What are the best things about Dumaguete? I know about the traffic and other challenges, care to share the best things.
lots of beautiful sights to see if you are into nature and/or scuba diving and snorkeling or Island hopping etc... Also the people here are very friendly compared to other parts of PI IMPO. Weather is nice year round although it does get a bit hot in summer. More laid back and relaxed than almost anywhere in the "Civilized" world. Great place to raise a family and or retire. The natives are friendly and they like foreigners.
Best things are in the water. It's a great place for diving but also okay for other water activities such as kite surfing, something I just watched last weekend. As a city I think Dumaguete is best as a sort of medium sized hub to get to other places. You can get out of here easy, you generally get what you want and there are great places to live not too far out. Inside the city is too loud, noisy, dirty, etc. But the area is better for it.
More and more I'm finding that it's best for me to get out of Dumaguete when I can. But I still feel like I need a city at least the size of Dumaguete to make life happen since I'm not retired. Living in the bubble of global markets via an internet connection can only take you so far. You still need to connect with the real world somewhere. Dumaguete does this for me right now. But the chill island life is only a short drive away when you need the escape though.
Awww someone may have not developed the Bayanihan spirit of sharing yet, which is so prevalent here in the Philippines with Filipinos (I so not blame you) as expalined by one mayor here . Particularly if you are the one with something and they are the one who wants something and you are suppose to share when they do little to improve themselves. As noted in article here in the thread “water wars begin”: …. A local mayor of one of the towns in Cebu stated” “It has always been the attitude of those who are from here to flock to wells which still have water whenever all others have dried up. People don’t deprive themselves of water. That’s called the Bayanihan spirit. Foreigners don’t have that.” Personally I think the bayanihan spirit as defined by the mayor is an excuse to steal, taking without permission, with a rather arrogant entitlement attitude. I do not have that spirit.Others explain Bayanihan Spirit as helping others in need and working as a community, a spirit attitude which I certainly share with Filipinos and would like to see more of in both Filipinos and foreigners. I think this "arrogant bayanihan spirt"as defined by the mayor may be why many Filpinas have children by so many different fathers, as the Filipinos seem to be on constantly searching for new water supplies, disregarding who owns the well. Many brothers and sister here are only half brothers and sister, not being related by their fathers, but mothers only. So just remember to be sure that your GF/wife is not the only one in town that has water so that when all the other Filipinos may flock to her yelling "Bayanihan Spirit" and you do not share you are not accused of lacking the “Bayanihan Spirt” no matter how much mileage they think they would like put on her. Let them go screw themselves. (Read Water Wars begin thread) Sorry I have a rather harsh attitude against entitlement thinking... or the "hey, you rich so help me so I do not have to work attitude". No all Filipinos share that attitude but there are some. Like an a well tuned Formula One car, I personally prefer to be driven by only one driver,(did you know that Formula One seats are molded to just one driver's body) maintaining low mileage of both driver and drivee....but I love the thrill of fast speeds at high RPMs, getting dizzy going around a curvy racy circuit as long as I do not spin out or blow some gasket in my drive train causing a lubricant spill all over the circuit.
I think the best thing about Dumaguete is that it's not Manila, Cebu or any other metropolitan area. It's still just a provincial urban center. It's trying to become a metropolitan area but I think the way politics and economics work here it will take a long, long time before it gets there.