishes more or less) to 60.000p/month (living modestly on entertainment).In US$ it is from 2000$/month down to 1400$/month. Now that is the monthly expends without buying any more properties or car etc.I am not from United States but i bet that if you own your house you can live just fine a family of 3 with 2000$/month on a modest life.Yes for Filipinos i am considered rich but that is the life i want to live and that is why i stay here and that is the life i want on my retirement which i have already secured more than 2000$/month on my 55.If it was about survival then i could have lived here at the same area i am for 650$/month as a friend expat lives here and let me count it downHe own his house (75m2) but he could have lived in a 40m2 house for a rental of 4000p/monthUtilities electricity water phone internet 3000p/monthSubdivision dues 250p/monthHelper 0p/month (he owns an FX and he is providing housing to his driver and his wife so in exchange of the housing the driver's wife does the helper too, no he is not touching her)Girlfirends 5000p/month (the guy is 65 and he changes 1-2 gf's per month, he is not going to girlie bars neither utilizies girls who offer "services" simply he is good on selling love and he does that 6 years now that i know him)Food and groceries 5000p/month since he buys only for him self.Entertainment-clothing 1000p/month, he is not drinking neither needs to go out, whenever we go out for coffee together that is all his expends. His clothes he buys ukai ukai.That is 28.000p/month and he is happy with his life plus people think he is rich!!!!! That is 650$/month.

so if I read that correctly your assessment agrees with mine that if we want to live a GREAT life while in the Phils then we have to have a decent income & your friend already owns his own home so if you add rent to what it cost him to live & if you set aside some for emergencies then again it would take well over $1000 US a month to live a decent life & your friend still has to pay property taxes & house upkeep so that would have to be added. my biggest beef was that I was lead astray into thinking that a man could live like a king on less than $1000 a month & I do agree that people can live on less but at what cost & I so far am finding it less to live back here in the US but still miss the Phils

[joeatmanila]

Well, i live at Rizal Montalban.I own a huge house which we build ourself (NOT CONTRACTOR!!!!). The way we made the house plus the location of our area, we hardly ever need aircon. Our area offers everything a family man would want, Robinsons, a modest town mall, clean air, peace, tranquility, safe, great views. And huge malls such as SM north, Trinoma, SM fairview are just 40 minutes driving (in the middle of the day).My bills are more or less as follows6000p/month for helpers3000p/monts water and electricity1000p/month subdivison dues2000p/month phone and internet25.000p/month groceries and food for a family of 3+2helpers (yes i am a fat guy and i love good food)10.000p/month clothing, bling blings and stupid buys10.000p/month kid's school and school busEntertainment expends do vary a lot depending on our plans (if we have a project to buy something or have more or less work) but it varies from 5000p/month to 30.000p/month more or less.So my monthly expends are from 90.000p/month (living all the lavishes more or less) to 60.000p/month (living modestly on entertainment).In US$ it is from 2000$/month down to 1400$/month. Now that is the monthly expends without buying any more properties or car etc.I am not from United States but i bet that if you own your house you can live just fine a family of 3 with 2000$/month on a modest life.Yes for Filipinos i am considered rich but that is the life i want to live and that is why i stay here and that is the life i want on my retirement which i have already secured more than 2000$/month on my 55.If it was about survival then i could have lived here at the same area i am for 650$/month as a friend expat lives here and let me count it downHe own his house (75m2) but he could have lived in a 40m2 house for a rental of 4000p/monthUtilities electricity water phone internet 3000p/monthSubdivision dues 250p/monthHelper 0p/month (he owns an FX and he is providing housing to his driver and his wife so in exchange of the housing the driver's wife does the helper too, no he is not touching her)Girlfirends 5000p/month (the guy is 65 and he changes 1-2 gf's per month, he is not going to girlie bars neither utilizies girls who offer "services" simply he is good on selling love and he does that 6 years now that i know him)Food and groceries 5000p/month since he buys only for him self.Entertainment-clothing 1000p/month, he is not drinking neither needs to go out, whenever we go out for coffee together that is all his expends. His clothes he buys ukai ukai.That is 28.000p/month and he is happy with his life plus people think he is rich!!!!! That is 650$/month.

so if I read that correctly your assessment agrees with mine that if we want to live a GREAT life while in the Phils then we have to have a decent income & your friend already owns his own home so if you add rent to what it cost him to live & if you set aside some for emergencies then again it would take well over $1000 US a month to live a decent life & your friend still has to pay property taxes & house upkeep so that would have to be added. my biggest beef was that I was lead astray into thinking that a man could live like a king on less than $1000 a month & I do agree that people can live on less but at what cost & I so far am finding it less to live back here in the US but still miss the Phils

Well it's up to the individual of what he needs to be happy. I know guys who came to live here because they cannot afford living in their countries and now they look on other options such as vietnam... One thing is survival and another thing is living. years ago i heard about a Dutch guy who was living the Igorot life style and he became an honorary filipino citizen due to this...I guess living this life needs no money but in that case he did it because he liked it and not because he had to. Not all of the expats are used to the lavish city life styles, some of them in their own country they were living in places with 200 residents and 400 bears.But yes in general one needs 1000$/month to have a comfy living.

[Travis]

Well, i live at Rizal Montalban.I own a huge house which we build ourself (NOT CONTRACTOR!!!!). The way we made the house plus the location of our area, we hardly ever need aircon. Our area offers everything a family man would want, Robinsons, a modest town mall, clean air, peace, tranquility, safe, great views. And huge malls such as SM north, Trinoma, SM fairview are just 40 minutes driving (in the middle of the day).My bills are more or less as follows6000p/month for helpers3000p/monts water and electricity1000p/month subdivison dues2000p/month phone and internet25.000p/month groceries and food for a family of 3+2helpers (yes i am a fat guy and i love good food)10.000p/month clothing, bling blings and stupid buys10.000p/month kid's school and school busEntertainment expends do vary a lot depending on our plans (if we have a project to buy something or have more or less work) but it varies from 5000p/month to 30.000p/month more or less.So my monthly expends are from 90.000p/month (living all the lavishes more or less) to 60.000p/month (living modestly on entertainment).In US$ it is from 2000$/month down to 1400$/month. Now that is the monthly expends without buying any more properties or car etc.I am not from United States but i bet that if you own your house you can live just fine a family of 3 with 2000$/month on a modest life.Yes for Filipinos i am considered rich but that is the life i want to live and that is why i stay here and that is the life i want on my retirement which i have already secured more than 2000$/month on my 55.If it was about survival then i could have lived here at the same area i am for 650$/month as a friend expat lives here and let me count it downHe own his house (75m2) but he could have lived in a 40m2 house for a rental of 4000p/monthUtilities electricity water phone internet 3000p/monthSubdivision dues 250p/monthHelper 0p/month (he owns an FX and he is providing housing to his driver and his wife so in exchange of the housing the driver's wife does the helper too, no he is not touching her)Girlfirends 5000p/month (the guy is 65 and he changes 1-2 gf's per month, he is not going to girlie bars neither utilizies girls who offer "services" simply he is good on selling love and he does that 6 years now that i know him)Food and groceries 5000p/month since he buys only for him self.Entertainment-clothing 1000p/month, he is not drinking neither needs to go out, whenever we go out for coffee together that is all his expends. His clothes he buys ukai ukai.That is 28.000p/month and he is happy with his life plus people think he is rich!!!!! That is 650$/month.

so if I read that correctly your assessment agrees with mine that if we want to live a GREAT life while in the Phils then we have to have a decent income & your friend already owns his own home so if you add rent to what it cost him to live & if you set aside some for emergencies then again it would take well over $1000 US a month to live a decent life & your friend still has to pay property taxes & house upkeep so that would have to be added. my biggest beef was that I was lead astray into thinking that a man could live like a king on less than $1000 a month & I do agree that people can live on less but at what cost & I so far am finding it less to live back here in the US but still miss the Phils

Well it's up to the individual of what he needs to be happy. I know guys who came to live here because they cannot afford living in their countries and now they look on other options such as vietnam... One thing is survival and another thing is living. years ago i heard about a Dutch guy who was living the Igorot life style and he became an honorary filipino citizen due to this...I guess living this life needs no money but in that case he did it because he liked it and not because he had to. Not all of the expats are used to the lavish city life styles, some of them in their own country they were living in places with 200 residents and 400 bears.But yes in general one needs 1000$/month to have a comfy living.

I would say a lot more than $1000 a month unless you own a house or condo coz I could not live comfy on $1000 while renting a small place

[Patsada]

living in the province - Camiguin Island in our case - can be cheaper for several reasons: most important is that - even if you wanted to - it's almost impossible to spent a lot of money here because of the very limited availability of "luxury" goods or expensive entertainments, restaurants a.s.o. life is simple but absolutely hassle-free; gasoline for example is much more expensive than in big cities, but on the other hand you safe a lot because the kilometers you can drive are also very limited....we live on an 8.000sqm landscaped lot, in an approx 300sqm main house with approx 100sqm guest cottages, 2 helpers, 1 SUV, 1 motorbike, 5 dogs, 2 cats, fish, birds......we spend approx Euro 600/month, which does not include traveling, repairs and maintenance and some extras we allow ourselves when we happen to come to Cebu City or to CdO every 2 months for BI matters....at the end, it seems highly difficult to me to compare different ways of living in different places with different expectations - we are more than happy with our life here, others might be less or not at all satisfied with it......greetings from the friendliest island in the PhilsPatsada

[Travis]

living in the province - Camiguin Island in our case - can be cheaper for several reasons: most important is that - even if you wanted to - it's almost impossible to spent a lot of money here because of the very limited availability of "luxury" goods or expensive entertainments, restaurants a.s.o. life is simple but absolutely hassle-free; gasoline for example is much more expensive than in big cities, but on the other hand you safe a lot because the kilometers you can drive are also very limited....we live on an 8.000sqm landscaped lot, in an approx 300sqm main house with approx 100sqm guest cottages, 2 helpers, 1 SUV, 1 motorbike, 5 dogs, 2 cats, fish, birds......we spend approx Euro 600/month, which does not include traveling, repairs and maintenance and some extras we allow ourselves when we happen to come to Cebu City or to CdO every 2 months for BI matters....at the end, it seems highly difficult to me to compare different ways of living in different places with different expectations - we are more than happy with our life here, others might be less or not at all satisfied with it......greetings from the friendliest island in the PhilsPatsada

sounds like a nice sleepy place to live but I like aircon malls for walkin in & also the action of a busy city & then besides that it says on wiki that there are 4 volcanos on that small island so that would scare the poop out of me :th_thholysheep: not knowing if & when they might wake up :1927_: different stroke for different folks :(

[Patsada]

living in the province - Camiguin Island in our case - can be cheaper for several reasons: most important is that - even if you wanted to - it's almost impossible to spent a lot of money here because of the very limited availability of "luxury" goods or expensive entertainments, restaurants a.s.o. life is simple but absolutely hassle-free; gasoline for example is much more expensive than in big cities, but on the other hand you safe a lot because the kilometers you can drive are also very limited....we live on an 8.000sqm landscaped lot, in an approx 300sqm main house with approx 100sqm guest cottages, 2 helpers, 1 SUV, 1 motorbike, 5 dogs, 2 cats, fish, birds......we spend approx Euro 600/month, which does not include traveling, repairs and maintenance and some extras we allow ourselves when we happen to come to Cebu City or to CdO every 2 months for BI matters....at the end, it seems highly difficult to me to compare different ways of living in different places with different expectations - we are more than happy with our life here, others might be less or not at all satisfied with it......greetings from the friendliest island in the PhilsPatsada

sounds like a nice sleepy place to live but I like aircon malls for walkin in & also the action of a busy city & then besides that it says on wiki that there are 4 volcanos on that small island so that would scare the poop out of me :714_full_of_crap: not knowing if & when they might wake up :( different stroke for different folks :(

WRONG!!! HERE WE HAVE 7 (SEVEN) VOLCANOES, OF WHICH AT LEAST ONE IS CONSIDERED STILL ACTIVE (last eruption 1953 - supposed to have intervals of about 600 years though....) ; furthermore, there is a PHILVOLCS Institute on the side of Mt. Hibok-Hibok: should we notice these guys hurry to the port, we might do the same... :yes: :wave: :cheersty:Patsada

[Inspector]

My budget

Rent 25,000 (large gated western 3 bedroom, 2 CR w/ loft, furnished w/ garage and yard...even has washing machine and hot water)

Electric 6,000 (split air con in large bedroom running ALL the time)

Water 300

Gas 900

Maid 3,000 (soon zero if she keeps watching anal porn)

TV 1,700 (got all the channels, even the one where the guy eats bugs and drinks his own urine)

Internet 3,600 (fiber optic with landline...actually watch youtube "fail" videos)

Food 25,000 (western food)

Medical 14,000 (medical premium from USA world wide coverage, but going up 10% a year forever...uh oh)

Pitbull Food 3,300 (he eats well, what can I tell you, and I don't argue with him)

Entertainment Blank (Whatever leftover from my pension that I aint paying my CC debt I can use to party/travel...yes divorce cost me some $)

I save a LOT living this way over the USA...no car, car insurance, registration..now get fast enough internet and sports from the USA...with a maid. Electric is expensive, but heat and electric in many states is the same as this cost. My rental is now western enough for me, no cockroaches and it's clean. I have lived in the province and a dumpy house doing the cold shower, loud hoods for years...this is much more to my style.

[Travis]

My budget

Rent 25,000 (large gated western 3 bedroom, 2 CR w/ loft, furnished w/ garage and yard...even has washing machine and hot water)

Electric 6,000 (split air con in large bedroom running ALL the time)

Water 300

Gas 900

Maid 3,000 (soon zero if she keeps watching anal porn)

TV 1,700 (got all the channels, even the one where the guy eats bugs and drinks his own urine)

Internet 3,600 (fiber optic with landline...actually watch youtube "fail" videos)

Food 25,000 (western food)

Medical 14,000 (medical premium from USA world wide coverage, but going up 10% a year forever...uh oh)

Pitbull Food 3,300 (he eats well, what can I tell you, and I don't argue with him)

Entertainment Blank (Whatever leftover from my pension that I aint paying my CC debt I can use to party/travel...yes divorce cost me some $)

I save a LOT living this way over the USA...no car, car insurance, registration..now get fast enough internet and sports from the USA...with a maid. Electric is expensive, but heat and electric in many states is the same as this cost. My rental is now western enough for me, no cockroaches and it's clean. I have lived in the province and a dumpy house doing the cold shower, loud hoods for years...this is much more to my style.

wow I wish I could afford that but I am happy for you that you can :signnvm: