Are the phillipines a safe place to visit/live?, is the cost of living expensive?

I live in Tagaytay City about 45 miles south of Manila. It is a safe place as far as Philippines is concerned, because it is on top of a mountain with a beautiful view of the Taal volcano island. There are tours to and around the volcano, and so visited by many tourists and foreigners. The police seems to be efficient too.

Philippines in general is an inexpensive place to live. Regardless of where you are, though, it helps when you have a Filipino friend with you to help with the shopping. At the market or roadside stands, if they see a foreigner he becomes automatically rich - and the regular price doubles. (That's why my wife tells me to hide when we go shopping). One useful phrase when you're at the palenke (market) and you're surrounded by 20 people every one offering basically the same thing, you say "Ayo ko" (I don't want any) and there's a good chance that half of them will walk away.

Oh yes - the people really are very friendly - just please don't get very friendly with somebody's husband. They're also very jealous :-)

Happy New Year

The good: Many beautiful islands to choose from. Tropical Climate means no snow ever. Cheap cost of living. The natives are friendly and most speak english pretty well. Many beautiful women to choose from for a single guy. Retirement visa program (SSRV) is ideal for a single person not wishing to marry. $10,000 investment deposit and $800 monthly income required. The bad: Forieners can't own land here. But you can buy a condo. 60/40 Ownership in a coorporation. 60% Philippino owned, so no way a foreigner could have controlling interest. Very few opportunities for employment other than teaching english and the pay scale is very low. So if you need to suppliment your income to live here , best not to come.

Yes it is a safe place to visit. While I agree with Ray H that it is just like any other place, like New York for example, there are good guys and some bad guys and obviosuly there are the police forces. However, I don't agree with him to check the travel advisories because I find the travel advisories so biased. They were written by people inside their cubicles and did not experience that first hand. People in the Philippines are the friendliest, you can see it in their warm smiles.

Cost of living in the Philippines is inexpensive. Imagine a 24 case of beer for $3?

Hi, as far as safety goes the Philippines is no different from any other country . They have criminals and they have a police force .

Read a travel advisory before going over . Yes, the cost of living is not very expensive. The people are friendly for the most part .

Philippines is a great country to visit/live, and the cost of living is inexpensive as compare to other country. The only thing is you have to be aware to choose the area where you want to visit. Once you find the right connection everything will go smoothly. People there are very nice and friendly.

The Philippines is a great place to visit. The best thing is if you know somebody there to meet you at the airport. To go there alone for the first time will be hard for you. It is a wonderful place to visit, but you must be aware of your surroundings and never let your guard down. Cebu would probably be the safest place to go although I have never been there. I have been to Mindanao four times and would not advise you to go there alone the first time. Angeles City is a good place to go if you are looking for a night life. There are quite a few americans there, as in Cebu. Go....good luck, and have a good time.

Philippines is a safe place. The people in here are very friendly and hospitable. If you have your own business, the cost of living will be to easy for you.

Yep. The Philippines is quite a safe place to live or visit. Cost of living is cheap especially in big cities in the Visayas (Central Philippines) like Cebu, Bacolod & Iloilo.

It's as safe as any other place in the world. Just don't get drunk and run naked in the jungle.Be smart use common sense! If you have a girlfriend trust me that she and her family will be watching over you the whole time your around!

Now as far as cost of living that will depend upon what part of the Philippines your planning on visiting.Its different all over.

You can take a look at my Yahoo group Philippine Living Island Paradise PLIP for short. In our files section we have cost of living examples for you to look at and get some idea of what the cost to you will be.

Looking forward to seeing you post on "PLIP"

Have a great New Years

Jerry Olson

PLIP

The Cost of living in the Philippines is Very minimum.... so you can expect That your Hard earned money Will go A very Long Long way... and yes its very Safe to Live In the Philippines.....