Where's Wes Opines on the pros and cons of moving to the Phillipines

[Jingthing]

I started following Where's Wes when he lived in Colombia.

He married into a deeply religious Christian family in Manizales, ending up divorcing her, and now her family basically wants to kill him -- so he got out of Dodge.

Since then he's been traveling widely. He seems to love Poland. 

He's not really my kind of guy politically or socially but he has a sharp intelligence that I still find worth hearing.

I suppose his opinions about the Philippines have more weight as he's an American from a Chinese Filipino background. 

Some things he says don't make sense to me. 

He says most expats settle in Makati and BGC (Metro Manila) when my understanding is that they are spread all over, especially in Cebu, Dumaguete, etc.

He suggests Baguio City would be his own best choice as the cool weather in the mountains resembles Manizales and that place interests me as well. 

My only Pinoy experiences are with some failed relationships in the U.S. and one tourism visit years ago.

My general impression is that it's easy to assume the people are like westerners because they speak English and are Catholic, but in reality their culture is wildly different. 

For those that know better than me, is Wes spot on or spot off?

 

 

 

[Cameroni]

17 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I started following Where's Wes when he lived in Colombia.

He married into a deeply religious Christian family in Manizales, ending up divorcing her, and now her family basically wants to kill him -- so he got out of Dodge.

Since then he's been traveling widely. He seems to love Poland. 

He's not really my kind of guy politically or socially but he has a sharp intelligence that I still find worth hearing.

I suppose his opinions about the Philippines have more weight as he's an American from a Chinese Filipino background. 

Some things he says don't make sense to me. 

He says most expats settle in Makati and BGC (Metro Manila) when my understanding is that they are spread all over, especially in Cebu, Dumaguete, etc.

He suggests Baguio City would be his own best choice as the cool weather in the mountains resembles Manizales and that place interests me as well. 

My only Pinoy experiences are with some failed relationships in the U.S. and one tourism visit years ago.

My general impression is that it's easy to assume the people are like westerners because they speak English and are Catholic, but in reality their culture is wildly different. 

For those that know better than me, is Wes spot on or spot off?

 

 

 

 

I was in BGC recently. It is the en vogue place now for many expats. But you're right, they're all over, Cebu, Dumaguete, basically wherever their Filipinas dragged them by the nose, because the only reason any normal person would go to a place like Phil is the Vjayjay.

 

Baguio City is not a a great choice due to remoteness and location, especially if you're American or European.

 

The "culture" of the Phil is a mish mash, they don't even have a unified language, people in Cebu and Davao speak Cebuano, whereas Tagalog is like a second language. For the most part the Filipino culture is to survive by any means possible, as poverty is far more of a problem there. Hence serial dating is common for Filipinas. There are more prostitutes in Phil than in Thailand by a long difference. 

 

The place is super crowded, a lot of people everywhere. Except the small islands of course. It's expensive, bad weather, Typhoons, earthquakes are a real problem, internet is terrible. And Filipinos are not the most trustworthy people you will ever meet. Also way more violent than Thais.

 

 

 

 

[GypsyT]

I'm going there on Wednesday, Dec 25. Wish me luck. I may need it...

Why there? A few very interesting gals, of course!

 

I also have this curiosity when some say "Don't go there!" I have to go to check out why they said so....

 

PS. I'll arrive 7pm. Any cheap hotel to recommend within walking distance of MNL?

Thanks!