Suggestion Dumaguete for disabled young man

Hello everyone. My son is 24 years old and tetraplegic since an accident 6 years ago. He is British/American but a long term Hong Kong resident. We are now in Bacolod, where his nurse is from, but would like to move on to somewhere near good beaches and other tourist attractions and with an expat community. Dumaguete sounds like the kind of place we are looking for. We are looking for somewhere to relocate for a month initially, and if my son likes it would consider a more permanent arrangement. Because moving is very difficult for us (my son cannot take buses, so we have to rent a private car and driver for long distances), we want to be sure we are making the right choice. If we move to Dumaguete we would want to rent a furnished flat that is walkable / wheelable to the social centre -- the cafés/bars/restaurants where people hang out. My son CAN be lifted in and out of a tricycle but it's not pleasant for him so would like not to have to do it all the time. I have already done a lot of online reading and research about the layout of the place, but nothing beats recommendations from people who actually live there. We would really appreciate your input on housing, cost of living, activities and the general vibe. Thanks in advance!

 

Somewhere close to downtown for sure otherwise transportation would be needed. You wouldnt be able to "wheel" him from dauin or valencia. There is no ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Here so places are not required to have handicap access avail everywhere. Be careful the streets and sidewalks are not always kept up to par full of potholes and cracks.. overall I think it would work as long as he has assistance. Anyone else have an opinion?

 

Thanks for your reply! We are new to the Philippines -- know only Bacolod so far. For a wheelchair user would you say that Dumaguete is much better / much worse than other cities here, or about average? Any suggestions for accommodation downtown (furnished flat for 4 or 5 people)? What about getting to Bohol / Apo / Cebu on the ferry? Doable (with assistance of course)?

 

Thanks for your reply Pat. Have you any suggestions for places to rent "downtown"? (So we don't have to take public transport to the seafront area). I have heard that the Robinson's Mall area is a nice place to live, but if it's not walkable / wheelable to the main downtown area then would not be suitable for us. We have some helpers here in Bacolod and they would come with us -- it's really not possible to manage without several strong helpers as we do not have the equipment we use back in Hong Kong (hoist). We did buy a shower chair here, which we will take with us. Would you say that Dumaguete is worse for a wheelchair user than other cities in the Philippines?

 

This country is basically wheel chair unfriendly.... but the Bethel House Inn (located right on the blvd) has a proper w/c ramp and is a very well run place. Quiet at night and across from the seawall Pat mentioned. Probably the best place to set up camp and check out the city.

 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
In answer to your question about budget Wrye83: yes, we definitely have to be cost-conscious as we will need to accommodate 5 people (me, my son, my son's nurse and 2 helpers who will come with us from Bacolod) -- at least at first, as we may find helpers locally to replace the people coming with us.
Here in Bacolod we rent a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom furnished flat (in Seaview area) for 1000 pesos/night including utilities. It's clean, absolutely secure, with kitchen, excellent wifi and helpful owners. I, my son, his nurse and another female helper have been staying there and the two male helpers have their own accommodation nearby. We don't find this particularly cheap, but the owners say they could offer us much better terms if we rented it by the month. What do you think? What would be the price of something similar (centrally located) in Dumaguete?
I understand that rents near Rizal Boulevard will be more expensive. We are assuming that this will be the area where my son will want to hang out, so we would have to decide between more expensive rent/ideal location and better value accommodation somewhere less central but with the added cost and effort of all of us having to take a tricycle to Rizal and back at least once a day. Again, I am assuming that the seafront / Rizal is where my son will want to spend most of his time.
Thanks for the hotel recommendation Gerry. I will phone Bethel House Inn to see about their rates and availability.
We plan to leave Bacolod Monday morning, so should arrive in Dumaguete late Monday. Would love to meet up with all of you.
Thanks again for your advice and please post any other ideas you might have.

 

You could contact AJ or Matt at Call: +639162318593 ⋆ Dumaguete Home Rentals to look for a suitable rental for you and I think Gord, a forum member, is also connected to a realty. Gerry's suggestion to stay at the Bethel Hotel should work best for you. .
Some of the problems you may encounter here are there are no stop-go lights and drivers are inconsiderate so crossing the street can be hazardous. Also, not every street has sidewalks. Lee Plaza, the main department store and market downtown has an escalator going up but only stairs going down. They may have a freight elevator but not sure.
If you can rise above all the difficulties, Dumaguete is a nice place to live. I only lived in Makati and Fort Bonifacio and they are expensive and no beach, so I cannot suggest alternatives.

 

I agree, Bethel is closest. As for near robinsons no that is also too far to wheel someone to the boulevard..Thatd be Barangay Calindagan, I lived there for a year, its also not a very good area (drug/burglary) wise so I'd be careful about that... Robinsons Mall its-self is nice and the other direction towards hypermart gets nice but that is going further away from all the action you are talking about which happens mainly downtown. As mentioned in previous posts, I know a person that does real estate Home rentals he may or may not be of help. If you want to PM me your email or # I can have him contact you.