In 2002, it became evident that we would be moving, as I spelled out in my last article. That move brought us to the City of Davao! Davao City is about 2 to 3 hours drive North of General Santos where we used to live.
Davao City is the largest City in Mindanao, with a Metropolitan Area of more than 2 Million people. The Metropolitan Area is the third largest in the Philippines, following only Metro Manila and Metro Cebu. The City its the largest City in terms of population in the Philippines, outside Metro Manila. So, it is a large City.
However, in many ways, Davao City has a small town feel to it. When you go out and around town, you often see people that you know, or people that you are familiar with and exchange a quick wave, nod of the head, or say “hi” to people all over town.
There is a saying in Davao that the City covers “The Islands to the Highlands” referring to the fact that on the same day you can go cruise around Samal Island or Talikud in the Gulf of Davao, and in only a couple of hours be on the tallest mountain in the Philippines, Mt. Apo. You can be in a downtown metro area, and just 30 minutes or an hour later be at Eden Nature Park or Malagos Gardens, very secluded eco-tour areas. Davao really seems to offer any kind of atmosphere you might want.
Davao also has a reputation of being a very progressive area. In many areas, Davao is sort of a leader. The coffee culture of the Philippines all got started in Davao with some of the earliest up-scale coffee shops in the country. Following that, Davao led the way with free WiFi connectivity at many public places – Coffee Shops, Hotels, Restaurants, even some Gas Stations offer WiFi! I am only aware of one place in Davao where you must pay for WiFi access and that is at the Marco Polo Hotel. There may be others places, but I am not aware of them.
Davao has two major Festivals each year. On March 16 is the Araw ng Davao, or the Day of Davao. This is the celebration of the City Charter, and creation of the City. There is a big parade, street dancing and such. The streets are full of revelers, the malls are full of shoppers. People are just out having a good time! Business seems to almost come to a standstill at this time! The kids are out of school for Araw ng Davao, of course.
The second major festival of Davao is the Kadayawan Festival, which is held in mid-August. Kadayawan is the BIG festival of Davao. It celebrates the harvest season, particularly the harvest of fruits that are native to the Davao Region. And, of course, what is the king of fruits in Davao? Durian! Anybody who is a true Dabawenyo has to be a Durian eater! I know that I am! When you go around Davao during Kadayawan, the streets are lined with fruits of many kinds being sold at very low prices. Durian can be purchased as low as P15 per Kilo during Kadayawan. To show how good that is, I recently purchased a Durian and while the vendor started off at P130/Kilo, I got him down to P100/Kilo, still about 6+ times higher than you can get it during Kadayawan!
One thing that I hear from a lot of people who are considering moving to the Philippines is that they are worried about Typhoons. Well, Davao is south of the typhoon belt. Ever since weather records have been kept, there has never been a typhoon that ever hit Davao. It simply is not a worry here. The weather in Davao also remains fairly constant all 12 months. We do not have a rainy season and a dry season here. It can rain any time of the year. Usually, though, in Davao, rain happens at nighttime. It rarely rains during the day here. Of course, it happens from time to time, but not often.
Being a central hub for shipments of fruits and vegetables grown throughout the Davao Region (Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley and Davao City), Davao really has an abundance of good fruits and vegetables, and at low prices too.
No place is perfect, though, and there are some things in Davao that are making me weary. Like what? The biggest issue is traffic. Traffic in Davao has gotten terrible over the years, as I’ve mentioned several times in recent months on this site. It has gotten to the point where if it is rush hour, getting around the City can be a real headache. Lately, there has even been talk of implementing an odd/even system where cars could be on the major City streets on only days that match the odd or even numbers of their license plate numbers. So, traffic is becoming a concern here. Another big downside in Davao is that the drainage here is very poor. Even a hard rain for 15 minutes an practically bring the City to it’s knees with severe flooding. This can be a major hassle.
OK, probably the most controversial thing about Davao is something of a touchy issue, but I will address it briefly. I hear from a lot of people concerned about extra-judicial killings in Davao. There is a sort of “unofficial” group, some say, called the Davao Death Squad, or DDS. Does the DDS really exist? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t, I don’t know for sure. The DDS, supposedly, is a group that kills criminals, a vigilante group. Criminals, it is said, in Davao don’t make it to trial, they die first. Is it true? Well, sometimes that does happen, but I don’t know that there is anything official about it. People die every day, and not everybody who dies is killed by vigilantes. I am not talking about petty criminals now, I’m talking people like murderers, drug dealers, etc. There are some who say that Mayor Duterte, the tough Mayor of Davao City, is behind the group. The Mayor denies having any ties with any such group. For me, I believe the Mayor, until or unless he is proven to be untruthful about this. What I know about crime in Davao is that crime here is very low. I can go out and walk the streets anywhere in the City at any hour of the day without fear. I have never felt uneasy or unsafe in Davao City. I credit Mayor Duterte for keeping Davao safe and livable. Whatever tactics have been adopted have worked, because the crime rate in Davao is the lowest of any major city in the Philippines. I am not condoning any criminal means of keeping the City safe, but I know of no such activity. I know there have been accusations of it, but it has not been proven. So, anybody who brings this up in the comments, feel free to comment, but please have some kind of proof before making accusations. I will not accept slanderous comments, they will be deleted. If you have evidence of any accusations, bring it on, but don’t make unsupported accusations, please.
Overall, though, the pluses of Davao City far outweigh any minuses. I love living in Davao City, and I would encourage anybody to consider it as your destination if you are still trying to decide where in the Philippine is the right place for you. Whatever you are looking for in a place to live, I think you can find it somewhere in the Davao area.
Ang Dabawenyo ko. Ikaw pud?
photo credit: Keith Bacongco
Hi Bob – What a fine article. (I almost became jealous 😉 ) You certainly have a lot about which to be so positive. We'll have to visit some time and enjoy Davao.
Hi Bob. My short time in Davao ( less than two months) was one of my favorite experiences in all my time here. The job didn,t work out but the town left a good feeling with me. When there I stayed at Drifters apartele which is a comfortable little place which had some good western food for those times when you just HAD to have mashed potato instead of rice 🙂 I would use any excuse to return there.
Hi daryl – One thing about Davao, there are certainly plenty of places where you can get western food like those mashed potatoes that you mentioned! Come on down for a visit!
I will be over on feb 3rd , golf loving guy married to a Filipina , I want to retired there soon , maybe I can meet you for some advise, you have my email , maybe you can give a phone number to contact you over there , thanks William
Hi William, I just sent you an email. If you don’t see it in your inbox, be sure to check the Spam folder in case it ended up there.
Daryl
Would you have a website for Drifters or a Link. Thanks
One thing that has intrigued me about Davao for some time now is the purchase of meat . I have known at least two expat business owners here in Cagayan de Oro that get their meat stocks from Davao instead of locally . I am told the supply is better in terms of quality and pricing . Have no idea why that might be so and was just wondering if you were privy to the theme ? Deli type meats and cheeses in particular are hard to come by here in CDO .
Hi Alan – Really? That surprises me. I thought that CdO had a lot of that kind of thing! There are several very good deli suppliers here in Davao, I can't argue on that! Also, for things like regular meats to cook, we have a real first class meat supplier here called Lisa's Meats that is managed by a European man (Filipino owned, though, and the owner is a friend of mine from GenSan).
Ok , thanks for that Bob . Like i said i have no idea why it would be this way except perhaps because Davao is larger but i also know it to be true with cell phone purchases ( re-seller level not retail ) . :-)My wife has family in Bukidon that routinely sells retail cell phones for roughly 20 – 30 % less than here in CDO and they get " somewhere " in Davao . 🙂
Bob like you I think Davao is a fantastic city. I found a huge selection of restaurants, great people and wonderful places to live. I have researched just about every where in the Philippines and there are only a few other places that have my attention. Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro top that list. If I had to decide today it would be Davao based on my familiarity with the city.
I am concerned about the violence on the Island of Mindanao and that of course puts CDO into that same category. I am not moving soon so for me that is a situation I will continue to watch. Regardless Davao will always be a special place for me. I think of wonderful nights eating dinner at either Claude's or Debontkoe (sp?) followed by a couple of beverages at a little club next door listening to amazing club bands. Playing golf at Palos Verdes, bat caves on Samal and evenings at Jack's Ridge. I do totally miss those 500 peso steam room visits and massage that I got daily at the Crown Regency when I stayed there. Did I mention hanging out with Marlou's friends at Blue/Grey? I could go on but I think you and others get my point. Keep up the great job of informing the world about living in the Philippines. Ron
Hi Ron – Thank you very much for your comment, my friend. I have yet to visit Iloilo, but have heard good things about the place. CdO is a place I have been often, and I don't think I could live there, though. I feel claustrophobic in the City. Closed in, tight roads, if one of the bridges is out the city can be a nightmare to navigate.
Neal
driftersdavao.com is the site address.
Hi Bob,
I must say if I had 15 to 20 people blown up on my doorstep in Gensan I would be doing more than change towns. My relatives tell me that Davao was the most lawless city in Mindanao with drugs, robbery and killings before the Mayor and the DDS arrived.
What do you think will happen when the Mayor eventually leaves office and other forces control Davao?
Hello Bob,I have heard some talk of the dds,true or not the feeling i get from my wife and her family, and there are many family is that the mayor has done a fine job keeping crime at record lows.Also i understand the mayor has a zero policy on drugs.I personally have never felt uncomfortable walking the streets of Davao.I do get alot of long looks but that is normal.Living in Samal is great but going to Davao is pretty great too.James.
Thank You
Bob,
Hopefully there will be an update on Ocean View. I keep looking, but have seen no progress since they enclosed the breakwater to go to the next step on the marina…..i2f….John
Bob,
Nice post about Davao. It's undeniably beautiful and rich in agricultural resources. Too bad i didn't really get to travel to places outside the city. All my parents family/relatives lived there and i remember travelling every weekend with my mother to buy goods from Bankerohan to bring to Mati when i was little. Now an adult i have to get reacquainted more/again with my future residence. I know more about Cebu than Davao since i went there for college, i thought back then that Cebu was far better than Davao. I guess i just like the booming metropolitan from a young girls point of view. We stayed in Davao for two weeks on our last trip in Dec of 2007. I realized how much i've missed in the last ten years. It's definitely a wonderful city to settle down.
Nice job presenting Davao Bob, it's truly one of the best place to live in the Philippines. The vast agricultural resources is undeniable and the tropics are captivating. I grew up in Mati but my parents family and relatives live there, every weekend i get to go with my Mom to buy goods from Bankerohan when i was little, though i still feel foreign to the city, i know we can settle down pretty easy since all of my relatives are around when we retire someday. I know more about Cebu than Davao since i went to college there. Back then i thought it was way better than Davao. Booming metropolitan and not so overcrowded like Manila. But it is equally beautiful as Davao in general, only that i get to know Cebu more than Davao during my adult life. On our last two trips we made sure that we stay longer in Davao than Cebu. Now i can't wait to go back there again in September for a month.
Hi Vanessa – Maybe I'll see you at Bankerohan whenever you are finally in Davao! I go there to shop with a friend once per week. It's actually mostly for language practice, but we buy a few things too. 😉 Cebu is nice too, I really like it a lot.
Opps sorry double post, was writing at work, i thought it didn't get posted as our computer there is a little slow so made another post. Sorry.. ignore the second one hahhaha.
i'm looking forward for my 1st Kadayawan in August, if office approves my vacation leave. On the alleged DDS, i personally know a member, actually he is already an AWOL in the PNP detained at Tagum because of the kind of work he's into. He seeks refuge in 1 of the rural barangay here in Butuan after finishing his mission. For the past 3 years, I haven't heard of him coming over.
Hi joyen – Kadayawan is always fun, and really consumes the city. You will certainly enjoy it!
hi bob,
you forgot to mention the 911 emergency number(-:….it's the only city in the philippines that has it…all other cities use 117 but not davao city. i'm not a native davaoena myself but i consider davao city as my second home since i've been to one of the colleges there. melanie
Hi melanie – Actually, there are 3 or 4 cities in the Philippines that have 911 as their emergency number.
I wouldn't say that "I forgot to mention it" it just was not something that I included. There are so many things in Davao that I could have gone on for pages and pages, but had to limit it somewhere.
Davao City, though, indeed has excellent emergency services.
Although Davao will not be my place to settle if I decide to Live in the PI, it will certinly be a place I will visit on my next trip to the PI. I'm still searching for my daughters biological mother, Marinia Pagpaguitan, and we have traced her to Davao. I will also make a specail time to meet with you Bob, when I am there. Looking at 2011 for my next trip. I'm certinly glad to have found this web site and been able to get the straight scoop on what Davao is really like and let my fears go of untrue rumors.
Wow…. this is a great article Bob! And I have never been to Davao so I am excited to go there next month to attend a wedding of my friends. I have a whole day free but I am not sure what to do on that day, and my friend is probably busy with her last minute preparations for the weddings so I cant dare bother her. Since I will be there, can you recommend me on which spots to go for a day? Thanks a lot!!!
and oh yes, I forgot to ask if its ok to meet up with you in Davao for a coffee? Would love to chat and hear your stories about your stay in the Philippines. I am from Cagayan de Oro by the way.
Hi Penny – I would recommend a visit to Samal Island to enjoy the beaches there.
hi im angel, i want to live in davao, and i want to know kung magkano ung cost of living dito sa davao , ung rent,transpo and ung cost sa araw2 ng mga tao sa davao, and san ung magandang tirahan, kahit ung room for rent lang, kc mgsisismula pa lang ako, and kung anu2 ung mga posiblng work n pedeng mapasukan , na inganyo kc ako sa mga place jan.sana magkaroon ako agad ng feedback mula s inyo, dahil gusto ko na talga tumira jan sa davao,ng cacanvas n kc ako, and nahihirapan ako mghanap kc wala akong kakilala na nasa davao ngaun so ng ttry ako kya sana makakuha ako ng feedback mula sa mga taga davao o kung sinu man mamakakabasa ng mssg ko na eto.tnx a lot and godbless
Hi angel – I am sorry, I can speak English or Bisaya, but not Tagalog. If you wish to post your question in English or Bisaya, I will be happy to help you, otherwise, I do not know what you are asking me.
Davao is not good city, cagayan de oro is true hub of mindanao, it is ver beautidul city compare to davao
Hi Renan – Ha ha… thank you very much, I am glad that you told me that "Davao is not good city". I've lived here 7+ years already, and I thought it was good, it's very good to know that it is not, though! I guess I was fooled!
I am just curious… if CdO is so much better than Davao, why do more people choose to live in Davao? Hmm… maybe both places are good and we each have our own preferences. What do you think?
Like Davao, Cagayan de Oro has its share of progress as well..
soon upcoming…
21 twin tower hotels of LKK..
30 story city center building at Golden Mile
14+ story building at Paseo De Rio..
and a bunch of condotels and condominiums…
cdo is a lot better now
all are confirmed projects that are soon to boost CdO's skyline and economy..
will goodluck to both cities i know Davao is well progressing as well..
Hi Mindanao1 – I have always enjoyed visiting CdO. I enjoy it for a few days, but beyond that… I am ready to get back to Davao. I enjoy visiting, but I personally could never live in CdO.
hi Bob.
I’m from Davao, and i am proud of it.Really. But I’m not a fun of pure fabrication. You might be, or might not be fabricating Davao City in what you have written, but you have forgotten to write some important details. Though you think or feel it’s safe to go around Davao anytime, anywhere……..please excuse me for saying, “No it’s Not”.
I have just experienced last night to be robbed. I am heading my way home from work (from down town to Sasa), for almost an hour, suddenly one passenger went off and then grab my bag…..i have tried my best to keep my grasp but he’s too strong, and what shocks me the most is that no one in the jeepney (PUJ, or whatever they call that) tried to help me.Its seems like they’re watching a movie or something. I ran after the robber i shouted for help. Then i felt at ease when i saw someone in a single motorcycle, cause i thought someone can finally help me. And, i just found out that they we’re partners. They have taken my ATM, Cellphone, ID’s, uniform and some important things. I’m just glad i haven’t had my salary yet, if i did, i don’t know what will i do. I reported it to the police right after. When i told my friend, he was shock cause the night before i was robbed, they we’re also. They have lost a cellphone,(and some were not specifically enumerated).
Now tell me. What should i tell myself to think that i can still go around the city safely when i know that these kind of people are everywhere???? this is what i get for believing that peace and ordinance is being implemented, every now and then. I guess it only does when people are not asleep.
I’m sorry to counter part your article……..i just had the experience..and i can’t just sit here doing nothing..you had a very wonderful article though. God Bless, Take care and be very vigilant.
Hi julie may – I can assure you, I never said anything in my article that Davao is perfectly safe. That said, Davao is a very safe place. Do people get robbed in Davao? Of course some people get robbed. I am sorry if you were robbed (as you accused me of fabricating my story, I hope you did not fabricate your robbery!), but unfortunately, that can happen, and will happen in any city or town in the world. Just because there is a robbery does not mean that the City is unsafe. You know what? I was robbed several years ago in SM Davao. Actually, pickpocketed, which is a form of robbery. Somebody stole P25,000 from me. I was stupid for carrying that much money. Do I think that because of that incident that the City of Davao is unsafe? No way. I will go anywhere in the city at any hour of the day without fear.
Hi Bob,
I am always intrigued that everytime that someone will tell how beautiful to live in Davao, someone from CDO will counter that and try to discredit Davao… Are people from CDO using Davao as the benchmark of progress in Mindanao? I have been to CDO several times and I can say that it has a little space to expand. Well, CDO is now progressing because Davaoeno businessmen are coming there..The proposed Ayala Mall in CDO is another joint project of the Davao-based Anflor and Ayala… 🙂 The one is in Davao, the Abreeza Mall
Hi pinoysatimog – thanks for stopping by and commenting. I don’t know… I always feel very claustrophobic when I am in CdO because it is very tight, small streets and such. But, many people do like living in CdO, I suppose it is a personal choice.