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.
