Happier Abroad Forum Community

I've read a lot of good things about Davao City recently. Its ranked in the top 20 cities in Southeast Asia. Besides beautiful women, it has a low crime rate, cab drivers that don't rip you off, friendly people, little pollution, great resorts and its close to a national park. I was just wondering if anyone on the forum has been there and liked it better than Cebu ?

With retirement 5-10 years away, if we do retire in Philippines (Thailand is the other option). I think we are leaning towards Davao. Prices seem to be around 25% less expensive. I also like the fact that many of the laws are 1) Strict and 2) Enforced!

Davao is one of the only cities in Phils that has a 9-1-1 system. They have trash bins spreadout thruout the city that are actually used and emptied on a regular basis. No smoking laws in public buildings are strictly enforced. Traffic apparently is much lighter and the roads are wider and better organized and traffic laws are enforced as well.

In short, Davao is the "little Singapore" of Philippines which IMHO is a good thing.

Davao is also out of the hurricane zone.

I have a friend who is from Manila. She just took a trip to Davao a few months ago and she was raving about the place.

That said, Davao doesn't appear to be a place with much nightlife. Cebu would be much better in the entertainment dept.

Davao is on the island of Mindanao where the Muslim extremist groups operate. It would be interesting if someone has a boots on the ground knowledge of how it feels to live there. Is it a place where you spend all you time in the city because it is too risky to go to the country? It seems that every time someone thinks they found a paradise, there is also danger associated with it.

Cebu, definitely. Unless one is married and /or gay. Davao has all these lonely angry men around- there are just lots of men there. The people look shy and un-smiley. Big, polluted, non-cosmopolitan. Did not like it. Cebu all the way!

Personally I like Manila strangely enough. I just love the anonymity and the ethnic diversity- real diversity- everybody mingles, makes friends, intermarries, inter-dates. Lovely! And everything you need is there. It is ugly as sin but that is the beauty of it.

The ugly as sin part is why I couldn't take to Manila. Also, even with Mega Mall and MOA, I never found Aunt Jemima pancake mix or syrup. You can get those anywhere in Cebu. I don't think I would ever even want to visit Manila again, especially since you can fly from pretty much anywhere directly into Cebu now.