Journey to Samal » Home building

Living on Samal Island

Randy C — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:50:31 +0000

A little under four years ago I made a trip to the Philippines that began a love affair with this little island off the Davao Gulf commonly known as Samal Island. It was then that I agreed to purchase land near the White House, with hopes of eventually retiring there. Thus began this blog.

Four years can be a long time. Do I still have intentions to retire on Samal?

That’s not an easy question to answer.

Many things have changed during that time. I’ve had a couple of additional and extended trips to the Island Garden City of Samal. It’s all been documented here, which was the original purpose of this blog. From buying land on Samal, until retirement there.

Some events in my life have naturally been of personal nature, and I don’t feel the need to expound on in a public forum such as this. Other events, such as the realization that the plot of land that we purchased was difficult at best to reach, were just a matter of looking at things in a more practical manner.

My anticipated retirement age has also changed a number of times during that period. Sometimes a little longer, and occasionally much sooner. As of today I have a good idea when that will be, but there are a number of factors, as always, that are out of my control. I will know when the time is, when I do.

So I’ve avoided answering the question long enough, but as you can see, I don’t have a complete answer. If I were to somehow retire today, or soon, it appears to me that I would live in the greater Davao area. At the least, somewhere outside of Davao. That is where I have come to feel comfortable, and where most of my friends and acquaintances are located. Admittedly I have not traveled extensively throughout the Philippines, but I am comfortable with Davao, the people, and what it has to offer. Of course it is close to Samal, and I can visit whenever I desire.

At this time it appears to me that it would be more realistic to look into having a vacation home or bahay kubo on Samal with which to spend time at, much like my friend Kevin plans to do. If I were to need to live on Samal sooner than later, I would prefer to have something closer to the concrete road going from Babak to Penaplata. That makes sense to me, and is still very secluded. Of course I may feel differently down the road a bit.

I’ve met a surprising number of people, both in person and online, that live on Samal, at least part time. Ellen, Uli, Travis and Mae, Jack, Cleo, Matthew, and Angus. Probably more, I apologize if I missed someone. The point is, it can be done and many are doing it. I’m impressed by each and every one of them. A bit envious, too, I might add.

Samal Island holds a very special place in my heart. It remains to be seen if I end up there or not.

I Have Square Feet

Randy C — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:16:47 +0000

SpongeBob may have square pants, but I’ve got square feet. No, not the kind you walk with, but the kind you measure with.

There are a lot of adjustments to make when moving to and living in the Philippines. I’ve touched on the differences in electricity, language, currency, cultural and more. Another that can be a bit challenging for some, myself included, is the unit of measure used there (and the rest of the world except of course the United States, Liberia and Myanmar).

Thankfully there has been some introduction to the metric system for those of us that are still in the dark ages. It is prevalent in many parts of life, just not our standard. I can remember a time while I was still in school when we were told that we would be converting to the Metric System. That never took off, much as many things political here tend not to. One administration decides one thing, a following one decides another. One step forward, one step back. But I digress…

The U.S. Metric Study recommended that the United States implement a carefully planned transition to the principal use of the metric system over a decade. Congress passed the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 “to coordinate and plan the increasing use of the metric system in the United States”. The Act did not stipulate the conversion happen over a decade. Voluntary conversion was initiated, and the U.S. Metric Board (USMB) was established for planning, coordination, and public education. The public education component led to public awareness of the metric system, but the public response included resistance, apathy, and sometimes ridicule.[6] In 1981, the USMB reported to Congress that it lacked the clear Congressional mandate necessary to bring about national conversion. Because of this ineffectiveness and an effort of the Reagan administration to reduce federal spending, the USMB was disbanded in autumn of 1982.

I have trouble converting distance, or area, into metric when I have a need to do so quickly. If someone says a place is so many kilometers away, I have to ask “how long to get there?”. When looking at land, or a house, I need to do the calculation back to square feet for it to register.

I imagine this will come over time, with the benefit of living there and experiencing it on a daily bass. It will become visual as well. I believe this process is very similar to the peso issue, where those that move to the Philippines just start thinking in peso at some point, instead of converting everything in their head. It probably happens unbeknownst to the individual, just a natural progression.

In the meantime I’ll just have to deal with my square feet. SpongeBob would be proud.

Samal Households Receive Solar Power

Randy C — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:30:23 +0000

Some of you long time readers may remember some of my early articles referencing my desire to use solar power when I got a house built on Samal. I still have a lot of interest in solar power in the Philippines, but have done next to nothing in regards to doing anything about it. Partially because it will be so far off, but also because I was not having much luck with finding solutions that would work there.

The DOE (Department of Energy) didn’t wait for me to get my act together, they have already implemented solar power for some homes on Samal Island.

As part of a Philippine Energy Efficiency Project (PEEP) funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank, households that were previously without electricity (off-grid) now enjoy solar power via a system that is composed of a solar panel, a storage battery and three lamps. Total cost is P28,800 of which is picked up by the DOE. The households are also given training as to the use and maintenance of the system. There is no on-going energy bill for these homes.

“Solar energy emitted by the panel and stored in the battery is enough to light up the household for the entire night,” said Rosalie Joan Sotelo, senior science research specialist of DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Division.

The article does not say how many homes in the Samal area are covered, but a total of 233 households are furnished within 4 areas in the Visayas and Mindanao – Samal Island, Davao; Pandan, Antique; Makato, Aklan; and Manalo, Palawan.

So, I guess this makes my plan clear. I just need to build in an area that is off grid, and I’ll get my solar, and not only that, but have it paid for by the DOE. Joke only!

Ref: DOE powers four off-grid areas through solar technology – PIA NEWS

Electric Home Shower

Randy C — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 02:01:22 +0000

One of the many things I have not yet adapted to in regards to my potential retirement in the Philippines is the lack of hot water in many places. For sure it isn’t nearly as necessary there as it is here. It is really more of a comfort level that I probably need to get over. The main area that the lack of hot water seems to affect me is in the shower.

Since I’ve stayed at numerous different cities, and all sorts of different kinds of accommodations, I’ve encountered both instances of hot showers and cold only showers. I still MUCH prefer the hot shower, even in the hot humid climate of the Philippines. It may be something I could probably adapt to after a period of adjustment, but during my short visits there I find myself seeking out a hot shower if I had stayed too long at a lodging that didn’t have one.

I’m thinking that even if I do eventually learn to like cold showers (or at least tolerate them), that I am going to want the option to take a warm/hot shower on occasion when I have my own residence. It would also be nice for any guests that might be visiting from out of the country that, like me, can not adapt so quickly.

On my last trip through I was lucky enough to have available to me a hot shower everywhere I stayed. I took note of the hot shower arrangement, because it appeared to be similar in all instances, and was something that I felt was very practical. They were all using some variation of an electric point of use hot water heater. I believe we typically call them tankless water heaters here, and they are often larger and designed to replace the standard water heater that we all know and love.

I had actually looked into a whole house tankless water heater when I had my last one installed, but the installer talked me out of it. He didn’t have very much good to say about them, and convinced me not to take the chance. That was quite awhile ago, so maybe things have changed.

Anyway, the one that I saw and interests me for my home, the the smaller one that is located right in the shower. They have a fairly simple design, and frankly just seem to make a lot of sense. Particularly in a climate where there need is not extreme.

I’m sure there are many manufacturers and many different models. The Panasonic DH-3DL2P Electric Home Shower was the model that one caught my eye. Maybe because the unit was new, but it functioned well and seemed very straight forward. I did a little research at it looks like they retail for about 6000 Php. Not sure about the cost to install if I weren’t to do it myself, but it doesn’t seem an unreasonable cost for what it does. How long it lasts is another question.

I may need to do some more research in regards to the best value for these, but I can’t see why I wouldn’t go something like this. It seems to be a very efficient solution to a possibly not very urgent problem.

Milestone 1

Randy C — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 16:24:58 +0000

We’ve done it. Reached our first milestone on the Journey to Samal. No, not the first milestone on the blog, but the first milestone on the actual journey to living on Samal Island.

What is it? Well it’s the ownership of the land we committed to buying back in 2008, which in turn was the impetus for this blog. We don’t have the title yet, that’s another story and I guess might be milestone 2 or maybe 1A, but we have finished paying for the land where we expect to build our home. Our last payment was sent this weekend.

I’ve always found it funny here in the US when they ask you if you rent or own your home. Almost nobody actually owns their home, the bank or lending institution does, but that’s how it’s termed here. I actually do own my home, for a second time but that’s another story, too. I won’t own our home on Samal. By Philippine law I can’t.

We’ll be picking up all our physical receipts and paperwork when we visit. We already have copies of the receipts, as the seller has been scanning those and emailing them to us each month, along with the outstanding balance. For the most part that arrangement has worked out pretty well. Communication hasn’t been perfect, but as businesses seem to go there, it hasn’t been bad.

Our title has been in processing for quite awhile now. There have been a few hurdles, but since we didn’t have the land paid for I wasn’t too concerned. I also understand that it can take quite some time to get the a title processed in the Philippines. I still hope that ours is complete by the time we visit and we can get the whole thing wrapped up. There is still the matter of the title transfer fee, which is quite a bit more than I had imagined.

We also hope to have the land surveyed and partially cleared before we arrive. If not before, then shortly there after. We’d like to put up a barb wire fence to help keep people off, and to give us an idea of the boundary lines. We’ll see if all that is too optimistic for the short time we are there.

Now all we need to do is start saving for the house we want to build!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atoach/1433809857/

Retire in the Philippines

Randy C — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:42:27 +0000

As I reviewed my site recently, I noticed that I have never specifically posted as to why I want to retire in the Philippines. I have stated why Samal Island was chosen for the place to buy our land and build our house. I’ve even written about frugality and the Philippines, which touches on some of my beliefs in how I’d like to live my life. I had always figured each post kind of spelled out my reasons, but maybe not. Of course these reasons may change as time passes, but for now here are my top ten.

1. My Asawa is from the Philppines

This may seem obvious, and it is, but I’ve met a number of filipina that have no desire to live in the Philippines any more. They want to live in the US or some other perceived rich country. That’s not entirely fair, sometimes they want to live where there true love is. My asawa wants to live in the Philippines, in particularly somewhere around Davao. That’s OK with me, as I like that area as well or better than any I’ve been to. Family is nearby, but not too near. Samal Island fits the bill nicely, and if not, then Bukidnon has its strong points, too.

2. Sister-in-law is from the Philppines

The reason I visited the Philippines in the first place was to meet my new nephew. My younger brother had married a filipina and they had their first child in Quezon City. During my visit I met my asawa to be. My sister-in-law has recently immigrated to the US, but they expect to retire in the Philippines at some point down the road, also. Probably not near Davao, but it won’t be a long trip to visit.

3. Cost of living

Many experts and expats will advise against moving to the Philippines for this reason. Truth be told, it’s why I moved to Spokane some twenty some years ago. I’ve always been very conscious of my money, and maintained a fairly strict budget. I feel we can live a decent life with what I’ll get in retirement pay, and to me that’s a factor. A fairly important one to my peace of mind, and being able to enjoy my retirement.

4. No Snow – no really!

For those that haven’t experienced a harsh winter, and then another, and then another – you may not get this one. Trust me on this. After the previous two winters (this one’s been mild so far) many newcomers packed their bags, and went home to warmer and more expensive locations (LA?).

5. Friendly people

People in the Philippines are friendly. Every single one of them, without exception. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a wee bit, but as whole they really are!

6. Slower pace

Pilipino time anyone? The massage lady (what is the word for that again) that my younger brother used, and overpaid by about 10 times, couldn’t make it within a couple hours of the appointed time. Good thing we never had anything else we needed to to do during our day. This will take some getting used to, but I’m determined.

7. Different – really retired

I could retire right where I live now, but to me it will feel more like an accomplishment to retire some place new and exotic. I’ll have a lot to learn and explore. Much to adapt to. To me that’s a retirement.

8. English speaking

I’m learning Bisaya (slowly) and intend to keep doing so. Even so, it’s great to be able to communicate when needed, even if what I’m saying isn’t really understood as I mean it.

9. Instant family

When I married my asawa I must have increased my relatives by about a few hundred. Everyone I met in the province was my relative, and I sure was popular This can certainly be a good thing/bad thing but when push comes to shove, it really does help to have family around.

10. Mango shakes & ensaymadas!

OK everyone has their favorites. Maybe durian will make it’s way up my list, but for now I could live quite a few days off of nothing but mangga shakes and cheesy ensaymadas.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamagenious/ / CC BY 2.0

Mixed Voltages – Watt to Do

Randy C — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:28:33 +0000

As most of you know, or will find out when you visit the first time, the electricity in the Philippines is 220v instead of the 120v that we are familiar with here in the States. What does that mean to you and me? Well maybe not much if we are just there on a visit, as many electronic things like my laptop and cell phone have adapters that are universal/variable as long as the plugs work. In the case of my laptop, I can get an adapter kit with six AC plugs that work in North America, UK, Continental Europe, Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong, so even that isn’t an issue.

More common on regular household appliances in the US, both small and large, is a fixed voltage of 110-120v. Things like blenders, toasters, coffee machines, etc. are best left at home. It is advised just to buy a new one when you’ve decided to live or stay long term in the Philippines. At least that is the consensus of those that have experienced the fried appliance that was mistakenly plugged into the higher voltage outlet in the Philippines. I can state with some certainty that electric hair clippers will be useless within seconds – but I’m not saying how I might have come by that knowledge

So what do you do about those items that are simply not easily found or are no longer made? One of my prized possessions is a Fender Harvard amplifier that was made in 1958. It is not only a great sounding amp, it is considered highly collectable. Not many of them are still around, but they can be found if you know where to look and are willing to pay the price. If I decide to bring this with me to Samal Island, I will either need to use a step down transformer, or possibly not use the amp at all. Of course as many will attest to, things do get plugged in that never should, and the chance of ruining something like this is fairly high. Without going into the details, if this were fried it could be repaired but would never be the same.

Another option that I could consider would be to have our house wired with both 220v and 120v outlets. Since we plan to have our house built from scratch, that seems like a potential answer. I have heard of a few people doing this. I don’t know how well it has worked for them, nor do I know the cost involved but I would think it should be minimum. Would this be reasonable to do if I only have one or two items that require 120v? I don’t know but as I get closer to the day that we can retire there, I should have a better idea of my needs for 120v.

It could also be pretty expensive to replace my home theater system, if that is what we decide to do. So that might offset the extra expense to have the house wired dual. Then again there is cost to send that stuff over.

Maybe the simplest solution would be to get rid of it all my electronics and just start over. Get a newer home theater system with the latest advances or maybe none at all. Sell the amp to someone that would enjoy it as much I have.

After all in the end, we don’t really own anything, do we?

No related posts.

Solar Air Conditioners

Randy — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:00:00 +0000

As I’ve researched Solar Energy for our eventual move to Samal Island, one of the more intriguing items I’ve come across is the solar air conditioner (aircon). While this, for the most part, seems to be an idea whose time has not quite arrived, there are various implementations that hold promise for future applications.

Solar air conditioning seems a natural for the Philippines, and really most places for that matter. The time cooling is needed the most is the the time when it is hottest, with the most sun. As I’ve tried to calculate the amount of kilowatts I’d need to provide to get by, the biggest obstacle always comes down to the aircon.

The Naval Research Lab (NRL) is installing solar-powered air conditioners in a remote research site, which will operate grid free most of the year. They are using GreenCore 10200 solar powered air conditioners to accomplish this. For now it seems that GreenCore is only selling to commercial applications. We’ll have to see how that might change down the road.

SolCool also has a couple units, and supposedly was coming out with a smaller unit that got a lot of press a year or so ago. I don’t see that on their website, so I don’t know if it ever made the light of day.

In Europe there is another smaller unit that is being installed. It’s unclear how widespread these are, or if they have only been used in a test environment.

So the real question is (or will be), do these actually provide any benefit over using a regular air conditioner within your solar powered home system?

Woo Hoo, Bamboo

Randy — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:41:00 +0000

I’ve always had a fascination for bamboo. That’s good for me, as Samal Island has plenty of it. It’s funny because it’s so commonplace in the Philippines that it’s taken for granted for the most part there.

Bamboo is making having a bit of a resurgence in the States, especially in regards to flooring. I’ve looked into having my original fir kitchen floor replaced, and the two products that appealed to me most were bamboo and cork flooring. Both are considered natural, but in truth it depends a lot on how each is manufactured.

I hope to have bamboo incorporated into the construction of our house, at least in some manner. Maybe it will end up being just the floors or interior walls, I don’t know yet. There is the concern about it’s life expectancy for anything external, though that is offset somewhat with the low replacement cost.

The uses for bamboo go way beyond housing materials, though. Do a search and you will find amazing ways that it has been used. Some of the more creative are: bicycles, computers, clothing, and food. Even the more common uses have some very creative examples.

The first structure we put up will likely be a bahay kubo. This may be temporary, or we might keep it depending upon our needs at the time we have our home built. Maybe once I move there, and I’m surrounded by bamboo in all things great and small, I’ll tire of it. But for now I see it playing a big part in our balay.

Roofing

Solar energy

Randy — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:27:00 +0000

Solar energy has always intrigued me. The homes that I’ve owned and lived in had already been set with their energy sources, so I’ve never researched it further. I’ve always thought it would be a good way to go if the start up costs could be recouped in a reasonable period if time.

Now that I’m looking to have a home built it would seem a logical time to find out what can be done. That and the rate increases in electricity and gas. The problem that I encounter, and I’m sure this will be a recurring theme, is that I’m not there to find out what’s available first hand. There doesn’t seem to be any good information on the net regarding solar energy uses in the Philippines, at least that I can find. I’ve read an article here and an article there, but to get some detailed information on what is available and some basic pricing – well that I haven’t found.

I’m thinking that I should be able to handle all or almost all of my needs with solar power. Of course I really don’t know that to be true or not. It would be really interesting to see what others have done and to what extent they been able to reduce or eliminate the reliance on electricity.

I’ve got plenty of time and maybe it will become more common and by then there will be more information available. If anyone has sources for this, please let me know.