Hi
My husband is in the process of moving with his job to manila. He will have single person accom but we would like to move there too (me and 2 children: 3 & 6). He has a good salary but we cannot afford expat accom that I have seen advertised ($2,000 / $3,000 us) or the International school fee ($8,000us pa / per child). We are happy to live anywhere, as my husband won't be with us every night anyway, so as long as it is no more than 2 hrs (ish) from Manila that is fine.
Can our children go to local schools? Are there International schools outside of Manila and more reasonably priced? I am looking for a large 4 bed house, ideally with a pool in a safe location - what should that realistically cost? We have lived abroad before and are excited about the new adventure but I want to go armed with as much info as possible! Any suggestions?

Thanks

Hi Samjorg,

You can find decent accomodation all over Manila for much less than the USD 2,000 / 3,000 you have seen advertised. A fairly decent apartment in Makati (which is the cbd) should cost around USD 1,000 to 1,500.

In some of the other cities that make up Metro Manila the prices get even cheaper. It depends what sort of place you are looking for and what your budget is. One thing you should make sure of is where ever you live it has good security, as like all cities Manila has its fair share of burglars.

Is you husband in some kind of staff quarters or are they renting somewhere for him? Can't you ask the company to let you use the amount they have budgeted towards his accomodation towards a family place and make up the difference your selves?

As for schools, the Interntional School and the British School are very expensive, you may want to look at some of the other international schools, I have a couple of friends (Brits) who's kids go to the German International School and think its fantastic. So I would advice at looking at some of the smaller international schools, before you look at the local schools.

You will enjoy Manila it is a great place to live and getting better all the time.

A bit late to answer i guess but here goes. my g/f is at fatima uni in valenzuela. she has told me about some condo units for rent at 6000 peso per month unfurnished. isabella condominium. I am going there myself in a month or so.