moving to Cebu shortly

[johnboy999]

OK - here in Cebu at last for my 4th and hopefully final visit. If all goes to plan, I'm never leaving here!!!
I arrived here on Sunday evening, my luggage however had different plans and didn't arrive with me, along with 10% of the other passengers on my flight, so they obviously missed off a baggage container.
Luckily it got delivered to my house 36 hours later, so all is good in the world now

I asked at the airport about the visa extension while I was in the queue for the immigration desk and I just had to go to the little office next to the queue. The whole process took about 10 minutes for them to provide the official receipt and then I rejoined the queue, which was nearly finished. It costs 2840 pesos so it was actually cheaper than going to BIR at Mandaue which costs 3030. They did ask me a few times who told me I could do get the extension at the airport so I just said the people at BIR and they were happy with that answer. The immigration officer then just wrote in on my arrival stamp that I had an extension on arrival for 59 days

[Marie]

ohhh....good to hear sir that you have had a good experience here in our country....although not that perfect I think...good luck to you and please take extra careful during your stay....

[johnboy999]

ohhh....good to hear sir that you have had a good experience here in our country....although not that perfect I think...good luck to you and please take extra careful during your stay....

Thanks Marie - the only problem I had was caused in Hong Kong when our luggage was missed off there, so I'm not blaming the Philippines for that!!! In fact, the people here made sure the problem was resolved as soon as possible and I can't praise them enough.
This is not my first time here and I know about staying safe. My lovely filipina makes sure I am always safe !!!

[johnboy999]

Now that I am here in Cebu and staying in Carcar, its time to look for our family home. We decided renting is definitely the way to go for us, maybe buying in the future, but not for a year or two. We're looking for rental properties in the Alcoy area and ideally want a 3 or 4 bedroom house. Anybody got any good contacts in that area who might be able to help with our search??

Many thanks

[grahamw48]

As a foreigner, don't even consider buying.

There are a lot of 'realtors' online for Phils rental property.

- Will give you a few ideas.

[johnboy999]

Thanks for the advice Graham. I'd already decided that buying isn't an option and that is why I was asking about rentals. I know as a foreigner I can't own a house here and that is why I want to rent. But.... who knows about the future? If I'm still happily married here a few years down the line and decide we definitely want to stay in a certain area I won't rule out purchasing eventually.

I know it's very very hard to sell properties here and there is always a risk in that it's not in my name, but, we only get one life. I could just as easily have set up a house in the UK with a western woman and lose far far more than I would ever lose in the Phills.

So, at this stage, my question remains about rentals. I'm not too sure how you find a reputable, trustworthy realtor here in the Philippines so that was why I was asking for advice from anyone who has already found one

[Terpe]

Thanks for the advice Graham. I'd already decided that buying isn't an option and that is why I was asking about rentals. I know as a foreigner I can't own a house here and that is why I want to rent. But.... who knows about the future? If I'm still happily married here a few years down the line and decide we definitely want to stay in a certain area I won't rule out purchasing eventually.

I know it's very very hard to sell properties here and there is always a risk in that it's not in my name, but, we only get one life. I could just as easily have set up a house in the UK with a western woman and lose far far more than I would ever lose in the Phills.

So, at this stage, my question remains about rentals. I'm not too sure how you find a reputable, trustworthy realtor here in the Philippines so that was why I was asking for advice from anyone who has already found one

I can't help you with agents, but I suggest you let your wife do the work. Try a much as you can to keep yourself out of the loop and not let anyone know it's a rental for foreigner.

Most of my friends have advised me to just ask around or drive to around taking a good look. It may take a while.
If your really looking for something fast then make sure it's a short term rental and be careful about up-front payments.

Good luck

[johnboy999]

Thanks Terpe,
We were already planning to drive around the area looking for likely properties and the g/f would be making all the calls. Prices would be discussed over the phone and that way we would know when we went to see them if we were being ripped off if the prices suddenly went up!

At the minute, we are renting a small house in Carcar, but we decided that it's too close to her family and we fancy living near the white sand beaches at Alcoy. Alternatively, I know Dalaguete is nice too. So, we are not in a desperate rush - it's not as if we need to be in the new place tomorrow or anything. But ultimately, we want more kids and this house here is too small.

[Terpe]

Thanks Terpe,
We were already planning to drive around the area looking for likely properties and the g/f would be making all the calls. Prices would be discussed over the phone and that way we would know when we went to see them if we were being ripped off if the prices suddenly went up!

At the minute, we are renting a small house in Carcar, but we decided that it's too close to her family and we fancy living near the white sand beaches at Alcoy. Alternatively, I know Dalaguete is nice too. So, we are not in a desperate rush - it's not as if we need to be in the new place tomorrow or anything. But ultimately, we want more kids and this house here is too small.

Just take you time then and enjoy the looking around.

[johnboy999]

Just take you time then and enjoy the looking around.

hehehe I'm already on Filipino time...... haven't worn a watch since I landed here 1 week ago

[Rory]

Time is not of importance like it is over here, i notice that as well. Might have something to do with the fact you are not working and you just go home when it gets dark.

[johnboy999]

Looks like we found ourselves a wonderful home in Alcoy, just where we wanted, with a nice sea-view..... just waiting for the rental contracts to be signed up

Pics to follow when it is all confirmed on the 22nd Jan but it's definitely a stunning place - I'll be very happy to live there for the next year while we decide our future.

[grahamw48]

Well done .

Yes, pictures please when available.

[Terpe]

Looks like we found ourselves a wonderful home in Alcoy, just where we wanted, with a nice sea-view..... just waiting for the rental contracts to be signed up

Pics to follow when it is all confirmed on the 22nd Jan but it's definitely a stunning place - I'll be very happy to live there for the next year while we decide our future.

That sounds great
Well done...................didn't take so long either.

Would love to see photos if it all goes well (I'm sure it will)

Try to avoid 'white-guy tax'

Good luck

[ConfusedMe]

That's a really big step to move to another place... Like other countries, economy is not that good in Philippines too and the best way I think is to really check on the best source of financial support. Either getting a job or setting up a business. Prices may be lesser in Cebu, but now that you have your wife and you future family, you have to look deeper on your financial status and ways to support your living there...

Good luck anyway in your future wedding and may you be successful in your future plans...

[johnboy999]

That's a really big step to move to another place... Like other countries, economy is not that good in Philippines too and the best way I think is to really check on the best source of financial support. Either getting a job or setting up a business. Prices may be lesser in Cebu, but now that you have your wife and you future family, you have to look deeper on your financial status and ways to support your living there...

Good luck anyway in your future wedding and may you be successful in your future plans...

Getting a local job at Philippines pay rates is never going to happen for me - I am not prepared to work for just a few pesos a day. My plans involve an overseas income, but that is on the back-burner while I get our family home set up, and take a well earned break after working my ass off for the last 20 odd years. I'm financially stable enough to live here for, maybe 10 years, without working even taking into account the relatively expensive lifestyle I will have compared to the locals, but I know I would eventually get bored. I know I will have to have an income, but it can wait for a while....

We only get one life to live and its too short to spend it being miserable doing something you don't want to do so it was easy for me to take this step now. I was in a position that I could do this now - why wait until I am too old to really appreciate the beauty of this place and the many things to do here???

[Terpe]

........We only get one life to live and its too short to spend it being miserable doing something you don't want to do so it was easy for me to take this step now. I was in a position that I could do this now - why wait until I am too old to really appreciate the beauty of this place and the many things to do here???

Your really fortunate to be in that position. I would do just the same.

It's sounds like you've thought things through and got your 'head screwed on' right.
As you say life is too short. Believe me time moves along fast, and my advice is to enjoy your life to the max, but don't take your 'eye off the ball'.

I've met too many Brits living in Phils who one day discovered they had nothing left in their 'financial well'. It doesn't take a lot of time, effort or money to keep you future alive.

Here's wishing you a great life

[johnboy999]

Your really fortunate to be in that position. I would do just the same.

It's sounds like you've thought things through and got your 'head screwed on' right.
As you say life is too short. Believe me time moves along fast, and my advice is to enjoy your life to the max, but don't take your 'eye off the ball'.

I've met too many Brits living in Phils who one day discovered they had nothing left in their 'financial well'. It doesn't take a lot of time, effort or money to keep you future alive.

Here's wishing you a great life

I don't keep all my eggs in one basket - my savings are spread amongst several banks, and my money will be staying in the UK. I'll only be transferring over what I need, when I need it. No point keeping it here in the Phils where I would be tempted to waste it,. And one of my accounts is not going to be touched - it's my emergency escape plan if it all goes wrong here in the future. But I'm not planning to let that happen!

I've been planning this move for nearly 2 years. Just because I haven't been posting on here doesn't mean it's a sudden decision! I've done a lot of research and made 3 recce trips here previously. I'm not totally unprepared, but I accept I still got an awful lot to learn and I'll definitely still be bending ears here from the guys with more experience than me

[grahamw48]

You're going about it the right way.

Eventually you might find some kind of small business will keep you occupied, and hopefully generate a bit of extra income.

Good luck.

[ConfusedMe]

We only get one life to live and its too short to spend it being miserable doing something you don't want to do so it was easy for me to take this step now. I was in a position that I could do this now - why wait until I am too old to really appreciate the beauty of this place and the many things to do here???

Live Life to the fullest... I wish I can just do that right now.. Always wanted to do business like a small BandB by the beach of Bohol maybe. There are a lot of foreigners there who actually owned the hotels. I'd say they enjoyed the place a lot and decided to retire there with their wife. It's good for giving more jobs to the locals as well.

[johnboy999]

I wish I had the money to set up a resort and I really loved Panglao on Bohol - that would have been perfect to retire to, maybe in another 17 years or so when I get my pension lol

[johnboy999]

Ok - you asked for pics - here are a few to give you an idea.....

[grahamw48]

How many houses is that ?

[johnboy999]

How many houses is that ?

#

Just the one lol - on the first pic its the big house in the centre. It's part of a small sub-division of about 6 houses

[stevie c]

Wow what a fantastic house

Wish that i was in a position to move to the phils i would move tommorow

[johnboy999]

Wow what a fantastic house

Wish that i was in a position to move to the phils i would move tommorow

Moving in on Feb 15th - as you can see its unfurnished so we got a lot of shopping to do but at least we can furnish it to our own tastes.....

[stevie c]

Hope all goes well with the move on feb 15th

I look forward to more photos when it is furnished

[chevc50]

hi john ..i have a fiancee in cebu and plan to visit in around 6 weeks time ...not my first visit (more like 6th ) i plan to move there permanently in the near future ....hope we can keep in touch ...geoff

[johnboy999]

hi john ..i have a fiancee in cebu and plan to visit in around 6 weeks time ...not my first visit (more like 6th ) i plan to move there permanently in the near future ....hope we can keep in touch ...geoff

Sure thing, and if you happen to be passing through Alcoy and the beautiful beaches there, you would be more than welcome to drop in for a visit

[hauham]

Well hello there! Cebu is truly a great place to stay and there are those pots where you can really be familiar with the people around because there are a lot of foreigners as well. This is actually an ideal place to retire if you have lived very long on a place where there is constant stress coming from work and would like to keep things cool down.