My journey in Davao came to an end yesterday, I'll maybe leave a datasheet at some point over the next week. There's been a few of them lately but if there's other people needing information just let me know what you're interested in and I'll see if I can answer it.

Quote: (07-11-2014 01:32 AM)w00t Wrote:  

ok thats unfortunate
sounds the philippines are not exactly the best spot to keep your costs low and work on your online income

too bad

The Philippines can be one of "the best spots to keep your costs low", providing you find the right second-tier city to settle in. In Manila, you could live cheap, yes... but then, you'd get depressed/bored/tired...

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

Quote:Tough lucky Luke Wrote:

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

Why there's no "good variety of quality pussy" in the requirements?

Quote: (07-12-2014 04:10 AM)CaptainCrazy Wrote:  

Quote:Tough lucky Luke Wrote:

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

Why there's no "good variety of quality pussy" in the requirements?

Because that's assumed in the Philippines

Quote: (07-11-2014 09:58 AM)Tough lucky Luke Wrote:  

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

Perhaps Bacolod? I don't have first-hand knowledge, but it is in a safe area of the country, and looks compact and orderly on Google Earth. Has an airport, Starbucks, malls, call centers (something of an IT/call center hub so not totally impoverished). Not too remote from the rest of the country either.

Some other 2nd/3rd tier cities that would be worth investigating are Iloilo, General Santos and Cagayan de Oro. The first is considered quite safe, near Bacolod and Cebu, the others possibly for the more adventurous in darkest Mindanao. All have populations over half a million and have beaches nearby.

If you are happy with smaller cities than those, or towns, there must be a hundred more waiting to be discovered.

Quote: (07-12-2014 04:40 AM)RawGod Wrote:  

Quote: (07-11-2014 09:58 AM)Tough lucky Luke Wrote:  

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

Perhaps Bacolod? I don't have first-hand knowledge, but it is in a safe area of the country, and looks compact and orderly on Google Earth. Has an airport, Starbucks, malls, call centers (something of an IT/call center hub so not totally impoverished). Not too remote from the rest of the country either.

Some other 2nd/3rd tier cities that would be worth investigating are Iloilo, General Santos and Cagayan de Oro. The first is considered quite safe, near Bacolod and Cebu, the others possibly for the more adventurous in darkest Mindanao. All have populations over half a million and have beaches nearby.

If you are happy with smaller cities than those, or towns, there must be a hundred more waiting to be discovered.

Maybe the best choice would be Boracay, but isn't Boracay a bit small? And expensive, also, much more expensive than anywhere else in the Phils?

Some people told me, go see Subic or Tagaytay City, which are quite close to Manila, they are quieter, with great weather and scenery, but much smaller...

Myself, I was a bit disappointed in Davao, which certainly is safe, nice, clean, and has beautiful woman, but, is quite boring at night and with beaches that are not very close to the city itself (same applies to Cebu, no way you can walk to the beaches from the city center... and I don't even want to describe Cebu's city-center)...

So, what I am dreaming of, is a little (or quite big) touristic town like Playa del Carmen or even Cancun, with good quality infrastructure, but set in the glorious pussy-paradise of Philippines!

(Because, as the Handsome Eel rightly said, nice cute women are aplenty in the Philippines, no trouble on this account )

So, anybody knows of a city as good/livable/safe/nice/developed/not-very-small as Cancun or Playa del Carmen, but set in the Philippines? Would you say Boracay? Puerto Princesa maybe??

^^ Does not exist.

Dumaguete and Puerto Princesa could fit your requirements, but they're pretty small and you might get bored if you want to stay long term.

Quote: (07-12-2014 10:46 AM)Innuendo Wrote:  

Dumaguete and Puerto Princesa could fit your requirements, but they're pretty small and you might get bored if you want to stay long term.

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably give them a try, next time I go to the Phils...

But, are you really saying that there is indeed a nice walkable city center, in those two cities??

If so, great!! Because, the only thing missing in the lovely Philippines is, cities where you can enjoy a quiet walk... no pollution no noise no crowds, just enjoy a stroll... That is what I missed, in the Phils... I mean, having sex with sweet Filipinas is great, sure... but from time to time, one has to chill a bit, and enjoy a quiet stroll!

Also, why can't they do something better with their sea fronts?? I mean, Cebu for example, has no sea front to conveniently walk along... They need to improve their city plannings, I think!

Hi,

I am planning to spend a couple months in Manila, working for De La Salle Uni. Not planning on visiting nightclubs or bars, just Internet (including pipe-lining) and possibly day game. So I am considering renting a furnished place not too far from DLSU. Prices advertised near DLSU seem much cheaper than places like Makati. Can one of you guys with first hand experience in Manila tell me what are the main disadvantages of living near DLSU and what you might have done instead if it is not recommended? For instance, if the main disadvantage would be lack of nightlife, I don't mind that at all, and even if I wanted that I'd rather use transportation for that purpose than for work.

DLSU is on Taft Avenue in Manila city. This area is highly dense, lots of smog, noise, and some poverty. No one on this forum talks about living in this area simply because it is not the most enjoyable part of the city to live.

Prices are much cheaper due to the quality of the area in general and the fact there are a ton of kids needing cheap places to live while going to university.

I would take your time in deciding on a place to live in that area. You might want to visit before making any long term commitments.

Quote: (07-11-2014 09:58 AM)Tough lucky Luke Wrote:  

Quote: (07-11-2014 01:32 AM)w00t Wrote:  

ok thats unfortunate
sounds the philippines are not exactly the best spot to keep your costs low and work on your online income

too bad

The Philippines can be one of "the best spots to keep your costs low", providing you find the right second-tier city to settle in. In Manila, you could live cheap, yes... but then, you'd get depressed/bored/tired...

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

Just checked the cost of living on numbeo for Quezon City, it seems to be significantly lower than Makati or the Fort. For those who've actually been there, do you think Quezon City would be a good place to keep the expenses low?

Quote: (07-13-2014 05:26 AM)Hamsterchoker Wrote:  

Just checked the cost of living on numbeo for Quezon City, it seems to be significantly lower than Makati or the Fort. For those who've actually been there, do you think Quezon City would be a good place to keep the expenses low?

Numbeo is not very accurate with Quezon City data as it only has 32 contributors in the last 18 months. Not a big sample size.

Quezon City is huge so prices vary dramatically even with in QC. QC is 8 times the size of Makati in land size.

Yes you can keep cost lower by not living in Makati or the Fort. But you can expect quality to go down as well. I would not imagine Manila to be a fun place to live on a really tight budget in my opinion.

If you want to live in QC some where around Timog Ave would give you a good lifestyle. Also Trinoma is a really nice mall not far from SM North, might not be a bad area to live.

Living in QC means it is journey to get to Makati, BGC, Pasay, Airport, etc..

Quote: (07-11-2014 09:58 AM)Tough lucky Luke Wrote:  

Quote: (07-11-2014 01:32 AM)w00t Wrote:  

ok thats unfortunate
sounds the philippines are not exactly the best spot to keep your costs low and work on your online income

too bad

The Philippines can be one of "the best spots to keep your costs low", providing you find the right second-tier city to settle in. In Manila, you could live cheap, yes... but then, you'd get depressed/bored/tired...

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

I also recommend Dumaguete as Innuendo did, we were there together, I really liked the place and I'm pretty sure it ticks off all of your boxes. I found the air to be decent, there's definitely no traffic jams, the city centre is highly walkable because its fairly small but the down town isn't anything special and there are some very nice beaches near by in Dauin/Valencia, as well as nice water falls and rivers, the ocean front, board walk area is pleasant, there's a small park there and people hang out there at night. There's also 30,000 uni students out of a population of 120,000, so lots of young girls away from their parents. The diving is great too and Dumaguete is only a 4 hour ferry ride to Cebu if you need to go to a big city. Here's the data sheet I dropped on it, Puerto Princessa was nice too, I didn't stay long enough to get a really good feel for the place but I liked it, its the "cleanest, greenest city in the PI" but the night life isn't great (not that Dumaguete is either) and its fairly isolated.

Quote: (07-13-2014 05:54 AM)DirectDanger Wrote:  

Quote: (07-13-2014 05:26 AM)Hamsterchoker Wrote:  

Just checked the cost of living on numbeo for Quezon City, it seems to be significantly lower than Makati or the Fort. For those who've actually been there, do you think Quezon City would be a good place to keep the expenses low?

Numbeo is not very accurate with Quezon City data as it only has 32 contributors in the last 18 months. Not a big sample size.

Quezon City is huge so prices vary dramatically even with in QC. QC is 8 times the size of Makati in land size.

Yes you can keep cost lower by not living in Makati or the Fort. But you can expect quality to go down as well. I would not imagine Manila to be a fun place to live on a really tight budget in my opinion.

If you want to live in QC some where around Timog Ave would give you a good lifestyle. Also Trinoma is a really nice mall not far from SM North, might not be a bad area to live.

Living in QC means it is journey to get to Makati, BGC, Pasay, Airport, etc..

I really don't care about going to those other places. Just want a place to get my work done, keep the cost down, and banging Pinays! I have thought about living close to Trinoma and SM North area, in fact, I can see myself just hanging out around that area all the time. But the most important thing for me is cost. Do you think I can get a decent condo in QC in that area for $400 USD a month?

Quote: (07-10-2014 09:07 PM)Onto Wrote:  

DD: Did you get your security deposit back on your place in Manilla?

I rented a place in Makati for 6 weeks. I won't name the agency YET, but they've been giving me quite a song and dance routine about getting my deposit back. (15000 PHP).

When I checked out, they told me they "reached their limit for deposit returns that week" and that I would get it the next week (after I left the country) and they would send it to my bank account.

One week passed, no deposit return.

Emailed them, got an apology and a reassurance that the agent (or whatever he is) would follow up.

Two weeks passed, still no deposit return. Emailed again. No response.

I left the unit in perfect condition, there is absolutely no reason for them to not return my deposit.

If I don't get it back soon, I'll expose them on every travel review site I can find.

Quote: (07-13-2014 03:00 PM)jackleballs Wrote:  

Quote: (07-10-2014 09:07 PM)Onto Wrote:  

DD: Did you get your security deposit back on your place in Manilla?

I rented a place in Makati for 6 weeks. I won't name the agency YET, but they've been giving me quite a song and dance routine about getting my deposit back. (15000 PHP).

When I checked out, they told me they "reached their limit for deposit returns that week" and that I would get it the next week (after I left the country) and they would send it to my bank account.

One week passed, no deposit return.

Emailed them, got an apology and a reassurance that the agent (or whatever he is) would follow up.

Two weeks passed, still no deposit return. Emailed again. No response.

I left the unit in perfect condition, there is absolutely no reason for them to not return my deposit.

If I don't get it back soon, I'll expose them on every travel review site I can find.

This is good to know, and it's also good to let "them" know if it doesn't arrive at the agreed upon time, you would feel compelled to let others know about your negative experience.

Sometimes, but certainly not always, that's enough for people to remember there can be undesired consequences in being illegitimate.

Quote: (07-13-2014 03:00 PM)jackleballs Wrote:  

Quote: (07-10-2014 09:07 PM)Onto Wrote:  

DD: Did you get your security deposit back on your place in Manilla?

I rented a place in Makati for 6 weeks. I won't name the agency YET, but they've been giving me quite a song and dance routine about getting my deposit back. (15000 PHP).

When I checked out, they told me they "reached their limit for deposit returns that week" and that I would get it the next week (after I left the country) and they would send it to my bank account .

One week passed, no deposit return.

Emailed them, got an apology and a reassurance that the agent (or whatever he is) would follow up.

Two weeks passed, still no deposit return. Emailed again. No response.

I left the unit in perfect condition, there is absolutely no reason for them to not return my deposit.

You have to understand the way they think : Because, in their heads, they have a perfectly good, sound, reason not to return your deposit!

This reason being : 1- You have left the country, thus ceasing to exist in their eyes. (I will start a thread on that, maybe!)

2- You have been very polite to them, thus demonstrating, as they see it, huge weakness.

Quote: (07-13-2014 07:47 AM)scotian Wrote:  

Quote: (07-11-2014 09:58 AM)Tough lucky Luke Wrote:  

Quote: (07-11-2014 01:32 AM)w00t Wrote:  

ok thats unfortunate
sounds the philippines are not exactly the best spot to keep your costs low and work on your online income

too bad

The Philippines can be one of "the best spots to keep your costs low", providing you find the right second-tier city to settle in. In Manila, you could live cheap, yes... but then, you'd get depressed/bored/tired...

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

I also recommend Dumaguete as Innuendo did, we were there together, I really liked the place and I'm pretty sure it ticks off all of your boxes. I found the air to be decent, there's definitely no traffic jams, the city centre is highly walkable because its fairly small but the down town isn't anything special and there are some very nice beaches near by in Dauin/Valencia, as well as nice water falls and rivers, the ocean front, board walk area is pleasant, there's a small park there and people hang out there at night. There's also 30,000 uni students out of a population of 120,000, so lots of young girls away from their parents. The diving is great too and Dumaguete is only a 4 hour ferry ride to Cebu if you need to go to a big city. Here's the data sheet I dropped on it, Puerto Princessa was nice too, I didn't stay long enough to get a really good feel for the place but I liked it, its the "cleanest, greenest city in the PI" but the night life isn't great (not that Dumaguete is either) and its fairly isolated.

Thanks for this detailed, precise reply, Scotian. Thanks to others, too, like Direct Danger for example, for their advices... It's something uncommon and very good about RooshVforum : You get this kind of good, useful, comprehensive advices, for free, from people with real experience on the ground.

Not often do we get anything free in this day and age! So, thanks again!... I'll go see Dumaguete next time I am in the Phils, and probably also Puerto Princesa (which I knew about already, a bit).

Quote: (07-12-2014 09:48 PM)DirectDanger Wrote:  

DLSU is on Taft Avenue in Manila city. This area is highly dense, lots of smog, noise, and some poverty. No one on this forum talks about living in this area simply because it is not the most enjoyable part of the city to live.

Prices are much cheaper due to the quality of the area in general and the fact there are a ton of kids needing cheap places to live while going to university.

I would take your time in deciding on a place to live in that area. You might want to visit before making any long term commitments.

Thanks, I was afraid it would be something like that. But where would you look instead, considering that I will need to commute to DLSU and that I don't need to live walking distance from bars and nightclubs (as I don't like them; e.g., I don't even drink).

By the way, I think it is easier for people from the USA to game in the Phils, comparing to European people.

Because, for US men, gaming in malls is probably quite normal/interesting/fun?

For us Europeans, on the contrary, malls get very boring, very fast. All malls, for us Europeans, look quite the same, and are totally uninteresting and depressingly ugly! (except maybe some huge, unconventional, partially-outdoor malls like Greenbelt)

(Do US guys really game in malls, even in the USA? Do you enjoy it, this soul-less setting?)

double post

Quote: (07-13-2014 07:15 PM)Tough lucky Luke Wrote:  

By the way, I think it is easier for people from the USA to game in the Phils, comparing to European people.

Because, for US men, gaming in malls is probably quite normal/interesting/fun?

For us Europeans, on the contrary, malls get very boring, very fast. All malls, for us Europeans, look quite the same, and are totally uninteresting and depressingly ugly! (except maybe some huge, unconventional, partially-outdoor malls like Greenbelt)

(Do US guys really game in malls, even in the USA? Do you enjoy it, this soul-less setting?)

I gladly gamed in the Malls in the Philippines. Its air conditioned and there was always tons of girls there. If you look at it like a "soul-less" setting your gonna have a bad time there. If you look at it like a buffet filled with young Filipino women.... you're gonna have a good time there.

Quote: (07-13-2014 06:43 PM)Tough lucky Luke Wrote:  

Quote: (07-13-2014 07:47 AM)scotian Wrote:  

Quote: (07-11-2014 09:58 AM)Tough lucky Luke Wrote:  

Quote: (07-11-2014 01:32 AM)w00t Wrote:  

ok thats unfortunate
sounds the philippines are not exactly the best spot to keep your costs low and work on your online income

too bad

The Philippines can be one of "the best spots to keep your costs low", providing you find the right second-tier city to settle in. In Manila, you could live cheap, yes... but then, you'd get depressed/bored/tired...

Myself, I still haven't found the perfect second or third-tier city to live in, in the Phils... Somewhere with good air, no traffic jams, a nice walkable city-center, and sunny beaches closeby...? Any idea?

I also recommend Dumaguete as Innuendo did, we were there together, I really liked the place and I'm pretty sure it ticks off all of your boxes. I found the air to be decent, there's definitely no traffic jams, the city centre is highly walkable because its fairly small but the down town isn't anything special and there are some very nice beaches near by in Dauin/Valencia, as well as nice water falls and rivers, the ocean front, board walk area is pleasant, there's a small park there and people hang out there at night. There's also 30,000 uni students out of a population of 120,000, so lots of young girls away from their parents. The diving is great too and Dumaguete is only a 4 hour ferry ride to Cebu if you need to go to a big city. Here's the data sheet I dropped on it, Puerto Princessa was nice too, I didn't stay long enough to get a really good feel for the place but I liked it, its the "cleanest, greenest city in the PI" but the night life isn't great (not that Dumaguete is either) and its fairly isolated.

Thanks for this detailed, precise reply, Scotian. Thanks to others, too, like Direct Danger for example, for their advices... It's something uncommon and very good about RooshVforum : You get this kind of good, useful, comprehensive advices, for free, from people with real experience on the ground.

Not often do we get anything free in this day and age! So, thanks again!... I'll go see Dumaguete next time I am in the Phils, and probably also Puerto Princesa (which I knew about already, a bit).

Right yes thanks to Scotian. I am also bullish about Dumaguete. Are there some who want to make it the base of their operations for long time?

Quote: (07-13-2014 11:21 PM)Bill Wrote:  

I am also bullish about Dumaguete. Are there some who want to make it the base of their operations for long time?

   
   

Saw this beach house in Dumaguete for rent. 3 bedrooms with covered outside bar area. Cost: $425/month. Three guys could share for $140/month each.