Tanza is a very provincial town in Cavite, unlike Tagaytay, which is a tourist spot, and Dasmarinas/Imus/Bacoor which are relatively closer to Manila so don't expect a thriving expat community over there. If your wife hasn't renounced her Filipino citizenship, you may opt to build a landed house instead as there aren't any condo developments as I far know. Cost of building a house will definitely be lower than Manila.

 

Thank you for your response TheEndofDays and sorry if this is a stupid question but what does provincial mean? I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere or out in the country because i do enjoy the living conditions I have now. We're in a bedroom community close to a major city so there are plenty of restaurants and shopping center where we are. In addition, high speed internet access is a must so i can keep working.

I asked my wife but it's been 20 some odd yrs since she's been home. She plans on visiting this fall. If any expats from Cavite area please pipe up.

 

Places


Provincial in this instance means any of the provinces in the country OUTSIDE of Metro Manila.
Internet here is poor at best no matter what company you choose for service. All companies do all they can to get you signed for a two year (mandatory) service contract. That will be the end of their "good" customer service and relations. It's hit and miss and depending on the provider you choose, internet at times can be out as long as an entire day.
For places to live, try the Subic Bay area or Baguio City. Both are fantastic places and are as modern as you will find in the Philippines with shopping malls etc.


Gene

 

I think the best place to be is Bacoor, Cavite. Most of the new developments in Cavite, in fact in Metro Manila, are focused in the Bacoor town (which will be a city in the next few months). I live in a place near the stretch of DaangHari road. It has direct access to the Alabang Business District, where good schools, high end malls, nightspots, and hospitals (including Asian Hospital, the best hospital in the Philippines) are located. If you live in Bacoor (along Daang Hari), Alabang is just a 10 minute drive. The villages there, including mine, have decent cable and internet services.

Houses there, depending on how plush the village you want to live in, cost from US$60,000 to $100,000.

 

Now that 60K - 100K USD kind of knocks the hell out of one of the major advantages of going to the Phills doesn't it? My Lady's sister has a Job (she is an Engineer) at one of the major Corporations in Cavite but has to commute to Karangalan Village where she owns her home as she can't afford to live in Cavite.

PLEASE NOTE: Not trying to start anything here but that cost of housing is the same as some parts of the US and is one of the major reasons for considering going to the Phils.

Fred

 

There's more bad news. You will be living on a piece of land not much bigger than the footprint of the house. If your dreaming of similar land lot sizes like your enjoying now EG .5 acre ....forget it at the suggested price.

 

Cavite

Hi Juniper,

I live in Tagaytay City which is in Cavite Province. All in all, I like it here. It is very cool here, most of the time which saves on you electric bill, not needing aircon. Tagaytay is tourist area overlooking Taal Lake which has the smallest active volcano on an island in the lake. It is quite picturesque. The cost of housing may be a little higher depending on what you are looking for. I rent a nice townhouse for P10,000 and there are others in my neighborhood that go for a little less. I have seen places that go for P5,000 but aren't as nice. We have 24/7 security and most residents are weekenders only keeping it quiet, most of the time. We are a short block from the highway where much public transportation is available. There are many nice subdivisions where you can buy a beautiful home, putting it in your wife's name of course. Tell you what. Hit me on private message and we can arrange to talk if you want. Drawback is there is no mall here but a short trip to Dasmarinas offers 2 malls.

Mikey48

 

Sidecars

Hi Juniper,

I live in Tagaytay City which is in Cavite Province. All in all, I like it here. It is very cool here, most of the time which saves on you electric bill, not needing aircon. Tagaytay is tourist area overlooking Taal Lake which has the smallest active volcano on an island in the lake. It is quite picturesque. The cost of housing may be a little higher depending on what you are looking for. I rent a nice townhouse for P10,000 and there are others in my neighborhood that go for a little less. I have seen places that go for P5,000 but aren't as nice. We have 24/7 security and most residents are weekenders only keeping it quiet, most of the time. We are a short block from the highway where much public transportation is available. There are many nice subdivisions where you can buy a beautiful home, putting it in your wife's name of course. Tell you what. Hit me on private message and we can arrange to talk if you want. Drawback is there is no mall here but a short trip to Dasmarinas offers 2 malls.

Mikey48

Mike, My family and I were there about a month ago. Beautiful place! Tell ya what I like are the fancy sidecars for motor bikes. We are gonna buy a sidecar for out 155cc this year and sure would like to get my hands on one like I saw in your area!

Gene

 

Hello Gene,

Yes. I heard that you were in town. Sorry we didn't get together. Should you ever get back buzz me. I think you have my number. I'll buy dinner. Take care.

Mikey48

 

Me and my hubby live in GMA,Cavite.Its like an hour away from Tagaytay.He liked it here,its still cooler compared to staying In Manila.We tried living around Metro Manila and I cant describe how he hates it there because its so hot,polluted & over-crowded a lot of times.Im not saying all of them but some of them are just rude to just keep staring at him..my husband is tall,white & have tattoos...well i guess,theyre not use to see filipino guy with some ARTS on their arms.anyway,he doesnt like people staring at him(who does anyway,i dont either)Where we live now is a lot better,although we're not living in a high class subdivision(we cant afford to buy yet),its still quiet and cooler.Just like Mikey48 said,it saves us using the a.c. Right now,we're renting an apartment worth PhP 3,500($83)/month,2 storey house with 2 bedrooms upstairs.My husband said,its a pretty decent house to live in.Im glad he liked it because he's a picky person..my mom,our son,my brother & 2 siberian dogs live with us.I agree with Gene, to live a little far away from your spouse family,i cant say im glad but im not in good terms with my moms side of the family & my fathers side of the family so i dont have problems with unannounce visits( i dont like that either)..
I can say Dasmarinas & Tagaytay is a good place to live in too.Goodluck.

 

I have some medical issues such as blood clots, arthritis and i need blood tests every month. Is there or How far is a great hospital IYHO from Dasmarinas & Tagaytay?

 

were to live?

Hi all Daxx here, mid 40's man from canada and have a Filipina wife there.

i have being there many times and spent hundred's of hours online doing my research on Philippines..

Were to live is so case sensitive to each person. things like health? how long you will be staying in the country? your filipina wife her needs ? and her family..

For us we are in the Bayan town proper of Dasmarinas Cavite.. if you need to be in the south but still kinda close to the city, were there is Malls , Collages , Universities, large Universities Hospitals and very good Elementary/High Schools and still were relativly cheap land cost compared to Tagaytay you should consider it.. there is Volets Water Slide Park very close and inexpensive Aparatell Accommodations close for visitors..

For Us this is our Home Base, It's our place close to the city were we can have a solid platform , our JUMPING POINT from were we travel the rest of the country on week long vacations..

 

i lived in bacoor for 6 months, very very close to manila....like really close! i was renting a 4 bdrm/4btrm for $460...but with a big house came a hefty price of $300 for electricity @_@...the house was huge.....tanza is very far and doesnt have many expats. i dont think theres any actually. stay around dasmarinas/tagaytay/gen. trias...cheap and cooler climate...i didnt need airconditiong when i stayed 2 months around dasmarinas

 

Thanks Buttercup1984- The only thing I'm now waiting on is our Passports. I figure we will be in the RP on 11-1 so if you see a pinay with a big 6'3" white dude with a long goatee, mustache and sunglasses ...Don't worry ..the Hells Angels didn't arrive it's just ME! LOL Thanks Again!

 

I live in lipa city , batangas but i looked at cavite. A town house there is between 1.2million peso upto around 3 million for the better sized. If your good with your hands i would suggest buying a small lot and building yourself . Its about half the price, fun and you can make the house exactly how you want it. I bought a stainless steel personal jeepney custom built with a sr20det motor in it, real suspension built much better than the rest for around 240,000. second hand ones go for around 70,000 peso. but they cant be trusted. Super fun car I recommend them. Trick is find what you want then get a philo to find out the cost, dont be seen. Foreigner equals double the price . Electricity is the killer Putting solar panels on you house makes a huge differance . You just import cheapies from china. With a big water tank also it makes it extremely cheap to live. I pay 9000 peso a year in gov taxes on 15000 sqrm. Internet is cheap but very slow We have a internet with cable tv plan for 1000 peso per month on a 12 month plan plus the starting cost of the satilite dish. But I own that.

 

Solar panels



I thought about solar panels to, seen them for sale online, sounds like you're doing everything right, I would rather sleep on coals than to have a realtor sell me one of their condo's or houses, the labor costs are so cheap that you can have it done your way, I like that to, we built our house little by little and had the cabinets hand-made inside the house, same price as the junk they sell but quality wood, many items for the home can be hand made and made to last years longer.

 

Internet in Victoria Laguna

I have internet here but I think the Maximum speed is 2G, I use a 1G wireless from Globe. I do sometimes miss the Manila because of the variety it has there and the lack of variety I have here but there are many large grocery stores and malls in just about every single area and I think the only benefit to living in Manila is restaurants and internet other than that it's a huge spending spree spot and housing and apartments are going to be way crazy as compared to setting your self back a bit into a quiet Province, I guess it all depends on how nice you want to live and how much you want to spend, you could save a fortune by buying up your own spot and then having your own house built not in a gated community it's not that bad of course I have read some of the previous posts on the family and I would have to agree it's tough I live in the same area or what is called a squatter area, some expats just squat with the families so all you have to do is build your house and I mean build it yourself, get a crew and go to it that's I what I did I have a two-story cement building the works and it's water front property, maybe your wife has members out in the province that would sell a spot for you, keep in mind that living next to the lake is the best because you don't ever run out of fresh water it can be pumped by whats called a "jet Matic" electric pump and also for power outages a manual pump, Manila has had too much water or not enough been there done that in Subic Bay years ago. Also don'f forget about just how bad smog can be in Manila and the heat because of all the concrete.

 

Hi there,
I have been living in Manggahan for the past 5 yrs now.Manggahan is about 15-20 minutes from Dasmarinas (depending on traffic).From what I have seen there are plenty of condos or private houses being built or have been built already.As with the internet all service providers ( sun,globe,smart & pldt),I would recommend Globe.We have Globe Wireless Broadband here.We are based in the country although there are quite a few factories around and we are also on a schooling route as well.I am a British Expat living with my filipino wife and have a business here as well.When I first arrived in The Philippines,my first visa was a "Balikbayan Visa" which lasted for one year.During the that period,I applied for a "Probationary Visa".The only drawback is that you cannot leave during that period.During that time,I applied for "Permanent Residence Visa" which I had to go to Intramurous ( Immigration Department) a very short test by a lawyer and also applied for an A-Icard as well.The only time that we travel to Manila is when I have to pay a "Foreigners Tax" whichif I can remeber is about Php330 per year.

Regards
Neil

 

Good to read some interesting comments here. Gene good to see a post from you again, we spoke often several years ago. My Filipino gf says Tagatay is very lovely area with nice cool weather. Sorry guys but I chuckle at the suggestion that $100k is expensive for a house, would not buy you 1/3 of a home back in Oz- our housing prices as just stupid. I am getting some good feedback on this forum regarding the cost of living between Thailand and Phils.

 

Welcome Back


Yea, good to see you're posting. The Tagatay area really is nice. Was there early last year and liked what I saw. Cost of houses? If I bought mine today it world cost only about P90,000--that's pesos! Cost is pretty low here but I'm told there are some good areas in Tagatay also that are not too much.