⌛ alohaa!

hello i just joined the forums...dumaguete city wow.
im frm hawaii, 2nd generation.
my parents and grandparents are frm dumaguete(looc) and siquijor (san juan).
i been to the philipines 3 times, visited mindanao, cebu, siquijor, ilocos, canlaon just to name a few.
anyway, back in nov of 09 went to phil, met my girl and i plan to go back to be with her.
i stumbled on this forum and it showed me valuble info.planing to buy a house in northville and im gonna stay there, maybe go to school.
i had a few questions about staying in dumaguete.
are foreigners targeted? i know dumaguete isnt as bad as cebu but would locals try to swindle me for get money?
renting a house, how much would it cost and what agency should i go thru.i want it to be close to the city.
is it dangerous to travel home alone at late hours of the night?
what are some places to be carefull of?
speaking cebuano, is it easy to pick up? i know alot of words already but still seems like there is alot more...

 

Some quick answers. Your parents are from here so I assume you look filipno and that will be in your favor. Yes they will take advantage of you as a foreigner but you will quickly learn the correct prices and depending on how much energy you want to put into it you can avoid most of the "skin tax". $200 to $300 per month will get you A fairly nice apartment or house; you can of course pay more or less. Dumaguete is a relatively safe city. I don't worry going around at night but I am sure you could find trouble if you looked for it. Very few of the expats are fluent in Cebuano, English and a few words and phrases of Cebuano will get you by, but the more you can speak the better.
Your girlfriend is your best guide. Come on down. It ain't Hawaii but it ain't bad.

 

Some quick answers. Your parents are from here so I assume you look filipno and that will be in your favor. Yes they will take advantage of you as a foreigner but you will quickly learn the correct prices and depending on how much energy you want to put into it you can avoid most of the "skin tax". $200 to $300 per month will get you A fairly nice apartment or house; you can of course pay more or less. Dumaguete is a relatively safe city. I don't worry going around at night but I am sure you could find trouble if you looked for it. Very few of the expats are fluent in Cebuano, English and a few words and phrases of Cebuano will get you by, but the more you can speak the better.
Your girlfriend is your best guide. Come on down. It ain't Hawaii but it ain't bad.

 

yes i do look filipino but im big lol they are always telling me dako lawas..haha.
anyway great info...thanks

 

i cant wait to go back i was there for the opening of robinson i wanted kfc so bad the line was too long tho...haha
and never had too much stores.
but to think about it i spent a month there and i learned ALOT about lifestyle and language i already know the numbers in spanish and i guess if i stay there longer i will learn more..