Overrated? I love Dumaguete just as much if not more than I did when I first set foot here 18 years ago and frankly I don't observe THAT much change in this period of time. What has changed a lot is my perspective. I notice things I didn't see before, I focus on different things in some ways. Traffic and so forth bothers me more than it did before at times, not because those things have so drastically changed, but because I have now lived them day after day for many years. If all of these "negatives" we're cured, most of us would probably not be here because it would then be a "first world" country and the cost of living would reflect accordingly.
Yep, every day killings in USA. And, I suppose, in all fairness, best to mention, the Samal Island incident was a one-time event. Also, I enjoy my life, don't stay at home out of fear. I've seen a lot of my home country and here as well. I rent, so I can move around easy.
Wrong quote, i wanted to quote the guy you spoke to not yourself i guess its why never mix redhorses and tanduay?
Interesting thread. Seems overall, expats like Dumaguete saying the good outweigh the bad. I like the city, very livable.
Was it though? There has never been a foreigner murdered or kidnapped there before? Or is it that the information just not easily found? The Philippines certainly doesn't keep a list of foreigners/tourists killed in the Philippines, or if they do they certainly aren't sharing it/making it available online. The internet was barely a thing 10 years ago in the Philippines and even today most "news" is posted to social media (which isn't cached/indexed all that well). Finding records of foreigners being killed more than even 5 years ago can be rather difficult unless you know exactly what you are looking for and where to look.
The first time I visited Samal Island was 25 years ago. The only kidnapping I know about was the one some years ago. About 15 years ago a Swiss was murdered. And this killing didn't come unexpected. My friends told me at the time that this guy was constantly insulting the Filipinos. Including his wife. Not a good idea in this country. Otherwise I never heard of any big crimes where a foreigner was affected. All my friends feel very safe on the island. This was also my impression when I was there last year. Gesendet von meinem SM-N950F mit Tapatalk
AFAIK was the kidnapping incident on Samal island a planned one. ASG wanted to get that specific person into their custody to press ransom from his relatives or company.
It's soon over, waterpark and new hotel, 600 rooms like that under construction, don't know what's going on there, but Chinese and Koreans take over a big part