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Dumaguete is a highly desirable city with many positive attributes, but potential residents should be aware of its challenges, including intense heat, unpredictable weather, increasing traffic, expatriate behavior, and a competitive housing market.
The video explores the less-discussed challenges of living in Dumaguete, a city highly praised by the host. Despite its many attractions, Dumaguete faces issues such as intense heat and humidity, which can be overwhelming and affect daily routines. The tropical climate means that while evenings cool down, daytime temperatures are consistently high, prompting many residents to seek refuge indoors or in air-conditioned spaces during peak hours. This heat also influences social behavior, with many people preferring to be out at night rather than during the hottest parts of the day.
Inclement weather, including tropical storms, is another significant factor to consider. While Dumaguete is not as prone to extreme weather as some other parts of the Philippines, prolonged periods of heavy rain can occur, leading to cancellations of events and disruptions. This weather can also impact infrastructure and logistics, with storms in Manila potentially causing shortages of goods in Dumaguete. Furthermore, the city's increasing popularity has led to a rise in traffic congestion, a stark contrast to its previous reputation as a quiet, small-town alternative to larger Philippine cities.
The video also touches upon the social dynamics of expatriate life in Dumaguete. While the city attracts many foreigners, some expats may struggle to adapt to local cultural norms, leading to instances of poor behavior that can negatively impact perceptions of foreigners. Finding housing is another considerable challenge, as Dumaguete's desirability has outpaced its housing supply, making desirable locations and properties highly competitive and quick to rent. This situation contrasts with many other Southeast Asian cities where housing is more readily available.
In conclusion, Dumaguete offers a high quality of life and a relaxed pace that attracts a diverse population, including retirees and digital nomads. However, its growing popularity means increased traffic, a competitive housing market, and the need for visitors and residents to be culturally sensitive. The city's appeal is undeniable, but potential newcomers should be prepared for these practical challenges alongside its many advantages.
Expats in Dumaguete face challenges such as intense heat and humidity, which can significantly impact daily life and require adjusting routines. The tropical climate also brings common weather issues like tropical storms that can cause disruptions.
Dumaguete is experiencing increasing traffic congestion due to its growing popularity and influx of residents and visitors. This is a notable change from its past reputation as a quiet city, so be prepared for more traffic than you might expect.
Yes, finding housing in Dumaguete can be challenging. The city's desirability has led to a fast-paced and competitive housing market where desirable properties are scarce and rent out quickly, requiring prompt action from potential renters.
Dumaguete experiences intense heat and humidity, especially during midday, making it difficult to be outdoors. While evenings offer some relief, tropical storms and inclement weather are common in the Philippines and can disrupt plans.
While Dumaguete attracts many foreigners, some expats may struggle to adapt to local cultural norms. This can sometimes lead to negative perceptions if certain individuals exhibit poor behavior that doesn't align with local customs.
Dumaguete's appeal as a desirable city with a high quality of life has led to increased popularity. This means more people are moving there, contributing to a more crowded environment and increased demand for housing and amenities.
The video mentions that Dumaguete experiences intense heat and humidity, which can be overwhelming. Daytime temperatures are consistently high, leading many residents to seek refuge indoors or in air-conditioned spaces during peak hours. This climate influences social behavior, with many preferring to be out at night.
Dumaguete's growing popularity has led to increased traffic congestion, a significant change from its former reputation as a quiet town. The desirability of the city has also outpaced its housing supply, making desirable properties highly competitive and quick to rent.
Finding housing in Dumaguete is a considerable challenge due to its desirability outpacing the housing supply. This competitive market means that desirable locations and properties are scarce and rent out very quickly, requiring prompt action from potential renters.
Some expatriates in Dumaguete may struggle to adapt to local cultural norms, which can lead to instances of poor behavior. This behavior can negatively impact the perception of foreigners in the city.
While the video focuses on Dumaguete's drawbacks, viewers have inquired about alternative locations. The host humorously suggests keeping preferred alternatives 'on the down low' for personal enjoyment but acknowledges that other places like Cebu and Manila are also great choices.
Visa extensions in the Philippines can be done directly at immigration offices, or through available visa services. The process typically takes about a week, and it's advisable to initiate the extension two weeks before the current visa expires.
0:02 Hey YouTube, Alex here. And in today's video, I want to answer the question: What do I not like about Dumaguete? Now, this is a bit of a loaded question because I love Dumaguete. It's one of my favorite cities in the world. I thought it would be helpful to discuss some of the challenges here, some of the things that may be helpful for you to be aware of before you come here, because nowhere is perfect. I think some vloggers tend to gloss over some of these issues. They want to share the positives because they want to be nice, they want to be positive, they want to be helpful, and they want to be complimentary.
0:34 The main thing that prompted this discussion is that on the Boulevard in Dumaguete, I get approached by college students. They're asking me questions for their business class. They'll hand me a survey, they'll ask me to speak on camera, and one of the things they'll ask me fairly regularly is, 'What do you not like about Dumaguete?' I've answered this question about five different ways, and I'd like to share with you the audience because I thought if they're asking it in their class, if they're discussing it in their class, they're curious about the opinions of foreigners. It could be helpful for me to share my responses with my audience. So, without further ado, let's get into it.
1:06 Reason number one is the heat. If you can't tell, Dumaguete can get hot and stay hot. Dumaguete has a tropical climate, and it tends to be hot and humid, particularly during the daytime hours. It does cool off at night, but certainly during your normal daytime hours, especially peaking between say 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, those seem to be the hottest hours of the day. When you are here, you might be thinking, 'Oh, well, I'm sure it'll cool off eventually.' I talked to a friend of mine who lives here year-round, and I asked him, 'Hey, well, doesn't it cool off in December?' Last time I was in the Philippines, it seemed like it cooled off in December. He explained to me, he felt like it didn't really cool off.
1:43 For me, coming from the San Francisco Bay Area, I'm accustomed to cool coastal California weather, especially from Northern California where it never really gets hot in that area. It stays in this moderate temperature band year-round, never gets too hot. Dumaguete is not like that. Dumaguete does get hot here. You'll notice during some of my videos, the sweat pouring down my face. This is something to be mindful of. For me, the sun being so bright, I do wear these long sleeves to protect my skin. That can add to the effect of heat, right? That can make you feel hotter than just wearing shorts and a t-shirt. So it's not just the heat, but it's also the sunlight. Just being mindful that you are at the equator.
2:23 For many guys, this is a positive. They like the heat, they like the sun. Maybe they lived in a cold area, they didn't have access to such weather. Maybe they grew up in a hot area, a place like say Southern Florida, and they're accustomed to this kind of heat and they enjoy being around it. But for me, it's not what I'm used to. It's something that I tolerate on some days more than others. I love living in Dumaguete. I think there's so much to love here, but if I had to say my top thing that I struggle with sometimes, it is the heat. I do run the aircon in my apartment a lot. I tend to like to take a siesta midday where I can get out of the heat. I'll go into a shopping mall, maybe go to a shopping center and just try to find a situation where I'm not in the direct sunlight and I don't feel like I'm cooking.
3:08 By avoiding this, I think this is why when you go out to a place like the Boulevard during the day, there's not a lot going on. You go out there say at noon, you'll see a few people, maybe some people doing some repairs on some of the infrastructure, but you're not going to go out there midday and see crowds and crowds of people. Whereas you go there at night, and there's tons of people out there, especially like Friday, Saturday, Sunday night, Saturday being the peak, where they have events. Sometimes there's tons of people out there where a lot of people feel the same way about the heat. They feel like it's overwhelming. They feel like they want to get a break from it. They want to go and hide somewhere else to not be sweating.
3:46 I've done some reading about this, and I think it also can affect your presentation. I think a lot of Filipino people are well-dressed. They dress nicely, and if you've put a lot of effort into dressing nicely, wearing some nice clothes, getting a nice haircut, you don't want to be covered in sweat. You don't want to be looking unpresentable. You don't want to look less than your best. I think that's another reason why so many people, including myself, are not the biggest fans of the heat here in Dumaguete. So, if you're going to come to Dumaguete, be prepared for the heat to potentially be too intense for your liking.
4:20 The next point is tropical storms and inclement weather. The Philippines last year was ranked the number one country for being prone to natural disasters. And you have to be mindful if you are going to spend time here in the Philippines that regardless of where you are in the country, you are going to experience inclement weather. Some areas are better than others. Dumaguete is actually not as prone as places like Leyte, the eastern half of the country, even the island of Luzon in the north. So if you are here, it's less likely to be extreme than some other places in the country. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
4:53 Here, maybe a month, month and a half ago, there was inclement weather for like a week. It just rained hard every single day. You do get typhoons here, and that can be a little bit discouraging. You think, 'Sunny, tropical Dumaguete, it's going to be beautiful weather every day.' And that's true a lot of the time. A lot of the time, Dumaguete does have nice weather. Based on my preferences, there are going to be times when storms come through, and you're going to be stuck inside for a week. Social events may get cancelled. I know for the recent Bason Festival, I think the Saturday night of that event was actually cancelled because of heavy rains.
5:27 Similar to what I mentioned earlier about the heat, a lot of people, they dress nicely. They don't want to get their nice clothes wet. The ladies with their beautiful dresses, and the men with their nice dressed shirts and pants, they're not going to want to get these soaked. There's also concern here about if you get wet, you're going to be prone to being sick. And so a lot of people, they don't want to risk getting sick. They don't want to be in a position where they might miss work. They may be needing those hours at work to make money. They may have the day off, but if there's inclement weather, they could be really discouraged from going out and socializing.
5:59 As a lot of foreigners like myself, we think it's common in the Philippines to be super social, to be outgoing, to get together in a group setting. But the inclement weather can really work against us at times. You will want to be careful here about getting caught in a potential sudden downpour. If you see that there is rain in the forecast, it may be hard to gauge exactly when the rain will happen and how much rain you're going to get. I have been caught in a downpour here and had to duck for cover under a trike to try to stay dry and wait out the storm.
6:27 If a storm comes in all of a sudden, expect that if you stay in Dumaguete or the Philippines long enough, that inclement weather will delay plans, will interrupt plans, will push back plans, make cancel plans. It's just part of the reality of living here. It is something that does bum me out sometimes, but I have to accept it as part of living here.
6:46 Now, this is outside of Dumaguete, but I have a friend in Luzon right now, and they've been without power for three days. And he is trying to go around town to sort out Wi-Fi so he can let his extended family around the world know, 'Hey, we're okay here in Luzon.' This is something to be mindful of that the infrastructure can be impacted by inclement weather. It's not just the immediate impact, but it's also the after-effects that could be a problem.
7:11 You might be wondering, how does inclement weather in Manila impact me? Well, Manila is the home of logistics and transportation in the Philippines. Lots of different goods and services come through Manila. And if an item is impacted, or items are impacted by shipping delays due to inclement weather, people throughout the country are impacted by these shortages. You may go out to your favorite restaurant, and your favorite item is out of stock because it was expected to come on a certain shipment that is no longer happening.
7:40 One of the challenges of Dumaguete is that Dumaguete is impacted by storms as far away as Manila. Just like much of the Philippines, there are many items that only come through Manila. And if the weather is bad enough, those items won't make it down here. Some would say that Dumaguete is a victim of its own success, that it's so popular and has attracted so many people that it's changed. One of the consequences of that change is the traffic here.
8:06 I've talked to guys who have lived here for five, 10 years, and they've talked about how much traffic has increased in that time. Every year, more and more people discover Dumaguete, more people come here to visit, more people want to see Dumaguete. In the past, it was on various retirement lists. I don't know that it's still on those lists today. Nonetheless, this city gets outsized online press. You've got dozens of vloggers here. You've got the diving in down, you have Apo Island. It's a city that gets outsized attention relative to its population size, and I don't see that changing.
8:37 It's a really nice place to live, but one of the side effects of all that attention is increased traffic. Not just your typical vehicle traffic in terms of trikes and motorbikes and trucks on the road, but also the increased demand for food, for transportation, for construction of new.
8:55 Transportation for construction of new housing, all these factors add vehicles to the road. They increase the traffic here. I often say, you are not in traffic, you are traffic, so be prepared. If you come here, traffic is of concern based on the popularity of the city, based on how awesome it is to live here.
9:11 There's this other joke that I think about too: "Oh, Dumaguete, nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded." I've gotten the sentiment from some guys, "Oh, don't encourage people to come here, nobody should move here, the secret's out." I mean, it's far too late to put Dumaguete back in the box.
9:27 To add to the traffic, you've got four different colleges here in Dumaguete with tons of students, and the students need to get around town too, right? These colleges also have substantial student populations from all over the country, so it's not just your local population of Dumaguete residents, but it's also the student population.
9:48 Dumaguete will only increase in popularity in the coming years as cities like Manila and Cebu become more expensive, and people look for more economical alternatives, more small-town alternatives. The nice thing about Dumaguete is that you don't have the big city environment, ironically, that attracts a lot of people that are not looking for that big city environment.
10:08 So, Dumaguete will probably be a bigger and bigger city in the coming years due to more and more construction of housing, infrastructure improvements, new restaurants. It's also a popular destination for Filipino-Americans or Filipino-Canadians who are retiring and they want to live in the Philippines. They don't want to live in Metro Manila, they don't want to live in Metro Cebu, and they want a more small-town atmosphere where they feel like it's a more relaxed pace.
10:33 It's not that hectic day-to-day grind that you're going to experience in a larger city in the Philippines or really anywhere in the world. I meet guys here, and some gals, from all over the world. Dumaguete has wide appeal.
10:46 If you take a drive around town, you'll see cuisine from all over the world. You'll see Swiss restaurants, you'll see German restaurants, you'll see French restaurants, sushi, Indian food. I imagine all of those places have some influence from people from those countries who are helping to make the menu, who are helping to influence the menu.
11:09 Maybe the Filipino owner has spent time in those countries and can, when asked, "Hey, where are you going after you finish school here?" "You finish learning this cuisine?" They'll tell them, "Hey, I'm going to Dumaguete." So, Dumaguete has this outsize presence that isn't going away anytime soon, and you are going to see an increase in traffic.
11:25 I expect traffic to continue to get worse here in DGT because it's just becoming a better and better city, in my opinion. There's just more and more on offer. They're expanding the boulevard, which looks gorgeous and it's going to be fantastic when they finish those expansion works.
11:40 So, as the city amenities increase, as the populations of these colleges increase, you're going to have more locals, you're going to have more people from around the Philippines, and you're going to have more foreigners. That all want to come live here. I think it's going to continue to be a premier retirement destination.
11:56 Even if it doesn't make top 10 lists, there will be more people who want a slower pace, who want a high quality of life, who will come here. Other people have also heard of the city, other people also want to live here. You're not the first person to discover Dumaguete these days.
12:08 I'm certainly not the first person to discover Dumaguete. I knew about it five years ago, but I thought, "Ah, I want full immersion in the Philippines. It seems like there's a lot of foreigners there. Maybe I'll check out some other places." Now that I've been here for several months, I get it. I get why Dumaguete is popular.
12:24 It's an easy sell. It's one of my favorite cities in the world, but it's the favorite of a lot of people. Reason number four is expats behaving badly, and you've probably seen some of these videos that touch lightly on this. I thought I'd see it more often than I have.
12:39 Fortunately, this hasn't been as frequent as I would have thought based on some of what I heard about Dumaguete. Anywhere you encounter a large population who is not from the area, they're not going to arrive understanding cultural norms. Setting aside returning Filipinos, most foreigners are not familiar with the intricacies of Filipino culture.
12:58 They're coming accustomed to the fast pace of life in the West. They're not slowed down; they're all sped up. They're looking around kind of wide-eyed or kind of wild-eyed, and I've seen some guys just lose their patience and kind of melt down here.
13:11 So, if you're a person that you don't want to be around other foreigners here in the Philippines, then Dumaguete is probably not the right fit for you. Some guys, they see this behavior, they're embarrassed. They think, "Wow, Filipinos might think that we all behave badly, or we're all disrespectful, or we're all inconsiderate."
13:29 And I do think it's valuable for us to set the tone of cultural consideration, of cultural sensitivity, understanding that we're guests here and we're not entitled to be here. So, it's important to be mindful that if you want to be in a community where the expats are perfect, I don't think such a community exists.
13:45 Maybe in BGC. If you're looking for a totally Filipino atmosphere, you won't find that here in Dumaguete. There are other places in the country that I think would be a better fit for you to find that kind of atmosphere where maybe you're the only foreigner in town, maybe you're in a more provincial area that doesn't have the large presence of foreigners.
14:06 If you do want to live here, you're going to see some behavior from expats that is not the best. You know, where I joke around, "We're not sending our best." And in some cases, that's true. I don't think that's always the case, but yeah, I mean, some of us come with some serious baggage and we haven't really addressed it.
14:23 So, if you're somebody who wants a foreigner-free city, Dumaguete ain't it. You probably want to take a look at some other cities. A lot of expats have done the groundwork to find that good place for them, and they're not looking to share that information. They want to keep their city on the down-low.
14:38 They know the secret's out about Dumaguete. And so, this is where you'll want to actually get on a bus, maybe rent a car, and travel around. Look around the country, go to different towns, explore, and you can find the right place for you that doesn't have the high concentration of foreigners.
14:54 And I don't like it, right? I don't like it when I see a foreigner behaving badly here. I'm thinking, you have a lot of options in the world. If you're not happy here, there's so many choices out there. I have a handful of cities that I love. If it didn't work out here, I could go to one of those places and be just as happy. It's not a problem.
15:11 Uh, fortunately, I am happy here in DGT. This is something that I, I'm aware of because occasionally I do see a foreigner acting badly, and I think this bad behavior contributes to the stereotype of foreigners here in the Philippines being impatient, being arrogant, being rude, not considering local culture, and all around just being a bother in some ways.
15:32 I don't think that's the whole story, but when foreigners act up, it definitely adds to that. And I've definitely met locals with stories of foreigners not acting on their best behavior, not giving a good impression of us foreigners. The Filipinos, from my experience, want you to enjoy the country. They want you to enjoy your time here, to come back if you're just a traveler, to stay if that's an option for you.
15:54 Finally, if you want to have that sense that you're a rockstar foreigner, you're the only foreigner in town, I know some guys really like that, some gals really like that. You're not going to have that sense here. Foreigners are a dime a dozen in Dumaguete.
16:05 Point number five. This is the fifth and final point. It's a point that many of you are probably familiar with if you're used to living back in the States. It's not easy to find housing here in Dumaguete. This is contrary to what most people think about when it comes to Southeast Asia, that most countries, most cities in Southeast Asia are overbuilt, right? There's more housing supply than there is demand.
16:31 Dumaguete is not like that. Dumaguete is very popular, and the desirable places go fast, especially in desirable areas, places that people really want to live in Dumaguete. Places like Valencia, places like DN Housing, in particularly desirable parts of the city, always go fast.
16:46 If you want to be in the Valencia Hills, if you want to be in Dawin, be prepared to pay a premium and be prepared to move fast. It's not like a city like Chiang Mai where it's very easy to find a place to live. You don't like one building, you can easily move to a neighboring building. It's not like that here.
17:03 I've heard of people on their way to check out a place and then it gets rented when they're en route. So, be prepared for that. If you have a specific area that you really want to live in, then jump on it. You may have to make do with limited options compared to what you become accustomed to in other Southeast Asian cities.
17:20 I recommend checking out my friend Janet's channel if you want to see some examples of available real estate here. She does a great job of covering different places that are available for rent. You may find a place that you'd like to live featured on her channel. Don't expect to find perfect housing upon arrival. Don't expect to have a hundred different options to choose from, especially if you're budget-conscious.
17:42 It may take you some time to find the right place for you. It certainly took me a while to find the right place for me. It took me a while to find housing that I'm happy with, where I can be productive, where I can have a comfortable life, where I can get a good night's sleep. Be prepared for it to take you some time to find that.
18:00 I think Dumaguete has been somewhat caught off guard by the rapid increase in popularity in recent years. They weren't expecting things to skyrocket like this, so they are building more housing, but you may have to compromise on some level when it comes to housing. It may take you some time to find your way around town and figure out where you like living. It's not necessarily like Cebu where most people know they want to live in IT Park, or in Manila where you're likely to be able to just walk around certain target neighborhoods, go from building to building, and inquire about vacancies.
18:38 Dumaguete doesn't have that high-rise architecture that you see in the bigger cities in the Philippines like Cebu, Davao, and Manila. Here, there are a few bigger buildings. Spatial Marina is one of those larger buildings. I recently inquired with their leasing department about availability, and the person I spoke with said they don't have any openings until February. So, they're a very popular building and seem to get a ton of demand.
19:06 There is demand for that, but I don't know that I see enough options online at the current time. That could change, but for right now, if you're looking for that condo lifestyle, it's just not as easy to find those options here. They do exist, and I think they go quick. You do pay a premium for that here, maybe even more so than in the bigger cities because those units are not as readily available as the units in Cebu or Manila, where there are tons of buildings that meet that description.
19:35 Here, it's much more like single-family homes, probably more similar to what you're used to in the US or Canada, where you need to inquire more on an individual unit basis as opposed to just going up to a big building and asking. Along with that, the housing situation is more spread out. You're not going to be able to just walk down the street and check on 10 different buildings. You may go to a neighborhood and find three buildings for rent, but they're spread four or five blocks apart from each other.
20:05 That's where it also helps to have transportation to look at the different options. It could be a challenge to come here and see that because, on one hand, it's an awesome place to live. On the other hand, anytime you have a place that's desirable to live and has recently accelerated in popularity, it can create these situations.
20:21 I don't think it's as extreme as in the United States because most foreigners living here are not trying to commute to a job. They can be more flexible, with some living in the province or surrounding areas. If they were having to commute and needed to be near a certain location early in the morning until late afternoon, then I think that could pressure it more. A lot of guys come here to slow down; they're not tied to working in a certain location.
20:50 So, there might be some areas that they can spread out to that they wouldn't be able to if they were back home and needed to keep their commute to, say, 30 or 45 minutes each way. That's a plus. But if you come here and expect a Thailand situation, or even a Cebu or Manila situation, I think you may be disappointed by the amount of work that's cut out for you to find that place that you like.
21:12 A lot of people do find they have to compromise, I think more so than in bigger cities. You can get away with not riding a motorbike in Cebu or Manila. In my opinion, it's harder to do that here in Dumaguete because the city is more spread out. You may have to focus on a few options close by if you're not willing to ride where those neighborhoods get a ton of demand.
21:33 There are guys who don't want to ride a motorbike for various reasons. They're going to focus on those neighborhoods and limit their search to those options, often being willing to pay a higher price to enjoy that walkability factor.
21:46 Let me know what you think in the comments section down below. I think it's a great city; I think it's got a lot of charm. There's a lot of interesting things happening here, and I think the future here is exciting. Give us a thumbs up if you enjoy this content; it helps with the YouTube algorithm. Finally, subscribe to the channel down below if you want to see more content like this, and we'll see you soon.
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