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- Residential street in a subdivision.
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- A Row of Apartments
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- A private residence
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- Small 2BR Apartments
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- New Townhouses being built for sale.
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- Housing typical of that found in the more provincial areas.
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- A row of Apartments in Cebu City
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- A row of apartments in Cebu City
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- A native style house in the province.
So what about a place to live? In the Philippines there are plenty of styles to choose from from High rise condos to native nipa huts. What is available to you depends a lot on where you choose to live. The prices also vary accordingly like all other things the more western features you desire the more it will cost you. Manila is one of the most expensive places to live especially if you want to live in a condo or an apartment with western amenities.
Houses and apartments are available for rent in just about every City and Town. The High Rise Condos are more limited in availability and are only available in larger Cities. There are exclusive subdivisions with western style houses for rent as well as many subdivisions and residential areas where houses and apartments are available for more modest budgets. If you are looking for a moderately priced place these can be found in most places from P5000 to P25000 per month. The more westernized places in exclusive areas would be P30000 and up. Sometimes way up depending on where you are looking.
Many apartments will have only cold running water. If you need air conditioning you will normaly have to purchase it yourself. Outlets are almost 220VAC so if you bring appliances from home you may need transformers to convert the voltage. Also be aware in some units you may find fewer outlets than you might be used to. Sometimes only one in a room. 110VAC is available in some areas or if you have a house you may be able to have the power company install a transformer. You will of course have to pay for that.
The houses and apartments tend to be smaller than in the US. Bigger units are available if you look. You can usually find something to satisfy your housing requirements.
There are no central real estate listings like in the US. You usually find a place by going to an area where you would like to live and looking around for rental signs. Many people also get referrals from friends about available units near them. There are real estate companies that will help you look but they usually only show the places listed with them.
I only mentioned renting in this post because foreigners are not allowed to own property in the Philippines. The exception to this rule is for high rise condo units. There are some restrictions on those as well. Condos are usually priced P3.5 million and up depending on the size and the amenities. Whatever you find and wherever you decide to live don’t expect it to be just like the place you left behind.
I would like to mention I am not a real estate agent so the places pictured here are those typical of types where most foreigners might consider renting. I have no idea if any of the places pictured are actually available or what the exact price for rental would be. In the places I mentioned prices it is just a price range that this type of unit would be in. There are units available below P10000.
For those unfamiliar with apartments in the Philippines I would like to mention a couple of additional things. A lot of places in the Philippines have what is referred to as a dirty kitchen. (this doesn’t mean the kitchen is unclean) It is an area outside the house. Sometimes covered sometimes not where residents do a lot of their cooking and laundry. Most of the apartments I showed have them I mentioned the one I knew that did not. Most houses will also have them.
this is the place were we lived today, its quite simple but you know its nice coz its safe and clean, and near also to the city.
Yes it is a very nice place. I am glad you guys found it. It is in a cinveniant location too.
yes i to m 54 years old and already making plans to move to the philippines.i was there in the mid 1970,s while serving a short time in the us navy.i like it there but have nearly changed my mind many times lately.its more complicated than i thought it would be and i dont have very much money.still just this morning i sent 5,000 pesos to my fiance and she will be giving it for me/us to own a lot in a sub division.we will then be able to build a home on this lot.(slowly).realistically though im still 3 0r 4 years away from actually living there.i believe i will try to live there 6 months out of the year and spend the other 6 in the usa.i dont really want to bring my fiance to the states as that is not at al what i set out to do but as time goes o she talks more and more about how she would like to come here
Good luck with your planning. I have been close to moving there myself at least twice but had to delay my plans due to economic downturns. I am just about where I need to be so I should be moving around the end of next year.
I am waiting before I commit to purchasing or building until I am sure where I want to reside permanently. There are a lot of places that seem nice to live if you are just there for a short time but turn out to be not the right place for the long haul. Before you commit to building be sure that is really where you want to be. Properties For Sale can stay on the market for a long time if the price is not right.
Let us know how you are coming along with your planning.
Tom and others: I spend six months in MDQ and six months in Northern California. I hope you consider Marinduque as a place for retirement. There are a lot of Americans, Europeans, Australian and retirees like me settling in Marinduque. In my web site above, I have listed blogs, about Marinduque. MDQ is only 30 minutes by air from Manila, yet is still very rural , peaceful and pollution-free compared to the big cities. It is only during Easter Week, when the province is filled with tourists because of the Moriones Festival. Standard of living is also much cheaper compared to big cities. Plenty of fresh seafood and vegetables at reasonable prices. David
David thank you for your input. I do not know much about that area at all. I will check out your site. Feel free to drop in here again anytime.
Rent for a while before you buy or build a Home in the Phils.
Also keep in mind that many Filipina’s will want their American/Foreigner husband to build a home in their Province so they can “show it off” to their friends and family and so they can stay close to home/family.
These houses usually end up as bad investments as they may be inconveniently located if they are far from shopping, dining, health care, etc… and if the relationship goes bad, the house might be very difficult to sell.
And expect to have several of her relatives living with you “temporarily” for extended periods of time.
I’m sure most guys that plan on marrying a Filipina and relocating to the Phils know most of the above already, but for those that don’t, be aware that when you marry a Filipina, you basically are married to her family as well.
For some Filipina’s, marrying a “rich Kano” (Kano = Americano) is the equivalent of winning the lottery and when the inevitable family financial crisis occurs, you will be seen as “the bank” by them and expected to pay for just about everything, even if you are on a modest pension/SS retirement and don’t have the means to do so.
Now you are viewed as “Cheap Charlie” by the family and the animosity will be tremendous.
Family and Financial issues are the cause of breakups of most Filipina/Foreigner marriages/relationships.
Again, I’m sure most guys that plan on marrying a Filipina and relocating to the Phils know this already but it bears repeating.
Please don’t interpret this post as anti-Filipina, because it is not.
It’s just based on the experiences of many guys that have fallen in love and didn’t see the big picture or do their homework about a culture that is very different than the one they came from.
I plan to retire to the Phils myself and possibly getting married to a Filipina as well.
Good luck and “Mabuhay!”
I should also note that having the relatives of your Filipina bride living with you isn’t always a bad thing if they are willing to help out.
In exchange for a place to live plus meals, her relatives can also help with cooking, cleaning, driving, grocery shopping, household maintenance, repairs, translating local dialect, etc…
Having trustworthy family members that know their way around the Phils, the Province and the Barangay as well as knowing the local customs/rules/laws is something that can’t be bought and can save you a lot of money and headaches, but may also give you a few.
Usually, the positives will outweigh any negatives.
But like anything else, YMMV