LIVING IN BAGUIO CITY, PHILIPPINES | PROS & CONS | EARLY 2023 "FOREIGNER" UPDATE
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- čas přidán 26. 01. 2023
- Living in the Cordilleran mountain range of the area around Baguio City, Philippines has given me new perspectives. The past 2 years of my life have been amazing. So many more travel tips and lessons to talk about in the adventures that can be had in the Philippines.
This is my 1st video of the year 2023. Much more cultural videos like this to come out soon. Especially because I really need to generate a more serious amount of income to continue to support my adventures around the globe.
Check out my official website for more content like this, I write blog articles there...
www.johnjimages.com/
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It is interesting that mold would be so pervasive. Without your information I would have guess that mold would be more a problem in warmer areas of the Philippines. Thanks for the very well produced video.
The leading cause of mold is a lack of air circulation with high moisture levels and warm temperatures. I have lived on the Oregon coast and in Montana, with elevations of 6800 feet (2.7 km). With the high elevation of Baquio, the chance of having mold is slim unless you keep the moisture level up in a closed area(bathroom) and no air circulation or bring damp clothes from the lower elevation that are very hot to a cooler elevation and not open the suitcase or place them in a closet right away.
I’m a California born Fil-Am, so I had to subscribe. I appreciate your point of view. Most CZcams videos I found from Americans are from creepy old white guys looking to take advantage of the women lol
You did a great job and i think the unique perspective you have is a good one. Enjoyed the video
Baguio is derived from the Ibaloi word "Bag-iw" meaning moss which is in abundance in the area, not the Tagalog word "bagyo".
The Americans declared Baguio the Summer Capital of the Philippines as a respite for American soldiers during the hottest periods in the country. Characteristic of the old American rest houses are white walls and green roofs. The color scheme is still adapted by some Baguio office buildings and houses to this day.
Thanks for the concise information. Moss is abundant here indeed and one of the dominant native tribes in the area are still the Ibalois.
@@johnjimages Baguio or Kafaguay is the ancestral land of the Ibaloi!
Thank you for making this video.
Very informative video John, Thank You
Thanks for the video John.
I'm considering Baguio for long term living. I enjoy cooler weather and riding motorcycles in the mountains, but I want to make sure I would be able to form a friend circle even if I don't look anything like a local. Going to watch the rest and see what you have to say now!
Not sure about looking for some friends here but maybe try to look for some expats living here in Baguio. There are lots of foreign people here but they're college students and most are learning english. But Baguio i think is the best place to be in the Philippines esp if youre a nature lover
Thanks for watching Ryan.
Driving in the mountains is an amazing feeling. I definitely see a lot more foreigners (way taller than locals) wondering around Baguio City now that travel is easier!
Baguio is one of the best places in the Philippines to live in if you like cold weather and North America/Europe mountain vibes. Friends can be a challenge to make in new areas, though when you make good friends they make a major difference in how the area/city feels.
Our place is not really something that expats choose, most foreigners would choose the beaches in the south to settle in. Most foreigners here are students but still there are those who reside here already. Id say we're still welcoming and pretty much friendly 😂.
@@learninghowto101 I found it medium low on the welcoming scale. That's just me
Great video!
Well done, thanks.
One of most informative, balanced takes on living in Ppns of any CZcams channel...very useful!
Thanks for the great content and advice for living in that area.
Thank you for sharing your adventures and sharing the advantages and disvantages living in Baguio.your new subscriber from Australia. Originally from Baguio.
Good video !
Hindi ko na naabutan SM. It has changed so much from how I remember it. Well, that’s been 19 years. But the weather hasn’t changed I hope. We used to have monsoons. Good memories.
It's nice that the airport is open again but only for two flights per week and only to Cebu City.
Very nice video. I am from Florida and I am currently in pangasinan. Going back to Baguio in July.
Subscribed thanks mate
Thank you for the insight about the mold. I thought about it, but I've never heard anyone mention that. I was planning to eventually retire in Baguio due to the cooler climate. Now I have something new to take into consideration.
Awesome time living in Baguio.
Generally awesome to live in the Province of Benguet.
I like your positivity 👍👍👍
Hey there. New subscriber here, and this is your first video I’m watching. I’ll watch the other ones later. I was born in Manila and now a citizen in North America. I used to visit Baguio as a kid and really enjoyed it there. I remember water supply in homes as an issue. Has that problem been resolved? As for humidity, are there available de-humidifiers there like in America? How about Amazon (for online orders of items not available in Baguio)? For the traffic issue, aside from walking, how about biking or motorcycles as an option? Lastly. SM originally stood for Shoe Mart as they started out as a shoe store back in the day, just like Brown’s in America.
Hey! Thanks for subscribing! Water management is still a challenge, even though it rains a lot suprisingly. As I am typing this comment, my dehumidifier is working that we got from either Shoppe or Lazada. I have not really tried ordering something from Amazon yet. There are many people who cycle here in spandex style racing suits or something. Motorcycles and those scooter like motorcycles are really popular here for transport because of the compact size and fuel efficiency. Remember traffic here can be really really crowded. Vague memory does tell me SM was related to shoes. Thanks for your comment, it's a great encouragement for me to keep making videos about the Baguio area.
I was interested in the temperatures also and so I searched. To my surprise, the average monthly highs and lows run between 0-5 degrees F, usually 2-3, cooler than Medellin, Colombia. More rain at certain times of the year but from experience Medellin has fantastic weather and it seems like Baguio would be pleasant as well. Medellin is called the city of eternal spring and for a city in the Philippines Baguio might be close.
Hello John, I was born in Quezon City but like you, grew up in So Cal. I'm currently living in the East Cost and grew to like the cold. I'm also planning to return to PI to live permanently and currently doing some research. I have fond memories of Baguio as a child and considering it as my top choice to live. I'm looking forward to more videos and thanks for sharing.
Baguio is derived from the word Bag-iw which the tribes call the local moss that grows abundantly here.
Ibaloi is the native tribe that has that term from what I recall
Galing sa informative video ditto. May I ask At What age did you move from Philippines to Cali?
Great video and channel, keep it up! How is to power grid and Internet in Baguio City area? Are there a lot of power brownouts like other provinces? Is there good, fast Internet there? Big, must have's for me!
Power? Id still say it way better than in most places. Cheaper than manila, they have scheduled power interruptions for maintenances, sometimes they turn it off during typhoons if theres too much thunder for precautions i guess. We still have unschedule interruptions but the linemen do their best. As someone who worked from home i never really had problem with it. Internet is pretty much same everywhere else. 😂 ive had problems with it but it hasnt driven me to frustration yet so id say so far so good.
When they have scheduled interruptions, they give notice in advance and it's not the whole city so you can go to areas that are not affected.
I’m a Baguio/Ifugao native too, residing in NY. Haven’t been home for 15 years. 🤭
I think you should make another video and talk about safety, healthcare and traveling around the city for both long-term (1yr +) stay and short-time stay (1wk +).
Anybody can and will determine where to buy stuff and all that but there’s a big difference when they buy from the mall grocery rather than the local market. Yes, the weather is nice, it’s basically San Diego weather except when fog rolls in, you’re in San Francisco 😂. Incorporate the knowledge you have staying in the US and use it an analogy when comparing or describing things in the Philippines. Like, Manila is Miami, FL in terms of weather but add 50% more humidity. 😅 This way, viewers from the US can relate better- especially now that travel has opened and we’re seeing a rise in touring and relocation to Southeast Asia.
For those planning to stay long term, water access is actually not easy so plan wisely when choosing a semi-permanent place to stay.
Yes to the traffic so plan to walk everywhere. Baguio City is not only a tourist destination but also a College hub. SLU, UB, Pines, UC and UPBC are too close to each other and that adds to the traffic as well. 2 big global BPO branches are also located there so that adds to the congestion and higher cost of living.
Anyway, I love that little underrated city. 😊 it’s cold but it’s people are warm. ❤
Agree with this constructive comment. I was hoping he’d actually specify temperatures in Baguio and Manila for comparison 👍
Thanks for the detailed feedback, I really appreciate it. I think you should consider visiting home soon. Baguio and Ifugao from 15 years ago is probably a lot different compared to now! Buying vegetables/fruits from the local market in the language of Iloko is a major advantage if you plan on living in the Baguio area long term. I haven't gone to Florida yet hehe. Baguio City is truly underrated from an international viewpoint, though in that way I guess it helps to possibly keep the traffic down haha.
Please try visiting your homeland soon... because the Earthquakes might make it hard to travel... it would be great to see another Baguio/Ifugao native talking about the Cordilleras through an international perspective.
Google is great to search for numbers. Right now as I write this comment Baguio is at 67 degrees F and Manila is at 83 degrees F. Though in my opinion, Baguio has a lot of micro climates, that weather models can not accurately predict because of their many mountains.
@@johnjimages we’re planning to come home and introduce my 10 yr old to my Cordillera family next year (finally!) that’s why i have been searching for informative vlogs so as to know the current cost, situations and changes in my hometown. 😁 my family is still there so I do have first hand knowledge on most things but a few trivial things I forget that it’s an issue, for example, drying clothes during monsoon season which made think maybe I should be buying my Mom a dryer in duty free Manila before heading up to Baguio. 🤭
As for the traffic, I think the city banning jeepneys in session road has helped a bit but unless there’s major infrastructure restructuring in the city centre, it will stay as is. License coding helped a bit before too, however , Baguio City was never planned to be a big bustling city that it is now. I think relocating or making satellite colleges for the 3 major schools to the outskirts of the city will help, like SLU engineering should be placed somewhere else as is the rest of the colleges and only the medical-related colleges remain close to the hospital. This will encourage the growth of other municipalities that will house these satellite colleges.
Anyway, traffic was an issue when I went to school there 15 years ago, still a problem today. Good thing Baguio is a walkable city and I live in Lower Brookside. 😆
You could also perhaps feature the less-covered attractions of the area. I have not seen many vlogs about Tam-awan village of arts and Balatoc Mines Tour. Those were fun to visit! 😁 or interviews on local students about their experience and how they view Baguio as a tourist city, a local stall owner at the market, a taxi driver on tips where to catch a ride and things to watch out for. A local policeman for tourist safety…. These I haven’t seen yet or probably was not looking hard enough if there are any… 😁 but if I’m traveling, these will be the first thing I would look for. The tourist spots have been covered soooooo many times, I just skip them sometimes.
So, happy vlogging and more powers to you kabsat! 🤗
50% more humidity? i live in Sarasota Florida and am in Baguio now. Most of South Florida 90 plus humidity so Manila can not have 50% more. I actually find Florida much hotter than Manila. In most parts of the Philippines you can still walk around comfortably at night. No way in Florida. You will still sweat like s pig at midnight.
Good show. I subscribed. I had to go look this up on a map. I know Cebu, QC, Zamboanga City, Subic etc...but not this place. Maybe nice to show a map of the country and where someone is talking about. Happy Trails from Florida
S&R is Costco not SM :-) Keep working the craft and stay warm!!!!! Getting to Baguio was quite an adventure in 1997, the last time I went. Washed out single lane roads!!!!!
New subscriber here.
Good Job, I subscribed. I am looing to move to Baguio very soon as a digital nomad. I just pray the Fiber Internet is decent and that electric brown outs are rare. I wish you a Prosperous 2023 and beyond. if you have lead son rent to own condos an American can qualify for, I'm interested to learn about it.
Internet is pretty decent. No problem about that.
Fiber 💀
Thanks for subscribing! From what I understand Internet here is not as fast as the digital nomad land of Thailand, though it has improved it sounds like. It's still honestly slow in my opinion because I came from California... You can try searching up "Goshen Baguio" on Google. I used to live in a Goshen Land condominium unit and I remember seeing foreigners in my guarded compound area. The real estate scene in Baguio City has experience in dealing with Americans who are looking to stay for awhile.
In regards to the brown outs... The Goshen place I used to live installed a generator for the compound, probably because they expected a lot of the residents to be online workers. Electric brownouts through out Baguio area can be a painful thing to deal with. In my highly subjective frustrated memory... when I was still trying to adjust to the Philippines... I felt like power outages happened every 2 or 3 weeks and it could last for several hours, especially in the storm season. Battery banks, generators, headlamps, adjusted expectations, maybe 5G or 4G data (independent of your main wifi source), and realizing that Philippines is still a developing country helps to deal with brownouts.
LOL
Having lived in the US, can you suggest tips on how you could best address the mold issue? Thank you
This Guy Spits the truth!
How are things there in the off season? I am interested in coming during USA summer. I have a place in Florida for winter here.
What do you mean off season? Like not holidays? If that's what you mean then its way better 😂 bec the traffic is not so bad.
Lower the background music down. It's very distracting. Also, focus on your delivery. You do a lot of pauses in between words which makes it hard for the viewer to track what you're saying. There's room for improvement but you're getting there.
Lost me as a subscriber.. stupid background at irritating level.
What the rain season?
2 questions:
Could you recommend a colder climate than Baguio...???
Could you recommend 3 equally cool climates as Baguio...???
Thx in Advance.
They say taytay rizal is as cold as baguio though its way smaller in area and i think its heavily cramped with businesses already so not much for residential but i could be wrong.
As for colder, you can go further than baguio, and look for a olace to stay along the halsema highway. Sayangan atok is colder there all year round and you get to experience frost from time to time.
Most places in benguet and mt province have colder temperature at night and morning and during rainy season, i still find it hot during the day but still not as hot as the lowlands.
I’ve never heard of the mold problem. Thanks for sharing this!
Its such a pain in the ass during moonsoon times. But in my observation, if the inside of the house is kept a higher temp then moisture doesnt come in and tou might not see mold. But if you have no heater, youll exp it, wet walls that sometimes seem to bleed water, mushrooms for wood houses 😂. Even newly washed clothes will get molds 😂
@@learninghowto101 - So if you keep your A/C on and keep it cold in your house you will get mold??
Planing go in vacation in August why are you think?
August is the month with the most rainfall with an average of 40 inches in Baguio. It rains pretty much every day in August. For comparison, Seattle gets 40 inches of rain in a whole year. The Baguio Wikipedia page has a chart with the monthly rainfall averages. November through April is the dry season. If you are going to Philippines in August I would recommend the beach. Siargao, Boracay (might be crowded and expensive in August), Baler, Moalboal, Alona Beach in Panglao Island are good options.
Hi there, how are the floods in Baguio City
Uncommon to have flood in here but avoid "city camp" bec they can get flooded sometimes. That's the only area that gets flooded here bec our drainage is located there.
The background noise is too loud and distracting 😅
There are 2 seasons in Baguio. Rain or no rain. 😂
Baguio is merely a tourist place, not a shopping place..
It's quite challenging to get premium high end adventure products here surprisingly
All factors considered - and - ''in the greater scheme of (all) things'' - it has come down to my considering Tagaytay - or - 'perhaps' - even Lipa City ? -- At 2000 feet and 1000 feet elevation respectively - likely giving Tagaytay the edge for overall 'comfort' ? Although Lipa likely is a bit cheaper. Average utilities costs nearly twice as much in Baguio than in Tagaytay ! Perhaps more AC is needed in Lipa than Tagaytay - also costing more - and likely helping to offset other higher costs of being in Tagaytay. -?- Seems likely to me if you value your 'comfort' at all ?!? - - - Near Tagaytay - w/o a killer view - might save a good bit on rent. Starbucks & McDonalds (24/7) have terrific views - which are invisible to me when I'm sleeping anyway !?! 😂❤👍🙏🌞✨
Background music ruined the video for me.
Sm = sho mart
What is the cost to live there? $2000 a month enough or will I need more?
Depends on your lifestyle and accomodation. rents here for a simple 2 bedroom apartment start at 6000 pesos. It cost higher if you rent in condominiums of course and if you rent a whole house. When it comes to food, highland vegetables are cheaper than in manila. Transpo is pretty cheap for foreigners too, even taxis and the best thing is that taxis here wont try to scam you. 😅.
I just bumped into your vlog here and it is unfortunate that you seem to attribute “mold” to Baguio. I was born and raised in this beautiful city and I was never aware of any “mold” problem. I suspect that you are mistaking “mold” for “mildew.” And this is not because you are in Baguio. I am not sure what places you visited that had mold occurrence, but it all depends on how a building/house us maintained. And you are wrong about the origin of “Baguio” is. It is explained somewhere here in the comments section by someone. Please check your facts first before sharing information with others especially when it comes to historical facts. And your reference to a “boondock” life is rather offensive. Baguio is a city and is not a remote rural area. Sorry.
Yeah I agree that "boondock" sounds offensive, but I doubt that John J will change or remove this word from the thumbnail.
Mold? Count me out. 😑
Mold in Baguio is relentless
are you a JW?
I tried to watch but could not bear to listen to the horrible soundtrack playing! Like nails on a chalkboard.
Haha good thing i have the habit of watching with subtitles and without sounds 😂
I'm from Baguio, there are molds in some houses but not that much of a problem. Not all houses have mold in Baguio. Do not generalize not all houses have molds. I also want to correct you that Baguio is not in the boondocks. And please read on the history on how the name Baguio came about. Baguio doesn't mean storm! It means moss (bagiw In ibaloi).
Baguio is not a good place to live because they don't have a good hospital!
wrong. we have better healthcare in general here in the city compared to other places in the country.
Anong american accent mo pinagsasasabe mo??? Sinong ginago mo???
I visited baguio and loved up this summer. I love the temperature there, even if it rains. I checked out a few condos there looking to buy.
Could you have picked worse audio tracks for the background? Holy F... I will never subscribe to this channel.