If not Neg.Or then ???

[QUOTE=", but what ever gra (love) I had for this place is rapidly dwindling. If you could just up sticks and move to another part of the Phils, where would you head to,QUOTE]

Out of curiosity why is the love for DGT dwindling? Curious as I am a 45 year old planning to retire here.

Also Tagaytay as suggested in another post is not so good in my opinion. Proximity to Manila is little bonus, the short 50 km drive to Makati or BGC takes about 2 plus hours on 1 out of 10 trips, the roads crap until you get to SLEX and 90% of the time it's a 3 hour pain to drive.

I looked at land in Lemery, west of the lake extensively and subdivisions in Tagaytay town, cheap and expensive subdivisions around the north of the lake and was underwhelmed by the prices and the upkeep on some of the cheaper subdivisions. As another post said, might be cheaper with the volcano eruption in January but keep in mind it had some ongoing activity a week or so earlier.

Mabini on the western side of the peninsula is a little better and you can bypass back roads and get onto Startoll to get to Manila in a similar time as driving from Tagaytay. Land is pricey but there are some decent lots.

I spent 4 years working in Manila and explored heavily around the Tagaytay areas looking at land, bare lots and with lots with houses, and I think DGT beats it on almost every level.

Bohol has a lot going for it but I have only visited there on numerous occasions so living there might be a different affair.

 

Deleted

 

I wouldn't say the love is leaving, perhaps shifting. My guess is you are listening to a lot of us who have been around Duma at least 5 years and observing some negativity.

Since my arrival to Duma, it appears the number of permanent expats has at least doubled in less than 10 years, the various articles online a few years back, including Duma as one of the top 10 places in the world to retire likely inspired this.

The skyrocketing cost of land has hurt the idea of reasonable affordable homeownership.

The roads are improving but cannot keep up with the ever increasing volume.

Still lots to do here, just more frustration and with the added local wealth, and Asian tourists, overcrowding happens quickly.

But, in the Visaya region, Duma does have a lot to offer and maybe after COVID is gone, it will take some of the abundance with it.

2019 Dumaguete felt like it has reached its capacity for being a quaint and relaxed destination. I moved outside to become "barangized" so to speak, only going downtown when needed.

So JWBobbit, you need to re-visit, say next year, re-confirm your planned lifestyle and expectation especially at your young age, then decide.

Dumaguete is still a great place, as long as you know what you want, and know what to expect.

My 2 Cents...

 

Thank you for the input, you are just reinforcing the info that is dawning on me, location wise, traffic wise and a few other drawbacks, that neck of the woods has been scratched of the list, the search goes on

 

I planted roots in Basay. It's a 1 hour drive over the mountains to Dumaguete and the view is spectacular the whole trip. This trip can easily take 2 hours if you like to gawk, which is something you almost HAVE to do the first time.

I'm not sure of the reasons for others, but for me, driving in Dumaguete is basically waiting on an accident to happen. The tricycles really create a lot of dangerous situations which the motorcycles just exacerbate with their "no reason to stop" mentality. That, along with the parking situation makes Dumaguete a need only visit.

 

How do you drive from Basay to Dumaguete in one hour???

 

I don't know the names of places (maybe Pamplona?) or the roads, but it is over the mountains. If you aren't looking at the spectacular views, like the third time I took the trip, it only takes an hour (maybe I should say hour+ like my wife does for money, lol). The other route, along the edge of Negros, takes much longer with the construction and tricycles.

 

Dumaguete - Tanjay, 45 minutes minimum. Tanjay - Santa Catalina, 45 minutes. Santia Catalina-Bayawan, 30 minutes, Bayawan - Basay 45 minutes.. That is the mountain route.