What's good about the Philippines?

[n00dle]

6 hours ago, Trippy said:

The only thing good about PI is the girls, everything else is pretty bad compared to Thailand.

i beg to differ there, im not a fan of facial moles, find the accent cloying, and find them mercenary aand unsubtle. 

[n00dle]

6 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

trycyles drivers didn't shout to me like the motorcycle taxi in Thailand 

<deleted>, i have never had a motorcycle driver shout at me to get my business. they sit at the head or tail of the soi and wait for people who want a lift, they dont need to get agressive,

[n00dle]

52 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

DIsagree.  I have found the people especially recently less friendly and extremely desperate 3rd world attitude for money.  And, the women seem to want money more then Thailand.  It is not cheaper also things like groceries, rent, utilities.

 

except for the upper middle class/wealthy this has been my experience too. i made many well off freinds in the phils, i also saw some horrifically dodgy <deleted>.

[n00dle]

3 hours ago, Trippy said:

Yep, there's guns everywhere there. Even the guards outside the 7-11's are carrying assault rifles, which makes the whole country seem dangerous. 

its usually shotguns at 7-11 and those would likely kill anyone who tried to fire them

[Jingthing]

35 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Normally you would keep your health insurance.  There are also free and cheap Mecicade and Medicare government and private options (which may be supported by government).

Expanded Medicaid blocked by right wing governments in so called red states. So basically for ideological reasons they're killing their own state citizens. 

 

Private insurance if you're older and/or preexisting conditions is massively expensive.

 

Over a certain income level, the Obamacare subsidizes the insurance quite well in the lower ends of the scale.

 

Employers are not obligated to provide insurance. They often play games to avoid that.

 

Americans will often not call an ambulance (and thus die) because they want to avoid the massive bill just for the ride.

[JensenZ]

4 minutes ago, n00dle said:

its usually shotguns at 7-11 and those would likely kill anyone who tried to fire them

Actually the security guards do practice shooting their shotguns at ranges, so they are not totally useless.

[Kwasaki]

4 minutes ago, n00dle said:

its usually shotguns at 7-11 and those would likely kill anyone who tried to fire them

No it wouldn't Shotguns can be neglected without being dangerous they would just not work.

[Kwasaki]

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Expanded Medicaid blocked by right wing governments in so called red states. So basically for ideological reasons they're killing their own state citizens. 

 

Private insurance if you're older and/or preexisting conditions is massively expensive.

 

Over a certain income level, the Obamacare subsidizes the insurance quite well in the lower ends of the scale.

 

Employers are not obligated to provide insurance. They often play games to avoid that.

 

Americans will often not call an ambulance (and thus die) because they want to avoid the massive bill just for the ride.

Reminds me what you say, and probably why dad use to say you will know when your god calls your number up.

[pgrahmm]

1 hour ago, JensenZ said:

I'm quite familiar with the Pasay area too and have walked around there myself. I specifically mentioned Tondo as a place not to walk. I didn't mean to say you'd get mugged everywhere you walked, any time you walked, but if you did, you might not be writing about it here. It could happen on your next walk.

 

Most people are like you when they go there - happy go lucky - everyone is friendly blah blah, not realizing the dangers lurking around them. I've lived in Valenzuela (Metro Manila) - that's a very rough area. Also I lived in Cavite for nearly a year. A foreign businessman with plenty of money was kidnapped there, nearly didn't make it out alive. I know the story well as my gf at the time used to work for him. My gf from there was kidnapped when I was in Australia. They demanded cash. It was probably a staged kidnapping by my gf and her familiy. She even had injuries to show me.

 

I prefer to be around Thai people. I don't like people in public being too friendly and familiar - it's normally just a ploy to get something from you. You want to hear something strange. My wife is Filipino and she doesn't like Filipinos very much (lived in Thailand now for 18 years) - had too much trouble with them. My lawyer in Pattaya is married to a Filipino for over 30 years. She speaks and reads fluent Thai. When she's out and about and comes across Filipinos (quite a few here in Pattaya) she pretends she is Thai. I asked her, who gossips more? Thais or Filipinos? The answer - Filipinos.

 

When you've been married to Filipinos, and you've lived in the provinces, experiencing the real deal, you learn a lot you'd never know about as a casual visitor. Trust me on this -  they are not as nice as you think they are. 

If someone doesn't know of the levels and interworking of hierarchy there....The roles and position that the NPA fills - just for starters, they don't know enough to be there....JZ is right on.... It's a desperate country filled with desperate people.....The people are not as happy go lucky as many here seem to think.....

I've have had long term experience there & nothing could make me want to go back....

Somewhere, long ago on TVisa I broke every facet of it down on a thread like this... It's just not worth the effort to rinse & repeat every time this subject pops up.....

[JensenZ]

37 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Well they told me they not leave me alone and I was their sisters Oz husband buddy so I wanted some of Philippines so my OZ buddy said OK but don't go anywhere without my wife's 5 bro's, so no problem with safety for they were great fun to be with.

Whenever I was living in the province, my wife's mother was very insistent that I never go out alone. Not that I wanted to as there was nowhere to go in a rural town in Leyte. They were dead scared I might find another lady LOL. It happens too as the single ladies in the provinces (read - poor communities) are like vultures around foreigners. There was a recent story about one elderly foreigner who used to go for excercise walks on his own and he found another and moved in with her. It caused quite the stir.

[pgrahmm]

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Expanded Medicaid blocked by right wing governments in so called red states. So basically for ideological reasons they're killing their own state citizens. 

 

Private insurance if you're older and/or preexisting conditions is massively expensive.

 

Over a certain income level, the Obamacare subsidizes the insurance quite well in the lower ends of the scale.

 

Employers are not obligated to provide insurance. They often play games to avoid that.

 

Americans will often not call an ambulance (and thus die) because they want to avoid the massive bill just for the ride.

Yes, medical bankruptcies are a real thing....

[Kwasaki]

4 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

Whenever I was living in the province, my wife's mother was very insistent that I never go out alone. Not that I wanted to as there was nowhere to go in a rural town in Leyte. They were dead scared I might find another lady LOL. It happens too as the single ladies in the provinces (read - poor communities) are like vultures around foreigners. There was a recent story about one elderly foreigner who used to go for excercise walks on his own and he found another and moved in with her. It caused quite the stir.

Yeah I kind of understand the other sister of my Oz mate Philippine wife was not allowed alone with me, kind of unfortunate she was lovely but I  understood.

[JensenZ]

2 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

If someone doesn't know of the levels and interworking of hierarchy there....The roles and position that the NPA fills - just for starters, they don't know enough to be there....JZ is right on.... It's a desperate country filled with desperate people.....The people are not as happy go lucky as many here seem to think.....

I've have had long term experience there & nothing could make me want to go back....

Somewhere, long ago on TVisa I broke every facet of it down on a thread like this... It's just not worth the effort to rinse & repeat every time this subject pops up.....

The NPA were quite active in the area I lived in Leyte. They used to come around asking for donations... and you definitely pay them if you want a peaceful and healthy life. (What's the point of coming on here complaining about "rinse and repeat"... no one is forcing you to contribute. There are new people here all the time, so posts 10 years ago are of no use.)

 

The biggest problem in the Philippines is that the federal goverment has very little control over most of the provinces. The provincial areas are run by weathy families (clans)... they control the police and the courts. They have judges in their pockets. The Philippines is like a collection of lawless jungles. Justice is meted out locally by the ruling clans. Justice is primal. If you rape or kill someone, they kill you - probably chop you up and bury you. They normally remove the heads to make indentification difficult.

[JensenZ]

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

DIsagree.  I have found the people especially recently less friendly and extremely desperate 3rd world attitude for money.  And, the women seem to want money more then Thailand.  It is not cheaper also things like groceries, rent, utilities.

People that live in Philippines wish they could live in Thailand but most probably just cannot afford it.

Bottom line; the place is very dirty and many more destitute poor people lots of drug addicts it is way below the standard of living in Thailand

it's not hard to inderstand the desperation of Filipinos vs Thais. Of course they need money and a lot more people need money than in Thailand.

 

From CIA Factbook:

 

Philippines

population: 116.5 million

0-14 age: 36.5 million  

median age: 24.1 years

Living below poverty line: 16.7% (19.5 million) (2018 est) - old numbers and I'm sure the real numbers are much higher)

 

Thailand

population: 69.8 million

0-14 age: 11 million

median age: 39.1

Living below proverty line: 9.9% (6.9 million) (2018 est)

 

The population distribution is very much younger. Population is much bigger. Poverty levels are much higher. With a much younger population, growing much faster, the disparity will increase quickly.

 

Population growth rate:

Philippines: 1.58%.

Thailand: 0.2%.

 

Nearly 8 times higher than Thailand.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts about US politics contravening our Community Standards has been removed.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

i hear God is using insta and just texting folks nowadays..dont forget to like and subscribe!

Well as you say you never know.

 

[observer90210]

The Philippines are known to be very hardworking, honest and kind people...and also docile should it be said with no negative intent.

 

It's not a coincidence that a majority of crews in cargo or passenger cruise vessels, are mostly Philippinos.

 

They are also very much present in hotels at all levels.

 

Unfortunately some have a tendency to  mix up the quest for a reliable and nice partner, with having a full time maid on call.

[pgrahmm]

36 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

The Philippines are known to be very hardworking, honest and kind people...and also docile should it be said with no negative intent.

 

It's not a coincidence that a majority of crews in cargo or passenger cruise vessels, are mostly Philippinos.

 

They are also very much present in hotels at all levels.

 

Unfortunately some have a tendency to  mix up the quest for a reliable and nice partner, with having a full time maid on call.

They take those cruise ship jobs & hotel, travel industry as a way out and send money back to the family .....

There's a cottage industry in the PI where the family has to pony up the money for their relative to take a one or two year course with the veiled promise that if they good enough they will be placed when/if work is available..... It's kind of a lottery shot for them - but for many families it's the only hope of promise they have.....

[georgegeorgia]

7 hours ago, n00dle said:

its usually shotguns at 7-11 and those would likely kill anyone who tried to fire them

Never saw any security guards outside any 711's ,I imagine some suburbs have them but they weren't outside the ones I went to.,maybe in the past ?

[BenStark]

4 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Never saw any security guards outside any 711's ,I imagine some suburbs have them but they weren't outside the ones I went to.,maybe in the past ?

Maybe that's because you never been in the Phillies, same as you never been to Thailand

[georgegeorgia]

12 minutes ago, BenStark said:

Maybe that's because you never been in the Phillies, same as you never been to Thailand

Says the newbie who joined this site 3 months ago ! Omg 

[BenStark]

4 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Says the newbie who joined this site 3 months ago ! Omg 

I read your troll posts for the past month. OMG

 

Remind us about your visit to Kilkenny bar, which closed 6 months ago, last month

[YITB1980]

On 8/17/2023 at 10:34 PM, Trippy said:

The only thing good about PI is the girls, everything else is pretty bad compared to Thailand.

Many expats in Thailand, who are seeking a long-term relationship, find a partner in the Philippines and bring her back to LOS.  Some might say the best of both worlds.

[Sandboxer]

Rawdog is the norm.

More & nicer beaches (8000+ islands!)

Christianity as the national sport is more relatable (even for an atheist like me).

Locals are more culturally relatable to Westerners, especially Muricans.

Slightly cheaper.

English generally somewhat intelligible.

 

Can't think of anything else except liberal visa policies and easy/inexpensive permanent residency (SRRV).

 

Otherwise a total s-hole in terms of economic policy, culture of corruption, infrastructure, crappy local cuisine, an absolute lack of pride (yet still thinking their country is somehow "superior") resulting in constant begging if they know you have money, etc etc. -  Failippines.

[Adumbration]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:01 AM, lopburi3 said:

The name change did not change forum from being Thai - and you can prove that with sub forum names and posting numbers if you believe being old negates logic.

Why are you arguing with a make believe member posting with a fake account?  I do not see that as logical.

[lopburi3]

10 hours ago, Adumbration said:

Why are you arguing with a make believe member posting with a fake account?  I do not see that as logical.

Because if we do not respond such comments stand as Google facts on instant social media such as this.   Sad as it is.

[Mike Teavee]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:48 AM, sqwakvfr said:

I am conducting research on the SRRV long term visa issued by the PRA(Philippines Retirement Authority).  For me the SRRV looks promising.  The SRRV is very different from the Thai Non Imm OA or O.  I am going to Cebu later this year to confirm whether or not I want to pursue the SRRV or not.  

I used to love Cebu but the traffic got to be a complete nightmare so prefer Davao/Bohol & used to visit 6-8 times a year (from SG) when I was dating a FIlipina (8 Years) but when it came to retirement there was no doubt in my mind that it was going to be to Thailand. 

 

I did look into the SRRV and it's a great program (Wish Thailand's was more like it), if you do decide to check out Davao then there is an SRRV agent that has an office in The Royal Mandaya Hotel (Nice hotel to stay at anyway) that can explain everything to you, I don't think it costs anything to use an Agent so can't hurt to ask. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

[sqwakvfr]

1 minute ago, Mike Teavee said:

I used to love Cebu but the traffic got to be a complete nightmare so prefer Davao/Bohol & used to visit 6-8 times a year (from SG) when I was dating a FIlipina (8 Years) but when it came to retirement there was no doubt in my mind that it was going to be to Thailand. 

 

I did look into the SRRV and it's a great program (Wish Thailand's was more like it), if you do decide to check out Davao then there is an SRRV agent that has an office in The Royal Mandaya Hotel (Nice hotel to stay at anyway) that can explain everything to you, I don't think it costs anything to use an Agent so can't hurt to ask. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Thanks for the info on the agent.  

[n00dle]

On 8/18/2023 at 4:27 PM, JensenZ said:

Actually the security guards do practice shooting their shotguns at ranges, so they are not totally useless.

dream on

[georgegeorgia]

On 8/21/2023 at 12:56 PM, Mike Teavee said:

I used to love Cebu but the traffic got to be a complete nightmare so prefer Davao/Bohol & used to visit 6-8 times a year (from SG) when I was dating a FIlipina (8 Years) but when it came to retirement there was no doubt in my mind that it was going to be to Thailand. 

 

I did look into the SRRV and it's a great program (Wish Thailand's was more like it), if you do decide to check out Davao then there is an SRRV agent that has an office in The Royal Mandaya Hotel (Nice hotel to stay at anyway) that can explain everything to you, I don't think it costs anything to use an Agent so can't hurt to ask. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Davao is said to be safest city , I walked around even at night ,no one blinked a eye at me .

 

But like all cities the traffic was busy and I find Rents in Philippines much higher than Thailand.

 

Even Condo prices to buy are much higher than Thailand especially in Cebu ,looking recently 4 million pesos  for a 26sqm Condo is Cebu !!!! No thanks