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[QUOTE=Philosophery]Hi folks.
I will be in Cebu next week with my GF. I would like to spend a day (or so) seeing the sites around Cebu. Do you know of any drivers that I could hire for a day to take us around?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts.[/QUOTE]
You can call Joel on +63 9063035383 if calling from O/S.
Otherwise just call 0906 3035383
He is a nice guy - just tell him a friend gave you his number.
[QUOTE=GregLondon]I suspect the guys making the "worst food in Asia" claim haven't been to Tibet. That Yak Butter gets to you after a while.[/QUOTE]Greg,
Never been to Tibet don't think I will go there for the food or mongering but I heard Yak meat is very good ,best food in Asia cannot beat Hong Kong or Singapore.
Fast Eddie 48
[QUOTE=Red Kilt]You can call Joel on +63 9063035383 if calling from O/S.
Otherwise just call 0906 3035383
He is a nice guy - just tell him a friend gave you his number.[/QUOTE]
Thank you Red Kilt. You are a true gentleman.
[QUOTE=Fast Eddie 48]Greg,
Never been to Tibet don't think I will go there for the food or mongering but I heard Yak meat is very good ,best food in Asia cannot beat Hong Kong or Singapore.
Fast Eddie 48[/QUOTE]
Yes it's certainly true that its not smart to go to Tibet for either the food or the mongering. The scenery is breathtaking however and the altitude makes this literally true.
The traditional Tibet food is frankly awful. However over the last few years alot of second rate Sichuan restaurants have opened up. As Sichuan food is in my opinion the tastiest cuisine in Asia (though I agree that HK and Sing offer more variety) even second rate Sichuan restaurants are a vast improvement on the local fare.
Of course you can forget about mongering or even GFE with the local girls, but it is eminently possible to have a holiday romance with a Chinese girl from one of the big Han cities. I hooked up with a cute girl from GZ who had actually come to spread the ashes of her father on Mount Everest. In a Coen Bros moment this poignant moment was somewhat marred by a sudden gust of wind which blew said ashes back over us both.
Pardon me for asking but there seem to be a lot of very knowledgeable guys posting on this forum at present, so I thought I would give it a try.
How much money do you think you need to spend per month to lead a reasonably good lifestyle in Cebu? I mean, enough money so that you would be able to afford an apartment or hotel - nothing too fancy - plus sufficient for bills, phone, internet, food and drink and so on, but also enough left over for 'entertainmment', i.e. girls? I don't really mean barfining girls every night, I mean meeting girls on the internet and paying them the going rate, and only barfining say once a week.
The reason I ask is because I am considering a long term visit quite soon (or perhaps even a permanent move!).
I appreciate that opinions may vary, but I am trying to get some consensus. I asked a similar question on the Davao board but it was about a year ago so things have probably moved on since then (I believe the opinion at the time was around 2000 USD per month for Davao and a bit more for Cebu).
Many thanks in anticipation,
AE
[QUOTE=Altered Ego]Pardon me for asking but there seem to be a lot of very knowledgeable guys posting on this forum at present, so I thought I would give it a try.
How much money do you think you need to spend per month to lead a reasonably good lifestyle in Cebu? I mean, enough money so that you would be able to afford an apartment or hotel - nothing too fancy - plus sufficient for bills, phone, internet, food and drink and so on, but also enough left over for 'entertainmment', i.e. girls? I don't really mean barfining girls every night, I mean meeting girls on the internet and paying them the going rate, and only barfining say once a week.
The reason I ask is because I am considering a long term visit quite soon (or perhaps even a permanent move!).
I appreciate that opinions may vary, but I am trying to get some consensus. I asked a similar question on the Davao board but it was about a year ago so things have probably moved on since then (I believe the opinion at the time was around 2000 USD per month for Davao and a bit more for Cebu).
Many thanks in anticipation,
AE[/QUOTE]
I would have thought $2500 a month would be about right. Why anyone (other than those on a short trip) would want to pay the crazy prices for bar fining here is beyond me, when so many far more desirable and sexy girls are available if you just put a little effort into it. Though the "going rate" for girls is probably 500P/1000P short term/long term if you have someone you have an ongoing relationship with and she gets to like staying at your place and eating with you etc, there you can probably halve this amount.
Thank you Cebu for a great time.
I will return in the near future.
Taking this a little more extreme this time and going to Macau Island China with a friend and returning to Angeles for the end of my adventure.
So long Cebu! See you soon.
Many thanks to GregLondon and D Cups for your replies. You guys have certainly given me food for thought.
Any further opinions would be more than welcome.
Also, if anybody has any ideas about how one might be 'gainfully occupied' whilst living in the Phils I would be very interested, because suddenly giving up work completely after many years might come as a bit of a shock to my system! Plus this would have the added benefit of supplementing my overseas income and preserving my savings. (By the way I work in IT in my country.)
[QUOTE=GregLondon]I would have thought $2500 a month would be about right. Why anyone (other than those on a short trip) would want to pay the crazy prices for bar fining here is beyond me, when so many far more desirable and sexy girls are available if you just put a little effort into it. Though the "going rate" for girls is probably 500P/1000P short term/long term if you have someone you have an ongoing relationship with and she gets to like staying at your place and eating with you etc, there you can probably halve this amount.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Altered Ego]Pardon me for asking but there seem to be a lot of very knowledgeable guys posting on this forum at present, so I thought I would give it a try.
How much money do you think you need to spend per month to lead a reasonably good lifestyle in Cebu? I mean, enough money so that you would be able to afford an apartment or hotel - nothing too fancy - plus sufficient for bills, phone, internet, food and drink and so on, but also enough left over for 'entertainmment', i.e. girls? I don't really mean barfining girls every night, I mean meeting girls on the internet and paying them the going rate, and only barfining say once a week.
The reason I ask is because I am considering a long term visit quite soon (or perhaps even a permanent move!).
I appreciate that opinions may vary, but I am trying to get some consensus. I asked a similar question on the Davao board but it was about a year ago so things have probably moved on since then (I believe the opinion at the time was around 2000 USD per month for Davao and a bit more for Cebu).
Many thanks in anticipation,
AE[/QUOTE]
One can live quite well in the Phils for 2000 USD a month, it all depends on your life style. Your largest expense is gonna be for rent, you can rent houses or apts from anywhere from P10,000 to P30,000 a month that are FIT FOR A FOREIGNER. Yeah you can go cheaper if you want a real dump in a lousy neighborhood but that is UNWISE.
Second is likely gonna be for food, lets face it, we miss our real bread, our campbells soup, our imported swiss cold cuts for lunch and those things cost money.
I usually pay P2,000 for month, run my AC only at night, TV and Computer during the day and microwave the hell outta my food. Cable TV is P675 a month, skybroad band is P1,000 a month, I have a phone but you don't need that, cell is better.
Figure on the top end, P1,000 a month for food, rent, utils and cell phone costs. The rest is gratus for the ladies, beer, whatever. And you can party your butt off on P1,000 a month.
If you decide to settle in CEBU be careful where you set up at, there are SOOOO many subdivisions with water shortages IN TOWN, I moved outside the city where there are less probs. But I support a wife and family on less than 2 g's US a month (no rent).
If you want more you can PM me.
The Spam Hog
[QUOTE=Altered Ego]Many thanks to GregLondon and D Cups for your replies. You guys have certainly given me food for thought.
Any further opinions would be more than welcome.
Also, if anybody has any ideas about how one might be 'gainfully occupied' whilst living in the Phils I would be very interested, because suddenly giving up work completely after many years might come as a bit of a shock to my system! Plus this would have the added benefit of supplementing my overseas income and preserving my savings. (By the way I work in IT in my country.)[/QUOTE]
As far as employment, there is very little available to a foreigner, since you are in IT I would research some firms in Asia Business park who are looking for a "western" manager, call centers and the like, perhaps some teaching
but don't expect much in salary.
As you can see from my previous post, you could live quite well on about 2K US a month there are those who do it on even less. Like SS pensioners, I know of a few.
regards
Spam hog
[QUOTE=Altered Ego]Also, if anybody has any ideas about how one might be 'gainfully occupied' whilst living in the Phils I would be very interested, because suddenly giving up work completely after many years might come as a bit of a shock to my system! Plus this would have the added benefit of supplementing my overseas income and preserving my savings. (By the way I work in IT in my country.)[/QUOTE]
If you work in IT, try getting some part time work that allows you to telecommute. For example, there are many ISPs all over the world that need qualified system administrators, and do not require you to be physically near the servers you manage. You can work from PI, manage servers in Australia, get paid in your US bank account (or wherever you live). And that's only one example. You have a lot of options as long as you have power and internet access.
[QUOTE=Irony Monger]If you work in IT, try getting some part time work that allows you to telecommute. For example, there are many ISPs all over the world that need qualified system administrators, and do not require you to be physically near the servers you manage. You can work from PI, manage servers in Australia, get paid in your US bank account (or wherever you live). And that's only one example. You have a lot of options as long as you have power and internet access.[/QUOTE]
Just be careful that you have the right visa, as you are not supposed to work on a tourist visa.
The local authorities won't know about it but there will be some jealous people who will report you especially if you step out of line in their eyes (like start to pull good-looking girls in your house or [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] off a local in some small way).
If you get caught working without a visa they will kick you out of the country very quickly and you will lose any investments you have made in stock, equipment etc.
This has happened to a couple of Koreans in my condo in recent months, and I understand the new government has plans to go after illegal aliens working here illegally.
[QUOTE=Red Kilt]Just be careful that you have the right visa, as you are not supposed to work on a tourist visa.
....[/QUOTE]
Just further to my last post. Note the following taken from the US Embassy website for the Philippines.
"Non-Resident Aliens Who Intend to Work in the Philippines
All foreign nationals seeking admission to the Philippines for the purpose of employment, all non-resident foreign nationals already working in the Philippines, and all non-resident foreign nationals admitted to the Philippines on non-working visas, who wish to work in the Philippines, regardless of the source of compensation and duration of employment are required by the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to secure an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) ..............
Penalties
Aliens who are found working without an employment permit as required by law, are penalized with a fine ranging from one thousand pesos (P1,000.00) to ten thousand pesos (P10,000), or imprisonment ranging from three months to three years, or both. In addition to such penalties, any alien found guilty shall be summarily deported upon completion of service of sentence.
Liza's in the 'manpark' area of Mandaue enjoyed their 10th anniversary party. Roast pig, pig blood extraveganza, turkey, fish, etc... EWR is 1500. This is the place that is tricky to get to, but worth the effort.
Pussycats formerly known as Stars and even before that known as Exotic has transformed as others have noted earlier. If you remember the old place and layout, you can't help notice how the circle stage was cut right in half. I'll never forget sitting opposite of some bloke who was getting serviced at his seat. About alls I could see was his smiling face and her head bobbing up and down. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if the gal sitting next to me hadn't told me.
Temptation seems to be the bar of choice for the koreans now. They even did a few of their stupid lineups right there in the bar. Four guys...lined up at least twenty gals....some girls fidget, some try to fade into the background, but most seem eager to be selected. In the end, no one was chosen. Duh.
Silver Dollar has no A/c, still trying to pull it together after their fire. The place they opened up near Stripes bar has apparently closed. I nominate Stripes as the place that most deserves to close / burn / whatever. Bad vibes.
I still haven't had time to see if the St. Moritz bar is still going. Hope so.
X Man
[QUOTE=FurryFriend]I'm Chinese-American planning to visit Cebu later this year. Do you find many Asian foreigners are also malling? Would you recommend a different approach for Asian guys at Ayala Mall?
I ask this because, for Filipinas looking for a potential overseas husband, many of them think of middle aged to older white dudes.
I know there are lots of Korean dudes in Cebu. I'm not sure if they're exclusively hitting the clubs or if they're also at the malls.[/QUOTE]
No worries Furry Friend. I have seen everything under the sun. I have a korean friend that does extremely well, and he doesnt even like filipina's. Big smiles and just say hi is all I can say. And from the other members commenting, absolutely you can't look desperate. When I'm at the mall I really don't give a shit if I pick one up as my phone is smoking already. Thats one key. And the big hint is, just say hi to someone even if it's to ask where the pharmacy is, you will be suprised. And if you want easy, walk towards Marriott during the evening time and you will get hit on. I dont care who you are!!!!!!!!!!