Expats in the Philippines

[deckofficer]

I like bobconnie's assessment better than Boatguy's.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

I wonder if it cheaper if you don't export the girl, but keep her there? ...

It is even cheaper if you just pay by the hour!

Re the relatives, here in Thailand it's common knowledge that when you marry a Thai girl you marry the extended family so make sure you know who else (brothers and sisters) are around to also contribute; otherwise, it may be just you.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

I like bobconnie's assessment better than Boatguy's.

Of course you do, but Bob was just passing through and had his own family, not looking for a wifey.

[Cap Erict3]

Manila can be a dangerous place. Plenty of pickpockets and scam artists also. I spent most of my time in Cebu.

[Bruce626]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Bruce,

Thanks for the knowledgeable input. I checked a grocery store on line and after the 43 to 1 conversion and kg to lbs, discovered T-bone steak runs $2.20 USD per lb, what a deal. I also heard that instead of expats in just certain communities, they are all over. Did you sail there with the idea of retirement or was a just a cruising destination that became home for you?

I don't generally eat beef here unless it is ground - beef here is unusually chewy; but you can buy a cooked chicken for about P130, cooked rice is cheap, corn on the cob can be P5 each, steamed in the market. No, I am not good enough to cross the Pacific in a sailboat that I could not afford in the States; I flew here to meet my filipina and then had the catamaran built.

So far, I have had no problems with theft on the boat - by and large the piracy issue is overblown and rare except in the far south of Mindanao and the islands there - Jolo, Basilan, and such. Most Filipinos are friendly and honest. Being aboard mostly means anchoring out - and the only people that can get near you are guys with boats; and guys with boats are local fishermen and have most of their capital tied up in their boat and therefore have something big to lose if they are caught in criminal activities. The real crooks here, like most places are the rich - politicians, banksters, businessmen - regular people are just fine.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Doodles

It is even cheaper if you just pay by the hour!

Re the relatives, here in Thailand it's common knowledge that when you marry a Thai girl you marry the extended family so make sure you know who else (brothers and sisters) are around to also contribute; otherwise, it may be just you.

Pretty much the same in PI.

But don't be fooled by beauty and sweetness. That all changes in time, as well as any where else. The downfall is if you marry third world you better expect third world living. I've been married to a Filipina for 17 years and she still has the attitude of being in PI. And the upper class ones are just as arrogant, if not more so then the first world gals. So, your not gaining any social attitudes, just a culture change. And you better like eating rice and soups.

As for the place (PI), I'm en route. I've already done the first leg from Seattle to SF. Will winter over then onto HI and farther next fall.

There are lots of out of the way places that are not very well known, but are getting more and more publicity with the increase of communications. In the past 15 years the countries people have gone from about 50% with telephones to about 80% with cell phones now. And about the same with the internet.

So, they know what's happening in the world now and are adjusting to...
Tourism is starting to become a big thing so prices are climbing with each year. Gas prices are about the same as the USA but diesel fuel is lower then the USA.

Hotels are about the same as the USA and you get what you pay for...
The price of cars are a bit lower then the USA but they don't have all the smog devices. But that's changing too. And the traffic really sucks. They can't seem to stay between the lines and crowd into bottle necks so tight that one can't even walk between cars.

It's a nice place to be but not 100% of the time. One needs to get away from the hustle once in a while. The people are a loud group. They like singing, screaming and all kinds of partying. There will always be food parties to go to. They do like to eat! Although, it is a fat diet which I restrict myself from eating too much. I just try a little bit of everything to be polite. It hard to find an old Filipina that is slim unless she is in the Media, or dirt poor. My wife is one of the exceptions.

The money has beed hanging around about P$43:1 US$ for the past 5 years. But once in a while it'll spike a bit and I'll send money to my bank account in PI to build it up for the next trip over.

In the past 15 years they've been building large malls in most of the major cities, which also have the SM markets. This is where you want to buy your food! It's hard to trust the quality of street vendors. A street chicken could be as tough as shoe leather. And you don't have any guarantees on age or purity, unless you know when and where the food comes from. Several years ago I had a fellow Filipino worker here in the USA that went home for a wedding and died there from food poisoning. You do have to be careful.

And the language now is Tagalish (Tagalog and English mixed).

I should also mention that shallow water boats are best. A lot of the shorelines are long slopping, with either sand or coral but mostly coral. And in some places they are getting touchy about hard anchoring.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Pretty much the same in PI.

But don't be fooled by beauty and sweetness. That all changes in time, as well as any where else. The downfall is if you marry third world you better expect third world living. I've been married to a Filipina for 17 years and she still has the attitude of being in PI. And the upper class ones are just as arrogant, if not more so then the first world gals. So, your not gaining any social attitudes, just a culture change. And you better like eating rice and soups.

As for the place (PI), I'm en route. I've already done the first leg from Seattle to SF. Will winter over then onto HI and farther next fall.

There are lots of out of the way places that are not very well known, but are getting more and more publicity with the increase of communications. In the past 15 years the countries people have gone from about 50% with telephones to about 80% with cell phones now. And about the same with the internet.

So, they know what's happening in the world now and are adjusting to...
Tourism is starting to become a big thing so prices are climbing with each year. Gas prices are about the same as the USA but diesel fuel is lower then the USA.

Hotels are about the same as the USA and you get what you pay for...
The price of cars are a bit lower then the USA but they don't have all the smog devices. But that's changing too. And the traffic really sucks. They can't seem to stay between the lines and crowd into bottle necks so tight that one can't even walk between cars.

It's a nice place to be but not 100% of the time. One needs to get away from the hustle once in a while. The people are a loud group. They like singing, screaming and all kinds of partying. There will always be food parties to go to. They do like to eat! Although, it is a fat diet which I restrict myself from eating too much. I just try a little bit of everything to be polite. It hard to find an old Filipina that is slim unless she is in the Media, or dirt poor. My wife is one of the exceptions.

The money has beed hanging around about P$43:1 US$ for the past 5 years. But once in a while it'll spike a bit and I'll send money to my bank account in PI to build it up for the next trip over.

In the past 15 years they've been building large malls in most of the major cities, which also have the SM markets. This is where you want to buy your food! It's hard to trust the quality of street vendors. A street chicken could be as tough as shoe leather. And you don't have any guarantees on age or purity, unless you know when and where the food comes from. Several years ago I had a fellow Filipino worker here in the USA that went home for a wedding and died there from food poisoning. You do have to be careful.

And the language now is Tagalish (Tagalog and English mixed).

I should also mention that shallow water boats are best. A lot of the shorelines are long slopping, with either sand or coral but mostly coral. And in some places they are getting touchy about hard anchoring.

good update....

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Doodles

Here in Thailand those men are referred to as "atm machines".

They are quite easy to spot.

Originally Posted by Emmalina

Yes and they generally live in Phuket or Pataya.
After living in Bangkok before moving south it is quite easy to meet a girl with a good education and self sufficient as my wife is. Just don't expect to meet them in a bar !!!

I have been to the land of smiles many times. While there I heard the expression, "Pataya Paratroopers". Those were the guy's that divorced their wives at 60 and moved to Thailand to be with their 25 yr. old "true love". After her and her family fleaced all the money from him (usually for some non excistant business venture) he would jump out of the 5th story condo he was renting.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I have been to the land of smiles many times. While there I heard the expression, "Pataya Paratroopers". Those were the guy's that divorced their wives at 60 and moved to Thailand to be with their 25 yr. old "true love". After her and her family fleaced all the money from him (usually for some non excistant business venture) he would jump out of the 5th story condo he was renting.

LOL ... Hadn't heard that one but it sounds about right. :-)

[Cherp]

[QUOTE=Doodles...... so the girl does all the talking.[/QUOTE]

This is the same world-wide.

[bobconnie]

A partner and I went to PI last yr, at invitation of a Priest that likes chicken fights. He had bought some of my pards Brood stock, and was fighting for a champ title in Manila! All though we were with a priest, I really never felt unsafe there at all! We rented a apt. 2 bedrooms and a cook/ housekeeper for 200 bucks for 6 weeks! and really enjoyed the food and the chicken fights !! Great place to vist!! just my 2 cents

[Bruce626]

"A street chicken could be as tough as shoe leather. And you don't have any guarantees on age or purity, unless you know when and where the food comes from." ==> I suppose anything is possible, but in seven years of buying 'street' chickens the only problems I have run into are: once one was not cooked well enough so we insure we get well cooked ones; and, one quickly learns to insist that they do not hit the chicken three or four times with a cleaver to cut it up for you - this practice spreads bones and cartilage into the meat (Filipinos don't mind this as they generally eat the small bones and cartilage - most westerners are not used to this). When staying on land we usually look for a 'pension' house instead of a hotel - easy to find a good quality one for under P1,000/night. Take the cooked chicken and corn or the cob back to your room and have room service bring you rice and drinks - the rice will come on plates with utensils and a couple can have a fine feast for very little outlay. Cleanup is a snap as the scraps are just placed on the tray outside the door and they quickly disappear.

Yes, you can find scammers everywhere - but most filipinas are very religious with good family values (but one might not want to look for one in a bar). After my wife died of breast cancer, I did the dating thing in the USA for several years - but all the women I was expected to date were someone's grandmother, usually divorced with children and issues, a career they did not want to give up to go sailing, a car with payments, and a house with mortgage. If they did not have grandchildren they often had older children in high school or college. An almost universal theme was to retire so that they could putter in their garden - not for me. Here, men in the 60-70 range can find a quality partner in the 25-35 age range with relative ease - but these family values cut both ways and one has to expect that one will be pressed to be the parent's retirement plan; be a loan officer for older siblings; and be the younger siblings educational plan. One need not provide all of the financial aid (sometimes called a 'loan') requested. This is especially true if you are not living with or near the family - being on a boat that is anchored out all over is a major advantage here. YMMV

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by Bruce626

..., I did the dating thing in the USA for several years - but all the women I was expected to date were someone's grandmother, usually divorced with children and issues, a career they did not want to give up to go sailing, a car with payments, and a house with mortgage. If they did not have grandchildren they often had older children in high school or college. An almost universal theme was to retire so that they could putter in their garden - not for me. Here, men in the 60-70 range can find a quality partner in the 25-35 age range with relative ease - but these family values cut both ways and one has to expect that one will be pressed to be the parent's retirement plan; be a loan officer for older siblings; and be the younger siblings educational plan. One need not provide all of the financial aid (sometimes called a 'loan') requested. This is especially true if you are not living with or near the family - being on a boat that is anchored out all over is a major advantage here. YMMV

Well, its easy to see what's working for you and I'm happy for you but in both scenarios you are making concessions for the partner's needs and that's the way it should be in marriages. We live in Thailand but both of us are Americans and about the same age and socio-economic group, so we have a lot in common. I've seen quite a few American/European-Thai marriages where that's not the case. Just not that much in common after the lust wears off. And let's be honest, what does a 25-30 year old want with a 70 year old but money and what happens when that starts running out? But that just my 2¢.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Doodles

what does a 25-30 year old want with a 70 year old but money and what happens when that starts running out? But that just my 2¢.

Uhhhh...I know...I know...The 5th floor without a parachute.

[Emmalina]

Originally Posted by Doodles

Well, its easy to see what's working for you and I'm happy for you but in both scenarios you are making concessions for the partner's needs and that's the way it should be in marriages. We live in Thailand but both of us are Americans and about the same age and socio-economic group, so we have a lot in common. I've seen quite a few American/European-Thai marriages where that's not the case. Just not that much in common after the lust wears off. And let's be honest, what does a 25-30 year old want with a 70 year old but money and what happens when that starts running out? But that just my 2¢.

Once saw a 80+ year old getting wheeled into a gogo bar by his 20yr old wife pushed up to the dancers and dribbling Now give me the choice of that or in an old people's home playing dominoes and guess which one I would choose ......... But I have never seen so many 60 year old teenagers as Bangkok