Philippines

[ittybittybobcat]

How do the philippines compare? Naturally I have an extreme love of bars, so cost of drinking, cost of living, cost of women

I was hoping to get a few peoples insight of a comparison (pros and cons) of the two on the bar level AND on the other stuff. Aswell, if anyone knows the visa situation in the phils compared to Thailand?

[farang prince]

How do the philippines compare? Naturally I have an extreme love of bars, so cost of drinking, cost of living, cost of women

I was hoping to get a few peoples insight of a comparison (pros and cons) of the two on the bar level AND on the other stuff. Aswell, if anyone knows the visa situation in the phils compared to Thailand?

A lot depends on where you live in the Philippines. It is an archapelago with 7,500 islands. If you live in a major city like Manila, then you can expect major city problems such as high crime, heavy traffic congestion and higher costs for lodging and food. But it also benefits such as a very good nightclub scene. The Philippines is cheaper to live in than Thailand right now. The exchange rate on the dollar is 47/1. You can get whatever you are looking for in Manila.

I live on the island of Mindanao, which right now has three different insurgent groups creating unrest. We had 11 people killed in Christmas Eve mortar attacks and bombings in central Mindanao. Still, most of the island is safe, especially the city of Cagayan de Oro. Cost of living is low on Mindanao...my four bedroom beachfront home on 1/2 acre cost the equivalent of $75,000 USD.

The major benefit of the Philippines, other than the cost of living and the friendliness of most of the people, is that English is spoken by most people. The major negative is that the Philippine cuisine will never be world class, especially when compared to Thailand. Still, I like the food here because you have an unlimited supply of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish. Also don't expect to be living in a First World country. The Philippines infrastructure is terrible...roads are a travesty and many buildings are decrepid. The tap water can't be consumed. Electricity is subject to frequest brownouts. And the government of the country is terribly corrupt.

Still, I love the Filipino people and wouldn't live anyplace else now that I have been here for almost a year.

As far as visas go, if you are from the major developed countries, you don't need a visa. You can arrive on your passport and will have a 15-day tourist visa. If you want to stay longer, you will need to go to the Department of Immigration and apply for an extention. This usually involves around 30,000 worth of tea money. I have a lifetime visa by virtue of work I have done on behalf of the government of the Philippines. For Americans there are 50 lifetime visas available annually and these are usually subjected to heavy under the table payments. Plan on spending upwards of 300,000 pesos (about $6,350 USD) in tea money to get a lifetime visa and at least 150,000 pesos for a one-year visa.

I won't get into the cost of bargirls in the Philippines. As in Thailand, that is subject to your own tastes and needs. I can assure you, however, that Filipinas are some of the most beautiful women in the world. But like any other Asian country, the women here look at all foreigners as their personal ATM.

[torrenova]

I'm sorry that I don't have accurate figures to hand and I know nothing about tea money for lifetime visas but I cannot see how on earth you'd get 150,000 pesos for an annual visa as that is about $3150. If you said about $350 a year then I could believe it. Can you check your maths please ?