Foreigners may rent any house, apartment or condo without restriction (only land ownership is barred), and English-language contracts and listings are standard
Strong furnished short/mid-term market — serviced apartments, monthly Airbnb and coliving make a soft landing easy before signing a 12-month lease
Doctors and hospital staff widely speak excellent English, so language is rarely a barrier in major cities and private facilities.
Top private hospitals in Manila, Cebu and Davao offer modern, internationally oriented care at costs well below US/European levels.

Watch out for

High cash outlay to move in — commonly one to two months' advance rent plus one to two months' deposit, with a roughly four-months-upfront ('two-and-two') norm in the expat tier
Rent Control Act protections (deposit caps, rent-increase limits, refund timing) apply only to low-rent units, so most foreigner-tier leases rely entirely on the written contract — read deposit-refund and early-termination clauses carefully
Short-stay nomads and tourist-visa holders generally cannot enroll in PhilHealth; enrollment requires a Bureau of Immigration ACR I-Card (resident alien) or an SRRV retiree visa, with annual premiums of PHP 17,000 (PHP 15,000 for SRRV retirees).
Even when covered, PhilHealth reimburses only part of a hospital bill, so out-of-pocket costs and private insurance are usually needed for serious care.

Cost of living

Manila

€800–€1,600/mo