mati_steve

I agree that Toyotas are virtually indestructible but most will do well if properly maintained, something often lacking here. That said we have had exceptional luck with 3 used (but low mile) vehicles over the past 12 years. Our most recent, a ... Read More

I was using WU when first sending money over, but I found Wise to be cheaper overall (fees + exchange rate).  I believe WU is able to offer $0 transfer fee as they get their money by offering a slightly lower exchange rate (at least, that has ... Read More

I had Google Voice (just deleted it a few days ago), but never tried calling while in the PI. Instead I signed up with Tello's US$7/mo plan. I used it several times on my last trip to the PI and it worked great. No surprise fees - only the per ... Read More

Another thing to consider is the cost of parts. My Filipina GF's family have a trusted mechanic in Tagum, who said the best trucks/SUVs to get are Toyota and Ford - not only for reliability, etc, but also because he said the parts are cheaper to ... Read More

@danfinn Thanks for the response @danfinn. Ever since I retired last year I've been slacking on all the AI tech that's come out. Haha. Looking over the requirements for FBAR, it sounds like the receiving account must either be owned by you and/or ... Read More

Sorry to rehash an old topic, but I'd rather search for answers first instead of posting a new topic.  That being said, most of my questions were answered in this thread (thanks!), but I did have something additional.  Being a US citizen ... Read More

@mati_steve Hi bud, Yeah the app is so glichy I wondered if it was a scam site; & it almost works properly with a Gmail email account. Tourism is down by a lot in the Philippines & it stands to reason that the e travel is a ... Read More

@mati_steveThe officer started asking me a lot of questions .Who will I be seeingNone of her goddamned business. But as we always say on this Forum ‘ When in Rome’Maybe she was jealous.. - @Lotus Eater The Philippines is not alone in ... Read More

@mati_steve The officer started asking me a lot of questions . Who will I be seeing None of her goddamned business. But as we always say on this Forum ‘ When in Rome’ Maybe she was jealous.. - @Lotus Eater"She" was actually a "he", but ... Read More

@Cherryann01 The eGov app is a bit strange for me.  I sometimes take the San Antonio>Dallas>Doha>Cebu>Davo route to the PI, but if I enter the American Airlines flight as the first leg (SA>Dallas), it won't let me enter a valid ... Read More

The times I have had to cross the road myself, I tend to cross near where other people are trying to cross and leave a space at the side so if a car fails to stop somebody will provide a small buffer between the car and me meaning some other poor ... Read More

@mati_steve An interesting observation and one has to disect and unpick variables that could be at play here. I have been visiting the Philippines since 2001 for business and pleasure and there are many more expats and overseas visitors now than ... Read More

@mati_steve The VAWA violence against women act is pretty ominous. Any woman you are having sex with could jail you on the basis of a serious argument. It applies to everybody, not just expats but that does not say it is "fair". Foreigners are more ... Read More

@mati_steve You are correct and I have noticed that this is happening more. A British vlogger brought this subject up in one of his videos because it happened to a friend of his then other Vloggers have jumped on the story and put out their own ... Read More

Not sure if anyone else has noticed an uptick in videos from expat(/other) vloggers in the PH lately (example: The Filipina Pea), regarding judicial treatment of expats there.  Maybe it’s just the “soup du jour” for them now, ... Read More