What Things Cost — Getting It Right
My apologies that this post was “borked” with the partial HTML mess. I can not just delete it as certain links already point here, so the post is republished in it’s entirety in the next post. Thanks also to those who took the time to tell me about the problem and tried to help as well, it is much appreciated.
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September 26th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Now thats what im talking about no fluff. I find your information here on the costs of living there very interesting and well put.
Can you answer me this? As a soon(perhaps) to be retired federal employee I will have Federal Employees Bluecross health plan, do you know of anyone retired there using this type of healthcare in the hospitals there. This is not TriCare that retired military vets use.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Maayong Buntag
From what I have read about moving to the Philippines it is by far better to rent. Almost all expats will tell you this. The only reason I could see in buying is to hedge against inflation. The thing is that I have been noticing rampant inflation in the Philippines on almost everything but housing. The price of houses and property seem to be going up but at a much slower pace than say food or petro. The rate housing in the Philippines seem to be going up is much slower than the return on investments. Could I get your assessment on the rate of inflation on housing in the Philippines?
September 26th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Hi Dave,
This is what I do not like about the price of a house and lot in the Philippines.As a Fil-am here in Las Vegas for 25 years, I do not know why they are comparing those prices here in the US.The price of a house and lot there is GOLD!Just like today, I found a 40 year old 1600 sq. ft 4 bedroom house here in a 5500 sq. ft. lot for $69,900 for sale, with a two-car attached garage included!The prices of houses here is less than twice the amount three months ago due to the mortgage crisis.Even new homes in your recent post on Brentville are more expensive than here.It is way overpriced and overblown.Like you, it will be a very wise decision for me just to rent than be one of those suckers who will buy those very high priced homes.Those prices need to come down on a 1990s level, and even so, I might not even reconsider unless I could call 911 and help will come in an average of seven minutes or less if my house is on fire or when I am having a heart attack….
September 27th, 2008 at 12:02 am
i should have said less than half on my previous comment. by the way dave, you might be able to rent a cheaper house if you let your wife or someone you trust to look for it.for sure, they will jack up the price whenever a foreigner is involve.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:45 am
@Neal in RI: Hi Neal, thanks so much for dropping by and for your question. I may feature health insurance on an upcomming Q and A post, becuase it often comes up. But to answer you specifically and immediately … I know very well the insurance you are speking of, I am a retired (CSRS) federal employee with 38 years service. Your Blue Cross is under your FEHB, Federal Employees Health Beneits plan. (For those others who are reading this, be careful … Blue Cross is not necessarily the same as someone else’s “Blue Cross” … there are more than 50 “Blue Cross” plans in the US alone … I am only talking the FEHB version)
The FEHB Blue Cross plan is one of about 6 plans IIRC that cober fed retirees world-wide. Each plan pays ‘reasonable and customary’ charges in accordance with the plan limits. But there is no hospital in the Philippines so far as I know where you can walk in and drop your card on the counter and let them bill Blue Cross for your care. You almost always must pay for care up front and then recover later from your plan on your own. It’s the way it works in the Philippines. Medicine here is essentially a cash business, period. This is a big negative factor to some. The poitive ‘balance’ of the equation is, health care costs are so low here it really doesn’t make much differnce to me. Obviously, YMMV.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:52 am
@Larry: Hi Larry, thnaks for writing. My assessment regarding single-family housing is it is quite overpriced at the higher end, will continue to rise for a short time and likely take a big tumble as it has in the US. In my neighborhood I have watched several houses in the PhP 4 million rnage that have been for sale for years. One just sold last month for PhP 2.8. The others are just gathering dust. The market is slow, real estate marketing prcatices are frequently archaic and inspite of the “sunshine” being pumped every day here by government officals, the Philippines is going to suffer right along with the US … there is generlally a business ‘lag’, so what happends in the US will be refelcted here some months later. That’s my thoughts … how accurate they are you cna detemine in a year or so
September 27th, 2008 at 2:09 am
@ED M.: Ummm anyone who can find a cheaper equivilent house in my area is welcome to try. Even the ones wihtout wiring and with missing toilets typical ask for more. Mine was in tip-top shape when we moved in … a rarity, indeed. Seriously, how much cheaper than $150 a month for a house and lot in the Metro Manila commuting area, 10 minutes from the NLEX, 10 minutes from an SM mall were you really thinking of, Ed?
While it is true that in some cases a foreigner might get gouged I find that to be mainly a misconception. In fact, especially with real estate deals, many Filipinos, trying their best, will fall for a ‘fairy tale’ story that someone with 40 years of buying/selling/renting and landlording may see through. Every deal is different. While I may get taken someday (I don’t see any place I have been significantly cheated here … yet) I feel I ‘make tawad’ … get the best price … more often than not. No one, of any nationality bats 1,000 in the game of life.
Personally, if I started each day thinking I was going to get cheated becuase I was a foreigner I would leave tomorrow. I just won’t live that way and I don’t advise anyone else to … coming here with the thought that you are going to be continually cheated is a recipe for unhappiness … in my opinion, of course.
September 27th, 2008 at 2:30 am
@ED M.: You won’t get much arguement from me on this issue. I will sya, though, that those Brentille houses are very exspenses becuase of the ‘brand’ and to me, appeal only tothose who insist on such ‘branding’. I publicized them only becuase so fellow Amercans continually request info especially on “International Schools” and such, so I try to provide for all tastes.
You bring up an intersting point also, that I have written about before and probably should write about again. Americans (and I’m one of them, so I can say this, even if some don’t like it) lhave it food (the poorest person who can afford to read this website is rich beyong the dreams of literlaly millions of Filipinos) and the US enjoys absolute rock bottom property and income tax rates compared with any other developed country. In the Philippines you don’t get 911 service (except in Makati and Davao City). You don’t get police who come when you call about a neighbor’s loud music. You don’t get public libraries, high school auditoriums, municpal bulding inspectors, zoning officers or even mail delivery.
People continually ask about the ‘cost of living’ here. The answer is, it’s low. But if you expect low cost of living coupled with theknd of service a homeowner or even apartment tennat in the US gets, you are looking in the wrong place. Don’t get me wrong, I like it here and plan to stay, but the guys who tout this as a “Pardise” are perhaps glossing over a few of the finer points.
September 27th, 2008 at 8:28 am
@ED M.: ED, not to sound like too much od\f a wise ass, but one thing I forgot to mention about this excellent sample you brought up … you would have to pay me to live in that house, becuase … it’s way, way, way to hot for me in Las Vegas. LV is actually a nice town with many jobs and a not bad taxes and services structure … but the heat … don’t know how the residents there get used to it. Come visit Manila soon and cool off
September 27th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Im sure the Latest COLA increase will go much further there in RP than here.
September 27th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
@Neal in RI: You’re thinking there will be a Federal COLA this year? I plan to grow shoulder length hair too then. I’m pretty darn sure that money will go to pay George’s golfing buddies at AIG … think what a 3 or 4% bump in _their_ salaries would represent. I’m pretty sur the Social Security COLA will go through, becuase even retired multi-billionaire’s get Social security … and boy do they bitch when they don’t get a bump, you know. Or when the little bowl of sugar substitute envelopes in the restaraunt is empty so they can’t fill their purse with freebies.