Living in the Philippines

[X Man]

Cebu is where I would go, and it's where I usually go. The bar scene is dismal (but doable). The online girlfriends are to die for.

It's a great location for island hopping too. My last trip I went to Leyte, and the trip before that Tag / Panglao - by boat. X.

Thanks PM for the feedback. I don't care too much about recreational things like diving etc. But you are just confirming my views on the apartment rentals. I am seeing minimum 35 K up to 50 K for a 1 bed around Ayala like Grand Cenia or Avalon. At that price I would just stick with hotels. But I look at my contact database and are reluctant to discard the effort I already have invested in Cebu and try and recreate it in Manila.

[D Cups]

I am leaving Cebu in 48 hours after living here 6 months. All theses places are good places except Cebu. It is a garbage dump, the rents are higher than any place I have ever lived (not less than $800 near Ayala for nothing), I think higher than Manila (opinion). EVERY place in the Philippines has tons of girls but here the only place to meet them is at a mall. Everything is the mall. There is nothing in Cebu save diving. Not located right here though. Cebu is a wasteland. No reason to be here. Again. There are girls under every rock in this country. They will fuck as soon as talk to you. Cebu does not make the Philippine experience any better.

I will be in Chiang Mai starting Tuesday. It will be better than this dump. And it actually stinks in many places.


Pura Vida.

Hi PM, just wondering if you stayed in South Cebu at all. I'm not a diver but find South Cebu quite nice. Conversely, Cebu City is a smaller version of Manila as you you pointed out but ah the girls! Have fun in Chiang Mai. Loy Krathong (first full moon in Novemeber if you are there then) is amazing. Pura Vida.

[Ms Account]

I am leaving Cebu in 48 hours after living here 6 months. All theses places are good places except Cebu. It is a garbage dump, the rents are higher than any place I have ever lived (not less than $800 near Ayala for nothing), I think higher than Manila (opinion). .

Thanks PM for the feedback. I don't care too much about recreational things like diving etc. But you are just confirming my views on the apartment rentals. I am seeing minimum 35 K up to 50 K for a 1 bed around Ayala like Grand Cenia or Avalon. At that price I would just stick with hotels. But I look at my contact database and are reluctant to discard the effort I already have invested in Cebu and try and recreate it in Manila.

[PirateMorgan]

Your question gives me a hard on. I have lived in Costa Rica, Sosua, Medellin, Mexico and Cebu. I am leaving Cebu in 48 hours after living here 6 months. All theses places are good places except Cebu. It is a garbage dump, the rents are higher than any place I have ever lived (not less than $800 near Ayala for nothing), I think higher than Manila (opinion). EVERY place in the Philippines has tons of girls but here the only place to meet them is at a mall. Everything is the mall. There is nothing in Cebu save diving. Not located right here though. Cebu is a wasteland. No reason to be here. Again. There are girls under every rock in this country. They will fuck as soon as talk to you. Cebu does not make the Philippine experience any better.

I will be in Chiang Mai starting Tuesday. It will be better than this dump. And it actually stinks in many places.

Pura Vida.

[Ms Account]

As I have mentioned in a post last year I have taken 2016 off work and although I won't spend 100% of my time in Philippines I certainly plan to spend 50% of each month there. I have been debating which city to focus my time and secondly whether to rent in my nominated focus city. I have RTFF and the only posts relevant were back on page 34 of this thread with multiple comments responding to the following but in some ways this post is just formalising my thoughts to come to a conclusion:

Where would you choose to live? Makati? Or Quezon? A beach house in Palawan? Iloilo? Maybe Cebu? Angeles? (For me no way, AC is out of question.) Or maybe let's say somewhere between AC and Manila, as Malolos for example? Smaller City with a quarter of a million poeple. Located between AC and Manila, should have all what's necessary, even has a University and from the location you might be in either AC or Manila relatively quick and you have two airports nearby. Important for me, I might commute between Malaysia and PI for a while.Thoughts any? Cheers!

My history is reasonable experience both in P4 P and non P4 P in Manila, Cebu and Davao but never been to AC.

My drivers are:

(1) cosmopolitan with good choices of restaurants and bars (non P4 P).

(2) strong base of non P4 P profiles on the "dating" websites and not so small a city that girls are withdrawn because of transparency issues.

(3) reasonable P4 P scene as backup when the non P4 P fails.

(4) affordable but modern and comfortable hotels or apartments rentals.

(5) minimised travel. I do enough of that for work and Philippines domestic travel is a not a pleasant experience (recounting Good Enough's experiences).

Based upon the above drivers, I think it is unlikely a provincial city outside of the above 4 will do the trick. However I sort of interpret Westcoast's strategy to be a continual wanderer both of major cities and provincial cities. My only concern with that is it breaks driver 5. So my review of each city compared to those drivers.

Manila= Satisfies 1,2,3,5 easily. Maybe Manila hotels are more expensive but from preliminary review, apartments are better value in Manila than they are in Cebu for example (but that is an amateur first cut opinion).

Cebu= Satisfies 1,2,5 reasonably well. You would remember from previous Cebu posts that I think 3 - the P4 P scene is not good in Cebu. Although hotels are cheaper in Cebu than Manila, I don't think apartments are good value in key areas I like around Ayala. Given the number of apartment blocks they are building in Cebu (in particular around Ayala) around 2017 Cebu will be great value for renting apartments.

Davao= Reasonable in 1 with some good expat restaurants. 2 is still not bad. Still a big population city. Bit remote to travel to for driver 5. 3 is terrible. 4 - High end hotels are not that cheap and don't know apartments.

AC. Never been there so open to views on drivers 1-5.

My head says my best option is focus my efforts in Manila. But I have spent a lot of dating website work in Cebu and my contact database has more entries from Cebu than other cities. Any views to sway me either way would be appreciated remembering that it is only a 1 year focus.

[Hutsori]

Just wondering if anyone has identified a good bank account for a 20 year old student pinay that has at most P3000 at any one time.

She has been robbed / petty theft twice over the last year. (doesn't ask me for money and I haven't provided for her).

I'm wondering if there is a suitable low fee card account that she can save her money into?

Suggestions appreciated.

BD.

Maybank has a low amount required to open an account (p500 or p1000 if I recall correctly), but being a Malaysian bank it doesn't have the same geographic coverage as the locals. If she lives or studies near one it's a good option. The value savings account has a p500 minimum balance.

One thing I've come to understand is how few the number of Filipinos who have bank accounts. The poor rely on wire transfers.

Opening an account requires two forms of ID (which many Filipinos don't have), a barangay clearance, a letter of recommendation from President Aquino, and Pope Francisco has to accompany the depositor when the account is first opened. Two of those may no longer be required.

[Shamuc]

I'm going to be living in Manila (or maybe Angeles) for around 3 months and currently trying to work out a place to rent.

Where would be good places (websites etc) to look? How much should I expect to pay per month?(Reasonable distance to action would be good, but also not too close that it is super noisy. Internet is a must for work. No need of luxury but also not a complete hole). What neighborhoods should I look at?

Hi there, I own some studios in Birch Tower in Malate / Manila; I can recommend that location and building. Very close to Robinson's shopping mall and all the night action is around. With pool and gym. It is safe but girl friendly. The running rate for a studio is 25 K PHP incl. TV and Internet.

[BrainDrain]

I believe with proper ID requirements and a minimum opening deposit she can open an account at BDO or BPI and obtain a debit card. With a debit card she can withdraw cash at ATM machine. I believe the account can be free.

That's good news. I'm amazed that with the amount of theft that they don't all have accounts.

It's interesting to hear how the talk about the accounts which require P2000 minimum deposit 'costs' P2000 to open, implying that the money is no longer theirs.

This page is an example is the minimum.

https://www.bpiexpressonline.com/p/1/326/deposit-rates-savings-and-checking

Thanks Dg8787.

[Shamuc]

I believe with proper ID requirements and a minimum opening deposit she can open an account at BDO or BPI and obtain a debit card. With a debit card she can withdraw cash at ATM machine. I believe the account can be free.

To my knowledge all banks have a minimum mandatory amount that must be left in the account. If the account runs under this amount they charge a fee of 200 PHP monthly. This minimum amount differs from 5 K to 15 K. At BDO it is at 10 K as of now.

[Dg8787]

Just wondering if anyone has identified a good bank account for a 20 year old student pinay that has at most P3000 at any one time.

She has been robbed / petty theft twice over the last year. (doesn't ask me for money and I haven't provided for her).

I'm wondering if there is a suitable low fee card account that she can save her money into?

Suggestions appreciated.

BD.

I believe with proper ID requirements and a minimum opening deposit she can open an account at BDO or BPI and obtain a debit card. With a debit card she can withdraw cash at ATM machine. I believe the account can be free.

[BrainDrain]

Just wondering if anyone has identified a good bank account for a 20 year old student pinay that has at most P3000 at any one time.

She has been robbed / petty theft twice over the last year. (doesn't ask me for money and I haven't provided for her).

I'm wondering if there is a suitable low fee card account that she can save her money into?

Suggestions appreciated.

BD.

[Hutsori]

I'm going to be living in Manila (or maybe Angeles) for around 3 months and currently trying to work out a place to rent.

Where would be good places (websites etc) to look? How much should I expect to pay per month?(Reasonable distance to action would be good, but also not too close that it is super noisy. Internet is a must for work. No need of luxury but also not a complete hole). What neighborhoods should I look at?

For starters https://www.olx.ph/ (used to be called Sulit) and Craigslist. Do not send money from overseas and don't sign a contract site unseen. This means stay at a hotel or airbnb place for a few days to visually check out the places and the areas. You'll find some landlords on airbnb offer longterm deals, but still those are over priced for long stays.

In Manila you have three main action areas. LA Cafe is in Ermita. EDSA Entertainment is in the city of Pasay's Baclaran district. Burgos Street is in Makati. Using google maps you can determine which barangays are nearby and major streets / intersections which may be noisy. Of these three areas two, Ermita and Baclaran, are prone to street crime. You can google these for more info about this subject.

A furnished condo, which gives security at a good price, will be from p20k to p40k inclusive of association fee, cable TV and internet. Make certain internet is included by asking for the details. I find a 1 bedroom preferable to a studio. I think 35 sqm is the minimum size to be considered comfortable. Water is very cheap but electricity is pricey. If you run the AC constantly expect to pay p6k+. If you get a 1 BR place try to get one that has 2 ACs, one for the BR and the other for the LR. You'll save a bit of money on electricity by not running one all the time to cool the entire place.

You can find cheaper alternatives by choosing an apartment, but with this comes less security and fewer amenities such a pool and gym. I wouldn't advise this but it can be done.

Do not expect high QOS from your internet provider, especially if you live in an older building in a run down area.

Here are some conversations about renting - scroll up and down.

http://www.internationalsexguide.inf...81#post1695781

http://www.internationalsexguide.inf...90#post1692890

http://www.internationalsexguide.inf...84#post1692884

[Azrael84]

I'm going to be living in Manila (or maybe Angeles) for around 3 months and currently trying to work out a place to rent.

Where would be good places (websites etc) to look? How much should I expect to pay per month?(Reasonable distance to action would be good, but also not too close that it is super noisy. Internet is a must for work. No need of luxury but also not a complete hole). What neighborhoods should I look at?

[Fastpiston]

Let's not forget that, in addition to plates and licenses, LTO has also been out of renewal stickers for the plates for at least two years. It's beyond amazing.

GE.

Now let me think through this. There must be scam buried in this somewhere! I would bet my life on this! I would suspect it is the fella who dreamed up this cockeyed idea.

[Jambo]

Popular internet booking site rolled out a "Price Tips" feature earlier this year, and I found it useful for estimating price points for certain rental properties. Guys looking at property in Manila, Angeles City, and Subic may find it useful.

From AirBnB:

Price Tips uses mathematical models to determine what the best price is for a specific listing is for each day.

Pricing and availability tips are automated and based on your listing's features, location, amenities, booking history, availability, and seasonal supply and demand in your area.

A quick look in my area showed that where landlords are asking $800-900, AirBnB is suggesting $650/ month. So I will bear down harder when I negotiate. A couple of years ago, when I rented a condo in Malaysia, I found the landlord quick to jump on my offer that was 40% less than their price. I should have offered 50% less!

Here however, locals seem very stubborn about what they want. I believe they hope the US Navy will sail in any day now and overpay for everything. I see many unleased properties, seems like they have been empty for months.

The AirBnB price jived with what local expats have been telling me as well. Maybe I look too much like I'm "just off the boat"? I may start wearing a wife-beater and Philippino-flops when I look at places.

YES I KNOW there are many properties much cheaper everywhere<<.

To see the Price Tips, you will need an AirBnB account, I believe that required you registering a card. Then you can make a listing. Pick a street in the area you are curious about. Don't use the exact address. Verify your phone number, fill in some details, and it gives you the pricing. I set my listing to "unlisted".