My husband and ( in our 60's) are going to visit Dumaguete next month. We are Canadian retirees presently living in northern Thailand. We really miss interacting with shop keepers/ vendors who speak English , and also Getting together with other expats at the pool or other activities. We do not want to be isolated so probably a condo community would be good. What area of Dumaguete do you suggest- we have never been there and going on recommendation via the Internet as Dumaguete being a nice place to live.
I think two good choices are Bacong and Sibulan. Sibulan is really expanding and has a City Mall due to open soon (I think "soon" as building work seems infinite here) and a Polymedic hospital just started construction. It has Sibulan Port, from where you can get to Cebu (Liloan) in about 25 minutes and enjoy white sand (in VERY short supply in Dumaguete). Getting to downtown Dumaguete by trike or jeepney takes about 15 minutes. Bacong is also very popular and is near Dauin and Zamboanguita. I can recommend Dumaguete if you want a relatively-quiet medium size city (just be tolerant about the masses of motorbikes). I am your age.
Hi Take a look at this site for rentals Negros Oriental Properties for Rent - Philippines Living in the city is very noisy and I would suggest it is far more pleasant to the South from Bacong down to Zamboanguita. Some folks prefer Valencia which is away from the sea but has consistently lower temperatures and is less populated. Good luck!
I would look up the mountain due west of Dumaguete somewhere between Barangay Candu-ay and Valencia. You don't want to be too far from the city in case you get sick and need to see a good doctor. You also want to be closer to the main markets so you can find your favorite food are reasonable prices. The highway the runs between Dumaguete, Bacong, and Sibulan is a chocked a lot of times with smoking trucks and long lines of traffic. But coming into town from the west is easy. It's also cooler as you go up the mountain.
Proposed new Airport around Bacong, National Hiway south of city is being upgraded, however trucks / modified M/Cs etc make it unbearably noisey will only get busier.....head for the hills is my advice with only access roads and no passing through routes.
Other options are Bais, Tanjay or for cooler climate Mabinay. Not too far away from Dumaguete and not overcrowded. From the first two cities are many busses running to Dumaguete every hour.
