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Yes. Check out Paul's channel (Old Dog New Tricks). He occasionally schedules meet n greets fir people living in Dumaguete/ Valencia areas...usually meet in a local restaurant or coffee shop.

@arablacq3 hi I don't know if they do meets but a lot of expats go to a cafe called ( Ground zero) to meet I know Paul, Mark and bud go there pretty regular hope that helps

@Frank Lyszkiewicz We go to Ground Zero a lot, not for meet-ups but to eat from their excellent restaurant. I met Paul there once and see a lot of Westerners in the coffee house section. The only thing is, if you drive a car, parking is hit or miss.

Hello everyone.
Can anyone tell me if there are meet and greet social gatherings in DUMAGUETE?
-@arablacq3

Yes I concur with the comments above regarding GZ (as we like to refer to it on this Forum) All the 'usual suspects' will be there from about 10am onwards.

If you bump into Alex Kosh (the Russian blogger) can you get his ex GF's CP number and PM me? Cheers.

Places to for Expats to congregate. . . . Reminds me of the days living in Las Vegas, I lived in in a complex where the minimum age was 55.

When I would leave for work in the morning people would be walking their dogs and meeting in one spot. At this meeting of the A.K.C (American Kennel Club) I think a lot of gossip was exchanged.

If not, I think they were talking about the weather or their medical conditions.

@Enzyte Bob

I'd say the average age in GZ is 65 and yes - plenty of gossip.

@arablacq3

Hell I’m in AR USA and even I know thier is….

watch sunshine shoulders .

@Harbred6051 Thanx good info

@Frank Lyszkiewicz Thank you good info

Welcome Arablacq. 

GZ is not bad, best cappuccino in Dumaguete, but I'm not one to hang out in groups and I prefer Bo's coffee for breakfast, although it's a bit noisy because it's on the boulevard. Lot's of guys go there too. Or Tom and Tom's. Or the expensive Starbucks (my last choice, lol).

I want to add that there is a nice parking garage that is cheap, covered, and never full.. at San Jose St and Santa Catalina St. (entrance on Santa Catalina St). This is only one long block south of San Juan St (where GZ is). A 5 min stroll at most.  Also close to BI, if you walk the other direction.

Welcome Arablacq.
GZ is not bad, best cappuccino in Dumaguete, but I'm not one to hang out in groups and I prefer Bo's coffee for breakfast, although it's a bit noisy because it's on the boulevard. Lot's of guys go there too. Or Tom and Tom's. Or the expensive Starbucks (my last choice, lol).
-@pnwcyclist

Yes indeed. Tom Tom's is just around the corner from GZ and I preferred the atmosphere in there to GZ. I visited on the afternoon I arrived in Dumaguete and had a Frappuccino . There was a handwritten note on the door saying their cappucino machine was broken. No big deal as I don't take coffee in the afternoon and wanted something cold. A week later I dropped by and yes the machine was still out of action - which was probably why there were no expats in there.lol. Unlike GZ both Tom Tom's and Bo's coffee have outside seating.

Ate there too many expats in  Valencia/Dumaguete? That enough are there appeals to me in the sense that more expat products may be available in stores. And yet, it can also drive up prices.

Is it a better place to visit than live? Or is it a cleaner version of angeles city?

@sekmet

An interesting question. Is Dumaguete past its sell by date for the 'thinking' expat? Think about it.

I've never understood why any cerebral expat would wish to reside in Angeles city but that's another debate.

I first visited Dumaguete in November 2005. I recall seeing very few expats in the city then although I was based at the Atlantis dive resort in Dauin 20 minutes up the coastal highway.

Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing i.e too many expats. Spain has been ruined by the sheer number of Brits on the costa del sol where its difficult to find a local who speaks the native tongue and even more difficult to find a good paella.

One local blogger recently ran a piece entitled 'Dramaguete' where by 2 Brits, an American & a Canadian had come to violent blows. In terms of store product selection I'm not sure given the Filipinos tenuous grasp of 'service' whether this makes a difference. For sure the hospitality industry - bars, restaurants & nightclubs will follow the money but the laws of the country give very little incentive for expat businessmen to enter this market. Many over the years who tried have got their fingers burnt.

The term 'familiarity breeds contempt': Without doubt the local Filipina population, who define for many expats the raison d'etre for coming in the first place will not be impacted quite so much with the USP that expats are blessed with.

My conclusion for what its worth is that expats have brought more negatives than positives to the cities appeal. You only have to walk the length of the Boulevard on an evening and witness the number of pissheads to figure that out.

Lotus Eater said. . . . .I've never understood why any cerebral expat would wish to reside in Angeles city

***

I'm patiently waiting for a response.

We’re here for the schools, for her two boys. It was Cebu City prior and I’m done with that place. Crowded, polluted, expensive, and traffic crawls at all times of day. Dumaguete is way smaller, cleaner, less expensive and still has some great restaurants, plus good universities. A great quality of life = more expats, and freelancers tend to follow. Other than that, I see no  comparison to Angeles.

Well people probably can live in Angeles City and not indulge in its murky night life. The comparison was more about the quantity  and quality of expats.

Personally, I like living near airports because you never know when you have to go. "Near" meaning within an hours drive. I'm currently about 30 minutes away from PDX.

There is DGT, but it's pretty small. The new panglao airport at least has service to ICN. Not defending AC, because it most definitely is a shit hole.

What do you guys think of Davao City as a place to retire?

What do you guys think of Davao City as a place to retire?
-@Parvaze

I am not sure what it is like to retire there but I must say it is the best city I have visited in the Philippines so far, very clean, no smoking allowed in the streets although there are smoking areas at a lot of the larger hotels and restaurants. Also less traffic than most other cities. Samal Island is only a short boat ride away and well worth exploring and there is plenty of nature and green spaces in and around the city. Mount Apo is also nearby with good walking trails.

Most of the You Tube videos I have seen name Davao as one of the best places to retire in the Philippines and one of the cheapest. There are also  good bars and restaurants to enjoy and the people are very friendly. Kaoir's Place s a cool Resto Bar where the female staff dress up as cowgirls and the place does have a good feel to it with live music and good food.

What do you guys think of Davao City as a place to retire?
-@Parvaze

You will see positive comments but you need to be realistic too:

What do you guys think of Davao City as a place to retire?
-@Parvaze
You will see positive comments but you need to be realistic too:

-@danfinn

I never encountered any of these problems and many polls suggest that Davao is one of the safest cities in SE Asia. It is true though that the UK. US and other Government and Foreign Office Departments of other countries advise against travel to most of Mindanao including Davao.

However that said since the previous  President hailed from Davao, he did his best to make the city as clean and safe as possible and like I said, it is still considered to be one of the best and safest cities in the Philippines.

@Cherryann01 OK, fine, but never went there. What happens when you leave the city limits?

@Cherryann01 Thanks for the response, other than the typical issues you'd deal with in a third world country, overall I've heard mainly positive things about Davao - especially as compared to Angeles and Cebu

@Cherryann01 OK, fine, but never went there. What happens when you leave the city limits?
-@danfinn

I was on holiday there so only went out of the city two times to my recollection, once to Samal Island and once somewhere about one hour outside the centre, to spend a day around one of the beautiful nature reserves. I do sometimes chat to a local from Tagum, which is about 30 or 40 km from the centre of Davao and she told me it is a safe place to live. I seem to remember that there is a member on this Forum who lives in or near Digos City which looks to be about the same distance from Davao in the opposite direction.

I think we need to remember that Metropolitan Davao is the biggest Metro Area by land mass in the Philippines so I guess statistics could sometimes be a little deceiving depending on how they are reported. For example - I read that Butuan City is part of Metro Davao but it is actually a lot closer to Cagayan De Oro and somewhere you would never need to go or pass through if you lived in Davao or the surrounding areas. So if crime statistics in Butuan are just reported and grouped in the Davao statistics, it is kind of a false reading.

I have been to Cagayan De Oro three times and Davao only the once but I can say that I felt a lot safer in Davao without doubt. Nothing bad happened in Cagayan but a sixth sense kept me on high alert on each of my visits.

With regards to Foreign Office advise about not travelling to Mindanao or advising against all but essential travel - this is understandable because of the terrorist threat but I do sometimes ask myself why there are no warnings against travel to other major cities or countries. Manchester, London, Vienna, New York all come to mind after the terrorist attacks there and it seems it is every month or so I watch the UK news and hear a story about a terrorist plot foiled here in the UK. Parts of Mindanao I certainly believe are unsafe, almost no go areas but because Davao is on the Island of Mindanao it seems to come under the same blanket as the rest of the Island. I don't think Davao is any more dangerous than anywhere else in the Philippines, in fact I think it is probably safer than most.