hi every one ,
i would like to introduce myself to this site .
First of all hello all expats.
i am a from the uk and married to a Filipino, have 2 children 7 years old and one 12 years of age, i am retired, my wife is from Cebu and been living in the UK for 12 years now.
since i retired last April ive realised that i cant stay in the UK , reason to long winters , cost of living , and just think the UK has gone down hill ,
so now i am looking to move to Cebu , i just put my house up for sale, so we can buy a nice house in Cebu,
This is also the reason i wanted to join this site , to get help/advice and to learn about other expats and their experience, which would be a great help for myself and family.
so i will end this blog , and wishing all expats good health and stay safe .
regards len

I moved here twenty-two years ago. I answered this question on this thread:
Shipping Items & Customs Charges
I dealt with the son of the owner, who was taking over. His father was retired in Manila with his Filipina wife.
It took just short of two months for my household items to arrive. I had an interview with a customs officer in Cebu, before they would release mycrate. I had to pay some P40,000 in import fees.
In case you are unaware:
Your UK Drivers Licence will cover you for ninety days. Then you must obtain a Filipino one. Which is issued against your UK licence. To do this entails a visit to the Mayor's Office, The Office of The Chief of Police, and the Chief Medical Officer in the Town Hall. As well as a visit to the local LTO.
I would recommend an early application for your 13A Visa. The BI Office is currently on Level 3, ROBINSONS GALLERIA MALL.
A permanent office, is being built in the basement.
CITI Hardware in Mandaue is a good place to source European type hardware, you can even find bathtubs there.
Will you be living North or South of Cebu City? My main knowledge is from Talisay in the South, to Carmen in the North.

Wecome to the forum, don't believe the myths that it's cheaper to live in the Philippines because as a Yank it may be but as a Brit not. Having your own house will be a big help as it removes that expence.

With respect, I would dispute that it's not cheaper living in the Philippines.

Ok, I am a single and have 2 pensions and live comfortably on about 40k pm. I also pay rent and all the utilities. I also eat out every evening.

I don't have to pay council tax, TV licence, road tax to name a few.

Travel by public transport is very cheap and don't require my own vehicle because public transport is very accessible.

You will need medical insurance and I can put you in touch with a reputable agent. (Pacific Cross)

Groceries can be expensive depending on seasonal shortages and "other factors" but that can be planned for. If you shop at super markets and buy imported produce, then expect to pay more than you do in the UK.

Electricity is nearly half the price per kWh compared to the UK and fuel is also cheaper if you wish to own a car. Cars are very expensive to buy.

But you have a Filipina wife and I am sure that she knows most of this with contacts here.

Welcome to the Philippines and I am sure that we members of BE will be able to assist with any questions that you may have.

Yes like the UK we shop in supermarkets so yes food is more expensive and currently we pay about twice the cost of electricity than we paid in the UK. You can save money if you eat fish heads and rice for breakfast, dinner and tea like the locals but that is just existing. For me and the wife our household budget is about 65k plus my own input. we own our own house but can easily burn through 100k a month without being extravagant.

You don't have to eat fish heads etc like the poorer locals to enjoy a decent standard of living here in the Philippines. I certainly don't. But I do enjoy the local food here in the Philippines both dining in and dining out.

From memory, my household budget when there were two of us a few years ago was about 30k pm including rent and utilities. Like you, I paid for extras.

Re groceries you left out the imported food bit from what P!! said. Then you talk about fish heads...the diet of the very poorest Filipinos! Don't think there's much difference now if you leave out imported and speciality foods both here and in the UK, to make a fair comparison. Though go back 20 years and more and the value of the pound then made many purchases here a great bargain.
I see there are now, for different reasons, problems in Britain also with fruit and veg.

Do you run a number of air cons? We had a medium sized house before where only fans were needed and the electricity was averaging 3-3.5k a month. Now in a hotter apartment, again only fans needed, 2.5-3k a month. From living elsewhere I know those bills could easily be doubled with AC. And water in my experience is a lot cheaper here than in Britain.
Most UK households also have a large monthly gas bill.. Here there's only a few LPG canisters a year for cooking.
Local taxes are also lower here.

As P11 says public transport is much cheaper here than in the UK. Just a lack of trains. And if you own a vehicle petrol is a lot cheaper than in the UK.
We are paying 15k rent temporarily, run a car and have some low State school costs. For the 3 of us our monthly living expenses are nowhere near 100k...I would guess about 65-70k when you allow for the more infrequent payments. Don't do much eating out in restos but if we did more of that still not near 100k per month.

Medical treatment is the big difference. It can bankrupt you here. However given all the problems with the NHS that free treatment is not now such a big advantage.

My free in the UK medication runs at about 5k a month here in the Philippines. Onions here when back to normal a 120-150 pesos a kilo, UK 30 pesos, vegetables here are expensive, even in the markets.

[QUOTE=Lenboy;13174986]hi every one ,
i would like to introduce myself to this site .
First of all hello all expats.
i am a from the uk and married to a Filipino, have 2 children 7 years old and one 12 years of age, i am retired, my wife is from Cebu and been living in the UK for 12 years now.
since i retired last April ive realised that i cant stay in the UK , reason to long winters , cost of living , and just think the UK has gone down hill ,
so now i am looking to move to Cebu , i just put my house up for sale, so we can buy a nice house in Cebu,
This is also the reason i wanted to join this site , to get help/advice and to learn about other expats and their experience, which would be a great help for myself and family.
so i will end this blog , and wishing all expats good health and stay safe .
regards len[/QUOTE
I don't think many here have shipped out furniture. Presumably it's good quality and/or of sentimental value and you don't want to sell it off. But it is easy to buy good secondhand furniture here and prices are low. As we unfortunately found last year when we were selling due to moving house.

You made a big decision, especially with 2 school age kids. Education issues and in the future job prospects? Best to ignore all the talk from the new President here about the Philippines economy improving its low position in SE Asia.

For me the climate is also a big reason to live here and yes, it can be somewhat cheaper. I would add more relaxing too.

Britain going downhill? That set me thinking about things here. Leaving out the pandemic I think here little or no improvement overall in the last decade rather than downhilll. But other Expats may see it differently.