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Is Philippines really that cheap?

Discussion in 'Expat Section' started by ThatNewGuy, Sep 29, 2019.

  1. ThatNewGuy

    ThatNewGuy DI Member

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    A new rookie in town

    So, I have arrived in Dumaguete and started to explore and digging into expenses etc. Just to be clear, I did not come here to save, but hey! who wants to pay more then u should right?

    I travel..A LOT... always did, so I am pretty familiar with expenses and 'turist traps'.
    I am not your typical haggler, I rather just say no thx.

    Back to Dumaguete and Philippines.... I have been told so many times that Philippines is so darn cheap! Ok..compared to what?
    Norway? YES!
    Singapore? YES!
    Thailand? NO !
    Indonesia? NO!
    Portugal then? NO!
    Italy it must be! NO!

    If you compare what you really get in small towns in certain European countries, I would say Philippines is not cheap.

    Many come for the weather, yes.. it's warm and I love it too.

    Some come to drink cheaper, well, in some countries in Europe you pay even less for the alcohol (for those that thinks it is important)

    Rentals and property prices then? No, I know from experience that it's same or more expensive even (again quality and standard)

    Don't believe me?


    So why are you here then you might ask?
    Well, I am here for the feeling I get being with the people here. Sure Bulgaria is dead cheap, but I don't like the macho mentality. I do love their tomatoes tho :angelic: Portugal has good cheap rentals, wine, food, beaches and more..but people are not that open as here, and they got a colder winter .brrrrr.

    But this post was about prices and they are not surprisingly low...as some say

    If you read this forum considering coming here to save money only, there are many other options. If you cherish many of the same things as me in how the population is and behaves, Philippines can be a good place for you too.

    Thanks for sharing and helping me and others in this forum, highly appreciated

    ThatNewGuy
     
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  2. liannastar

    liannastar DI Member

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    I guess there are cheaper places to live, but there are other factors that come into play than just hard numbers, as you mentioned.

    Ultimately it all depends on what is important to you, cost vs value, etc.
     
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  3. OP
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    ThatNewGuy

    ThatNewGuy DI Member

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    It was just a surprise to me coming from Bulgaria (motorcycle trip this summer) and expecting something different (based on so many's statements).

    But, I am still smiling :thumbsup:
     
  4. cabb

    cabb DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster ✤Forum Sponsor✤

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    I'm no expert, but in my limited experience there are a couple things in play. The average Filipino lives on a lot less than you do, so if you want to see all the savings trying living like they do. :smile: Most expats are not looking to do that. There are several threads on this forum about how much it costs to retire in the Philippines you may want to look at. In my experience, most manufactured products, cereal, cars, tools are more expensive, with the exception of some cheap Chinese knockoffs and medicines. The only thing that is significantly cheaper is human labor. I can get a guard or a driver for significantly less there than in the US. Most people probably compare where they are coming from to where they are going, so it's not a I'm in the cheapest place, but my annual spend is less than where I came from. Perspective makes a huge difference. The are also other criteria as you mention above.
     
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  5. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    One of those factors I think many find appealing is the ability to live at those lower standards without being surrounded by dangerous garbage human beings (trailer parks/inner city ghettos).

    Your observations have been stated many times on this form. I bet the counterarguments haven't changed much either. But hey, maybe I'll be surprised.
     
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  6. OP
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    ThatNewGuy

    ThatNewGuy DI Member

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    May I ask what you mean by that buddy?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 1, 2019
  7. OP
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    ThatNewGuy

    ThatNewGuy DI Member

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    Yes I agree. Me asking if it's really that cheap is comparing what you get for foreign currency.

    If we use Ukraine, a country in Europe, a security guard makes the same here (currency against currency), I know as I was there much before (gf). So a security guard traveling to Philippines would not earn less, now would he have more expenses or less? Both live of those salaries, housing, food etc. Both struggle for sure when it comes to medicine etc.

    This thread is in expat section so yes it was more a question if you get more for your money here then other places, for me it's clear that certain things, people get less for their hard earned money then many other countries. That especially of course the working force and so called middle class. So if you travel here as a Portuguese, you would probably not think it's very cheap.

    It was more of a comparison from my side. :happy:
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2019
  8. liannastar

    liannastar DI Member

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    Oh I totally get what you're saying. There are so many factors involved in determing what is cheap or not. One of them being expectations!
     
  9. tuba-coma

    tuba-coma DI Forum Adept Showcase Reviewer

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    Bad news: It's expensive to die here. Good news: You don't have to pay the funeral.
     
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  10. djfinn6230

    djfinn6230 DI Senior Member

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    I am not sure what you mean by currency against currency. There are approx. 50 pesos per US dollar. Surely you would first convert the exchange rates before comparing. A liter of gas here is about 50php. With 3.75 liters in a US gallon, that would be a price in US dollars of $3.75. Since gas in the US is cheaper, about $2.75 ( possibly excepting California), it is more expensive to buy gas here than in the US but probably half as expensive as Western Europe. Is that how you are comparing things? Certainly you would not compare 1 peso to 1 dollar in this example because it would not be valid, exchange rates being what they are. There was a time when one Philippine peso equaled 1 US dollar and that was right after WWII just before Philippine independence. After that, the peso inflated to the 50/1 rate seen today.


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