Cost of Living: Manila

We started with Thailand, now we are going to the Philippines to sustain this cost of living articles. Manila, the country’s capital, isn’t very popular to backpackers nor expats. I think this is because of the geographical location: It’s a ballache to go to the Philppines. You have to fly and fights are costly.

However, Manila is very different to the rest of Southeast Asia because of this coincidence. It’s the only catholic country and it is far more “Anglocized” than the rest of its neighbors, meaning, you can’t make money as an English teacher here. Maybe that’s also the reason why we don’t have a lot of backpackers.

It’s also a bit costly. When the boyfriend and I were living there, we did not save anything even if we had the Thailand lifestyle (most often that not anyway) where we eat out mor because we did not have a fully functional kitchen. Here goes!

Thank you to Ajarn.com by the way for inspiring this post.

Currency references: 33 Baht to one US Dollar
50 Baht to one Pound Sterling
37 Baht to one Euro
25 Baht to one Australian Dollar
0.74 Baht to one Philippine Peso

Working in Manila, PH

Monthly Earnings: 38,200

Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?

I took home around 38,200 baht a month from my job as a Teaching Assistant in a British School in Paranaque, Metro Manila.I assisted EYFS, KS1 and KS2 classes.

Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?

Before I met A, I saved 12 to 15k a month. When we got together, we splurged on food and halved expenses with him. We lived life in Makati restaurants and Salcedo Village, so none. Haha!

Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?

I rented a room with its own bathroom for 7,500. The payment included electric and water bills. The room is a tiny 7sq meter thing.

Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?

a) Transportation

P1000 to P4000 a month, depending on how late I wake up in the morning. P4000 a month if I take a cab, and P1000 if I take the MRT or bus – not recommended. I use the cab. With A, we use the cab too, so P4000 a month.

b) Utility bills

As mentioned earlier, bills were part of my rent. A’s bills were paid for by the school as he was an expat. I usually pay P2000 for internet though, with wifi (dongle).

c) Food – both restaurants and supermarket shopping

P6000 because I put a P1500 budget every week. Sometimes it reaches to P10000 though. I never scrimp on food.

d) Nightlife and drinking

Oh this cost a lot as we probably have an average expenditure of P2000 per night out and we went out a lot! Maybe 15,000. Jesus Christ. Ridic!

e) Books, computers

Zero expenses because… piracy!

Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?

EXPENSIVE AS F*UCK. I won’t be back here.

Q6. What do you consider to be a real ‘bargain’ here?

Erm, friendship? LOL probably electronics and electronic services like repairs and open-lining your phones. Greenbelt is heaven for those kinda stuff.

Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?

For the Philippines I think P75,000 would be comfortable. P50,000 is fine, but there will be cutbacks. If you are an expat I think P150k should be your minimum because apartments here like the one A had in Makati (normal, 35 sq meter studio) cost P75000 per month to rent! Ridiculous!