Hello and introduction from new member John

Hello to all on the forum.
I'm John, I'm from the USA and have been living in Angeles City since February of 2013.
I would like to move to Dumaguete for what I believe will be a better quality of life.
I am very glad to have found this forum.
I'm just now beginning my initial research into apartment rentals, etc.
Thank you for the forum!
John

 

Never been in Angeles City so I cannot compare both cities with respect to a better quality of life.
Any reason why you like to move to Dumaguete City; is Angeles City really that bad or just in for a change!

 

Hi Biker, thanks for the post.
Angeles has its attractions, I like it, but Angeles is landlocked and I would like to be near the water.
Also I came to Angeles to meet my sweetheart after having known her for four months on the internet, unfortunately she passed away unexpectedly this past October.
Angeles City will always be a very special city to me.
But now part of my process of moving on is to move to a new city to begin a new chapter in my life.
So I guess better quality of life for me means to be near the ocean and to have a change of scenery both physically and emotionally.
John

 

Hello Wrye83,

You covered all the important stuff, thank you for that!

I met a very nice girl last week, she is from Dumaguete, and this is a large factor in my decision to live there.
She herself wants to keep a safe distance from her own family, the discussion about that was at her initiative.
Not to imply there is anything wrong with her family, she loves them very much, but she is very introverted and independent and does not want any family drama or other drama to interfere with her own life or her life with me.

Your suggestion of keeping a small distance from Dumaguete is in line with her thinking and mine. One thing that bothered me about Angeles proper was the pollution which was so bad you could see it and smell it everywhere. At the moment we are looking at Sibulan as a logical place for us to start looking for apartments.

For foods, she is vegetarian, I appreciate her diet for myself as well, I never really knew how to eat decently. We would like all of our food to come from the vegetable/fruit market or from the ocean, I look forward to fishing myself each morning for that day's lunch or dinner. We are very sugar-conscious, thanks for the heads up, our biggest concern in that department will be finding a nearby source for whole wheat bread, she does not want any refined sugar in her diet or mine.

Thank you for the apartment info. I have an apartment here in Angeles at 5K pesos a month plus electricity, I want very much to stay within that budget, lets say I have to stay in that budget, at least in the beginning. The challenge now is to find such apartments online, I have had no luck at all finding any listings. I was able to contact one realtor about this, he had no such listings either. So upon arrival in Dumaguete, I want to avoid hotels and their prices, I think I would much rather take a short term apartment rental if available, for a month or two let's say, and then search daily for just the right place.

I love my current landlady, but was a little bit shocked when she told me she didn't want me to cook in the apartment or wash my clothes there! But I hope to find a budget apartment with a good landlord not too too far from the ocean.

When I first moved to Angeles, I stayed in Balibago on a side street just off Perimeter. For my second month, I moved to Malabanias just off Fields in order to save money. So I'm familiar with the pricings, Dumaguete prices won't give me sticker shock in that department! About the beggars, it threw me off a bit at first, but I quickly became desensitized. I expect to see them everywhere, but good to know I will see less of that in and around Dumaguete.

About women, I think I found a good one. I know (almost) every trick in the book when it comes to gold-digger girls, this one passes all my tests and I've got pretty good radar. I would like to be married, she would too, she knows the limitations of my finances, I know hers, it is important to her to earn her own income, she is capable, she is very industrious, and that's a good start for me.

Both she and I dislike drama and bs (she calls it "show biz"), we are looking for a simple, quiet life!

John

 

You met a "very nice girl from Dumaguete", ... in ANGELES? I didn't think "nice girls from Dumaguete" went to Angeles, for any reason.

You are not likely to find a good deal on an apartment here until you are here on the ground looking, it will not be listed on the internet.

Larry

 

Hi Larry, thank you for the comments.

I am starting to see that what you are saying about finding budget apartments online is spot on.
I will find the cheapest I can for the shortest term and then spend each day searching for something appropriate for my needs.

About nice Dumaguete girls ever going to Angeles, I hear you.
I was skeptical about such things even before coming to the Philippines, and ten months in Angeles only heightened my skepticism.
I however was not looking, because the girl I came to the Philippines to meet was genuine, she even wired me money for half the cost of my airline ticket. But unfortunately she died unexpectedly this past October, leaving me with some major life decisions to make.

My current girlfriend has relatives in Angeles, Subic, Cavite City, and her home city is Dumaguete...she has immediate family there, she was in Angeles to visit her aunt and uncle, and we met through a mutual friend.
She has also spent time with my Kapampangan friends in protracted social situations and has had some very long and deep conversations with them about her life and her past.
I do not put myself above being fooled, but so far things are checking out as I think they should.

Thank you again for the input!

John

 

You seem to be doing your "homework" John
Hope you find what you are looking for in Dumaguete regards...... JB

 

John boy, thank you! I intend to post updates, feel free to send along any suggestions or info.
John

 

hi john...
here's my dos pesos on a few items that may be of interest to you..

fresh veggies;
we have a salad garden and we buy what we don't grow at the public market in duma. one thing i couldn't help notice is the quality and freshness of most of the trucked in produce leaves something to be desired and it helps to learn what days to shop for the freshest produce...

whole wheat bread;
we've been making sourdough rye, whole wheat, pasta, bagels, masa, tortillas, etc. so i'm not up to date on availability of store bought breads but whole wheat bread shouldn't be too hard to find. there's several places in town making sugarfree breads including the bakeries at Hypermart and Lee Plaza, and Yan-Yan has whole wheat flour, WhyNot has rye flour and either Big Boy or the French Bakery has semolina flour.

quiet life;
i'd also like to live a quiet life. we're renting now, trying out different locations before we settle down and i've come to the conclusion that the only way to have a quiet (home) life here is to move up in the hills on a dead end road where there's no power.

which brings me to bikes/motorcycles;
the majority of the vehicles on the roads here are small motorcycles that are driven like a herd of cows heading for the barn at feeding time. sounds like most of them don't have um... stock exhausts.

norm : ))~