Originally Posted by
scott&ligaya
my family have been living in Palawan since 2012 with me visiting for two or three months at a time between contracts abroad. We have air cons in most rooms but when I am away the kiddos move in with mum in the master bedroom and we run one large innverter split type unit and or fan as the room is very large.
We have a cook, a nanny and a car taker who together cost about 16,000k a month and we pay their SSS any minor medical bills and they live in. Electricity runs about 5k (my son loves the 60 inch tv lol)
School fees at a local private school in Puerto Princesa are about 6k per month plus books once a year (about another 5k) and we have 2 in school. The montesorri kinder garten for the three yr old is about 3k per month for mornings.
Property taxes are around 2k per month for our large plot , 6 bedroom house , kubo and 4 rental rooms).
Medical costs are okay for consultations but medicines can be expensive and a recent gall bladder removal for my wife cost 180,000 after her PHIL HEALTH deduction and good insurance which covers all costs is very hard to find if you are resident.
We run and 2006 Navarra pick up 600K for our farm and rubber plantation trips down south. We bought it in Manila as a bank repo and shipped it over. same with a 2009 Ford Everest SUV (800K). Fuel runs at around 28 pesos per litre for diesel but both vehicles are reasonably thirsty. Getting a decent mechanic relies on word of mouth recommendations of other ex pats but is usually very cheap compared to the UK especially labour intensive jobs.
Our water bill is around 2k but we also have a well and electric pump/tank set up.
Forget land line..always out of order or crackly
mobiles are cheap to buy and post paid billing is reasonable
Our satellite tv set up is dream and we use the package at about 1000 pesos we also have cable for the cottages at around 1000 for a four room set up
Food shopping for the family including baby milk and pampers runs to 5k a week or thereabouts for the wife three kiddos and three staff.
Eating out is getting more expensive but still a lot cheaper than the UK and of course depends on the resto or hotel you eat at.
we use a pocket wi/fi called Tattoo which costs 999 per month but signal strength varies, we use fb messenger and skype sometimes signal will not support video
well those are the bills that come to mind and are not everything I am sure but should give you an idea. We do not live extravagantly but we do live well in my opinion and of course we could cut back if necessary but I think you need to be fair to yourself and what you are prepared to sacrifice for living in the paradise that is Palawan.
hope this helps
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