New guy here and will be moving the the Dumaguete area soon

Hi folks

My name is Bill, 60yo single (sort of haha) male. Currently living in California but will be moving to the Dumaguete area late July. I just got back from a trip to Phils, fell in love with the beauty of the country and fell into serious "like" with a girl from Dumaguete so I'm moving there .. even though the girl is special I was already looking to move to Phils before I met her but was interested in the Davao area.

I have been burning up my PC doing research on the area and trying to find good intel on all the questions I have about living there. The usual stuff, where to live, banking issues, health care issues, whether to go with the special retirement visa or just extend every two months, wanting to buy a multi cab and motorbike .. the list is a mile long hahah

I'm looking forward to meeting folks when I get moved and settled in.

Glad I found this site!

 

good start list

It sounds like you are taking the right approach in developing your question list. A lot of your questions will be answered on the site previously if you look, or you can ask specifically. You do not have a lot of time, I took about 2 years getting ready for the move.

What part of California are you from?

Take Care

Dave

 

Dave I live in the Sierras about 45 miles n/e of Fresno.
I'm moving fast and work best under pressure I'm going to rent out my house and already have a tenant lined up. Have already started selling my things off. When I arrive in Phils all I will own is my clothes, a lap top and my dreams.
I have a question about bringing cash into the country .. I know you are limited to $10K coming in, but can you open an account at a local bank and have money transferred there from a bank in the states?

 

Hi! Bill,

Welcome to the forum.

You are not limited to $10K. You can bring as much as you want as long as you declare it to Customs in the US and here. However, it may not be wise to carry too much cash. You can open bank accounts here and transfer money. First a dollar account so you can transfer dollars and exchange where you want without taking a hit on the exchange rate. Then a peso account with ATM card so you can put in the pesos and withdraw as you need. I prefer BPI but there are other perfectly fine banks. Note that wire transfers have fees. Check with your bank there.

Good luck with your dreams. Keep in mind that in the Philippines love can mean always having an empty wallet.:-)

Angel (PCDoc's worse half)

 

Angel, thanks so much for the great info! I did not know that about the $10K I intend to have a chat with my credit union this week about transfers etc and to see if there is an acceptable negotiable instrument to carry in lieu of cash. I know that with wanting to buy a vehicle, a motor bike, and set up housekeeping $10K will go fast.
I see you live in Valencia .. How do you like it compared to nearby areas? I am looking at a duplex that seems very appealing in Valencia. I may rent it and let it sit for a few weeks just to get it. I think my gf was going to try and get her mom to check it out for us.
I think love in any country means an empty wallet ;-)

 

Bill,

Probably best to see about wire transfer procedures at your CU. What I do is deposit checks from my US account and wait 3 or 4 weeks for them to clear. That requires keeping enough of a cushion to last a while and then plan ahead.

You seem to be in a bit of a rush. Sometimes it's best to tread slowly. We've lived here a few years, and while we like it in Dumaguete and Valencia is a very nice town, it may not be everyone's cup of tea. We spent some time here on a very temporay basis before deciding to take the plunge and spend on things like furniture, transportation, etc. Nothing like feet on the ground for a while. Also, it's not really advisable to talk much about how much money one has or is bringing on a public forum. Never know who's reading.


Regards,

Angel

 

Banking

Since you life in California you may want to check with Wells Fargo. They have a program that does not charge for transferring money if you meet certain conditions. I am not familar with those conditions but you may want to look into that. There are lots of way to move money here, including wires, and Xoom for smaller amounts.

I bank with BDO here and they have there pluses and minuses. The plus is they are pretty fully computerized and you can travel about the Philippines and do banking business at the local branches where you are located. The minuses include some of their rules. If you put dollars into the bank by handing the money across the counter, (the money you bring on your entrance trip) , you can not withdraw that money for ten days. If you transfer money electronically into the bank, it is usually available immediately. There are many rules here that are not present in the US, so be aware, and do not assume anything.

I was told I had to open a peso account and keep that open for 6 months prior to opening a dollar account at one BDO branch. Then about a month later at another branch when I had a large amount of dollars transferred in and it was sitting on the counter, I was told I could open a dollar account immediately, so I did. I have found that if you do not like the answer you get here to a question ask someone else, there is no consistency to the answers. So I ask different people until I get the answer I like. After opening the dollar account I was given the pass book and told, I could not withdraw money for 10 banking days. So I walked in without money in my pocket, and walked out without the ability to put money in my pocket for 10 days. Of course I was told this after I made the decision to deposit all my dollars into the the account and was handed the passbook, not before.

Writing a check to yourself is a good system. However you have to be very good at doing financial calculations and anticipating the unnatural. Normally BDO takes about 21 days to process a check here. However I deposited a check on December 1, and it was not made good until January 4, due to a typhoon (closed bank) and holidays during the month of December. In the US, banks can only be closed for 3 banking days, which is why they are open on the Friday after Thanksgiving, here almost anything happens.

Since you will not be buying property until you are married because of the rules here, there may not be a good reason to have large amounts of money in the country. Although you are excited about the move here, a good exit plan from the Philippines is always a wise idea also. You will be facing so many cultural changes here, you may want to slow down your approach, but I do find that moving here with less is better than with more things.

Good luck on your move

 

If it is the duplex I am thinking of, it stays vacant a lot.

Larry

 

Just to build on what Dave is saying, at BDO it takes 21 bank working days, not calendar days, for a check to clear. They take the "float".

 

A little voice is telling me "run Forrest, run!"