I want to rent a place In Philippines for approximately one month starting around March 14th, the goal is to have high speed internet also would be nice to be close to expats and balance cost with convenience as year year I’m hoping to live in the Asia area from 3 to 5 months and I’ll like to pick a country to be that home base, if anyone can recommend which city is best for this it would be greatly appreciated bonus point if you also have rental recommendations even sites that may be better then booking.com or airbnb

I'm an Asia noob but I just got back from visiting Cebu for a few months, then Cagayan de Oro for a month, then Manila for just a few days.

Since I don't have a ton of experience, I can't say whether PH is the best country for you, or where is best in the Philippines, however, since you mention internet, I presume that means you will be working? Because I think if you're going to be working weird hours (late into the night or even all night if you're working US hours), the best choice is IT Park in Cebu. Reason being, there are tons of places open 24 hours so you can get coffee any time of night, go to a restaurant, or go to 7-eleven for a few groceries (but you'll probably also have to go to a bigger grocery store before it closes at around 9 PM.)

Cebu seems to have tons of expats, however, I didn't notice what I'm used to in Latin America, where there will be a tight knit community of expats who are often living there long term. One thing you should be aware is that foreigners don't always have the best reputation in PH, part of the reason probably being how easy it is to stay there without a visa.

Re: Manila, I was in BGC and I think there are also enough 24 hour places if that's necessary for you. I think Manila is generally a cooler city than Cebu, however, the traffic is horrible, good luck even catching taxi or Grab (local ride sharing app) at certain times of day.

Cagayan de Oro is sort of random, I went there because my buddy's wife lives there. Was actually my favorite, but definitely not terribly developed / lacking in infrastructure. Generally you'll experience a more laid back vibe in the smaller cities in the Philippines which personally I like more. And if you stay near a major mall, everything will be walking distance, which is nice.

Not familiar with other options besides AirBnB, I'd ask around more or maybe try Facebook marketplace. But I'll say the quality on AirBnB is quite poor and without the protections of a third party like AirBnB, your experience might even worse.

Overall I'm super happy I visited PH but I said I'm an Asia noob... I don't have other countries in Asia to compare it to. Personally I think of the more affordable Asian countries, it's the best choice for me, but I'd also like to try one of the more expensive countries sometime.

March 14th, 2026

Ah ok, yeah who knows what the extreme weather situation will be then.

Is this normally a bad time to go there?

Maybe someone with more experience in PH can answer, but what I'll say is, (1) that's not usually considered the rainy season / season at risk of bad cyclones, but (2) What I'm not sure about is whether these awful storms could still happen at any time.

But regarding earthquakes, the Philippines is one of the most seismically active places in the world, and bad earthquakes can happen any time. When I was traveling in PH I managed to avoid serious issues caused by rain. But there were several very strong earthquakes, after which I evacuated my building along with most of the the other residents. A taxi driver told me the buildings are designed to withstanding earthquakes, and engineers inspect the buildings afterwards. If that's true, it's reassuring. On the other hand, you never have any idea when the next monster earthquake will be or what the epicenter will be. A really strong earthquake centered pretty much exactly where you're staying can be devastating, even if you're in an earthquake resistant building. Or imagine if you have to be walking beneath construction scaffolding at the time. Or some other bad location.

Still, you can read about devastating mortality numbers, but it helps to think in terms of probabilities. The probability that any one person is going to have life threatening injuries from earthquakes or extreme weather is (I think) low.

So was there region that you think was the best to stay?

Really depends on what for. For sightseeing and to be in a really interesting city, Manila, but I think the traffic problem makes living there nonviable. For ease of working remotely and meeting other foreigners, Cebu. For slowing down and not spending a lot of money, Cagayan de Oro (I imagine this can be extended to many smaller cities).

In my case, I was working in Cebu and it was the best location for that. Was trying to save money and chill in Cagayan de Oro and that turned out to be a good choice.

In Manila, I was basically just on my way out of the country and wanted to do some sightseeing. I’m divided about Manila because it’s absolutely an awesome city, beats Cebu in many respects, but the traffic problem seems like it makes it not viable.

What is the traffic problem exactly?

Manila has been rated as having the worst traffic in the world for a major metro. The problem is that there’s simply too much traffic. This means going even small distances can take an excruciatingly long time. But it also means that at peak times, there won’t be any ride sharing drivers available, and you might spend 30 minutes or more looking for a taxi. When you find a taxi, the driver will name you an outrageous price, but who can blame them, that’s the way supply and demand works.

Why is it so bad? What makes the infrastructure worse than other places? Do you know?

Nope, I was just there for a few days and I haven’t read much on the subject or talked to locals about it, other than people in all parts of the Philippines telling me that traffic is really bad in Manila. I know that public transit is severely lacking which contributes to the congestion.

Anyone in northern Luzon? I was thinking of heading to La Union. Not sure if it's still flooded out, haven't seen anything in the news since a couple days ago.

Manilla is the most densely populated city in the world

Hi. Any Laravel developers atm in Panglao? Staying until Wednesday, would be nice to hookup:)

Hey I am coming to Manila for a workation on 1st December, I will stay for 3 weeks.
I haven't decided where I will stay. I was thinking of staying in Manila and work from wework but after reading previous messages I am confused. I hate traffic.

I want to stay in a homestay with kitchen but I want to socialize too. Also I want to work from a good co-working space. Any place with good co-working or coliving vibes will do.

Help me please. Need your suggestion.

If you want no crazy traffic, you'll need to try a smaller city. The Philippines has many to choose from. I personally liked Puerto Princesa... although electricity can be spotty at times 😢

Traffic is’t bad outside of normal
Rush hours

Coming from India, I know how it feels and that's what I want to avoid. I am thinking of living in an island. But need good internet and a good co-working space or a community to socialize.

Is there a list of holidays for 2026 issued by government of Philippines ?

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/nationwide-holidays/2026/

where did you end up staying?

Right now I am in Cebu island.

I took airbnbs in Manila because hotels are too costly around this time. After experimenting with 2 places I realized that if I need a large home, 2 bedroom apartment, I will need to stay in outskirts area. But then I had to work from home.

Come to Cebu, it's better here.
I took a weekly pass of co-working space in just 1500 pesos. And I am staying in a good Airbnb.

Oslob?

Where?

Oslob

Not really a good place

Yah, i did a small tour, just for whales

If you are a avid diver that's the kind of shitty places you tend to avoid

No I am not, and most of us won't be, i believe

I get it :)
Definitely not a fan though

I am planning to attend Cebu for Sinulog festival, from Jan 15-19
Not able to find a place to stay and most hotels are quite crappy.

Can anyone suggest a place please or should i try couch surfing ?

We still have the house I grew up in in Davao City, near Abreeza. Quite central.

We live in Australia for decades now, so the house is mostly sitting empty.

I plan to turn it to a digital nomad hub.

Any PH based digital nomads keen to partner?

Anyone know any good Manila based Expat focused WhatsApp/Telegram groups?

I'm in Makati for the weekend (until Jan/07). I've never met up with anyone on Nomads. If you're in the city and want to grab a drink, hit me up

hi planning to go Manila on 8-13 Jan

How’s the Manila and siargao nomad scene these days?

Might spend some weeks post nomad cruise there

Curious if any colivings/coworking that you’ve really enjoyed working from

not sure there is a big scene, at least I don't know any reliable hotspots where people meet

I see, let's create one then :)

how long have you been in manila, how's the city vibe? I hear the traffic is fun, can't be worse than india though :P

I’ve been coming here since 2022. I personally really like it, although Manila ranks behind many SEA cities on almost all common metrics. I try to avoid traffic as much as possible by renting in a good area where I don’t have to constantly drive somewhere.

I've just finished up a week in Makati. I recommend staying as close to the malls around "Ayala Triangle". This gave me enough to do do and explore during the day. I've learned a good latte drastically enhances the quality of my day 😆 and the malls had a lot of high quality food and beverage options. Parts of Makati do feel like "the financial district" of a city but that was okay for me. I stumbled in to a few coffee shops with a co-working vibe but no official dedicates spaces and _no_ WIFI?! Apparently public WIFI is not a common thing in PH. I found the city safe and staying near the malls was an upgrade for me but I'm not feeling it beyond a week and moving on to Boracay or other island vibes.

Hey guys! Anyone whos lived in the philippines for a while, is it worth travelling in October? Does it rain often?

Is anyone in Cebu? Are there any WhatsApp groups or anything?

I'm in Boracay now for a few days. The beach is spectacular. I'm an ocean swimmer, so it's quite nice for long distance swimming beyond just the powdered sand. This is a small island and things feel a little boring, maybe just me. Anyone recommend any activities they've enjoyed in the past?

Easy to meet people (younger crowd) at frendz hostel

Anybody at Siargao these days? Let’s go play some padel tennis if you are around

Anyone who flew into Manila recently did they ask for onward flight at your origin airport?

Yes, always

Landers vs S&R? Seems like the wait to checkout in S&R is always so slow but haven’t tried landers yet

How’s the vibes and scene at siargao?

Hoping to CoWork/surf there end of Feb and march a bit

I liked it a lot. Surf spots are amazing. Seems to be like Bali 15-20 years ago in terms of overall infrastructure - (1) many Europeans and Australians, (2) roads and the airport are not very good yet, (3) lots of nice cafes Bali-style, (4) but internet can be bad at times, (5) very cheap.

I didn’t find it that cheap last year. Not if you’re eating non-Filipino food. They also have mad power outages sometimes so make sure you have a place to work with a generator

Hey,
I'm currently in Davao City for a few days.
If somebody is around and wants to grab a beer (or 5 😄) let me know.

Hello fellow nomads!

I am planning to visit Panglao for about a month starting this March around 20th.
Looking for recomendations for accomodations and for a freediving training buddy