Expats find their havens in Davao

Living in another country with a culture entirely different from yours can be quite a challenge. However, there are people who have learned to embrace the culture and people of the countries where they work, and most of them even decide to stay in that foreign country for good.

Famous Durian Fruit of Davao City

Davao City is not a stranger to expatriates or professionals who live in another country entirely different from their own. In the same manner, most expatriates are no strangers to the city and its attractions which led them to love the city as their own.

Among the most common expats in Davao City are the Japanese. Check out the local pre-school or elementary school and chances are, there are several children there with Filipino mothers and Japanese fathers. What is surprising though is that majority of these Japanese nationals are staying in Davao for good and fly back to Japan occasionally just to visit their property or business there.

But the city is not just attractive for the Japanese expats. Davao is actually a melting pot of expats from all over the world, including Indonesians, Koreans, Chinese, Americans, British, Italians and a lot more.

Take for example Romano Venutti who was first seen as an up and coming chef and baker of Living Bread at JS Gaisano. Venutti, who has been living with his Filipina wife Rochelle in Davao for more than ten years now, owns and operates Picobello. It is located at the third floor of the same mall now known as JS Citimall and specializes in pizza. This is however not the only business venture of Venutti in the city which he has learned to call home.

Another expat who has learned to love not only Davao but the whole of Mindanao is American Bob Martin. While he is based in Davao with his wife and children, he has become popular for his never-ending saga about the different Mindanao islands that most foreigners have not even heard about. Martin operates an Internet business straight from his hub in Davao. As of last count, he owns and operates up to 35 different websites that generate goodwill and income for him, and most of which portrays Davao and Mindanao in a much better light to the whole world.

Randy Countryman does not live in Davao; not yet anyway. In his blog “Journey to Samal” with the tagline “from when we purchased land on Samal Island, until retirement there…”, Randy claims he is just another “Hey Joe who plans to retire with his Filipina in her homeland.” There is however no doubt as to what place he prefers to call home in the far away future — Samal. He has enumerated the reasons why he wanted to retire in Davao someday and on top of that is his Filipina wife. Incidentally, Randy’s younger brother was the first one who got married to a Filipina and it was during one of his trips in the Philippines when he met his Filipina wife. Other reasons why he wants to retire in Davao includes the low cost of living, nice weather condition, friendly people and would you believe — mango shakes and ensaymadas, which he says he can live on for days!

There are a lot of reasons why expatriates have decided to make Davao their home, but on top of that is the fact that they are married to a Dabawenya or to a Filipina who resides in the city. The lower cost of living in Davao compared to Manila and Cebu is also another important part of their decision to make Davao City their Camelot.