Today’s Guest Blog Column is from Vicki Indiati. It is a very interesting piece about Dumaguete, which is a place that I hear a lot of positive comment about! Thank you, Vicki, for putting together this very informative piece! Let’s see what Vicki has to say:
Dumaguete is not to big and not to small, it’s just about right. Just ask the 4,000 or so foreigners who call Dumaguete home. After the Robinson Mall is built in about one year’s time, it will be almost perfect. Most of the voids we presently have such as good coffee
establishments, a real heath club/gym, more varied restaurants and a more sophisticated supermarket and department store will be filled and trips to Cebu for shopping will be greatly diminished. The understanding is Starbucks, Bo’s Coffee, Gold’s Gym, Robinson’s Supermarket and many more restaurants will be coming along with more specialty shops. There is an Airport located 10 minutes from downtown with two daily flight coming from and going to Manila and you can get to and from Cebu in a few hours time by Bus, Car or Ferry.
Geography – Dumaguete is a lovely seaside town a stones throw away from: Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor and on a clear day you can even see Mindanao. Rizal is the seaside boulevard where many restaurants and hotels are located and where many foreigners tend to congregate. There is also a beautiful walkway right by the water on Rizal and on any given morning or evening hundreds of more people come to walk, exercise, hangout and enjoy the beautiful view of the sea and other islands. The weather is probably not different than any other place in the country with rain and sunshine more or less depending on season.
Foreign Population – about 4,000, mostly German, Swiss, American, British, Canadian and Australian. Mostly retired or semi-retired.
Housing Rentals – When you speak of renting in Dumaguete you can also bring into the picture the towns of Valencia, Bacong, and Dauin which are no more than 15 – 20 minutes away from the city proper. Dauin and Bacong are on the sea and Valencia is an elevated town about 700 – 1700 feet above sea level and views to match. Thus you can have the best of all worlds as to where to live. Rentals range from P4000 to P50,000 monthly depending on size and location. This is perhaps the most inflated cost of living in a place with so many foreigners. The typical house suitable for a westernized foreigner with family will run closer to P15,000 if not P20,000 monthly.
Housing Purchase – There are many houses for sale now due to a depreciated dollar. You can find beautiful seaside houses with good lots sizes from about P5 million to P15 million. Otherwise houses on the market range from about P2 million to P18 million. Many have pools and western standards of construction.
Property –This also tends to be higher than other places. Beachfront P800 to P3,000 per sqm. Valencia about P250 – P1500 sqm.
Housing Construction – There is one awesome builder here who builds for many of the foreigners at about P20,000 per sqm for a high quality turn-key house. Just put in your appliances. There are other good builders here as well.
Roads – The national highway which runs north and south of the city is a very good road. Unfortunately, many of the roads in the city limits leave much to be desired and some in particular are so pot hole ridden they can present a danger to motorists.
Traffic – hundreds of tricycles and motor scooters call Dumaguete home and they tend to get in the way of cars and trucks. Nevertheless, it is fun to navigate around them and no doubt Dumaguete is a great place to hone your driving skills. There are no lights as the town is really too small for them.
Eating & Food – There are many restaurants of different food types here and food prices are affordable. As for specialty grocery food items, you will find some imported stuff in Lee Plaza the current and only real supermarket now in town (Robinsons’s will change that thankfully) and at Why Not. Why Not located on Rizal. has European style breads and meats available at their restaurant Delicatessen.
Entertainment – Why Not is both a restaurant and at night has a disco in the back. It is a very popular place for both locals and foreigners. There are also other places for dancing and listening to music
Schools, Hospitals and Places of Worship– 5 Colleges and Universities I think and just as many Hospitals. No doubt a great place to educate your kids or seek good medical attention. Also many quality schools for younger students. Hundreds of Churches abound.
Sports & Hobbies – There are two 9 hole golf courses. One is in town and the other 15 minutes away. Then there is Pamplona a true 18 hole course about 40 minutes out of town. A tennis club and a gym are located is in town. A Texas Hold’em game most nights in town, Billard halls and cock fighting arenas of course. Some of the best scuba diving in the country is located in Dauin and Apo Island. There are many Internet cafes that cater to gamers and plenty of DVD movie stores.
Hang outs – There are probably five main hangouts and they all revolve around drinking and eating – Why Not, Annabelle’s, Happy Fred’s, Coco Amigos and McDonalds. All are located on Rizal except McDonalds. They all have their own loyal clientele and if you want to meet foreigners these are the places to go. By the way, foreigners are very friendly and helpful here. For the most part the English speaking countries hang out together while the German and Swiss do the same amongst themselves.
Social Life – Dumaguete is both a great town to be single as well as involved in a relationship. Many of the foreigners here including myself are in relationships.
Conclusion - All in all I would have to say Dumaguete is the best of all worlds. I honestly think any foreigner would be happy living here. Dumaguete is laid back, friendly, pretty, and very safe place to live.
