⌛ Hello

I'm new to the forum. Thanks for this place to explore. I'm a US citizen and my wife is Pinay from Mindinao. She brought her two children with her from Phils and we put another beauty on earth together almost 3 years ago. In the end we are a happy family of 5. 4 years ago we visited Dumaguete and stayed at Santa Monica Beach Resort. Loved it there and loved the daily buffet of fresh fish and seafood. At the time I fell in love with Dumaguete and have said since it would be the place we retire to. I found this site and am exploring and finding out more info. By the way Rhoody my great grandparents on my fathers side imigrated to the USA from Denmark.

 

Good morning (phils time). Welcome to our site. We are all friends here. I also am a US citizen from Houston Texas and I have been here (and married) for a little less than 2 years. I live on Mindanao north of CDO. If I can be any help, just ask.

 

Hi, Hello, How are ya? WTTB. I read a lot on this board good and bad about living here in Dumaguete. All I can say is so far for me is I like it here. I did a lot of island hopping before I moved here and kept coming back. I lived in Thailand for 5 years before coming here. And I liked both places. but it's a nice change. Hope u find what your looking for. Have a good one.

 

I lived in Cleveland Tx for 3 years and sold chemicals to paper mills around Houston and Lufkin. The climate of Houston prepared you well for phils

Thanks for the welcomes.

 

Yep.....same d*mn heat almost. The only benefit is no cold weather in the winters here (I hate cold weather). Plus, on Mindanao no hurricanes (typhoons). They all travel to the North of Mindanao and hit Luzon. I've also had my fill of hurricanes while in Houston for 35 years.
For me, and many others here, what we "lost" by moving here is far outweighed by what we gained.
As I like to tell people, "I didn't move here to change the Philippines, I moved here for the Philippines to change me". I really don't want to have everything like it was in the US.
The Philippines is my home now......

 

My wife is from Iligan. Thats what I like about Dumaguete no typhoons. My wife thinks I shouldn't go to iligan because of posibility of kidnapping. CDO area ok? Maybe not the place to post but wondering how a big white american might fare in that area?

Regarding the philippines changing you? For me it would have to or I would go insane I think I could learn to be very laid back pretty quickly though. Have never been more relaxed than the times I have speant in Phils.

 

Well, nomatter where you go or live here, you will always stand out as a foreigner or "Kano".
Safety is a matter of mostly not being stupid. I feel perfectly safe where we live and we ride all up and down the coast and up into the mountains. We know what areas to avoid. I dress like every local does. The house we rent is in a normal sub-division and I am the only foreigner here. Except for riding a fairly expensive motorcycle (p100k) I don't "stand out".
Violence, robberies, thieft can happen anywhere. Houston is a perfect example of that. Except for not being able to carry a gun here, I feel as safe as I did in Houston.
With all due respect to all of my friends in Dumaguete, I think that living with a community of foreigners makes a person more of a target for crime.
Come join the "good life" in Phils.

 

And, it took me maybe 8 months or more to "wind-down" and adjust to the laid-back atmosphere here. Learning to accept "island time" as a way of life. Learning that I CAN drive in a country where there are no stop signs or traffic lights at intersections. Of course, learning the "rules of the road" here are easy..... There ARE NO rules. Lol.
You'll adjust as all of us do.