The Philippines' most expensive cities

Priscilla

To respond to such a broad range of questions which cover many aspects of life here in the Philippines, would require someone to write a book to fully answer all your questions.
For example:
" What are the costs of things such as rent, utilities, weekly groceries, dining out, etc.?"
The answers here are just all over the map and totally depend on one's lifestyle.  A castle or a lean-to shelter... Live in Makati or an outlying village in Samar..   So much of this information can be found on the internet or in some published material written by expats.
I can probably answer part of one question though, and that is Makati is most likely the most expensive city in the Philippines when all things are considered. 
When you say good value, what are you thinking of making the comparison against...
Other than some time in Tacloban, Cebu and Dumaguete, I have spent most of the last 5 years here in Makati.

Well if you live somewhere in makati it's a little bit expensive especially the house but if you want to stay in province you can save more money ...

Only lived in Angeles and it's not the cheapest place by far. But I do feel you loose a lot in quality of life trying to save or live cheap.

Hi pricilla
     I live in makati the rent i pay is 2lacs per month electricity and water around 20000
Grocery comes around 60000 this includs indian grocery. Dining out will cost you around 50000 and also depends on the resturants you choose as indian resturants are very pricy.if you have kids cost of schoolling is around 2lac etc etc.there is lot of indian community specially sindhis and punjabis.
            Having said all of the above  i will never recommend this country to anyone.

Johnsi ~ What currency are you using?

dok49 has a good response...

For no apparent reason, Calamba City seems to be much more expensive for shopping than elsewhere, including Manila.  There is virtually no expat community - and costs may be part of that reason.  Renting is much more expensive than other places, even larger cities nearby e.g. Santa Rosa and Los Banos. 

Calamba City has all of the disadvantages of a big city, and very few of the advantages, while it has all of the disadvantages of a provincial village, and none of the charm.  Horrible traffic, overcrowding, pollution are even worse than Manila.  At the same time, the three main supermarkets, SM, WalterMart and PureGold carry a much smaller range of goods than elsewhere, and the most common commodity I've found here is 'no stock'.  Every place has 'no stock' in abundance!   I need a rubber stamp.  All the places you'd expect to do rubber stamps have the same answer:  Go to Manila.  It's the same buying hardware, tools etc.  Expensive as Lazada is, it's often cheaper than the one or two stores in Calamba that stock power tools, for example. 

Rents are very expensive, and many of the places that are for rent are unsuitable for a dog in my opinion.  In rented apartments the toilet pedestal is kindergarten size with no flushing - it's a bucket job.  And what's a toilet seat/cover?  Not in rented apartments!

Well, Rusty Fox..... Why are you living there?

Bob18 ~ I was going to ask the same question  hahaha

It's where my wife is from and she doesn't want to move away from her family.  I'd much rather be living on Leyte, Cebu or Negros - I've been to all three and like them all. But I love my wife even more... so it's here for some time.

I see.....      We are certainly all different of course., but based on how you  (rusty fox)  describe the city you live in,  and if I were in your situation, I would try to have one of those talks with the wife attempting to explain to her that the relationship would be fantastically enhanced if she would move to where you might be much happier.

Hi bob18 - We've had the talk many times, and she's coming around slowly.  Most of the problem is that not only is she very close to Nanay and her two sisters (father died when she was 9), but she doesn't know what the rest of the Philippines is like.  She's only been to places within about 30 km of Calamba, the beach somewhere near Batangas City, and Manila a few times - mostly Divisoria.  We've recently got a car, so we're going to drive to a few places further afield.  My step-mother is from Pangasinan, and her cousin lives there with her ex-pat hubby (an old friend of my father's) - we're going to visit them when they get back to the Philippines.  I'm hoping that when she sees what other parts of the Philippines are like, she'll be more interested in moving.

Simply tell your wife that moving to where you will enjoy life more is not a problem because your cousin's, step-mother  etc. will be down to visit you fairly often.  Maybe more than you wish!  Your wife will have no worries there...

I live on Bohol, fronting the old city of Cebu, 1 hour by Ferry from Tubigon. Traveled all over for years. Pollution  be it garbage, noise, air, traffic, or crime,   you can't beat the central Visayas. There is a place for every lifestyle here!

I think it all depends on what you are buying , if you are buying local products, it will be cheaper than imported products. I have seen those imported products which is costed at 3 times here compared to Singapore and especially those of Electronics and milk powder.

For this various reasons, I will try to buy the local products in PHP.

Hello Prakash Terence

A couple of things come to mind. 
Firstly, can you find any good electronic products manufactured here in the Philippines, so you might buy locally made?   
Second, while locally grown meat and produce is certainly cheaper here; have you, for example researched the amount of growth hormone that is in the chicken feed which farmers here will use?
Also, what crop sprays and fertilizers are in use here which may be banned elsewhere?
Furthermore, out in the province, have you observed what pigs eat in those backyard piggeries?
I hope the milk powder you drink here is healthy for you...       

bob 18, I lived in Cebu City from 1999 to 2014 and coming back soon. I am also aware of the chemicals used in the food there. I developed some serious medical problems and I will always wonder if the chemicals used in the food there had something to do with it. I believe they are still using DTT there to some extent. More and more farms are being taken over by Dole and I am researching now to see if they are practicing safer agriculture.  Dole produce is pricier than grown on the local Philippine farms. I will gladly pay more for safe food. From what I understand all the fruit and vegetables are sprayed with some chemicals to preserve them so they will hold up better.  This is also the case with fish especially. So some research needs to be done by me.

I live in Baguio. It isn't too bad. The water is high depending on what part of Baguio that you live in. Rents are a little  higher than some places, but I have my own condo and don't have to worry about that. Anyway, you dont need aircon and that saves a lot.

I have a friend that lives in Ayala Alabang and it is expensive there. I don't know if it is as expensive as Makati.

Hi Johnsi

After reading your message at the end your recommendation in fact shocked me. Why do you say you will never recommend philippines to anyone.

I am only trying to comprehend your message. Having been to philippines several times, I find these people very friendly in so many ways. Please don't make an assumption if you have not lived in many areas of this country.

I find Filipinos in fact the most friendliest culture ever compared to all asian countries. I have been to several asian countries and I have some idea of the culture in general.

I am sorry you feel this way, I hope you understand my comments and experience,

Cheers

Hi Dok
You are correct, Angeles city is becoming quite expensive these days. I have been to this colourful and vibrant city and find that it is getting little expensive.
Cheers