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Budget: Makati
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Is P100,000 a month (net) a good salary to live comfortably in Makati (Manila, Philippines) as a young single person (expat)?
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I see this sort of question asked all of the time on the Manila expats forums. The real answer is that it depends where you want to live and the sort of lifestyle you intend to leave. Most locals are paid 20 to 50 k per month and management are on 40 to 100k. This implies that you would be living in the lap of luxury, but what many foreigners don’t realise is that although many things here are cheap you will probably have many additional expenses. All of these “Extras” mean that living a pretty lavish lifestyle will cost you a similar amount to many other major cities. I am in Makati where a luxury apartment or house in Forbes, Dasma or BGC will cost approximately 2 to 10 times your salary per month in rent alone. I know many who came here on a 500k pm plus wage thinking that they will be able to live well and save only to find that it barely covers the rent, utilities, school fees, staff salaries, transport and food costs. Getting real though. If you can live in a more modest area and be reasonably frugal coping without helpers, a driver and going out for restaurant meals then you could probably live reasonably comfortably on 100k pm, but I don’t think that you will be able to save. You will also find that as a young single person you (Guys especially) will be seen as rich just because you are foreign so be aware that you are a target for those who want to get hooked up/ knocked up or both just to out of poverty. The honey trap is definitely alive and well over here and if you get serious and things do fall apart the judicial system almost always decides in local’s favour. Maybe give yourself a fixed time where you can support yourself without signing up for anything much and then decide?
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Nobody can answer this for you. It depends on your lifestyle. A studio is fine for you? You can find sone at 10 to 15 000 near butgundy tower, or 30 to 40 000 near green belt… If you eat local food, 10 000 or less are more than enough budget for a month, if you want to eat imported food, you can tripple prices. If you can cope with a fan, you might pay 500 to 1000 electric bill a month, if you add free?er n fridge with air con you might reach 7500 a month. Then come your transportation, jeepneys are very cheap but in traffic time, i m not sure you d enjoy ut, taxi can be a hassle to find at rushing hours, … Then depends o your hobbies, etc…. The subject is vast. And nobody will agree with others as we all have different expectations, habits…