Cebu

I spent several months in Cebu city, but never more than 3 weeks consecutively. I consider Cebu city as a good temporary base to relax & work, and as a starting point to go to some island or beach (moal boal).
I also learned english there 7 years ago, with private filipino teachers.
In Cebu city there is not many things to do, except work, shopping mall (I worked a lot in Ayala mall), improve your english and party.
You probably want to stay in IT park, which is very safe, chill (not busy busy), have many food options, and basic condo. Filipino like going to IT park as well, so will be easy to meet friends.
I used to stay in Avida tower ; it's small and not that good quality construction compared to Thailand, but this is good quality for the PH. You can rent it on airbnb.
Conclusion: don't plan to come here for more than a week, and you will see if you like the vibe.

This city doesn't deserve to be ahead of cities like Da Nang or Chiang Mai. Still way to underdeveloped. Yes a lot of coffees for wifi but dirty and overall not great conditions for nomads. You'll not find almost any nomads there. I would skip it.

Hi guys, I live in south of Cebu since 2014.Subdivison in Carcar city. Find it safe people are friendlier than me. I'm just causes. I'm 30km from CBD to the south. About an hour drive. If you interested to live in Carcar, check out Lamudi. There are properties for rent and sale. Camelia and Glenrose straight of south road, easy excess. Traffic is quite annoying even in Carcar, mostly because of slow drivers holding, or vehicles who constantly overtaking AGAINST TRAFFIC. Heaps of roadworks nowadays, they trying to improve. Oslob is near, many waterfalls further south. Peaceful. I wouldn't live in CBD. Have all in Carcar, from coffee shop to restaurants. Super metro, Gaisano, save more. They have all.

I was living in the touristy exclave on mactan island, and it was very nice in terms of cost/quality. 600mb symmetrical stable internet, helpful and super friendly (sometimes even too much) staff, clean pools/beaches, all good. But it is exclave for tourists. When you step outside - it is poverty, a bit of chaos and other things you would expect from a third world country. So you can find a balance of these 2 thing that works for you.
Compared to Palawan - this place is absolute winner for me because you get much more for much cheaper.

I was reading previous reviews and there are digital nomads here calling locals idiots, i dont even know if i wanna be classified as a digital nomad because of these arrogant and privileged expats. better go back to your first world country and not travel.

anyway, Cebu is a good jump off point for other islands but good internet is not easy to find unless you just stay at the center.

I love Cebu so maybe I may seem biased but here's my perspective as an American who has spent many months, off and on, in Cebu. It is my other home. I have even owned a condo in Marigondon, Lapu-Lapu previously and a car there too.

First, it's a big city and like any big city you need to be careful. I don't find Cebu to be unsafe. I've felt just as safe in Cebu as I do in my native Los Angeles (California, USA). Obviously don't do things like flash money or valuables, etc. Use common sense... but as my mom used to say "common sense isn't so common" at least not these days.

Many people DO speak English but why would anyone go to a country where English isn't the first language and expect everyone to be fluent in English??? If you want to find people Fluent in English go to English speaking countries.

I'm learning Bisaya as it's my wife's native language (Nagkaton ko ug Bisaya) and I think if you're going to spend a reasonable amount of time in a country you should at least make some effort to learn a little of the language, you don't need to be fluent but it will be helpful to both you and the locals.

No place is perfect but I find Cebu to be very pleasant and I love it despite it's imperfections, I just feel at peace in Cebu.

Cebu does have traffic problems but it seems they're trying to resolve some of the congestion such as adding a 3rd bridge between Cebu City and Cordova/Mactan.

If you're curious about Cebu I recommend that you see it for yourself and check out other reviews for places to stay, sightseeing, etc.

I'm not one who focuses on race but i'm a conservative black American and haven't had any issues regarding race but there are a few who will charge any foreigner higher prices for things. If you go elsewhere you can find many others who are honest and reasonable.

Cebu city isn't safe, and internet is really slow unless you have a fiber connection.
Most of areas are unsafe at night, some are sort of dangerous at daylight too.
Even in deep province of Cebu island (such as Carcar city) I've been feeling much safer than here.
Also don't forget about terrible road traffic and the fact that most of locals here doesn't speak English.

Peacev = Bad, Racial Tolerance = Bad, LGBT Friendly = Bad

Sorry but this is simply not true here in the Philipines. The Koreans and the Chinese are very rude, unsofisticated not to mention dominant. But that something you'll see all over Asia nowadays.

I think revieuwers should at least try to notice the difference between Asians.

Professional fulltime Traveler since 2007

Just don't. Want to get ANY work done? Don't come here. I'm here now, hey. I wanna die. If 50 Kbps is your thing, let's go. Just don't go to this country in general. Internet is so bad, even Laos and Cambodia were MUCH better when it comes to free internet in coffee shops and co-working spaces.

Thinking about going to Manila or Cebu for travel + work? Don't.

By instant rock star status you mean the local idiots who point, laugh and stare and gossip in Bisaya? People are not friendly and should be kept at arm's length. Cebu is probably the best city in the Philippines though so all is not lost.

Lived in Cebu City for 15 years and as you can understand I liked it coz else I would have left. Started a business with 7 employees. As a white foreigner you get instant rock star status. The people are outstandingly friendly.
The air, traffic and humidity is terrible. It's a safe and fun city. Best public WiFi is in Starbucks. Lots of retired American Expats. Left when my two children entered middle school, no good affordable schools.

Stay near Cebu IT Park or Cebu Business Park. Hot and humid city, so use the Grab app, turn the AC on always, and shower daily. Must get a decent Cable ISP with Sky Cable or DSL line with PLDT, the LTE with Smart and Globe Data are lousy. You will not get any decent work done when you're in Bantayan / Camotes / Kawasan / Badian because you can only use LTE in these areas, and the signal is spotty. Airbnb condos in the city offer WiFi, join Facebook groups in Cebu, I noticed that they would usually advertise there. Good luck!

So so. Better than Manila as long you stick to Central Cebu. Terrible city to visit. Surprisingly decent and charming to live in. over time.