Post: #1326

(03-12-2015 11:44 PM)Buster Wrote:  @ IKE
In the case of establishing citizenship for the child, wouldn't the child be eligible for Social Security benefits if the father died while they were a minor? My roommate in college got checks when his father died as long as he remained in school.

Ahh here is the source. Always get the documents from the bureaucrats you need to satisfy, that way there's no confusion.

When I got my Ukrainian fiancee into the USA, I heard LOTS of incorrect information, usually of the discouraging variety from people too dumb or lazy to read the rules and follow them.


http://manila.usembassy.gov/service/citizenship.html

-- and here's the important part about the unmarried dad scenario --

http://manila.usembassy.gov/service/citi...tion4.html

Post: #1327

(03-12-2015 11:51 PM)brianmark Wrote:  cmrectro excellent post. I lived in the Philippines before. I didn't realize that the Philippines future was so bad. I've never been to Vietnam so can't compare. How long were you there for and what city? I actually thought things were improving in the Philippines. Korea is dumping a lot of tourist and money into Philippines. Also they have the most call centers of anywhere in world.

IKE I liked what you had to say about Phil too. Are you still in the Philippines? How do you like it compared to Eastern Europe? IKE what is your book about and when is it coming out?

1) Yes still here and dreading, upon returning, the sexually radioactive atmosphere of the USA for over 50 non-famous guys. Actually, genial single white trash mothers hook so I'll probably resort to that.

2) Once I was 45 in Lviv Ukraine under 27 YO girls responded much less favorably, but my game was and is mediocre. Here there is no possibility of not getting sex with cute girls if you make any effort at all.

3) My book is the opposite of a how-to manual, it's more a story of how NOT-to, and the fact that the niceness of Filipinos means even very awkward Betas can get treated halfway decent here. Also being here changes you in both positive and negative ways.
My sensitive, bookish, self-effacing, romantic personality is about the worst you can have in America for those girls.

It's really going to be just a series of snapshots of opinions, just a selection of my posts from here really. There's 4000+ posts, so I'll go through and pick the best 2000-2500 I guess.

Included free are Beta rants about HOW MEAN THOSE AMERICAN GIRLS WERE TO ME lozlzolzlzl.
My favorite quote about female psychology is "Women don't have thoughts, they have reflexes."

Probably 3-6 months before I get it together. Thanks for the encouragement.

Post: #1328

+1 to FroZ for the report - -- and keeping it in this thread. Another (I think) +1 for IKE for consistently interesting observations.

I checked the peso yesterday - 44.2 to the dollar. Impressively strong considering the overall rise of the dollar recently. Indication of growing strength of the Philippine economy?

Whether this hurts (by raising cost of exports) or helps (by lowering cost of imports and restraining inflation) the Filipino people, I don't know. As has been mentioned by CMR and others, the system is so oligarchical there.

I am going back there soon, before May is over.

Post: #1329

(03-13-2015 05:37 AM)Sp5 Wrote:  I checked the peso yesterday - 44.2 to the dollar. Impressively strong considering the overall rise of the dollar recently. Indication of growing strength of the Philippine economy?

Whether this hurts (by raising cost of exports) or helps (by lowering cost of imports and restraining inflation) the Filipino people, I don't know. As has been mentioned by CMR and others, the system is so oligarchical there.

I am going back there soon, before May is over.

Thanks for compliment. I've been impressed by how strong the Peso is too, I wonder if it's because the largest industry here is money coming in from overseas workers, presumably largely dollars. Maybe in effect the Peso is pegged a bit to the dollar.

Post: #1330

Who is in Manila now, or will be in April-May?

I'm playing with the idea of staying there for 3 weeks. April 19 through May 9.

I have tons of questions regarding planning and logistics.

1. Day game will be my primary focus, and I'm worried that the heat will be oppressive and hurt my day game. Unfounded?

2. What are the best hotels and apartments to stay in logistics-wise for both day and night game?

3. How far in advance do I need to book airfare and hotel/apartment?

4. Do apartments rent by the day or week?

5. How much is a sim card and can I obtain one at the airport when I land?

6. What clothes do I bring, how should I dress?

7. What toiletries to bring, beyond the usual travel stuff?

8. Is pipelining necessary if I'm there only 3 weeks? What sites?

I'm sure I have more questions but these should do for now.

Post: #1331

(03-13-2015 04:23 AM)cmrectro Wrote:  Yes it would do there just what it did for China. But it is not a matter of if it would work, but if it could come through. The RH bill took decades to work through. In this decade there is not even a one child policy in the talks. So by the time it could be brought up and actually enacted and enforced, we might all be dead already lol
In this kind of country such a thing won't come easy, if at all in the future.

I was there for 3 months. But that barely even matters. All I learned , I did from studying and observing online. Most of this you don't necessarily learn on the ground. Yes Philippines is improving BUT not in a way many would like. It is improving for some and leaving most of the people behind because it is considered non-inclusive growth. That is why the boom is producing more condo developments but all those slums remain. in all those slums, nothing would look any different today than they did 15 years ago. The same lifestyle they had 15 years ago is here today and years in the future would probably be more or less the same while more condos rise nearby and fill with foreigners and some lucky locals.

Yes I am not surprised you can confirm this.

I did forget to include my thoughts about politics. To add insult to injury, the type of government and policies makes it even easier to make a country this way because of restrictions I heard that are actually preventing the country from 'opening up'

The thing is -- as I've touched on before -- the country is still in its infancy and started from below ground zero after WWII. They have not had the chance to build an identity.

What you learn from being on the ground is that the people and many of the politicians desperately want change. You've got a very young and aware population that will be coming to age and pushing for things to be different.

There's currently a large push towards federalism, which has a very real shot of moving forward after the 2016 elections. This will drastically change the country's direction and how it's able to grow.

And the country can change, all you have to do is look at Davao to see this. The place is flooding with foreigners by the day because of the strong government.

Ultimately, the country has three major things going for it that I think will help them (eventually) fix some of their problems.

1. English levels
2. Familiarity with and openness to Western culture
3. Fairly strong education system

If the country is opened up, it's inevitable that you see more jobs being created. Having more qualified workers than jobs is a problem, but it's a lot better than the opposite. Especially when you consider its simply outdated laws holding the jobs back.

I'm not saying they're going to be an economic juggernaut any time soon, but I see a young country and a young population that is waiting on a leader they can rally behind.

You see this with the mayor of Davao, who is basically a cult-like figure among a large part of the country's population. You see this with the reaction to the Pope visiting the country. You saw that with Bonifacio, Aguinaldo, etc. during the Philippine Revolution.

Given the country's history, I just think you have to give them a little time to get their legs underneath them

Post: #1332

(03-13-2015 05:08 AM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

(03-12-2015 11:51 PM)brianmark Wrote:  cmrectro excellent post. I lived in the Philippines before. I didn't realize that the Philippines future was so bad. I've never been to Vietnam so can't compare. How long were you there for and what city? I actually thought things were improving in the Philippines. Korea is dumping a lot of tourist and money into Philippines. Also they have the most call centers of anywhere in world.

IKE I liked what you had to say about Phil too. Are you still in the Philippines? How do you like it compared to Eastern Europe? IKE what is your book about and when is it coming out?

1) Yes still here and dreading, upon returning, the sexually radioactive atmosphere of the USA for over 50 non-famous guys. Actually, genial single white trash mothers hook so I'll probably resort to that.

2) Once I was 45 in Lviv Ukraine under 27 YO girls responded much less favorably, but my game was and is mediocre. Here there is no possibility of not getting sex with cute girls if you make any effort at all.

3) My book is the opposite of a how-to manual, it's more a story of how NOT-to, and the fact that the niceness of Filipinos means even very awkward Betas can get treated halfway decent here. Also being here changes you in both positive and negative ways.
My sensitive, bookish, self-effacing, romantic personality is about the worst you can have in America for those girls.

It's really going to be just a series of snapshots of opinions, just a selection of my posts from here really. There's 4000+ posts, so I'll go through and pick the best 2000-2500 I guess.

Included free are Beta rants about HOW MEAN THOSE AMERICAN GIRLS WERE TO ME lozlzolzlzl.
My favorite quote about female psychology is "Women don't have thoughts, they have reflexes."

Probably 3-6 months before I get it together. Thanks for the encouragement.

What city are you living in in Philippines? How much longer will you be in PI? I'm in the US now and it sucks! I'll buy your first copy of the book. Which countries will your book include?

Is mindanao for real or is he a troll?

Post: #1333

(03-13-2015 04:23 AM)cmrectro Wrote:  

(03-12-2015 11:51 PM)brianmark Wrote:  cmrectro excellent post. I lived in the Philippines before. I didn't realize that the Philippines future was so bad. I've never been to Vietnam so can't compare. How long were you there for and what city? I actually thought things were improving in the Philippines. Korea is dumping a lot of tourist and money into Philippines. Also they have the most call centers of anywhere in world.

I was there for 3 months. But that barely even matters. All I learned , I did from studying and observing online. Most of this you don't necessarily learn on the ground. Yes Philippines is improving BUT not in a way many would like. It is improving for some and leaving most of the people behind because it is considered non-inclusive growth. That is why the boom is producing more condo developments but all those slums remain. in all those slums, nothing would look any different today than they did 15 years ago. The same lifestyle they had 15 years ago is here today and years in the future would probably be more or less the same while more condos rise nearby and fill with foreigners and some lucky locals.

I did forget to include my thoughts about politics. To add insult to injury, the type of government and policies makes it even easier to make a country this way because of restrictions I heard that are actually preventing the country from 'opening up'

I think there are many men sending money to girls on the dating sites that they will never meet. As Western men get more desperate, they will send more money for a virtual girlfriend to talk to.

cmrectro, I'd like to hear your thoughts on Philippines politics. I'd also like you to compare what you see in Thailand to what you see in Philippines. Thanks.

Post: #1334

(03-12-2015 11:44 PM)Buster Wrote:  In the case of establishing citizenship for the child, wouldn't the child be eligible for Social Security benefits if the father died while they were a minor? My roommate in college got checks when his father died as long as he remained in school.

Yes they would. Likewise if the father reaches full retirement age: the child can receive an amount that is quite impressive in Philippine terms. But the exact amount for which the child is eligible depends on how many other people are eligible. In general, all those eligible (children and spouse but not a spouse who is neither an American citizen nor Green Card holder) share 50% of the basic pension of the father AND they collect that at no expense to the father himself: his pension is not affected. He can even postpone his pension to age 70 (thus increasing it by 8% a year) and yet have his dependents collect the 50% of his basic pension (as calculated at full retirement age). For example, if your full pension is $2000/month at age 66 your child might get $1000/month until age 18 (or a share of that). If you pospone your own retirement benefit by a year, and ignoring the cost of living adjustment (COLA), you will be eligible for a pension of 2160 as of age 67 but the dependents will continue to receive $1000. If you do NOT ask for the child/spouse support at age 66, but start collecting at age 67, your pension will be 2160 but the dependent support remains 1000 (again, ignoring COLA), so there is zero incentive to postpone. A word to the wise: I wouldn't expect the Social Security officials to volunteer that information. It is not their job to tell you what you can claim for. You must ask proactively: your child (and, realistically, all his relatives, including the mother) gains a lot and you do not lose anything.

Furthermore, ex-spouses who were married for 10 years or more are also eligible but I am not enough of an expert in Social Security law to tell you if they share the same pot or can collect their own 50%. (I suspect the latter.) Spouses and eligible ex-spouses must reach retirement age to collect and yet not receive their own Social Security pension. Therefore it is most useful for those of them who want to postpone their own pension (thus, again, increasing it by 8% a year) but receive something while waiting.

Post: #1335

I only spend a week in Thailand and went right to Philippines. So now I can say I no nothing of value to this forum for Thailand. I know reform is needed for a big change. Corruption and dynasties is what makes poverty so rife. They have policies that repel foreign investment and favor the rich over the poor. As most know of course the gov is all money oriented. I don't know much about politics yet though.

And anyone can suggest to me a good opener for sending messages to new girls? There is nothing more annoying than checking and seeing that 75 percent of your messages were viewed and not replied to, reeaally annoying!!! ><
I usually use an opening in the likes of "Hi, I am from Dallas, Texas and I am in Philippines now. How are you?" Or I replace how are you with where in the Philippines are you? That is what I use to open ones that did not send interest yet.

I that decent? or what would be better to say?

For some reason, I have not seen a single post in this forum regarding openers that work, particularly in the Philippines so this is something valuable to know. If a better opener is what makes a big difference and anyone knows the best ones to use, please share.

I find I have to send too many messages cuz of many limiting factors. Like them not getting around to reading your messages on their silly phones which clearly are much worse than pc, which they seem to reply promptly on, or half of them are not even in the city indicated on their profile. This would not be an issue, if the site did not limit the number messages you can send. but every message that ends up being to someone that is far from the city indicated, ends up being another wasted message from your daily allowance. If these 2 problems were eliminated, then I would not need to send so many messages, just to get a single reply that is successful.

Post: #1336

(03-13-2015 08:34 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  Who is in Manila now, or will be in April-May?

I'm playing with the idea of staying there for 3 weeks. April 19 through May 9.

Just do it you'll never fear sexual deprivation again once you've been to the philippines.

Go to a travel medicine clinic and get the tropical disease inoculations.

1. Malls have good aircon and seem to have some kind of filtration that reduces pollution.
2. Other posters poster better intel than I have. I stayed in Marco Polo and it's grand but away from center.
3. The earlier the better rates you get, this is true across the world AFAIK
4. Most want to rent for 6 months minimum, other posters used AirBNB to try to avoid hotels
5. You can get one at airport , get the unlimited internet or using data will eat all you load very quickly . Voice calls cost more than texts, learn the package specials ("UNLI50 3 DAY'S TEXTS" etc and take advantage they actually take study and are complicated.
6.Always hot and humid but shorts are not respected, wear light long pants and sleeves against sun.
7. High quality Sunscreen, you can get a sunburn in an hour in the tropics
8. Filipinas have trouble remembering things for an hour let alone a week, don't bother pipelining for more than a week. What sites?Dateinaasia, filipoinocupid, cherry blossoms

I'm sure I have more questions but these should do for now.
[/quote]

Post: #1337

(03-13-2015 08:17 PM)cmrectro Wrote:  And anyone can suggest to me a good opener for sending messages to new girls? There is nothing more annoying than checking and seeing that 75 percent of your messages were viewed and not replied to, reeaally annoying!!! ><
I usually use an opening in the likes of "Hi, I am from Dallas, Texas and I am in Philippines now. How are you?" Or I replace how are you with where in the Philippines are you? That is what I use to open ones that did not send interest yet.

I thought you were in Thailand because your location specifies Thailand. I would say, "Hi, I am from the USA and in the Philippines......." I wouldn't say anything about Dallas Texas. Some of them may not know were Dallas, Texas is. Good luck!

Post: #1338

(03-13-2015 08:51 PM)brianmark Wrote:  

(03-13-2015 08:17 PM)cmrectro Wrote:  And anyone can suggest to me a good opener for sending messages to new girls? There is nothing more annoying than checking and seeing that 75 percent of your messages were viewed and not replied to, reeaally annoying!!! ><
I usually use an opening in the likes of "Hi, I am from Dallas, Texas and I am in Philippines now. How are you?" Or I replace how are you with where in the Philippines are you? That is what I use to open ones that did not send interest yet.

I thought you were in Thailand because your location specifies Thailand. I would say, "Hi, I am from the USA and in the Philippines......." I wouldn't say anything about Dallas Texas. Some of them may not know were Dallas, Texas is. Good luck!

Ok. But how about length of message? Is "Hi, I am from the USA and in the Philippines now" good enough for an exact opener? Or is it too short and simple and I need to elaborate past that?

And I should change my location back to Philippines now that i am back.
I was just not sure yet if I am going back there again. It is a hard decision if I am going back soon or not.

Post: #1339

Step 1 accomplished...scored a condo literally at Greenbelt for $43/night for 3 weeks!

Step 2, book a flight. I'll do it in the morning because I'm seeing a girl tonight off OKC

Post: #1340

(03-13-2015 09:09 PM)cmrectro Wrote:  

(03-13-2015 08:51 PM)brianmark Wrote:  

(03-13-2015 08:17 PM)cmrectro Wrote:  And anyone can suggest to me a good opener for sending messages to new girls? There is nothing more annoying than checking and seeing that 75 percent of your messages were viewed and not replied to, reeaally annoying!!! ><
I usually use an opening in the likes of "Hi, I am from Dallas, Texas and I am in Philippines now. How are you?" Or I replace how are you with where in the Philippines are you? That is what I use to open ones that did not send interest yet.

I thought you were in Thailand because your location specifies Thailand. I would say, "Hi, I am from the USA and in the Philippines......." I wouldn't say anything about Dallas Texas. Some of them may not know were Dallas, Texas is. Good luck!

Ok. But how about length of message? Is "Hi, I am from the USA and in the Philippines now" good enough for an exact opener? Or is it too short and simple and I need to elaborate past that?

And I should change my location back to Philippines now that i am back.
I was just not sure yet if I am going back there again. It is a hard decision if I am going back soon or not.

I would only tell her your in the Philippines if you are there or will be there within the next couple of weeks. I don't think what you say in message is what gets you the date. It's probably your pictures. Short for the first one.

Post: #1341

(03-13-2015 09:45 PM)brianmark Wrote:  I would only tell her your in the Philippines if you are there or will be there within the next couple of weeks. I don't think what you say in message is what gets you the date. It's probably your pictures. Short for the first one.

Ok. I thought I would share that I am not sure totally what I did different, but I am suddenly getting 100% response rate. Maybe taking out the how are you? part could have made me look less lame or some weird thing like that. Not sure what is different. but instead of "How are you? I am in the Philippines now. Are you in Makati?" I say "I am from Canada and I am in the Philippines now. I am in Manila close to Taguig." or something very similar. And these are getting replied to at 100% response rate! So I will just keep using what I did now. It should keep response rate high because it just proved to work out for most of the girls.

I looked at my sent messages and yes, I can confirm that every single message I sent this morning with my new opener format has indeed been replied to. Not a single one has been denied. As long as I keep doing it the same way, I should get around the same, or almost the same success rate. This nightmare of bad response rate is over! phew! lol

Post: #1342

are you using FC? I dont think the opener is nearly as important as your primary photo.
Cleanslate: did you book through AirBnB. I fly out in 8 days and still haven't booked accomodations. But I bought my flight like five weeks ago. I just can't decide between Fort and Greenbelt. I'm thinking I will just wait until I get there to book my long term accomodation...not sure if this is going to work in my favor yet.

Post: #1343

Yes if you do place your location in the Philippines or put in the header you are in the Philippines you will get 20 times more interest and messages. I noticed this after I moved here and changed my location to the Philippines.

It all comes down to what guy would you rather talk to
Guy #1: sits on the other side of the world and lies promising to show up(my guess close to 95 percent).
Guy #2: In the country ready to meetup right away

The 5 percent that do show get all the pussy.
While the other 95 percent just ask for sex chat saying they are coming next month but never do. Another heart break.

For every genuine guy that's willing to meet up from online. She has probably gone through hundreds of bull shiters.

Post: #1344

(03-14-2015 12:13 AM)FortYrOldVirgin Wrote:  are you using FC? I dont think the opener is nearly as important as your primary photo.
Cleanslate: did you book through AirBnB. I fly out in 8 days and still haven't booked accomodations. But I bought my flight like five weeks ago. I just can't decide between Fort and Greenbelt. I'm thinking I will just wait until I get there to book my long term accomodation...not sure if this is going to work in my favor yet.

Yes I booked through airbnb. I figured Greenbelt is central to everything so I picked that place. From there I can take a cab to Fort, to the Mall of Asia for day game, and to Quezon City if I wanted.

Post: #1345

Booked the flight! Now the big pieces are in place... the Gramercy unit near Century City Mall, and the flight!

I cannot believe I'm actually doing this.

EDIT: I'm confused...... I thought it was Greenbelt, but it is Gramercy. Map pin says Greenbelt, though. ??

Post: #1346

(03-14-2015 02:07 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  Booked the flight! Now the big pieces are in place... the Gramercy unit near Century City Mall, and the flight!

I cannot believe I'm actually doing this.

You won't regret it.

Post: #1347

(03-14-2015 01:07 AM)calwinston Wrote:  Yes if you do place your location in the Philippines or put in the header you are in the Philippines you will get 20 times more interest and messages. I noticed this after I moved here and changed my location to the Philippines.

It all comes down to what guy would you rather talk to
Guy #1: sits on the other side of the world and lies promising to show up(my guess close to 95 percent).
Guy #2: In the country ready to meetup right away

The 5 percent that do show get all the pussy.
While the other 95 percent just ask for sex chat saying they are coming next month but never do. Another heart break.

For every genuine guy that's willing to meet up from online. She has probably gone through hundreds of bull shiters.

O ok thanks. so that is why I get high response rate. All the girls I messaged today replied back AND with their number right away too. This is a very high response rate cuz they are different ages and cities and all replied equally as enthusiastically and not hesitant to give the number as soon as i requested it. This is why Manila is so good. Yes there are kinda a lot of foreigners but you could probably count the number of half decent foreigners online in Makati area on one of those old wooden 100 counter thingys I have seen used for schools lol
And you got the most populated urban area on the planet almost with all these people competing for the few foreigners. So I can tell first hand,,,, competition here is indeed quite low!! even right in the parts of Manila most frequented by foreigners.

I am going to have my hands full every day here!

Post: #1348

Now a complaint. Why do they all ask the same stupid questions here over and over again? lol

stupid question number one: Do you have a girlfriend? ............. No I don't have an effin girlfriend. wtf would I be on cupid thennnnn?
stupid question number two: Why don't you have a gf? .......... uh does it matter? lots of people are single and lots are not. Welcome to planet Earth!
stupid question number three: Do you speak visaya/tagalog? ....................... uh, NO, do I look like I been living in the Philippines for 14 years?
stupid question number four: How many years you been here? ...................... why does everyone seem to ask that too when I am living a tourist here, how about "how many days you been here" or you can say weeks, or even months, but years is the extreme and that's all they ask!, again, do I look like I been here 14 years? again, the answer is NO!
stupid question number five: do you have relatives here? ............. Uh no, You are talking to a fresh new white American arrived in the nation and you kinda think this is where I am from or my family?
Seriously, what's up with all these same exact stupid questions being repeated by every girl that talks to me? None of these questions make sense to me.

The questions are so repetitive, I now got a .txt file saved with all the replies. lol as each of these lame @$$ questions roll out from each one of these girls I just copy and paste them from the .txt file. beits the same crap all the time lol

:
You got relatives in the Philippines?
-
My relatives are in USA. I am from USA.

What is your work?
-
I work in Texas, USA in an office building and go to the Philippines for a 6 week vacation.

Why did you come to the Philippines?
I met a lot of filipinos in USA and they suggested to me to go and visit there country. So that is why I decided to go to Philippines.

Where will you travel to in the Philippines?
I will stay in Metro Manila. I don't want to travel too far. There is enough for me to enjoy in the city since I am a city person.

How many times you visited the Philippines?
This is my first time to visit the Philippines. I have visited other places close to USA, but took longer to get to Philippines because I am living in a region so far from it.

Why you don't have a gf?
because I am single. I did not find any I liked in USA and I was too busy with school and work.

everyone else that will be dealing with a lot of chicks here, do yourself a favor and save all the answers to the questions that you know will come at you over and over and over. Will save a bit of time in your life.

Post: #1349

Ticket to Manila booked.

Probably spend 1, possibly 2 nights there before heading out to a secret location. Should be in Manila Wednesday night if anyone is around.

Hotel recommendations? Need something cheap, I'm poor for the next few months.

Post: #1350

(03-13-2015 10:53 AM)Enigma Wrote:  Ultimately, the country has three major things going for it that I think will help them (eventually) fix some of their problems.

1. English levels

Yes and no. English fluency is high in the P.I. compared with the rest of SEA but the comprehension is subpar. There's a lot of fil-ams and international travellers filling the gaps inbetween nosebleed sessions.

Quote:2. Familiarity with and openness to Western culture

The Filipino openness to western and eastern influence is great. Colonial mentality..etc.. but it's still an odd give/take attitude. It's outdated and unnecessary. At the higher levels of industry they are sinocentric so the colonial mentality doesn't even play a part unless they are playing with the masses.

Quote:3. Fairly strong education system

I'd characterize the P.I. as having an extraordinary secondary language program..right up there with scandinavia but awful at everything else. "everything else" is more important, unfortunately.