⌛ I bring you greetings from Louisiana

This must be my lucky day; I found a Dumaguete site that I think I will like. I am retired, retired, retired. Like one of my deceased friends once said “I am practicing on doing nothing, I am not good at it yet, but I am still practicing on it. ” Or like my retired dad said “I don’t work and you can’t make me.” I am Rev. Robinson from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My faith is non-denominational and I read from the King James and the New Testament (just in case anyone is wondering) and I promise not to preach on this forum.

We moved here about 3 years ago from Ocean Springs, Mississippi with our now 9 year old son. My wife lived in the states for 16 years (where we met and married) and now we are living in Upper Cantil-e Dumaguete City. She is from Negros Occidental so she is really back home (or close to home without having the family move in. We decided to build a home here rather than rent for we have no plans of going back to the states anytime soon. Our contractor did a nice job on our home and I would highly recommend him to anyone that wants a house built in the area.

We find Dumaguete City to be less congested than Cebu or Manila and a lot cleaner. I was kind of disappointed about the beach scene but, what the heck, you can’t have everything. Living here in the Philippines is all about getting use to things. My wife moved us out in the country with a cow next door, and a few hundred roosters in throwing distance from our home, so I had to get use to that. There is no power poles on my streets, no telephone lines or cable TV, so I had to get use to that. Water shuts off at 10 p.m. every night and turns back on at 4:30 every morning, so I had to get use to that. Now I am trying to get use to the brown outs in the area, traffic, weather and all the other things that I am not use to, all in all, I am having a ball:D . My son is going to a good school (Catherina Cittadini), and I don’t have to worry about the drama that I would back in the states.

I find the Filipino people in Dumaguete city to be a lot friendlier than the foreigners but I am getting use to that too . This is all for now. I hope to chat with you all one of these days. (This is our son and our home in Dumaguete)

 

What a lovely property you've got there Rev. Robinson and a good-looking son. Your wife must be very proud of you both. Peace be with you and family.

 

Mr. Robinson...I am retired US Navy and my wife and I are looking to build or buy a home in a safe/secure area. She is Filipina from Zambuanga Del Norte and we are looking for an area that has perhaps some cool ocean breezes. Your home looks so nice. Could you please tell me what the total cost to build was and aprox. what monthly expenses run. Any information is welcome. Thank You.....Charles

 

Thank you for your kind words Chrissar. We are pleased to be living in the area and enjoying life after 50.:D

 

Hello Coveman, I am retired from the US Army, but I won't hold it against you . Dumaguete is like any city with it good and bad. There are subdivisions here with gated guards (some are old and could not catch a cold less alone a thief) so it depends on your level of comfort as for security. There are home here that has 12 to 18 feet of concrete walls, all around their home plus bar wire and electric on top of that. To me that is like living in a prison and that is not my cup of tea. I have added security lights to the rear of my home and added four dogs, two native dogs, a Great Dane and a Doberman. The Great Dane keeps all and I mean all uninvited guess away from the house. I have a good relationship with the community so I don't have any problems with anyone.

We live up towards the mountains and it is cooler here than it is on the beach and it is very nice here at night. We have air-condition in each room but I think we may have used it twice in the year and a half we have been living in the house, we primarily use the ceiling fans to cool the house. The city just to the west of us is Valencia which is much cooler and they give discounts on the power and water (I wish I knew that before I bought our home here for I would have moved there. We are only a half kilometer away from Valencia.) A lot of expats live there, and comes to Dumaguete to shop or just to get away.

Our house cost us a little more than 5 million pesos; this includes our lot which is 1,198 square meters. It is American style with 4 bedrooms, 2 and a half baths, living room, kitchen and dining room. Master bed room has separate tub and shower with walk in closet. We have a large mangrove tree in the back yard, papaya trees, a coconut tree, banana plants and pineapples. Everything to growing boy needs.

Your expense will change depends on how you want to spend your money. It can cost a lot or it can cost as little as you can get away with and still be comfortable. Our electric bill run about 3,500 pesos per month, if we use our dryer (mostly doing rainy season) it can go up to 4,000 and if we use the air condition it will go up to 7,000 pesos per month. Water runs about 500 pesos per month, we pay 1,000 pesos per month for satellite, 2,000 for wireless broadband internet service, and we use prepaid cell phones which run us about 500 per month. I spend about 500 peso per month for gas for my motorcycle and about 1,000 per week for diesel for our van. Private school for our son is 20,000 a year, and we allow 10,000 per month for food and other things for the house. With all of that we are still able to put some money away for a rainy day. The home, car, and bike are paid for so I don't worry about getting insurance on them at this time.

Whew. :D I hope this help. Any other questions, please let me know? (My wife, son, and our two native dogs, max and spot.

 

Hi Rev Robinson ,thanks for sharing your insights of life in Dumaguete and sharing couple of nice pictures of your beautiful house ,your wife and son and some fascnating ideas of having dogs...always a man's best friend. Nice we share same views about Valencia ,we have our place there too.

 

Hi Rev. Robinson, Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing those nice pictures,plus input on living expenses. Hey, I saw where you follow college football! Sept 8, mark that down. That's when the Hokies play the Tigers in Baton Rouge. Should be a good one!

Take care

 

Hello there Charles, which town or city in Zambo. Norte she is from. I was brought up in Sindangan but stayed most of my years in Dipolog City.

 

VT vs. LSU in Baton Rouge, you know the stadium will be pack, the noise will be crazy and it will be some of the best college football you will see anywhere. I wish I could see this game over here, but then again, I have the internet and I will be following it as it happens.

 

You know, you just might be able to watch it via internet. ESPN televises some games on their internet site, sometimes for free. So, be on the lookout!

I visited Louisiana and New Orleans a week before Katrina hit, and had a great time. NO was great, a lively city, loved the food. We also stayed in Lafayette. The one thing that struck me was how the heat, humidity, even the smell , reminded me of Negros. You must feel right at home!