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IMHO Dumaguete is the best place for an expat to start their journey in the Philippines. I lived there my first 7 years in the country. There is great banking, shopping and restaurants in the city compared to smaller cities. It's a wonderful place to spend the first few years as you settle into retirement and learn the culture. But, Dumaguete has changed greatly over the last decade. Be prepared for traffic, a higher cost of living compared to places like Bayawan or Bais and a very large expat population. I now live a few hours away and prefer life in the province but province life means forgoing convenience and a life adjustment compared to living in a city. For me the best areas in Dumaguete proper are Piapi, and Daro, close to everything and nice neighborhoods. I also feel Valencia, Bacong and Dauin are great places to live outside the city.

Some of y'all foreigners act like you have been everywhere in ph lol

Good stuff, Alex. I really like your differentiating rural or suburban US to provincial areas of the Philippines. It's definitely not a 1:1 thing. The province tends to be too rural, too undeveloped, compared to the US, for my liking as well.

Yeah I'm wanna be something in the middle have room for parking a garden gazebo but no more than 30 minutes from city good points you make

Tagalogs speak and pronounce better English than those in visayas, mindanao and northern Luzon. The more affluent Filipinos who were able to study in private schools can even speak english with american accent and most rich people anywhere in the Philippines train their children to speak english at home and could even grow up not being able to soeak good filipino language. I can tell you that with all certainty because here in my own home, kids cant speak goid tagalog even in school.. bevause everyone else speak english. Kids here do not watch local shows and only know foreign singers and are not familiar with the happenings inside the local politics.. and that makes me sad. But young students today do not care anymore about what is going on in their environment.. they only care about themselves. But houng back to the main reason im doing this reaction to your video.. i just hope that foreigners who come here will not just go to one particular place ir region in the country and say it is the PHILIPPINES. IT IS NOT!! THE PHILIPPINES IS SO DIVERSED AND WE LIVE DIFFERENTLY FROM ONE ANOTHER. I LOVE MY COUNTRY SO MUCH BUT I MUST BE HONEST THAT IF YOU ARE A FOREIGNER.. DON'T LIVE HERE WIITHOUT LEARNING FIRST EVERYTHING ABOUT US AND CHOOSE THE PLACE THAT WILL SUIT YOUR WAY OF LIFE SO YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. DAVAO AND CEBU AND MANDAUE ARE NOT THE ONLY BEAUTIFUL BEACH PROVINCES WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE BEST BEACHES.. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF BEACHES ALL OVER TGE PHILIPPINES AND THERE IS NO PLACE HERE WHERE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FIND GOOD PLACES WHICH ARE NEAR THE BEACH .. GO TO SUBIC,ZAMBALES.. PANGASINAN, ILOCIS NORTE, BATANES, BATANGAS CITY, CAVITE, LA UNION. SEARCH ONLINE AND YOU WILL FIND THESE PLACES AND HOW TO GO THERE. AND YOU WILL FIND OUT ABOUT A DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERE. DIFFERENT KIMD OF FILIPINO PEOPLE. BUT DONT SPARE METRO MANILA!" IT IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE IN THE PHILIPPINES FOR A FOREIGNER WHO WANT TO FIND CONVENIENCE AND COMFORT BUT THEN YOU MUST HAVE MONEY TO BE ABLE TO STAY HERE FOR LONG. GO TO PASIG CITY, PASAY CITY, MAKATI CITY, QUEZON CITY, ALABANG CITY.. GO TO LAGUNA.. WHERE YOU WILL FIND THOSE RESORTS WITH VERY WARM WATER IN CALAMBA CITY AND LOS BANOS BECAUSE IT IS WHERE THE MOST FAMOUS MT. MAKILING IS FOUND WHICH EMITS THAT HOT WATER BECAUSE IT IS AN INACTIVE VOLCANO.. IT IS ALSO THE HOME FOR ONE OF THE BEST STATE UNIVERSITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES OUTSIDE MANOLA, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BANOS,LAGUNA. DONT LIMIT YOURSELVES IN VISAYAS MEN.. IT IS JUST A TIP OF THE ICEBERG WHEN PHILIPPINES IS CONCERNED. LOOK AT THE MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES AND LOOK AT EACH PLACE AND SEARCH THEM IN YOUR GOOGLE.. AND YOU WILL FIND THAT U ARE LIMITING YOURSELVES THE OPORTUNITY TO ENJOY THE REAL PHILIPPINES.

Thanks for covering those scenery, cathedral church where i used to attend masses

I'm a Filipino, but I don't think I can live in the provinces in the visayas region. First off. I'm from luzon, and our way of life is different from there. Our taste for foods is different also. I don't think foreigners will easily understand why it is so, but there are differences among the cultures and languages and ways of life, the taste for food and the manner Filipinos from different regions conduct their daily activities. it could be perhaps due to the effect of the hundreds of years of having been colonised by Spaniards and Americans who divided us from one another. For whatever reason, there are really big differences between the people who were born in luzon and who were born in visayas and mindanao. Even in luzon, there are hundreds of different languages.. different tastes. Tagalog are different from the Ilocanos, Pampanguenos are different from Pangasinense.. so I don't blame you and any foreigner who come here for the first time to be confused with the life In the provinces. Filipinos are the most discriminating people in the world. Contrary to everyone who says that we are the most welcoming and nice people, yes. That could be true but it depends on where you stay.

Living in the province provides the perfect opportunity to learn the local language (plus culture and mentality) compared to a life in the city with all its distractions. I consider it very advantageous to know the local language, if you consider living here not just as a tourist.

Hey Alex do you live in Dumagette Dumagette Dumagette Dumagette Dumagette Dumagette Dumagette 😂😂 after five times saying Dumagette say HERE………it’s sounds like when somebody says, you know, you know, you know, you know

I've lived in the Philippines three times since 1987 (working the first two times)... a total of 12+ years. I've also lived in Sri Lanka and four African countries for over 16 years. So I'm quite adaptable for living in cities or provincial towns of low-income countries. Nothing truly rural. I'm now living in the exurbs of Manila, in Bulacan. While it's not the beach, the mountain or some sleepy rural idyll, it's not in the crush of the big city either. Giant malls, smaller malls and good hospitals are all within a 15 - 60 minute drive (we have a car). I have my computer-based "projects" to keep me busy. I don't get bored. A domestic trip a couple of times a year keeps things from getting too routine. Guys, do not simply arrive with no plans other than to sit in a chair with a drink in your hand. Get a project. Go to the gym. You need to keep mind and body in good working order. During COVID, I was the only foreigner in the area. It didn't matter. Even now, I have zero expat friends and don't need them. The reason? My Filipina partner of 18 years is well-educated and worked at a bank head office in Makati. Her English vocabulary and grammar are better than most native English speakers. We talk about a wide array of topics and she has intelligent, well-informed opinions. She proved her mettle by living with me in the last two African countries. And she's a sweetie too. So, for men who come here looking for a relationship, my advice is to take your time, don't go for a vast age difference (my partner is 16 years younger) and try to find a "city woman" who's more likely to be well-educated and worldly.

Hate to break it to you but to most Filipinos that live in Manila, Dumagate is the province.

For me the most important factor regarding food is to keep it healthy. Yes I can eat some junk food once in a while but most of the time I try to eat healthy. The older I get the more important this is..

Dumagete is for people with one foot in the grave... end of story

Hey Alex, my main goal is to have an apartment close to a main road. That way if it's been raining for a week I can grab a Trike a head into town. And yes a Motorbike is definitely in my future, your fear of riding will be over the first wheelie I do with you on the back !!!! 😂🤣😆😬

Good points. how long have you been in the Philipines, and how long in Dumageti. Your best guess percentage of fluent English speakers

It is possible to live in the US for under $1,000 without including rent, but it is a miserable life. I was doing it until a guy hit my vehicle and it totally and ran off, I am assuming he had no insurance. I had to bollow thousands from family to buy a used car. The dealership sold me a lemon as I was looking for the cheapest vehicle for less than $5k. I now have to borrow an additional $4-5k to fix the transmission. If you can't afford to save for high ticket items like that, you are screwed! Unfortunately I am on disability, unable to work bec of my medical condition. I need a vehicle to get to a doctor etc as we have no public transport where I live. And the cost of groceries keeps going up and up! I wish I could hire help but I can't. In Asia one can afford to hire help. Folk are able to hire someone to cook and clean, pick up meds, groceries etc. A great advantage! Marrying someone comes with complications. I think it is better to hire someone that comes with recommendations from others you know. One American YTer living alone, posted his monthly expenses in the PI for under $300. He is very frugal. I also don't think what he eats out, is very healthy. But it can be done for around $600, i believe. And you can save the rest of your income for a rainy day. Not possible for me to save anything here in the US. However for older folk one has to be near a good medical facility and pharmacy near by when overseas anyway in the world. With moving to the province you run the risk of not being near any good medical facility. So, i do think this is, 'no country for old men', if you don't have a good medical facility nearby.

It seems Duma has the right balance to make life enjoyable for you. I've always been a suburban middle class person. Province and country life requires interest in other activities that I'm not familiar with.

A couple of reasons that you don't have enough to do in the province is you don't have a partner and you don't have a comfortable place to live. You've chosen a lifestyle that limits your happiness in the provinces

A British expat just put out a video where he talked about living on an island in the PI which was surrounded by the most beautiful beaches. He said after a few months he got very bored living there. He said he was tired of waking up and doing the same thing of going to the beach and back every day. I guess it kinda depends on the individual. I dream of living on a beautiful beach. But since i have not done it, i don't know if i too would get bored with it after a short while??

I first started watching Mark with "Every man has a story" two years ago. He made the PI look like one glamorous paradise and would constantly push for expats, 'old men', to move to the PI. I was smitten by it, but having had already a health care crisis, i was concerned about health care in the PI. And when i acquired about it, he just blew it off as it was an non-issue. I couldn't understand that for someone that had open heart surgery that he wouldn't be under the care of a cardiologist. He would even promote other expats with major health issues moving to the PI. The PI is fine for young folk. But when one gets old, you need to be near a medical facility. It needs to be one that offers the best standard of care. You need to have medical insurance or a great deal of funds for an emergency. Mark only started to talk about the medical issues recently on his channel. He couldn't even get the basic meds for his heart condition. They say Thailand has very good health care, but should one trust what one hears? I like the idea, the Philippines speaks a lot of English. One can live in Thailand without having to speak much English but what if you end up in the emergency room and no one speaks English? I guess there is Google translate if you have it on you.

I’ve decided I’m going to try BGC, El Nido or Siargao. Either total city or total island vibe.

Rather live poor in a rich country than poor in a poor country. Don’t need to go to the PI to enjoy coffee only. Food in the province is not great nor that healthy if you need to have rice with everything. Think one can live with 1000.00 a month? Good luck

the Philippines is a Country for the OLD and the Young.

You have to be careful and think twice about not losing the energy momentum of your productivity. Also, don't make the mistake of comparing yourself to the many older expats. If you do, you will adapt without realizing it and lose the “meaning of your life”. The best years of your life are ahead of you, use them somehow and build up a project. Voluntarily now is better than later as a MUST! You would regret it bitterly in 20 years' time, looking back. I wish you good decisions.

Dramagete is a nice Place 🤣 I don’t mind living in there close to the Manjuyod Sand bar … Beautiful place

I think that most of the people that you're talking about that are wanting to go into the province are not people but, old guys. Old retired men. I think either are used to rural living here in the US and/or have grown tired of people and so they are so sick and fed up with people that they just want to isolate and cut out all of the complexity to life and so they view provincial living as a way to do that. I can understand, feeling overwhelmed and fed up with other people and just wanting an escape. I'm 45 currently and I'm not at a level where I I'm so fed up that I want to forego all the conveniences of being in a major city including stable power and internet. For me. Even dumagete was not stable enough with the brown outs of power at least once a week. For the entire day. I had to go back to Cebu. So I think that the guys that are telling you that they want to live in the province are almost always older or elderly. If I was to ask you, I'm almost positive. That's what you would say and that is most likely the reason

Everywhere in the world I have been the further away from the city the nicer the people have been.

What kind of camera are you using?

Could I ever live in Dumaguete? I was there for approx 1 week. It was quite OK, but enough. For me it was just to much and to many foreigners and feeling of being inside an "expat bubble". Here at the countryside in Luzon, I have never seen a foreigner at all, in the village I am living. But I have MC'Donalds within 10 minutes, and 2 different big cities within 1 hours with slow driving, using motorbike. Whenever I want the city life, I can have it. Some times I do, but after 1-2-3 days I'm tired of the city life. I think your video gives a good explanation of why some expats claim that you need $3,000 for a good life, while others say that $1,000 is enough. Here in the countryside, it would be a stressful job to have to spend 3,000 every month. That wouldn't be a comfortable life. Then it feels better to live a calm and relaxed life while you let your savings grow as they want.

I have out of America for 14 years.... and I learned lonely is your worst enemy ....

Location is important...home base..

Location is important...home base..

I use a bike...but we are right off McArthur Highway...very convenient..access to bus..shuttle etc..

Growing up in a two parent household with loving,responsible, parents is just the luck of the draw. I always feel empathy for those that had dysfunctional or abusive childhoods. ALL kids need to feel someone cares about them. Great commentary, thanks.

They dont just drag their baggage overseas, they drag their host country down with it too.

My wife and I pay absolutely ZERO taxes to the US. Her Calpers pension and my investment income are allowing us to live on ~$30K per year in the Philippines. And that's not including SS yet. Our house and car are paid for in the Philippines, living a carefree life that allows us to do as we like and not have to worry about "saving" to pay income taxes to the IRS. Our standard deductions wipe out our income. Love not paying taxes anymore 🙏

There is a value in the older expats, you can see what not to do.

"Hes an American" We need class casts in the united states. 1 America is a continent 2 Everyone says theyre American if they they have white skin or just because they were born in the u.s. You dont need to call yourself a king unless youre insecure about it but here we are with people pretending they are native inconsiderate of people with having hundreds or thousands of years of history and liniage in a continent.

Parents do a wonderful job of instilling all their fears, their own personal fears and traumas into their children 👹 A wise man wants, said, when a child comes into your life, it’s time to relearn life, not teach them your ways 🙌

Hi Alex... I understand your focus is on expats, but the same or at least very similar dynamics you point out happens across the globe in every society. Many people are simply not self aware of their shortcomings as a human being or even if they do acknowledge that, don't know how to change it or don't care to change it. I run into this mindset often, especially the older I get and regardless of where I am at, regardless of if they are just visitors, expats or locals. And in my younger years, I honestly can't say I was aware of my shortcomings as a human being. I think understanding comes with age for many of us, and for some it never happens. Again...I think you are many years ahead of your age with your insight and awareness of things around you for a lack of better words.

Sometimes what you see is not what you get.

Expats with some dysfunctional issues it can have an impact with their relationship with a Pilipina ,I was wondering if expats are in Philippines always by choice or because of economics advantage, good subject Alex .

Its a genuine topic that needs to be explored. The vloggers in Phils seem to also easily fall into the habit of fighting each other online, when really no one is being the "bigger adult" in their communications

Most of us are running from something, if we are honest.

Difference between kids in grown ups bodies vs grown and healed adults and you're def in the latter. God bless! 😇❤️

Love your old soul big picture perspective. Constructive self reflection always involves consideration of positional existentialism

Love your old soul big picture perspective. Constructive self reflection always involves consideration of positional existentialism

Love your old soul big picture perspective. Constructive self reflection always involves consideration of positional existentialism

Happiness is a mindset. Happiness is something we all can have because real happiness is never found outside of us, It is not found in possession or wealth. Happiness is always & only found within us, it is a state of mind. They say happiness is the Highest level of success. That couldn’t be more true. Because everything we do is because we want happiness, PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE THAT STRESS CAN DESTROY MUCH MORE THAN JUST OUR PHYSICAL HEALTH TOO OFTEN, IT EATS AWAY OUR HOPE. BELIEF, AND FAITH.