samtheman40

Hello which is a better place to live Palawan or Siargao? Long story short I am a U.K. 45 year old man married to a Filipina currently living in Siargao. I have very mild Aspergers so have found life in the U.K. very hard from time to time. We been here in Siargao since the end of February. B4 that we lived for 3 months in Manila. We both like the quite life. We have been there done that worn the t shirt with the partying lifestyle. It’s just not for us anymore. Plus we do not really like a stressful lifestyle. We both want to buy a place to call home. Neither one of us has ever been to Palawan and do not know much about it. We love the beach lifestyle. So would you recommend us staying in Siargao or moving to Palawan. Any info would be great.

abner

Well, first off I don't know anything about either location. So feel free to ignore my post if you find it irrelevant.

But it is curious that the two locations are widely separated from each other, and neither has an apparent association with your wife's family (you characterise her as "currently living in Siargao", rather than being from there). One might ask, because family is usually important to a Filipina wife, why neither location seems connected to her family.

The other question, though it might be borne of jealousy at any number of several valid answers, is how you expect to maintain an income, on a remote Pinoy island, from age 45.

Raffin

I've also never visited either place. A number of us here recently wasted their time with someone else looking for something similar. But he kept changing his mind. You have narrowed it down to only two options. Why? The Philippines has got a lot more other quiet beach areas.

From a map Palawan is far away in the S China/West Phil sea. Many things will be expensive. It's also of elongated shape, which limits the places you can visit on a day trip.

Looking ahead China is steadily increasing its presence in the area. Being challenged primarily by the US Navy. That could flare up. Or the US could lose interest. Either one could at the least inconvenience those living on Palawan.

samtheman40

Thank you for the replies. My wife is Filipina but she was brought up in Baguio but spent most of her adult life in Manila. We have no family here. My 2 step sons are living with relatives in Manila as they are studying at college. We new not one here b4 we came here. But as it’s a small island we made friends pretty easily. We moved to Siargao as it’s got a laidback cheap easygoing friendly lifestyle. If you want to settle in Siargao you have to buy land and build a house as the houses there are not great and there is plenty of land for sale. My brother in law who is in the property game and is helping us buy an apartment in Manila as an investment which we will rent out. His business contract said she had appointments to sell in Palawan in a complex as well as Manila. It’s very time consuming to buy land and build a house on the land. So that is why I was thinking Palawan. Plus at the moment I have a very bad illness that might be IBS and I do not want to go home to live in the U.K. as it’s to depressing and I hate cold weather. I am half Kiwi as well as half English. So I could move to NZ or Oz when the pandemic is all over but they are not cheap countries to live in. So tomorrow I have to go have a camera put up my bum. For that I have to get a 90 minutes ferry to Surigao City. Once I know what is wrong with me then I can see how to get better then make a few decisions.

abner

We all, I'm sure, eagerly await your results.

freebie

If you want laid back beach style life you could consider many places , such as Panglao, Bantayan, Camotes, Moalboal Guimaras and quite a few more. I know all those places but never yet ventured to Palawan.. quite a large place from Brooks point in the south to El Nido etc up north... maybe given your situation checking the availability of good/quality medical care might be important in determining where to base oneself.