I live am an American that now lives in the Philippines. I moved to the Philippines four years ago and currency exchange rates suddenly became something I was acutely aware of.
I came at a time when the dollar was very low. It even dipped below P40 for a few hours. Soon, I saw the dollar back up near P50. That gave me more fun money as my budget was developed at a much lower rate. So of course I started rooting for a strong dollar.
I began to write a lot about the US dollar to Philippine peso on my blog. If you're interested in reading more about the dollar to peso and about the cost of living that blog provides a lot of information. It comes from actually living it day in and day out. I don't visit the Philippines, I live here. Many people that write about the cost of living in the Philippines, don't actually live here.
It is without a doubt cheaper to live in the Philippines if you want it to be cheaper. If you have the means to spend more, you certainly can do that. That's a choice though. That doesn't make the cost of living in the Philippines higher.
