Is DGT overrated?

Dumaguete - clearly overrated

I know DGT for more than 10 years and live there with my wife and daughter.

Why do I think this city is overrated? Here selected examples.

For years it has not been possible to keep the heavy traffic out of the city center. So you sit on the boulevard and you have to inhale diesel-black exhaust from the truck traffic, which is just passing by. If you are unlucky, then it stinks at the same time on this "figurehead of the city" even stubborn for feces, which are directed into the sea.

The air pollution is enormous, without respiratory protection one should not walk around in the city. Dirt and garbage are everywhere. Fire is constantly burning throughout the city, burning leaves and shrubs, as well as plastic waste and freshly cut grass. These fires often smoulder for hours and pollute the air, although this is prohibited by Philippine law (RA 9003). But obviously nobody cares. Also to accept wearing helmets while riding a motorbike. This is required since last year September. May be 15 % of the drivers just follow. Some motorbike driver use a torch when going without daylight. WOW!!

The people in DGT are friendly, they say. That was once. Wherever many foreigners live or live permanently, the social climate changes into the negative. You can study it all over the world, and here it is.

So, leave the city again as soon as possible. For my family, I am looking for a place to live healthier lives.

 

Who's rating it?

I have a 10 year history with Dumaguete as well. Traffic has become way worse of course. Pollution gets worse with traffic. Same problems magnified with more people. As the people get more money to consume more, then that also magnifies problems (more cars, more trash.) I do wonder if it wouldn't be a better idea to go either bigger (Cebu, Manila) or smaller. Maybe Dumaguete is in just the wrong spot of development where it's going to be a mess for X years while it struggles to cope.

People will vote with their feet though. I'll make up my own mind. I don't bother with ratings.

 

Yes im so tired of those westerners coming here and trying to impose the same BS as home.
You don't like to drive without helmet? Guess what you can wear one or not and this used to be call freedom,
another thing, you don't like it you leave it simple as that.

The people are still friendly but annoying people like you that come to their country and start complaining about THEIR way of life what do you think will happen?

BTW they are nearly finish building the diversion road (Bagacay to Bacong) and normally big trucks will not pass by the boulevard anymore, so yes they trying to improve their city.

 

You are not taking into account the fact that the Philippines are an island economy.

Economically speaking, all these islands are a hindrance to progress. The numerous islands do not enjoy the economy of scale of one homogenous economy. Transportation is much more expensive than a country with one large land mass. Goods have to be loaded and unloaded multiple times to get to their destination. Truck, boat, back to truck. The electric grid cannot span islands. Multiple islands also means multiple languages and subcultures. Simply based on their geography, the Thais have a large advantage over the Philippines.

This has nothing to do with who is more industrious and forward-thinking or smarter.

 

Never understood the question of is something overrated or not. Ratings are simply someone's opinion. If you have many opinions that all veer one direction, that still doesn't mean your opinion would be the same until you actually experienced it yourself. That's the great thing about life, you can have your own choices and have your own opinions based on your own experiences.

 

Africa is a large land mass....no islands.