About ISLNDR2K

Currently Lives:

Citizen of:

Some Forum Posts:

Philippines: Used Car Shopping??:

In any country one has to be weary and alert buying from websites and strangers.

Philippines: Moving Family to the Philippines:

From liveinthephilippines.com. Advice for those thinking of moving here? 1.Accept that things will be different. 2.Stop over thinking the visa process. 3.Stop worrying so much about security. Fear can be rational, but what is irrational is letting fear control your life. 4.Cost of living is what it is, and it will never get cheaper. Do not obsess over the price of chicken. It is not a contest to see who can live “cheapest”. Cheaper does not always mean better. 5.Stop worrying about exchange rates. This is not so prevalent right now, due to a high USD, but a couple of years ago there was a hell of a lot of “doom and gloom” BS being tossed around on the Internet. You cannot change the rates, and you WILL need to deal with it when they go down again (and they WILL). Nobody cares about your “fixed income”. 6.Except for this site and a couple of others, believe only about half of what you read on expat web sites. There are a lot of barstool pontificates living in the Philippines, and a lot of stuff that is simply untrue or that is pure crap is written online. 7.Make friends with your neighbors. 8.If you are moving here for love, think with your big head and not your little head (especially if there is a huge age difference between you). 9.You will not change things. Only Filipinos can change things. This country belongs to Filipinos. You are, and always will be, merely a guest here. 10.There will be things that you miss from home. 11.If it is available in the USA, it is probably available somewhere in the Philippines. It may be expensive, limited quantity, limited choice, or limited to “only in Manila”, but it is available here. 12.When you move, take the amount that you think you need to ship and cut it in half. 13.Be extremely cautious about buying real estate, especially before living here for a while. Land and real estate is a minefield here. 14.Don’t think that your white skin makes you more qualified for a job. 15.Don’t think that your white skin means you know more than everyone else. 16.Don’t think “they are all out to get you”. 17.Nobody in the Philippines really gives a damn about US politics. There is little Obama hate here. 18.Yeah, you are a “rich” foreigner. You may be over charged. Get over it. Accept the fact that you were born into greater privilege than 90% of the rest of the world merely by chance. 19.Yeah, her family may ask for money. You knew what you were getting into, right? Or are you really that selfish and stupid? See bullet point number 8 above. No sympathy from me. 20.When you start referring to Filipinos at “They” or “Them”, then perhaps it is time to seriously start thinking about returning to wherever it is that you came from. 21.Every public official or police officer in the Philippines is not corrupt. I have met many who are just trying to do their jobs.

Philippines: Banking in PI:

Go to SM to exchange your Thai Baht. SM accepts most SE Asian currencies to purchase PH Pesos. SM only requires an ID. I use my US drivers license. In addition to the ID, SM requires the serial# to be written on the exchange form.

Philippines: Tagaytay???:

@Wood. Check the below links to help assist you in finding your place. Remax Philippines just started "Real Estate Tourism in the Philippines". Go to the Remax link below for more details. Also try using google maps. When an area is available in gMaps, the views seen are actuals that was captured by google. The views are so clear. It provides a quick glimpse of an area without really needing to drive to the location. I drove around Taal Lake and compared it to gMaps and it was pretty accurate. https://www.olx.ph/sitemap/ https://www.airbnb.com/ http://www.lamudi.com.ph/ http://www.remaxasyenda.com/

Philippines: Hotel in Cebu:

Check out lamudi.com.ph. Site is the number website for property searches for both rental and purchase. The site also has information on average pricing for the MM and outside of metro. Another site is RE/MAX Philippines for properties and realtors.

Philippines: Is it really this hard for an Expat to find work.:

The job market in the Philippines has improved. Before, one would never see a help wanted or hiring now sign. In the past year, hiring now or help wanted have popped up in store fronts. Help wanted signs ranged from salesperson, cooks, and computer repair. Jobs in the Phils website..http://philjobnet.ph/

Philippines: Manila Airport:

I use Grab taxi. Download the Grab Taxi app on your iOS or android smart phone. The taxi number, cell phone and some drivers the photo is shown. Also the fare is listed and the driver can't argue for more. Anything more is a tip for good service.

Philippines: Is it just me:

An article was written about it in www.liveinthephilippines.com site. The author did not like hanging out with Expats because most are negative. They compare and complain about everything, instead of adapting.

Philippines: Solar Panels:

Here's a link to a story of a guy who installed solar panels in his Makati home. http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/173-power-and-energy/64165-solar-power-ph-households-net-metering

Philippines: Optical Course:

I recall reading a comment in this forum - he stated when he quit comparing Phils with the Western world his life and Phils just got better...

Date Joined:

12/10/2014

Total Posts:

101

Posts/Day:

0.12