Dumaguete Info Search


Introduction and a Question

Discussion in '☋ General Chat ☋' started by KBunn, Apr 26, 2009.

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  1. KBunn

    KBunn DI New Member

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    Hello everyone,

    I thought I would start out by saying hello to everyone here. I had previously joined a forum dedicated to living in Cebu, but when I realized that Cebu was just too large of a city for my family and I, and that Dumaguete is more of what we are used to, I decided to make the switch over here.

    I am a freelance writer, and my fiance, four boys, and I are going to make a move to Dumaguete in March of 2010. We currently live in Florida, so we are more than used to the weather conditions, and we are more of looking for a change of pace then a cheaper life, although the somewhat lower prices are attractive. We will be keeping our home and possessions in place in the states, so if for whatever reason we do not wish to stay in the Philippines we will have a means of escape.

    I run a freelance writing business from home, so I can work anywhere that there is Internet service, and I hope to establish a charity fund with local churches in my area before coming over so that I can do some good works once we are established and can see where the need is greatest. On a Yahoo group I read about a man who has been able to send over 30 neighborhood kids to school, and would love the chance to be able to do something similar.

    So, enough rambling and on to my question. I wanted to see if you all thought that the figures below sound feasible for our family to live on while there. I am an avid researcher given the nature of my work, so I want to be sure that we are sufficiently prepared before we arrive. I have done some research on local apartments that rent by the week, and have found a 2 bedroom place for 6,500 a week that is well secured and we can stay in as we get acclimated and look for a place to rent provided that they are still in business next year of course.

    Monthly Budget:

    25000 Php rent 3 bedroom home with housekeeper quarters or 4 br home outside city limits.
    4000 Php electricity not much air con use.
    1000 Php Internet
    1000 Php for tap water and drinking water
    30000 Php Food/toiletries
    4000 Php entertainment. Eating out once a week, snorkeling locally, etc.
    800 Php Cable
    2500 Php Stay in housekeeper
    Phone will be skype paid separately and maybe a local cell phone should we decide.
    3000 Transportation
    10000 a month schooling at Similan for 3 oldest boys 9,6, and 5 (we may home school however)

    71,300 Php per month without schooling and 81,300 with it.

    Visa extensions as well as Christmas and birthday presents will be paid with my child support money and yearly plane tickets to visit back home will be bought with my tax return or the money we save throughout the year.

    Does this budget sound doable? Also, are there safe and reliable transportation methods 5-10 Km outside of Duma that can get all six of us into the city and what would be the daily cost? Would a driver be more cost efficient?

    Thank-you for hanging in with me if you have lasted this long, and I truly appreciate any advice or information that is offered.
     
  2. Coyotes

    Coyotes DI Forum Adept

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    WOW a plan! reads ok to me, but i don't think i've ever thought about anything that deeply, i can welcome you to the site , with ease and very little thinking after the party last night. enjoy! :smile:
     
  3. neil domaille

    neil domaille DI Junior Member

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    our budget,monthly for 2adults. rent 5000. food inc water (bot n town)13000 .cable 400.. broadband 1000... power 1200, smart card cel phone300.visa 1500. fuel ect car 2000..dinning out 2//3 times monthly 1500. thats about it house is 2 br room brick tiled neat no air con about 26th peso my pension australia this month was 39th we manage to save about 10th a month.
     
  4. TheDude

    TheDude DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster

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    How do you guys spend so much on food? For two people I spend around 5K per month but I don't buy anything imported and I eat a lot of Filipino style foods.

    Your water budget a pretty high, you can get those water cooler containers full of water for about 50 pesos per container.

    Your entertainment budget might be a bit low. At McD's a quarter pounder meal costs something like 130 pesos which is 130 x 6 x 4 = 3120 pesos. You have just about blown your budget and all you have done is eat at McD's once a week. :wink: There are a lot of cheap places to eat though.

    I wouldn't send your kids to the local schools here. Your boys will love this place when they get older (girls!) but it's probably not the best place for younger kids. You should probably home school them.

    A 2 bedroom apartment will probably be way crowded. If your kids were older a better option might be to get three furnished studio apartments for 30K and sleep two to a room. There are probably lots of great houses here for rent which will comfortably house six people but it might take a while for you to get settled and find one.

    All your other prices look to be right in the ballpark. Some are higher, some are lower, they probably average out to be pretty close though.
     
  5. Pedro

    Pedro DI Senior Member Showcase Reviewer Veteran Navy

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    KBunn I admire your guts and sense of adventure. Your budget seems reasonable and well researched but there are many little things that you really need to experience to see if this "little town" will be right for you and your family.

    Concerning your boys and their education, the home schooling if you are able to pull it off online may be your better option. Are your boys Philippino-american? If they go to school here you will run into teachers that insist on giving instructions in the local dialect and if the boys do not have friends that will translate for them they may find themselves alienated from some of the discussions. That will be in addition to the Tagolog classes they will be required to take but if it is exposure to other cultures you seek that may not really be a problem then. When the time comes to transfer them back to the states the transcripts will need to be "translated" and seldom are foreign schools up to par with US schools. Also the school days are much longer in the PI, a little thing they may never forgive you for.

    Hope you are not a member of PETA, the first time you hear a pig being slaughtered next door for some festival or birthday can be quite startling, even if all of the wild dogs, roosters and chickens do not phase you. You will be glad you have a home to return to.

    And I thought it was expensive flying with just two children, my hat is off to you.
     
  6. Rhoody

    Rhoody DI Forum Luminary

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    Most private schools (Silliman, St Louis and more...) here teach in english only, all educational material is english, some schools give penalties for speaking a local dialect.

    The problem is the level of them, there is another thread about it on the board, where are some points and also links to the verifying sites.

    If you have the budget to send your kids to an international school in MNL or Cebu, you might get a kind of standard, with Duma you won't do them the biggest favor for their future life.
     
  7. OP
    OP
    KBunn

    KBunn DI New Member

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    Coyotes- Thank-you for the warm welcome. I am a planner that is for sure lol.

    neil domaille - Thank-you for sharing your budget with me, it certainly gives me something to work with.

    The Dude- Thank-you for your helps as well. I figured some of my numbers would be a bit off, as it is hard to pull a ball park figure off the net where the info varies so often. As for spending a lot on food, I was aiming high so that I wouldn't be disappointed, I kept hearing from everyone how expensive food could be over there for a family. However, with the housekeepers help we do plan to eat mostly local food so I am hoping the figure will be lower but not counting on it.

    The two bedroom apartment is only while we look around for a house to rent. The first week will be spent looking at the local stores etc, and making sure the Duma is the right place for us. Then we will spend another 1-2 weeks looking for a home for rent. After that we plan to be in a 3-4 bedroom home.

    Pedro - Definitely not a member of PETA. I do love animals, but I also understand their purpose. I grew up on a farm where we were only able to name the cows after cuts of meat because they were later slaughtered for our food. We lived next door to a chicken farm too lol. Right now in our current home we have roosters and barking dogs all around, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

    As for the schools, after everything I have heard here and on other boards I think it would be best to home school. Florida has an online virtual school so that will probably be our best bet and it is free! I did home school my two oldest for a year, so I know it can be done.

    Rhoody - Thank-you for the further information on the schools. Unfortunately it is not in our budget to pay the rates of the international schools, at least not for three boys lol. So, I guess we are left with home schooling.

    Thanks again everyone, you have been a tremendous help!
     
  8. hotsypatutsy

    hotsypatutsy DI New Member

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    silliman is a great school!

    how come you foreigners always advise other foreigners to send their children to other schools in cebu or manila? haven't you heard of silliman university? it's a prestigious school right at your doorstep.

    silliman attracts a number of foreign students, especially from korea, japan, iran, united states, etc. they are here for affordable but quality education.

    i myself am a proud alumnus of this prestigious university and silliman has graduates working all over the world!

    you foreigners are inviting other foreigners to come and settle down in dumaguete but you are not selling the complete package. include silliman as a primary attraction.

    without silliman, dumaguete is nothing!
     
  9. Coyotes

    Coyotes DI Forum Adept

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    as a standard in the philippines, i agree that Silliman is possibly a great school, but i'd say that as a world standard it isn't! i don't doubt that the people attending are really nice folk, but if you think foreign students attend because of it's world standing, your not using the education that you are perporting to have been taught, i'd say that many attend cos it's cheaper than an education in Korea (for example) and also cheaper to live here whilst attending, for an average student, they are virtually sure of gaining some sort of degree, but sorry to tell you, i'd look at it as slightly better than an internet degree, sent off for from some remote US county uni.

    i come to this conclusion from a few comments made by sum1 on this site who informed me that he/she had 2 degrees from said uni, and had such backward ideas, that were being taught in schools in the UK back in the 60's!!
    i agree that Silliman has helped the growth of Dumaguete, indirectly! as student are not renowned for their spending and i feel that tourism is a greater direct reason for the growth of the town, more is needed to attract tourism, as has been done in Thailand etc. where tourist are made to feel welcome and protected as a valuable resource, here the Police are not capable of dealing with tourists.

    Before you start, i don't want this place to go like the seedier parts of Thailand, not for a second! there are also nice parts of Thailand that can be used as a bench mark to aim for.
     
  10. Gass

    Gass DI Forum Adept

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    The following quote from another thread might answer some of your questions and if you make your own online research you will find out that you can frame you graduation - papers and pin them on the wall or include them in a job-application and make the employer laugh out loud.

    I would suggest you look into online resources to supplement your son's educational experience. This is particularly important if he will return to the States for college.

    There is only one International Baccalaureate accredited high school in the Visayas and Mindanao and that is Cebu International School in Cebu City. Local programs which are based on Philippine national standards only go through grade 10 and would not be considered high school graduates in the US.

    If your son only attended one of those schools and graduated, he would then have to either take the GED or return to high school in the US before he would be admitted to a quality American university (and many universities will not accept a GED diploma!).

    However, you can enroll him in online programs that are recognized in the US (and other countries depending on the program) and he will receive a diploma from that online institution which could be used for admission to a Western university.


    so take off the silliman - shades and face the reality.

    Philippinos are known in the world as hard workers with english knowledge for little money.

    you won't find many in non-english speaking countries like France or Germany. France may get the "slaves" from former colonies and Germany from Russia and Poland who speak, or understand the countries languages.
     
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