You are correct when you say that the opinion regarding the cost of living in the Philippines depends on who you are asking. For those of us whose source of income are in US dollars, the expenses you had mentioned are really cheaper than what we spend here in the U.S. But for Filipinos who are living in the Philippines and whose income are in Philippine pesos, those expenses can be significantly high and expensive for them.

Yes, I find the cost of living in the Philippines is way less and I personally thing the lifestyle is way more relaxing too. The medical issues are a concern since you can't have a private doctor who has office hours you can book an appointment with but when you do get services, they are considerably cheaper.

I spend 16,000 PHP ( about $290.00 us) every month with the whole house air con, refrigerator, big screen tv, electric robot vacuum for both floors. I was paying $450-500 in the us. So I’m not complaining

There's no place like home. Can't wait to retire in the Phils. 😊

Baguio commute is very relaxing. If you will take the midnight sched, 5 hours, you’re in Baguio. You will enjoy the stop-over to experience different food.

For many balikbayan, the cost of retirement in the Philippines is more than if they retired in the US. I for one do not intend to live less when you can live more for les$. Why not if you can afford it!?!?!? Enjoy the fruits of your years of labor, and the harvest of your successful investing. You live in Manila, very close to some of the very best healthcare in southeast asia. A couple of my siblings constructed beautiful mansions in the province, but healthcare has now become an issue for them. I've done enough cost/benefit analysis to know that each person will need to weigh their retirement desires with the options available to them. Yes, the cost of living can be lower in the Philippines, but if your in that tight of an income budget you might be better off staying in the US and taking advantage of social support programs.

It's of course where you live both in the USA and Philippines. I live in Cebu City and my cost for Electricity PER KWH is .29 cents(16 pesos per KWH) vs where I lived in Oregon where it was .11 cents KWH. This includes taxes and fees=your total bill divided by KWH used. Most people do not include all items on their Total bill which skews the cost per KWH. Our water bill here in Cebu city runs according to your use(ours about $20). The more you use, the more it cost you. In Oregon, when I rented, it was included in my Rent as much as I wanted to use. Food, here in the Philippines if you buy foreign food items, is way higher. When you buy local food products and wet market items, much cheaper. Medical here in Cebu City compared to my Oregon doctors is 90% cheaper, however, there are nuances to this. Drugs here are expensive(my cost in Philippines for wife and I are $200 a month) because I had insurance in the USA, the cost for most of my drugs were free, with a small deductible. My health insurance in Oregon under the ACA was $50 dollars a month for my wife and I. Here in the Philippines, for just me, it was $3000 a year(for a quote). My house hold helper, Philippines, very cheap=$125 a month live in. Can't afford it in the USA. Gas here in the Philippines($5 a gallon) is much higher than Oregon($3.75) where I use to live. House taxes(my ex wife's place) is $2500 per year where as my house in the Philippines for the same SQF is $190. The main 3 highest bills here in Cebu City would be 1. housing/renting=0 for me because the house is paid off. 2. would be electric. very expensive. bill here cost about $175 in Oregon about $70 for the same KWH usage. 3. Food here is about $600 to $700 a month, in Oregon before I left was about $300. Food could be a lot more expensive in the USA now because of huge inflation. Here in the Philippines, we have a VAT tax(like 12%) on a lot of things. In Oregon, we didn't have a sales tax at all, just income tax. According to how many people live in your household can also effect your budget big time of course.

I think Filipinos from the US can really say it’s cheaper in the Philippines. Rent here in California is now $2,000 and up while in BGC, for example, is only $800 and up a month. Food is also cheaper compared to the cost of food here like if I buy restaurant meals it will cost more than $50 for 3 per meal. Gas is now $4.50 to $5.00 per gallon. Depending on the choices and where you buy will really make a difference. It’s really cheaper in the Philippines.

Yes, it is cheaper Sir! I went there last year but you have to budget what's your basic needs.

Phil is a little bit cheaper if you are earning dollars. But peso to peso, its expensive. That is why you cannot compare guavas versus the apples.

Kamusta ka Grandpa, i retired in the Philippines from the U.K about 4 years ago , and find living in the Philippines way cheaper , we live modestly and do not throw money around , in london there is presently mostly knife crime , i realise in the Philippines mostly gun crime , but the beautiful mountains lakes and climate is fantastic , i also find that going to the palenke for groceries is an advantage.

Depends on your lifestyle and where you live...

I'm not worried about the traffic. I'm most worried about getting shot in the 🇺🇸. Mass shooting, boring, loneliness, sadness,homelessness, in the 🇺🇸. Philippines is the best.

We just retired Dec.2022. came to Cebu last Jan. but had an accident, I slid and had surgery of my ankle,was hospitalized for 7days. The plan was to stay till April but it looks like we are going to spend Christmas here. But anyway it seems that we have the same observation, the crazy traffic is our no. complaint, although my husband drives here. But so far we are enjoying our stay in our house in a suburban community.

I'd say if you can live the local "Filipino way of life", you will be able to survive with a $500 monthly budget. But if you are that socialite - only american standard type of person, you will find that you will be spending almost the same as what we spend here in the US. As far as Health Insurance... I am only 61 and will not have Medicare till 65. I will therefore self-insure myself there in the Philippines. I will buy the local insurance they offer there but will just have to pay out of pocket for anything not covered by the insurance. It will still be cheaper than the 800 dollars they are asking me to pay monthly here in CA, way cheaper!

Your videos are always good and informative. I spend max 60 bucks a month for AC on all the time except when in not in the apartment. Food isnt much either, healthcare in Manila is super cheap and you can talk to your DR more than five minutes for whaterver time you want. Like you say theres a budget for all most everyone.

Also, to mention dental procedures it is way much cheaper too. The cost of a procedure in the US is as much as round trip flight to the Philippines and the dental procedure. That’s the reason why I have all my dental procedures done in the Philippines. Vacation is included.

Agree with ur assessment things are cheaper in the Philippines compared to living in California where we live. Our rent for 1 month in a bedroom house is $500 in Cavite, The only problem is our cousins think Americans are rich and keep asking for handouts which make my wire and I upset but that's the way it is. 😢 Bus trip to Manila is cheaper about 1 dollar from Cavite. Taxi you can make an offer or hire a driver for the whole day too.

For me I don’t want to retire in philippines even it’s cheaper. Im always thinking about my health. In Philippines its not free hospitalisation and here in uk is free..

I live in surigao del sur I only keep the air conditioner on in the bed room running all the time on low and, I pay 7 thousand pesos a month a small one bedroom tiny house, and a thousand pesos on water. I live in las Vegas one bedroom apartment and I only pay $55 a month for electric there I feel it has gone up a lot here in the philippines 🇵🇭 property taxes agree with you it is low. God bless 🙂🙏

I'm from Texas. I agree with your assessment of the traffic. (In Taiwan the motorcycles are crazy too.) Parking can be a big problem even in a provincial city. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to park close to the store where you want to go. Also, the street signs may be few and far between, so it's hard to navigate in a city. That's why it's nice to have your own driver. We have a driver for about $200/month.

May be low but the cost of utilities is everyone’s dilemma. Investing in solar power is very worthy. I’m retiring in a few months and that’s the route I’m going to take. I’m building a house in the province on the rural side of the city.

The main issue I see about retiring in the Philippines is the cost of healthcare. U can easily get a P1-2M hospital bill. U can go bankrupt easily or end up having to sell yur hard earned house

We read that the Philippines has the Highest Electrical Rates in South East Asia, if you compare Singapore, Vietnam etc etc

The hard part in the Philippines is the commute. Terrible!!! Take the bus, you need to climb the stirs several times. Kapag mahirap ka, hirap bumiyahe. Kahit may sasakyan ka, traffic kalaban mo. Maganda sana ang bus at mabilis but the climbing of the stairs is what i complained about.

Of course if u compare with US then Philippines is hands down.With ur USD 2k u can live a comfortable life in Philippines whereas in USA 2k just for a 1 bedroom Apartment

If you add up all the expense to live a solid middle to upper middle class life in The Philippines, you better have a $2,500./$3,000. minimum pension check each month! I have 8 years of experience in The Philippines.

The Victory Liner bus is ok from Pasay to Baguio, but makes a few stops on the way. We took the Joy Bus back this time. It was much nicer and didn't make extra stops. Book your ticket online or you might have to wait at the terminal.

Retiring in the Philippines depends on how much you will be getting after retirement.You have to have take in consideration also health care.It is expensive in the Philippines if you get sick and need really specialized care.The best hospitals are found in Manila and if you live in the province it can be a problem.Good for those who wants to retire in the Philippines since they will be able to afford it with their retirement.I prefer to stay in the US instead of retiring in the Philippines even if we built a house in Baguio city 20 years ago.Most of my family is in different parts of the US .I am a widow now and most friends and family are no longer in the Philippines,I enjoy my retirement here in New York City,everything is walking distance ,library,grocery stores,hospitals and doctors offices..senior citizens center where Zumba classes for seniors,yoga,strengthening,and field trips to museums.My children and grandchildren are always visiting on weekends. So decisions will depend on your financial status and family.Good luck!

It gets expensive if you go out and you pay for every Relatives!!! I pay 20 pesos a month for water. I spend $8 a day for my food if I will cook just for my self!!! Cheaper

One reason many Americans complain about the cost of electricity is because it varies widely in the USA depending on location and local power provider. Also it varies depending on residential and commercial etc etc. There are some places that still pay under $.13/kwh and others that pay far more.

@Vlogger Grandpa This was another informative video about retiring in the Philippines. Thanks.

We have 4 more years till we can retire in Iloilo. We set our budget in the Philippines at 50% of what our California budget is. Really though one's working budget and retirement budget is an orange to apple comparison.

My main concern with cost of living is housing and car cost especially if you want to live in metro manila, I feel you get more bang for your buck here in the US, everything else is arguably cheaper in Manila.

Thank you Grandpa for this very informative video! Keep it coming ! Here in California at 53 and want to work till 58 or 60 then retire in mindanao . No house yet but had a small property lot where to build a retirement home maybe 1 year before we retire. And thank you for the video about deed of sale….helps a lot

There are tourist buses that go to Baguio. They’re very comfortable!

In my province the cost per KWH is around $0.15 but last month the number of KWH on the bill jumped by 50% even though the weather was about the same. Therefore the cost of electricity jumped 50%. They may not read the meter every month so the (estimated) bill may be relatively low for two or three months and then it jumps to catch up with the actual usage. Note that in the Philippines, the weather doesn't get nearly as hot as it does in Dallas. 🙂 I grew up in Texas w/o AC and it was very uncomfortable in the summer. Here, I can get by with a fan for a few hours when the power goes off. A fan is adequate, but AC is nice 🙂

If you look at the total cost per kwh in the PH compared to US the PH is more expensive per kwh. In the PH you have over a dozen extra fees and charges on the bill compared to the US electric bill.

Just same to USA, , it only depends on way of living an individual is choosing to live of, , ,

I agree with you with the food. I ate a lot in the retaurants. 11 of us at Tata Celo Palaisdaan, only $100, 11 of us and we had take out pa. And the drinks were, all that they want. The only thing expensive restaurants i went to were Las Casa De Filipinas and the one in Cebu, La Vie.

It’s very hard to find parking spots in the malls in Manila. Better to use grab than drive your own car

in terms of salary Nurses in Phil $600 and US $6000, so x 10 difference or 1000, electricity in Phil .173 vs .23 is only 1.8x higher,

tell you life here in the Philippines is less stressful . there's a lot of help.nice people.Dianna m Gonzalez Imus cavite Phil's Region 04

I was renting a condo only 28sq metres in Manila 6 months ago and electric was 2-2500 a month. To live a like for like life style in uk compared to Philippines in a non premium area (mactan Newtown BGC etc) I would say it’s half the amount probably 1 third to the US. I would say to live somewhere like Dumaguete as a single guy you can live well for 75,000 pesos a month living a semi western lifestyle that’s renting somewhere for 15-20,000 a month. That’s including health insurance visa renewals. Obviously if you got dependents it’s going to be more. BGC Mactan Newtown you need probably 100,000.

5:38 - Would that be tap water you're using for cooking and coffee? If so, I admire your braveness. Heck, I don't even use commercially bottled supposedly spring or filtered water for my personal consumption let alone tap water (not even filtered tap water) in the US. I wash dishes and kitchen utensils with tap water but then I rinse them with filtered tap water. I also use a shower filter. But that's just me.

Add On such as 12% VAT, Supply Charges and a total amount is about 80 to 90% added onto the Generation System Charges

TOTALLY DEPENDS ON YOUR TASTE. VERY REASONABLE AND LOVELY DR.DONALD LEE GRIM

Another good video thanks i would love to you someday soon im married to a Pina and have been to Philippines twice before I'm thinking about retiring soon like in a couple of months

Try to sit near the front of the bus for the smoothest ride. Electricity seems to cost more in the Philippines because insulation is usually much worse.

yes my heating bill electric during winter in massachusetts is 300 orr 400usd thats why i come over here during winter and our electric in our house 40 usd wow i didnt know you get 30 percent grab discount she is 64 andhas her senior card but we neer knew that

Thanks for the video, If you decide to go from MNL to Baguio when you go back to the Philippines, I highly recommend you take Joybus, very comfortable - make sure you book your seats in advance though.

Amazing information! Maraming Salamat.

Thanks for this GranpKudos! Informative!Keep making more informative videos. Kuddos!🎉❤

Another great video! Very informative! Thank you Grandpa vlogger!!!

Grandpa, glad you finally got to make it back!

Yes and No... in some area like provinces the cost of living is low. But if you live in big cities like Manila, Cebu city etc. of course expect your dollars will not go a long way.

I agree with you except for buying vehicles. If you buy brand new vehicles that cost well over 50k+ in US the import tax rates are SUPER EXPENSIVE. For example a 2023 Toyota Supra is 53k in US but in Philippines it’s well over 75k.

The best way to do it is dont retire permanently in the Philippines stay like 5 to 8 months then go back to US to spend time with your family and do your medical activities..

Speaking about rentals, here in California the local condo complex for 1 bedroom 600 sq ft unit run $2,000 a month. The 750 sq ft 1 bedroom, $2,150. My son is looking for a house in his area, average price $1.25 Million. He and his Indonesian girlfriend make a combined income of $27,000 a month, but that's not enough monthly income to qualify unless they put $250,000 cash down. So they continue to rent their 900 sq ft condo which is $3,000 a month. The brand new 2,400 sq ft house I bought in 1995 for $200,000 is valued at $1.1 million, Real Estate is CRAZY expensive!

Thank you great information

Very well done Grandpa...

Respectfully, I disagree with you on the electricity costs. I was in Surigao City in Mindanao to visit family for the entire month of June. Temps are very similar to the temps in North Carolina where my asawa and I live. My electricity bill in the Philippines for about a 1000 SF home for 4 weeks was well over $400 for two split-type units and a window AC in our bedroom - we turn off the split-type units in the evening and run the bedroom AC. Our home in the US is 2600 SF. My electricity bill for the month of July was about $100... larger homes and the temps here in NC have been running between 90 degrees (F) and 100 degrees (F). Agreed on the property taxes and rentals, but I have a big issue with the effort and time that it takes to get a title - for a CLEAN title purchase. We own 3 properties. We are still waiting on titles two years later using an attorney. I would argue that the costs for titling are more in the Philippines and much longer to actually get the title. The process for titling is a mess in the Philippines. Food costs will vary depending on what you buy. Filipino food is cheaper as you noted, but if you buy Western food, you'll pay more. It depends on your food purchasing habits. Public transportation is cheap. I found airfare (traveling in-country) to be high on some recent travel. Flying from Surigao City to Kalibo in Panay, we paid about $700 (2 people). It took us about 12 hours of travel time (hard to believe). Cebu Pacific canceled one of our flights outbound and inbound without reason. Crazy! I love the Philippines, but some aspects are not as low as we might expect.

im retired now but i was a truck driver for 32 years here in the us and i can tell you california has the same issue with motorcycles INSANE but that is the way it is so i already knew about the traffic in the orient. i was a soldier fo0r 20 years before i retired from the military and learne3ed some of the different things different countries have haha anyway i agree when you consider the cost of living here in the us it is less in the pi when compared to same in the us..,

Regarding health insurance, you mentioned it's much cheaper in the US if you have insurance. Did you consider the monthly premium of health insurance. Me and my wife is paying $750 a month and still not 100% covered Other point is about senior discount, I think it's 20% is given to senior citizen and not 30%. Keep safe and more update pls. Thanks

😎👍🤿🇵🇭! Good information! Thanks!

I heard electric bills are more expensive if you live in a condo compared to regular house

True

Im retiring in 9 months and planning to stay in the Philippines for good. During my vacation in the Ph last month I keep my 2 aircon on in my two bedroom all night all day for whole month except when we were out. When I return I received my electric bill cost me 7k

The will depend if you use the a.c . As we don’t like the air con, only use a fan.

sadly, Phils is a stressful country. not just cost of living to consider but how to blend with anxiety, stress, way of living. think thrice if youre planning to retire in the Phils.

Cost of living in the Philippines is cheaper may be true if you are a dollar earner person. If you ask the common peso earner person it will be the opposite answer.

Example 1 kilo white onions 1 kilo lechon belly baboy 2 liters gasoline 1000 pesos Thats cheap to me ? NO And to average filipino ? 2 days sweldo 😢 Lata sardines 21 pesos 😊

Why does cost of living matter . If you broke from payday to payday . No money =no money in USA or Philippines .

Also sir, I would like to add that if you go to Baguio,get the 1st class/deluxe Victory,Joy bus or One north buses. I can only attest to Victory coz that’s the one I take due to it’s proximity to our place,it also has covered bus station for when it’s raining when you arrive in Baguio.(Solid north bus not one north)

HEALTH CARE IS very expensive in the Philippines 😊😊😊 Now if you leave in the city it’s different.. In the USA,people retiring later age because of health insurance 😊

its far as i can tell.....>>> i live in bohol ...panglao island ,,,,its at least 50 % percent cheaper than orlando florida>>USA

My son, born and raised in the US. At 28, he lived in the Philippines for 5 years. BIG CULTURE SHOCK RETURNING TO THE U.S. He became incredibly thrifty. He did not want to spend. He compared the prices in the Philippines to the US. It took him several months to adjust to prices in the USA. 😳😳😳😳

Batangas electric is very expensive ( Batelec) to many charges . If the kilowatt usage is 3K the total bill will be more than 6k. Meralco is cheaper compare to Batelec

For longer or overnight trips, normal po sa Pinas ang car rental that comes with driver and gas. Even for overnight stays, I was even surprised that there was no obligation to either feed or provide accommodations for the driver.

Here some things I observed: In PH you pay way more for quality products and you hardly see good discounts on those products. Electric cars, Sport equipment, building materials, organic food, cosmetics - all super expensive if you want a certain quality standard. Public infrastructure is almost nonexistent. The cities have no proper urban planning. Schools and universities are not competitive in the international rankings. Buerocracy and inefficiencies steal your time.

Foreign products = expensive, local products, cheap.

True. Motorcycle riders are mostly undisciplined

Is the cost of living in the Philippines low? Compared to what?? The US? Yes, very, very low. Compared to living in Camabodia where I live? No. The cost of living is 3 times MORE in the Philippines than it is here in Cambodia. It all depends on what you are comparing it to and what your individual lifestyle choices require.

True grandpa I took an aircon bus to Bicol It was not comfy I rather drive even with a small car.

Here in the UK we can drink tap water so we don't have to buy bottled water. Your calculations don't seem to take that into account. Maybe worth considering adding the cost of this per person. I personally drink 4 liters of water per day and in hot climes more

Electric in the province is much chwaper because meralco is charging all the the free juice used by squatters in poor reas

The crime rates are now higher here in N.Z. Than the Philippines, and getting worse every day. Respect for the law has disappeared in N.Z.

I just received my electric bill here in Davao. The total including all taxes and fees came to 10.2 pesos/khw.

No one covers the Philippines/ USA living like you. Bravo! I'm a city boy too and would like to shop in western stores. So, you live about 3-4 months in the Philippines and the rest of the year back in the Penn/Wash area. Can I ask you what months you are in the Philippines and where is your condo? just because I also had that in mind when I finally retired.

Im Yemeni live and work in Saudi arabia ..im Married from Philipino woman and i have one daughter.. When i visit Philippine i find the live more expensive than saudi Arabia even more expensive than Yemen my country even yemen under a war from 8 years .. You can life in Philippine but not that good life .. And when i see how much salery they take .. always wondered how they can survive 😢.. I hope i see Philippine better in future.. Very good and honest people but very corrupted government in my opinion

There have been massive increases in filipino electric costs. Secondly, installing new service is filled with corruption.

It could also be the uneven roads po that makes the rides so bumpy. 😝

Grandpa : Tks. much.

My bills jumped 60% in electricity and 50p increase on water bill plus extra environmental taxes suddenly and monthly. What is happening here?

You can save on rent

Is Medicare usable in Philippines? I’ve heard a lot of retired say might as well not waste the money on Medicare and use it for private insurance instead. What is your opinion?

I think the best way is to divide your time between US and Philippines. I will be fully retired in less than 2 years. My plan is to spend 9 months in US and 3 months in the Philippines. Do your dental work in the Philippines as it's a lot cheaper. If you have health issues, US is still far better.

For now but it’s going to get expensive due to influx of foreigners.

Have you compared this with the present cost back in America?

Condo are much cheaper on electric because there much small area to kool over all it much cheaper in Philippines $2000 especially with 4 people is about average