# Where to meet expats in Cebu and Butuan?



## malcolmedward (Mar 23, 2016)

I am spending the month of May with my fiancée and her family in Butuan however after much research and listening to the advice of more seasoned expats, I am leaning towards Cebu as the place to live and work. Hope to spend some time there next month, any recommendations as to places to visit where I might run into other expats both in Cebu and Butuan?


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## billygoat (Aug 31, 2013)

malcolmedward said:


> I am spending the month of May with my fiancée and her family in Butuan however after much research and listening to the advice of more seasoned expats, I am leaning towards Cebu as the place to live and work. Hope to spend some time there next month, any recommendations as to places to visit where I might run into other expats both in Cebu and Butuan?


Aloha Malcolm...we live in Hawaii right now but my wife is from Mindanao, and I have lived in both Cebu City and Butuan. In Cebu you might go to the big mall, I think it is called Ayala Mall. There are lots of foreigners there, although I don't know of any particular group. In Butuan there is a group of expats that meet Fridays at a restaurant across the street from Gaisano Mall. I can't remember the name of it. I think it is owned by an American. 

In general, Cebu is a much larger city than Butuan and there is a lot more in the way of modern conveniences (malls, shopping etc). Butuan is a very provincial "city". We moved away in 2014 so it no doubt has changed some, but is very different from Cebu. Traffic in Cebu can be bad at times. In Butuan public transpo is mostly tricycles and multi-cabs; very few taxis there. They did open up a new mall since we left, so that is something. Our trips to Butuan consisted mostly of going to Gaisano Mall, eating at Pizza Hut or Jollibee and catching a movie at the cinema in the mall. The A/C was sometimes out which makes for a very warm experience, but it is all part of living in the Philippines.

We may be moving back to Mindanao at the end of this year and will be somewhere within driving distance of Butuan, so if you end up there, message me and maybe we can meet. Good luck


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## malcolmedward (Mar 23, 2016)

*Thank You Billygoat*

Appreciate your response. Nice to receive a more positive viewpoint on Butuan after some very negative feedback on Mindanao. I will certainly try the restaurant across from Gaisano Mall during May. Not sure if I will get across to Cebu next month but I do want to take a good look round, I was there briefly in 2010 but only as a visitor.

Originally, I had planned to marry in Butuan and then bring my wife and son back to London but the job I was expecting to start here has fallen through and I am questioning whether the quality of life in the Philippines may be better for all of us. 

Increasingly difficult to obtain family visas for dependents of UK citizens as the government uses any means possible to reduce other immigration since it cannot limit those entering from EU countries, this may change if the UK votes to leave the EU in the June Referendum but it has never been that easy.

The questions are how to generate an income in the Philippines and where to live? It would be great to correspond and meet next time you are in Mindanao. Even if I do not stay in Butuan, then we will be visiting the wife's family fairly regularly.

Regards

Malcolm


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