New members of the Philippines forum, introduce yourselves here - 2019

Welcome to the forum, Mia. Palawan is indeed beautiful.  However, foreigners cannot own land in the Philippines,  except through a relationship with a Filipino., and even in those cases it remains in their name.  In any case, there are many threads about this you can search for.

Welcome to the forum Sregor. Sounds like you have a great business model for Philippines. And that is an honorable purpose - there are many in need here.

HI, I am 51 been in finance for the last 20 years and last year sold all my companies.
Plan is/was to travel the world for 4 years.I have done 6 months of Asia and just drove around Australia. Been to Philippines many times. Few things have changed and I have been offered a similar role in Manila helping expats with Life insurance, health insurance, savings accounts and savings plans etc.
About to head their in a few days for a month and catch up with associates and see if it's something I want to do etc
Not sure where to live going forward( looking for a two bedroom apartment), so ideas on that would be good.
Also where do expats from any country hang out to watch sport or have a beer , just catch up and any team sports or clubs.....can pretty much play any sport.
Cheers
Joey

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i think Roxas city is near Boracay .seafood capital in the Philippines ,
no doubt you will enjoy the seafood there.Fresh air , people are hospitality .
I am Chinese living here for 10 years already in Makati philippines .Running a consulting company for living .we aslo offer SRRV ,special resident  retirees visa here ,if you are interested in , can inquire any time

Congrats the newly father soon , wish to meet up some friends also , but i live in Makati .
if your family will travel to makati, not bad to have a coffee ~~

Good Day Ken,
Welcome to you. I'm new here too.
Been retired here in Lucban, Quezon since 2017. First visit was 1994.
Left the Portland oregon area because cost of living, ass hat people and had about enough of the rain, about 30 inches annually.  Well, we get about 9 feet rain annually here in Lucban. BUT many  more sunny days and the relatively cooler temps make it just right. The folks here are wonderful.
We live ok on fixed income.

Hello,

Can I ask why you love PH so much? I'm 33 and my husband has been offered a job in Cebu City. We would like to start a family so we're concerned about if it''s a good place for families? Thank you and good luck

Well its has great islands to visit and they all close by and easy to get to. I think the ph people are in general a very loving bunch and most speak English unlike most Asian countries. There are a lot of expats here...actually that is going to be my new job here( organizing health insurance , insurance savings acc etc) . Cebu isn't as hectic as Manila but busy enough so it's probably a good idea if you do a lot of homework on where to live..and decide what you like to live in( beach/ high rise/ near malls etc) hope that helps..I start here next month..just chilling and looking for long term rentals in Manila myself Haha. Joey

Thanks Joey, I'm not thinking about beaches, more daily life. My husband will manage a medical insurance company but we want to start a family and I don't think it's the place to do it. Compared to other Asian cities, even less developed ones like where I live, there's just not much info from expat women my age.

Well I am not sure how old you are, but if there are a lot of expats here I imagine there must be a lot of groups and people to meet...I too have been on holiday all over Asia...and if anything I find this place more welcoming than most. Family and bringing up kids is what you make it...not neccesarily the environment around you and in the informative years say up to the age of 8..if you have the opportunity to devote all your time to bringing up your child..well that is the best thing you can do, in my opinion. Goodluck with your decision. J

Hi
Maybe you could help me
I arrived in last December
I m working to obtain the SRRV retraire visa
But they hawk for a policy clearance, this one needs to be in English and I have got it
but needs to be confirm and receive by the French Filipino Embassy in Paris....
I asked to send it to them, they have done....
But I m leaving here, I couldn't come back to Paris to get it wit the red ruban...
Have you à way to sold it out ?
Hoping I was clear...
Thanks

Much depends on your interests, and needs for the amenities of a larger center, and your and her desire to be close to her family. These factors are open-ended depending on your individual and mutual objectives, esp. as each of us have individual interests and relationships with family and friends. Hope you get my meaning here...

Am Canadian recently relocated to Panay after having lived in the Phils almost 12 years previously.
My pinay esposa and I decided on Iloilo to forego the bittersweet pleasure of Manila, Cebu and Dumaguete. We experience Iloilo as a much better city to live in or near than the other three, with wide streets and not choked with traffic, and less so with vehicle toxins. Grocery shopping is pretty good in the large public market near downtown Robinsons, and the Iloilo Supermarts are a pleasant surprise in contrast to Robinsons and SM. We are still getting acquainted with the island, and enjoy as quiet living people travel on the island and good eats (seems there are a decent number of restaurants here in Iloilo).
We currently seek, however, clean and safe and fairly quiet living accommodations, likely in an expat compound. If anyone knows of same with vacancies, please let us know here?
As I've lived in the Phils fairly long and have come to know the lingo and customs somewhat over time, feel free to ask me questions about living here, and I will try to accommodate you...
I hope this site is great for open-forum conversation that could turn into more in person...
Bruce

The Phils is very much a mixed bag in many ways. On the surface everything is very nice, but once that surface is scratched, best to peer in than get fully immersed until you learn to stickhandle your way around. Cebu is very much like a mini-Manila, but there are many smaller communities that offer less congestion and pollution than either of them.
Asking specific questions is perhaps the best way to go here? So much goes into this society that is both simple and complex...

Hi Jan-Peter,

We are no longer on Cebu Island, but went down to Duma and then to Iloilo. Trying to get established here ... long process when have to weed through the relative chaos that's endemic to the Phils. But exercise of patience has to certainly become one of our adopted traits.
Take care, eh?
Bruce

Gday Craig from Beechmont Queensland,

I am in a relationship with a 47 yo lady from Maluabang Ozamis City Misamis Occidental I am going to move over to the Philippines for a new start.
I am in the process of finalizing my affairs in Australia.
Nice to be aboard !

Welcome Craig
Read through the various threads here to get a bit of an understanding of the country and its people.  It is vastly different from Oz (Vic.)  I f you have not been here before, take extreme caution until you know your way around. There are many pitfalls for the unwary, not just the countryside but the people.  Good luck
regards  Bruce

Gday mate,
Thank you I will take that on board seriously and will be cautious in all that I do !
What a great site you have here.
Kind regards
Craig

Hi Craig and welcome to this forum, plenty to read that's for sure.
Noosa Heads ATM, just waiting for the house to settle so should be back there to live permanently in a couple of months, better half flew back Monday to sort out BIR and our forwarder in Manila and make sure the tenants left the house up north in good order.
Years of planning so hope it all works out for us.

Have to ask if you have spent much time in PH. Craig? Good luck with your move and a prosperous future in the PH.

Cheers, Steve.

Gday Steve sounds like your organised mate good luck to you !
I am going over for a month in June all going to plan mate !
Kind regards
Craig

Where in Leyte do you go? My GF lives in Ormoc.

Hi Everybody,

I'm Chris from Germany. Joint the forum just by now and looking forward meeting here people who might help finding a job in the Philippines.

I life in the Philippines since 11 years and I'm permanent resident here. Married to a Filipina and having two kids.

I never worked in the Philippines before. But mainly in Taiwan and China.

Therefore always travelling back and forth. This I want to change. Want to spend more time with the family.

Hope that works out fine because we don't have any intention leaving Pinas.

Salamat po

Welcome to the forum Chris!

You didn't mention your education, work experience and what you are interested in doing which may help people suggest positions for you. 

There are several job listings under the Jobs heading above, be sure and check there as one may be what you are looking for!

Hello Hobbit112,

Thanks for your input. Just wanted to create a short introduction. I been to the job search section within this forum and left there all details.

But as you mentioned it. I should give a short overview here as well.

State certified electrical engineer (Germany),
Worked as Senior OnSite Manager (Solar factories mainly in Asia),
Seeking for a job which is related to any kind of production.

Salamat po

Hey Joes haha, I just joined expat dot com, although I have been an expat for more than 10 years, living in the Philippines. I've traveled and lived in different areas of Luzon, Visayas, and even Mindanao. Currently in Manila. American who lived before on the east and west coasts and also hawaii. So yeah, I get around.

Joining now, not so much because I have any specific question, but I find the threads here interesting and can always learn something new and I think, after more than a decade living abroad, it's about time I start contributing and offering whatever I have learned over the years, maybe it can help someone out. Also the sharing of frustrations with others who have similar frustrations can help you not lose your mind, right, hehe.

Hy AlsoNotJoe,

Just your “forum name” indicates you are quite familiar with the Philippines.

Frustrations came along my way here many times. But always put a smile on my face and at the end things been achieved. It just takes longer than expected. Specially with officials.

But they always been friendly.

The only thing that bother me in the Philippines is the bank system. Always need to maintain 10.000₱ otherwise the bank takes 300₱ until the account is closed. No interest at all. So they use our money, take our money and that is a bit “off the Road”

But... always keep smiling

Have a good one

Maganda umaga and salamat po

ExPogi wrote:

Always need to maintain 10.000₱ otherwise the bank takes 300₱ until the account is closed. No interest at all.

Sounds like they learned from Wells Fargo! 

Yup, 😂😂😂 I'm with BDO for many years because the ATM coverage across the Philippines is the best. But the rules about an account is the same at any branch in the Philippines. So, picked the best out of the worse. Sorry BDO 🤪🤪🤪

ExPogi wrote:

Yup, 😂😂😂 I'm with BDO for many years because the ATM coverage across the Philippines is the best. But the rules about an account is the same at any branch in the Philippines. So, picked the best out of the worse. Sorry BDO 🤪🤪🤪

Welcome to the forum mate. Hope you enjoy. We have had 2 accounts with BDO for many years and the maintaining balance is only PHP 2K, yes only a little interest paid but no other fees and we do a fair bit of internet banking and debit card transactions, perhaps things have changed these days. Read my other posts about BDO and you will see that they definitely don't have the same rules as they are franchised and the owner/boss can do what they like from bitter experience.
Here's to BDO.

Cheers, Steve.

Hi all.

I am a single 50s Malaysian. Been traveling a lot during my younger days but only once to Mandaluyong.

Now considering to find a  Filipino partner to travel the world together.

Welcome Adrian!

Hi...I am a retired  New Zealander and hopefully will in the not too distant future be living in the Philippines ..Most probably on the island of Bohol....I have had a terrible time trying to find answers to a couple of questions ...re   A long term visa and whether setting up a 60/40 company and leasing a vehicle that I would own to that company.........Some say its legal others say it may not be allowed when I own 40% ....I am desparate to find out so I have asked on the forum already for help ..Sorry I never introduced myself first ...I have emailed the Philippines Embassy twice here in New Zealand  but so far have had no reply....I also would be interested in hearing from anybody who has a retiree Visa....IE the one that one puts down a $10,000 deposit ....Thanks Ron

Hello and thank you for Having me. I do see that there seems to be no option to upload ones resume for Employers to browse through.

Welcome  Ron, wish I could help but don't have the  knowledge you need. Best of luck on that one. I suspect you won't get a straight answer from anyone  in the Philippine government.  Might try to locate a Filipino accountant.

Hi to everyone,

I'm David Wilkie, a Scottish poet and author, moved to Philippines, though temporarily in Scotland meantime pursuing creative  opportunities.
I enjoy various activities though unable to do so in my location there of Pangasinan, however I find life is okay there, most are welcoming and I've settled in ok. Simply looking to add to my income as I'm proactive in my search for any business opportunity.

I'm married with a son.

Appreciate very much everyone's kind welcome.

Kindest Scottish regards respectfully
David

Hello all,
I am Roger, french (nobody is perfect), living in Dumaguete for 10 years with my living partner.
We have 4 kids together and it gives you an idea of what is most of my journey...
i like to jam with bands around as Filipinos are friendly for that.
I have knowledge in building, and sailing, love biking.
I hope to exchange with everybody, all my friendship, Roger

Hi
currently i am living in Singapore,  i will conme frequently to Manila. i am doing my business and look ing for good friends  to pass time. tnq

Greetings Everyone, exited about my upcoming visit to Cebu this mid July and  if everything works out I'll be making it my home for the foreseeable future.
Have a personal grooming device I've invented seeking to find a manufacturer in the Philippines I could use some assistance sourcing if anyone is interested in working with me.