Well i would spent little as possible on Cebu city as you allready have plenty of time in Manila(another big city)... But there are some other cool spot in few hours away from Cebu city. There are also plenty of other beach destinations in Philippines if thats your thing

Did Borocay in January, loved it but thought I might branch out next time around

I mean cebu city is good gateway to some nice places(like siquor, bohol, bantayan etc.)... But it just take some time to get in those places.
If you want to try something different i would suggest Palawan(has quite a bit to offer, underground river, beaches), or perhaps Davao(also bit boring big city but has couple of island and nature(mount apo) just nearby). Also Philippines have many other nice island, like camiguin and siargao(should have some direct flights also)

1) how much are places in tivoli?
2) if you rent for 6-12 months do you need to pay most of it upfront? I dont know how long contracts work
3) any agent numbers / websites for tivoli?

1) probably 30-35k depends on size tho.
2) basically negotiable. If you pay 12 months in advance you should get a discount. I am getting 10% but not sure if that’s avg .
3) I just used lamudi.ph

2) depends but usually no... Usually they require one month in advance and deposid(usually equals two month of rent) which you should get back in the end less damage and bills you might have remaining(Though some landlords try to keep most of it trying to kinda scam of you). Offcourse they would be happy to take it all at once... But yea you should ask for discount in that case(though you usually get some discount allready for +6months contracts compared if you only stayed one month(though most want long term renters only))

Most landlords want post dated checks which are hard to get w/o bank acc.
So will be easier to pay some/all upfront bc owners want to protect themselves. But in the end up to owners how flexible they are and cheaper places like tivoli usually will have more flexibility.
Min time is usually 6 months contract but given that there might be some desperation due to corona atm might even be more flexible here

Guys, been doing some research regarding beach life in the Philippines.

I'm looking for an affordable beach town/Island with at least 1 good beach, close by but it has to be liveable place. Planning to spend 6-12 months there. From my limited search, it seems that many places are either livable but have a crappy beach or they are remote and have fantastic beaches but you need to travel to such beaches by boat etc.

I'm not looking for that tourist island/town, that just overcharges, I'm more looking for something like you'd find in Thailand like a Phuket or even better a Koh Phangan.

Philippines seems to be overpricing things on the nicer islands like Palawan etc.

For example I found a scooter place rental for the month in Palawan and they want like $235 a month, while in Thailand it's like $60. Granted this is online search, I really need some good info from some people that have lived/ visited a few of these places.

Anybody with any on the ground experience want to chime in here?

Can you recommend any beach towns/islands, that are liveable? I don't want to live in some remote hut type on the beach, and I also don't' want to pay tourist crazy prices to live close to a nice beach.

I'll write down some things I think are important:
-House/apartment = $300-600 a month
-Good supermarkets and markets (not just touristy shops or overpriced small stores)
-Cheap(ish) restaurants
-Cheap scooter rental, monthly
-Some nightlife but nothing too crazy, I'm a happy with a few bars, beach cafe's etc.

What's really important is that's it affordable and has a nice beach within walking distance.

I could of course just go to Koh Phangan but the visa is really a hassle and leaving that place every 2-3 months is a hassle as well.

As I have already been to Thailand I thought perhaps to give Philippines a try.

Even a paradise like Palawan, where would you live exactly? Puerto Princesa? That beach looks dreadful and if you want to visit a nice beach you have to travel 30 miles and from what I gathered you can't really live close to any of those beaches as they haven't got much in terms of development, such as shops, decent housing, bars and cafes, is this at all correct or am I watching the wrong youtube vids?

Panglao Bohol sounds precisely what you are looking for... Or perhaps White Beach close to Sabang/Puerto Galera as a second option...

Bali

Well the equation is pretty hard to come... There is usually at least one thing on your list missing(and isnt phuket and koh Phangan touristy?!). Usually scooter rentals is bit more expensive in Philippines than in Thailand(coz here is less of them)... but you could still find reasonable priced scooters in some places with bit research. Most developement places(like cebu) are far from nice beaches... Some places are bit develepmmont(like palawan, bohol and boracay) but are tourist hotspots. There are some nice beach islands(like camiguin, siquor and siargao) but they lack of nice malls.

Perhaps Samal island next to Davao city might suit you. Yes it still have to be boat(though they are finaly supposed to start building bridge(but that was before covid)) but it is only 15minutes or so. Have some nightlife(though not particulaly great), should find some reasonable priced scooter if you look around. Have cheap housing and restaurants and decent malls. Though i have to say that Davao city is quite big so location matters or perhaps you want to stay in samal island and just some times visit the city... But most beaches are owned by some resort there.

a couple hours north of cebu city you can get a nice beachfront property w/ access to 50 mbps internet for like $600 usd a month

Doesnt exist in PH, check back in 10 years or so. But where do you find a livable place in Phuket for 300-600$?

I stayed at oceanway residences in boracay and it was decent, this airbnb is $1.2k/mo maybe so i assume you could negotiate less for 6-12 months, not sure how much regular yearly rentals are

It has it's own private beach, pool, golf course, and shuttle service to the main tourist beach

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13757575/photos/340138524

https://www.dotproperty.com.ph/2-bed...mpaign=premium

Wow, I can't believe that the Philippines doesn't have much in terms of a lazy beach town/island with a nice beach to live.

Koh Phangan is touristy but it's pretty cheap and you can get away from them, most of them are in Haad Rin, full moon party for example. Going up north or north/west is pretty tranquil. I was also talking more about that trashpacker/party vibe and/or the place just being way overpriced like some spots in SEA.

I already did some research on Panglao but from what I gathered it was overpriced or missing like a good supermarket. Things might of changed since.

Boracay seems like that place I really want to avoid, small tourist trap, though I hear the snorkeling is great.

I seen many places in Phuket under $500, 1 bedroom/western style.

This sounds great, which city/town? Will the beach be good for swimming/snorkeling?

Nope, seems right in your price range and you just need to show up for a few days/week and shop around for a decent apartment and same for a motorbike (you can definitely negotiate under 100$ a month, no problem, just be patient). For markets, you just hop on your motorbike and go to Tagbilaran. I don't believe you will really find anything else that fits your standards in the Phils, as most of the nicest beaches are either too quiet for you/lacks in party life (Siquijor, Cavite, Sipalay, Malapascua, El Nino, Siargao etc.) or too touristy/expensive for you like Boracay. Like I said, Panglao and White Beach Puerto Galera seem like your best options, with perhaps outside of Dumaguette as well...

Cheers!

https://www.dotproperty.com.ph/2-bed...mpaign=premium

Like Dubnjoy said once a month big shopping you need to go to Tagbilaran, other thing like fruits basic, groceries you can find on Panglao easily. I live here since November if you have questions feel free. My personal favorite would be Siquijor or Camiguin, but wasnt convinced of the internet wouldnt be an issue there when I visited.

Any recommendations for places near Camsur Wake Park, Naga city for 1 year stays?

Why do you like Siquijor and Camiguin over Panglao?

Regarding internet, how was mobile internet, is 4g strong?

Less mass tourism from China and Korea, more laid back vibes, friendly business owners, slower life in general. 4G improved a lot recently I think, there were spots with 70+ MB/s 4g in San Juan, Siquijor.

I have been to Philippines a few times. There are places that are not touristy. Just stay away from the south like Mindinao. Cebu island has an American community there but if go to province areas. You can find what you are looking for and be safe. Also Cebu has casinos for live poker. Those are the touristy areas. W 7000 islands you can find a pace less touristy on the beach. Do more research. Philippines is awesome. The further you get from main island the less english. For most part anyone under 50 speak english unless in mountain regions or way off beaten path