Hi all what is a good province area to retire I am married
to a Filipino and in UK at the moment but now I am very disappointed in the UK I am retied with 110,000 peso a month I gather that is enough to live on I was in Angeles for 3 years but I want the simple quiet life

What are your health requirements and where does your want to live. If you have any health requirements you will need to live nearby any facilities. And as to quiet I live in a small rural barangay and it is constant bedlam with day and night cockrels and dogs barking, then there's the continuous thump thump from the sound systems.

Rule 1. Do not live anywhere near your in-laws.
Rule 2. As for rule 1.

If you've become very disappointed in the UK because of the way the country has been led over the last few years you could feel the same or even worse here. Except that here critical discussion is less and it's easier to ignore as an Expat.

The in-laws separation is a golden rule.

A dilemma to think about is that areas with the best services are also those which in the absence of any controls quickly become congested urban sprawls.

Re the noise it's difficult to avoid anywhere. We live on the edge of a first class subdivision and get moderate rural Brgy noise daily over the boundary wall. But if we lived in the central areas we would get karaoke every weekend.

One other tip is try to live near a good fresh market.

Yes inlaw separation may be the golden rule be that's up to he wife, if she want to live with her rellies hen so you will. We live close to her mother and brothers and sisters, absolutely no problems, as my wife is the eldest sibling she rules them with an iron fist. Now the fathers side of the family on Negros, no way.

I have lived in the Philippines now for over 6 years and as far money is concerned, I am currently living on about £600 pm. This included rent of 10k php. I do not own a car and never really needed one. I rely solely on the the public transport whether that is pedacab, trike or Jeepney. They are very plentiful and cheap. For longer distances to renew passport etc I take a bus which again are very cheap, comfortable and airconditioned. Second hand cars are very expensive, probably at least twice as expensive of that in the UK. Service history would be a luxury. I live comfortably on what I spend. I eat out every night with a few beers. I should add that i have 3 small pensions which is more than double of my monthly spend and I am saving money hand over fist.

I understand the comments with reference to living near the in-laws but I never really had a problem as long as ground rules are established. Mine lived about a barangay away, and enjoyed their company when they came to visit. When I first arrived they visited most evenings after their dinner and I enjoyed their company and had a few beers with the male members of family. The novelty for them wore off after a couple of months and the visits became more sporadic. They treated me as part of the family and would do anything to help if needed. Although I am now separated we still keep in touch and they always ask about me and when will I come to visit them, One advantage of living close by is that if there is a request for money I could always go and investigate the reason. In other words, no dubious requests from afar which cannot be investigated.

You may have read my story ...My Family and I, and if you have any concerns you are welcome to pm me or voice them here on this open forum.

Welcome to the Philippines!

Yes been there done that in laws had every con on the planet from I need a operation to we need you to build a house and the main one blackmail I am with you....

With over PHP100k coming in monthly it seems the OP has a wide choice available to him. Which makes the choice of where to live more difficult if he doesn't have to somewhere eg near relatives.

In my case the overriding factor, after some experience, was that I didn't like the climate near sea level here. In Manila or outside. I just got irritated by fans and AC always on or needing to be adjusted. Others may not worry about that so much but I think it slows you down. Much as I like breezy island environments they were still too warm for my permanent residence so I decided to look for a cooler elevated area to live. There's a few areas like that near Manila, especially to the south, and elsewhere in Luzon.. Some of them are not as cool as Baguio or Tagaytay but they do allow the welcome reduction of a few degrees of heat. At the time in the 90s my wife and I just knew about those two places and Antiopolo. For me the Baguio climate is too much like Britain's and it is difficult to travel to and from. We also thought Antiopolo was too close to Manila so plumped for Tagaytay, which rarely gets too cold or too hot.

Tagaytay and its surrounding area now has a lot of property development and its facilities are greatly improved. Though higher property prices and heavy traffic have come too.

Smaller elevated areas exist in Laguna and Rizal and I even know one in Bicol. One can be adventurous, buy land and build a nice house by the road though executive sub divisions with services and security are the easier choice But you generally need a car if you live in these elevated areas. Trikes and pedicabs are banned in our subdivision and it's a 15 minute walk uphill to the main road. Then 8 kms to the nearest town, though a lone supermarket came recently 1 km away. Useful but its 3 ATM are sometimes all out of action!

Which is exactly why I see no problem living close to them and being part of the family. They know you....you know them. Being part of the family is important. Yes.....they may see you as a rich foreigner. Remember, in the Philippines family ties are paramount and everyone helps each other. It is their culture. At least if you are close by you can check on their demands rather than your missus gets a request from afar without any way of checking. But I guess it depends on the family and the close relationship you have with them. And how can you have a close relationship with them living afar?

Regards

Wife's mother killed her husband in a drunken rage my wife was taken to Manila.to.work at 9 years old did not see her mother for 10 years just to pay or request money until.she was drugged and rape by here suppose friend then she went back to her so-called mother who tried to get her to work in the bar that's where I came in and took for my wife and adopted her daughter, after all this I still tried to be a part of the family but I am known as ATM finally after 4 years of lying and scaming I put a stop to it, we have a philippines family not relatives my wife calls her mum now genuine people

Depends what you call quiet. I live in a village on the edge of the jungle in mid Capiz. 25km to reasonable medical facilities, and 50km to pretty good ones, airport 25km. Village, just before pandemic had 6 expats full time & 1 50%. Local wet market/shops are well stocked for day to day living, just need a monthly trip to main town for bank & western store cupboard/freezer items. Lights out round here is normally between 20:00 & 21:00hrs at weekends they might go mad and stay up till 21:30hrs. Pretty good social life with both locals and expats and the usual multiple ( pre-pandemic ) village fiestas, parties etc. You will find these sorts of villages all around Panay and every other main island. Downside to village life - unlikely to have mains water or landline, check that there is broadband and mobile services available.

yup this is the sort of place I am looking for how far to the sea is it and do you know of any plots of land for sale with a idea of price thanks in advance

From your two latest posts we can see you haven't had an easy time in Angeles. So you really need to get out from there soon to another region. At least the next but one. From what I've seen much of Pampanga is flat and Angeles City has a lot of bars so you won't miss much.

Many Expats make a bee line for the Visayan islands when they relocate here, whereas you didn't mention at first that you want to live by the sea. So it's not an overwhelming aim for you. Many provinces still have quiet rural areas which might very well suit you, even those near Manila eg Cavite is the most populated province in the country but has some nice rural towns.

Or maybe you can move to a bigger island and live not by the sea but near enough to visit regularly? If you really want to be able to stroll down to the sea daily that gives you less choices. Btw be wary of land erosion by the incoming sea!

Why don't you put some of your stuff in long term storage and rent for a while in a couple of different locations in your target region? Assess land and property first hand.

Here it is walking distance to the sea but no beach unless you like mud up to the knees chasing winkles. Nearest proper beach is about 10Km, in the next village or about 20km the other way, Boracay is just a 2.5hr drive away if you need a quick sanity injection. 300k seems to be the normal asking price for building plot here but I am sure cash would get a discount, most of the plots round here do claim to have the free title, but one must always check that is the case before handing over any cash. Along the coast here there is another village/small town about every 10/15km. Antique has some nice villages and beaches but a bit further from the jungle.

ah OK m8 thanks for the info I think we will come over for a month we are In uk and have a look at your end thank. You