It has been more than a year since my family and I have migrated to Metro Cebu. I’m a retired engineer married for the second time, I have a Filipina wife and we have a four year old son. Life was getting mundane from where I come from, the economy was getting worse, cost of living was escalating.
I figured if my family and I were to continue to live comfortably we’d have to make changes and move to a place where the cost of living is much lower. I’ve been to the Philippines more than half a dozen times. I really like Cebu, the Filipino hospitality, courteous and warm people, the tropical weather.
Cost of is surprisingly low. We’d get by for a little over US$2,000 per month. Currently, we’re renting at Php 25,000 per month, Groceries is around Php 20,000 (it could be much lower but most of the things I like are imported). We have a maid, a nanny, and a woman who does our laundry – all for about Php 10,000 per month. Utilities – electricity, water, cable TV, internet, mobile phone bills around Php 10,000 per month. We own our own car so transportation cost is at a minimum – fuel is around Php 10,000. From time to time my wife and I dine out, or check into one of the many beach resorts.
English as a Second Language
Communicating with locals is fairly easy – almost everybody speaks English. Newspapers, signs, music from the radio are almost all in English. Even the services at the church where we go to on Sundays (Living Word) is in English. My cable TV has more than 200 English channels, movies in the theatre are in English (and cheap too). What I have observed is that most locals even prefer English as a means of communication.
My wife and I had decided that it was more practical to buy our own property. We bought a 2 floor concrete, 4 bedroom house in one of the subdivisions in the city for Php 9,000,000 (around US$200,000), down-payment is Php 1,800,000 (around US$40,000). The developer would take around 6-8 months to have the house built.
We had also purchased 2 condo units in the Central Business District for Php 1,800,000 each as an investment. We plan to have it rented out or resold as soon as it’s completed. Prices of is consistently increasing by around 7% per year.
I must confess that I was first reluctant to move to Cebu because soon my son would have to go to school. Education is very important to me and I consider a good education vital to a good life. After talking to several friends and researching on several schools, I was somewhat amazed at the quality of education available, there are a variety of certified and affiliated International schools from different countries that offer quality education here.
I won’t beat around the bush. Cebu isn’t a perfect city, it has its share of problems: population growth (there are lots of people everywhere), unpredictable traffic (common to any growing city), some of the roads need repairs, slow internet, and from time-to-time you read about petty crimes in the local papers.
Driving here is somewhat of a challenge. Road rules and laws are treated mostly as “suggestions” by locals. Road signs are rare, a lot of small tight roads, urban planning is terrible (you can easily get lost). There isn’t a single stop sign in the city, aggressive driving and not defensive driving is how things are. Pedestrians (even those on the pedestrian lane) DO NOT have the right of way – I was almost killed crossing the street!
My wife and I stay home during weekdays and spend time with our son. We travel 2 to 3 times a year to another Asian city or two. The international airport here caters to almost all flights to any major city in the world.
Life here is better than what I had expected. Most of the conveniences that are available back home are available: Groceries carry imported stuff that I like (fruits, meats, and even ice cream). Starbucks, Apple iStore, McDonalds, Aeropostale, Krispy Kreme, Burger King, Gap are some of the familiar brands that I see here.
There is a growing international community in the city. I see more foreigners here than in any other city in the Philippines (except Boracay) – and I have been to quite a number. It is very common to see Koreans, Japanese, Americans, and Europeans who have made Cebu their home. Which for me very good sign.
Cebu has a bright economic outlook. International financial institutions like Standard and Poor’s, Bloomberg, and Moody’s have continued to raise its economic forecast for the Philippines. Strong government reforms, steady influx of international investments, aggressive consumer spending, and growth in key industries are among the many factors that have triggered a sudden shift from being “the sick man of Asia” to a Tiger Economy.
Most of my foreign friends who have families here do not have any plans of going back to their countries.
