Sinulog dancer.

Cebu is a large island located in the Visayas, Philippines. It is conveniently located in the center of the Philippines archipelago and offers ocean and international air access to the rest of the Philippines and other Asian destinations. As a domestic and international hub, Cebu City is ideal as a retirement home base that enables a footloose retiree to easily travel abroad to the rest of Asia.

International Living in Cebu, Philippines: Location and Geography

Cebu island is elongated and runs in a north to south direction for about 150 miles and is essentially a mountain range surrounded by beaches. Cebu has a deep harbor on its eastern coast that has made it the country’s primary seaport throughout its history. Cebu retirement is ideal for those wanting a tropical island environment but with the ability to choose between a modern urban setting or a small beach town setting.

Climatically, Cebu has a wet-dry monsoon type of climate like the rest of the Philippines. The dry season is from January to May, followed by a rainy season lasting for the rest of the year. Cebu lies south of the major hurricane tracks that pass through the northern Philippines annually. Overall, the climate is generally humid with temperatures in the upper 20 and lower 30 degrees Celsius.

Retirees desiring a warm tropical climate, palm trees, and beaches will find Cebu to their liking for international living.

International Living in Cebu, Philippines: History and People

Asian Influence on Cebu: Even before the arrival of Magellan, small kingdoms had evolved on Cebu island. Cebu was one of these small kingdoms and had emerged into a trading center in the Asia region. There is an abundance of archaeological evidence indicating trade with China and Southeast Asia long before Spanish colonization. Immigrants from China preceded the coming of the Spanish by a few centuries.

Spanish Influence on Cebu: In 1521, Magellan arrived in Cebu and began to set the stage for Spanish colonialism that was to introduce Catholicism, Spanish land use systems, language and architecture into the region. Magellan was not able to see the Philippines colonized however. That same year, the explorer was killed by one of Cebu’s rival chieftains (Lapu-Lapu) and it was not until a few years later that the Spanish was able to colonize the country. Cebu continued to be a major trading center under the Spanish, serving as an intermediary between Mexico and Asia. Chinese arrived in significant numbers during the 1800’s.

American/Japanese Influence on Cebu: Following the defeat of Spain in the Spanish American War, the Philippines became an American colony until after World War II. During the war, the Philippines was briefly taken over by the Japanese – until Japan’s defeat in 1945.

Thus, the people of Cebu are a reflection of this complex history. Most Cebuano’s are Visayan (primarily Malay ancestry), but have intermarried with Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, and Americans throughout their history – resulting in a heterogeneous population. Cebuanos speak Visayan and English and it is not too difficult to get around in the city of Cebu with just English as your primary language.

The people are predominantly Catholic, but Buddhist influences from China can be found. The influence of Islam from Southeast Asia is also established on the island. In recent years, other religions have begun to emerge and grow in Cebu and it is not unusual to find Mormon, Adventist and other churches emerging around Cebu City.

Today, the population of Cebu is about 3.5 million with about half living in Metro Cebu and the remainder mostly scattered in small towns on the perimeter of the island. Metro Cebu is the second largest metropolitan area in the Philippines and is the nation’s major domestic shipping center. Metro Cebu actually consists of Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Naga, and Talisay cities.

A retiree who is comfortable with a highly cosmopolitan and diverse culture will find Cebu an interesting retirement destination. Americans will find it fairly easy to get around the city because of the widespread use of English.

International Living in Cebu, Philippines: Cebu Lifestyles

Cost of Living in Cebu: in global statistical terms, the cost of international living in Cebu falls in the middle of the high and low cost major cities around the world. However, if one is looking at the individual retiree, the best answer to ‘what is the cost of living in Cebu’ – is that it depends on your choice of lifestyle.

Living an American type of lifestyle is possible in Cebu, with access to housing, goods, and services that a typical American might want. The cost of living for this kind of lifestyle will tend to be high and for some items may be as expensive as living in the United States. However, with some adjustments to one’s lifestyle, the cost of living in Cebu can be very affordable particularly with respect of housing, food, healthcare, and labor.

Healthcare in Cebu: access to first class healthcare is available in Cebu City. The city has aninternationally accredited private hospital that can provide quality healthcare services. There are also a number of smaller private clinics and hospitals that can provide good routine healthcare services. Most Americans however, will probably find public hospitals to be less than desirable. Whether public or private, medical costs will still tend to be lower than comparable healthcare treatment in the United States.

Dental care is widely available, with some offices offering modern and affordable dental services. A simple filling can be as cheap as 10 to 20 dollars.

For long term care, Cebu City offers very low cost caretakers, maids, and other helpers. It provides the retiree with a viable option to the very high cost of long term care in the United States. Depending on where one lives in the city, it’s possible to hire a live in helper for under $100 a month.

Housing and Social Amenities in Cebu: Cebu, like the Philippines has a highly stratified society, with a minority of the people being very rich, a majority being poor, and a small but growing middle class. To a large degree, housing options reflect this economic reality. Very upscale homes and condominiums can rent for $1,000 and up. However, it is relatively easy to find relatively large ‘middle-class’ homes or apartments for rent away from the city center for as little $250.

Basic utilities are adequate. The electrical system is somewhat vulnerable to rolling brownouts during some months. The water system is decent for bathing, but less so for drinking. Most Americans will purchase water in bottles (relatively cheap) for drinking. For cooking, gas is the more common option.
There is a police force, but it is relatively small for a city the size of Metro Cebu. Private security guards tend to be widely used for many businesses and upscale neighborhoods. Ambulance services are available. Firefighting services are also available. The postal service exists, but is not anywhere near as developed or as reliable as in the United States. Water drainage systems are just adequate, with some areas of the city being vulnerable to minor flooding during the rainy season.

International living in Cebu City can be very affordable or very luxurious depending on your tastes. Housing in general, is affordable. The major problem for most Americans is the weakness in the city’s infrastructure (e.g. postal service, water quality, electrical power) – characteristic of a city struggling to keep up with rapid population growth.

Shopping in Cebu: Cebu City lacks very little when it comes to shopping. The city sports two very upscale malls, with brand name stores, upscale dining options, movie theaters, a wide range of services (mailing, banking, travel, etc.), a good selection of western style franchises (Starbucks, McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, TGIF, Ace Hardware), and a large and modern supermarket with a wide range of goods catering to a foreigner population.

For smaller budgets, there are many smaller sized malls located around the city that sell lower priced items (appliances, clothing, hardware, household items, food) – that seem to cater more to the growing middle class population. And for very tight budgets there are many small stores and local markets where one can find very low priced food, clothing, and household items that cater to the less well-off local population.

Transportation and Communications in Cebu: taxis are abundant and relatively low in cost compared to their counterparts in America. The local population makes wide use of jeepneys (small buses), tricycles (multi-passenger motorcycles) and tricycads (multi-passenger bicycles). Cebu City’s airport is an international and domestic airport. Getting around the Philippines or Asia is relatively easy.

The communications infrastructure is fairly well developed and includes cable television with many foreign channels (American, European, Japanese, Korean, Spanish), radio, telephone system, and internet. Cell phones are the most popular way of communicating and the wireless network is well developed.

International Living in Cebu, Philippines: Things to Do in Cebu

Cultural Activities in Cebu: Cebu is widely known for a large number of festivals and celebrations that occur throughout the year. The largest and most well known festival is the Sinulog which is held in January. The festival is an honor to baby Jesus and consists of parades with people celebrating dancing in festive costumes and which culminates in a large festival contest.

The number of museums is on the small side for the amateur historian. However, in many  respects Cebu City itself is a museum of sorts. Amateur historians will find the influence of Spanish architecture in many churches throughout the island. Much older relics dating back to pre-colonial Chinese and Islamic influences and the indigenous discoverers of the country are less visible but can be found in public and small private museums.

Dining Out in Cebu:  Because of it’s long international history as a port city, dining provides ensures that a Cebu retirement will have a wide selection of international foods as well as a range of local food establishments. In particular, because of the recent influx of Koreans and Japanese, ethnic cuisine from these countries are increasingly available. Of course, for Americans, the ubiquitous McDonald’s and Starbucks are also there. For the retiree who is able to adapt to local foods more readily, there are plenty of very cheap street side food vendors.

Nightlife in Cebu: the more westernized style of nightlife tends to be associated with the nicer hotels and malls. Activities include casinos, discos, fine dining, nightclubs, movie theaters (malls), and shopping. More local tastes include the very popular karaoke style bars.

Outdoor Activities in Cebu: As an island, international living on the island of Cebu provides access to many traditional ocean activities. Beaches outside the city are nice and generally not very crowded. There are many places for diving, swimming, and fishing. And there is no shortage of beach resorts.
On the other hand, there are not too many parks or large sized zoos to visit. There are a number of small animal parks to visit that are decent for a weekend family outing.

International Living in Cebu, Philippines: Summary

The island of Cebu is an ideal retirement destination. The island offers choices of a cosmopolitan urban lifestyle or a more rural and laid back lifestyle.

Strengths: the low cost of living is one of the more attractive features for a retiree. Food, housing, and household help are relatively cheap. Access to modern and affordable healthcare (in the city) is very good. Shopping can range from a modern mega mall to quaint local markets. The retiree has the option of living very luxuriously (somewhat similar to the cost to a living in the United States) or comfortably on a small retirement budget.

Weaknesses: the city’s infrastructure (electricity, water, drainage, postal service, police) is just adequate for retirement. There are work around solutions though by living in a condominium or a more exclusive subdivision where additional services are provided for its residents to make up for the shortfalls in the city’s infrastructure.

Analysis: Cebu island is clearly one of the better retirement destinations in the world with regard to cost of living, quality and affordable healthcare, varied shopping choices, and cultural activities. It offers the potential expatriate with a range of lifestyle choices for a retirement abroad to fit a wide range of budgets. Cebu City offers the retiree a wide range of amernities and its central location makes Cebu City ideal for traveling to other destinations in Asia or the Philippines.

(photos by: dbgg1979)

References and Bibliography:

Cebu and Its Rich History, Official Sinulog site

Cebu Provincial Government, official government site

Living in Cebu Forums, expatriate website

Welcome to Cebu City, offical city government site