Philippines 2019 for new expats

[RedPill]

19 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Problem is that u never asked us any questions about the Phillipines. You only made here negative nonsense one sided statements about the Phillipines a country that you haven’t even visited once.

You’re very far from being a reliable source ! 

Yes, ok, I can see that. But that was never my intend.

 

If you have followed my opening post, I'm just back from reading a long thread/story ... that might certainly have put some negative aspect on my wordings, but my intentions were never like that. But it brought up a lot of questions to me.

 

... but I can tell you one thing, there are many similarities to Thailand ... and if you know them, you can better deal with it when you come across them.

 

I'm certainly happy I know now that I can be put to jail in an overcrowded PH prison for 7 years if I unknowingly get involved with a 'legally separate' PH girl.

 

Before I go and find out myself.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-505873/British-man-facing-seven-years-Filipino-jail-adultery-goes-hiding.html

 

There are facts ... and you got to know about them!

 

Actually, I do want to apologize to you if I came across in a wrong way, that was not my intend.

 

[balo]

12 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Not to mention most of them share my religion.

Why is that an advantage, sounds like a nightmare. 

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, balo said:

Why is that an advantage, sounds like a nightmare. 

No condoms!

[RedPill]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

No condoms!

OMG ... why you never get <deleted>, only me when mention it ...;-)

 

 

[rhodie]

17 hours ago, RedPill said:

Jeeeeeezes Christ!!

 

I've been reading through this link you have posted above for the past 2 days, on and off ... my god, what a soap story. 

 

Sweet Honey, Money, Family, Money, more Family, more Money, loans, Family again, lies, more money, hidden kids, laws, no legal divorce, adultery, more family, more money, loans, pawn shops, tampo sulcking girls, more money, more family, pawn shops, loans, money and the Wedding.  

 

The very nice guy but super knobhead with 100% rose tinted glasses on. Unbelievable.

 

And I thought Thailand was heavy ????

 

I had to stop reading at page 116 (from 231) ... 

 

But, if you want to know all about the PH ... you learn a lot and get in-depth info about what has been mentioned and touched on in this thread.

 

Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel! ???? 

 

[RedPill]

16 minutes ago, rhodie said:

Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel! ???? 

 

Well you know ... that thread in the link posted before was going on for more than 2 years, very in-depth.

(https://britishexpats.com/forum/philippines-155/me-my-family-851728/)

 

And a lot of people living on the ground put in their feedback, opinions, how they see it, what they experience, how they deal with it.

 

While it's not an official source, it gave a good insight about the dynamics of the PH, at least from the expat point of view and a lot of side topics have been discussed in detail.

 

Like I said before, it reads like Thailand on steroids ???? Maybe just me, but it definitely helps to put your guards up and set the correct expectations. 

 

Since we are on a Thai forum, if there is one thing we got to know it's Thailand over the years.

And there are so many similarities you have to be aware of.

 

And that's not a negative, I think it's very positive to know about a country before you go. It will be very helpful.

 

 

 

 

[rhodie]

2 minutes ago, RedPill said:

Well you know ... that thread in the link posted above was going on for more than 2 years, very in-depth.

(https://britishexpats.com/forum/philippines-155/me-my-family-851728/)

 

And a lot of people living on the ground put in their feedback, opinions, how they see it, what they experience, how they deal with it.

 

While it's not an official source, it gave a good insight about the dynamics of the PH, at least from the expat point of view and a lot of topics have been discussed in detail.

 

Like I said before, it reads like Thailand on steroids ???? Maybe just me, but it definitely helps to put your guards up and set the correct expectations.

 

And that's not a negative, I think it's very positive to know about a country before you go.

 

 

 

 

You have to read everything with a pinch of salt. 7000+ islands with some really great places. You can find some great locations, but yes, Thailand is easier for now. Worth a visit mate, but most of this thread is balanced and true. 

[RedPill]

1 minute ago, rhodie said:

You have to read everything with a pinch of salt. 7000+ islands with some really great places. You can find some great locations, but yes, Thailand is easier for now. Worth a visit mate, but most of this thread is balanced and true. 

Absolutely, I agree, I really like the info in this thread and would like to go, see and explore the country.

 

The PH have always been on my list.

 

 

 

 

 

[maxcorrigan]

If you are in receipt of a UK pension is it automatically updated, as i am assuming the PH's is one of the countries that pay the yearly increase, which might sway a lot of UK ex-pats from Thailand!

[cerox]

Got a portable air quality monitor, I thought I will share my results (average of 2 days, measured at the same places). Please keep in mind that it is only a cheap portable device and also that results can vary strongly depending on the day, weather/wind, placement of other stations, traffic etc etc. So this is nothing to bicker about - please keep it to yourself, just to get a general idea. I will do the same in December in Chiang Mai.

 

This is what I used to calculate PM2.5 to AQI, I will give you the AQI numbers.

https://aqicn.org/calculator

 

JY Square Mall / intersection / McDonalds (Salinas Road)
178

IT Park Entrance / next to Main Road
71

Avida Towers I.Villa Street / Sugbo Mercado
65

Ayala Entrance Terraces / next to Taxi bay
141

Ayala Circle / outside area to chill
82

Ayala Indoors
78

Main Road between IT Park / Ayala / grey exhaust
fumes / lots of Jeeps
270

Independence Plaza near Pier 1
136

 

Will report about Bohol soon Destiny, going there shortly before I leave the Philippines. Thank you for your hint about the Jeeps in IT Park, I noticed today it is less than on main roads but still a Jeep every 10 seconds when you stand somewhere.

[Destiny1990]

3 minutes ago, cerox said:

Got a portable air quality monitor, I thought I will share my results (average of 2 days, measured at the same places). Please keep in mind that it is only a cheap portable device and also that results can vary strongly depending on the day, weather/wind, placement of other stations, traffic etc etc. So this is nothing to bicker about - please keep it to yourself, just to get a general idea. I will do the same in December in Chiang Mai.

 

This is what I used to calculate PM2.5 to AQI, I will give you the AQI numbers.

https://aqicn.org/calculator

 

JY Square Mall / intersection / McDonalds (Salinas Road)
178

IT Park Entrance / next to Main Road
71

Avida Towers I.Villa Street / Sugbo Mercado
65

Ayala Entrance Terraces / next to Taxi bay
141

Ayala Circle / outside area to chill
82

Ayala Indoors
78

Main Road between IT Park / Ayala / grey exhaust
fumes / lots of Jeeps
270

Independence Plaza near Pier 1
136

 

Will report about Bohol soon Destiny, going there shortly before I leave the Philippines. Thank you for your hint about the Jeeps in IT Park, I noticed today it is less than on main roads but still a Jeep every 10 seconds when you stand somewhere.

Don’t go to Cebu city and or Chiang Mai if clean air is important!

IT park every 10 seconds a jeepny??

ok proof it. Send me a one minute video of these jeepnies passing at IT park you out there already apparently measuring the air quality ...

Haven't u been robbed yet by street kids as what u feared before ur departure?

[RedPill]

5 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Send me a one minute video of these jeepnies passing at IT park you out there already apparently measuring the air quality ...

Haven't u been robbed yet by street kids as what u feared before ur departure?

Ok, now I can see it.

 

I thought I was wrong before, but you are an aggressive poster, with whatever problem you have!

 

The guy was just posting some info of air ...

 

 

 

[Destiny1990]

25 minutes ago, RedPill said:

Ok, now I can see it.

 

I thought I was wrong before, but you are an aggressive poster, with whatever problem you have!

 

The guy was just posting some info of air ...

 

 

 

So far u been mostly wrong here with ur blurry contributions and false conclusions.

Anyway if i need air pollution info than i trust google much more then whatever Cerox is up to.

It has some entertainment value i will admit that.

Still waiting for his video with jeepnies each 10 seconds inside the IT park Hahaja!

[RedPill]

19 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

So far u been mostly wrong here with ur blurry contributions and false conclusions.

Anyway if i need air pollution info than i trust google much more then whatever Cerox is up to.

It does have only soms entertainment value i will admit that.

Still waiting for his video with jeepnies each 10 seconds inside the IT park Hahaja!

Yes, my wrong conclusions. I never claimed I know anything about the PH.

 

 ... wrong conclusions are there to get answered and corrected by people with knowledge on the ground. 

And I'm open to that, hence it's a asking session for me, not a statement session.

 

You however, are just proofing to me that the expats in PH are also pretty similar to Thailand when they get borderline Stockholm syndromes

when anything is perceived negatively said about their chosen country, they become become strangely aggressively defensive.

 

Good to learn all that! It's either that or you got too much Red Horse tonight.

 

[Destiny1990]

3 minutes ago, RedPill said:

Yes, my wrong conclusions. I never claimed I know anything about the PH.

 

 ... wrong conclusions are there to get answered and corrected by people with knowledge on the ground. 

And I'm open to that, hence it's a asking session for me, not a statement session.

 

You however, are just proofing to me that the expats in PH are also pretty similar to Thailand when they get borderline Stockholm syndromes

when anything is perceived negatively said towards there chosen country.

 

Good to learn all that! It's either that or you got too much Red Horse tonight.

 

Wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that you don’t know anything about Thailand either.

[RedPill]

Just now, Destiny1990 said:

Wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that you don’t know anything about Thailand either.

Too much bull from you, sorry ... 

 

[moe666]

Thanks for the info, but the advantages do not out way the disadvantages, especially the daily stuf like banking 1.5 hours, drivers licenses. I have been to the PI for short trips but would never think about living there. Good luck with your stay

[sunnyboy2018]

14 hours ago, DannyCarlton said:

Dick farang.

No I think not. Kwai means buffalo so Kwai farang means stupid,  big and clumsy. In Bangkok Sapan Kwai, Buffalo bridge,  is an entertainment zone, similar to NP but primarily for Thais.  The most common word for the Male organ is 'ham'..however, there is the word 'khai' that can be used instead of 'ham'. The seriously bad phrase is 'hi/ hee farang'. This is malicious, lacking ignorance and is a deliberate insult that is usually spoken about us but not directly to our face.

[sunnyboy2018]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

No condoms!

There is an element of truth in this.  Since the 80s and the Meechai condom campaign Thai girls  especially bar girls are pretty responsible regarding the use of condoms. But in the Philippines with the cultural and religious influence of Catholicism condom use is less acceptable even amongst prostitutes. If bareback risk taking is your thing the Philippines is the place to go. I was quite shocked about how many girls were prepared to go bare back. This is why Philippines girls are vanilla and unskilled in the sexual arts relying on just straight intercourse. For what its worth their shared language is overrated as the cultural and intellectual chasm is the determining issue. Philippines girls tend to be characterless and boring compared to Thai girls and have no sense of cultural identity. But thanks for this thread it is interesting and informative.

[DannyCarlton]

2 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

No I think not. Kwai means buffalo so Kwai farang means stupid,  big and clumsy. In Bangkok Sapan Kwai, Buffalo bridge,  is an entertainment zone, similar to NP but primarily for Thais.  The most common word for the Male organ is 'ham'..however, there is the word 'khai' that can be used instead of 'ham'. The seriously bad phrase is 'hi/ hee farang'. This is malicious, lacking ignorance and is a deliberate insult that is usually spoken about us but not directly to our face.

Another poster corrected me, and I think he's correct, "quay" is the male organ, my wife calls me that every day and calls other Thai drivers that whenever she drives the car. "Hee" is the female sexual organ, the farang equivalent is often used in the West to insult other men, my English wife called me that every day.

 

As you can see, I've suffered a lifetime of abuse from women, I must like it.

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

Philippines girls tend to be characterless and boring compared to Thai girls and have no sense of cultural identity.

I completely disagree.

[Number 6]

22 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Lots of fresh seafoods in Palawan.

Is the over sugary over salty and with pesticides laced foods in Pattaya that much better? Really ?

I haven't been in Pattaya in years, nearly a decade. But to answer your question, yes. You can also tell the cook you don't want sugar or msg. Pesticides lol. Well at least Thailand can grown enough food to feed itself unlike Philippines.

 

If you're worried about pesticides why don't you move to some hippie commune in Europe.

 

Vegan, worried about pesticides. Lol.

[Destiny1990]

33 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

I haven't been in Pattaya in years, nearly a decade. But to answer your question, yes. You can also tell the cook you don't want sugar or msg. Pesticides lol. Well at least Thailand can grown enough food to feed itself unlike Philippines.

 

If you're worried about pesticides why don't you move to some hippie commune in Europe.

 

Vegan, worried about pesticides. Lol.

In Phillipines there are simular food options as in Thailand but generally  less salty, less sugary, less spicy, less pesticides. Then for types like you there is dunking donuts, pizza hut Macdonalds etc etcplenty available in both countries so stop whining about horrible food options in Palawan..

[Number 6]

1 hour ago, Destiny1990 said:

In Phillipines there are simular food options as in Thailand but generally  less salty, less sugary, less spicy, less pesticides. Then for types like you there is dunking donuts, pizza hut Macdonalds etc etcplenty available in both countries so stop whining about horrible food options in Palawan..

You are too funny.

 

Dunking donuts?

 

Food options same? Oh that's hilarious. Thai food is light years ahead. Care to count the number of Thai and Filipino restaurant abroad? Now what percentage of each nations population lives aboard? Yeah right. Despite 15% of Filipinos living abroad you'd be hard pressed to find Filipino restaurant anywhere outside of a Filipino ghetto. Thai restaurant in ICELAND.

 

I heard once: the world's cookbook is a thousand pages long. Of that two are Filipino recipes.

 

Which brings me to another epic point. Every smart Filipino and as many as possible not so smart Filipino are abroad. Working. Many are living in Thailand and raising their kids here. Kids go to private schools. Speak Thai. Not going back until retirement. Kids will never go back. But you love it

 

Philippines is hands down the absolute most salty food I've ever eaten in my entire life. 60 years, 45 countries.

 

Filipinos LOVE sugar. I've never seen a group take to sugar as them save for the Subcontinent.

 

Philippines so poor millions live on broken rice.

 

Typical vegan never skipping an opportunity to tell the world how great they are. Fact is you're malnourished. It's a shi++y diet no reasonable doctor would ever recommend. Virtue signal much?

 

For the record I eat Thai food daily, multiple meals. Further, I'm quite ok with noodles for breakfast. Heck, I'll eat phad krapow at 6am. I've not eaten a pizza since I can remember. We were even just in NYC and I didn't have pizza.

 

But all your virtue signalling vegan bs is just laughable. Hope it comforts you because most are not impressed in the least.

 

You had a holiday in the Philippines. So what. Stay a year and let us know if you're staying another. The place is a sad, violent, broken country only for the likes of dead enders.

 

Produce in grocery stores doesn't stay fresh for even a week. The fruit is just expensive and very sad.

 

Everything in Philippines is expensive and sad.

 

[balo]

I don't know why certain posters like Destiny1990 want to defend PH so much really, is he an expat living there?  
To compare Thai and Filipino food is like comparing oranges and apples. They have the same shape, but tastes completely different. 
 

[cerox]

ExpatPH did a fantastic job to stay balanced about both countries and did not dwell in negativity. So although I do not agree with him on every point (different people - different experiences), I try to stay balanced as well.

 

I honestly think both countries TH and PH have many positves and negatives. If you are in TH and complain about the negatives there, do not go to PH, because the list is even longer.

I also talked to other expats here in Cebu. I noticed that those who come to visit like me now, have a realistic view about the positives and negatives. Those who live here, kind of get defensive, same happens with Thai expats.

 

I see many older people here with younger Filipinas, if this is your Nr. 1 priority and you are single in Thailand, do not speak Thai, Philippines might be a great country for you if you can adjust.

 

About the air quality I specifically said I did it to get a general idea. I am aware that these small portable devices are not as accurate and whatever you measure depends on so many things like where you stand, the weather/wind, if it rained before, day of the week / amount of traffic etc. etc. Jeepneys and red trucks (speaking of CNX) are a major pollution source - I think this is not a secret. In neither country I will go out and make videos about that counting Jeepneys or other stuff with you.

[Destiny1990]

19 hours ago, balo said:

I don't know why certain posters like Destiny1990 want to defend PH so much really, is he an expat living there?  
To compare Thai and Filipino food is like comparing oranges and apples. They have the same shape, but tastes completely different. 
 

I would defend Thailand just as much.

if someone says internet is better in Phill than in Thailand than I would correct that also.

I lived long term in both countries.

Food-wise both countries have an oversupply of  local and international food options and for similar prices.

So i would not determine  between Thai or Phills for any food reasons.

 

[Destiny1990]

10 hours ago, cerox said:

do not speak Thai, Philippines might be a great country for you

 

Are you aware that at least  95% of the foreigners here do not speak Thai.?

[BritManToo]

20 hours ago, balo said:

I don't know why certain posters like Destiny1990 want to defend PH so much really, is he an expat living there?  
To compare Thai and Filipino food is like comparing oranges and apples. They have the same shape, but tastes completely different. 
 

I think the local foods of both countries are poop.

British, Aussie, American, Mexican, Chinese and Indian cooking just about covers what I like and that's what I eat no matter where I am in the world.

 

PS. Most of the apples sold in PI and Thailand are imported from China.

Thai oranges are inedible IMHO, I want Spanish or South African oranges.

[eppic]

This is an old thread, but just to revive it, it is silly to talk about Philippines as a country when there are huge differences depending on where you live.  No different than Thailand - one person's heaven is another's hell.  For example, we were in the process of relocating to Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Metro Manila before getting stuck in Bangkok due to Covid.  In many ways, BGC is nicer and more modern than anywhere in Thailand.  We currently live in Bangkok and BGC has more green space, is more walkable and has cleaner air.  many other areas of the Philippines (including most of Manila) are truly awful though, so if that is what you have seen I can understand the perspective.  But before judging the Philippines (and especially Manila), spend some time in BGC.

 

 

I saw a mention of Cebu as a location and that is one I would personally avoid -- for the very reason another poster said it was a good option!  Specifically, it is loaded with very old white guys holding hands with teenage girls.  I find this embarrassing and don't want to be put in this group (my wife is a Filipina, but not a child).  Cebu is cheaper than Manila, but I personally prefer Davao by far.  Nicer people, less crime, less old white guys, more relaxed but still plenty to keep you occupied.

 

BTW, in general most things throughout thailand are superior (infrastructure, supermarkets, food, transport, etc.).  However, Philippines has one HUGE advantage - the people.  You can be welcomed there and make genuine friend, unlike in Thailand where you are always a foreigner and never truly belong.

 

Bottom line, for 90% of people Thailand is still a better choice, but depending on your circumstances (and budget -- BGC is not cheap!), the Philippines can also be a viable option.