It has been three months of mayhem in Sosua, in the Dominican Republic. It’s where I decided to start my global adventure for one simple reason: it’s the cheapest place to live in the Caribbean.
No. 5: Dumaguete, Philippines
Here you’ll find one of the best places for beachfront living on a budget. Dumaguete is among the cheapest places in the world to live, according to the Retire Overseas Index. The climate is hot and humid. (Dumaguete is protected against most of typhoons in the Philippines.)
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LINH DINH • SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 :
What are the challenges of living where you are as a foreigner?
Yes, the Philippines is a 2nd world country. It does not have the newest of everything. “Time” is not their master, “tomorrow” (if you are lucky) is better than today.
I am on a rural line. Up until recently we would have an electric blackout two or three times a week, for hours at a time. Recently it is only a few times a month, sometimes for a short time, and sometimes for half a day, occasionally for the whole day.
Roads may be closed with no warnings. Water can stop with no warning. Electricity can stop with no warning. The doctor may decide not to come in for the day. Some products way not be available for a month or ??. Parades may block the road and slow things to a stop.
I am in the central Visayas, Negros Oriental Island, in a city called Dumaguete City. It is rated as the best city for foreigners because it has six universities and lots of colleges so most people speak English. With all the education and training here a great number of its people through the years have managed to get off shore worker jobs and the families here appreciate foreigners. Those who return from off shore are broad minded. With lots of students and educators, it is a friendly place. Traffic is reasonable and not yet a shit-hole like Cebu and Manila.
The Americans I meet every day for coffee, in general are OK, but the ignorant and prejudiced ones whine and complain about everything all the time. Our city here has no traffic lights, no stop signs, people drive on the wrong side of the road, they drive on the sidewalks, they park anywhere, halfway into the road is not a problem. Vehicle lights at night are not required. Seven people on a motorbike-taxi is how people get to out-of-the-way places. Coming into town, it is regular to see a pig or a goat across the saddle, or 20 chickens tied on, all on their way to market.
Driving here is a choreography. It has to be, with no traffic lights and no stop signs. Once one learns the steps it is a snap. To a new American it is hell on earth, because they do not read the raised eyebrow, or a subtle change of a few degrees indicating where the other must go, a very slight slowdown or speed up, which tells the opposite number what to do. Pedestrians by law have the right of way. They just walk out. Once again, the vehicles and the pedestrian have a body language, they will just walk across right in the middle of a stream of traffic, each knowing where to go.
Some years back they passed laws for motorbike helmets. That lasted about a week. Every now and then they will have a blitz on them. Lasts about half a day. Coming into town occasionally there will be a whole crowd of motorbikes stopped next to the road. That means check point.
Half have no helmets and the other half have not registered their motorbikes for a few years or do not have a driver’s license. They wait an hour, the cops lose interest and life returns to normal.
Road rage is not a good thing for a foreigner. It could end up with a machete to the head or a bullet in the back.
I’ve driven a motorbike for 10 years, never a scratch! You just learn the choreography of traffic chaos.
Most of the police here have a four-year degree in criminology. They are intelligent and empathetic.
The police are very polite. Just a little different from what I was used to.
Capital and serious crimes here are not crimes against the state and if nobody lays a charge, no crime has been committed. This is an interesting freedom to live with, as opposed to goons wanting to catch everybody all the time for something.
The secondary spinoff of this freedom from the state, is that the police themselves will try to fix a problem right on the spot. A cop could say to a “criminal,” “Give that man back the pig you stole from him, and give him $20. Don’t do that again.”
Because the state here is not trying to “catch” everybody all the time, weeks can go by without seeing a policeman in the city or on the highway. Things here work just fine.
For people who understand the dance steps it is the freest place they have ever lived.
Americans who do not understand the dance have more than enough to complain about.
Since the “Recession” in 2008, the Chinese have poured billions in here and every day it is beginning to progress to the same insanity as North America. Prices have risen exponentially. My chosen toothpaste was P95 last week. Today it’s P130.
The fast food chains have all arrived. There are ten watering holes on any block and prices are cheap. The hospitals are getting steadily better, and 1/100th the price of the US.
The people are exceptionally polite and friendly.
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Quora:
I’m assuming you’re a White Christian Male from a Western Country and only speak English. In this case, the Philippines wins hands down, for many reasons. The girls will be culturally compatible with you, because they are mostly Christian (Roman Catholic) and speak English. They will be open to dating you and in fact will be keen on marriage and moving to your country. I’m told that Cebu is the best place to meet girls, but anywhere else (except for the Muslim areas) will be ideal. You should give yourself at least 2 weeks and approach girls online before you fly in, so you can set up a number of dates already when you get there. It really works, I can vouch for it. But, you can also go to the usual places, malls, bars, discos, etc… and meet girls that way, but it is less likely to end in a long-term relationship. Indonesia and Thailand are also decent options, as is Eastern Europe (the Baltics, Ukraine and Siberia in particular), but the language barrier will certainly be an issue.
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For a White American/British/German man I can only say: Southeastern Asia. I have been Thailand twice and both times saw many, many instances of white men with the local girls. A horny white man can make a girlfriend overnight in those big Thai cities. I'm not even going to talk about prostitution.
Black men seem to do OK in China where I lived for many years, as did white men. But Southeast Asia is where you will find many men with girlfriends 20/30 years plus younger and everybody accepts it
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Maroc (Agadir):
- Commentaire You Tube: I Love Agadir. Beautiful Location. Nice People. Always Sunny.
- Commentaire You Tube: Une grande partie de agadiris maîtrisent très bien le français, et même mieux que mes compatriotes. Ils sont accueillants, respectueux, chaleureux, ne font pas des réflexions mal placées comme la plupart des français.
- Commentaire You Tube: Im moroccan ...i consider agadir one of the best cities in morocco...especially the weather besides people there are very kind and peacefull
- Commentaire You Tube: I think that agadir is a very nice place with friendly people, nice beaches, good food. Maybe one day agadir will be as it was in the 90s. I will still come back to agadir, just because of the very friendly people. ❤️
Discussion Forum Youp: Maroc quelle ville choisir ?
Agadir sans hésiter.. On approche des 45° sur Kech, et crois-moi si t'as pas l'habitude ça va clairement impacter ton programme.
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oui Agadir la seule et vraie station balnéaire du Maroc!! je privilège la chasse de jour soit de jeunes gazelles cool ou quelques MILFS en manque sinon au Maroc, ne pas oublier que rien n'est gratuit, mais bien souvent 1 petit Momo aux yeux bleus est suffissant
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Je conseille toujours pour les newbies les deux valeurs sures ou les parcours de galipettes marocaines sont labelisés Office du tourisme : Kech et Agadir. Par contre, tu t'y retrouves difficilement au niveau du rapport qualité/prix. Préférence pour Agadir, avec l'Océan en fond et plus relax à tous les niveaux.
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But if you are Vietnam then take the 1 hour ferry or 1.5 hour taxi ride from HCMC to Vung Tau. 20 or so girlie bars. Relaxed beach side town compared to hustle and bustle of HCMC. Biggest concentration of girlie bars in VN. Great for a few days.
