Where is the best place to live in the Philippines

Omo
What sort of budget do you usually allocate for seeking "the remainder of one's life IN PEACE and not being bored to death, in the process?”
This at least will give a rough idea of the prospects/best location that your budget range can provide.
What sort of budget do you allocate for seeking "the remainder of one's life IN PEACE and not being bored to death, in the process?”  - @manwonder

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Great question Man, and no-one's allowed to answer US$100,000,000 1f600.svg

Manwonder quote. . . . .What sort of budget do you usually allocate for seeking "the remainder of one's life IN PEACE and not being bored to death, in the process?”

Ask Prince Andrew

Omo
What sort of budget do you usually allocate for seeking "the remainder of one's life IN PEACE and not being bored to death, in the process?”
This at least will give a rough idea of the prospects/best location that your budget range can provide.
- @manwonder


Replace 'budget' with 'phrase'. How about this: " I want my cake and eat it to"
Dumaguete sucked - plain and simple.  There were some greman guys that were bullying everybody on 'the strip' while we were there.  The locals didn't like it...  We weren't there long!

On panay island we found Iloilo - a big and very rich city.  It was pricy.  We went all the way around.  Sna Jose de Buenavista is on the water and nice, in an interesting area, too.  Anitki, As I remember.  But there literally were no canos...  and in Roxas City, also very nice, there were even fewer.

Some have asked - what do you want?  Just to live out the remainder of my life IN PEACE and not be bored to death, in the process. 

So I add my voice to the question, 'where should we go?'

We could always stick around here and wait for the nukes to fall...
- @The Cold War Kid
Whats bad with few foreigners???  1f923.svg   You told a bad effect of expats in Dumaguete yourself , and a biger part of expats than they are in our home countries are sexpats and/or what I call "bar people" who drink to much alcohol, who I wouldnt want to socialice with anyway...
In the parts of Palawan, which I mensioned in earlier post,  I know three foreigners there, all are nice - well one of them is a bit grumpy  :) - and there are a few more who I dont know.
There are very peaceful places there.

Concerning not geting bored:
To avoid geting bored you can start a business there and see what crazy things officials make...   When officials screwed up as most, my tribe business partner lost hope a while by all crazy obstacles, but I said to him
-Its so crazy so it become a funny story, which you can tell your grandkids when you are old and tell them how the - then big - business started  1f923.svg
Then we laughted about it and went on solving it.   (Most are solved now. One permit left before we can start adding jobs there to poor tribe people.)

I have allready mensioned to him my idea of adding a fiesta similar to Swedish Midsummer  - the family day part, not the evening drunk part  :)  -   Later when the business have profit to sponsor it with.

I have never got bored - except ONE Sunday when I were around 10 years old and a part was missing to something I had made and were eager to finnish and start using, but shops were closed because it was Sunday.
There are so many fun hobbies so there arent enough time to do all... When my father had retired he was TO SHORT of time for his hobbies so he wondered how he had managed before he retited   :)     (He:  Music, play and organice boccia league, participate in quiz competitions, exersice profesional dogs...)   Before internet added more and before I got injuried so I cant do many of them, I counted not even if I would skip sleeping I wouldnt have time for all my hobbies...   :)

Kids are fun, so if my injury get solved enough and if I will want to get more to do, I think of coaching kids basketball localy in Phils.  (I have coached junior/senior basketball in Sweden.)

So there are a lot to do, so never need to be bored anywhere...
What sort of budget do you usually allocate for seeking "the remainder of one's life IN PEACE and not being bored to death, in the process?”  This at least will give a rough idea of the prospects/best location that your budget range can provide.  - @manwonder

Good question Manwonder. And, must say, we're well and truly settled in Palawan, and happy living between Palawan and Australia. We're certainly comfortable and well satisfied with the life we have worked to create.

But, if we were new to Palawan, I'd say you'd currently be wanting something around US$125,000 cash in hand, and around a US$2,500 per month income?  This should set a couple up quite well, keeping you both suitably happy, and reasonably well satisfied with your daily lives. By the way, this sum would include a maid/cook and driver/gardener couple and a solid, comfortable and attractive new home.

Bear in mind this is in mid-2022 we're talking, so you'd want the monthly income to be cost-of-living indexed.

We aren't talking mansions and gourmet and frequent overseas jaunts, just a happy, simple and settled life, and enjoying a reasonably comfortable lifestyle.
To answer the OP - Thailand is more developed than the Philippines, so moving here will always involve some trade-offs and risk analysis.And it won't necessarily be less expensive.  I would personally never move back to Cebu City due to the congestion, pollution and trash everywhere. But I do miss some of the restaurants, lol, and availability of stuff you want/need that we can get at home. Not always available in smaller cities and towns.

Just speaking for the Visayas, as I have never lived on Luzon - I have found there is a nice balance in both Panglao and Dumaguete area. Have lived in both and they are cleaner and quite livable but not as cheap as other areas due to higher pricing for land, rent, and various other things.. because of the demand. The same would apply to a lesser extent to Bacolod, Iloilo and Ormoc. Less expensive but fewer services.

Of course you have to look for a suitable part of any city to live in that suits what you want. For example Dumaguete itself is a bit congested (nothing like Cebu City) but there are cooler highland areas up towards Valencia to the West and nice beach and diving areas near Dauin to the south. It is a university town which is great. And there are also lots of expats, which brings both pluses and minuses. More folks to hang out with, if that's your thing (not mine) and better restaurants :)

Everywhere in world there is poverty you want to know where there is less of it here. Makati!

Makati!
@Wayne 07

perhaps. but it has a slueth of other probems preventing it to be as attractive as others think it is.
But, if we were new to Palawan, I'd say you'd currently be wanting something around US$125,000 cash in hand, and around a US$2,500 per month income?  This should set a couple up quite well, keeping you both suitably happy, and reasonably well satisfied with your daily lives. By the way, this sum would include a maid/cook and driver/gardener couple and a solid, comfortable and attractive new home.
- @PalawOne
Lower needed budget for me by
/Rural away from city and hot tourist spots cost much less than them. How much less depend of how "posh" wanted. 
(I did spend very litle back when I earned as most too by being economic - not kuripot (=stingy)    :)   E g many of my hobbies cost to buy the equipment but (almost) nothing to use so in the long run its very low cost.  (As billiard, music instruments, small sailing boat, geneology, dance, nature, writing, table tennis, chess, canoe...)
((My "dream house" will cost though, but start with a minimalistic home needed anyway to guard the a second business some expensive equipment built together with the manufactory. Thjs living section is planned to hand over to employee when the "dream house" is built 200 meters or so behind it out of sight and reduced noice by forest in between.))

/I hardly want wife and kids living in same house as me  1f923.svg   so sure no maid.  Not having any full time employee for personal service, but having some working in the business, they can do some for me personal things too as e g cut grass, driving fetching things when needed.
((No maid of security reason too - Filipinos are world champions in tsismis =gossiping they say themselves    :)    So not showing any private equipment for anyone except wife and kids - by not leting anyone else to the separate second floor. Bottom floor made to have visitors, but not even a TV there   :)    But a combined billiard/table tennis/dining table. Beside the billiard, the modification is low cost.))
@Cherryann01

The only cool place in the Philippines of any size is Baguio. At 5,000 feet it's cool year round, but extremely rainy June, July and august.  We lived there for 4 years. Tagaytay is 2,500 feet and relatively cool. There are some cool areas near Davao City, but they are at least an hour away from the city.
If you want a country that has lots of "cool" cities then the central plateau of Mexico can't be beat.