City or Province: Where You Going to Live in the Philippines?

 

First off, it seems as if our “My Own Personal Philppine Dream” has been well received.  That’s cool, because some uncomfortable work went into it.  I actually shot the “snow” part a few years back after a particularly rough snowstorm – that was uncomfortable enough, but the piece we shot this past weekend down at Koo-Koo’s Nest in Siaton was downright painful!  I had brought the winter clothes that I wore in the first video with me to the Philippines, and donning those in the middle of a hot, sun-scorched Filipino afternoon was somewhat ill-advised.  I didn’t actually pass out – but it was close!  If you don’t know what I am talking about, check out the short (under three minute) video that we did http://youtu.be/Uhqm9-MZCb0

Now to the topic at hand: Deciding where you want to live in the Philippines.

 

 

 

We get a lot of inquiries on where the “best” place to live is.  Truth is, there is no “best” place, and what might be perfect for one person could be a horror-fest for another.  I had come to the Philippines hoping to find a nice little house or condo by a white sand beach, thus allowing me to laze about on my hammock while sipping margaritas and staring out over the turquoise sea.  Arriving here, I quickly realized that a place like that was going to cost an arm and a leg and that all the good places had already been rented out long ago. 

After a while, I found this cool little house down in Dauin that seemed just perfect.  (You can check out that video here.)  It was rustic, right on the water, had a massive yard and even came with its own kayak.  After moving in, however, we soon found out that living without window screens isn’t much fun and that my internet-based work was being stymied by a noticeable lack of internet – most of the time it was crawling along at .3 MB per second.  Not cool.  I also found out that I actually like living closer to the city.  We were about 26 kilometers from Dumaguete, and getting into town was a real chore.

Now, we seem to have found a good balance – we are in a suburb of the city and benefit from easy access to its amenities while still being far enough from the heat and congestion that any urban area creates.  We also have great internet here and the electrical grid is a lot more solid.  Yeah, the house we are renting isn’t perfect, but we’re going to improve on that when a more ideal house or apartment becomes available.

 

 

 

 

Benefits of the City

Restaurants, shopping, and nightlife are all close at hand.

Solid internet.

More to go out and do.

Less brownouts.

 

Benefits of the Province (Country)

Quiet.

Cleaner air.

Less congestion and heat.

More open space.

Peace of mind.

 

So, I guess it’s all about finding a balance, and – more importantly – finding out what you really want.  Because – as I have learned – you might think you want one thing, but when you get it, you could find that you don’t.
And then you have to move.  

 

Again.