For groceries, Dumaguete City has plenty of choices. We have two Robinson’s Supermarket stores which will probably provide you with the best selection of fresh meats, brand name processed foods that you will recognize as well as a wide assortment of fruits and vegetables. There is also Lee Plaza, right downtown and Hypermart, on the highway to Valencia. Both are owned by the well-established local Lee family and though they do not have as many western brand name goods, they do have a wide selection of all else.
Another option for fruits/vegetables and “wet” goods, like fish, are the many open air markets. The biggest is right downtown in the center of Dumaguete, but if you live on the outskirts, you will find local markets in Dauin, Baacong, Sibulan and Valencia.
When it comes to clothes, electronics, shoes, sporting goods the best choice is Robinson’s Mall. This is a modern mall similar to what we our used to in Western countries with many small boutiques, a department store and many restaurants and food kiosks.
For home improvement and maintenance, we have many stores where you can find just about everything. This includes Citi Hardware, Robinson’s Builders, Triumph Superstore, as well as many many small mom and pop type hardware stores.
Though Dumaguete city is not in the same league as Cebu or Manila when it comes to shopping choices, we are a longs way away from what anyone would consider remote . Again, if you need something, ask!
The Dumaguete City and surrounding region’s public transportation system relies heavily on tricycles, multicabs, jeepneys and Busses. Within the city itself, the easiest way to get around is the tricycle and these can be flagged down on almost any street. The fare in a shared trike will range from 20-40 pesos and that would get you anyplace within city limits. If you don’t like to be crowded in with strangers and taking a circuitous rout to your destination, wait for an empty trike and get a d private ride for 50-100 pesos. If you are heading out of town, you can catch a multicab or Jeepney at one of several loading stations scattered about town. A third option is a Ceres bus, which you can catch either at the bus station on Perdices avenue beside Robinson’s Mall, or you can just flag one down on the North or South National Highway.
For personal transportation, you can choose either a motorbike or car.
Motorbikes here are typically small 100 to 150 cc models, however you can get bigger bikes ordered through any of the local dealerships. Be careful on the roads though because it can be risky. Very few of the rules of the road are followed so it is not for the faint of heart
The safest transportation is definitely by car. There are dealerships for all the major car brands here locally, however be prepared to spend more on a new vehicle here than you would in most western countries, due to import customs and duties. Purchasing a used car is difficult. There are very few reputable used car dealerships and private sales are more often than not, overpriced. If you are seriously considering a used car, Cebu City would give you more choices. One important point to note when buying a used car is to make sure that the registration is not from Mindanao. There is a high occurrence of fake registrations from there, and consequrently the local Ministry of Transport offices will not do your yearly registrations. You will have to send some one to Mindanao, or you may find that the registration you were given is not valid.
One of the biggest financial savings you will find when you start looking at Dumaguete City as your retirement destination, will be in the housing sector. Whether you chose to rent or get your own home, the cost will be 30-40% of what you would expect to pay in most mid to large cities in the USA or Europe. Just as a rough gauge, rent of a nice house or apartment will be under 500 USD per month and the price tag of owning really nice home will be in the 150,000 to 200,000 USD range.
It is important to note however that the real industry in The Philippines is a whole lot more complicated than what we have come to expect from our experience in the West. The laws are complicated and restricting to foreigners in some ways. Add to that the generally poor level of professionalism and knowledge of many so called, real estate brokers, and you can get severely twisted around. The one piece of advice we would have for anybody retiring to Dumaguete is to employ top end professional company with a proven track record of references. There is several operating in the region and we would be happy to share with you here names and contact info.
Constructing a home here in the Dumaguete area has both an upside and a downside. The upside is that you will be able to build EXACTLY what you want rather than what someone before you wanted, and for a cheaper price than you would have paid buying a similar home that is existing. The downside though is that the process can be challenging, even to someone that has expansive construction knowledge and experience in their home country. Construction IS different here, and we are not just talking about the methods and materials. What you will face is contractors or work crews that have a different work culture than what you are used to. First thing to be extremely careful about is when you are given a price. Filipino culture is one where they want to please people, so many times they will tell you a price that they think you want to hear and whether or not that quote is anywhere realistic does not matter. This would not be a big problem for you the client, if the workers or contractor would honor their price, sadly however, most do not have the financial capabilities to honor their commitments once things gone wrong and they find out they under-bid.
The good news though is this downside can be managed properly for a positive outcome. There are a few good and reputable builders in our area and we would be happy to put you in touch with them.
