San Jose Mindoro

...hi there bruce.
i don't wanna sound discouraging, but let me warn you about sj's frustrating power supply situation. this, and nearby towns are suffering from almost everyday brownouts making us i think the brownout capital of the philippines ..still,if you think you can tolerate the situation, just don't forget to bring in with you a genset  ...apart from that annoying fact, there's nothing more to worry about.there are two internet service provider available here(SMART and GLOBE). i bet you're already aware of the products and services of these two.bars (with live bands),restaurants, hotels, and banks are everywhere in town.your night life will not be boring when you come in here, that's for sure.i am not aware if there's an existing expat community 'though but i do see quite a no. of foreigners around town.
hope this helps a bit...

kat

Hi katutubongPinoy

The power situation is not really that discouraging. I have been in Puerto Galera (PG)for 18 months now and the power goes out very frequently here as well. Sometimes we will go days without a problem, through windstorms etc. Then for some strange reason the power will start to go out every day for 2-3 weeks for various period of time. No one knows why.

Life here in PG is driven by the tourist industry and as such, prices are on the high side. So we were hoping prices would be lower in San Jose. And for land as well which runs 1500-4000 and up per sq m here.
Rents here run @ 12000 for view with pool and up, up, up.

So rents, land prices in general would be interesting. As well as bus/van travel time to Calapan

As a retired carpenter I like to head down to a bar at the end of the day 5:00pm or so and have a few beers and some conversation. Occasionally the night life calls, but not often.
I like being close to the ocean which why we are looking at San Jose. For me there is just something about watching the sun set into the ocean.

We did  visited (1 night) San Jose May 2013. We stayed out by the airport 'Seacoast' It was pretty reasonable and clean enough but the pool was empty.
I have heard the Aroma Hotel has a pool and is reasonably prices.

We would be thinking of driving down and spending a few day looking around.

I see there is an area just north of the airport that might be interesting. Rizal does not look to be too far away from San Jose.

I appreciate any info you can give me at all.

Thanks

Bruce

Bruce

Good day!
So, we're just stepping on the same shoes as per power supply is concerned (good to know we're not alone)...as per the cost of land per sq.meter in sj town center, i can't give you an input as of today since i don't have any idea. We bought a land which we are planning to build a rest house as it is facing the sea in an island called Iling, more or less 1,000 sq. m for as low as 25k (not helping i think..but i just want to say) ..can you believe that ?...it's quite cheap because its far (more or less 1hr travel on a motorized banca) from the town center, but the island is still part of sj. I also don't have an idea about home rentals (OMG..I'm of no help..hahah) since i haven't tried to rent one.As for the time of travel to Calapan from here, it depends on the one who drives..i think(lols)..my boss can reach Calapan in as fast as 3 hours. But on PUV,5-6 hours as they need to pick and drop passengers along the way (but again, depends on the driver). You might also want to try Villa Paulina Resort and Hotel, and Sikatuna Beach Hotel both facing the sea. Rizal is just 30 to 45 minutes away from sj (to its nearest barangay called Sto-Niño) and 45 - 1hour as you go to its farthest barangay. I cannot compare the cost of living here in sj and there in pg for i haven't been there. I hope i enlightened you even a little, but best is yeah, you drive down in here and spend some days to see for yourself and experience firsthand all the things you might want to know before you move here completely (sj's just 3 hours away    ).

best regards!

Kat

Kat

I appreciate all your input, and you are right, the best way is to simply head down and check it out. Coming from Puerto Galera we will probably make it a 2 day trip. Maybe even 3 to check out Mansalay and Magsaysay.
I have heard of land way over in Bicol for 100 per sq meter and 200 per sq meter in San Teodoro, Mindoro. The price is right but the area does not meet my criteria of facing west.

That is good info re the distance from San Jose to Rizal. With the roads, it is hard to figure the time factor out from the maps.

The distance from San Jose to Calapan 5-6 hours seems to be a bit much, but not totally unrealistic.

So we will drop down and check it out and post our observations here.

Thanks Again

Bruce

Bruce

As I have said..depends on the driver. I experienced 5 hour trip to Calapan most of the time. You might also want to try looking up in Bulalacao, Or. Mindoro..the place is nice and I think suits your taste.
Just to give you a bit of info about Magsaysay...it's 15-20 minutes trip from sj. No night life, no bars, no fancy restaurants. People here who love socializing during the night go to sj as this town silents up in as early as 8 pm. But if you love tranquil and stress free environment, this place is good for you. But I think, based on what you have said on your initial post..this place is too rural for your taste...but who knows??...
Till here!!.Good luck on your future decisions...just don't forget to be extra cautious in every transactions and decisions you will be making....

Kat

We just visited San Jose and it appears to be what we are looking for.  We stayed out on Bubog road by the airport and saw several bars there. All Filipinos. Are there any bars that xpats frequent?
In the new year we will again visit San Jose and spend a week checking it out.