sunnydays

It would be more beneficial if you were to say what makes Cebu a "Good place to live"

If you come here alone, then yes you go to Cebu and meet your partner but if you already have connections here then you usually settle somewhere near her family.
...unless of course you and yours intend to do a runner away from excessive financial demands from her family

Some chaps would prefer a slightly cooler place and there are places ideal for this. What I would say is that it will take about 5 years for you adapt to the normal lowland heat. Building your own place has the advantage of siting your windows and bedrooms to take advantage of the Northeast/Southwesterly winds and the powerful sun rays.

Claudia1

Our Family previously took holidays in Philippines & found it quite charming.

However, doubt if its an option we would consider for retirement since it might perhaps be a little dangerous in some remote areas !! We have considered Thailand & Penang.

Claudia

sunnydays

Hi Claudia,

Wouldn't want to retire in remote areas anyway. No visitors or places/malls to walk around or "People watch".
We've seen Thailand and Penang and they are certainly interesting places to stay but Retirement....really? Different culture and language problems.

We tried Spain for a couple of years lovelly place, Puerto De Santa Maria. A few expats for the quiz on Pub night in the town, owned a boat in the marina for fishing trips, delightful "white house" with flat roof and in the centre of town. You'd think it was ideal....but the language difficulties proved too much and frustrating because the local people were wonderful!!!!

Do consider the religious differences... there have been terrible riots and uprisings with other religious groups and being a foreigner may attract the wrong attention when the "Balloon goes up".

There are terrorist groups everywhere in the world but as you quote, they are in distant places.

Paul B

It depends on what you want to do really; live in another country, or simply make your own little slice of England in a warmer cheaper place.

We live in Angeles, and while it has a big ex-pat community we have little to do with it, and we definitely don't go to 'The English Pub' for English food and piped UK soaps..

sunnydays

I remember reading a posting from a guy here before we came and he said that your ideas change after you've been here a while. I believe that's true.
It is difficult not to make decisions on areas to live, and designs of your dream home when you first arrive in this lovely warm country. Some times the decisions though are not easily changed and we've met expats who are stuck in unhealthy situations.
The number of empty swimming pools we see in front of new houses where the early idea of a daily swim has not taken effect.
I eat the normal Filippo dishes except the pigs blood one and we buy in local markets, however now and again a purchase of something from the old UK brings some joy. Mila makes a Cinnamon and apple crumble and we cover it with Birds eye custard from a UK shop in Alabang.
In the past I've worked on trips overseas where we ate in top class restaurants but on returning back to the UK I'd russel up "bangers and mash" with lots of onion gravy to get me back into home life. Plus a dollop of HP sauce

bakedbean

Ahem... just to correct.... Penang is English speaking. It's ex-Colonial and anybody over approx 35 years old has had the full English education. No language problem unless you don't speak English (or Hokkien Chinese or Malay). Most locals speak all three.

Cebu sounds like an interesting place. I'd like to visit there one day for a holiday. A friend told me that electricity is expensive there. Is that correct?

sunnydays

Electricity is expensive in the Philippines, our bill for just 2 of us, fridge, TV, ironing and the electric oven for baking averages out to 1,800 pesos a month. Approx 25 pounds sterling.
A Filipino family neighbor with 3 air cons pays 8,000 a month and he has a good job.
He acknowledges that his children are always at the hospital for sore throats and fevers whilst the squatter kids down the road are out in all weathers and never ill.

Claudia1

How very interesting that we also considered Thailand & Penang !

Thailand - Quite pleasant but major political/economic risks coming to a head soon. Perhaps, less risk in renting but extremely foolish for anyone to buy in at this juncture. In the end we decided against it !

Penang - We spend several weeks with friends in Penang in the hope it might work for us. However, what turned us off was the rampant over-development, lack of planning, traffic congestion/noise plus constant overbearing heat. Unfortunately, we also had first hand exposure to crime plus blatant police corruption !!! Still its a very cheap place for people to live with limited funds.

Ergo - the hubby & I are still looking.

Claudia

the troubadour

Hi Claudia, Read a similar response from you on the Malaysia thread. So you guys appear to have checked out a few countries now.
Are you confining your search to South East Asia only? In that I mean does Europe hold an interest or Central America for example?

It is hard work. I think in our case it may be better to try a few places of interest and take it from there instead of trying to find"the place".

I have checked out the Costa Blanca region of Spain in recent days on the net,after it was brought to my attention by someone.
Some pretty good deals can be had there with some hard bargaining. Wasn't overly impressed with the Costa Brava a few years ago though.

France,a country where I lived for some years will always remain another option....so many considerations.

The Phlippines can imagine must be nice on the islands,but have always felt it a bit remote to warrant further investigation and most folk that i've met going there have a Philippa connection.
Without that not sure how life would be there? Do you folk see retirement as being outside of Australia? Or is it more a case of seeking options?

Claudia1

Still open-minded about Asia & as you very correctly say the best approach is to try out a few places first i.e. with both eyes open ! Regrettably, some people have foolishly bought property in places without any due diligence & paid the price.

Also, some parts of Europe interest us but not Central America.

Claudia

Paul B

Ours is very often over 5000 pesos, and we have 2 air-cons in the bedrooms only. There are five of us in the house and we don't have an electric cooker. That is more than we ever paid in the UK.

sunnydays

The high electricity cost does mean that it needs careful consideration about where you have your house and its orientation. We can manage with fans and all windows open during the hotter parts of the month but we are not surrounded by other houses. A friend of ours in Nasugbu in the centre of town has problems with getting rid of heat from his house.
The roof design can help and allowing open gable ends to let the hot air escape will do wonders......but don't face the vents NE or SW or the typhoon rain will pour in

sunnydays

An important aspect of finding that dream retirement place is standards of living and we are all from different levels.
Choosing a third world country will no doubt give you more bucks for your money and creating your mansion in a wonderful setting will be very tempting to do.

HOWEVER ...after a couple of years with full trappings of upscale living, SUV and swimming pool etc, if you cannot chat with your neighbours it will become a PRISON.

Paul B

Our new build faces east in the morning, and we have the two main bedrooms at the front, so we get the morning sun. We don't have windows on the sides of the house, for various reasons, so I fear we will not get the natural breeze we really need for cooling.

Our mansion is not expansive, or expensive, but I'd guess a quarter of the cost of a similar place in the UK.

I have no real need for company, and I'm usually quite happy on my own, but I have a few friends driving distance away when I feel the need to socialise. The wife has lots of family and friends near where we live so she is happy.

PeteinHongKong

I'm very sceptical that there is such a place as a dream retirement home - we all have different expectations, different levels of financial security, different cultural and social preferences. As I am now splitting my time between Hong Kong and Cebu until I retire next year I can honestly say that I like both very much, though having lived in the former for almost 30 years it certainly feels much more like home. My wife is from Cebu and this is a great asset in dealing with any issues locally - she seems to have friends and connections in so many useful places. I think in the future we will split our time maybe 60-40 between Cebu and Hong Kong - it will be nice to get away from Cebu for a few weeks during HK's relatively mild winter.

I think Cebu has much to offer but it may not be to everyone's taste. Most things here work ok but there are the inevitable frustrations. Yes there is much poverty and there is a fair amount of crime although thankfully I have not encountered the latter. Some years ago before we were married my wife had a gun held to her head during a purse snatching just a couple of hundred metres from her home.

Cebu is changing in many ways - modernizing and upgrading. There are a growing number of good restaurants and an ever increasing number of shopping malls. Electricity is indeed expensive as are imported foods. I suppose as my comparisons are with Hong Kong many things here do not seem expensive and that is especially true of property although it is weird market that has to be entered with great caution.

I enjoy the easy access to some nice resorts and some very attractive parts of the island. Having an international airport with a growing number of connections is another big plus. It's a place worth considering but visit and stay for a while first to get familiar with its good and not so good features.