Foreigners living in the Philippines

[baby38]

Just reading comments of foreign men living in the phills for a number of years,some i can guess around 40 to 50 years,I was wondering how you survive financially,i can understand at retirement age you can get a foreign pension ,i am on a disability pension it OK to leave the country for 3 months,or I loose my pension,but even at retirement age in my country of Australia you have to come back to Australia once a year.
Sure it a lot cheaper to live in the Phills ,but on my 7 visits to the phills you seem to end up spending lots of money.
Even if you had a job in the phills the pay not great for our standard of living,I have meet many foreigners living in the phills all they seen to do is drink a lot,also I lived there for 3 months after awhile i got bored,I would say you would have to be kept busy working or doing volunteer work,also I would be concerned about the getting medical help up to the standard of my country, especially with men getting on with age.
Maybe many men living in the phills are very well off financally.

[RickyR]

There is a wide variety of expats in the Philippines, living all over. Some who spend the winters here, some who work here, some who have retired here with money and some who have retired without money and then there are quite a few like me who work at sea or offshore.
You can live very cheaply here, and some people do live off a few hundred pound a month quite successfully. The bare essentials are quite cheap, and in the province you can live comfortably with a maid to help the day to day lifestyle.
If you want to live well, the costs do go up. I sometimes feel that it costs more for our lifestyle here then it did in the UK. Our electricity bill this month was 240 pounds, attributed to our air con and jacuzzi pumps.
As for high standard medical facilities, there are a few, but only in the major cities of Manila and Cebu (possibly Davao as well). But this isn't cheap, so you would be well to have insurance.

There are quite a few people who live life looking through the bottom of a san mig glass here, but many people live life to the full, whether its diving, boat trips, running businesses etc.

[joebloggs]

Our electricity bill this month was 240 pounds, attributed to our air con and jacuzzi pumps.


:yikes: £240 for a month :omg:
i just got our gas/electric bill and that was £250 for the last 3 months, and at least 1 pc is on 24/7 everyday , tv on most of the time, lights are left on, etc..

[malditako]

when i was still in phils i used to pay 100 to 120 pounds on electricity a month..

[stevewool]

and heres me thinking off going to a warmer place , aircon was it all going on grace:)

[Steve.r]

I guess it all depends on why you are going there and what the expectation is of both yourself and the people you are going to live with.
A simple life with no frills is what I am after, I have just spent 3 weeks without aircon, it's not so bad. What I would need is a small tv and an internet connection, thats about it. We have both agreed that being rich, living beyond our means is not really what we need or want, leaving all the modern trappings of western life behind will be bliss. We have a business growing which will create an income, plus looking for more oppertunities all the time will keep me active.
Like I first said, decide why you want to live there, plan around that reason and live within your means. It is not the 'west' so life will be different.

[stevewool]

wise words steve , a simple life is what is needed after working and living here for years, i too was there for a month and i enjoyed the warmth yes the odd day sitting in a taxi the aircon was welcome , but i am sure its not needed if you pick the place well to settle, its great to here that the business is growing , myself i am still looking for that place emma says lets just buy a lot for now and hopefully by the time we go there it should be worth more and if we dont like it sell and move on , who knows ????, just for now its save save save :)

[junior02]

There is a wide variety of expats in the Philippines, living all over. Some who spend the winters here, some who work here, some who have retired here with money and some who have retired without money and then there are quite a few like me who work at sea or offshore.
You can live very cheaply here, and some people do live off a few hundred pound a month quite successfully. The bare essentials are quite cheap, and in the province you can live comfortably with a maid to help the day to day lifestyle.
If you want to live well, the costs do go up. I sometimes feel that it costs more for our lifestyle here then it did in the UK. Our electricity bill this month was 240 pounds, attributed to our air con and jacuzzi pumps.
As for high standard medical facilities, there are a few, but only in the major cities of Manila and Cebu (possibly Davao as well). But this isn't cheap, so you would be well to have insurance.

There are quite a few people who live life looking through the bottom of a san mig glass here, but many people live life to the full, whether its diving, boat trips, running businesses etc.
£240 a month for electric, are you sure, my electric bill in are 3bed house is never more than 3000 peso per month with aircon on most of time also tv and other things on more than 12 hours a day. and my tubig bill is never over 600 peso a month, and we use a lot of tubig..

[malditako]

£240 a month for electric, are you sure, my electric bill in are 3bed house is never more than 3000 peso per month with aircon on most of time also tv and other things on more than 12 hours a day. and my tubig bill is never over 600 peso a month, and we use a lot of tubig..

he probably live in a mansion with centralized aircondition, a nice garden to run with electric fountains etc, eelctric water pump,..etc..etc..etc...:)

[malditako]

and heres me thinking off going to a warmer place , aircon was it all going on grace:)

12 to 16 hours of aircondition, oven, microwave, electric pot etc lol...cant stand without aircon or my son will get sick (asthma)

[junior02]

he probably live in a mansion with centralized aircondition, a nice garden to run with electric fountains etc, eelctric water pump,..etc..etc..etc...:)

maybe he has, but i still cant see that it would cost £240or around 16500peso per month for electric, unless you have a big business premises to run..

[rani]

maybe he has, but i still cant see that it would cost £240or around 16500peso per month for electric, unless you have a big business premises to run..

most of my friends spend that big in electricity coz aircons are "on" simultaneously every night and sometimes during the daytime when its really hot... my monthly bill is more than 6k a month for just one aircon bedroom condo unit here in pasig :doh

you can save on electricity if you live outside manila where you can still get "cooler" air at night... i spent 4k a month when i lived in cainta (2 storey with 3 bedrooms) coz we rarely used aircon :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[stevewool]

well here soon we shall have the heating on , but between all off my friends on here i have told emma that its tradition that heating is better started on xmas eve so for now a nice woolie hat is tradition:icon_lol::icon_lol:

[junior02]

most of my friends spend that big in electricity coz aircons are "on" simultaneously every night and sometimes during the daytime when its really hot... my monthly bill is more than 6k a month for just one aircon bedroom condo unit here in pasig :doh

you can save on electricity if you live outside manila where you can still get "cooler" air at night... i spent 4k a month when i lived in cainta (2 storey with 3 bedrooms) coz we rarely used aircon :xxgrinning--00xx3:

thank god i didnt buy a house or condo in manila or cebu, its so much cheaper in the province and also so much cheaper here in england. i can understand now why hotels that are a very low standerd even the top hotels in rp are more expensive than a lot of countries around the world...

[Steve.r]

well here soon we shall have the heating on , but between all off my friends on here i have told emma that its tradition that heating is better started on xmas eve so for now a nice woolie hat is tradition:icon_lol::icon_lol:
:icon_lol::icon_lol: I think I can hear the squeak from here steve :icon_lol::icon_lol:

[stevewool]

that was no squeak steve remember you are in dorset the noise was a crack on the back off my head emmas reading just what i put and the heating is going on sooner then later:doh

[rani]

thank god i didnt buy a house or condo in manila or cebu, its so much cheaper in the province and also so much cheaper here in england. i can understand now why hotels that are a very low standerd even the top hotels in rp are more expensive than a lot of countries around the world...

you've made a right decision junior :xxgrinning--00xx3:

its better to invest in tagaytay and baguio probably... cool air and away from the harm of floods :)

davao is a nice place too!

[junior02]

you've made a right decision junior :xxgrinning--00xx3:

its better to invest in tagaytay and baguio probably... cool air and away from the harm of floods :)

davao is a nice place too!

i didnt buy in tagaytay or baguio, our house is in guimaras, its prob more init ther but electric seems to be much cheaper compared with what you and rickyr posted about the cost in manila and cebu, so aircon on most 24hrs a day, well thats wen im ther.. wife likes it more init..

[junior02]

most of my friends spend that big in electricity coz aircons are "on" simultaneously every night and sometimes during the daytime when its really hot... my monthly bill is more than 6k a month for just one aircon bedroom condo unit here in pasig :doh

you can save on electricity if you live outside manila where you can still get "cooler" air at night... i spent 4k a month when i lived in cainta (2 storey with 3 bedrooms) coz we rarely used aircon :xxgrinning--00xx3:

hi rani, cgaro u need malaki kwarta to live in manila, cuz the bills pinkaka mahal dba..

[rani]

hi rani, cgaro u need malaki kwarta to live in manila, cuz the bills pinkaka mahal dba..

well, it really depends on how comfortable you wanna live... but yes, its kinda expensive here considering that you get all the pollutions...:angry: and the crazy robbers are everywhere :doh

[junior02]

well, it really depends on how comfortable you wanna live... but yes, its kinda expensive here considering that you get all the pollutions...:angry: and the crazy robbers are everywhere :doh

maybe u should get a bodyguard cgaro 8000 per month ther in manila

[Steve.r]

the crazy robbers are everywhere :doh

You are right, i just had a call from my mahal, she tells me the police are at her house right now as her mother disturbed a thief who has stolen her sari sari store money 10000 piso and all her jewelery. I think an inside job as the dogs apparently never barked and the thief knew exactly where to look. He never took the laptop or video camera though or hurt her mum thank god!! :cwm23::cwm23:

[rani]

maybe u should get a bodyguard cgaro 8000 per month ther in manila


hahahaha i don't need a bodyguard junior as i am a simple citizen of the country :)

[rani]

You are right, i just had a call from my mahal, she tells me the police are at her house right now as her mother disturbed a thief who has stolen her sari sari store money 10000 piso and all her jewelery. I think an inside job as the dogs apparently never barked and the thief knew exactly where to look. He never took the laptop or video camera though or hurt her mum thank god!! :cwm23::cwm23:

another bad news :cwm23:
flashbacks running on my mind again :xxaction-smiley-047:xxaction-smiley-047:xxaction-smiley-047

[stevewool]

soooooooooooooo sorry to hear the news steve , no one hurt that is the most important , yes alot of money but that can be replaced over time , no barking dogs just cash taken like you say could be someone from the inside

[Steve.r]

soooooooooooooo sorry to hear the news steve , no one hurt that is the most important , yes alot of money but that can be replaced over time , no barking dogs just cash taken like you say could be someone from the inside
Yes, thanks Steve Rani, I also think inside job. maybe some jealous neighbour/family who know/think she has money lying around because I have just been visiting :censored::censored::censored::censored: Makes me mad. I'll be buying her some method of self defence soon, the type that goes bang, if you know what I mean :NEW4:

[stevewool]

get her to ware them gloves you gave the kids

[Steve.r]

knuckle dusters more like.

[JimOttley]

:yikes: £240 for a month :omg:
i just got our gas/electric bill and that was £250 for the last 3 months, and at least 1 pc is on 24/7 everyday , tv on most of the time, lights are left on, etc..
Electric is the killer Joe, we have one small aircon unit in the bedroom only, electric bill is 80 quid a month in summer and that is 7 hours night time usage of an 800 watt unit, last month was still 65 quid. The generation companies in the Phils made some very bad contracts and decisions around 10 or 12 years back cant remember exactly when but the entire country has been paying for it ever since.

My UK bills in England for a flat are much worse than they used to be for a whole house in Scotland but still nowhere near as bad as the phils.

In the Phils we have 3 fans 1 fridge, TV, all low enegry lights and 1 aircon unit, the bills are ridiculous, but it's the law of the market place I guess.


Jim

[RickyR]

£240 a month for electric, are you sure, my electric bill in are 3bed house is never more than 3000 peso per month with aircon on most of time also tv and other things on more than 12 hours a day. and my tubig bill is never over 600 peso a month, and we use a lot of tubig..

Yes, unfortunately. We have a 5 bedroom house, and because of the children we have 3 air con units running thorughout the night, and normally 1 or 2 running all day. The jacuzzi pumps are run every few days, the water cooler, reefer and computers are running pretty much continuously. Water heaters running quite a lot of the time.

VECO Bill 15,323 PHP

Usage this month 1810 kWh
Avg kWh/day 58.39

To be honest, if your retired and have no family with you, you can probably live for a lot less. I'm here with my family, we need to live within a reasonable distance of an Accredited International School and I expect a certain standard of living wherever I live, and thus we live very comfortably. Generally most of the outgoings aren't excessive, but the electricity bill is the killer with the air con. There are options such as solar panels, ceiling fans etc.

[keithAngel]

You would need the entire roof filled with solar and corner the market in 120 amphere batteries to get that kind of power

The trick is in the insulation factor ans if you are thinking of a new build massive earth banks and roof could get you to a comfortable tempreture without the need to spend much on aircon if your by a large water source you can also "air con by heatpump taking the coolness of the water and concentrating it you can gain a 1-4 oir five advantage that way

[Pete/London]

Generally most of the outgoings aren't excessive, but the electricity bill is the killer with the air con. There are options such as solar panels, ceiling fans etc.

We built an annex at the back of my in laws place and kitted it out with aircon, water cooler, fridge etc and for just a couple or rooms we can expect the bill to be approx £100 for the month. when we leave they turn it all off and they dont use their own fridge to cut the costs.
Just before the millenium I tried to start a business of importing air con and solar panels from Japan and Australia but never got off the ground. It was so difficult to get any knowledge of importation costs, taxes etc that I now understand why the PI doesn`t progress like its neighbours, and why big companies from the above countries have not made much headway. Solar panels could make such a difference there but it would be opposed by vested interests, plus the fact that although screwed down they would probably vanish within a week.:NoNo:

[malditako]

Yes, unfortunately. We have a 5 bedroom house, and because of the children we have 3 air con units running thorughout the night, and normally 1 or 2 running all day. The jacuzzi pumps are run every few days, the water cooler, reefer and computers are running pretty much continuously. Water heaters running quite a lot of the time.

VECO Bill 15,323 PHP

Usage this month 1810 kWh
Avg kWh/day 58.39

To be honest, if your retired and have no family with you, you can probably live for a lot less. I'm here with my family, we need to live within a reasonable distance of an Accredited International School and I expect a certain standard of living wherever I live, and thus we live very comfortably. Generally most of the outgoings aren't excessive, but the electricity bill is the killer with the air con. There are options such as solar panels, ceiling fans etc.

the way u described ur consumptions tells me ur electric bill is fair enough to pay in phils...compare to mine when i was in phils...just one aircondition running and am paying 100 to 140 a month...:Erm:

[jimeve]

Best thing to do is buy a beach lot and build a nipper hut on it, it will be that cool you'll need hot water bottles at night. ;)

[Terpe]

Most Philippine houses have metal roofs with, at the most, a thin foil backed foam layer beneath it.
This allows the attic to get unnecessarily hot; the heat then passes through the thin plywood ceilings to the rooms below.
If you question this, you get told to have the ceilings high so the heat stays above head height.
But I think it is better to prevent the heat from entering the room in the first place and have a lower ceiling to give less air for the aircon to cool.
I think it is necessary for a layer of insulation to be placed on top of the ceiling.
Also a light coloured roof is better for reflecting heat. Rather than the reds and blues
(I do understand about 'fitting-in' with the rest of the neighbourhood though)
A thick woven glass insulation (something like 'Pink Batts' ) comes in a variety of R factors the higher the number the better the insulation.
Anyway worth a thought?
I don't know how useful this is to anyone, but just my pesoworth.

[Terpe]

RickyR,

I know the cost of electricity in the Phils is very high.
Also the price can vary quite a bit depending upon where you live.

Please don't take this as negative comment, but seems to be quite a lot of energy
you are using. Did you take some time to think about ways to reduce the energy consumption?

I would like to make some suggestions even you seem OK about your lifestyle energy use. (maybe it would help others)

Did you turn off the main supply breaker and see if the horizontal disc in the meter is moving.
If it is, maybe someone is tapping off. (not an uncommon thing to happen)
Get an electrician to look for and remove taps.

If the disc is not moving try checking the appliances.

Think about the air-con units I understand your reasons for running them but try to minimise the stop-startload.
I always believe that when the air-con runs quite a lot it makes sense to have them regularly serviced. You could clean the filters yourself.
What type of air-con units do you have?

A friend of mine is in the air-con business and he advised me to invest in the newer inverter types.
Inverter air con units are less prone to breakdowns, cheaper to run and generally quieter.
Minimising stop-start cycles not only increases efficiency but also extends the life of components and helps eliminate those sharp fluctuations in the load the air conditioner places on the power supply.
Only downside being the initial cost, which is higher.

Aside from that had you considered if investment in some solar panels might help (well during daytime anyway). I understand these are more readily available now in Phils, but I have no idea on cost and payback time.

[Terpe]

Forgot to mention that since switching to split type inverter air-con in our Manila house
I believe our our monthly electricty bill has seen about 25%-30% reduction.
We changed 4 units all at the same time

[stevewool]

Best thing to do is buy a beach lot and build a nipper hut on it, it will be that cool you'll need hot water bottles at night. ;)

thats my thought too just have to find the right place :)

[RickyR]

Hi Terpe, thats for your advice. The first thing I thought was that we were having out electicity tapped, and had the same thought as you, flicked the breakers and checked the meter. Unfortunately it stopped. I then went through all the equipment in the house one by one, I found that one of the air con units is consuming a lot more then the others, and thats the big one in the lounge. So we're going to be a bit more conservative with that one. We also need to do what you mentioned and get all the units cleaned and serviced, because I hope that will help.
Thanks again.

[keithAngel]

praps simpler .......terp is right "keep the heat out" single block walls is the equivalent of heating your house in the uk with the windows open:cwm3:

[Languish]

You are right, i just had a call from my mahal, she tells me the police are at her house right now as her mother disturbed a thief who has stolen her sari sari store money 10000 piso and all her jewelery. I think an inside job as the dogs apparently never barked and the thief knew exactly where to look. He never took the laptop or video camera though or hurt her mum thank god!! :cwm23::cwm23:

Sorry to hear the news - could have been a lot worse though admittedly :(

[katerry]

ur coming from what place in southwest england?

[johncar54]

Think about the air-con units I understand your reasons for running them but try to minimise the stop-startload.

I think that is maybe a myth. I saw a program on TV about switching light bulbs on and off, and the power used switching on and off was considerable less than the cost of leaving the light on, even for a few minutes.

Turning off the A/C when you go out is much cheaper than the cost of re-cooling when you return. SO if you are gong out for an hour or tow turn off the A/C. If you have a timer set it to restart 30 minutes before you get back

I live on Costa del Sol. In the summer it gets fairly hot, but ceiling fans are just about all we use rather than the A/C. A ceiling fan runs for about 10 hours for I unit of electricity., but don't leave in on when you go out as a fan does not cool the air. It cools you by evaporating the perspiration on you skin, the room temperature stays the same (or even gets a fraction hotter from the heat of the fan motor, but its minimal).

[fred]

I designed my place to keep the heat out.. 2 things to consider.. 1. large double leaf nipa roof with large overhang to stop sunlight and heat touching walls.
2.
Thai style roof with large vents at top at both ends for constant heat release.
We do have A/C in all rooms but rarely need them.. Our largest bill in 3 years was 2,500 in one month. Normally its around the 2k mark...Must be because of the fridge!!
We have loads of large fans BTW..
One of our tenants in Manila spends 8K per month running a 1 HP A/C non stop for a 40 sqr mtr unit..
The guy has icicles hanging off his eye brows...

Be cool..
Fred.

[somebody]

Very true about the insulation and design of the house otherwise like someone mentioned its like heating a house in the UK with the windows open. The wife found a good company to install the units in the various family homes and most of the labour was ensuring the rooms were sealed rather than installation and wiring of the AC unit.

One thing we found useful was a dehumidfier or two still uses quite a bit of power but amazing when its not so humid how the body deals with the heat a little bit better. Of course trh eroom has to be fairly well swealed but then it does for air con to work.

A few years back we got the Aunts house started on Solar power small things mainly. We recently re bulit one of the Maids hut out they now have solarpowered fan which helps them a great deal during the day.

Do we make a return on the Solar power probably not but means that those in phill have no weekly expenditure or at least its reduced. It is also vital during brown/black outs.

A simple solar power/wind up radio and a mobile charging device plus hand powered charged torch is ideal back ups in Phil for little outlay.

With much of Phill being much darker than the UK in general walk out of many houses in bulit up areas at night and street lighting and neighbours houses, workplaces advertising hoardings etc light up the place even by a fraction.
We find the mini lights with solar panels which charge during the day and light up at night or have a pir bulit in work far more effectively both due to the sunshine and the fact that there is so little light in some areas.

Worth taking over one of those plug in meters to see how much each device is consuming in power. If you got a smart youngster they can create a small pocket money business from using one of those devices going round there neighbour hood advising people on what things really use:D

One major saving which most phills still need is lcd monitors and TV many still use CRT TVs and monitors these will often use far more power. Also bear in mind when buying a PC how much power it consumes many families will leave on almost 24/7 it seems so the savings can be tremendous. Your super duper mega fast huge desktop may have seen its day with you but still have life init for phill but it maybe cheaper to rade in for a more energy efficient option if all its gonna do is skype, yn and facebook:rolleyes:

That or sending the family money for a pc at one of the 2nd hand shops see how much the lcd option is spread over a few years the saving may be worth it again some CRt monitors are more efficient than some LCDs so worth checking the actual units before buying.

[JimOttley]

Think about the air-con units I understand your reasons for running them but try to minimise the stop-startload.

I think that is maybe a myth. I saw a program on TV about switching light bulbs on and off, and the power used switching on and off was considerable less than the cost of leaving the light on, even for a few minutes.

Turning off the A/C when you go out is much cheaper than the cost of re-cooling when you return. SO if you are gong out for an hour or tow turn off the A/C. If you have a timer set it to restart 30 minutes before you get back

I live on Costa del Sol. In the summer it gets fairly hot, but ceiling fans are just about all we use rather than the A/C. A ceiling fan runs for about 10 hours for I unit of electricity., but don't leave in on when you go out as a fan does not cool the air. It cools you by evaporating the perspiration on you skin, the room temperature stays the same (or even gets a fraction hotter from the heat of the fan motor, but its minimal).

Yes I think so too, Inverter style aircon units have a variable speed compressor, ordinary aircon units run the compressor at full power or off with nothing in between, it's the on off, on off, full power drain of these units that is the problem.

People often run this style of aircon unit at way to high a setting so it hardly ever switches off and therefore consumes a horrific amount of power, you can usually get a room cooled reasonably with a very low setting and a slow fan setting on the old fashioned units.