Well, I've only lived here
for a little more than a year, but in Filipino time (sorta like "dog
years") that makes me an expert.
Let me caveat all of this by
pointing out that Angeles is considered a high priced place for housing
and the like relative to other places in the Philippines. Move out to
there, and I fully believe you can cut your costs in half, maybe
more.
Let me double-caveat it by saying
that I am a "Value Charlie". I'm not a "Cheap Charlie" so to speak,
rather I like to get something for my money.
All prices are in US
Dollars.
1. Housing
I've seen people living EXTREMELY
cheaply (sub-$1000 US/month) and I've seen people living large (over
$4000 US/month). The main difference is where you live and what you do
every day. If you want to live in a little shack with no toilet seats
and just screw your girlfriend, you can do so comfortably for $30-40 a
month, rent-wise, and whatever you can negotiate with your honeyko. If
you decide to run with the bulls and live in a secure compound and hit
the bars every night, expect to pay $250 or more a month for rent and
another couple grand for bar fines and tip.
From my experience, the "secure"
compounds would be Josephaville II, Hensonville, or the Oasis
compounds. In the middle would be the "semi-secure" compounds like
Diamond, Josephaville I, Villa Sol, and the like. Basically, rents in
squatters shacks should be around $30-40/month, rent for a 3 br/2 bath
house in "semi-secure" compounds should run you about $120/mo. And rent
in a secure compound will cost around $200+/month.
Houses for sale in Angeles City
vary in both quality and price. But, by nearly any standard, they are
very affordable. A comfortable 4 bedroom/3 bath house in one of the
better compounds will run about $30,000. That same house will rent for
less than $300/month. Generally, foreign nationals must rent due to the
Constitutional restriction prohibiting foreign ownership of Philippine
land (except with narrow exceptions).
2. Utilities.
No bargains here. Power is just
about the same as the States (mine runs about $50/mo. For a 3 br/2 bath
house with 3 TV's, a computer, 2 fridges, and an aircon. Cable TV is
about the same as the states ($12/mo. for basic cable). Phone is about
the same too, though I'd say international calls will cost you dearly.
Internet dialup service: same.
3. Food.
Now here you can save lots of
money. For example, I bought 2 kilograms of tenderloin beef imported
from Australia for about $5 yesterday, vacuum-packed and fresh from a
reputable local butcher. If you send your honeyko or whomever to the AC
market, you'll get great prices on vegetables of good quality, and
great prices on meat and fish of questionable quality. If you dine
every day at restaurants as I tend to, you will probably have a very
hard time spending $5-7 a day to eat at a nice place.
4. Transportation.
Expect to get screwed with this
one. ANYTHING imported gets taxed to the point where you might even pay
100% over US or Euro prices. Whether it's a motorcycle or a car, if
it's imported you will be screwed. Now, to minimize the screwing I'd
suggest the following:
a) Buy your vehicle of choice in
Manila. Angeles is a known target of price jacking because of the
foreigner presence.
b) Use http://www.kellybluebook.com
to figure out the US value of the vehicle, then visit the local customs
office to calculate the taxes that the vehicle should cover, add the
two and you will have a fair market value. Also, use the local paper
classifieds to determine the value, for example
http://www.buyandsellph.com.
c) If you can, drive a motorcycle
or a scooter under 200cc's because they are not taxed, assembled in the
Philippines and therefore relatively cheap.
d) Whatever vehicle you elect to
drive, make sure its got a kosher registration. There are lots of
illegally registered vehicles in the Philippines (ie, brought in
without taxes paid), so before you buy, take the vehicle and
registration paperwork by the local Barangay for advance
clearance.
e) Labor is cheap. Remember that.
So before you buy, have a local mechanic go through an exhaustive
review of the vehicle. Also keep in mind, repainting, engine work, or
whatever is not going to cost you very much. Parts will. So if you want
to buy something that needs work, make sure it's labor-intensive, not
parts-intensive.
5. Housework.
Cheap, cheap, cheap. Expect to pay
around $4-7/day for service in general. For example, if you have a
yard-boy who works once a week on your lawn, you'll probably give him
about $5 for a day's work. If you have a maid who comes in two times a
week, you'll probably give her around $10/week. If you have a live-in
housekeeper, you might give her $60/month or so for full-time cooking,
cleaning, etc. while providing room and board. Labor is
cheap.
By: Tourist Bob
February 17, 2001
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