Top 5 tips to live in the Philippines

1. Don't expect too much. That is, try to remember this is not the US or whatever country you come from.
2. Show respect. Be humble. Expats have a poor reputation with the locals because of a few loud mouthed, disrespectful, over bearing foreigners. Don't be demanding.
3. It may seems everything is all about MONEY to the folks here. In some cases that may be true. But that is no excuse not to be generous. Especially help the family. Do not feel like you are being taken advantage of, share what you have. In most cases they have nothing in comparison to you.
4. Maintain a good moral character. People watch whatever you do. Settle in one area and build a good reputation.
5. Maintain ties with your country. Keep bank accounts and credit cards open even if you do not travel back often.
6. Notify Immigration as soon as possible of any changes in your status.
7. Check in with your Embassy. Most all have a mechanism in which you can register your information.
8. Stay on the good side of the law.

The first and obvious is to have sufficient funds to live a comfortable life and in my part I only bring sufficient funds to last me six months at a time as the interest earned on savings here is not very good although some banks do have long term deposit schemes.You should also arrange to join Forex or World Remit where you can transfer your money  from Auz direct into their account following which they will deposit into your account here within 24 hours. If you are going to lease here make sure you look around for some time prior to committing as quite often expats sign up quickly without looking at the pros and cons where they have decided to stay only to find out that there is better available in a better location at the same price.
You will soon learn who to trust and who not to but overall the Filipinos will assist you but never offer money for their help and be courteous in thanking them as it helps build a good rapport.

Open a Star account with BPI and have the account available from your regular UK bank for on-line transactions.

Consider renting out your home out for a period of 3 years and register the tax payment with UK Gateway as on line submission each year.

Ask a relative to mail you important documents and change your address to theirs.

Have a medical check up.

Buy some soup spoons.

1. As said before make sure you have external income to meet your needs
very hard to make enough money here.
2. Be careful with relations of gf/wife don't
give them money they will become reliant on you.
3.I assume a gf/wife already here, don't frequent girlie bars, filipino women are very jealous and VD very prevalent in some bars.
Don't get frustrated when dealing with public servants, the excessive paper work is help to create employment.
5. On the roads, be patience, be vigilant for every thing uses the roads here: goat,  fowls, buffalo, dogs, cats, people as well as vehicles keep your eyes pealed at all times
Peter

If you have brains you will stay where you are unless you dont mind living with idiots, who never take the blame for anything even if it is their fault, who are maniacs on the road, put up with barking dogs, and loud music all day, get woken up at all hours of the morning, and dont complain about anything because you will just be told to fuck off, and go back to where you come from.
Oh and you will have lots of friends until your money runs out, but it is your choice so dont say that you wasn`t warned.
The only reason that the ugly, fat ,old blokes come here is to get a little bit of skirt that they cant get in their own country......... but all to their own I suppose.
One who knows   lol.

Don't close all the doors in your own country (don't sell your property, just let it for rent)
Go only to the Philippines if you have income from your country (there is no money to make here)
Be sure you have enough income, life become also expensive here(real estate prices, private school, food)
Be sure to have a good private health insurance (becoming sick here cost a fortune)
Be aware off the wide spread corruption here and the skin tax for the foreigners.
My wife and myself are selling everything here and go back from where we are coming (Belgium)
In this country you can do nothing as a foreigner, you even cannot own your own house.
Also my Filipino wife don't like her own country anymore, people here are so rude, even everybody say that they are so friendly, that's only their face who is friendly.
Be aware in the night from dogs, party's, loud music, people who are drinking...................
We live in a first class subdivision in Manilla and its worse, worse........
My advice: stay in your own country's ,there you will find milk and honey (not here)

1.  Never lend money.  You will become a target. 
2.  Don't expect fair treatment.  Rascism against whites is rampant, but thankfully small scale.
3. If you came here for a wife you are in luck.  Put a hefty filter on early however because you will do better than you think
4.  Don't buy land in your wife's name.  She ISN'T different than the rest, especially after a few years of mother in law putting a pipe wrench on her ear continually. 
5.  Enjoy it.  Where else can you live like a king for $2000 a month?

mokka007 beyyy beeeeyyyyyyyyyy





ps:am belgian and very happy here ,maiby this is beccorse i was smart and did rent a house not in Manila but in the country side ,away from all the things you are complaining about

Looks like Dave lost.

to who ever want to go living in an other country ,i can only advise the following
research the culture
make sure you have a solid financial arrangement in place
same for the healthcare
do not expect to be "special",but to be a guest ,so show respect,only who shows respect can expect it to be returned
have an open ear for advise from people who live there,but think on your feet and do not follow blindly,not all will have your best interest in there minds

Hi all,

This thread is for 'Top 5 tips to live in the Philippines'.

Be sure to give constructive advice.

Thank you,

Marjorie

dirk c wrote:

to who ever want to go living in an other country ,i can only advise the following
research the culture
make sure you have a solid financial arrangement in place
same for the healthcare
do not expect to be "special",but to be a guest ,so show respect,only who shows respect can expect it to be returned
have an open ear for advise from people who live there,but think on your feet and do not follow blindly,not all will have your best interest in there minds

All well and good except if you obtain perm res status you are not a guest but a resident of said country.
When we have guests we feed them and provide them shelter, no country gonna treat their "guests" that way, at least not on purpose.  One can respect the people and the culture without thinking of themselves as a guest.

I thought this were tips to live in the Philippines.
That's what I did, giving tips.
Why there are people here who must give critics to other bloggers.
Congratulations if it works for other people who live in the Philippines.
There is no need to be sarcastic, I hope it stay like that.
Its very said if it don't work out, to live in another country.
There is no need to take this as a joke and its not suitable to post this.

If you really serious about moving to the Philippines you should look up the word xenophobia before you make any plans. Do expect to be in a country where people are going to appreciate you being there. The minute you arrive at the airport you'll notice that your present it's really not appreciated.. Scams, rural people, and obstacles to make your day miserable will be a daily routine you will experience if you live in the Philippines. And don't be surprised if they ask you when are you leaving !!

By your advice ,,,be prepared to run ...lol  ...just kidding ,,,but if you have to at any age above 35 ,,,,keep your nose so clean just to live ,,,,my question would be why???? Do you not deserve to live your life your way ,,,wherever you drop your hat >>> cc and banking should be the norm wherever,,,,why the emphasize on fitting in ??? Philippinos travel extensively and have a wide knowledge of international living,,,, be normal would be my advice,,,

All the complaints seem to be coming from folks living in Manila.  Let that be a warning to others.

1/ It's very 3rd world - things that you take for granted are intermittent and  unreliable - this includes basics like water, appalling roads, bad education, a total lack of any planning even the grocery stores are badly stocked , there is not even a functioning postal system - UK - Cebu airmail takes 1 month at least
2/ Customer service is unknown - the vendor is the most important part of any transaction - they stop smiling the moment they get your money.
3/ Medical facilities are incredibly expensive, dirty, ill maintained and a disgrace
4/ See that everyone wants to be ghostly white your leisure time will probably exclude the beach and outdoors - which  changes the way you spend your leisure time
5 / Electricity is unreliable and very expensive
6/ Building standards are appalling but property is quite expensive - allow the best part of Php1m to make the house livable (nothing is included)
7/ The extended family expect to be subsidized and kept in a level of comfort - you must get this under control early - they are incredibly lazy people who don't take care of anything
8/ Filipino food is bad and comes nowhere near Thailand or Malaysia
9/ Filipino throw their trash and urinate everywhere - the place is a disgusting mess

I came the Cebu  on a work contract for a UK based company - the company closed in the financial crisis leaving me stuck here - all in all I don't know if being retired here is better or worse than back in the UK I know it very frustrating but it's warm and, with notable exceptions, inexpensive

This is one Aussie that needs to stay in Australia! All of the above remarks shows just how ugly the foreigner can be.

1. Don't expect the Philippines to be like your Home Country. It's the Philippines. Enjoy it for what it is.
2. Spend some time here before you move permanently. Learn a little about Philippine culture and  History
3. Be very, very carefull buying property.
4. Research the Area you are going to live. (Crime rate. Terroist activity. etc)
5. Have funds outside the Country. Once money is here. Its difficult to get it out again.

1.Explore the places and pick which place is the best to settle in.
2.Traffic is always the problem, get a bicycle.
3.Be so patients, because people there are taking their time really slow.
4.When buying a property make sure they got all the original papers. Have a good lawyer.
5.Enjoy the beach while they are clean.

"Life is what you make it" and I am certainly enjoying my retirement here with its warm weather and cheap living. 

Some expats make some wrong decisions generally over their wife selection and extended family. Some bitterness comes from these wrong decisions not surprisingly and its these forums that help a would be retiree.

Hi everybody,

Some inappropriate posts have been removed from this topic.

Like Marjorie said, make sure that the information shared are really constructive and useful to the other members.

Please and avoid generalizing comments on the forum, judging or criticizing information shared by members. This topic has not been created for that !

Thanks

Priscilla 

daveleonard wrote:

This is one Aussie that needs to stay in Australia! All of the above remarks shows just how ugly the foreigner can be.

A typical know all Yank.

The bad....
1. Take your time if looking for a companion. The wrong choice can be costly.
2. When you do find the right one make it clear from the start there is no bottomless bucket of money for family. This is not to say you should not be generous when necessary. Just be wary of loans, medical expenses and other excuses to access your savings.
3. Control your temper. You will experience many injustices that would not be tolerated at home. This will occur at all levels of Philippine society.
The good....
4. Enjoy the majority of fun loving, good people in the country. Most are not scammers.
5. Enjoy the low cost of living. Find out what you should pay for whatever and do not pay a peso more. My gf gets very angry with anyone who tries to charge more just because I am a "foreigner" Many locals do not realize that not all foreigners are wealthy and believe they have a right to a foreigner's money because he has a lot to spare.

I could go on with many good and bad but I'll stick to the 5.

100% i agree with you.

Advice #1: Know thyself.

If you are one of these personality types: constant complainer, arrogant, disrespectful, thinks he / she is better than anyone else, impatient, overspends beyond budget, sucker (i.e., cannot say "no" to anyone), stupid, and believe that model Anna Nicole Smith's marriage to 90-year old oil magnate J. Howard Marshall II was all for love, you should NOT move to the Philippines. You will be unhappy here or go broke or lose your marbles or a combination of these.

And if you are already here and you have the above mentioned personality type, then go back to your home country asap. You're just wasting your time, and everyone else's, by staying here.

FilAmericanMom wrote:

Advice #1: Know thyself.

If you are one of these personality types: constant complainer, arrogant, disrespectful, thinks he / she is better than anyone else, impatient, overspends beyond budget, sucker (i.e., cannot say "no" to anyone), stupid, and believe that model Anna Nicole Smith's marriage to 90-year old oil magnate J. Howard Marshall II was all for love, you should NOT move to the Philippines. You will be unhappy here or go broke or lose your marbles or a combination of these.

And if you are already here and you have the above mentioned personality type, then go back to your home country asap. You're just wasting your time, and everyone else's, by staying here.

iftikhar_peeto wrote:

100% i agree with you.

Spot on............   If you have half a brain you may survive in the Philippines, but if you have no brains
you will definitely survive.
Everybody is brain dead here.

You can see what corruption does to a country.  Look at countries where corruption is prosecuted and you have nice cities:US, Australia, Canada, Europe, etc.
In countries where corruption is allowed you have much poverty. 
This is what foreigners see.

as i fell in the trap of commenting on others ,i want to appolegise for this wrong behavior
as advise i can only say this
prepare your financial and healthcare well
take advise of persons you can trust instead of listening to those for whom it did not went well
if it is to start a relation i wold say ,be painfully honest about yourself and your financial situation and how  you want to live .
this is how i did and i a very happy
i understand some of the complaints some have and i knew all these things before i came (barking dogs ,karaoke sounds and so on ) so these do not bother me
the only 2 things i wish i could change are the corruption and the poverty ,but i have no devine powers so i guess i will have to live with it he.

swegolf1956 wrote:

Looks like Dave lost.

I think that you have your hand on the wrong club lol

A lot of good advice here. I'll try to add some useful information 

1) Totally agree with those who say do your research on the country before moving here. Don't expect it to be heaven on Earth, but stay positive at the same time. Also have an established source of income or enough savings prior to your coming.
2) When arriving to the Manila airport, go to the official airport taxi booth. Random taxi drivers may approach you and they'll tell you rediculously high prices. The airport taxis use meters and the price would be like 5 times lower.
3) Use your common sense. Be alert. Don't get involved with random people approaching you on the streets. An example of a known scam is people in Malate area of Manila who come to you and propose money exchange with better rates.
4) Make friends with locals or someone who spent some time in the area. No matter how thorough was your research prior to coming to the country, there are always things you don't know. In general locals are friendly and eager to help.

5) Commuting and public transport. In short, you just have to know what bus/jeep/FX to take and where to get out. Public transport doesn't have route numbers. The best you'll get is the line of text painted on the side of a vehicle like "STREET/AREA A - STREET/AREA B via STREET/AREA C". Sometimes they hang these wooden plates with some key stops on the front window. Pay attention to those. Jeepneys can pick people up and stop whenever someone needs to get in or out. Busses are somewhat better with stops, but sometimes a conductor doesn't announce them.

The subway (MRT, LRT, etc) in Metro Manila is easy to understand and I'd say use it instead of other transportation means when possible. Although it might be too crowded, you'll save a lot of time, because traffic here can get awful.

With tricycles you have to know the exact fee (ask someone who knows), otherwise they would tell you higher prices.

Taxi drivers have to use their meters and it is usually the case. Some of them would tell you a fixed price, some of them would use a meter while driving you in circles or taking a longer route. Again, most of the times the drivers are good people, but it never hurts to study google maps or other maps/use gps.

To find out what jeep/bus to take to get from point A to point B try the TripBarker website, that's the only thing I was able to find. And of course you can always ask locals.

When people talk about 3rd world or western or better or not, one must look at pockets of problems in the region, state or country of origin and they will find many similar historical events without leaving their home country.  There are very nice places in the Philippines and a person can find some very nice homes or home sites.  As we each seek a location based on personal preferences, our measure of nice or bad or not so good is indeed subjective.  My personal views include to never live in Manila.. for me it is worse than many cities but not the worse city/location I have ever seen.

Location, temperatures, elevations and one's need to have a certain proximity to medical or higher end food sources can be a major factor in the location/region/province one selects.  The more remote, the more one must factor in for private transportation, brown-outs vs. black-outs and general cell site performance.

Although my goal was to arrive with over $75K, a person can start here with $1000/month in a rental status.  If the plan is to buy a home, lot & build, the person should have between $60-120K (exact area depending), a good understanding of land ownership and a clear set of steps coupled with an ability to adjust.  No matter the savings in hand, one must NOT inform others of their savings/income or have the monies in an account with joint access, if possible. 

Try using Google earth and search all potential areas for elevation, plant growth and proximity to sea, rivers or water ways.  It is my opinion that more attention should be spent on house to house distances, lot sizes and general condition of the intended areas (to rent or buy), if the move is a long-term event.  Remember, provence living and city living will involve special sounds from chickens and dogs that have owners which may not value a quiet zone between 9 pm to 7 am. 

There are many adjustments to be made and if a person makes the right connections, they can accomplish their goals of a relaxed, quiet and less stress filled life.  Many of the key elements to understand are contained within the numerous posts here.

Explore, observe and spend slowly to get the best results.

IT SEAMS ALL PEOPLE ARE PUTTING PHILIPPINES DOWN, YOU KNOW BEFORE YOU COME HERE ITS NOT LIKE AUSTRALIA /UK /OR USA, IF ITS NOT FOR U , DONT F* IT UP FOR OTHERS.

Good reply:)

swegolf1956 wrote:

You can see what corruption does to a country.  Look at countries where corruption is prosecuted and you have nice cities:US, Australia, Canada, Europe, etc.
In countries where corruption is allowed you have much poverty. 
This is what foreigners see.

Corruption is rife in all of those countries that you mention and is hardly detected and prosecuted at all. There is also poverty in all those countries.

In Australia there is corruption at all levels of government and business that goes undetected.

The Philippines doesn't have the monopoly on corruption or poverty.

OzFreddie wrote:

swegolf1956 wrote:

You can see what corruption does to a country.  Look at countries where corruption is prosecuted and you have nice cities:US, Australia, Canada, Europe, etc.
In countries where corruption is allowed you have much poverty. 
This is what foreigners see.

Corruption is rife in all of those countries that you mention and is hardly detected and prosecuted at all. There is also poverty in all those countries.

In Australia there is corruption at all levels of government and business that goes undetected.

The Philippines doesn't have the monopoly on corruption or poverty.

Poverty - It's all relative

Every country has poverty; as poverty = earning less than 60% of the median income..

However, Extreme poverty is defined by the International Community as earning less than a $1.25 a day (55 pesos)
many Filipinos would be classed as in extreme poverty.  The figure for Extreme Poverty in the Philippines in 2011 was 18% of the population.  Australia, with its benefits system, must be near enough 0%

To be considered “below the poverty line” in Australia for example, the incomes must be BELOW:
$840.60 per week: Couple with 2 children $43,711 per year  (127,500 pesos per month)
About 10% of Australian adults are below the poverty line, but many have cars, small boats etc., (This I know personally.  I was personally classed as in poverty, but ran a car and took holidays to the Philippines, while in "poverty")

In the US, the poverty level in 2011, was earning under $11.06 per hour (84,500 pesos per month) and 28.0 percent of workers were in that class of poverty.

Extreme poverty, was originally defined as “a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information.

The Philippines, when compared to most western countries, DOES have a monopoly on Extreme poverty.

Hi All,

Please note that this discussion is about Top 5 tips.

It would be great if you could contribute to it taking the topic into consideration

@lesterjester,

Just a gentle reminder not to use caps lock when posting on the forum.

Much appreciated

Cheers

Mishna