About gelynch52ph

Currently Lives:

Citizen of:

Some Forum Posts:

Philippines: Water Heater & washing machine:

When in Philippines, the only household appliances to even consider are LG (Chinese made ones are as good as the Korean made ones for less money). I'm on my second LG 6.5 liter washing machine (6 years and counting)and the first one left with the GF or I probably would still be using it. The same holds true for my LG refrigerator. When I first moved to PI I bought a Westinghouse fridge and it died within 6 months. I have no idea what you are talking about with your water heater question, so have nothing to offer. Did some research & my advice is to look at the various stores and get some brand names. Then ask people their personal experience. Then hook it to the light switch that runs your CR light if that is where you are using it. Also, since your house is probably not properly grounded, install a proper external ground for safety.

Philippines: Banking and money in the Philippines (Or you must be kidding.......we aren't by the way.):

MCYRCPA, for one thing, this is 2017 and things have changed. Foreign credit and ATM cards are accepted nearly everywhere, including Mindanao. As to the OP...XOOM.com only takes a couple of hours to transfer to a local bank account, and often even faster if money is sent for pick up @ any of the banks and pawn shops listed. In my opinion, this OP is way overblown as far as money safety, although you simply MUST alert your home bank that you plan to use your card abroad because they often block them and then it is difficult to get them reactivated from abroad.

Philippines: On my search to find a Philappino Wife:

I agree 100% with your assessment of life and the total LACK of culture in this country. Even though I have lived here for 13 years, I've yet to see any sign of culture. PS: To the author of the OP. The spelling is Filipino. Women are generally referred to as Filipinas, but MS Word and most websites, including this one, does not recognize Filipina as being correctly spelled.

Philippines: Waffle Box construction:

While I don't know anything about waffle box construction and because I have no plans to ever own a house here won't comment directly. However, many people recently are buying shipping containers and converting them into nice housing. If a person is interested they can find either plain containers or already converted units online. It would be pretty hard to be more typhoon proof than a couple steel 40' containers bolted or welded together and made into a house. The only thing subject to termites or ants would be any wood window sills or doors etc. In Tagaytay I've seen a couple such houses built, and one of them I know was built from just plain containers delivered to the building site. I can remember the ground being empty, the containers delivered & sitting there for a couple months, and then eventual conversion being undertaken.

Philippines: Balikbayan box services: US to Philippines:

It seems to me that it is normal for packages to take around 2 months. Companies wait until they have enough to fill a shipping container. I've only sent 1 BBB and on the advice of friends and from reviews I chose, and recommend Manila Forwarders. My box in 2012 was not opened but I believe the law may have been changed recently. At least there was talk of changing but with a significant public outcry to which I have no information.

Philippines: Coal in the Philippines:

Tagaytay, but I prefer the relatively remote Bukidnon, Mindanao.

Philippines: Emigration Clearance Certificate:

The ECC can be obtained at most BI satellite offices, but not instantly. It CANNOT be obtained in the airport when leaving. In order to obtain your ECC there is no reason whatsoever to bring your tickets with you, but you must realize it is only valid for 30 days.

Philippines: Annual Report:

I don't believe there is any requirement for tourists to do any Annual Report because they are already reporting every 2 months anyway. The Annual Report can be done in any BI office, not only that mess in Intramuros. If you are a Permanent Resident the fee is P300 and needs to be done before the end of March.

Philippines: visa, passport, citizen stuff:

First thing to do is get the dual citizenship & Philippine passport for your child. Then, no doubt, your wife should travel on her Philippine PP so she does not enter as a foreigner subject to Immigration fees. I would further recommend that you obtain the 13-a (married) visa in whatever country you are in. It is permanent from the date of issuance, whereas if obtained in Philippines, is only valid 1 year until you do it again to become permanent.

Philippines: US-Philippine Relations:

Here are my thoughts on the potential scenarios. Trump campaigned on a policy of “bring jobs back to America” and once he learns how many American jobs in the call center business are outsourced here he might just do what I have been advocating for years, and make those jobs be returned to America where they belong. That “hand of friendship” will soon be a crippled hand because both tRump and Du30 have shown themselves to be reflexive and unpredictable. The only way I see tRump contributing to the Philippine economy (indirectly) by allowing the US to spend bazillions of dollars defending this place is if somehow Du30 can convince him that Philippines will wipe out 15 million Filipino Muslims. Note that the word “Muslims” is germane to this discussion. Otherwise tRump is going to (correctly in my opinion) say “f*ck you” and all your talk to the Chinese and Russians. The next time there is a major typhoon, volcanic eruption or earthquake it will be the time the USA says, “fix it yourselves because we are tired of you local officials stealing our aid money.”

Date Joined:

7/11/2014

Total Posts:

144

Posts/Day:

0.14