Living in the Philippines

**Dragon Slayer** · 09-22-09 03:59

Guys,

This topic is a "hot one" with me. I am seriously considering staying here during the "off peak" periods in my work and operating the Company from the Philippines. Davao is my # 1 option for this. My Home on Leyte is nice but remote and the area has none of the necessary elements for me to effectively communicate with Clients in the USA and elsewhere. Also, I do not fish and have little use for boating (owned a boat once; used it 5 times in four years). Not thinking of "going native" at any point in my foreseeable future.

I will do two things shortly. First, with GoodEnough, discuss the option of renting a Hotel Suite in Davao City for six months of the Year at a Set Price. Otherwise, I will look into renting a 2-3 bedroom home, perhaps on a "rent to own basis". I have looked into what I pay for Hotels in the Philippines over the last three years. The Amount is Significant. A "home base" in Davao City would be great. In a Hotel it would eliminate the need to furnish the Place.

This is just at the discussion stage now and I will update you guys on what I learn over the next few months. One thing is that I would be in the Phils primarily when the Hotels are experiencing less capacity and in the USA during peak capacity (Feb, March, April, May). The only overlap would be that August is the slowest month of the Year in my work. I made the mistake or returing home in early August, only to find that everyone was vacationing or at summer homes and disinterested in work. The second half of August is Sinulog in Davao City and Hotels are fully booked.

When I was leaving Davao in early August, the female valet in the Continental Club asked me to call if I was returning. I was heading to Hong Kong and then the USA. But she was telling me they would make a room there (Club Floor) available for me should I choose to return. With Sinulog approaching this was a nice gesture and makes me wonder if I could work out some arrangement.

Dragon Slayer

**GoodEnough** · 09-14-09 23:15

Originally Posted by saibb

which of these two banks would be the best choice in opening an account at? looking at number of atm's rep001tered around the country with no atm fees.

thanks,

sb

it all depends on where you're planning to be. here in davao, there's a single hsbc branch and there's no citibank. in manila, both banks have several branches.

ge

**Josephandjaz** · 09-14-09 23:10

Originally Posted by saibb

which of these two banks would be the best choice in opening an account at? looking at number of atm's rep001tered around the country with no atm fees.

thanks,

sb

hsbc is a personal favorite of mine after traveling around the world. great in the middle east as well.

joseph

**Saibb** · 09-14-09 19:52

which of these two banks would be the best choice in opening an account at? looking at number of atm's rep001tered around the country with no atm fees.

thanks,

sb

**Albetros** · 08-18-09 23:03

The prices quoted are a bit on the high side and seem to reflect the cost in Manila and I guess also Davao. I lived in Manila for about 4 years and Angeles for about 5. Angeles is much less expensive than this except for tri-cycles which have crazy prices. Taxis in Manila are less expensive. Go figure.

A two bedroom apartment in Mt-view Angeles is about $100 per month and in Diamond about $150 per month. A house to rent is $250-$300. Furniture is cheap however appliances are much more than in the developed world. For example what we would consider a small fridge with freezer, self defrosting is about $600.

Food (ex-pat) is very cheap compaired to the west. I think this is mostly due to high demand from a huge ex-pat community. For example Aussie Ribeye is about $5.00 per pound including tax. Seafood, pork and chicken is cheap in the local market and veggies cost nothing and are fresh everyday from Baguio. Restaurants serving all types of foreign food and owned and operated by foreigners is also (for the most part) inexpensive once you learn the right places to go and avoid Fields Ave where all the tourist migrate.

Entertainment: Ex-pat gogo bars $0.80-1.40 per beer and a girl $22.00 and she gets half. Tourist bars. Also expat. Hahaha $1.75-2.50 for a beer and the girl from $30-50 depending on the bar. This includes her fee; however, tips in Philippines are always appreciated. In reality if you live here you should never really have to pay for sex and if so no more than 500P.

With all this said I have one strong point to make. It is cheap here; therefore, you will probably spend more money than you would in the west. If this does not really make sense, indulge yourself in Angeles for two weeks, and count your change at the end. I say this because the women, ladies drinks, cheap food so you feed everyone, cheap so everybody gets to drink. A bottle of local Rum is $1.00 And Marlboro Lights are $0.60c. A beer in the Sari Sari store is 0.50c. Cheap but when you buy 5 to 1 of everything its a basic calculation. Its worth it! Have fun.

Originally Posted by GoodEnough

This is a subject of endless debate on another (non-sex) board. There are, believe it or not, guys who claim to live well on $500-$600 a month, but they live well out in the boondocks, far from other expats, and live mainly on the local economy. There are other guys who spend $4,000-$5,000 a month, and there are guys who represent every spending stage between these extremes. That said, it's very difficult to generalize about how much is enough.

The consensus on the other board, and one with which I agree, is that to live a reasonable lifestyle you need between $1,500 and $2,000 a month. Here in Davao, you could rent a decent looking, unfurnished 2 bedroom home for Php12,000-Php15,000 ($250-$300+) a month. You would have to furnish it of course, but furniture is not expensive and you could make it attractive for $1,000 or less. Alternatively, you could rent a nicer place, in a nicer area, for $400 - $500 a month, again unfurnished. As another alternative, you could rent a furnished one bedroom apartment for about $25 - $30 a day (Red Knight Garden), with access to a swimming pool and internet.

If you want to eat Western food (which is all I eat), it will cost you about the same as it would in the States to purchase groceries. If you're willing to go local, it will cost you very little. In any case, fruits and veggies cost almost nothing. The price of restaurant meals will vary widely. You can eat at local "eatery"-type places for less than Php200, or you can eat at Claude's or Henny's for $20-$25 a person. Again, there are several options in between these two extremes.

The cost of transportation is another highly variable item. You can take the local jeepneys and tricycles for almost nothing. You can take taxis, which are fairly inexpensive but ten times the cost of the local modes, or you can own a car. Personally, I prefer the latter option, but it's also the most expensive. You can purchase a perfectly adequate used Kia here for about $2,000 or spend up to $50,000 or so on a new Pajero. Fuel is not cheap, and gasoline is about Php38 a liter, which is about $3.00 a gallon. Diesel is slightly cheaper at about Php33 a liter.

Beer is cheap and not an issue. P4P playmates are again a highly variable cost. If you go to the bars, you're going to spend $70 to $80 for the privilege of company. If you hit the streets, you're going to spend $10 or $11. If however, you work a little at it and meet enough women in the malls, restaurants, bars and clubs, you won't spend anything directly for the sex, but you will spend on meals, entertainment and "gifts."

The general rule, which I believe to be true though cannot verify, is that Cebu is about 20% less expensive than Manila, and Davao is about 20% less expensive than Cebu, so there's better value for money here in Davao for sure. On the other hand, while there's plenty to do in Davao, there's more to do in Cebu.

So the bottom line is that there is a host of highly variable costs that relate to how much you have, how much you want to spend and how you want to live. For $1,500 you can live "okay," but for each multiple of $500 in excess of that, the quality of your lifestyle will increase, if not exponentially, certainly substantially.

GE

**Altered Ego** · 07-11-09 20:50

Many thanks GE,

As usual you have provided a reply which is so comprehensive that it answers all my questions in a single hit (although of course if anybody else has anything to add, I would be very interested to hear their views).

I guess if I can keep on working for the next couple of years, save hard and don't blow it all on 'entertainment', then it might be possible to turn my 'dream lifestyle' into a reality!

AE

**GoodEnough** · 07-10-09 11:29

This is a subject of endless debate on another (non-sex) board. There are, believe it or not, guys who claim to live well on $500-$600 a month, but they live well out in the boondocks, far from other expats, and live mainly on the local economy. There are other guys who spend $4,000-$5,000 a month, and there are guys who represent every spending stage between these extremes. That said, it's very difficult to generalize about how much is enough.

The consensus on the other board, and one with which I agree, is that to live a reasonable lifestyle you need between $1,500 and $2,000 a month. Here in Davao, you could rent a decent looking, unfurnished 2 bedroom home for Php12,000-Php15,000 ($250-$300+) a month. You would have to furnish it of course, but furniture is not expensive and you could make it attractive for $1,000 or less. Alternatively, you could rent a nicer place, in a nicer area, for $400 - $500 a month, again unfurnished. As another alternative, you could rent a furnished one bedroom apartment for about $25 - $30 a day (Red Knight Garden), with access to a swimming pool and internet.

If you want to eat Western food (which is all I eat), it will cost you about the same as it would in the States to purchase groceries. If you're willing to go local, it will cost you very little. In any case, fruits and veggies cost almost nothing. The price of restaurant meals will vary widely. You can eat at local "eatery"-type places for less than Php200, or you can eat at Claude's or Henny's for $20-$25 a person. Again, there are several options in between these two extremes.

The cost of transportation is another highly variable item. You can take the local jeepneys and tricycles for almost nothing. You can take taxis, which are fairly inexpensive but ten times the cost of the local modes, or you can own a car. Personally, I prefer the latter option, but it's also the most expensive. You can purchase a perfectly adequate used Kia here for about $2,000 or spend up to $50,000 or so on a new Pajero. Fuel is not cheap, and gasoline is about Php38 a liter, which is about $3.00 a gallon. Diesel is slightly cheaper at about Php33 a liter.

Beer is cheap and not an issue. P4P playmates are again a highly variable cost. If you go to the bars, you're going to spend $70 to $80 for the privilege of company. If you hit the streets, you're going to spend $10 or $11. If however, you work a little at it and meet enough women in the malls, restaurants, bars and clubs, you won't spend anything directly for the sex, but you will spend on meals, entertainment and "gifts."

The general rule, which I believe to be true though cannot verify, is that Cebu is about 20% less expensive than Manila, and Davao is about 20% less expensive than Cebu, so there's better value for money here in Davao for sure. On the other hand, while there's plenty to do in Davao, there's more to do in Cebu.

So the bottom line is that there is a host of highly variable costs that relate to how much you have, how much you want to spend and how you want to live. For $1,500 you can live "okay," but for each multiple of $500 in excess of that, the quality of your lifestyle will increase, if not exponentially, certainly substantially.

GE

**Altered Ego** · 07-09-09 20:47

trapped as i am here in the western world (planned a long trip to pi, but unfortunately work prevented it), my thoughts have turned to the possibility of 'retiring' permanently (or perhaps semi-permanently) to cebu, davao or some other philippine city. but not manila. at some point within the next couple of years.

with this in mind, i was wondering what you guys would consider to be the minimum monthly income required to 'live the good life' in the phils? yes, i realise that the answer to this question depends on many things, and that some people are far more extravagant with money than others, but i guess many readers of this forum probably have simiilar ideas about what constitutes a 'good life'. for example:

- an apartment of a reasonable standard, with aircon, and with fairly decent speed internet access (i would probably rent the apartment rather than buy). it should be located in a 'safe' district with reasonably easy access to bars, restaurants and other amenities.

- three good meals per day. let's assume at least one meal in a restaurant, eating western food, for two people (i. e. me plus one 'guest'), and the other two meals at home.

- one girl per day, five days per week. for the sake of argument, let's assume it is a different p4p girl each day, 20 days per month. and lets say (again for the sake of argument) she must be at least a 7 in looks!

- a few beers each day (not too many though! )

- transport costs (mainly taxis i guess. probably wouldn't bother to buy a car at this stage)

- utilities (electric, gas etc)

- mobile phone load charges

- other entertainment costs. e. g trips to the cinema?

- any other 'unavoidable' monthly expenses you can think of?

i guess that's a reasonable list of 'basic' needs. obviously there would be one-off purchases, plus a few holidays and occasional flights to the 'old country', but i would plan on keeping a cash reserve to cover all of these. also, i think it's natural to assume that at some point a person might get a bit tired of this lifestyle, but i am not thinking that far ahead (yet)!

your views would be much appreciated about how much it would cost to maintain such a lifestyle. i heard somewhere that you can 'live like a king' in the phils on 1000usd per month, but that sounded a bit cheap to me! what do you think?

**Dragon Slayer** · 06-16-09 22:06

Laylow3,

First Karaoke. You did not read back to July 2007 here (great photos then). I got stuck taking this filipina with an awesome rack, body to die for and her two daughters out to sing karaoke music in Davao City. There are dozens of these karaoke places. The one we attended has what you are seeking, private singing room.

Go to Rizal Promenade by Bar 183. Across the street is Citibank. To the right is a Restaurant/Karaoke place. Has outdoor tables and private rooms for singing on the side fo P150/hr I think. Lot less than $ 10. Another place is on J Camus. From Casa Leticia Hotel walk in the opposite direction from Illustre St (where filipino barbecue restaurants are) for about 50 meters. Right here is a Restaurant with booths and Karaoke music.

Awhile ago I took my beautiful Jen here. She is a Professional Nightclub Singer in Manila. She does not EVER speak with any of the foreigners I know in Davao or anywhere. No way she would ever sing for them. But we were alone and Jen has no trouble singing, talking or prancing about nude when it is just me. No other foreigners in the Place, we got a booth, had a light meal for a whopping P 150 and she got a mike handed to her by the Manager. For the next hour she sang a multitude of beautiful filipino love songs. I will never forget that experience. FANTASTIC is too mild a word. Not surprising that no one else asked for the microphone.

As to filipinas coming by uninvited. Yes, Yes, and YESSS!!! It will happen so often you will want two rooms. Try to get ladies who are working and know their schedule. Have one visit in the daytime who works evenings and one who works days for the night. Know when each gets off. As to women who are not working. Time to play musical hotel rooms. Similar to the kid game, musical chairs, you change hotel rooms every 2-3 days (or every 2-3 different ladies you fucked, whichever is soonest).

See photo number 3 of the ladies I posted on the Davao Board? She was in my room, top floor Marco Polo, wearing the exact same outfit, when another lady, Rose and her lovely 36C rack, came knocking. It was Rose's day off at the Department Store. To keep the other lady quiet, I had her blow me again, even though I just finished fucking her a few minutes earlier.

I change hotel rooms every few days now. Inform hotel I do NOT want ANYONE to know what room I am staying in or if I am even registered at the Hotel. Excuse for the "revolving rooms" is I want a sea view now or a mountain view. Room is too hot (pussy even hotter) or too noisy (tell them couple in next room makes too much noise having sex at night; cannot sleep). You may need to change hotels after ten days, depending on how good you are with the ladies.

Have fun!

Dragon Slayer

**Laylow3** · 06-16-09 06:11

I will be staying for one month only. I won't be able to persuade my friends to come this trip. They will only come after I have been there, tested the place out, and approve off on it. We each do this for each other. I'm not the only one.

I won't be taking any girls out of clubs there either. I plan on just winging it, approaching ladies anywhere and seeing where it goes. Kinda like I do here at home. I don't want to spend money at all if I don't have to so considering that you mentioned talking with the girl over a wine in your hotel room or hotel pool area. I wonder will I have any problems after I do this a couple of times.? I say this because I'll be bringing different girls back to either my room or the hotel pool. I'm curious if any of the girls will find their way back to my hotel and hang out around the pool area waiting for me.

It seems bold to me to directly invite the girl to my room for anything. Please correct if I'm wrong and it's perfectly ok in the PI but here I normally wouldn't go there until after I had at least a bit of time to converse with them. I'm thinking after I make contact in the street, mall, store, library, or wherever I meet them, I'll invite them to have coffee. I can briefly get to know them and feel them out during that time and then invite them to my room. My guess is that having a coffee is very cheap there and it shouldn't be a problem buying them a coffee or just simply talking at the coffee shop without drinking anything.

How about karaoke? Personally I love karaoke and I would love to go karaoke there in Davao. You know, when I visited Angeles city in December, I went to sing karaoke in the Korean area like four times with girls I took out of the bar! They enjoyed it and so did I. It was like $10 an hour compared to $30 an hour here. Anyone know of any specifically Korean karaoke places? If not Korean, then any will do but I'm referring to the type of karaoke where you go into a room and sing with your friends ONLY. Not a karaoke bar where everyone sings together. I don't like those places at all.

**Dragon Slayer** · 06-16-09 01:28

Laylow3,

How long will you be staying? A month, 3 months, 6 months. Henny, owner of De Bonte Koe Restaurant (Rizal st, Habana Compound) told me he pays $ 300/ Mo US for his rental home, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. I have never seen it as he is NOT the type to invite Dragon Slayer over for drinks. Strangely, neither has GoodEnough seen it.

If you are staying for a month, try RKG. If you bring some pals along, your bargaining power increases. ALL OF YOU go together to negotiate rooms. Be friendly. GoodEnough might be willing to accompany you if asked. Have him assist with negotiations as he is good at this. Try to get a place where you can occasionally cook and you willl save even more.

A $ 1000 should cover your expenses for a month. Avoid taking women out of the Clubs (Hot Legs I, II, III, Galeras, Roman Plaza, The Aquarium,etc). This will entail a barfine of P2500 - P3500 ($53-$ 74) for a few hours with her and she will ask for a tip(give her a good tip, "stop ripping off foreigners"). I go to these places, drink 1-2 beers (P50 each) and catch the 10PM shower show. I might buy a hot looking dancer a drink and have her massage trousersaurus rex as she sits next to me. Around 11:30PM I head over to Rizal Promenade (Thurs, Fri, Sat nts) and look for a lovely lady. I do not push her coming back with me that night. I get her CP# and follow up the next day. This resulted in me meeting/fucking some very lovely, regular ladies.

Dragon Slayer

**Laylow3** · 06-15-09 05:54

Oh yeah and DS, you never stated your opinion on the record in regards to $1000 being enough money to reside in the PI for a month considering what my plans are. (and probably countless other guys for that matter) I know for a fact that if I can get by with $1000 in Davao and have a blast with the ladies. I can for sure easily persuade at least four of my friends to accompany me on my next trip there.

**Laylow3** · 06-15-09 05:49