Mabuhay!
Well, the Relationships: Giving Money to the Family video hit a few sensitive spots with more than a few viewers. I try to keep the acrimony down as much as possible in the comments section by sending private messages to dueling parties, but when the feathers start flying and folks start saying especially nasty things, I tend to simply vote them off the island as it were. I don’t have time for drama, and I am sure people can find something better to do then engage in keyboard warrior diatribes.
I was going to put up another turtle or gecko video just to turn down the fires a bit, but I then remembered that I had taken some film at Mountain Bike Dan’s apartment in Dumaguete. (We actually have a bunch of video of a bike trip we took up the mountains in Valencia, but I am still digging through the RAW footage and taking out the tastiest bits.) Dan was nice enough to allow me to take a video of the apartment he has been renting in Dumaguete for the past 20 months, and since folks are always asking about the price of rentals here (and what they look like), I decided to edit it up and post it.
Dan’s apartment is about five minutes from downtown Dumaguete. It is in a small apartment complex (what they call a “six door” block here) that is surrounded by a nice tall security wall and towering mango trees that provide a great deal of shade. (Which is something that is worth it’s weight in gold here!) The apartment is described as a two bedroom, but as Dan notes in the video, the owner actually just built a partial wall in the living room, cutting it off and creating a small bedroom that could fit a twin bed (or office space, which is what Dan is using it as). The bathroom is pretty good sized, but Dan is pretty hard core and has decided not to install an electric water heater for his shower. He’s spent many, many years in Southeast Asia, so he doesn’t need it – me, I’m still a woosey and I like my shower to be nice and warm. His apartment also has a nice sized area out back where his dirty kitchen is (gas burner stove and sink), and he also has more than enough room for his mountain bike collection and a little customizing shop. All the windows in his apartment also have window screens (another must in my book, after our insect misadventures down in Dauin) and heavy security grates. The back area is also secured with a metal gate, steel mesh, and even more security grates.
Dan pays about 13,000 pesos ($298) a month for his furnished apartment. The furnishings are not all that extensive (stove, fridge, aircon, bed, shelves, a small table and chair and assorted bamboo furniture), but it’s more than sufficient for daily living. If you are getting a furnished apartment or house, it only goes to reason that you are going to pay more. Our house (“Pink House”) was unfurnished and it costs us 10,000 pesos a month ($220). Furnishing it is going to have a final cost of about $3,0000. Setting up your own place is pretty nice, as you get to pick out the stuff that you want. On the flip side, it weighs you down with a lot of stuff, and if you suddenly decide to move, you’re gonna feel that weight.
So, I hope this gives you some more insight into rental properties that are available in the Philippines. As more opportunities to give more examples arise, we will be there with our trusty GoPros in hand.
Take care, ya’ll, and keep dreaming!
I have been following you for jsut a short time now. I love the videos and they are very helpful. I am wanting to move to come there in January to meet the woman i want to marry. She lives in Pagadian city. i have many questions i dont want to post on here. Some of the main questions is how easy is it to make money there and how hard is it to marry a filipina woman as far as dealing with the government there and in the US?
You can’t work here without being married. And if you do work for local wage, you will find out how very poorly they are paid (about $200 a month). To live here, you need money – either with an online job or a job you can work remotely from the Philippines. There are a number of things you have to do to get married in the RP and they are changing all the time. Like I said, take it slow, brother. YOu can email me at myphilippinedreams@gmail.com
it is not accurate that you cannot work here without being married. A section 13G visa and quota visa allows one to live AND work in the Philippines. Under the Foreign Investments Act 2001
Under Section 6 Foreign investment in export enterprises whose products and services do not fall within Lists A and B of the Foreign Investment Negative List provided under Section 8 hereof is allowed up to one hundred percent [100%] ownership.
A BPO providing 100% export services to an overseas country would be included.
You are correct, sir. And we can add the 9G to that. Folks are reminded that they still need an AEP (alien employment permit), and they can only get those if they are possessed of skills that cannot be performed by other Filipino nationals. The 13 series visas also require an AEP. Please correct me and site source, as I could be wrong!