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Dumaguete offers a balanced lifestyle with Western conveniences and a friendly atmosphere, making it an appealing destination for expats seeking a more relaxed pace of life compared to larger Philippine cities.
The video explores Dumaguete, a city in the Philippines, offering first impressions that counter the idea of it being overhyped. The host finds it to be a cool, smaller city with a more relaxed vibe than Manila or Cebu. Despite initial perceptions from vlogs, the expat presence is noticeable but not overwhelming, making up a smaller percentage of the population than often portrayed. The city boasts pleasant weather, a nice boulevard, and a friendly local population accustomed to interacting with foreigners.
Dumaguete is highlighted as a special city, especially since its mention in a Forbes list, offering Western conveniences without the crowded feeling of larger metropolises. It functions as a transportation hub with a ferry terminal, facilitating travel to Mindanao and other parts of the Philippines. The discussion touches on the potential for single men to find relationships, though it's also noted as a place for couples seeking a quieter environment away from family pressures. The cost of living can be managed by local connections, research, and choosing to live in surrounding, less populated areas like Bacong or Valencia.
The city's online presence is significant, contributing to its appeal as a place to live if one doesn't need to work locally. It's described as growing, with expats coming and going, and it's emphasized that Dumaguete is a low-key, laid-back destination rather than a party city like Cebu. While not as large as expected, its spread-out nature necessitates personal transportation, such as a motorbike, for efficient exploration. The people are characterized as gregarious, fun-loving, social, and less materialistic than in the West, contributing to a feeling of stepping back in time to a friendlier era.
In summary, Dumaguete is a modestly sized city with a manageable population and mild traffic. It offers a surprising variety of activities, from mountains to diving, and a peaceful, chill atmosphere distinct from Cebu or Manila. Its appeal lies in its blend of accessibility to amenities and a relaxed lifestyle, making it a desirable location for many seeking a different pace of life in the Philippines.
The Dumaguete Philippines expat lifestyle offers a balanced pace, blending Western conveniences with a friendly, social atmosphere. It's a smaller, more manageable city than Manila or Cebu, providing a relaxed vibe.
Yes, Dumaguete is known for its friendly and social locals who are accustomed to interacting with foreigners. This welcoming environment contributes significantly to the positive expat experience in the Philippines.
The cost of living in Dumaguete, Philippines can be moderated by building relationships with locals and researching prices. Opting for areas outside the main city, like Bacong or Valencia, can also help manage expenses effectively.
Key takeaways for Dumaguete expat life include its manageable pace, friendly locals, and a good balance of amenities without overwhelming crowds. It serves as a hub for travel and offers a laid-back atmosphere distinct from larger Philippine cities.
Expats often choose Dumaguete over Cebu or Manila for its more relaxed pace and less crowded environment. It offers Western conveniences without the overwhelming feel of larger metropolises, making it appealing for a quieter lifestyle.
Due to its spread-out nature, personal transportation is essential in Dumaguete. For long-term residents, a motorbike is a highly recommended option for efficient travel and exploration within and around the city.
Dumaguete is described as a cool, smaller city with a more relaxed vibe than Manila or Cebu, and it's not overhyped. While there are expats, they aren't overwhelming and make up a smaller percentage of the population than often portrayed. The city offers Western conveniences without the crowded feeling of larger metropolises.
The cost of living in Dumaguete can be managed by forming relationships with locals and choosing to live in surrounding, less populated areas like Bacong or Valencia. Researching prices through vlogs and local connections can also help moderate expenses.
Dumaguete is noted as a place where single men might find relationships, but it's also a good option for couples seeking a quieter environment away from family pressures. It offers a laid-back atmosphere distinct from party cities like Cebu.
Due to its spread-out nature, personal transportation is recommended for exploring Dumaguete efficiently. Motorbikes are suggested as a good option for long-term residents. Trikes are also highlighted as comfortable and convenient for getting around.
The people in Dumaguete are characterized as gregarious, fun-loving, and social. They are accustomed to interacting with foreigners and contribute to a friendly atmosphere that feels like a step back to a simpler time. They are also described as less materialistic than people in the West.
Dumaguete offers a surprising variety of activities, including access to mountains and diving. The Boulevard is also mentioned as a pleasant area for walking.
0:09 Hey YouTube, Alex here, and I am walking on the Boulevard in Dumaguete. I wanted to share my first impressions of the city, giving you my thoughts on whether you should come here. A lot of people are asking me, 'Oh man, isn't it overhyped? Isn't it done?' Do I agree with that? Stay tuned, and we'll get into it.
0:30 My answer is no, it's not overdone. It's a cool city. It's smaller than Cebu or Manila, so you're not going to have that overwhelming metropolitan area vibe that you have in Manila or in Cebu. I walked out of the airport and was just walking down the street; there's more infrastructure than you'd think.
0:50 Here we're on the boulevard, it's very nicely paved, the brickwork is really nice. It's fine to go walking. I don't see as many foreigners as I would have thought. If you watch the vloggers, you get the impression that half the population here in Dumaguete is foreign. I do see some foreigners here, but it's not every other person.
1:08 I think it's maybe 5% of the population. It's not as common as I would have thought it would be based on the vloggers. I think all of us were watching foreign vloggers and thinking, 'Oh man, everybody in that town is a vlogger.' There are a lot of vloggers, but as a proportion of the population, I think it's kind of overblown.
1:24 I am out here during the day. At nighttime, when everybody's off work, a lot of people come out here to the boulevard and go walking. You see people scattered throughout here, but there's just really not that many people. I like the weather a lot; the Philippines has my favorite weather in Southeast Asia, and Dumaguete is no exception.
1:43 You've got the wonderful ocean breeze. I think it may be that there's more tree cover here. There's the "W" not bar. You've got tons of beautiful women here, let's just be honest. There's a lot of gorgeous women.
1:51 Filipinos in general are friendly people. They will smile at you, they will talk to you. I go up and introduce myself to people and just start talking. It's a rare place in the world that you can just go up and have conversations with people, and they will be cheerful and friendly. You're not going to be out of place; they're used to seeing foreigners here.
2:11 They're used to interacting with foreigners. Ever since Dumaguete was on the Forbes list, it's a special city. I can see why so many people want to live here. You have a lot of Western conveniences without having that crowded feeling that you can get in Manila or Cebu.
2:26 Where if you want to leave or come to the Philippines, you're probably going through one of those two cities. You're flying to the Manila airport, you've got people funneling out to all the different parts of the Philippines.
2:37 Behind me here, you've got a ferry terminal. I'm not sure where these ferries go to. I did just see a boat pull up and drop a bunch of people off. Dumaguete is a great hub; you can get around to other parts of the country in Mindanao.
2:50 Now, because I've got some friends I want to see in Mindanao, now you could also take a ferry to Cebu. It looks like he's having a bad day. What are some other for? Oh, hello sir. Hello sir.
3:00 That ocean breeze smells incredible. It's such a unique smell. I think some people might not like it; it's kind of salty.
3:10 Could you come here and have success as a single guy? I'm going to disagree with Paul here. I do think that there's room for single guys to come here. And today, you're probably going to meet more than one beautiful woman here. You're probably going to meet more than one nice woman that you'd consider having a relationship with.
3:25 I do think that it's a good idea to eventually commit because you don't want to get a reputation as a 'chick boy.' You might run into some problems there. I'm not going to speak from personal experience, you know.
3:33 That being said, I get what Paul said when he said this is a place for couples. It is a place that once you meet a woman from the Philippines, perhaps in a different part of the country, and you want some space between her and her family, just due to boundaries, then it is a place for that.
3:46 You can bring a woman here from a different part of the country, settle down, have your Western conveniences. For the guys who are staying here more long-term, they're staying outside of the city. They're staying in Bacong, where I'm staying. They're staying in Dau, where the dive resorts are at.
4:01 They might be staying in Siulan, which is near the airport. There's also Valencia in the Hills. While everything is centered around DTI, the transportation, this sort of hub-and-spoke system, where you've got the hub at the terminal, and then people go north or they go west into the hills or they go south toward the beaches and resorts.
4:18 And so, when you have this system, it lends itself to be based in one of the surrounding areas that's less populated. You're not going to be hearing traffic go by; you won't feel as crowded around as you might feel in the city proper.
4:29 It's not a big city, but it is densely populated. It's growing more and more as more foreigners come to live here. I still can't get over how compact it is; I thought it was going to be so much bigger.
4:41 Dumaguete has this outsized online presence. People are always talking about Dumaguete. I get why this place has that appeal. If you're not needing to work, why not live here? Why not give it a shot? It's not overdone until, like, half the people you go out and see are foreigners, which is the case in some places that I've been in other countries.
4:57 Then I think it's still got a hello sir, uh, it's still got a lot of room to grow. There's a lot of room for new people to come here. Some expats move on; they find it's not for them. It's not like every expat moves here and stays for a thousand years, unfortunately.
5:14 We do lose some expats, probably some. It's more fortunate than unfortunate. Don't come here and expect a mega party; it is a fairly low-key or laid-back place. It's a little bit different from Cebu City, where it seems to be more of a party scene.
5:32 I think that makes sense, right? I mean, if you're coming into the country and you're jet-lagged, you want to just blow off steam. First thing you want to do in Mactan is head to a bar, but that's not going to be as much of a thing you'll do here. Is there some of that? Yeah, I do see some bars, but it's not going to be this over-the-top party scene.
5:46 There's a lot to see here. It's deceptive. It's not the biggest place, and if you're just walking around like I am right now, you might feel like, 'Oh, I've seen it all,' because it is spread out. You're going to want to have some kind of transport here. You've got to sort out some way of getting around efficiently.
6:04 More first impressions. I've just been shocked at how much I'm talking to people and meeting people. I feel like I've done more socializing here in a day than I would in the US in an entire month.
6:13 Now, how about pricing? I know a lot of people are thinking, 'Hey, the Philippines, can I afford it? Living on X a month in Vietnam, I'm living on X a month in Thailand.' There's a few things that you can do to help moderate the cost. The one is, of course, finding a relationship. If you're dating a local woman, she's going to dramatically reduce prices. She will be a local face where she's going to get the local price when she goes shopping.
6:40 Don't go with her if you're trying to negotiate for an apartment. Once again, have her help you to negotiate; she's probably going to get a better price than you will. Also, if she goes to the market, she knows what's on offer, right? She knows the kind of fruits and vegetables they have, she knows what's in season.
6:56 That's the first step you have toward moderating your prices is meeting a nice woman who can help you sort that out. Number two, watch plenty of vlogs. There's so many vlogs covering Dumaguete and the Philippines in general. Get a better sense of what pricing is. Figure out roughly what things cost. Don't just go in, 'Oh, I'll overpay because I'm a big shot.'
7:16 You never know when you're going to need money here. It's not a place where most people are going to be able to make a lot of money. You need to moderate what you're spending. You're not going to just go and get it. It's not like Vietnam or Thailand where you can go teach English if you need some extra money.
7:31 Most of the people here speak some basic English; they don't really need English lessons. It's not a viable way for most people to make money. Number three, check out different areas in town if you want to moderate your expenses. Figure out, 'Hey, what does it cost if I want to live on the beach?' Figure out what does it cost if I want a single-family home.
7:48 One of the things that Mike said to me that I really appreciate is he said, 'Figure out your cost of living, not I'm bouncing from here to here to here, but what is the base amount you need to pay your rent, your food, your transportation, and build on that.' It's good to get a sense, 'This is what I have to spend every month,' and then move on to, 'This is what I can spend every month to raise the bar.'
8:10 And that way, you know, this is roughly what I'm going to be expected to spend just to maintain my standard of life here. You see more and more people coming out, hello, to enjoy themselves, to enjoy this beautiful.
8:22 Hi, hi there. Welcome to Dag. So nice to meet you. Um, you know, people here are gregarious and they're fun-loving. Having a good time, they're very social. I'd use the word bucolic, not like broccoli. It's like taking a time machine, going back in time in a time where people were more friendly. They're not so caught up by materialism like in the West.
8:45 It's shocking to me how generous people are. It's such a special place. Another thing that I've noticed is that the Philippines is a young country. When I came here five years ago, I was 27, and I felt like I was at the median age of the people here. And I actually looked it up, and it turns out it's true.
9:02 Even at 31, I still feel like there's this connection that I have with people. I feel like an old 31-year-old. They're so nice here. When I get a motorbike here, yeah, I think it's a good idea to get a motorbike if you are going to come here.
9:17 If you are going to come here to do meet and stay long term, the city is pretty spread out. It's not really a place that you can do everything within your own neighborhood. You'll have snacks and convenience stores, but if you want to really experience it, you're going to want a faster mode of transportation.
9:32 What is my final summary of Dumaguete? Summing it up, it's a modestly sized city, not too many people. You've got some Western conveniences, you've got shopping options, but it's not overwhelming. There's not too many people here, and the traffic here is very mild compared to Cebu or Manila.
9:52 You still got a lot of single local women if you're wanting to date. You've got a variety of activities: you've got the mountains, you've got the diving. You've got a surprising amount of variety. You also have peace and quiet. It definitely feels more chill than Cebu, definitely feels more chill than Manila.
10:07 I can see why so many people want to live here in Dumaguete. So, thanks so much for watching. Give us a thumbs up if this first impressions video has been helpful for you. If you agree, comment down below. If you disagree, if you don't like Dumaguete for whatever reason, let me know why.
10:20 Finally, if you want to see more content like this, subscribe to the channel down below, and we'll see you soon.
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