I am Confused is Crime bad or not in the Philippines?

[Gene and Viol]

Originally Posted by ecureilx

Atleast, as per my advice, he had left his luggage in Manila, so he didn't have to worry about not having an EXIT PLAN



Nah, the boat man / crew was asking "CHRISTMAS" Tax .. my taxes / fees all were covered paid up .. .

And I was told recently that the Customs / BI in Manila had been told not to even wish pax merry christmas, as, more often than not, it is a hint to ask for "donation"

Way to go ..

Just got out of the hospital from a two day stay and got home to see all your posts here. Just wanted to let ya all know it was great getting home and reading. I didn't have any of the bad experiences when I traveled or made the move here to the islands-so it's interesting to read and learn of others experiences. Keep em coming!!!

Gene

[seram]

Welcome back Gene..Hope all is well.

Euceilx, yeh mate, I knew what you were talking about .

I was just calling it a Xmas tax being polite because it is around this time all over the Phils every Government department in the Philippines hits up foreigner owned business (especially Angeles) for Xmas donations.

Even the cops and traffic wardens are hitting up people with bogus charges to get under the table payments. If they see a foreigner then the fine is triple..

I had my 2 Viagra tablets confiscated at the airport once when flying from Manila to Tacloban.
I was embarrassed because this bloke who frisked me held up the long Que of people waiting in line. He integrated me on what they were and where did I buy them. I tried to whisper they were Viagra but every body was watching and listening to this foreigner getting scrutinized.

I told him to keep them because I couldnt show him a prescription for them..He had never seen Viagra before and thought they were drugs until another older guard came up and told him...He was a dumb c%nt.. I could have crawled into my bag and hidden..

Anyhow..I dont carry them on planes now..haha..Only in my check-in baggage..cheers

[kathiBlinsdide]

hi i am new to foreign travel and a friend suggested that i look around tarlac for housing if i decide to make the Philippians my home he said it was beautiful and the rents were reasonable enough for some one living on a monthly pension. and that they can can live comfortable plus be able to save money. Is this true ??

[ecureilx]

mate, you gotta read and read and read.

Gene has written about his life, almost on lviing on a shoestring (not too cheap, but an okay life .. )

Actually, everywhere in Philippines is great .. but, unless and until you take a trip and realise how the culture is, and how it is not .. vs your expectations.. nobody can answer

Take my case, I was never forced to pay for anything extra-ordinarily or outlandlishly ..

A friend married a girl from Davao, well, she is working in a bank, and when he went to make arrangements for the marriage, his in-laws bluntly told him that he need to budget in atleast 30,000 US$ for 'logistics' and his wife stood by her relatives .. of course, the in-laws are not money-grabbing or leaches .. but in their mind it was fixed that the expat husband will pay ..

And then another friend said yes to a birthday party for his GF, and he was landed with a 5000 $ bill, for a band, big banquet and more and more.

My experience has almost always been on the opposite end .. other than scammers / cheats, I was never asked or demanded payment, from my friends and any of my connections...

And often, 'retirees' try to dabble in 'sideline' businesses, when they find the cost of living is not so cheap and more often than ever, end up with wrong company and it gets messy

Again, spend some time before beleiving such 'comfortable' life stories.. It works for some, it doesn't work for most ..

[seram]

Great advice Ecure......

Yep..kathiBlinsdide, Come here and look listen and learn first before you have pre-conceived ideas on a place.

There are plenty of places in Angeles which is about an hour away from Tarlac to rent for a month until you can get a feel for Tarlac..I have been to Tarlac a few times but couldnt get a good feel for the place. I also stayed at Dap Dap and Bam Bam just out of Tarlac.

What u mean by saving money, is spending less. Yep.. that can be said for anywhere in the provinces depending on your life style. You will battle to save in Angeles and manila where the costs are higher..

Take your time and come and look first..cheers

[piglett]

Originally Posted by kathiBlinsdide

hi i am new to foreign travel and a friend suggested that i look around tarlac for housing if i decide to make the Philippians my home he said it was beautiful and the rents were reasonable enough for some one living on a monthly pension. and that they can can live comfortable plus be able to save money. Is this true ??

really it's all about HOW you wish to live.
if you want to live in the city Manila,Cebu,Davao come to mind, man those places CAN be pricy. however if you don't mind living a ways out or in one of the many provinces then you can if you wish live really cheep. when i was Sibuyan last July one of the long time German residents told me that as long as you don't wish to own a car you can get by fine on as little as $300 a month. (when he needs a car he hires one & it even comes with a driver) now he owns his own place there with no payment but i have seen small but clean apartments in the province for really cheep (3000p a month)


Phil health is cheep & will help pay some of your medical bills if you decide to live full time in the PI.
i'm sure some of the older members on the board will be glad to fill you in on this.
i myself would say that as long as your in fairly good health you could live well in the Philippines if you are in the "rite place"

having said that if you are a hard drinker & want to live in A/C so you can be near the many "cat houses"
your monthly costs will be MUCH higher.

there are just so many "IF's" that come into play
get on a plane & check the place out for yourself


good luck
piglett
Pictures by piglett2195 - Photobucket

[seram]

Off the subject piglett..

Great pics of wharf at Peurta Galera and congratulations mate..You have a beautiful wife.. Forgive me, but you looked hot and uncomfortable in the coat and tie..haha...I felt for you..You wont have to dress like that again..cheers

[kathiBlinsdide]

thank you seram and ecureilx for your wonderful advice i do know some what how to live off the land if need be i have had a lot of practice doing so in good old usa. i love open places where it is off the beaten path so to speak. and clean beaches.
i wouldnt mind living in a grass shack on some beach far from the hustle and bustle of big cities.
so i shall take my time and explore before deciding where i will live in the Philippines when i come visit with in the next few months. i would love to come now but i havent received my passport yet. i still have about 4-8 weeks to wait for it.
can you tell me if it is dangerous for a 57 yr old widow to travel and live alone in the Philippians

[ecureilx]

and to add on, I was in a place, where there was no power for more than 3 days and life goes on .. and nobody whines about it

Oh, and in an island, there was a power outage for 2 days in a row .. and the hospital was on 'manual' mode and life went on ..

[ecureilx]

kathiBlinsdide: not gonna answer your question on 'safety' .. well, as said before, foreigners are considered to be loaded .. so .. even if you live in a 10 feet by 10 feet shack, somebody may decide to whack you for a 'mother lode' you have hidden in your house .. now, that's not saying Philippines is bad, it also depends on the kind of company you keep, the kind of attention you seek .. and more ..

hence, the tendancy for most 'smart' retirees to seek safety in numbers and live in gated communities (even then, you need to step out to do your businesses once in a while right ?? ) .. atleast somebody to look out for them, when things go titty up .. and not end up like the case of guys who have been murdered and for days and nobody even bothered .. far less, nobody even missed them ..

Even if you master tagalog, and have a local wife, 9 out of 10 filipinos will never accept you as a local .. the 1 out of 10 will defend and fight for you, if needed ..

Now, what exactly you gonna do in your 'retirement' ??

And, having lived off the beaten track in Good Ole US comes nowhere near living off the beaten track in Philippines .. says me ..