Living In The Philippines: Pros, Cons & Verdict

Thinking of living in the Philippines? Here’s what to expect.

I’m writing this post from the Manila apartment I’ve been renting for the last two months – the one I’m about to pack up for the final time.

In fact, I might even be using this as an excuse to not pack…. 

Unlike the other digital nomad destinations I’ve decided to make my temporary home, I’ve been to the Philippines before.

As soon as I left last year, I began planning a longer stint here.

The two weeks we spent exploring Palawan was incredible but simply wasn’t enough. And so, I found the next two month gap I had free and pencilled it in.

And now it’s coming to an end. The Philippines has been just as incredible this time, but I’ve seen it in a totally different way.

Not just because Siargao and Banaue are totally different to Palawan, but because I had time to establish routine and see what it’s really like living in the Philippines this time around.

And now, as I did with Greece and Georgia, it’s time to take a look back on it. If you’re thinking about moving to the Philippines, I hope this guide will help you.

And even if you’re not planning on living in the Philippines as a digital nomad or expat, I hope it gives you a little insight into life here in this island paradise.

Just to let you know… This post (probably) contains affiliate links, including Amazon Associates links, and I may receive a small commission if you click one. This is at no extra cost to you and allows this site to keep running.


Living in the Philippines

Like usual, I’m breaking everything down into categories.

They’re the things I think about when choosing where to live as a digital nomad – and, ultimately, what I would look for in a place to settle more permanently.

Cost of living in the Philippines

Compared to somewhere like Europe, the Philippines is a very affordable place to call home.

Prices are fairly similar to the rest of South East Asia, with a small budget gets you considerably more than it would in other parts of the world.

The cost of living in the Philippines can pretty much be what you want to make it. There’s no shortage of budget-friendly options, but you can also enjoy a little more luxury for a relatively reasonable amount.

Here’s how much you can expect to spend in Manila:

  • Rent for a one bedroom condo in a popular part of the city: £500 per month
  • Dinner at a nice restaurant: £5-8
  • SIM card: Free, plus around £4 per month for 4GB data
  • Transport: Around £2 for a 20-minute Grab ride

philippines accommodation


Accommodation

The accommodation in the Philippines really depends on which island you’ll be staying on. Condo living is common in Manila, but it’ll be hard to find anything similar on the islands.

Guest houses and small, independent hotels the normal choice for travellers all over the Philippines.

Many of them are more affordable than an apartment in Manila, so you could even live in one long-term if you wished to.

If you prefer your own space and a more Western-style apartment, though, you’ll need to stick to the big cities.

There are plenty of apartments available to rent long-term, and our Manila apartment was one of our nicest finds yet!

We found ourselves on the 50th floor with a view across the city, two balconies to enjoy it from and a rooftop pool and gym to escape to.

Click here to explore more Manila apartments and see for yourself!


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Food in the Philippines

When I consider the food in a destination, I think about two things: how tasty the local cuisine is, and how easy to is to get hold of my favourite non-local foods.

As much as I love the Philippines, the food doesn’t really do it for me. The only place where the food really stood out was in Siargao.

That said, there are a few things that Filipinos do REALLY well – pork, breakfast and coconut water, to name a few. But it just isn’t a foodie destination overall.

Luckily, it seems Filipinos love international cuisine.

Japanese restaurants are all over Manila, Taiwanese bubble tea is never far away and delivery apps can help you with all your other cravings.

The only issue with delivery is that it rarely takes less than an hour because of the traffic!


WiFi & Work

Ah, the important one.

And also the one I was most anxious about when I decided to spend two months living in the Philippines.

The WiFi

I fell in love with Palawan last year, but the WiFi was appalling there.

I’d be lucky if a video uploaded overnight, and usually just had to give in and give up.

That’s fine for a week, but it’s not something you can deal with long-term as a digital nomad.

To say I was apprehensive was an understatement, but I was surprised (and relieved!) to find our Manila apartment came with speedy internet speeds.

For a while, I thought maybe it had to do with being so high up in the sky.

But I was surprised to find that most of the places we visited had really good WiFi, and there was nearly always 4G available.


Digital nomads in the Philippines

Apart from the WiFi, the Philippines has always seemed like an ideal digital nomad hub to me: there’s loads to do, it’s affordable to live there and it’s well-connected to the world.

Now that the WiFi is improving, I wonder if it will become more popular.

If the number of networking events and coworking spots popping up is anything to go by, it certainly seems that way.

Sadly, it’s still kind of hard to get to places in Manila, but the events and opportunities are there if you’re willing to wait out the traffic.


TRAVEL TIP

Stay connected throughout your trip with SkyRoam pocket WiFi.

This handy little device will give you unlimited data so you’ll never be without maps, emails and a way to contact home.


Health & fitness

It’s been an eventful couple of months for all things health-related, so I have a lot more to say than usual.

I’m going to keep it short, though, and spare you the gory details.

Nearly everybody who visits the Philippines gets sick at some point. Stomach bugs aren’t uncommon, and I came here knowing it was likely to strike at some point.

Sure enough, it happened, and I tried to fight and deny it for too long.

I spent four miserable weeks battling on/off stomach issues when all I needed was a course of antibiotics. Since I finished them, my stomach has been (mostly) fine.

While of this was going on, I also noticed a lump on my jaw growing bigger and bigger. I tried to ignore it, thinking I would visit the GP when I got home to the UK, but it was causing too much anxiety.

And so I had my first true overseas hospital experience, my first ever ultrasound and my first time dealing with medical issues on the road.

And the doctors were incredible.

I simply can’t fault a single member of staff at the clinic I was in and out of. I’d always thought I’d only visit a hospital abroad if it was urgent, but now I wouldn’t hesitate to go right away.

I was seen instantly, the doctors and surgeons were incredibly friendly and efficient, and the whole thing couldn’t have gone better.

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Things to do

With over 7,000 islands, there’s so much to do in the Philippines that you might never need to leave. From diving and surfing to hiking and photography, the Philippines is full of adventure.

But, if you do decide to leave, the transport connections are pretty good.

Manila airport can be a bit of a nightmare to travel from, but you can catch direct flights to everywhere from Japan and New Zealand to Dubai and Canada.

You can also fly internationally from Cebu airport, with direct flights all over Asia.


What I learned from living in the Philippines

Aside from learning that seeing the doctor abroad isn’t so bad (and perhaps even preferably to the UK’s NHS), I feel like living in the Philippines taught me a couple of lessons I needed to learn.

Well… I say learn, but I guess I already knew them both already, so perhaps reinforced would be a better term.

Those lessons were to listen to my body and that the nomad life isn’t fully sustainable. 

Even though I know I’m not superwoman, I like to push myself as if I had some superhuman power. I don’t. I know that. And from now on, I’m going to try harder to remember that.

If I need to rest, I’m going to do just that. It sounds kind of ridiculous typing it out, but it’s something I’ve always struggled with and expect many entrepreneurs do.

The nomad life thing is a little more surprising.

I always knew that this probably wouldn’t be a forever thing, but I had zero idea of how or why it would come to an end.

For the first time ever, though, I’m craving a house and a place to call my own. I still want to travel, but I don’t dislike the sound of having somewhere to go back to when the trip comes to an end.

So… whisper it… that’s something I’m working on right now.

I still plan to be fully location independent, but I wouldn’t mind having somewhere to dump my things and build a little home office.


Would I live in the Philippines?

Here’s another thing that’s been on my mind.

When we arrived in Manila, we fell so in love with our apartment (okay, mostly the view) that we considered buying our own.

I was just about ready to splash all my savings on a 2-bedroom condo and call it my new home, but I’m glad we didn’t.

It’s not that I wouldn’t live in the Philippines, but I just don’t see myself living in Manila. Everything’s a little bit hard to get to, the airport isn’t one of my favourites and it just doesn’t feel like home to me.

That said, it has everything you need for a good expat home, and it definitely makes a good base if you spend most of your time in Asia.

As for the other islands… I would seriously consider it.

I’d need a guarantee that the WiFi would be good and I’d have to want to travel much less, but I wouldn’t rule it out entirely.

More likely, though, I will come back and forego the base altogether. With the WiFi seemingly improving everywhere I would spend a few weeks on each island and move slowly.


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living in the philippines
About Jodie Marie Dewberry

Jodie has been travelling the world full time since 2017, sharing the most unique places in the world along with tips for living as a digital nomad. She is a passionate wildlife photographer and has worked with a number of prominent travel brands, including airlines, tourism boards, hotels and tour operators.

9 thoughts on “Living In The Philippines: Pros, Cons & Verdict”

  1. Hi Alajode,

    I watched your YT video where you mention some of your health ailments. I suggest as an exercise you make a video about travel disease prevention. There are effective basic prevention measures against tropical or travel disease. For instance against travel diarrhea or high altitude sickness. Do you know that camping in the Tikal jungle makes one at risk of catching cutaneous leishmaniosis ? This is also the case of jungle areas of South America like in Eastern Cusco… What about rabies risk in Kenyan caves where bats are an ominous danger ? High altitude sickness in Puno, La Paz or the Annapurna trail ? And should one succumb to visually attractive ice cream in the suburbs of Lima or Guayaquil ? Healthy food such as unpeeled tomatoes ? How to minimize the risk of malaria in endemic areas ? And what about central health ? Etc.
    So much van be suggested to prevent a dream travel to transform into à health quagmire. I personnaly travelled the world since 1976, as an adventurer, a charity MD or public health consultant, and I assure you there are basic practices and knowledge enabling one to minimize dangers of tropical & travel diseases. I’m not a health guru, having caught uta or ambiasis : no one is perfect, not even a “nomad” medical doctor… but I’m ready to give advice (freely, of course, because health is too important to be a business and there is an important community just looking for advice).

    Reply
  2. My boyfriend decided to moved here 2 years ago. He’s from Germany. We lived in a condo in Mandaluyong for almost 1.5 years but because of the limited space (1 bedroom and 1 bath) , we decided to move out a rented a house in Antipolo City which is more spacious (5 rooms, 2 baths) and much cheaper than our condo in Mandaluyong. Overall, i can say that my boyfriend is enjoying his stay here in the Philippines and would love to explore more in our country.

    Reply
  3. Hi Jodie!

    Where in Palawan did you stay? It’s one of the places that I want to stay for good. I need a good internet connection for my job. :)

    Reply
  4. Wow amazing post with brief information about living in the Philippines. So useful for the users. When folks who wants to move to new place these are the only thing that they will look on. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. My husband is filipino and we visit the Philippines now and then. I agree 100% with all your points. It is a lovely country to visit but avoid Manila. That place is a toxic constant traffic jam. The rest of Philippines is lovely however there is no place in Philippines I would ever live permanently. It is a great holiday destination though. The bureaucracy and love for admin with everything there is super annoying. The constant need to pay fees for every little detail will deplete your funds fast. The corruption of the government officials (it is not strange to get bribed by an overweight traffic officer for p2000 for some made up offence).

    Reply
  6. I’ve been to the Philippines over a dozen times, and plan on living there at least for a while in the future. I have to agree with what you’ve written here. The part about the food, WiFi, Palawan, and generally what to expect is pretty spot on. I find Filippinos to be good natured and resilient folks; there can be some drama at times, but it’s not too bad. They have a beautiful country. I’m lucky to have many friends there. Well done.

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    • Thank you for the information on living in the Philippines. I really enjoyed it. I’m considering moving there. I’m gonna visit there next year.

      Reply
  7. Gorgeous country, city life is cool/fast paced but i would prefer the provinces.
    I went there in 2018/2019, great trip, stayed a month each time.
    Has it’s pro’s and con’s. I can’t wait to return though.
    LDR’s are tough man!

    Reply
  8. good read! thanks for sharing this. good thing nowadays airbnbs are anywhere, unless you’re going to stay for a long time

    Reply

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