Dumaguete City, One of the top retiring place in Philippines as of 2014

According to the latest survey conducted by the liveandinvestoroverseas.com and Forbes, Dumaguete City, Philippines was recorded as one of the world top retirement place within the country. Dumaguete is a fast growing city situated in Negros Island, Visayas and it is the capital city of Negros Oriental.

Live and Invest Oversea considered Dumaguete City as one of the best place to stay and retire  because the people in Dumaguete are welcoming, friendly and most of them are English speaking. Foreigners have a bigger opportunity to make friends with the  people and enjoy their culture as well.

Dumaguete’s location is also perfect as because it sits off near the ocean where beautiful beaches are just nearby. The City brags attractive tourist destination, amazing historical and meaningful places and a well-developed location that can be a good place for business.  It has a warm, tropical climate that offers much of outdoor adventures that both residents and visitors can enjoy. It is also a good place for outstanding diving, snorkeling and dolphin watching. 

As of now, there are more than 5,000 retirees, including foreigners have chose to make Dumaguete as their permanent home. The main charm for the would-be retiree is a super-low cost of living where a couple could retire as little as US$1,000 per month. 

Additional Reason why Dumaguete is the ideal place to stay:

•          Low Fare For Tansporation

•          Center of Attraction and Shopping Establishment - Dumaguete has  4 ideal shopping malls including  Robinsons, Lee Plaza, Unitop and Tops and Bottoms; all  located at the heart of the city few distance away from each other.

•          Low Renting Rate – With only 5,000 to Php. 15,000,  you can rent a house within the city and or few distance away from the city.

•          Hospitals and Schools are accessible in less than 10 to 15 minutes, they are located within the center of the city.

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Cotabato City emerged among top 50 most competitive cities in PH

To promote a more competitive Philippines and instill a culture of excellence, through public-private sector collaboration as a means to reduce poverty through inclusive growth, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) conducted the 2014 competitiveness index.

  Despite the bad perceptions due to the incidence of violence in Cotabato, such as the August 19 bomb blast that injured several people, the city still emerged as among the most competitive cities in the country for this year.

In the national rankings, which Makati City has topped, the NCC ranked this city 39th most competitive in terms of economic dynamism, government efficiency and infrastructure, with scores of 9.40, 15.95 and 8.73 respectively.

Out of 136 cities surveyed, Cotabato was among the top 50. Mayor Japal Guiani, Jr. attributed the good ranking to “the united efforts of the government and community in the improving security and business climate.”

Last year’s base figure for the ranking was 122 cities but  it was increased to 133 cities for this year’s survey.

According to Halima Satol-Ibrahim, city government information chief, they are way ahead of Quezon, which was ranked 49th, or Tagaytay, Puerto Princesa, and Dumaguete, ranked 72nd, 89th, and 132nd this year.

City Administrator Cynthia Sayadi said amid the occasional breakdown of law and order – which appears “common in any developing area, this citation belongs to us, who labored to keep the peace and promote harmony toward free enterprise.”

In the regional competitiveness index, which General Santos City topped, the city was ranked third. It tailed Koronadal City, the regional seat for Central Mindanao. Kidapawan City on the other hand ranked fourth in the regional category and the 54th most competitive city nationwide.

Mayor Guiani urge its people to continue to work against violence and lawlessness to prove that they can be at par with their progressive neighbors in terms of their access to livelihood opportunities through agriculture, commerce and trade.

In Southern Mindanao region, Mati City in Davao Oriental was on top of the list of most competitive city among new cities in the region.

Nationwide, it ranked 32nd in the list of most competitive cities by scoring 8.05 in economic dynamism, 19.088 in government efficiency and 8.33 in infrastructure. In 2013, Mati City ranked 58th.

Digos City emerged as the big surprise among Southern Mindanao’s young cities when it bested Tagum, Panabo and Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) by landing on the second spot for the regional category. Digos also climbed to the 56th spot nationwide in the 2014 rankings from 122nd in 2013.

Digos vice chair of the economic committee, Councilor Michael Latasa stated in an interview, “Our efforts under Mayor Joseph Peñas’ leadership have paid up and we will continue to do our best to make better things work for our people.”

Digos City, primarily an agriculture production and trading area, was ranked the second top city for 2014 among young cities in the Davao region as it garnered scores of 7.49 for economic dynamism, 17.36 for government efficiency and 7.42 for infrastructure.

Tagum’s score in these categories were 7.12, 16, and 8.8, respectively, which landed it on the 60th position nationwide for this year, or three notches down Digos City’s. Panabo was ranked 79th while was Igacos was 98th.

Davao City on the other hand – Southern Mindanao’s oldest and prime city – was ranked 4th nationwide on the 2014 list. It was previously at the 81st position.

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Henann Garden Resort

Photo credit: agoda

If you want an enjoyable holiday near the beaches and also want to visit the towns, then this is the resort for you. It is located in the Boracay Island and provides instant entry to the tourist to all the places like Talipapa Market, Boat Station 1, Boat Station 2,

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Why Cebu Is Better Than Manila?

Photo credit: neptune diving

There is no question that Cebu is much better compared to Manila when it comes to quality of life. I have visited and stayed in the said places and I could personally attest to this. 

If there is one word to describe the capital of the Philippines, it must be: CHAOS! Pollution, overcrowding, overpopulation, lack of discipline, garbage, crime, poverty, squatter areas or slums, drugs, illegal trades -- you name it and they are all rampant

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