DUMAGUETE - A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE ? Let's Ask A Foreigner!

Pea does a spontaneous "ambush interview" with Sasa, a Polish businessman she encounters at a café in Dumaguete. Sasa has been living in the Philippines for two years (mostly Cebu) and just arrived in Dumaguete two weeks earlier. The unscripted conversation covers his honest first impressions of the city, what attracts him to the Philippines broadly, and what frustrates him — delivering an unfiltered outsider perspective that balances enthusiasm for Filipino culture with genuine complaints about the pace of life and food options.

How Sasa ended up in the Philippines — pure accident ​

• Was living in China when the pandemic started and everyone was panicking about COVID
• Chinese government announced the last day you could take a flight out
• He checked a map, saw Bacolod looked like it was on an island and seemed touristy, bought a ticket
• Planned to stay one month then return to Hong Kong — couldn't get back to Hong Kong or China, so he's been in the Philippines for two years
• Runs a business based in Poland with an office in China; manages remotely

First impression of Dumaguete — honestly negative ​

• "My first feeling was that I don't want to stay here longer"
• Everything was still closed due to COVID restrictions when he arrived
• Walked the boulevard and saw mostly old retired foreigners who appeared to just drink alcohol and do nothing — found it strange and off-putting
• Impression improved after visiting Dauin to swim and meeting more people
• Still frustrated by the 10 PM curfew (which Pea notes was being moved to midnight) — "I don't see the point, people socialize, go to restaurants... why should everything be closed after 10?"
• Acknowledges the city has many universities which attract people, but with COVID restrictions still in place, the city felt dead

What he loves about the Philippines — enthusiasm and human connection ​

• The single word he keeps returning to: "enthusiasm"
• People go shopping and sing at the same time; strangers smile and interact with each other
• Contrasts sharply with Europe where "one person lives in one house" and everyone is an individual — people don't interact much even in crowds
• Filipino families live together and community interaction is constant
• Notes Dumaguete people are "kind of shy to interact" at first but the momentum changes
• Pea relates — admits she's actually shy and feels like she's in the wrong industry for YouTube, but pushes through because she enjoys meeting people and hearing stories

The ease of assimilation — Philippines vs. other countries ​

• Argues the Philippines is uniquely easy for foreigners to assimilate into, unlike places like Germany where "you'll always be kind of outside"
• Two key reasons: Filipino culture is inherently open and welcoming to outsiders, and there's no language barrier since Filipinos speak English
• Compares to Thailand — "nice culture, but how to assimilate if you don't know the language?"
• Within his first days in Dumaguete, he was already being invited to KTV (karaoke)
• Says even arriving at a completely new place, he felt relaxed immediately

What he dislikes — the speed of everything ​

• "Everything is super slow. This one I cannot adjust, really."
• Example: standing in a supermarket queue with six employees at one register, only one actually doing anything while the rest do nothing
• Recognizes the irony: the relaxed, enthusiastic Filipino temperament he loves is the same quality that produces the slowness he hates — "if you want to be relaxed, you have to be a little bit lazy"
• "When I'm in a hurry and I go to do shopping, I want fast service, not waiting for ages"

Food frustrations as a vegetarian ​

• Being vegetarian in Dumaguete is a major hassle
• Found only a couple of restaurants with vegetarian options — mentions one called "Green something" and Chia's
• Lots of fried food, limited fresh vegetable options
• Notes that vegetables are actually more expensive in the Philippines than in Poland — which undercuts the "Philippines is cheap" argument

The cost-of-living myth — partially debunked ​

• Acknowledges the Philippines is cheaper from a U.S. perspective, but says prices have been converging globally over the last 10 years
• Food prices are going up; vegetables specifically cost more than in his home country
• Concedes that services are still cheap — got a haircut in Iloilo for 20 pesos (~$0.40)
• The barber was "a little bit drunk" — was looking in the mirror and talking to Sasa instead of looking at the hair he was cutting
• Pea jokes "maybe he's just a pro, he's been doing it all his life"

Filipino curiosity vs. Western privacy norms ​

• Pea brings up that Filipinos ask questions Westerners consider offensive — income, age, marital status
• Sasa wasn't shocked because he'd lived in China, where people are similarly direct (and will literally look over your shoulder at your phone)
• Pea notes some Filipinos do the phone-peeking thing too

Climate as a selling point ​

• Sasa finds the weather excellent — was in a sleeveless shirt while his company back home was in cold weather
• Pea asks about humidity; Sasa says it doesn't bother him at all
• He compares it favorably to wherever his colleagues are suffering

What really attracts foreigners to the Philippines ​

• When Pea asks the honest answer: "women"
• Sasa says most foreigners will say food or culture, but the number one draw is women
• He mentions the universities in Dumaguete specifically produce "a lot of beautiful girls"
• Pea agrees without being cynical — says she's heard it many times and it's just honest

The vibe of the interview itself ​

• Completely spontaneous — Pea interrupts Sasa's lunch at a café
• They have easy, natural rapport; he offers to buy her juice or tea afterward
• He communicates only through Messenger because it's free
• Pea insists on paying for his lunch as thanks for his time
• He asks if she plays ping-pong (she doesn't)
• Pea admits during the interview that she was nervous to approach him — "should I ask him for an interview?" — despite being a YouTuber for almost two years

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