Sagasa

Hi Guys,

I’m a newbie here so forgive me if I’m repeating stuff covered previously. I’m retired 12 years, married to a Filipina for the last 6 and we have 2 young boys. We’ve been living on a very small island north of Bohol, a 2 to 3 hour boat trip from Cebu.
For a number of reasons, not least being lack of local facilities and education options, we’ve decided to try life in Cebu, tho’ neither of us has lived there and we don’t know the city atall. Hence I have some immediate questions and we’d appreciate any advice offered....

Are there any particular areas/localities where expats tend to live?

We intend renting a furnished apartment/house initially while we get to know the city and experience life there … any tips on finding suitable rental accomodation?

We are looking at sending our oldest son to Cebu International School (CIS)… does anyone have any feedback or views on CIS?

Are there any particular bars/clubs favoured by expats? Or a particular golf club? … yacht club? Although happy with my family life, I’d enjoy some expat company whether it’s a beer and a yarn, a barbecue, a round of golf of whatever … (I’m the only english speaking person on our island so I’ve really missed decent conversation)

As I said we’ll be newbies in Cebu, so we’d be grateful for any advice, tips, ideas or guidance, brief or otherwise … thanks, DavidC

tropicofcancer

Mactan Island seems to have a large British enclave. Perhaps one of the ex-pats from there will be along later, to give you some advice.

I live out of Cebu City, but I do bump into a few British people, in the city. I live in a residential area, and my neighbours are all Filipino. With whom I get on well.

Most foreigners are American or Australian.

PeteinHongKong

I am still traveling back and forth between Hong Kong and Cebu until next June when I retire. My wife and I have a house in Banawa which is one of the more popular expat areas. CIS is in Talamban I think and again quite a few expats live there but my impression is that you will find expats distributed quite widely across the city, e.g., Banilad, Mandaue, Talisay, Lapu-Lapu to name a few.

There are some quite popular meeting places e.g., the Jokers Arms on A.S.Fortuna, Our Place which is downtown, the Gustavian Tap Room in Ayala Centre, the Wine Shop on Gorordo and others. Golf is not my game so I can't help you there. There is a Cebu Marina but I don't know much about it.

We rented for about a year (in Banilad) before buying our place. You can check out the Sunstar classifieds but many people recommend driving around your favoured areas and seeing what's on offer. There are places priced to suit all tastes from the very expensive Maria Louisa subdivision to local communities. If you want greater security and some peace and quiet then maybe a gated subdivision would be a better choice.

CIS is quite highly regarded I think.

I like Cebu very much. It is large enough to offer many conveniences and facilities but not yet too large to be seriously dysfunctional (like Manila). Traffic can be a headache but then most cities suffer from this problem. The people are good and like most city dwellers probably a bit more sophisticated than in the province.

I seriously recommend that you search out the major forums on Cebu (e.g. Living in Cebu) where you will find an enormous amount of helpful information from people who are far more knowledgeable and experienced than me.

Good luck and best wishes.