Hi guys. I have a question for those of you familiar with the Philippines. If you were looking for a location as a possible home for retirement, what would be your first choice and why? Which would you advise staying away from?  Would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!

I am about to embark on this adventure at the end of this month.

I am currently a retiree in the Pattaya suburb = Jomtien - a small establishment directly on the Gulf of Thailand beaches with hirise condos all along the beach.

Due to the new Thai government recently implementing unfriendly tax laws - I will scout nearby countries for alternate retiree solutions.

I am trying to find the Jomtien equivalent in the Philippines - and this has been an enormous challenge to find beaches in the Philippines that have hirise condos directly on the beach like in Miami, Da Nang - Vietnam, and here in Jomtien - Thailand.  It appears that most of the beach communities in the Philippines are underdeveloped and do not have clusters of hirise condo buildings with direct sea access.

So, I will start my 2 month scouting adventure in Cebu City (near IT Park) - as it has the closest potential similarity to Jomtien - Thailand in nearby Mactan (island) Newtown Beach - as shown in the below map.

If one would live in the heart of Pattaya City and wanted to get to the Dongtan gay beach then depending on traffic that would entail anywhere between 15 to 25 minutes.

My preliminary research shows that to get from IT Park in Cebu City to the Jomtien area on Mactan island at Newtown beach entails 45 minutes depending on traffic.

So I will live for a couple of weeks in Cebu City and then go over to Newtown beach and rent a place in one of the hirise condo towers there so that I can assess how similar it is as the retiree destination that I currently have here in Jomtien.

I ruled out Manila as it is too big, crowded, congested, and a general traffic nightmare.

For Davao, I could not find any seafront neighborhoods that have a Jomtien hirise condo on the sea feeling to it.

@bobtpa1614502761 If you are aware of such places in Davao - please let me know.

Thanks.

 

It's been a long time since I was there. My first choice would be up in mountains in Baguio, it's not the prettiest city around but I like the climate there (never too hot and I have never needed air con when up there even in the wet season), it's a 5 hour bus ride to Manila on Victory Liners first class or deluxe bus service (even the overnight sleeper royal class). They also have a private hospital up there just in case medical is required, not in the same class as those in Bangkok or St Luke's medical in Manila but good enough for immediate needs. Cebu in my view is little more than a mini Manila and is congested traffic wise so a no for me. Can't say much about Davao as I've never been there but friends are split 50/50 on it, some say it's good because they feel safe there other say it's boring.

Unfortunately, Baguio is not on my list, as I am a sea view loving person.

Nearness to the sea and sea view are one of my top 3 priorities for a retirement destination.

Thanks for the heads up about the nasty Cebu City traffic situation.  I am hoping that the traffic situation on nearby Mactan island Newtown beach area will be similar to the ok level of traffic that we have here in Jomtien.  The secret to a happy traffic life here in Jomtien is to minimize the number of times that you need to venture into Pattaya City, as that traffic can be a nightmare.

8 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Thanks for the heads up about the nasty Cebu City traffic situation.

Whenever I ask people about Cebu, that is their first reply/concern.....

With all this negativity about Cebu - I guess the winner for my "where to retire" trifecta will be Da Nang - as it already meets:

1.) The Jomtien like hirise condos directly on the immense Da Nang seashore.

2.) Traffic in Da Nang is NOTHING like Manila, Bangkok, HCMC, Hanoi, Pattaya, and perhaps Cebu (as I still need to have my feet down on the ground to assess the actual traffic situation).

But I still need to go through with this comparing retirement destinations excercise anyway, as actual field research is generally more reliable than just relying on hearsay.

My preliminary research for gay life is that Cebu appears to have more to offer (bars, clubs, and saunas) than Da Nang does.

I was in Cebu earlier this year 

Traffic 🚦 particularly beeping constantly drove me crazy 

Having said that Cebu has nice parts and big modern shopping malls such as Ayala and Cebu SeaWorld 

Casinos , modern restaurants etc 

Some parts have just rubbish thrown on the streets however , they seem to dump rubbish and pee openly on the streets 

I didn't check out the gay bars so please update on that 

And many Filipino on Grindr many of whom are not money boys 🤑

@bkkmfj2648, did you enquire or maybe even visit Alpha Massage?
They have a few branches in Manila and now one in Cebu too. 
I wanted to go there in Manila, but didn't because Manila traffic in the evening hours is just too bad.

Not sure what exactly there is on offer, Sauna, sometimes parties and massage, something like that, HE???. They have a special blindfolded massage, but not clear if and how you can choose a Masseur. 

Just curious what I missed, maybe it's just good marketing and also not sure it is 100% male only (receptionists seem to be female)

On X:

Main account: @massage_alpha
Cebu branch: @cebu_alpha

 

 

23 hours ago, 10tazione said:

did you enquire or maybe even visit Alpha Massage?

Thank you @10tazione for this suggestion.

It looks to be a fantastic place and thanks to you it is now high on my list to go and checkout.

Here is a video that they posted.

 

What is interesting is that when I talk to the local Cebuano guys here, noone has mentioned Alpha.

They only mention Sandia spa and Infinity spa.

After I visit Alpha I will add it to my upcoming trip report segments.

 

 

Maybe it has not yet opened? I thought it opened in november, but that post was referring to Alpha East in Manila area. The posts by @cebu_alpha are mostly reposts of @massage_alpha, so it is a bit confusing.

I could find one post from last year, "opening soon", but nothing else ... There is one review on google maps, but it is probably a fake review.

@bkkmfj2648, the video is also about Alpha East, i think it is a different branch.