…there’s no place like home.
Out of the hotel and into my first ever apartment here in the Philippines. I guess that kinda makes me an official resident, right? Anyway, I consider this to be temporary quarters until I can find something I really want to call home. I’ve grown accustomed to living in a “palace” with too much space to now being cramped into a one bedroom unit. It’s bigger than similar apartments I looked at though. The place verifies my thinking that I brought too much shit with me. There is certainly not enough closet/shelf/drawer space to accommodate my clothing.
Anyway, here’s some pictures of the place:
My apartment complex. I believe the landlord told me there are two upstairs and three downstairs apartments. The upstairs units have 2 bedrooms and one will be available later this month. I’ll check it out and see if it is worth repacking all my stuff to gain some extra space.
The entrance to my place. That would be what is known as a dirty kitchen area for outdoor cooking. I may decide to set up a grill out there.
The “clean” kitchen. Give me time, I just moved in. I’ll dirty that fucker up!
A small refrigerator and what will serve as a pantry I suppose. There is zero cabinets in this kitchen as you might have noticed.
The dining area which has been re-purposed as my office. Got to give the landlord props, when I asked about wifi she said the router is upstairs but she would install one on the ground level as well. The network is “Eriksson 5G” but I doubt it is really that fast…still no complaints so far!
The living room…
The living room with my personal touches added….
The bathroom…someone asked why you need a water heater when it is always hot as hell outside. So? I like a hot shower anyway. Sue me!
The one and only bedroom.
The one and only bedroom has the one and only air con unit in the apartment. It keeps the room chilled enough, but it is insufficient to cool the rest of the place. Ah well, I’m paying for the electricity so I guess I’ll just consider myself frugal.
So, all that for a mere $440. per month. If I take the two bedroom later the rent will be $500. That’s pretty high I think, but living in the Baloy Beach area tends to cost a little more. Plus I’m sure I’m paying the “foreigner tax”.
Yesterday I played in a sweet little darts tourney here. I’m still sucking but I had moments of brilliance, so there’s hope.
Finished second and was happy with that. Those gals were some amazing darters. I was very impressed with their level of play. I need to step up my game if I’m going to be competitive here!
Alright, time for my morning beach walk. I might just get used to living like this.
Phase One of Operation Permanent Residence complete.
And now: the search for a real home! Are you still planning on renting, or might you be tempted to buy (well, mortgage) a property?
No, no temptation to buy. Foreigners can’t own land, so at most I could buy a condo. And I still want the flexibility to pack up and walk away should circumstances ever warrant doing so.
I can relate. Given the negotiations I’m currently going through, I agree that having a back door at the ready is a good idea. Ninjas and cats are always mindful of their lines of retreat.
WHAT! No bidet toilet. That’s standard in SK. Can’t do without. Please enjoy your retirement. Have a retired DAC friend who is being enticed to go back to SK to his old job in Taegu. The place is rampant with EO complaints. He is far to smart to fall into cleaning up some else’s trash. Again enjoy you retirement.
Thanks, Rascal. Yeah, I almost brought a bidet with me, but ultimately decided to wait. Lots of Koreans here (and Korean stores) so I’m sure I’ll be able to find one locally.
Well, being a re-employed annuitant is a gravy train, but somethings are more valuable than money.
I’m kind of digging the picture hanging above your laptop in the re-purposed dining area. Peace out!
Yeah, it really is cool…I love Pink Floyd…
Looks pretty nice as an opening base to get your feet wet.
Agree with the comment about only renting – that is definitely the way to go!!
Good luck with the search for more permanent housing.