Cost of Living for Filipino family in the province

Actually living costs vary from family to family and province to province and lifestyle to lifestyle.

A filipino family of 4 can survive in rural Mindanao on 8000 pesos a month... living "day to day" for food which is mainly fish and rice, sleeping in a nipa
hut, using coconut charcoal to cook with and no money left over for kids school or medicine...and candles at night for light and walking for transport. That same lifestyle for a family of 4 will cost 10,000 pesos per month in Cebu and 12,500 pesos per month in Luzon.

Throw in a 2 bedroom concrete home with electric and running water, propane to cook with, a comfortable bed to sleep in for the family, proper schooling and  medical for the kids, small car for transport and this will cost approximately 28,000/month in Mindanao,30,000/month in Cebu and 35,000/month in Luzon.

Throw in a few movies a month, one weekend a month at the beach, 1 night out a week at the mall, newspapers, medicine for the retired American and 1 hour internet access per day, minor savings account, and your monthly costs increase close to the $1000 per month for a family of four. So i hope this clears up why a retired American with a family of four needs about $1000 per month...acceptable lifestle needs for the family.
  
Living in the Province (Cost of Living) by a Filipina not now in the Philippines but missing it

3 meals a day is a goal to those who are very desperate especially  in big cities in Manila. You can see a lot of squatters and beggars and all other sad pictures. Actually most of them came from the province seeking their luck in Manila and something happens like lose their jobs and cant find another job because of the lack of job opportunities so they cannot pay rent anymore and ended up squatting and even marrying and having lots of children :( and now its even more harder to go back to the province because of the traveling expenses esp. if they are just trying to feed the family 3x a day. It is really really desperate to see it and even me as a Filipino cannot understand how people could leave the life in the province where there is much cleaner air and freshest food there is. I have lived all over the Philippines but personally I will not trade it off in the city life where it is always seem chaotic. They said that life in the province is boring. Yes it is. But it is you who will make your day. We make the action there and maybe we are just easy to please. Life is simpler and pleasant and healthy. However there is not a lot of jobs available there but when I was living with my grandparents along with my two other cousins they don't have a fixed income but we seem to have always good meals and varieties of good food. We go to the market and buy fish who are still swimming and shrimps jumping on the counter and crabs still trying to get away from the bundle. Vegetables are always green and crisp but we grow our own garden so we pick it from there prior to cooking.

Our entertainment is gathering in a shed esp. after dinner when its cooler and having dim lights on and just spend time sharing jokes and stories and just conversation or sometimes just listening to some music and there is always laughter there and its real laughter. Free from the worries of the world. Sometimes there are programs sponsored by schools or the municipality and they have it on a plaza if its free and if they charge tickets they have it in a gymnasium or a building complex On the weekends we try to go to places like beach , natural waterfalls (forest) or swimming pools. We have natural and artificial. If anyone have been to "Tuburan" that is my favorite place. It is a natural pool in a hilly forest location where the water comes from under the ground endlessly and then it flows like falls down to the lower area. So the water just keeps coming and going and its crystal clear and always clean no matter how many people are there. I have fun memories in the province and at some point I will be back to live there and share those places with my husband. Going to these places almost cost nothing so it makes it even better.

However when I graduated I joined my mom in Cavite and started hunting for jobs. There are a lot of big industrial parks in Cavite and I started applying jobs there. I worked in the factories of garments, electrical and cable accessories and different other factories. They always have a contract and usually it is six months and then they decide whether to retain you or not. They don't care and could fire you easily because there are hundreds applications waiting to be approved. I was even fired by being 10 minutes late and it just happen after I work there for five months and I was sick that day but still insisted I'll be fine. I feel bad because I worked hard like a dog and worked overtime when they needed me and do my duty more than what it calls for. We were made to memorize the vision-mission statement of the company and their mission is full of pledge to take care of employee's well-being and giving them a dignified way of living and honorable treatment but it was all about how to impress the evaluators who come and visit companies whether they are doing the standard rules and procedures and to be able to be in the internationally accredited level company. But I'm not the only one, who knows how many more of us were treated like that. Almost all companies requires college graduates so when I passed the test I thought I will be assigned to a job related to my course but I was not and I ask a lady who is a worker there for quite a long time she said that we need to start at the bottom and so when I decided to go for it I discovered that everybody were degree holders. Well after I was out there and look for another job, this time I want to make sure I will work to a place where I could use my knowledge and honed my skills, we were interviewed 3 times and 3 exams in one day and in one job position there are like hundreds applying for it. And lucky if you got admitted immediately because some of them have more experience than the young and inexperienced
graduates unless they have a very strong "backer". I keep looking and eventually I found the right job for me and I was contented with it coz I like my boss and my co-workers. It was not a good paying job but at least I have a job and it will get me started. What is really important is the "now and today" and worry about tomorrow. We have no house there so we pay the rent and the bills and etc. We have to watch what we buy and food has limits and sometimes the food we like we could not even get because it not fit the budget anymore. Unlike in the province, food is cheap and no house rents. Water is almost free P30/month unlimited use and electric is not that much.

But you cant have both worlds. You have to choose one and decide where you are happier.
Mrs Mike


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I have seen the day, many times, where folks stop by to eat and where my gardener brings his kids, or where they just happen to come by for marienda. When we have marienda early, the gardener will stall or delay until the kids show up. Usually the kids are not in school as the gardener can not afford the expenses of education. We usually feed the kids twice a day, at 9 AM and at about 3 PM. Often they will eat something at noon if they do not go home for lunch. I have been to Manila and have experienced the markets there. I prefer the province because it is less crowded and less expensive...

I know many in our province leave for Manila to seek their fortune in the big city. Some find their fortune in Lucena, the first town on the mainland. Some find their fortune between Lucena and Manila.
Most however find their fortune in Manila or leave the big city and get a job abroad. I see a lot of squatters in the big cities, and I feel sorry for all of them. I have seen kids collecting firewood just so that mama can cook rice for their evening meal. To say that it is a sad picture is truly correct and understating the scene. Beggars do not seem to be so abundant in the province. They seem to be in greater numbers and with more aggression in the big cities. I
guess one of the reasons I like SM is the cleanness.

A second reason is that there are no beggars, at least in Lucena. I have gone to the large public markets and found beggars there, but it is far worse in
Manila. I can not speak from personal experience regarding beggars and squatters, except that I have seen them. I often say a prayer of thanks that if not for the Grace of God, I may be among the populate of the squatters quarters...

I remember a song that speaks about a lady living on the streets. One of the lines is that she 'carries her household in two carrier bags'. Many in Manila seem
to carry their household in similar containers. I could not imagine getting married when I could not provide for my self. I guess it is a common practice in poor areas. Some are eternal optimists. The ones I feel the sorriest for are the children. Some look so thin, and some seem to be so dirty and ragged. We can see pictures on TV, but seeing the problem in person puts a different face on the situation. I have more than once given a vendor money for 5 bags of rice, half or 1 kilo each. Then I give the rice to the kids on the street. They take it and run away. I am not sure if I am adding to the problem or not. I do not give it to the ones with manicured hands and fingers, but to the poor kids with chipped nails and with plenty of dirt underthem.

I am sure many of these kids have never seen the peace and quite of the province. Many would feel free just to grow up in a province around extended family and be able to call something their own. I know I would never trade the province for the city. I enjoy the cleaner air and the fresh food. Much of our food is grown locally, but some comes from Baguio. Even th food that is shipped in is relatively fresh. We get lettuce, celery and carrots several times a week. I often find it limp, but setting the vegetables in a little warm water often does wonders. We have several nephews that have gone from the province to Manila. One works as a cameraman for the TV channel, 6 or 7, I forget which. Another works for Delta Motors. Both long for the days when they can come home on vacation. Both look forward to retirement and they are only in their early 40's. They live in small apartments, and one has a shared bath with another family. They manage to space by every month but wonder if the effort is worth it. Both have tried to fine jobs in the province, but we not able to do so. Life is tough in the province, but I think it is tougher in the city. Both find feeding a family and children three times a day a real challenge. Both find trying to save for the children's future education impossible. They are not sure what they will do when the kids are ready for higher education, and smile when they see me. I have alread been approached with several offers to put a great niece or nephew through a university in Manila.

I have not lived all over the Philippines, but I have lived in Manila, Subic Bay/Olongapo and Marinduque. I have also made extended stays in Baguio and Cebu. I would not trade my time in Marinduque for all the others combined, but I would put Manila at the bottom of the list. I think the life style in the province, with fresh food, and cleaner air and water to be something of enjoyment. I could never find life there in Marinduque boring. I have however been pressed to find my own entertainment. I enjoy alternative small scale agriculture. In Marinduque I can practice my craft everyday. I have fun with various types of poultry; quail, chickens, ducks, pigeons and turkeys. I work in my orchard and do some vegetable gardening. I start many plants in pots and in the lawn. My days are full.

I often need a nap in the early afternoon. I agree with the statement that it is "you that makes your day". My life is simple, pleasant and reasonably healthy. I got sick once in 11 months, and that was easily treated by a local doctor.

We also have family get together in the evening. We often split a small bottle of T5, or perhaps enjoy our own bottle of San Miguel or Red Horse. (If Beer Ng Beer is your thing, or Emprador, go for it). Many nights I just drink sun tea. I make it by the gallon. My family seems to enjoy it as much as I do. My nephews and great nephews practice English on the veranda. The girls often watch a movie on VCR or DVD, and we all enjoy each others company. Sometimes the kids eat with us, and sometimes they have been fed and watered before they arrive. Their arrival is always wonderful and the highlight of our day. Family is so important and one of the reasons I enjoy the Filipino Culture so much. We are looking forward to starting some chicken raising projects. I am sure that money could be made and that jobs could be created. I anticipate that capitol is the initial problem. I shall let you know after the first few batches of chickens go through our cages. Even it we just break even there will have been jobs created and we feel that the project will be a success. Our gardens have not been so productive but we have a problem with drainage and with local chickens eating the seedlings.

We anticipate building raised beds and covering the beds with netting until the vegetables are well on their way to productivity. Either way you look at it we are learning to garden in the Tropics. It can be a challenge indeed, but we are learning. We have mastered beans and have more beans than we can use. We enjoy harvesting them often and many beans seem to walk away with two legged pickers, but then, they need to eat too. We also buy fresh fish, still jumping and so fresh that it had been swimming just hours ago. The crabs try to go in ten directions and the  shrimp jump on the table as the vendors try to display them. We also get clams and other seafood on ocassion. Be are ever on the lookout for life's eating pleasures in the raw. Meals can be so healthy and so varied with just a little bit of imagination. My family always tells me that they like my presentations, and they have never thought of some of my salad combinations, pasta or vegetables. A little basil as garnish is always pretty and pleasing to the eye.

We play lots of music in the evenings. CD's are cheap, the music on the radio is peaceful and wonderful. We take many USA CD's into the Philippine Islands every trip and have never had a problem. A karoke is nice, if the neighbors do not complain and it it is not so loud as to wake the dead. Just listening to a cd or the radio and chatting under the stars, sipping iced tea and knowing the day is waining, has been so nice a way to spend time with my family. I hate to see them go home. What a real way to live life as to know that you are welcome and that your presence is missed.

We do not have too much of a falls or pools of natural occurrence, but we do have the warm springs. I could spend days there and have yet to tire my time spent with the family at the springs. We often take a picnic, go for a swim and have a great day of it. We can go, pay for the adults to swim and somehow the locals let the kids swim for little or nothing. We make lunch, cram the kids and adults into the car and off we go. I am sure the grand kids will have wonderful memories of family gatherings and time spent at the ocean and the warm springs. These times seem to mask the 'worries of the world'. We charish th days we have these gatherings. We also share jokes and the kids get to practice their English. I am so impressed at the English skill these kids now possess. When we have good weather, the kids play badmitton or volleyball. When weather is bad, the radio is more of a focal point and CD's seem to bring pleasure to all of our souls. Doing these activities cost almost nothing and derives so much pleasure for the adults and wonderful memories for the kids.

As long as I lived in the Philippines I am still amazed at how the local people use rice. When I grew up we had white rice twice a year and Spanish Rice every few weeks. My mother could make the best Spanish Rice in the whole world. She never left me the recipe, she always told me how do do it, but there was no recipe.
Mine is good, but now where near her level of culinary excellence. In Marinduque, there are rice cakes, sumen, and many types of rice candy. At holidays and fiesta, the locals display even more imagination in what rice can be honed into.

I often think, and ponder back over past memories of times we were together with the family. My family is blessed as most have done well, especially in the country with some tough conditions. Most work and have regular incomes. Those that want to get by are doing so. The happiest members of the family are those still in the province. The healthiest members
of our family also seem to be those living in the province.

James Claire

 

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