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I lived in Dumaguete 3 years and moved to Tagaytay. For me Tagaytay is much better, so much so that I have bought a house here. Like all places there are pros and cons. I actually live in Alfonso just down the road from Tagaytay near twin lakes.

The weather here is much cooler at 2000 feet, only use the aircon a couple of months a year in the day time. Seems like days top out at about 26-28 c most of the year. Traffic is bad on the weekend with day trippers from Manila clogging the roads but even then it is less stressful than Duma. They come for the scenery and rows of restaurants, during the week traffic is much better. Not one tenth the tricycles or jeepnys here.

There is just a lot more here, very upscale shopping in Nuvalli with an S&R 45 minutes away and Makati and BGC 2 1/2 hours away, longer at rush hour.

Although there are plenty of expats here, nothing like the density in Duma, also lots of excellent restaurants although they are not as expat oriented. Surrounded by golf courses.

Overall it is more expensive than Dumaguete for real estate, but also in the couple of years I have been here no scheduled brownouts, only out for a few hours with storms and was shut down during the Taal eruption as a precaution for ash for a few days. Stateside quality service with utilities and fast internet available.

Prices are rising, the CALEX expressway will be completed soon which will cut the travel time to Manila considerably and another freeway has been proposed and expected to be approved this year to go from Silang in Cavite to Nasugbu in Batangas. This will cut the travel time to Manila to less than an hour, so demand should pick up.

I enjoyed Dumaguete and understand how it suits many expats but if you are not satisfied there Tagaytay is worth a look.

 

I have no doubt you are truthful in what your expectations are for yourself living the "Western" life in the Philippines. I just plainly disagree with your comments that I quoted previously. You generalized and made assumptions with a conclusion that all 3K a day would get you a life of just pickling your liver. If you think my intent was to "shame" you I suggest you re-read your post and how it could be interpreted.

There are folks with vastly different ideas to what their expectations are for a life in the Philippines and how much they plan to spend; pretty much their own business. I know how much we spend when I'm home and when I'm not; but that is my business.

We are in complete agreement that the Philippines is not as cheap as many assume. It can also be fairly inexpensive depending on your lifestyle.

Shawn

 

Word of warning with these solo driving instructors they require payment in advance for 10hrs lessons then often accept too many clients. They will do half the total hours paid for if your lucky then give excuses after excuses why they can't turn up to complete the lessons - and will not refund the unused portion of the payment. Best to use GlobalLinks driving school.

 

Couple updates. Last night, mostly cuz of posts here, we tried Andy's Grill, hidden in the residential area near robinson's .... WOW, had a steak, if the other dishes are as good as that and the Hunter's Steak, Andy's will be a regular spot. Small, but very good.

Note, we rarely make reservations, unlike California, where it's a chore. See story below after serious stuff, and GK, the cut up napkins i've heard, is some barato's (cheapskate's) idea of saving money, DCDWI (Dumaguete City, Deal With It). I think whoever told me that was serious...

By the way, i'm starting a movement (so far, only one person). I've heard all sorts of excuses about "out of stock," from VENDOR to INATTENTIVE MANAGER to "EVERYTHING COMES FROM CEBU," but with so many new good restaurants, i'm going to cut (not eliminate) my visits drastically to places where half the menu is "out of stock" way-too-often. Owners beware, i've heard that many restaurant owners simply don't buy stuff because they're too cheap to tie up funds in inventory. If that's true, they will eventually lose me and other customers. Time to find another business if that's the case, or redo ur menu. .

Short story but typical of california, my previous residence. Hot new restaurant opens, decide to make a reservation just to try it out, at 70 yrs old not something we did often. Called, "sorry, but we are booked for the next six weeks." I said, "what the hell, i'll take something in the 7th week." Restaurant: "sorry, but we only take reservations 6 weeks in advance..." Never went there in the next decade, it closed. Pretentious jerks. Typical, one reason i'm here, no longer there.. <grin>...

 

Thank you for the kind words. Always happy to hear suggestions and even complaints. And yes we added SML and will be looking at adding Pilsen and a few more things within the next few days to a week. Currently only have a small ref but hoping to have another this weekend allowing a larger variety. Our menu will also be expanding as we are able to shortly especially figuring out a couple rice meals.

So far we are just 1 1/2 weeks old and a small location yet happy to be getting as much business as we can. We really aim to provide good quality food at affordable prices to both local and foreigner tastes.

 

Sniff, sniff, sniff.............nope, sorry, I don't smell it everywhere I go. Of course, I don't hang out with substance abusers to smell them, or ask where they come from.

I've never been to angeles city or Thailand. Came here from the USA. Many of us live responsible lives here.

 

The stray dogs are a problem. It's not just a minority with diseases. At night after traffic has died down, dogs own the streets. When I would walk at night I had to be constantly on guard to keep from getting bit.

I don't listen to music while walking anymore. The third time I ever listened to music while walking, a dog got close enough to me that it was able to grab my pant leg. Good thing I was wearing loose pants or I would have got bit in the ankle. This was during the day.

Many people here are scared of dogs and won't walk anywhere because of dogs.

Kill the dogs. Even the non diseased dogs are a problem. They form packs and become more dangerous in numbers. While one dog might leave you alone, a group of dogs act differently.

The moral weight isn't on the people making the decision to kill the dogs, rather it's on the people not taking care of their own dogs and fixing them so they no longer breed.