mati_steve

Great advise above. I'll just say for a 7-8 day trip skip the Mindanao region (i.e., southern region of the Philippines). That's not to say there aren't good places, like Davao, but 7-8 days isn't really a lot of time and Cebu, Manila, and all the ... Read More

@mati_steveWelcome aboard Ken. I'm Steve from the USA as well. I'm on the other side of Mindanao from you (Mati City). The OP is planning on moving to BGC. Last time I looked it was in the NCR region of Luzon 🤔 - @Lotus EaterHmmm.  ... Read More

Welcome aboard Ken. I'm Steve from the USA as well. I'm on the other side of Mindanao from you (Mati City). I'm not too familiar with your area, although, there is a British expat that lives outside of Dipilog who vlogs a lot (his channel is ... Read More

@Moon DogSorry to hear about your loss (and your ordeal).  I didn't realize you were back in the Philippines, but it sounds like things have started off rather rocky.  I'm still trying to get used to a lot of the culture here as it can be ... Read More

The Philippines is now buying Russian oil in an attempt to mitigate the Trump war mess.Trump keeps declaring victory and, if his goal is to bust his own sanctions, he's a winner.The Philippines is also begging the US to allow it to buy Iranian and ... Read More

I have found there is little to no customer service here, employees are not paid enough to care. Customer care creates issues that they are not paid for, then they have no interest. - @GoDeesIt certainly doesn't help that the government is so ... Read More

@Lotus EaterYea, I try not to get too involved in the politics in the PI (I get enough already watching the daily news in the US). Just relaying how I see changing mindsets as it relates to the various regions in the PI. I saw an article on ... Read More

@mugtechNot sure about that incident, specifically, but there has been an uptick lately of loosely-held rebel groups carrying out ambushes on police, military, and even civilians in various regions in Mindanao - mainly around the Cotabato region. ... Read More

@PalawOneI certainly hope this is not the case, but having a GF there and having traveled several times to Davoa/Tagum/Mati regions in the last couple of years, I get the feeling the mindset of many people there can be different than the rest of the ... Read More

. At age 70, you HAVE to start taking retirement, if you haven't already done so - its called required minimum distributions (RMDs). At age 70 you are not required to start taking SSA distributions, but the amount you can get stops increasing after ... Read More

@Lotus EaterThat's very interesting.  In the US, the full retirement (FRA) age is 67, but you can take it as early as 62.  I can't recall the percentage, but for every MONTH you take it before age 67, they knock off a percentage from the ... Read More

I logged in today and noticed they finally updated the numbers for next year. Since I'll be eligible to start next July I've been itching to see what my disbursement will be (provided I elect to start at 62). Read More

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