How to make friends in the Philippines

Peter Clark wrote:

We've lived in several places in the Philippines and no where is there a bar where drinkers can "rub shoulder" with other patrons and of course make contact....very sad.

Have you been to a bar in the US during St. Patrick's Day? Front/back of you against other people and you have not gotten your drink yet. 😱Before Covid.
I also saw/experienced the same at a hotel bar downtown Manhattan. And that's along Avenue of the Americas.

Peter Clark wrote:

Good to have a few friends locally of your own "Race" and more importantly to meet over the next ten years! Some chaps I met during shopping trips I invited to join our monthly meetup and disappointingly a fraction turned up to say hello, cannot understand why the absence, we are a decent group. Over the years though the group has split up and it was caused by the wives and petty gossip, sad really because the guys were fun to be with and obviously enjoyed the company.  If we had our time again I'd choose an area rich in expat life and establish a weekly meetup as a precedent. We've lived in several places in the Philippines and no where is there a bar where drinkers can "rub shoulder" with other patrons and of course make contact....very sad.

Old post but it would have beem a bit interesting to know why they were stoped by wives and gossip IF they were a decent group      
Bars I find being among the least good place type to have meetings at. I wouldn't go to meetings in a bar (except perhaps one time to see if there are any of them I would want to meet elsewhere...)

It can be nice though to now and then get chance to speak with people with "western" culture. And speak in own father's language.  The later I aim at solving by convince a friend from back in Elementary school to move to Phils     instead of moving to Thailand. (His gf is from Thailand, but I have managed to make him concider Phils anyway. His plan was to go and check Phils some montths starting February this year, but he had to cancel it because of covid.)

mitte34 wrote:

leave a wad of bills stick out of your pocket so everyone can see

Better UNPAID bills, so get TRUE friends   

I have got "friends" sorted away by themselves by I never pay anything when the ASK   (except when a family couldn't afford enough antibiotics for an almost dead 3 yo boy)
while others I have known several years without they have asked for anything (exceptt info.)

Peter Clark wrote:

I met an English guy in a bar up in Tagaytay where he had a large bar area and barbecue set up.

We got on very well and met at other times for chats at our house in Leisure Farms. He appreciated our chats . . . . .
             
We had a pleasant guy here in San Pablo with Filipino wife and daughter, he opened up a bar and barbecue place across the road and we all got on well. . . . .

Buyers beware and making friends also beware!

It's hard to judge a persons character, the more glib they are, the easier for a person to be roped in.

These characters have honed their skills throughout their lifetime.

When engaging them look for any inconsistency, over time you should notice.

Cyrill wrote:

Filipinos are known for their hospitality, in line with that is its very accommodating and approachable trait. Filipinos are easy to get along and fun to be with.

True. As long as the foreigner picks up the tab 

ewong wrote:

it is really very easy to make friends in my country. one of the easiest way is to put a chair outside you house take off your shirt put it on you shoulder buy a bottle of Gin (ginebra san miguel)for only 50 pesos(1$) after three or four days you will have a lot of friends some are true and some are only for the Gin. but its easy to sort it out. ^_^

(ewongs post >10yrs ago)
Still applies today... except for the price & end result. Local Gin now costs about 100p ($2) which is fine but sadly now its very much harder to meet/get to know genuine ones.

Enzyte Bob wrote:

It's hard to judge a persons character, the more glib they are, the easier for a person to be roped in.
These characters have honed their skills throughout their lifetime.

Well. Yes, it can be hard specialy the exersised scammers,
but some wictims dont seem to have any judgement skill at all.
/EYES  can tell much about basic good/bad heart.  Thats a reason I judge correct mostly, except I have problem to judge people with glasses by the glasses change the persons look.

/MOUTH can tell that too AND atitude.   If edges of mouth point up sharp, some perhaps interpreete that as sniling, but better run  to avpid   

/EYEBROWS.  Can show both too, but mainly stupid  OR if have bad attitude.

Enzyte Bob wrote:

When engaging them look for any inconsistency, over time you should notice.

Yes.  Thats how I expose some of the harder ones, add chance by asking much to make them answer not suitimg to what they have answered before.

gwaps wrote:

All of the friends I met were Pinays. I was raised by my mother and grandmother so get along with women better. I just sleep in living room at rented condo in Philippines.  They sleep in bedroom together .

Clarification needed:

Who sleeps in bedroom together while you sleep in living room?  Your Pinay friends or your mother and grandmother?

gwaps wrote:

Since my mother and grandmother are both deceased it would be hard for them.

You The Man then!   

@benmag how can I join organisational groups on Instagram or facebook

😄

I most often meet expats in restaurants or maybe while I'm waiting on my wife to get out of the CR in a mall.  I always smile and give a nod of acknowledgement and if they seem agreeable I'll ask where they live and where they're from.  While most have been friendly to chat, a few don't seem interested so I don't push it.

That said, I joined PCGA and have plenty of pinoy friends there and I speak with Americans every day via ham radio, so the lack of Americans in my area doesn't bother me.

I meet other expats on a few Expat Only Groups that are focused on those that are Living in The Philippines. there are 2 that stand out to me as being very legit and very active.

Alternatively, there is of course Expat.com !

I see many foreigners in Clark or Angeles, or even in Makati/BGC (Albeit i do not go down to Manila as often anymore), but i always give a polite hello with a modest head nod whenever i come into close contact with one, and accommodate for any conversation that might come up.

@DavaoBruce

I disagree that poor versus wealthy or decent Philippines middle class is any different in friendship.  I have friends that are captains of ships. One manages a fleet of ships   My GF runs a Singapore company of 4200 employees in the Philippines  and makes 265,000.00 p a month and other friends work in motels or passes out samples at malls or drives taxi. None have ever asked or expected anything other than my friendship and love and most I’ve known 14 years. Learning and respecting the culture goes a long way.