Best Posts in Thread: Cost of Living - Dumaguete

While those numbers are nice for a quiet home body who already has a partner for the rest its no where near accurate. If your new you won't have transportation and may very well hate taking jeepneys and easyrides hence taking trikes far more often. Transportation costs for a semi active single guy can easily jump to a couple thousand a month. If your looking for nicer food and not fine eating cheap most meals groceries can easily jump to $15k a month when your dipping into anything not local. Eating out can get very expensive if your not a home body, single, and going out a lot also as you surely won't be eating like a local but spending anywhere from 100-300p per meal per person. If you don't have your own furniture and not looking to spend to buy all of your own then your looking for a fully furnished place which usually runs 15-18k a month (yet some of these come with free internet and cable already). I would also say more then $1500 a month for visa renewal since its $3k now to renew every 2 months but at 6 months and a year there are additional costs that can take your renewal up to $7k peso's. Then you'll need to also be planning an exit ticket come your 3 year mark (fortunately its now 3 years instead of 16 months) which requires an exit clearance, travelers tax, round trip ticket to another country, throw away exit ticket to another country. But what about electronics, gadgets, buying a ride, and a future lady? You'll be spending a bit on cloths for her, you'll probably want a decent phone for yourself and potentially her as well. Maybe you'll want a computer, laptop, tablets? Maybe you'll want a motorcycle? How about going out to the movies or swimming at a nice pool or hot springs?

For those who have been here a long time and settled into the way things are and learned to live in a mix between a foreigner and a local they can do it fairly cheap. For newer guys or single guys (especially newer single guys) its rarely ever the case.

I'd say for right now someone should want at least 60k peso's to live semi comfortably as a single or with just a GF. But soon as you start adding in family and such expenses start going up quickly more often then not.

 

This is one of those impossible to answer questions.

Typically you ask this because you are worried about a constrained budget. If you had a relatively strong budget you wouldn't need to worry about it. So the closest I could come up with is for the low end.

If you have the monthly income that will continue to come in and which allows you to live on your own in the U.S. then you'll likely be able to live a bit cheaper here. If you can't survive in the U.S. on your income (even at a hand to mouth level or by moving to a cheaper area in the U.S.) then you probably shouldn't come to the Philippines.

That's it. You don't really need numbers. You would just be over-thinking and over-planning. Any plan you come up with will just unravel once you get here. You're bored and day-dreaming of life on the islands. Stop it. Go read a book instead.

NOTE: If you aren't from the U.S. then the same applies to other Western nations.

 

Not that they are dating foreigners for money but a *date* for most of us isn't *lets go back to my place for some noodles and sex* but instead going out someplace to eat, maybe taking her to a pool, watching a movie at robinsons or something along those lines. Further when we have a gal we like while she may not be a gold digger we tend to want to make sure her basic needs are met plus a bit meaning ragged cloths likely replaced, an old ragged phone may be replaced by a new one to impress on her, and so forth. Its also just because the cost of 2 is more expensive.

Then of course the odds that a gal we just met we may not be wanting to trust her by bringing her to our place yet but still want to get busy so maybe its a hotel. Maybe its the add in of buying her birth control.

In rare cases its even the cost of her getting drunk enough that you actually look attractive enough to her! Or more so feeling that she feels we are attractive enough (remember that many of us when we first come here are under the influence of western women who make us think we are hideous!). *Spoiler, this last bit *might* be a joke... your call, hehe*

But honestly, how many of us when we were new here that didn't have a gold digger still spoiled her rotten and looked to spend and spend on her to impress, often because that's what western women taught us we had to do?

 

House Payment: 7k/month (house is owned with a small loan on it. Includes taxes and homeowners dues)
Electricity: 5k/month (I enjoy an airconditioned house)
Tap Water: 150p/month
Bottled Water: 200p/month
Internet 1700p/month (useless landline included)
Cable TV: P500/month
Food: P10k/month (Average 2500 a week to feed 2)
Entertainment: 8k/month (for 2) Wife's bags and shoes and couple days a week dining out
Visa renewal: P1500/month (plus an ACR card once a year)
Incidentals: 2k/month (unusual expenses like refilling the gasul and getting the aircons cleaned)

Total: P36,050 (different individual expenses but monthly totals are very similar)

 

There are more than "a few" and if you are smart you let your Asawa contact and negotiate... right now there are prob 20 to 30 houses for rent from 10k to 30k ... you just have to have someone with experience... I live in a new build 100 sq mtr with aircon in all rooms, quiet and in a subdivision for 20k which is about right if you can find it...
I would agree with the poster that suggested you find a monthly apartment until you have the "lay of the land" before signing a lease... one mentioned Dumaguete Studio... I stayed there but I would suggest Mar Pas which is in Valencia,
This city varies greatly depending on what part you live in and what transportation you have...

 

Ch MacQueen finally someone is right on the mark about the cost of living in Dgte. I know this city (little village) pretty well now. First of all I came here at the young age of 26 yrs old in 1984 and have been here off and on ever since. Been living here permanently for 15 yrs now. I have seen a lot of changes some good some bad. Unfortunately or fortunately I still work as a Builder carpenter and joiner here. Dgte has been good to me regarding that aspect of my life.

My partner also works and we live off about $650 us a month living fairly high on the hog. We have our own block of apartments and you are right about your pricing for a 3 to 4 bedroom 18 to 30K pesos per month. I don't have to do a visa thing as I am on a permanent resident visa so that keeps the cost down.

You are not going to get much for 10k to 15k php in the inner part of the little village if you have a family and you still want a western standard living. IMOP

 

HOUSE: owned, if rented cost: 35K, with swimming pool,24hrs.security guard,high pressure water, and good internet with network back ups(PLDT, Ultera and Smart pocket wifi).
Monthly Expenses:
ELETRICITY AND WATER: Electric3,000, Water 200
CABLE: 410, INTERNET 2,100
HELPER:5,200( with SSS and Philhealth)

RELAXING HUSBAND: Poker and Beverages 5-8,000, Massage including tips & flirting 8,000 Food 10,000, Phone:1,200

WORKING WIFE: Nails 500, hair every 3 months 2,000(grey hair colouring) and if I look younger I gave 300 tips. Food, I eat husband’s left over. Phone I hate calls and texting I must say Zero budget for phone. But, I travel 3 or more per year..

3 DOGS & 2 CATS: Meds & food 5,000.

STUDENT DAUGHTER: Spend 3 times or more…

NOTE: 5 years ago we rented a house in Dumaguete City 25K/ month Grand total monthly expenses for 2 person with 2 dogs & helper was 54,000pesos.

 

Is this because the ladies who are dating single foreigners are only doing it for the money so it costs more to date a single lady than to date your wife? I ask because I do the same things with my spouse that others do with their dates EXCEPT give 1000 pesos at the end of the night and pay for a short time hotel.

 

No links. This is Dumaguete. Filipinos here do not use the Internet like foreigners in other countries. There is a little advertising on FB but it is an unorganized mess. You are best renting a scooter or a tricycle cab for the day and riding around the neighborhoods.

Because most Filipinos do not use the Internet for advertising rentals, many foreigners pay an exorbitant rent for the few properties that are advertised on the Internet. The best option is to rent weekly for a short period while looking for a better long term option. Dumaguete Studio Apartments offers short term. They are a distance from the city and it sometimes stinks there because of the proximity to the dump. Avoid Freedom apartments next door. They have the same issues with the stink and the distance and they want you to sign a long term contract. You can find a better deal closer to Dumaguete or Valencia. Remember the three most important things about real estate are location, location, location.