Good Morning People/Wife is Shopping

Good morning to all online , we have got a picture perfect clear blue sky , and 15 degrees Celsius in Melbourne , Australia . (just been voted the worlds most liveable city "again") . What is it like in Dumaguete this morning ?
Must be starting to cool down a tad more now . It seemed to be quite a warm dry season this year . Count your blessings there Fella's , I dropped Alfie to the mall to get the weeks food etc. And it will be PHP 14,000.00 , that is how much every week for 4 person family , not including the milk and bread etc. through the week . What is the average spend there? I know how much I spend there , but I am usually feeding 20 people a day , what's the average for a family ? Larry ? JP ? .....?

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We spend about P15,000/month on groceries, and eat out quite a bit, plus another P2000/month or so to feed the dogs.

Larry

 

GM Tony, wow 59 degrees F, nice cool morning. Generally this time of the year in FLA it's 26-30 C at that time of the morning, mainit naman. 70-80 % humidity. 345 AUS?....whatcha all eating lobster and Kobi beef everynight? Now my beer bill is about 1/2 that, I budget for the important things.

 

What is it like in Dumaguete this morning ?
I've got a cheapie weather station set up at my residence here in Dauin. You can access it by going to Weather Underground, and entering Dauin PH. I don't vouch for its reliability or prediction accuracy, but it can give you an idea of what's going on.

 

I check this at least daily from FLA, to see what I am missing :(

Dumaguete City Weather - AccuWeather Forecast for Negros Oriental Philippines

 

Well oztony..the original poster.....I think we placed number 9 in the world (Perth)....not bad....and having traveled or worked all over the planet....a fair assessment. I go to cities in Europe or America and wonder, where the hell are the parks? Where do kids go to enjoy themselves and people go to walk, maybe with their dogs? Anyway, I'm more concerned about Dumaguete at the moment....me and my wife have had a battle going on now for several years about our retirement. She prefers Bacolod...where we have a large lot/block....in a high-end development near Talisay...along with the Lacsons and others....and we'd be close to relatives (mostly middle to extremely upper class - so they won't be banging on the door for pesos - maybe the opposite LOL)...and her friends..(I can see that being a disadvantage - since I know some are struggling). Otherwise, all sweet. But the nearest snorkelling, much less diving worth a crap is three-four hours away....That said for now- it is a safe place....well-guarded...roving patrols with 12-gauges etc...However, I prefer Dumaguete for a few reasons....smaller...outstanding diving very near...lower cost of living (I presume - especially since I'd rather rent than buy there - and selling our Bacolod property would pay for at least ten years rent on a nice place there....). My wife's main concern is security.....can't say it it's not an issue with me. So how is it - really.....I've read over a year ago that Cebu criminals have come over and set up shop....and there does seem to be murders of expats with some (low) regularity. Do those that live there consider it has been worth it and feel safe enough to live reasonably normal lives....or do you spend your days and nights looking over your shoulders? Just curious...it is one or the other for us. I have a few hobbies I can indulge in at either location - aquaculture, veggie gardening, diving (with wasting more time from Bacolod).....Anyway, security is the main discussion point for us....We'd be looking at renting maybe a 3X2 with around a thousand sq metre lot in Valencia....Ex-marine I'm happy to get a gun in my wife's name and using it when I need to....hopefully not often.....and I am good with dog training - and willing to get a mean one to patrol....Do you think we can live there enjoying our life for a decade or two - or is the lifestyle too paranoid to relax? That is really the question....and the time is coming....maybe a year or two at most....I've run into expats on Bohol who walked into paradise years ago - and their opinion has...changed.....But like I said Dumaguete ticks all the boxes for me....It's my wife I have to convince....

 

Fair enough...thanks for the responses...pretty much the same as I feel. Don't bloody know.....the Dumaguete gloss has worn off - the place has changed.....but some of the good bits are still there for those with some years of experience can still utilise........I tell my wife...we can sell up in Perth, get a nice Western Australia country property - grow trout in winter - barramundi in summer, solar and wood-stove as much as we can, and grow all the veggies we need.....we are very good at it now...I do it every year, all year....never have to worry about crime in the country....or being ripped off....Why bother with the Philippines? We can vacation there anytime. And if we do make our Bacolod Plan B, build a very small but adequate 3X2 house on our Bacolod lots ($100k at most...so our kids don't get lumbered with impossible legal rubbish if Ceres can't stay in their lane - and we indulge in our hobbies as long as we can - if it gets too hard, or disappointing, back to plan A.....Dumaguete is Plan C - but I'm thinking more and more - and we watch the Negros news almost daily - not a good idea.....Ten years ago would have been wonderful....Interesting - expats in Thailand are catching much more positive media attention here, and seem pretty bloody happy - not my opinion - spent enough time there....But Thailand, and Bali of course....are sucking in Ozzie retirees....The Philippines has up and down stories...sadly the rash of expat murders on Luzon comprises most of the down part. Cebu murders aren't helping....

 

Garbonzo , please accept my apology for the late reply , I actually wrote the below on word document , and when the thread slipped of the page I forgot , sorry amigo .

Garbonzo , Dumaguete is popular because of the safety aspect and also because is does not get as ravaged as much as other areas by the typhoons etc. In Tanjay , I actually walk around the barangay I live in at night on my own , even out the back where the less fortunate live , and stop in and say hello to them. But I suppose after 12 years they all know me . As far as Dumaguete I am not really up to speed with the elite or best areas , only Valencia which is a couple of degrees cooler and very popular with expats , from what I read on your post Valencia , with the right lot of land would seem pretty good . Doubt if you would hear any bad reports about violence or robbery from expats in that area , Larry the administrator would have a good word on this , he lives in Valencia . I am pretty biased but Negros Oriental just fits for me , the nature of the people , the landscape , the close proximity to Cebu city , and Cebu island itself . I have got a house just 30 minutes north of Dumaguete so to get to the barge at Amlan then to Cebu can be done in under an hour . Back to safety , I honestly believe it is safer there than Australia , but if you have a nice house by all means a little bit of security goes a long way , but to be honest the only security I have installed is my neighbours . Stay in touch , if we happen to be on Negros Island at the same time maybe we can catch up , I been there twice this year already , totalling 7 weeks , may go back at xmas not sure .

Regards Tony

 

Thanks oztony - glad you replied....I was wondering if there was some anxiety being un-expressed about life in Dumaguete.... Yes, I'm telling my wife that I would be more comfortable with a larger expat population around me....more people to talk to and more to learn from them. That's just the way it is....We have plenty of expats in our Bacolod subdivision - for now, but I note many are selling, or already have done so - mostly for health, family reasons....So it is a challenge to map out our future....She retires in less than a year after years of tough nursing (with the number of obese Australians and a Filipina trying to get them down the hallway without ruining her back.....not very successfully - she is enduring some pain) I'm around working maybe a bit longer or maybe the same - who knows...employer keeps threatening redundancies which I'd be pleased to accept......haven't fixed a date yet....and need some reasonable super growth to make it happen - and still like the idea of keeping a house here - you never know what can happen in the Philippines....

Anyway, nice to hear from you....Crime rate in Perth is pretty ordinary....a lot of my neighbours have been hit last couple years....break-ins or cars - or both...we have a dog which does a valiant job of taking care of our place - no one gets close without him going ballistic....I am getting tired of contending/planning against criminals every time we leave the house.....wasn't like this a couple decades ago....I just don't want a substantially worse existence in the Philippines.....That's why I don't mind country WA (non-aboriginal towns of course...zero would be good)...but if the security is reasonable I'm happy to give Dumaguete (actually Valencia) an attempt - just have to get the missus on board. Like I say we'll be renting....If it gets too hard...off to the airport....

For what it's worth, we have relatives coming for Christmas etc from Japan here to Perth....then we have a major family expedition to Japan for about a month early next year during sakura....on Honshu (Tokyo and Kyoto), then visiting them for revenge on Okinawa...and finally enjoying Hokkaido's wonders......Still waiting for residence visas from the Emperor LOL....We'd be on the next day's flight......But losing hope..........Philippines not likely till our usual rainy season fun and games - likely June....our airline points will cover it....thank God.....Makes the domestic flights that time of year.......interesting.....Cheers...

 

Have lived in my house in Candau-ay for 4 years. Never felt threatened, no break-ins. I don't even get nervous walking downtown at night. I don't feel it is any more unsafe than any other place in the world. There is always going to be crime no matter where you are.