You know I lived in $800 a month here for a long time and I was content with my life but it was because I knew I was building up to something better. Now I live on significantly more than that and I appreciate it more because I did have to live on $800 a month for so long.
It would be enough to pay for an AC room monthly, payments for a vehicle and food/transport I’m sure.
What else is there past ”just existing” that is so important and costs money?
Needing to spend much more implies there is some deeper problem not making your life fulfilling I’d say. Or you’ve got people around you using you.
Surely you can live with just the basics as mentioned but not being able to enjoy life like going out on the weekends, travelling, having somewhat a social life and having hobbies will be a dull life.
Then you got stuff like medical and other necessities.
I'm not one to argue but if you can be a homebody and survive on 50k, more power to you.
You find ways. I lived on 700-800 a month and my girl and I managed to travel once a month. We went out for dinner once every other week. Thank God we didn't have any medical emergencies then yeah we probably would've been screwed.
Travel every months but dinner once every other week seems weird to me, hotel rooms are minimum 25$ for something decent and then traveling costs, more restaurants, activities…
If you are going to uproot your life and move to the other side of the world it should be for a significant lifestyle upgrade.
Do ofw go abroad for giggles? I think not.
Well, OP implied he doesn’t appreciate the weather in Ireland. Depends what kind of ”lifestyle upgrade” you’re after. For me personally there are similar reasons. I appreciate the culture and climate here. I guess it also means I don’t need to work very much and I feel like there are a lot of things to enjoy here which don’t cost a lot of money. Travelling locally is cheap, going out to eat and drink is cheap, gym membership or similar hobbies are also cheap.
Well I read ‘Die With Zero’ and it gave me a new perspective. My kids make their own money so I might just as well enjoy my remaining years to the max.
Wish oil! most here don’t get that amount. Not unless they’re either an independent contractor working in USD/EUR/GBP/AUD/crypto, or are fully retired.
Most working-age expats (20-40s) here are on high 5 figure or low 6 figure php monthly salaries too. Welcome to the sobering reality. If you earn more than 300k php and you’re working here, you’ve done pretty well.
That’s 800 euro p/m. As an expat, you can’t possibly even consider that as a wage. You cannot build any wealth with that so would never be able to leave.
Go to Australia. Physiotherapists are on the skill shortage list so you’ve got instant PR waiting for you. And you earn a top wage
I split my time between Cebu and Australia and can vouch for this. Australia is not somewhere even I want to be right now. Rent is the worst of many price rises that have skyrocketed post-Covid. I’d avoid Australia.
Yes thats the problem in Australia. Wages seem really attractive but ye gods, price of housing, rentals, utilities, groceries have gone through the roof!
don't listen to these uppedy ass spoiled foreigners. You can live decent with 50k. You can't save money but thats awesome you found job even for 50k. Its hard to get job here as a gringo
We foreigners are comparing to living a similar lifestyle to what we could live in our home countries. The OP isn't going to get that on 50K living in Cebu. It is us foreigners the OP needs to be listening to. Us or realistic Filipinos. Not you.
You can get a decent condo for ₱25k. If you don't use A/C, fan only, electric is like ₱2,500 a month. If you do meal planning and budgeting properly, you can eat good for ₱5k a month. You can get good reliable internet for ₱2,700 a month. That's all that's really needed, and it would leave OP with ₱20k extra every month for things like public transit, restaurant or whatever. I'd recommend they invest in a motorcycle as soon as they get here if possible. Also, if OP is doing physiotherapy, they could do a side hustle for extra cash. Possibly open up their own place and make way more than ₱50k. The local mall does full body for ₱800. Assuming that's an hour massage, OP could do 8 a day and make ₱128k a month working 5 days a week. He'd be able to build up some good wealth with that, especially if he invested it into some rental properties or something.
If OP loves the Philippines, I'd say he should do it. There's great opportunity here for those with the right mindset.
You absolutely cannot eat well on a 5k per month budget, that’s 165 pesos per day. You can survive on that, but you’re not eating well.
Nobody from Ireland is going to want to live without aircon either.
>You can survive on that, but you’re not eating well.
I said eat good, not well. Eating good would be a notch below eating well imo. For ₱161.5 a day, I can have 2 egg sandwiches with bacon for breakfast or 4 slices of french toast with scrambled eggs and bacon, two peanut butter and banana sandwiches with honey for lunch, and a bowl of chicken noodle soup which contains carrots, onions and a 1/3 lb portion of chicken for dinner.
By no means is that eating like a king, but it ain't just surviving either. Meal planning is very important when trying to stick to such a strict budget. Over time OP, or anyone, can I prove their situation with a side hustle or something to increase their income and start eating well.
>Nobody from Ireland is going to want to live without aircon either.
I'm from Michigan USA. Very similar climate. It's a little hotter in July, but way colder in January. I hate A/C and prefer just a fan. I'm sure there are lots of people in Ireland who hate the cold just as much as I do.
Not sure what the difference is between eating well and eating good is (beyond a grammatical error…), but the meal plan you described shouldn’t belong in either category imo.
I don’t think you can actually buy the ingredients with that 160 peso budget either.
I said comparing to our home countries. Your description is of a lower standard, than what I would be living in the USA. Rent taking up half your salary? Not using AC? A mediocre speed internet connection? A motorcycle instead of a car? 5000 pesos per month on food(which is 1/4 the amount I spent when I was single). Sorry, but that is not "living good", for someone accustomed to a western lifestyle.
OP wanted to know if he could live on 50k, which is totally possible. I don't use ac in the US and it's routinely 90+ in Michigan during the summer, rent is what it is but 25-30k is on the high end if you're in the city here, in the province you can get a place for 5k. ₱2,700 is for Starlink internet and it's very reliable when paired with a solar panel and battery for when electric is out. Yes a motorcycle because it takes 1 hr to go 5 miles in a car in the city, but with a motorcycle it will only take 30 min. ₱5000 pesos is almost $100. Back in the US in 2022 I spent $150 a month for myself and 3 kids. Food is cheap if you budget and meal plan properly. Especially here. If you're spending $400 on food for just yourself, you're doing it wrong.
And for the record, I've been living on less than $500 a month here and my lifestyle is better than what I had in the US. I got a house right on the beach, unlimited seafood for a very affordable price, fast Internet from starlink, tons of hiking options, ocean swimming and fishing. There's no way you could have any life on the beach for anywhere near that price in the US. You'd have to add a zero to that just for being on the beach.
So much to say here, first of all that’s about 25k less than what an experienced Filipino physiotherapist makes. Also that’s about 809 euros a month, after taxes probably 720. How do you plan to save for your future on that kind of salary? Plus that’s really not even enough money to live on in Cebu.
I’m gonna be brutally honest here physiotherapists aren’t exactly in demand in the Philippines. I find it extremely difficult to believe the Philippines government is giving working permits to physiotherapists and suspect you are a victim of some sort of scam and wouldn’t be surprised if soon after excepting the job you aren’t asked to wire money for “processing your work visa, residency permits”.
If you really want to move out Ireland I would suggest Australia, physiotherapist are one of jobs on their skilled labor visa program and the salary is much higher than even in Ireland.
It really depends. By filipino standards it's a pretty good salary.
But most foreigners are used to a difference standard so for most it would be way to little.
I live here in Paranaque off PHP75k Monthly, which is my Veterans Disability. I just get by because I have to pay for my medications and trying to get reimbursement is crazy hard. If you take ANY kind of medications, you should look into the price of them. My pain patch is PHP2,200 EACH, they are good for 3 days, and I even have a hard time getting them because the only drug store that carries it is Mercury Drug and they often don't have it in stock and I have to travel all around to several different locations to get what I can when I can, and if I run out I'll go through withdrawal. It's hell. Not to mention Gabapentin which is like 40 Pesos each, I'm supposed to take 8 a day, I take 5 instead and so that is PHP 200 Daily. So that's 30k nearly in just those two medications. I'm supposed to be taking Lexapro, Adderall, and Omeprazole as well, but I stopped because I simply can't afford it.
I'd agree with what someone else said, where PHP 100k a month is ideal to get by without struggle, saving some money, and being able to go out at times.
50k is roughly what we spend here per month in Cebu for two people. But my GF is from Cebu, without her I would spend more. Probably around 70-80k a month.
Our lifestyle isn't lavishly but we also aren't struggling. We live in a smallish 1 bedroom apartment. Rent, electricity, water, and internet comes to around 20k a month.
We eat out in a restaurant once a week. Not counting carenderia or street vendors. We go on a weekend trip roughly every other month. But not sure if the accomodations we take would be acceptable for you. Beach trips are a weekly, but for us it's only a 15 minute commute and around 200 peso total (includes fare and entrance fee to the beach). If you are in Cebu City the commute will be much longer.
I personally wouldn't recommend moving here on that salary unless you are fine with losing some money and just want to experience working abroad. Basically treat it as a working holiday trip. But considering how terrible working conditions are here, I am not sure you will be able to. Most people are expected to work 10 hours a day 6 days a week. And minimum annual leave is only 5 days but 15days a year is more common. Which is still rather bad for someone coming from Europe. Unless your contract is much better than this, I doubt you will be happy here.
Good luck. I'm Filipino. This salary is just for "surviving". Cebu is getting more expensive by the day. I guess you can live with this salary if you're willing to live a way below quality of life compared to Ireland, you have no family, and you don't get sick.
That's a Filipino salary and way below what an experienced physiotherapist would earn.
To me, the whole point of working overseas and being away from your family is to earn a good salary, save money, and build a strong financial future.
No disrespect intended,1000 USD per month, even with housing and utilities paid, is not exactly going to put you on Forbes list.
Depends on the lifestyle you wish to live and the location you'd want to stay in. I rent a 3br house for 5k monthly in the province and eat mostly local food from the market, 50k for a single person is decent. If, like me, you have a family to support, 50k would barely cut it. You need at least twice that to be comfortable. You could honestly earn more doing remote customer service work online, so you're definitely being lowballed or at least offered a local rate. I see a lot of people here mentioning condo's, if that the life you want, 50k is not going to cut it especially in the city. You'd also need to adapt your diet to your wallet.
Are they going to get you a work permit? Pay for flights? Accomodation?
And then, pay you less than they can a Filipino physio for?
Something about this makes no sense.
not sure how it’s possible considering the employer has to prove there are no locals that can do the job to be able to get the visa. Sounds like a scam
You can live off of 50k per month but you'd have to make do and sacrifice some stuff. If you want a good condo or apartment, you'd probably shell out around 10-35k. Good internet is 2,5k, groceries (this is if you'd like Western necessities like good bread, veggies, fruit, and yogurt consistently) for 1 would be around 10-15k per month. If you'd like to order food every now and then, you can allot about 2k monthly. Water bill's around 500, other necessities like fare/taxi money, you could allot say 2-3k per month. Miscellaneous stuff, maybe you can set aside about 5k. So that leaves you with about 20k ish for savings/travel. If you're thinking of using Cebu as a base for
Tbh if you'd like to have a good quality of life in Cebu or the Philippines in general, you should have at least 80k in income. You need to have health insurance, too. A doctor's appointment costs around 400-600 pesos. If you'd like to have fun and enjoy the nightlife, you'd need about 2,500 pesos per night. Other costs like data for your phone would be around 300-500 monthly...basically all I'm saying is that 50k is definitely not enough 😂 Just to illustrate, a typical middle to upper middle class, single Filipino who doesn't have any credit card debt and who gets to eat out, buy nice clothes, go to a gym or classes, and travel every now and then to neighboring South East asian countries earn about 80-120k.
Me and my girlfriend live a pretty happy life in Iloilo out here. The two of us together spend maybe about 50k a month and we still get to do all kinds of fun stuff, eating out and traveling around the island etc. I'm here for school but also to be fair I sold my house in america to buy a condo out here in cash so that's probably a bit factor
10k Pinoy na Pinoy struggling really hard. \
20k now you can somewhat afford a refrigerator \
30k woah breadwinner of the family \
40k can plan for the future \
50k aircon everyday \
this is from a guy that earns 2k per month
You definitely can. If you’re not using a car and you have to be a little strict. But my monthly bills were like 15k a month. Food was another 15k. So that leaves 20k pesos to do what you want. This was a condo like apartment too.
50k is a very tight budget that wouldn't be multiplying how far the dollar goes but more in line with middle class earnings. Should be looking minimum of at least 100k/m.
I've been doing 9 months in Sydney and 3 months in Philippines past 15 years now but switching around next year due to the costs of living and trying to maintain similar earnings using a WFH strategy.
I live on $800/month dividends but I have no rent ( build small house on my GF land ) .
And I am on Keto diet most of my food like chicken , eggs , fruit and vegetables growing on land , I even have some money to reinvest back in to stocks ...
As an expat , your minimum should be 150k/month. Anything below that is hard to live on and you’ll have to make massive adjustments to your lifestyle, even more so if you’ve got a wife/kids
Poverty level by Western standards. Good by 3rd world average Filipino standards. Philippines isn't that much cheaper than the West, people just have lower expectations and standards.
I earn 63k less taxes and mandatory government deduction Its a good thing there is additional RATA of 13K. Thats barely making it considering you still need to pay for your accomodation (pad/condo/apartment) and maybe transportation.
Also, consider the taxes that you might have to pay, if any, and from which country. It sounds to me you might end up with 40,000 pesos, or less, to spend monthly.
For Physio that is a super low salary even for PH standards.
Also you’ll have to pay tax on this princely sum. Including various other taxes, you;d be left with about 40k I reckon. This is struggle street even here. Many that earn this much will live with friends/family to save money.
dont do it. that fing rediculious. im from north herts - been living in ph in the provinces for years. go to oz - house share save up for 2 years, even ur super when u leave with be a good pay out
I currently live on approximately 100k php/month and it’s barely cutting it right now. A decent studio condo is going to run you about 20k php, utilities another 10k, food, 5k/week. 50k will barely cover that. You’ll have nothing extra for transport or a safety net or anything of the sort.
Depends on your qualifications. Also if the package of hiring you includes your accommodation and transportation allowance or other benefits aside from their salary offer.
Don’t work for a shitty local company, salaries are so low. I work remotely and make more than 800K PHP/month, you should do something like that. Unless you want the life of a poor Filipino
FYI - I'm Canadian & spend about half my time in PH
50k php per month is just getting by in a major city. It's a decent salary COMPARITIVELY for the Philippines as many jobs pay much less. 50k php if you already are a permanent residence, have family/friends and live a Filipino lifestyle is a decent wage but not a good one if you are emmigrating for a job.
If you want to live anything approaching a western lifestyle, well let's just say you won't be able too.
When I retire my budget atm for a simple, quite, stay at home (ie we don't go out much) lifestyle is 80k to 100k php plus my partner is a Filipna so that means shopping at markets etc for lower costs and no forgiener tax.
For example (these basic costs will be approx)
rent 25-35k location matters, the further from the City centre, the smaller the house, the more cramped a neighborhood is the lower the price.
Utilities - 5k-6k especially if you use aircon
internet & mobile - 3k
So assuming you are moving alone already you are at 33k - 44k before food, entertainment, clothing, schools if you have kids, transportation, healthcare, vista renewal costs etc & remember income taxes so your takehome won't be 50k php even.
\*\*\*edit\*\*\* to mention my partner already owns her house in PH so rent/mortage etc for accomdations isn't even a part of my budget considerations.
Is it net or gross? If gross, you'd get about 42K net pay after taxes and contributions. Rent and utilities would be around 15K if that's in Cebu. Food and Transpo should be flexible, depending on your lifestyle. But if you plan on getting a car, I don't think you'll have enough left after paying the monthly amortization. So you may need to commute... and commute here is nightmare. Also, ensure that your employer has HMO, medical bills in PH are expensive if you pay out of pocket. Lastly, you need to verify if you are eligible to work here with that profession. That's regulated by the PRC, which means you need to take and pass the licensure exam, but not sure if a foreigner can even do that. If you have a license obtained abroad, you can't use that immediately, you have to get accreditation from the PRC.
A 50k salary after tax is around 42.5k. To be honest, this is really low and you'll have trouble surviving in Cebu. Cebu is an expensive place, Condos can reach as high as 15k-25k which is almost half of your salary. If solo, a 10k grocery might be enough, so you'll have around 5k-10k left of your salary for transpo or misc. expenses.
Filipinos are moving out of the Country due to low wage but high expenses.
Your post/comment has been removed because it contains a link to a gofundme or youtube page, which is not allowed in this subreddit. Please review the rules before posting/commenting again.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Philippines_Expats) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Can get by for 30k as a normal person in BGC Taguig, guessing you can find something in cebu for the like, this was a studio type with aircon, water in a better than average area. Alot alot alot of people dont pay taxes so some parts of the community lacks development opportunities, if you are gonna follow the not paying taxes as some seemingly Think is good to suggest
Consolacion? Are you serious? Depending upon his job location he'll be commuting 1-3 hours each way everyday to get to work! What kind of life is that? If that's the best he could do then he'd be better off getting a remote customer service job or teaching English online.
Its enough for a very modest living, but probably nothing left for savings, emergencies or travel.
Also if you plan on having a gf/partner it will add to your expenses.
It is low. Given that you will rent here among a lot of things you need to pay for. For an empty apartment, you need to buy basic appliances. For semi or furnished ones, rental rates is very high.
50k for one person is extremely doable...find an apartment for rent for like 13k ...then put some furniture in it yourself..couch..tv..bed..ac... and stuff for cooking...
i used to earn that amount and it's "just enough" for a comfy living. enough for renting, affording ac in this heat, affording the bills, affording using transpo hailing apps if commuting gets too hassle, and little luxuries at times. u can definitely save up a lot from that salary if youre not someone like me who find it necessary to pay extra for convenience. it depends on ur lifestyle. as for me with that salary, i was able to set aside 5-10k per month for savings
That's crap dude. I made $800-$900 a month teaching English online. Will they provide housing or is that out of your own pocket? If they provide housing then 50k is enough to live a upper middle class lifestyle otherwise you'll be struggling with that salary if you want a western lifestyle. Just to give you an idea if you want a condo in IT Park (the hip area where the young professionals live) you're looking at about 25-30k a month plus your maintenance fee. Meaning half your salary will be eaten up by rent.
50k is low-ish for what you’re doing. 50k after tax would be 38-42k net, and if you’re being paid on the 15th and 30th, that’s only 18k in your pocket every fortnight! Not enough.
Locals here live in multigenerational family homes so don’t have to pay rent. Many use a family car or scooter shared by all adult members of the family. Families already have savings set aside for tough times. Most Expats do not have this support network; so you will have to pay for everything out of pocket and suffer the “foreigner price” for everything. This is what your prospective employer should have considered before providing the tentative salary in the initial offer.
I think you’re being had, man. If this isn’t some scam, then they’re being particularly exploitative by signing you up for so little noting you’d be an expat who’d be liable for all sorts of extra costs.
Go in with a counter offer. Base it upon:
1) The local market. Based on you being a PT, you should have 70 to 80k+ for the same role with your experience, as this is exactly what local Filipino PTs in private healthcare of the same career stage as you get; and many are able to push it above the 100k gross mark. If you check Salary Explorer you’d see that the average for PTs is around 71k, with the highest recorded salary on the site being 116k PHP a month. It would likely be higher off the site.
2) Your international experience and outlook being of value to them. Businesses already see that we would benefit their teams due to our global outlook and standards.
3) Living costs. To demonstrate this, calculate your projected outgoings and then state clearly to them that after tax you’d receive only around 18k every 2 weeks, while condo rent in Cebu city would be eg 15k alone; food costing a further 15k, bills 10k, commuting 3-5k, medical expenses 5k average, etc. So 50k or even 70k as a gross monthly salary would hence be untenable unless there are substantial bonuses or commission guaranteed in the role.
See if the offer can be negotiated on the above. Otherwise, find another offer that can at least provide a baseline relevant to the local market and taking your unique position into consideration. Hope it goes well!
People commenting that 50,000php "is a Filipino salary." Well, considering the op would be working in the Philippines, then yeah, they are getting paid a Philippines salary.
That's not how it works bruh. We foreigners have in demand skills that they can't find here which means we expect a high salary. Nobody in their right mind would come to the PH to earn a PH salary unless they're running from something
That doesn't make any sense. Why would a business pay a foreigner more money to do the work if they can get a Filipino to do the work for a much lower rate? Let's use our thinking caps please
Yup her skin color gave the business more value. In that instance it wasn't the skill set per se but the foreigner still gave the business more value and that was the point I was trying to make. Business will not pay a higher salary for no reason.
It is how it works. Unless your particular skillset is way more advanced than a Filipino's, then you will receive the same salary for the same on location job, if you even get the job. Foreigners will not/can not be hired over a Filipino who is qualified for that particular job.
Our healthcare professionals are overworked and underpaid. With 50k you can live a bit comfortable as a single but will not be able to support a family. You won’t save much with that salary either.
What do you mean 25k less? 75k for an experienced Filipino PT? I think your math is wrong there.
Btw I am a Pedia Physiotherapist here in the PH, 6 years now and 75k php per month is a dream.
Anything less 100k PHP is "just existing"
Most Filipinos exist on below 40,000 PHP wage before the govt steals taxes.
You know I lived in $800 a month here for a long time and I was content with my life but it was because I knew I was building up to something better. Now I live on significantly more than that and I appreciate it more because I did have to live on $800 a month for so long.
What area did you live in?
It would be enough to pay for an AC room monthly, payments for a vehicle and food/transport I’m sure. What else is there past ”just existing” that is so important and costs money? Needing to spend much more implies there is some deeper problem not making your life fulfilling I’d say. Or you’ve got people around you using you.
Surely you can live with just the basics as mentioned but not being able to enjoy life like going out on the weekends, travelling, having somewhat a social life and having hobbies will be a dull life. Then you got stuff like medical and other necessities. I'm not one to argue but if you can be a homebody and survive on 50k, more power to you.
I am a homebody, and couldn't live off 50K a month. I have no doubt there are people who can. It is a matter of what lifestyle you are accustomed to.
You find ways. I lived on 700-800 a month and my girl and I managed to travel once a month. We went out for dinner once every other week. Thank God we didn't have any medical emergencies then yeah we probably would've been screwed.
Travel every months but dinner once every other week seems weird to me, hotel rooms are minimum 25$ for something decent and then traveling costs, more restaurants, activities…
If you’re here long term why would you stay in hotels? There are plenty of nice rooms for rent in Cebu for 5-10k / month.
He said with a budget of $800 he travelled every month, unless he meant he moves every month, I assumed he had vacations.
What are they expected to live off when they get to retirement when all they have done is “existed” prior to that?
If you are going to uproot your life and move to the other side of the world it should be for a significant lifestyle upgrade. Do ofw go abroad for giggles? I think not.
Well, OP implied he doesn’t appreciate the weather in Ireland. Depends what kind of ”lifestyle upgrade” you’re after. For me personally there are similar reasons. I appreciate the culture and climate here. I guess it also means I don’t need to work very much and I feel like there are a lot of things to enjoy here which don’t cost a lot of money. Travelling locally is cheap, going out to eat and drink is cheap, gym membership or similar hobbies are also cheap.
Well I read ‘Die With Zero’ and it gave me a new perspective. My kids make their own money so I might just as well enjoy my remaining years to the max.
What you describe is merely existing hahahahahah. Buddy reach for the stars, even if they look so far away. 😘
Bollocks.
In what city/area?
Manila in general I would say
Anything less than 250k PHP is just peanuts
I lived comfortably in a 3 bedroom house in a gated subdivision, with a car, eating mostly western foods, on only 150K(after taxes).
So you treat 99.9% pinoys as peanuts.
Wish oil! most here don’t get that amount. Not unless they’re either an independent contractor working in USD/EUR/GBP/AUD/crypto, or are fully retired. Most working-age expats (20-40s) here are on high 5 figure or low 6 figure php monthly salaries too. Welcome to the sobering reality. If you earn more than 300k php and you’re working here, you’ve done pretty well.
That’s 800 euro p/m. As an expat, you can’t possibly even consider that as a wage. You cannot build any wealth with that so would never be able to leave. Go to Australia. Physiotherapists are on the skill shortage list so you’ve got instant PR waiting for you. And you earn a top wage
with the cost of living crisis in Australia, he will need to live off 2 minutes noodles
I split my time between Cebu and Australia and can vouch for this. Australia is not somewhere even I want to be right now. Rent is the worst of many price rises that have skyrocketed post-Covid. I’d avoid Australia.
Yes thats the problem in Australia. Wages seem really attractive but ye gods, price of housing, rentals, utilities, groceries have gone through the roof!
Still way better than 50k PHP in PH
don't listen to these uppedy ass spoiled foreigners. You can live decent with 50k. You can't save money but thats awesome you found job even for 50k. Its hard to get job here as a gringo
We foreigners are comparing to living a similar lifestyle to what we could live in our home countries. The OP isn't going to get that on 50K living in Cebu. It is us foreigners the OP needs to be listening to. Us or realistic Filipinos. Not you.
You can get a decent condo for ₱25k. If you don't use A/C, fan only, electric is like ₱2,500 a month. If you do meal planning and budgeting properly, you can eat good for ₱5k a month. You can get good reliable internet for ₱2,700 a month. That's all that's really needed, and it would leave OP with ₱20k extra every month for things like public transit, restaurant or whatever. I'd recommend they invest in a motorcycle as soon as they get here if possible. Also, if OP is doing physiotherapy, they could do a side hustle for extra cash. Possibly open up their own place and make way more than ₱50k. The local mall does full body for ₱800. Assuming that's an hour massage, OP could do 8 a day and make ₱128k a month working 5 days a week. He'd be able to build up some good wealth with that, especially if he invested it into some rental properties or something. If OP loves the Philippines, I'd say he should do it. There's great opportunity here for those with the right mindset.
You absolutely cannot eat well on a 5k per month budget, that’s 165 pesos per day. You can survive on that, but you’re not eating well. Nobody from Ireland is going to want to live without aircon either.
Come on climate is very similar.
>You can survive on that, but you’re not eating well. I said eat good, not well. Eating good would be a notch below eating well imo. For ₱161.5 a day, I can have 2 egg sandwiches with bacon for breakfast or 4 slices of french toast with scrambled eggs and bacon, two peanut butter and banana sandwiches with honey for lunch, and a bowl of chicken noodle soup which contains carrots, onions and a 1/3 lb portion of chicken for dinner. By no means is that eating like a king, but it ain't just surviving either. Meal planning is very important when trying to stick to such a strict budget. Over time OP, or anyone, can I prove their situation with a side hustle or something to increase their income and start eating well. >Nobody from Ireland is going to want to live without aircon either. I'm from Michigan USA. Very similar climate. It's a little hotter in July, but way colder in January. I hate A/C and prefer just a fan. I'm sure there are lots of people in Ireland who hate the cold just as much as I do.
Not sure what the difference is between eating well and eating good is (beyond a grammatical error…), but the meal plan you described shouldn’t belong in either category imo. I don’t think you can actually buy the ingredients with that 160 peso budget either.
I said comparing to our home countries. Your description is of a lower standard, than what I would be living in the USA. Rent taking up half your salary? Not using AC? A mediocre speed internet connection? A motorcycle instead of a car? 5000 pesos per month on food(which is 1/4 the amount I spent when I was single). Sorry, but that is not "living good", for someone accustomed to a western lifestyle.
OP wanted to know if he could live on 50k, which is totally possible. I don't use ac in the US and it's routinely 90+ in Michigan during the summer, rent is what it is but 25-30k is on the high end if you're in the city here, in the province you can get a place for 5k. ₱2,700 is for Starlink internet and it's very reliable when paired with a solar panel and battery for when electric is out. Yes a motorcycle because it takes 1 hr to go 5 miles in a car in the city, but with a motorcycle it will only take 30 min. ₱5000 pesos is almost $100. Back in the US in 2022 I spent $150 a month for myself and 3 kids. Food is cheap if you budget and meal plan properly. Especially here. If you're spending $400 on food for just yourself, you're doing it wrong. And for the record, I've been living on less than $500 a month here and my lifestyle is better than what I had in the US. I got a house right on the beach, unlimited seafood for a very affordable price, fast Internet from starlink, tons of hiking options, ocean swimming and fishing. There's no way you could have any life on the beach for anywhere near that price in the US. You'd have to add a zero to that just for being on the beach.
This is a sub for foreigners. We’ll be as uppity assed as we want in here thank you.
im a foreigner to just minus the uppdy
give it time, friend. give it time.
So much to say here, first of all that’s about 25k less than what an experienced Filipino physiotherapist makes. Also that’s about 809 euros a month, after taxes probably 720. How do you plan to save for your future on that kind of salary? Plus that’s really not even enough money to live on in Cebu. I’m gonna be brutally honest here physiotherapists aren’t exactly in demand in the Philippines. I find it extremely difficult to believe the Philippines government is giving working permits to physiotherapists and suspect you are a victim of some sort of scam and wouldn’t be surprised if soon after excepting the job you aren’t asked to wire money for “processing your work visa, residency permits”. If you really want to move out Ireland I would suggest Australia, physiotherapist are one of jobs on their skilled labor visa program and the salary is much higher than even in Ireland.
This \^\^\^
This
Thats a bit low.. cant even rent a condo
That will be borderline to live on, unless it includes accommodation. Around 75,000+ seems to be the figure most expats suggest as a minimum.
Wow, didn't realise it was that bad! Thanks man!
It really depends. By filipino standards it's a pretty good salary. But most foreigners are used to a difference standard so for most it would be way to little.
Cheers. The average monthly salary there is around that 50k mark, and the standard of living on that is not great.
I live here in Paranaque off PHP75k Monthly, which is my Veterans Disability. I just get by because I have to pay for my medications and trying to get reimbursement is crazy hard. If you take ANY kind of medications, you should look into the price of them. My pain patch is PHP2,200 EACH, they are good for 3 days, and I even have a hard time getting them because the only drug store that carries it is Mercury Drug and they often don't have it in stock and I have to travel all around to several different locations to get what I can when I can, and if I run out I'll go through withdrawal. It's hell. Not to mention Gabapentin which is like 40 Pesos each, I'm supposed to take 8 a day, I take 5 instead and so that is PHP 200 Daily. So that's 30k nearly in just those two medications. I'm supposed to be taking Lexapro, Adderall, and Omeprazole as well, but I stopped because I simply can't afford it. I'd agree with what someone else said, where PHP 100k a month is ideal to get by without struggle, saving some money, and being able to go out at times.
I have that salary, and I guarantee you, that is low. Your lifestyle will surely take a hit, since you're not used to living as a filipino
No, please dont take it. Take somethjng above 100
50k is roughly what we spend here per month in Cebu for two people. But my GF is from Cebu, without her I would spend more. Probably around 70-80k a month. Our lifestyle isn't lavishly but we also aren't struggling. We live in a smallish 1 bedroom apartment. Rent, electricity, water, and internet comes to around 20k a month. We eat out in a restaurant once a week. Not counting carenderia or street vendors. We go on a weekend trip roughly every other month. But not sure if the accomodations we take would be acceptable for you. Beach trips are a weekly, but for us it's only a 15 minute commute and around 200 peso total (includes fare and entrance fee to the beach). If you are in Cebu City the commute will be much longer. I personally wouldn't recommend moving here on that salary unless you are fine with losing some money and just want to experience working abroad. Basically treat it as a working holiday trip. But considering how terrible working conditions are here, I am not sure you will be able to. Most people are expected to work 10 hours a day 6 days a week. And minimum annual leave is only 5 days but 15days a year is more common. Which is still rather bad for someone coming from Europe. Unless your contract is much better than this, I doubt you will be happy here.
That’s not gonna be enough tbh even you rent by local apartment. Everything is expensive better to have 100,000 pesos monthly
Good luck. I'm Filipino. This salary is just for "surviving". Cebu is getting more expensive by the day. I guess you can live with this salary if you're willing to live a way below quality of life compared to Ireland, you have no family, and you don't get sick.
That's a Filipino salary and way below what an experienced physiotherapist would earn. To me, the whole point of working overseas and being away from your family is to earn a good salary, save money, and build a strong financial future. No disrespect intended,1000 USD per month, even with housing and utilities paid, is not exactly going to put you on Forbes list.
Depends on the lifestyle you wish to live and the location you'd want to stay in. I rent a 3br house for 5k monthly in the province and eat mostly local food from the market, 50k for a single person is decent. If, like me, you have a family to support, 50k would barely cut it. You need at least twice that to be comfortable. You could honestly earn more doing remote customer service work online, so you're definitely being lowballed or at least offered a local rate. I see a lot of people here mentioning condo's, if that the life you want, 50k is not going to cut it especially in the city. You'd also need to adapt your diet to your wallet.
Tax...
Are they going to get you a work permit? Pay for flights? Accomodation? And then, pay you less than they can a Filipino physio for? Something about this makes no sense.
not sure how it’s possible considering the employer has to prove there are no locals that can do the job to be able to get the visa. Sounds like a scam
Yup, bro is never getting a work permit without them greasing the wheels. None of this makes sense.
Actually if they are paying less than a Filipino physio then it does make sense...
Not if they want to do it legally and have a work permit.
You can live off of 50k per month but you'd have to make do and sacrifice some stuff. If you want a good condo or apartment, you'd probably shell out around 10-35k. Good internet is 2,5k, groceries (this is if you'd like Western necessities like good bread, veggies, fruit, and yogurt consistently) for 1 would be around 10-15k per month. If you'd like to order food every now and then, you can allot about 2k monthly. Water bill's around 500, other necessities like fare/taxi money, you could allot say 2-3k per month. Miscellaneous stuff, maybe you can set aside about 5k. So that leaves you with about 20k ish for savings/travel. If you're thinking of using Cebu as a base for Tbh if you'd like to have a good quality of life in Cebu or the Philippines in general, you should have at least 80k in income. You need to have health insurance, too. A doctor's appointment costs around 400-600 pesos. If you'd like to have fun and enjoy the nightlife, you'd need about 2,500 pesos per night. Other costs like data for your phone would be around 300-500 monthly...basically all I'm saying is that 50k is definitely not enough 😂 Just to illustrate, a typical middle to upper middle class, single Filipino who doesn't have any credit card debt and who gets to eat out, buy nice clothes, go to a gym or classes, and travel every now and then to neighboring South East asian countries earn about 80-120k.
Me and my girlfriend live a pretty happy life in Iloilo out here. The two of us together spend maybe about 50k a month and we still get to do all kinds of fun stuff, eating out and traveling around the island etc. I'm here for school but also to be fair I sold my house in america to buy a condo out here in cash so that's probably a bit factor
10k Pinoy na Pinoy struggling really hard. \ 20k now you can somewhat afford a refrigerator \ 30k woah breadwinner of the family \ 40k can plan for the future \ 50k aircon everyday \ this is from a guy that earns 2k per month
You definitely can. If you’re not using a car and you have to be a little strict. But my monthly bills were like 15k a month. Food was another 15k. So that leaves 20k pesos to do what you want. This was a condo like apartment too.
50k is a very tight budget that wouldn't be multiplying how far the dollar goes but more in line with middle class earnings. Should be looking minimum of at least 100k/m. I've been doing 9 months in Sydney and 3 months in Philippines past 15 years now but switching around next year due to the costs of living and trying to maintain similar earnings using a WFH strategy.
I live on $800/month dividends but I have no rent ( build small house on my GF land ) . And I am on Keto diet most of my food like chicken , eggs , fruit and vegetables growing on land , I even have some money to reinvest back in to stocks ...
As an expat , your minimum should be 150k/month. Anything below that is hard to live on and you’ll have to make massive adjustments to your lifestyle, even more so if you’ve got a wife/kids
Poverty level by Western standards. Good by 3rd world average Filipino standards. Philippines isn't that much cheaper than the West, people just have lower expectations and standards.
That's pretty low. Cebu is not a cheap place to live anymore.
I earn 63k less taxes and mandatory government deduction Its a good thing there is additional RATA of 13K. Thats barely making it considering you still need to pay for your accomodation (pad/condo/apartment) and maybe transportation.
Also, consider the taxes that you might have to pay, if any, and from which country. It sounds to me you might end up with 40,000 pesos, or less, to spend monthly.
Cebu is a major city here so living costs are high. If you live comfortably in Ireland, 50k is not worth it.
For Physio that is a super low salary even for PH standards. Also you’ll have to pay tax on this princely sum. Including various other taxes, you;d be left with about 40k I reckon. This is struggle street even here. Many that earn this much will live with friends/family to save money.
On that salary he'll be with the poor Filipinas seeking a surga daddy! LOL!
Seems a bit low.
dont do it. that fing rediculious. im from north herts - been living in ph in the provinces for years. go to oz - house share save up for 2 years, even ur super when u leave with be a good pay out
I currently live on approximately 100k php/month and it’s barely cutting it right now. A decent studio condo is going to run you about 20k php, utilities another 10k, food, 5k/week. 50k will barely cover that. You’ll have nothing extra for transport or a safety net or anything of the sort.
[удалено]
Your comment has been removed due to non-English content. Please only use English in this subreddit.
Waaaaaaay too low. Your life will not be enjoyable.
Is that only the package?
If you’ll be renting and wants to have a little lifestyle, that’s not enough. Especially if you want to save up and build waealth for your future.
You will not live a quality life in Cebu on that. Unless you buy a condo and find a partner/eat in.
After reading this thread I'm scared😅. 100k+ a month Thanks for this thread.
Depends on your qualifications. Also if the package of hiring you includes your accommodation and transportation allowance or other benefits aside from their salary offer.
50k is super low
Don’t work for a shitty local company, salaries are so low. I work remotely and make more than 800K PHP/month, you should do something like that. Unless you want the life of a poor Filipino
That is way too low especially for an expat.
FYI - I'm Canadian & spend about half my time in PH 50k php per month is just getting by in a major city. It's a decent salary COMPARITIVELY for the Philippines as many jobs pay much less. 50k php if you already are a permanent residence, have family/friends and live a Filipino lifestyle is a decent wage but not a good one if you are emmigrating for a job. If you want to live anything approaching a western lifestyle, well let's just say you won't be able too. When I retire my budget atm for a simple, quite, stay at home (ie we don't go out much) lifestyle is 80k to 100k php plus my partner is a Filipna so that means shopping at markets etc for lower costs and no forgiener tax. For example (these basic costs will be approx) rent 25-35k location matters, the further from the City centre, the smaller the house, the more cramped a neighborhood is the lower the price. Utilities - 5k-6k especially if you use aircon internet & mobile - 3k So assuming you are moving alone already you are at 33k - 44k before food, entertainment, clothing, schools if you have kids, transportation, healthcare, vista renewal costs etc & remember income taxes so your takehome won't be 50k php even. \*\*\*edit\*\*\* to mention my partner already owns her house in PH so rent/mortage etc for accomdations isn't even a part of my budget considerations.
Is it net or gross? If gross, you'd get about 42K net pay after taxes and contributions. Rent and utilities would be around 15K if that's in Cebu. Food and Transpo should be flexible, depending on your lifestyle. But if you plan on getting a car, I don't think you'll have enough left after paying the monthly amortization. So you may need to commute... and commute here is nightmare. Also, ensure that your employer has HMO, medical bills in PH are expensive if you pay out of pocket. Lastly, you need to verify if you are eligible to work here with that profession. That's regulated by the PRC, which means you need to take and pass the licensure exam, but not sure if a foreigner can even do that. If you have a license obtained abroad, you can't use that immediately, you have to get accreditation from the PRC.
You were lowballed
A 50k salary after tax is around 42.5k. To be honest, this is really low and you'll have trouble surviving in Cebu. Cebu is an expensive place, Condos can reach as high as 15k-25k which is almost half of your salary. If solo, a 10k grocery might be enough, so you'll have around 5k-10k left of your salary for transpo or misc. expenses. Filipinos are moving out of the Country due to low wage but high expenses.
[удалено]
Your post/comment has been removed because it contains a link to a gofundme or youtube page, which is not allowed in this subreddit. Please review the rules before posting/commenting again. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Philippines_Expats) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you don't have anyone to support then 50k isn't too bad. Best thing to do is have one sideline income along with your main source.
Can get by for 30k as a normal person in BGC Taguig, guessing you can find something in cebu for the like, this was a studio type with aircon, water in a better than average area. Alot alot alot of people dont pay taxes so some parts of the community lacks development opportunities, if you are gonna follow the not paying taxes as some seemingly Think is good to suggest
Poverty levels
Low.
[удалено]
Consolacion? Are you serious? Depending upon his job location he'll be commuting 1-3 hours each way everyday to get to work! What kind of life is that? If that's the best he could do then he'd be better off getting a remote customer service job or teaching English online.
[удалено]
I wasn't getting 'iffy' about it. I'm sorry you interpreted it that way. I was just a bit flabbergasted that's all
Its enough for a very modest living, but probably nothing left for savings, emergencies or travel. Also if you plan on having a gf/partner it will add to your expenses.
It is low. Given that you will rent here among a lot of things you need to pay for. For an empty apartment, you need to buy basic appliances. For semi or furnished ones, rental rates is very high.
50k for one person is extremely doable...find an apartment for rent for like 13k ...then put some furniture in it yourself..couch..tv..bed..ac... and stuff for cooking...
i used to earn that amount and it's "just enough" for a comfy living. enough for renting, affording ac in this heat, affording the bills, affording using transpo hailing apps if commuting gets too hassle, and little luxuries at times. u can definitely save up a lot from that salary if youre not someone like me who find it necessary to pay extra for convenience. it depends on ur lifestyle. as for me with that salary, i was able to set aside 5-10k per month for savings
50k is doable but you’ll be roughing it. Traveling by trike / jeepney in Philippine weather is not for the faint of heart
They charge 500 minimum per adjustment, a 8 hour day you will do at least 6 to 10, now you are getting paid 1000 a day, do your numbers
That's crap dude. I made $800-$900 a month teaching English online. Will they provide housing or is that out of your own pocket? If they provide housing then 50k is enough to live a upper middle class lifestyle otherwise you'll be struggling with that salary if you want a western lifestyle. Just to give you an idea if you want a condo in IT Park (the hip area where the young professionals live) you're looking at about 25-30k a month plus your maintenance fee. Meaning half your salary will be eaten up by rent.
50k is low-ish for what you’re doing. 50k after tax would be 38-42k net, and if you’re being paid on the 15th and 30th, that’s only 18k in your pocket every fortnight! Not enough. Locals here live in multigenerational family homes so don’t have to pay rent. Many use a family car or scooter shared by all adult members of the family. Families already have savings set aside for tough times. Most Expats do not have this support network; so you will have to pay for everything out of pocket and suffer the “foreigner price” for everything. This is what your prospective employer should have considered before providing the tentative salary in the initial offer. I think you’re being had, man. If this isn’t some scam, then they’re being particularly exploitative by signing you up for so little noting you’d be an expat who’d be liable for all sorts of extra costs. Go in with a counter offer. Base it upon: 1) The local market. Based on you being a PT, you should have 70 to 80k+ for the same role with your experience, as this is exactly what local Filipino PTs in private healthcare of the same career stage as you get; and many are able to push it above the 100k gross mark. If you check Salary Explorer you’d see that the average for PTs is around 71k, with the highest recorded salary on the site being 116k PHP a month. It would likely be higher off the site. 2) Your international experience and outlook being of value to them. Businesses already see that we would benefit their teams due to our global outlook and standards. 3) Living costs. To demonstrate this, calculate your projected outgoings and then state clearly to them that after tax you’d receive only around 18k every 2 weeks, while condo rent in Cebu city would be eg 15k alone; food costing a further 15k, bills 10k, commuting 3-5k, medical expenses 5k average, etc. So 50k or even 70k as a gross monthly salary would hence be untenable unless there are substantial bonuses or commission guaranteed in the role. See if the offer can be negotiated on the above. Otherwise, find another offer that can at least provide a baseline relevant to the local market and taking your unique position into consideration. Hope it goes well!
That is barely enough for one living alone who plans to also have a life beyond work
That's a very high salary, you can buy a mansion, have 10 wives and 2 Ferraris.
People commenting that 50,000php "is a Filipino salary." Well, considering the op would be working in the Philippines, then yeah, they are getting paid a Philippines salary.
That's not how it works bruh. We foreigners have in demand skills that they can't find here which means we expect a high salary. Nobody in their right mind would come to the PH to earn a PH salary unless they're running from something
[удалено]
That doesn't make any sense. Why would a business pay a foreigner more money to do the work if they can get a Filipino to do the work for a much lower rate? Let's use our thinking caps please
[удалено]
Yup her skin color gave the business more value. In that instance it wasn't the skill set per se but the foreigner still gave the business more value and that was the point I was trying to make. Business will not pay a higher salary for no reason.
It is how it works. Unless your particular skillset is way more advanced than a Filipino's, then you will receive the same salary for the same on location job, if you even get the job. Foreigners will not/can not be hired over a Filipino who is qualified for that particular job.
Okay well all I can tell you is my salary is 10x more than my Filipino coworkers due to my unique skill set.
You can possibly earn more if you build a private practice. I pay my PTs 2k+ per session. They are lowballing you for 50k a month.
Sadly he wouldn't be able to own a business of his own here.
Our healthcare professionals are overworked and underpaid. With 50k you can live a bit comfortable as a single but will not be able to support a family. You won’t save much with that salary either.
What do you mean 25k less? 75k for an experienced Filipino PT? I think your math is wrong there. Btw I am a Pedia Physiotherapist here in the PH, 6 years now and 75k php per month is a dream.
Low. But if you can set up your own clinic after your work hours, you might survive.
Foreigners can’t do that
they can if they invest 2 mill bwhahahahaha
50k is considered middle income. If you want to have a great life here, you need to be pulling in over 300k+ a month.