There are some absolutely beautiful places to live in the Philippines. I love Tagaytay and also down south to Camaguin is great.
I live in Cebu, and its just about bearable. I basically have to live within an hour of Manila or Cebu Airport, so don't get much choice. Rented the place in Marikina for a while, and was there on and off, and now living full time in Mandaue, Cebu. Biggest problem for us is with kids. Essentially have a choice of the British School Manila, where you'd have to live in Makati to have any chance of getting there within an hour of leaving home, or the Cebu International School, which is about 15 mins drive from our current place.
If i'm honest, the Philippines really isn't the place for us with the family, and with me wanting all the modern stuff, whilst living out of town. Once my son is a year old, and my missus can survive without nannies and housekeepers, we'll be heading back to the UK. I actually miss the UK a lot, as long as i'm not one of the poor sods spending 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening of my life commuting to work in the pouring rain feeling sorry for myself.
If you're retired, I think living in the Philippine can be a great option. If you can afford it, the best is to have a house in both the Philippines and the UK, and spend the winters over there.
With a family, living in the Philippines is pretty tough.
