In this report, I share why I may be able to Retire in Puerto Galera Philippines for $1120 USD per Month.
My name is Dan and I left the USA in 2007. Since then, I have traveled all over the world looking for the best place to retire in paradise. I have visited or lived in 67 different countries during that time. In 2016, I met Qiang Hui in Malaysia and she has been traveling the world with me ever since. I have over 200 reports on VagabondBuddha.com that share the best places to retire overseas on a budget.
In this report, I ask the question, could I retire in Puerto Galera in the Philippines? Would it be possible to live on a tight budget such as monthly social security from the USA? My research indicates that I may be able to Retire in Puerto Galera Philippines for $1120 USD per Month.
But many of you will likely be unable to retire on so little here. I give example reasons why in this report.
You will never know your cost of living here until you do an exploratory visit with your feet-on-the-ground here, which I describe how to do in this report.
We have really enjoyed our time in Puerto Galera so we think it is worth a visit before deciding where to retire especially if you enjoy beach life. You see unlike places like Coron and El Nido in Palawan, Puerto Galera is only a 1-hour ferry ride from the big island of Luzon.
That means you will be able to enjoy a small-town life with white sand beaches and amazing beautiful watersports but still have quick and inexpensive access to Metro Manila where there are great hospitals, malls, and every kind of product that you will find in the largest city in the Philippines.
Now I will tell you more about Puerto Galera while I share our favorite images of markets, restaurants, and things to do in and around Puerto Galera.
Our Favorite Markets and Restaurants in Puerto Galera
Puerto Galera Markets
Puerto Galera Public Market: This is where we buy fruits, vegetables, rice, tofu, meats, fish, and other perishable foods. They also have limited clothing and other home products in and around this market.
Candava Supermarket: This is a more traditional larger grocery store with AC and shopping carts. I would shop here for nonperishable foods and other things I could not find in the Public Market.
White Beach Markets: We stayed in White Beach when we were in Puerto Galera. The main road behind the beach has a few small markets where we would go for fruits, vegetables, milk, and other perishables. There are also some small businesses here like restaurants, laundries, and other odds and ends. The below Google Map shows where to walk to this area.
Puerto Galera Restaurants
V.M Beach Resort: (White Beach) This is a beachfront unassuming resort that has fairly priced healthy food. This is surprising because it is on a white sand beach with beautiful views. We were paying 150 to 250 pesos ($3 to $5) USD per meal.
White Beach Resort Bar and Restaurant (White Beach): Beachfront restaurant with meals in the range of 150 to 350 Pesos ($3.00 to $ 7 USD).
Resto Veranda (White Beach): This was an Italian thin-crust Pizza with tomato balsamic salad plus sunset view for 800 pesos ($15 USD).
Finesse Restaurant (White Beach): Beachfront restaurant with a huge menu and entrees running from 150 to 500 pesos ($3 to $6 USD).
Luca’s Cucina Italiana & Lodge: We had a nice breakfast here on the day of our scooter tour.
The View Point Bar and Restaurant: This was our best meal in Puerto Galera for sure. We loved the food and view so much, we decided to interview the restaurant owner to see why his food was the best in town.
Puerto Galera NightLife
There are two places in the Puerto Galera area where we saw nightlife
Sabang Nightlife: Sabang has the highest concentration of people in a small area anywhere in Puerto Galera. Sabang is like a miniature Angles City with many Go-Go bars and many very nice restaurants. There are also several venues around Sabang where you will be able to live music. Just walk around until you find what you are looking for. Sabang is lively most nights from about 6 PM to late into the after-hours.
White Beach: The White Beach is a more typical tourist beach area with restaurants and some live music but it is not as lively as the Sabang area. But if you enjoy beautiful sunsets, a more relaxed nightlife vibe, and many beachfront restaurant choices, then White Beach is your better nightlife pick.
Cost of Living in Puerto Galera Philippines
Here is our estimated cost of living converted into US dollars if the two of us moved to Puerto Galera in the Philippines on a tight budget. But we are all different, so you will have to put your feet on the ground in Puerto Galera to determine your cost of living based on how you would live, shop, eat, and entertain yourself.
Rents: You will see furnished 1-bedroom apartments, in the range of about P15000 to P30000 Per Month $300 to $600 per month if we were willing to rent for a period of a year or more. Here is a place we found online for 20000 pesos per month.
So, for this estimate, I will use $400 per month for rent for a long-term rental for our estimate which does not include utilities. Make sure to also read my report how to find perfect apartments around the world.
Utilities: Puerto Galera is at sea level, so, we would need to run our air conditioner for most of the year. Our electricity will run about $80 USD per month and gas and water would be another $20 per month so about $100 USD per month for our estimated utilities which would vary by the season of course.
Groceries: Based on our time here and the money we spent on groceries, we estimate about $300 USD per month on groceries for the two of us. We would shop mostly in the public market where the vegetables, fruits, rice, and meats are cheaper, and only go to the more expensive ex-pat-style grocery stores for things we could not find in the public market.
Restaurants: If we went out to eat twice per week, once for date night and once for a lunch somewhere, plus some street food, we would spend around $45 per week or $180 per month in restaurants for the two of us. We would eat mostly in mom-and-pop-style restaurants and food carts rather than the expensive expat-style restaurants.
Cell Phone Data: The cost to recharge our prepaid service is about $16 per month. My android phone will act as a hotspot so we can both be on the internet at the same time when we are out of the house together.
Laundry: Our laundry cost about $8 to wash, dry, and fold at the local drop-off and pick-up laundry, so we would spend around $32 per month for laundry.
Water: We would spend about $12 per month on drinking water. They have bottled water for 60 Pesos for 20 liters (5 Gallons). We would drink about 10 per month or 600 pesos or around per $12 month delivered.
Internet: Our Internet would be about $50 per month.
Transportation: The areas we would frequent around Puerto Galera are spread out quite a bit. So we would probably buy a used scooter and spend about $30 per month on fuel.
Alcohol (Optional): Local beers are about $1.00 USD in grocery stores here. If you watch and buy in bulk on sale you may save a little. Bars charge in the range of about $1.60 to $2.00 per beer. So for the two of us, we estimate about $120 USD per month since we would drink more at home.
Entertainment (Optional): We would budget about $160 per month for entertainment for the two of us.
Retire in Puerto Galera Philippines for $1120 USD per Month
|
Puerto Galera |
Expense (USD) |
|
Rent |
400 |
|
Groceries |
300 |
|
Utilities |
100 |
|
Restaurants |
180 |
|
Cell Data |
16 |
|
Laundry |
32 |
|
Water |
12 |
|
Internet |
50 |
|
Transportation |
30 |
|
Recurring Total |
$1120 |
|
|
|
|
Alcohol (Optional) |
120 |
|
Optional Total |
$1240 |
|
|
|
|
Entertainment (Optional) |
160 |
|
Optional Total |
$1400 |
This is our estimated cost of living if the two of us moved to Puerto Galera in the Philippines on a tight budget. To fully understand what it would cost you to live here, you must do an exploratory visit and put your feet on the ground. Also, visit Puerto Galera Numbeo and add anything you spend money on in your home country that is not mentioned in the table. Our costs of living are generally much lower than a new traveler’s because we are great bargain hunters but there are a few people that live cheaper than we do.
Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.
More typical ex-pat living costs in Puerto Galera range from about $1500 to $2500 per month. But people spending that much also have higher incomes or pensions. They often report spending more on entertainment, eating out, and alcohol. Many also have more expensive cars, houses, or apartments.
If you are going to try to retire cheap offshore, make sure to read my report, the Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore, which explains why you should have emergency funds available for unexpected large expenses if you want to Retire in Puerto Galera Philippines for $1120 USD per Month.
Puerto Galera Scooter Tour
We found Dhido’s Scooter Rental on Facebook. Or, you can just call Dhido direct if you have a local SIM on your phone: 0917 9763. Dhido is in the White Beach area.
Sometimes we just ride the Jeepneys around the Philippines. But we decided to rent a scooter because we heard about several places we wanted to see on the same day. Here is where we went on our scooter tour around Puerto Galera. Make sure to wear a helmet.
Here is the Google Map of my Scooter Tour:
The locations you decide to visit are editable by clicking the below scooter itinerary that takes you to Google.
The tour starts at White Beach and goes to a great Italian Restaurant to have breakfast called Luna’s. Then the map takes you to a nice bay where you can take a picture. The “View Point Restaurant” is where we suggest lunch or dinner. Laguna Beach Resort is an amazing white sand beach for Instagram pictures. Sabang is a famous nightlife area that is like a miniature Angles City, where ex-pat partiers and beautiful local women go in the evening. Puerto Galera is the public market mentioned in the markets section of this report.
Where We Stayed
We spent 7 nights in this Airbnb.com place. If you book far enough in advance it looks like you can get it for around $20 USD per night when we looked today.
But if you decide to try to retire in Puerto Galera Philippines for $1120 USD per month, you are going to have to put your feet on the ground and look for more local less expensive long-term accommodations. Here is our process for finding places as we slow travel: How to find great apartments around the world.
Bus and Ferry to Puerto Galera from Metro Manila
We traveled to Puerto Galera from Metro Manila on a bus followed by a ferry. We caught the bus from the PITX bus station to Batangas for about 250 Pesos each ($5) and arrived in about 3 hours. The bus dropped us at the ferry terminal in Batangas. The ferry from Batangas to Puerto Galera costs about $10 per person and takes 1 hour. Because we wanted to see Batangas, we spent one night at this hotel before taking the ferry the next morning.
Puerto Galera Livability Factors and Retirement Desirability Score
Here are the factors I think about when I consider a place for early retirement potential. After I discuss each factor, I will assign an overall retirement desirability score.
Walkability: Medium Desirability. I love living in walkable areas of the world where you can walk to restaurants, grocery stores, nightlife, and other interesting things to do. If I decided to retire in Galera, I would probably live in the White Beach neighborhood. I would be able to walk everywhere in that area for my daily needs. However, I would need to get to other areas of Puerto Galera during the month just to keep things interesting. So I would need either ride Jeepneys, tricycle taxis, or buy an old scooter to get around to other areas. So I will call it medium walkability.
Internet: Medium. The overall reliability of the internet was good while we were in town, but I have read that it can get spotty from time to time. Additionally, the ATT-Test Internet Speed Test showed 4 MBPS download and 7 MBPS upload speed in our Airbnb.com apartment. Using my cell phone as a hot spot was better at 140 MBPS down and 37 MBPS upload speeds so we would have a great backup when the WIFI router was spotty. I will assign Medium to the Internet.
.
Food: Medium. The food choices for a city this size are a little better than an average city this size in the Philippines. Mostly because this is a Metro Manila playground on weekends and there are foreign tourists spending money on food here. That also means the average restaurant meals are higher here than in much of the Philippines, but you will find local-style restaurants and pricing here, you just need to get off the beaten tourist trails. I will say Medium for food.
Transportation: Medium. If we decided to retire in Puerto Galera we would not be able to walk everywhere. I would buy a used motorcycle and helmet for about $600-$800 USD. So I will call this medium.
Weather: Medium. Here is the weather in Puerto Galera. The average daily temperatures range very little from average highs of 84F, 29C, in January to the average highs of 91F, 33C, in May. The nightly lows also range very little from an average low of 72F, 22C, in January to an average low of 76F, 24C, in May. June through December is the rainy season while the dry season is January through April. The wettest months are July through November. Most ex-pats are going to need AC to sleep for much of the year.
Things to Do: High. Cooking, yoga, scuba, snorkeling, bike riding, martial arts, gyms, shooting pool, restaurants, bar hopping, island hopping, live music, running, coffee shops, street food, night market, malls, picnics, standup boarding, volleyball, basketball, jet skiing, sailing, and public parks. You are less than 3 hours from Metro Manila by ferry and bus
Healthcare: Low. There are a few medical clinics in Puerto Galera and a few very small hospitals about an hour away on the same island in the City of Calapan. But for most serious problems I would head over to the well-reviewed specialists or hospitals in Metro Manila. The larger better equipped hospitals with more specialists are in Metro Manila Makati.
Expats: Low. We saw many ex-pats wandering around Puerto Galera. However, we did not find any well-attended Expat groups either on Facebook or other social media sites where existing ex-pats are helping new ex-pats find things, get settled, or answer common questions. If you find out about one please let me know so I can share it with others. No ex-pat forum may not be a problem for you if you are comfortable asking locals. So it just depends on what you need. Make sure to make friends with both locals and ex-pats for a richer experience living here. I explain why in my report, The Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees Make.
Real Estate: Low. Foreigners can not buy land in their own name in the Philippines. Condos are available to foreigners under some conditions in the Philippines but we did not see any for sale as such while we were here. Plus, I have a report explaining Why Retired Expats Should not Buy Real Estate Overseas for the first 2 to 3 years of living somewhere new overseas. Make sure to read that before deciding to buy real estate overseas. Almost everyone else is going to try to get you to buy (for the commission) so read at least one source explaining why I would wait a few years living there before I would even consider buying. .
Visa: High. For your exploratory visit to the Philippines, citizens of many countries can obtain a 30-day free visa stamp upon arrival at the international airports. Plus, you can extend your tourist visa for a total of 36 months in the Philippines without bothering with a retirement visa. The monthly visa extensions cost about $30 USD per month. After the 36 months, you just leave the Philippines and go to another country and then fly back to start the whole 36-month process over again. There is a retirement visa in the Philippines, but very few people bother with it because it is so easy to stay in the Philippines on tourist extensions.
Puerto Galera Overall Retirement Desirability Score: After reviewing my above individual scores on livability factors for Puerto Galera you are probably expecting me to rank Puerto Galera as merely medium desirability. But I am ranking it as high desirability. I just really enjoyed my time there so I am overlooking some of the factors that I normally use to distinguish one place from another. In fact, I would rank only Baguio as a better place for me to retire in the Philippines than Puerto Galera. Both Qiang and I explain why Puerto Galera is our second favorite place to retire in the Philippines in the following report as compared to the other 21 places we have explored in the Philippines.
Thanks for reviewing my report, Retire in Puerto Galera Philippines for $1120 USD per Month.
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