Been all over the bad places in Manila, used to walk from the airport through the Barrio to the bus station (Victory Line) late at night/early morning.
Lots of old folk sitting outside their shacks all night, everyone very friendly, beyond your wildest Thai dreams.
'Good morning sir, enjoy your visit', they would say as I walked by.
I've never had any problems from the locals, one immigration lady suggested I stayed longer after viewing my many 10 day visits in my passport (I got the idea she would be happy to show me around).
I you want to live somewhere you can actually make local friends (male and female), then PI is the place to go. They speak English, listen to our music and movies, and generally share our culture. If I hadn't already settled in CM, I'd probably be living there (or Siam Reap).
Mike has a big down on PI, don't know why as he's never been.
Back on topic,
Internet was a lot slower than Thailand, plus frequent, almost daily, power cuts.