⌛ Dumaguete as a top location ...

Hi folks, I am a brand new member and have spent just an hour or so in the expat and general chat areas. I can see there is a LOT of great stuff to read. I started in general chat reading that post from the poor guy who asked if it was safe to live in Dumaguete - boy did he get it in the neck from Rhoody!! But people do ask such daft questions, as if you folk would BE there if it was 'dangerous' ... jeez!

I can see there is a genuine desire to help people on this forum and the sense of humour is terrific - I about pissed myself at reading some of the posts ... like "Dumaguete is safe as long as you avoid the foreigners. The foreigners are dangerous. If you get into a tricky situation, just drop your beer and run. The beer will slow them down because they will have to stop and drink it for you. Make sure it's cold though, warm beer will only make them more angry." Other posts were really thoughtful and insightful, clearly it will take many years for a foreigner like me to take even a few steps towards integration, if that is even possible.

More about me - I am a 60 year old British guy, currently living in Cyprus. I am a website designer, working from home for the past dozen years or so. I like the warm climate in Cyprus, but the cost of living here has gone up 25% over the past year or so, mainly due to rising prices since Cyprus adopted the Euro as its currency in Jan 2008 - and the falling value of the pound against the Euro over the past year has doubled the effect. I am now considering spending most of my time in the Philippines. I have visited twice and have seen a little of Manila, plus Angeles City, Subic Bay and Cebu. I fear that go-go bars were my main focus, no museums or ancient monuments were visited!

From the research I have done Dumaguete seems to meet most of my key criteria:

1) There must be a sizeable population of expats living there. It will be a large town as a minimum, no remote villages with idyllic beaches - they are for vacations, not residence.
2) A safe environment (providing sensible precautions are taken).
3) A reliable broadband service (essential)
4) A high standard of medical facilities less than an hour away (Silliman).
5) An airport less than an hour away.
6) Somewhere with taxis or where I could drive 'safely'. Cypriots are lunatics on the road - their cousins seem to live in Cebu! Getting in and out of trikes is not practical long-term, in any event I am a BIG guy!

This is a SERIOUS move and although I am an experienced road warrior, local knowledge makes ALL the difference! I have a contact in the PI who has done some freelance writing work for me over the past 18 months. She and her partner live in Cebu city, but she is from Dumaguete and also has an office there. She highly recommends Dumaguete as a location for me. I will need to politely decline any 'investment' in the business were I to move there of course

The reliable broadband issue could be the deal-breaker, a website designer kinda needs that! I have read some posts about the highly variable services available there, though those reports are perhaps a little out of date.

Same comment about car hire firms - IS there a service available there now?

Up to now, Yahoo Groups really have provided a fab way of contacting expats living all over the PI and I reckon I have a month to hone the possibilities down to a half dozen locations. I have brought forward my plans and am now spending 3 weeks in July (maybe 3 nights per location) to get a feel for things. Then it's back to Cyprus for a month before moving to the PI at the end of August. My location list in order of preference (on paper) is Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Puerto Princesa, Tagum and Tagaytay. One hell of a circuit already! I think I am being unrealistic in trying to cover so much ground in 3 weeks, so may trim a couple of those off the list as my research continues.

Any feedback on internet and car hire (and anything else) greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Adrian

 

Welcome, Adrian!

Hi, Adrian, and welcome to the DI forum! You will find this to be treasure trove of information as you consider relocation to Dumaguete. As you may have read, my husband is there right now (through Sunday) and has been doing a tremendous amount of "on-site investigating." I'm sure upon his return he'd be more than happy to share with you what he's learned -- housing, internet/phone options, etc. We had a personal referral to a driver while he is there, and this gentleman has been a DELIGHT. Rick can ask him if he'd like to available for your visit (with your paying for his time and gas ).

Again, welcome to the site; we are so looking forward to our relocation to DGT at the end of the summer!

~ Sue

 

Wow Sue - first of all thanks for your lovely message ... and the help offered. Indeed the driver does sound like a bit of a 'find'! So much better to have somebody local show you around (who's not trying to sell you something) than bumbling around in a hire car on a hit and miss basis.

Cheers
Adrian

 

Hi, Adrian! Yes, Rick has had an incredible visit to DGT and has said this is, without a doubt, the right place for our relocation. I'm so excited!

He has taken hours of video and tons of still shots, so I'd be happy to forward our "scrapbook" if you're interested. Through our incredible personal referral, Rick has been been blessed with an "insider's" local tour of the resorts, the restaurants and available housing, as well as a reliable driver who has made himself available at Rick's disposal. How lucky is THAT??

 

This is my insight on the internet line, currently I'm subscribed to a 2mb broadband connection from Globe(ISP) its the only ISP I've used here so I dont really know about the other ISPs. So I'll just say a bit on Globe.

It's the fastest connection I've found so far here in DGT, I also heard recently from a friend of mine that Globe doesn't offer that connection anymore but maybe you should inquire just in case. Also be aware that Globe doesn't cover the entire Dumaguete area and I'm not sure exactly where it doesn't reach, again, just ask them. Also when you subscribe to their ISP, you have to stick with them for a year otherwise you'd have to pay additional disconnection fee of 7k pesos

About the reliability part, sometimes they do disconnect from time to time but it's not that often and the internet outages doesn't last that long. My best advice for you is just buy your own dam router, don't ever use their cheapskate dsl modem that comes with the connection. My experience with the old modem was that when it disconnects, it takes me a hell lot of time to connect again so I just got a new one from Dubai

So, if you got a good router, I guess you're good to go then
Btw, in case Globe can't reach the area you're planning to stay, you can opt for the wireless one but I wouldn't say its reliable. Still, its better than nothing.

Good luck with your trip!
P.s: I'm aspiring to be a web designer and i have some knowledge in PHP, with your awesome wisdom, got any tips for a newbie like me?

 

Adrin, they just got hit if they deserve it... some people just register for whatever reason with several names and intentions.
When I see a first post like that one, just a plain stupid question without any information, I check some background info, and get rid of them in "my way".

You make a great intro, so members know a little and can help, easy as that.

Anyway, I disagree with your point 4. but don't mention that in the public, Silliman (University and Hospital) is a holy cow here and it's forbidden by Dumaguete-Law to say anything not super-positive about it.
a neutral statement would lead to lifetime-jail
a negative one would lead to a public holiday and free beer for the population to see you hanging from the highest tree...

 

that is quite a good post and I guess that you are allright in Duma, you could consider taking in an inbetween step and rent something in Cebu for a while maybe (it seems a good place to explore from), our plans to set up something in Duma got side tracked to there (due to family and larger job opportunities for them). The people I met in Duma seemed pretty cool and relaxed but active and like this board open and helpfull (thanks Mike for all the info and Rudy as well).

 

I'm also a web developer living in Dumaguete (back-end developer not design.) Globe has been good enough for me. You will lose some time between internet outages and brownouts, but it hasn't been a huge problem for me. I know there will eventually be a day where I will be working with a client to launch a site and my power will go out, I'm dreading that scenario. You just have to plan accordingly and I let my clients know that at times I may drop off the grid unexpectedly.

@dralionblad: Globe still offers the 2MB line but you may need a business license to get it. The place where I'm staying is getting a 5MB line pretty soon.

 

Omg, I want a 5mb connection! Do you need a business license for that too?

 

Hi, Adrian; I hope your holiday trip to the Philippines materialize. Seems you have done good research on the "livable" places in the PI. Guess the best thing for you to do is try to visit those places you mentioned, though as one from Dumaguete I would be biased. Car rents on short term would not be a problem here... Anyway, drop in to Dumaguete when you get the chance...