Is It Really Cheaper To Live In The Phils

[No name]

I found that with all things taken into account that it was not really cheaper to live in Cebu City

Yes, without a doubt it is cheaper to live in the Philippines and especially in Cebu than it is in the USA.Lets see, a doctor visit in the USA $150 if they don't do anything other than talk to you. Highly unlikely.Doctor visit in the Philippines, $11.00Rent a large four bedroom house a half mile from a beech in the USA, $10,000 a monthSame in the Philippines $270Maid in USA $50 an hourMaid in Philippines P1500 a month (on the low end) P4000 on the higher end.BBQ in the Philippines for two less than $5BBQ in the USA $25 to $50Taxi in the Philippines 120 miles $43Taxi in the USA 120 miles even God can't afford.But then if you move in with a friend and work and not pay fair market value rent in the USA of course you can live cheap in the USA. Edited January 12, 2011 by Flirltilzier

[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.

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

Depends upon what you make on a pension vs what you are willing to sacrifice to make you more comfortable. Not rocket science. Some foreigners can live without air conditioning...no way I would be able to last without one as I slept. Some can eat local filipino food...I find the food here the absolute sh&t, thus why I eat "western"...actually worldly as I enjoy Italian, Chinese and Thai, and my GF has learned to make all the dishes so I feel I do not pay as much for food in the states simply because I ate out a LOT back there due to my ex not cooking at ALL. Hell, having a woman cook saves me a lot, and when I do manage to go out, it's cheaper then the states. They have a GREAT Thai place to eat out here next to the Metro Sports Complex...food is authentic Thai, and when we eat out, it's around 400-500 pesos for two, including appetizer, main course and drinks. Eating that same meal in NYC would be double plus. It's less then what I would pay in areas of the US that I would want to live. I can rent a house in Las Vegas for a little more...even with a pool. But I would need a car in most places unless it was New York City, however, then my rents are 4 times as much. Energy costs ARE expensive in the US, especially heating such as Oil or Gas. In Phoenix, I spend a lot on air conditioning during the summer, a MUST...but the winters you could survive at night with a thick blanket. Of course, I could move in with my parents and save all sorts of money, but damn...my dating game would suffer as would my sanity. "Hello, my name is the Inspector, I am bald, unemployed and live with my parents" :lol:IMHO, just the fact you do not need a car as you do in the states saves you quite a bit. :th_signs083: Edited January 13, 2011 by Inspector

[Rudderless]

I don't live in PH yet (Moving March 4th to Cebu) so excuse me if I'm wrong but...So, it seems to me that cost for housing / electric / internet / basic necessities of life are not significantly cheaper than in the US. However, costs related to the labor of another person are significantly less. For example eating out, taxis, entertainment.Sound about right?However, I look on Craigs list and it appears that I could rent a 1 bedroom place in Cebu for around 10,000php or 250$ american. That's hell'a cheap compared to what I am used to.Here in the states I've been spending (to get by):$650 rent$120 electric $100 iPhone Bill$110 Car InsuranceThis means that I find a way to spend an additional 3k a month on entertainment / lifestyle / extra cars / hobbies / girls / etc.My budget for Cebu is gonna be 2kUSD per month. Hopefully that will do.Any thoughts? Am I in for a shock?

[Mr Lee]

I don't live in PH yet (Moving March 4th to Cebu) so excuse me if I'm wrong but...So, it seems to me that cost for housing / electric / internet / basic necessities of life are not significantly cheaper than in the US. However, costs related to the labor of another person are significantly less. For example eating out, taxis, entertainment.Sound about right?However, I look on Craigs list and it appears that I could rent a 1 bedroom place in Cebu for around 10,000php or 250$ american. That's hell'a cheap compared to what I am used to.Here in the states I've been spending (to get by):$650 rent$120 electric $100 iPhone Bill$110 Car InsuranceThis means that I find a way to spend an additional 3k a month on entertainment / lifestyle / extra cars / hobbies / girls / etc.My budget for Cebu is gonna be 2kUSD per month. Hopefully that will do.Any thoughts? Am I in for a shock?

You are correct, and also wrong in some ways. Rents are less but you also get less square meters. Electric is more expensive in Cebu than in Florida and there is more need for it for me because of all the pollution in Cebu.We do not have a car there so I cannot compare that but we usually take taxis which save us a bunch but give up convenience of having our own car and then we also seem to catch colds because the drivers are always sick, and I would not wish to drive in Cebu City anyway.I have found that food is not anywhere near as good as in the States but it does cost less in many places that cater to the locals, so you usually get what you pay for most times, but fast food is just as expensive as in the states if you go to places that are US names.I personally do not find it much less expensive for us when we live our American lifestyle in Cebu 4 months a year, yet I thought we got a deal on our condos in Cebu when we bought them about 4 years ago, and they have now gone up to double what we paid for them then, but now I can buy even bigger more modern condos right here in Florida for much less than we paid for our units in Cebu.So it is a push in some ways and I feel it is comparing apples and oranges, yet I still love the Philippines and enjoy our time there.

[Art2ro]

I for one believe it is still cheaper to live here in the Philippines, because if it weren't, we wouldn't be living here in the first place and others wouldn't be contemplating in doing the same!

[Mr Lee]

I for one believe it is still cheaper to live here in the Philippines, because if it weren't, we wouldn't be living here in the first place and others wouldn't be contemplating in doing the same!

Not to disrespect you my friend but I think you are comparing California to where you now live. In Florida a lot of things are actually less expensive than in Cebu, and other parts of the US are even less expensive to live than Florida. One example is that I looked up some condos for a friend yesterday who emailed me and was looking to move to south Florida, so below are the links which are sure to expire soon once they are sold, and at that price I expect they will be sold soon. Below is a 2/2 for $16,619 and appears to be in Pine Island Ridge somewhere in a town called Daviehttp://www.homefinder.com/FL/Davie/69871818d_SW_93rd_Way__1403 Below is another 2/2 for $16,431, this one looks pretty close to where you wanted me to look near the expressway and also in Davie http://www.homefinder.com/FL/Davie/71512663d_SW_82nd_Ave__206 Below is another 2/2 for $12,918 and probably a mobile home and very close to the expresswayhttp://www.homefinder.com/FL/Davie/71682629d_SW_22nd_Ct Now any 2/2 in Cebu would be about 4 to 5 times the price of those but it is now a depressed market for real estate in some parts of Florida and the US. Heck a 40 Square meter studio in Cebu now cost over p2,000,000 which is about $45,000 at the current exchange rate and a 2/2 would be about double that. Next cable is less in Cebu but there is really not much for me to watch on it, so while it does cost me less, I also have to use a US cable TV on a slingbox so I can see decent programs that I can understand. So yes it cost less for some things but at a cost. My electric bill in the US for cooling over 1500 square feet 24/7 has never been above $130 a month and in Cebu it would now cost me about $200 a month at the current exchange rate to cool 850 square feet and had cost me about $175 a month at the old exchange rate. The list can go on and on and while we do not have to pay insurances while in the PHL, and the taxes on our condo is much less than our home in the states, the roads and security sucks by comparison, so I still say it is comparing apples and oranges because we get less for the dollars we spend while in the PHL and that does not even include the fact that it is hard to buy good meats in Cebu and when we do find them then it is quite expensive. So yes it can be much less expensive to live in some areas of the PHL but if a person wishes to live the exact same lifestyle which would include a modern house the same size and with central air etc, then I do not think it would be less expensive overall. Heck now I think I am thinking a lot like Traveler and from reading his posts but I still love it in the PHL and enjoy our time there while at the same time it is not like it used to be and has become expensive to live the lifestyle that I wish to live while there. Added: I am not trying to be negative about the PHL, I am just trying to be real about it because the days of cheap living are gone unless a spoiled person such as myself is willing to give up a western lifestyle. Edited January 22, 2011 by Mr. Lee
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[MikeB]

Lee, those are foreclosure auctions, there are almost sure to be additional costs like back taxes and liens. Also, you may not be able to inspect the property and will be required to pay the entire purchase price by bank check immediately. All kinds of legal problems are possible. Most of these purchases are by experienced investors, not 1st time home owners. From what I've heard, very risky.

[Mr Lee]

Lee, those are foreclosure auctions, there are almost sure to be additional costs like back taxes and liens. Also, you may not be able to inspect the property and will be required to pay the entire purchase price by bank check immediately. All kinds of legal problems are possible. Most of these purchases are by experienced investors, not 1st time home owners. From what I've heard, very risky.

Yes I know that Mike and I am not interested in them but how wrong can a person go who just wants a place to sleep, even if they have to put in $5,000 or $10,000. Anyway there are other 2/2's in nice adult developments that can be bought for $20,000 and in perfect living condition. The main problem with most condos in the US is that the maintenance is usually high, but they give you water, cable, insurance and no need for the owner to do any outside repairs. So I am just comparing apples to apples, a cheap condo in south Florida would actually be larger and offer more than one in say Cebu.A person can live a very inexpensive lifestyle while in the PHL but IMO they would have to give up a western lifestyle to do it, and I am not willing to give up my comfort or eating habits, so for me it is not really that much less expensive to live (if at all) overall.

[Jollygoodfellow]

I for one believe it is still cheaper to live here in the Philippines, because if it weren't, we wouldn't be living here in the first place and others wouldn't be contemplating in doing the same!

Not to disrespect you my friend but I think you are comparing California to where you now live. In Florida a lot of things are actually less expensive than in Cebu, and other parts of the US are even less expensive to live than Florida. One example is that I looked up some condos for a friend yesterday who emailed me and was looking to move to south Florida, so below are the links which are sure to expire soon once they are sold, and at that price I expect they will be sold soon. Below is a 2/2 for $16,619 and appears to be in Pine Island Ridge somewhere in a town called Daviehttp://www.homefinder.com/FL/Davie/69871818d_SW_93rd_Way__1403 Below is another 2/2 for $16,431, this one looks pretty close to where you wanted me to look near the expressway and also in Davie http://www.homefinder.com/FL/Davie/71512663d_SW_82nd_Ave__206 Below is another 2/2 for $12,918 and probably a mobile home and very close to the expresswayhttp://www.homefinder.com/FL/Davie/71682629d_SW_22nd_Ct Now any 2/2 in Cebu would be about 4 to 5 times the price of those but it is now a depressed market for real estate in some parts of Florida and the US. Heck a 40 Square meter studio in Cebu now cost over p2,000,000 which is about $45,000 at the current exchange rate and a 2/2 would be about double that. Next cable is less in Cebu but there is really not much for me to watch on it, so while it does cost me less, I also have to use a US cable TV on a slingbox so I can see decent programs that I can understand. So yes it cost less for some things but at a cost. My electric bill in the US for cooling over 1500 square feet 24/7 has never been above $130 a month and in Cebu it would now cost me about $200 a month at the current exchange rate to cool 850 square feet and had cost me about $175 a month at the old exchange rate. The list can go on and on and while we do not have to pay insurances while in the PHL, and the taxes on our condo is much less than our home in the states, the roads and security sucks by comparison, so I still say it is comparing apples and oranges because we get less for the dollars we spend while in the PHL and that does not even include the fact that it is hard to buy good meats in Cebu and when we do find them then it is quite expensive. So yes it can be much less expensive to live in some areas of the PHL but if a person wishes to live the exact same lifestyle which would include a modern house the same size and with central air etc, then I do not think it would be less expensive overall. Heck now I think I am thinking a lot like Traveler and from reading his posts but I still love it in the PHL and enjoy our time there while at the same time it is not like it used to be and has become expensive to live the lifestyle that I wish to live while there. Added: I am not trying to be negative about the PHL, I am just trying to be real about it because the days of cheap living are gone unless a spoiled person such as myself is willing to give up a western lifestyle.

I dont think the cost of buying a home comes into it,if we are talking about cost of living in Cebu or anywhere in the Philippines for that matter then it should be the cost of daily expenses not a one off capital investment.

[Mr Lee]

I dont think the cost of buying a home comes into it,if we are talking about cost of living in Cebu or anywhere in the Philippines for that matter then it should be the cost of daily expenses not a one off capital investment.

I was just using that as an example because many who move back permanently with their Filipina wife wish to own a place of their own. In the PHL size does matter :541: so you get much smaller spaces for the lower rents. I see guys quoting how they rent for $200 or $400 a month and then you ask them the square meters and they tell you 20 to 40 sq meters, so divide the rent and then multiply by the square feet or meters back in a western country and it is not really less overall since I have found most things in the PHL are smaller when compared to a rental apartment, home or condo in the states.