Buy a ticket to Kota Kinabalu or Taiwan for $30.

Throw it away, or use it.

(04-08-2019 08:24 AM)Vladimir Poontang Wrote:  Would it be reasonable to say that Baguio is the only city in the Philippines that a westerner could comfortably spend a long time in or live in?

Cebu overall is the best place to live I think, looking back and had the best vibe long term. I did not enjoy Luzon at all or any part of Manila and burned out quickly there.

Cebu has a ton of variety of outdoor activities and recreation. Can live upscale at Calyx/Avida or suburbs at Mabolo, Mactan, or Lahug. Way better restaurants than Manila too imo. Lower CoL. If you work online just stay home and get foodpanda / honestbee delivery 70% and eat out 30%.

If I return, I would consider getting somewhere on the beach (or resort) outside the city this time for 3 months and have girls come over. The problem is when you make plans like this and start living your best life is when trouble starts with these people.

(04-08-2019 04:47 PM)Il Bersagliere Wrote:  The problem is when you make plans like this and start living your best life is when trouble starts with these people.

Care to elaborate? Are you talking about just basic jealousy -- or something more serious?

(04-08-2019 05:16 PM)Tail Gunner Wrote:  

(04-08-2019 04:47 PM)Il Bersagliere Wrote:  The problem is when you make plans like this and start living your best life is when trouble starts with these people.

Care to elaborate? Are you talking about just basic jealousy -- or something more serious?

The intense and intrusive staring, gossiping, shit talking in English and whatever else they speak, getting away with killing so many foreign nationals week after week while millions of their citizens are refugees/maids/servants elsewhere, the blatant racism for foreigners, etc. These people get way too much of a pass.

You know what? I'm never spending my money in that country again. I know I just finished writing about going back for vacation but to deal with that nonsense again, I do not think so.

I have about 10 000 baht now and would like to change it into php,best to do this somewhere in Phil? At airport in Thailand or in Phil?

What is the best place to live on 800-1000 USD (40-50 000PHP) a month and which place has the girls with best bodies
If I spend no more than 300USD on accommodation, 6-700USD for food and entertainment should be doable

Ceby City
Angeles City
Iloilo
Duma
or some other city?

(04-10-2019 01:06 AM)KingKrule Wrote:  I have about 10 000 baht now and would like to change it into php,best to do this somewhere in Phil? At airport in Thailand or in Phil?

You'll probably get the best rate by changing it to USD in Thailand then exchange the USD to PHP in the Philippines.

(04-10-2019 06:49 AM)Bananaman711 Wrote:  What is the best place to live on 800-1000 USD (40-50 000PHP) a month and which place has the girls with best bodies
If I spend no more than 300USD on accommodation, 6-700USD for food and entertainment should be doable

Ceby City
Angeles City
Iloilo
Duma
or some other city?

Go to the Philippines, travel around, and find the best city for you. What you like and what someone else likes is going to be different.

(04-10-2019 06:49 AM)Bananaman711 Wrote:  What is the best place to live on 800-1000 USD (40-50 000PHP) a month and which place has the girls with best bodies
If I spend no more than 300USD on accommodation, 6-700USD for food and entertainment should be doable

Ceby City
Angeles City
Iloilo
Duma
or some other city?

It sounds like you did no research and listed the first 4 cities that came to mind. Those places have very little crossover appeal minus the easy women. That budget will work anywhere but you're probably going to have to get in contact with local landlords, not Airbnb hosts.

Cebu is the most well rounded city in the Philippines. It's the adventure starting point capital, popular with transient Filipinos from other places looking for better opportunities, and also douchey vlogger types. Also a seedy p4p atmosphere, but easy to keep yourself removed from that.

Angeles has the reputation of Pattaya, a world capital for p4p.

Iloilo is a largely undiscussed 3rd tier city, probably too boring a place to live for most expats.

Dumaguete is sort of like a mini Cebu, draws way more expats then other cities it's size because it's been hyped and it's also a good adventure hub for the area.

1,000 USD a month?

Good luck!

(04-11-2019 11:17 AM)Mentavious Wrote:  1,000 USD a month?

Good luck!

Is that $1k per month way too low? Struggling?

Since I am in my early 50s, I have worked hard a lot of my life and lived well within my means, so I consider that I am getting to the stage of my life where I am inclined to spend some of that nest egg that I built up.

Even doubling or tripling a minimum budget, like bringing $1k to $2k or $3k, should bring a decent amount of luxury, or maybe the extra money can just be used to bounce around to other locations without worrying about costs?

I'm tentatively planning to travel in about August or so, but since I am considering various kinds of stem cell treatments, I am considering either Panama or Thailand before going to the Phils.. .I have not come across any information that innovative stem cell treatments are happening in the Phils.. at least so far, I have not found anything.

(04-11-2019 04:48 PM)JayJuanGee Wrote:  

(04-11-2019 11:17 AM)Mentavious Wrote:  1,000 USD a month?

Good luck!

I'm tentatively planning to travel in about August or so, but since I am considering various kinds of stem cell treatments, I am considering either Panama or Thailand before going to the Phils.. .I have not come across any information that innovative stem cell treatments are happening in the Phils.. at least so far, I have not found anything.

From what I have read, South Korea is the place to go in Asia for stem cell therapy. From what I understand, South Korea is just as innovative as the U.S. but without all the lawsuits and fearmongering from the FDA.

(04-11-2019 05:11 PM)Tail Gunner Wrote:  

(04-11-2019 04:48 PM)JayJuanGee Wrote:  

(04-11-2019 11:17 AM)Mentavious Wrote:  1,000 USD a month?

Good luck!

I'm tentatively planning to travel in about August or so, but since I am considering various kinds of stem cell treatments, I am considering either Panama or Thailand before going to the Phils.. .I have not come across any information that innovative stem cell treatments are happening in the Phils.. at least so far, I have not found anything.

From what I have read, South Korea is the place to go in Asia for stem cell therapy. From what I understand, South Korea is just as innovative as the U.S. but without all the lawsuits and fearmongering from the FDA.

Ok... thanks tailgunner. I have not come across any South Korea sources for stemcell treatment, yet, but I will look more specifically into that location as a possibility, too.

Each location seems to have differing approaches to how they treat their patients and the kinds of stem cells (and methodology of course) that they use in that location.

From what I had been able to learn, the USA has both an issue of the kinds of stem cells that they use for treatments (which are frequently your own cells, which are not as effective as younger stem cells that might come from umbilical or from other places - which are more flexible (pluripotent)).. and then the USA has issues regarding insurance approval, regulatory approval and costs.. I tend to be a bit skeptical about the insurance and drug systems in the USA because it remains questionable about whether they really want you to get better rather than keep spending on various services, drugs for example.

By the way, getting into a medical study in the USA, might indicate that you only have a 50/50 chance of receiving the actual treatment that you though that you were supposed to have been receiving.

Anyhow, don't want to deviate too much from this thread, but I was a bit of the impression that Philippines is not really any kind of destination for westerners to obtain any kind of meaningful or innovative medical treatments... stem cell treatments or otherwise.

I was looking to move out of the city a little bit. Alabang was one of the places I was looking, but god damn it was expensive. Might as well live in the US.

The guy with the budget, realistically you’re looking at about $550 USD minimum for a studio apartment in a decent building in Makati. Per month.

Plus utilitities and internet, etc.

Also western food costs more, as do grocery stores that have it.

That $1000 won’t get you very far, and if you try to go cheap in Manila, you’ll probably hate it.

I’m not saying you have to ball to have a good time, but you do need to spend more than you would in Thailand for example.

(04-11-2019 09:21 PM)SeaFM Wrote:  I was looking to move out of the city a little bit. Alabang was one of the places I was looking, but god damn it was expensive. Might as well live in the US.

The guy with the budget, realistically you’re looking at about $550 USD minimum for a studio apartment in a decent building in Makati. Per month.

Plus utilitities and internet, etc.

Also western food costs more, as do grocery stores that have it.

That $1000 won’t get you very far, and if you try to go cheap in Manila, you’ll probably hate it.

I’m not saying you have to ball to have a good time, but you do need to spend more than you would in Thailand for example.

Ok, you picked the most expensive part of PH and Manila, for that money I can rent small flat in Australia.

How much does same studio apartment cost in 2nd and 3rd tier cities?
You realize biggest chunk of of your expenses is accommodation so if you can get a place for 200-300USD then it leaves me 700-800 USD and I dont drink.

I can get by with that money in Australia where I don't pay rent but i pay about 250 USD bills.

OP should take a tour of the area where apartments are less than 400 a month. It’s not exactly a life I would live. A grand is at the very upper limit of his budget too.

A first timer to the Phils with no filipina gf or knowledge of the culture should not live in an area that would have sub 400 USD apartments.

Do not do PH on a budget. Do not do SEA on a budget.

OP it probably depends how long you're staying for how much your bills are gonna be. Guys on the ground for the long term can speak better, but 1k is definitely not realistic to get western perks in the big cities. You CAN live on 1k, millions of locals probably live on half of that or less. But, you might question if you want to.

The way I did Manila, I spent about 1500 for a month and my apartment was about 600 for one outside of BGC and Makati. I will admit, I splurged a little bit, but looking back at everything I spent money on, I could not imagine trying to do Manila on less than 1200 a month at absolute minimum for our lifestyles.

Are you going to need internet? If so, that takes out a lot of options. If that's not a necessity, it opens up a bit. The smaller islands may be more realistic for that budget. I found that I had a much better chance of living on a small budget in Palawan than in Manila for example. Things are just cheaper there. But to live on less than 1k in the Phils, you may not like your accommodation. It may end up being in an inconvenient part of the city, you may have to have roommates, or it can even be an unfurnished apartment. Logistics are more important here because public transportation is not well designed in the city and non existent on the islands, plus there's a lot of traffic.

This one expat I saw do a stream said he lived somewhere for 200 in rent a month but it was a piece of shit. My ex I think was paying 100 a month but she had three roommates and was a local that grew up in the province, so she was used to those conditions. The best way I can equate that for us is it would be like going back to dorming in college only with no internet or A/C.

I am a Canadian expat living in China. My wife is a Filipina who I met here through online dating. So far we have visited PH once, and I was not impressed. In general, China is a far better envrions. However, I am looking at the long game. The thing about PH, especially if you have a spouse, is that you can build your castle. If you get away from Manila then land and labour are dirt cheap. My wife is very industrious and is building a house.But I want to build my castle.

(04-12-2019 04:53 PM)66Scorpio Wrote:  I am a Canadian expat living in China. My wife is a Filipina who I met here through online dating. So far we have visited PH once, and I was not impressed. In general, China is a far better envrions. However, I am looking at the long game. The thing about PH, especially if you have a spouse, is that you can build your castle. If you get away from Manila then land and labour are dirt cheap. My wife is very industrious and is building a house.But I want to build my castle.

I thought that a rule of thumb is that you do not want to build up too much more luxurious than the surrounding real estate, otherwise you become a target....

Within reason, I suppose you could build a bit more luxurious than surrounding properties, but always need to consider if you might be causing yourself to become more of a target than you would otherwise wish to be.

(04-12-2019 03:46 AM)Bananaman711 Wrote:  

(04-11-2019 09:21 PM)SeaFM Wrote:  I was looking to move out of the city a little bit. Alabang was one of the places I was looking, but god damn it was expensive. Might as well live in the US.

The guy with the budget, realistically you’re looking at about $550 USD minimum for a studio apartment in a decent building in Makati. Per month.

Plus utilitities and internet, etc.

Also western food costs more, as do grocery stores that have it.

That $1000 won’t get you very far, and if you try to go cheap in Manila, you’ll probably hate it.

I’m not saying you have to ball to have a good time, but you do need to spend more than you would in Thailand for example.

Ok, you picked the most expensive part of PH and Manila, for that money I can rent small flat in Australia.

How much does same studio apartment cost in 2nd and 3rd tier cities?
You realize biggest chunk of of your expenses is accommodation so if you can get a place for 200-300USD then it leaves me 700-800 USD and I dont drink.

I can get by with that money in Australia where I don't pay rent but i pay about 250 USD bills.

That’s low for Makati. But it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference if you want to stay in BGC or Eastwood or Ortigas, you’ll pay the same.

I don’t know about 2nd or 3rd tier cities, though you can find reasonably priced accommodations in Puerto Galera for example.

Overall, I believe that the short term rental market in Manila is way overpriced. I’ve tried renting in other areas like Malate, and to be blunt, it sucks. The traffic is horrible, travel time anywhere takes forever, elevators are slow, or there are gigantic lineups. Buildings get run down fast, and even Gramercy or Knightsbridge are constantly battling cockroaches.

You know the old saying, you get what you pay for, and in Manila, you get it sometimes.

(04-12-2019 05:39 PM)JayJuanGee Wrote:  

(04-12-2019 04:53 PM)66Scorpio Wrote:  I am a Canadian expat living in China. My wife is a Filipina who I met here through online dating. So far we have visited PH once, and I was not impressed. In general, China is a far better envrions. However, I am looking at the long game. The thing about PH, especially if you have a spouse, is that you can build your castle. If you get away from Manila then land and labour are dirt cheap. My wife is very industrious and is building a house.But I want to build my castle.

I thought that a rule of thumb is that you do not want to build up too much more luxurious than the surrounding real estate, otherwise you become a target....

Within reason, I suppose you could build a bit more luxurious than surrounding properties, but always need to consider if you might be causing yourself to become more of a target than you would otherwise wish to be.

It depends on what you mean by "target". My wife is totally pissing off the locals with her house because of its upscale style. My plan, such as it is, is to build an executive retreat. That might indeed draw more ire, but WTF? I need to make a living.

(04-12-2019 04:53 PM)66Scorpio Wrote:  The thing about PH, especially if you have a spouse, is that you can build your castle. If you get away from Manila then land and labour are dirt cheap. My wife is very industrious and is building a house.But I want to build my castle.

Ask around a bit how many castle builders had an untimely death in the Philippines.

In 3rd world countries you generally just want to rent as a foreigner and keep a low key profile. The few old spaniards (sephardic jews) like the Zóbel de Ayala family are firmly established and know how to play the game safely from Manila.

Rural areas of 3rd world countries are dominated by warlord type family clans and if they want your "castle" you're dead end gone and they'll get someone to sign over the deed.

Filipinas and their families have a reputation for turning on their husbands as well and trying to get any assets they can.

(04-13-2019 03:17 AM)AsiaBaller Wrote:  

(04-12-2019 04:53 PM)66Scorpio Wrote:  The thing about PH, especially if you have a spouse, is that you can build your castle. If you get away from Manila then land and labour are dirt cheap. My wife is very industrious and is building a house.But I want to build my castle.

Ask around a bit how many castle builders had an untimely death in the Philippines.

In 3rd world countries you generally just want to rent as a foreigner and keep a low key profile. The few old spaniards (sephardic jews) like the Zóbel de Ayala family are firmly established and know how to play the game safely from Manila.

Rural areas of 3rd world countries are dominated by warlord type family clans and if they want your "castle" you're dead end gone and they'll get someone to sign over the deed.

Filipinas and their husbands have a reputation for turning on their husbands as well and trying to get any assets they can.

I second that. Even if my wife remained 100% loyal, the last thing I'd do in the Philippines is build a castle in a random rural area because there's a nice view. Look, rich (e.g. Chinese) Filipinos do not even do that in the provinces where local big men hold sway. They stick to the known safe enclaves.

I can't speak for Manila because its not my cup of tea, but as an example, go on rentpad.ph and look at rental units in Cebu under 20k ($380) a month, there are units available in the most desirable areas in the nicest buildings like Avida Towers or Horizon 101. That's just Cebu, and that's just rentpad.ph, on the ground in all the cities you'll find hundreds of even better units in that price range. The supply outweighs the demand. Bananamans budget is actually super doable if you aren't renting through airbnb and aren't trying to be an asia baller. If you find one of these 15k-20kphp per month units, cook or have your girl cook 80% of your meals, shop consciously, don't drink or drink moderately, $1000 can absolutely work.