Hello everyone,

I just want to share from expats point.. (having a stepfather who is Welsh and been living in Cebu for 20 years) never been back in the UK since 1986. Though he got a couple of flats in Ports and few investments in Isle of Man which all went down the drain after the recession.

I must say that it all depends on your lifestyle when it comes to expenditures and cost of living in the Philippines. You need to consider the area. Living in Dumaguete or Bohol or Leyte and Negros and other outskirts places like in Northern Philippines or in Davao that is not highly urbanized like in cities of Cebu city or Manila.
Though Philippines may not have NHS, but once you go local and make friends with the local doctors in Rural Health Clinic it will work out free. Unless it is something serious. But then again, it all comes down "knowing who".

An instance was when my stepfather had an hernia operation. The doctor who did the operation at Cebu doctors hospital was a friend of my common friend. My stepfather only paid 60,000Php for everything. Its matter of asking and being humble and let the people understand that not all "puti" are super rich. That like them, every money are hard earned.

Another thing is that it gets too noisy in the Philippines.. specially when neighbors get a karaoke competition side by side until 3am. Or the motorbikes and so on.

If you are going to be driving or commuting. Driving an SUV may take between 3000-5000pesos, depends if you will be driving a lot.
Motorbikes are cheaper and doesn't cost much petrol.

If you can stomach most of the filipino foods.. if you will be doing shopping in supermarket or wet market.

I must say that I'm proud of my stepfather.. doesn't speak a word of cebuano but he knows how to haggle at wet market for a kilo of chopped ve