You’d imagine this beautiful paradise would cost extreme amounts of money to go to; millionaires and celebrities are the only people rich enough to afford this natural beauty and enjoy these beaches. If you actually believed this, you’re in for a grand surprise.

This is Cebu, and it’s an island provence in the Philippines. It has tons of beautiful tourist destinations and natural scenery even though it’s one of the most developed provinces. The cost of living is extremely low, in fact, it is considered to be 62% cheaper than living in New York City. This means in order to have the same standard of living you’d get for $6,123 in Cebu City you would have to make $16,250 in New York. Cebu City is the most expensive area, so the prices outside of the city are much much lower. The climate is tropical, so it’s hot and humid year-round. There are only two seasons: wet and dry.

There are tons of incredible things to do and see including:

Beaches to relax on:

Beach bars to wind down in:

Lagoons to splash in

Waterfalls to swim in

 

Whale Sharks to chill with

And little turtle dudes that want to befriend you

The Philippines are made up of over 7,000 islands and boast some of the most wonderful people. There is a saying there “Bahala na” that is Filipino for “It’s in God’s hands… we have no control over this just smile and move on!” If this doesn’t convince you to visit, nothing will!

If you want to live vicariously through an American who escaped the 9-5 and concrete jungle life and moved to Cebu, follow @Ninjarod and his fiance @rajbelandres on Instagram. All the photos in this post were taken by them.