Live Like a King in The Philippines

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Is it possible to live like a King in the Philippines?

What does “Live Like a King” mean” ?.  I ask that question after reading an Englishman saying the phrase “To Live Like a King” does not mean “To Live Like a King”.  Now that is the worst English confusion example I have ever heard.


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It appears that “To Live Like a King” means to live in the comfort that you want, with all the luxuries that you want.

Examples from various forums and web sites:

  • For 1200 US a month you can live like a king.
  • With your $2,400 monthly income you will live like a king
  • You can live like a king on $5,000 per month in the Philippines
  • How to Live Like a King in the Philippines on $500 a Month

So, where do we begin, to work out what it would cost to live a really comfortable, safe life in the Philippines, almost like a King?

Accommodation:

I first looked for a 3 bedroom condominium  for rent in Fort Bonifacio, Manila.  A nice safe area, and came up with this:

  • FOR RENT One Mckinley Place Condo, The Fort Fully-furnished 190 sq. m. 3 Bedrooms 3 T & B 2 Parking slots available. Monthly Rental : php 170,000 per month

So: 170,000 pesos at 44 pesos to the US dollar = $3,863 per month (at April 2015)

From that list of 4 examples, 3 of them appear totally wrong, leaving just “You can live like a king on $5,000 per month in the Philippines” as a possible, but with 77% of that figure taken with a 3 bedroom decent apartment in a safe area.  Not in a Kings mansion!

Food:

T Bone Steaks, US or Australian quality and size, are about 5 times the price of local meat.  Going by my budget grocery costs of about 16,000 pesos per week for food for 2, I would prefer to spend nearer 50,000 per month to feel “comfortable” by my standards.  So that’s near enough $1,150 per month

Maids, Servants and Drivers:

Not too bad a price at about 5,000 peso per month each. (US$120)

What have we reached so far?

$3,863 Accommodation
$1,150 Food
$ 240 Maids etc (2 people)

$5,243 per month

Cars, Travel, Holidays, Eating Out, etc have not yet been added. Nor have Education costs or Medical Bills etc.

Conclusion:

I would have to say that I feel I would need more like US$10,000 (A$13,000) per month (440,000 pesos) to live like a king in the Philippines.
That way I would have some spare to go out to restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment events.
IE: I could live in the comfort that I would like with most of the luxuries that I would be comfortable with.

In reality that is 5 times what I get by on here, on my budget, and that is NOT in an expensive safe area of Manila like BGC or The Fort.

Dictionary Meanings:

reference.com – Enjoy a lavish style of living, as in He spared no expense, preferring to live like a king
www.oxforddictionaries.com – Live in great comfort and luxury.
thefreedictionary.com – He lived like a king, drinking champagne and driving a Porsche.
macmillandictionary.com – to live in a very comfortable way, with much more money than you need

1 : 2,379 : 3,426,326


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1 McKinley place is about the most premier condo building in the country. So that is hardly typical. I rent a 4br house in a secure village in Laguna Province from which we can easily commute to Alabang or Makati for 32,000 a month.
As for your food budget, I have no idea where you are shopping (maybe T-bone steaks is all your buy) but I feed a large family pretty luxuriously with plenty of international tastes on 30k a month.

32,000 a month for province? The commute sounds terrible. And how do you afford it? I am pretty wealthy. But with 8 kids to feed, my 5,000 a month does not go far.

An example of some entertainment costs in Manila:
Seats to the One Direction tour at the SM Mall of Asia on March 21, 2015 start at 3,775 peso. About A$110 and go up to 17,950 peso, over A$500.

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