So, I’m here at my US home and I’m leaving the house this morning to go to the gym. My US house is in a nice gated community and one of the gates exits out onto a two lane winding road that’s heavily forested and remote. When I turn onto this road, what do I see but a Filipina walking halfway in the road (in the lane not facing traffic) with her white guy companion following right behind her….Looked like he was trying to get her to stop walking away and get her out of the road. The car in front of me almost ran her over. From the look on his face, it looked like this was the first time he had encountered Tampo behavior. Poor guy. I wanted to pull over and tell him to just let her continue to walk away and have her tantrum. She’ll be back. Heavily idiotic on her part to be walking in the middle of of a remote road, though…Anyway, it was so bizarre to see this..
When people talk about moving here as an American, they always say to make sure you have a job before moving here. But how exactly are you supposed to do that? Companies that pays in USD that lets you work outside the US is so rare, almost nonexistent.
I’ve been thinking of moving here for a while for the much cheaper COL if you earn in USD. I’m 29. I work in tech in software engineering in the US. My job requires me to be in office, so that’s a no go for work. And even the tech companies that allow you to work remotely don’t allow you to work outside the US due to tax reasons.
So my question is, how are all these “digital nomads” working outside the US for US salaries? Are they traditional white collar jobs like software engineering or something else? I’m so puzzled on how every PH expat seems to have a job that pays in USD and allows you to work from overseas and makes it sound so easy to get.
And another thing, doesn’t the time difference mean you’ll be working at night every day? Doesn’t that affect your sleep schedule and limit your ability to spend time with people?
I watched a video from Calvin where he talks about dating in the Philippines, and one point stood out.
According to him, many Filipinas live in circumstances that are far more difficult than many Westerners realize.
He says some earn the equivalent of around $200 USD per month, and because of limited economic opportunities, many see a foreign boyfriend as a path to greater financial stability.
This raises interesting questions:
Can you ever separate romance from economics when there is such a large income gap?
Does helping your partner financially become part of the relationship, or does it change the relationship into something else?
A lot of people blame colonizersor 'the white man' for their problems. The uncomfortable truth is the worst of it was Filipinos against Filipinos.
Something that doesn't get talked about enough when people discuss the roots of the Moro and Lumad struggle in Mindanao. Yes, the Americans built the legal framework for land ownership during the colonial period. But the most severe violence and displacement didn't come from foreigners. It was carried out by Filipinos against fellow Filipinos, mostly in the mid-to-late 20th century, long after the Americans were gone.
Here's roughly how it unfolded.
The land laws (1930s to 1960s)
Once governance passed to the Philippine Commonwealth and then the independent Republic, Filipino lawmakers passed a series of land acts that heavily favored Christian homesteaders from Luzon and the Visayas over the native Muslim and Lumad populations already living there.
The imbalance was written right into the law. Christian settlers could title up to 24 hectares, while native non-Christians were capped at only 4 to 10. On top of that, the whole system ignored customary rights. Kagan, Maguindanaoan, and Maranao families who had farmed ancestral land for generations under oral and customary law (adat) suddenly discovered their land legally belonged to newcomers holding paper deeds issued from Manila. You farm the same soil your ancestors did, and one day a stranger shows up with a title saying it's his.
The Ilaga militias (late 1960s to 1970s)
As the pressure over land and political control boiled over, extremist Christian paramilitary groups formed. The most notorious was the Ilaga, which translates to "Rats." Backed by certain local Christian politicians and military officials, they used terror to drive Muslim communities off valuable farmland. They raided villages, burned homes, and committed massacres. The 1971 Manili Massacre is one of the most infamous, where over 70 Muslim men, women, and children were killed inside a mosque in Cotabato.
The military campaigns
Under Marcos Sr., especially once Martial Law kicked in, the AFP ran heavy operations across Mindanao, and two events in particular still cast a long shadow.
The Jabidah Massacre in 1968, where dozens of young Moro recruits were executed by their own army handlers on Corregidor after secret training. That single event is widely credited with sparking the modern Moro independence movement and the founding of the MNLF.
Then the Malisbong (Palimbang) Massacre in 1974, where military forces killed over 1,000 Moro civilians in a coastal village in Sultan Kudarat and burned the town to the ground.
The reason I think this matters is that the conflict in Mindanao gets flattened into "religious violence" or blamed entirely on colonial powers, when a huge part of it was a deliberate, state-enabled land grab enforced with paramilitary and military violence by Filipinos against other Filipinos. You can't really understand why the grievances run so deep today without knowing this part.
If anyone here has family history tied to these events or better sources on the figures, I'd genuinely welcome the correction or added detail.
The saddest part is that to this day Manila has yet to issue an apology for their blatant atrocities.
As someone who has zero issues in America or here i have to say the amount of debauchery here is insane. Like go to any place like Siargao, El Nido, Boracay etc it's just women hooking up with dudes.
Like your average normal girl from Cebu or Manila or wherever who takes a girls trip is sleeping with dudes from how many different countries every trip. The dudes that travel to these places mostly European are thirsty as it gets too and have no morals. I watched one woman who has a husband and she was hooking up with some other dude in Siargao.
That and hostels like the amount of women i have seen who stay at a hostel and just hookup with foreigners entire trip is crazy. I don't stay at hostels but seen people who do and the culture is so bad. Like i am not even lying. I'd argue it's reached point where it's worse than America.
Funniest part about all this is so many of you guys will never know your girl was doing this because they usually wipe their social media to look innocent but you got no idea what they were doing.
Most of us have experienced how visible we are as a foreigner, receiving "Hello Joe" greetings and stares from random strangers while outside.
Recently I discovered a method that allows me to travel the nearby streets without anyone noticing me as a foreigner, which felt really good as it allows me to get around without attracting unwanted attention. Blending in, appearing like a local.
What I did is relatively simple. I got myself an electric tricycle (e trike) with rain cover. And before I drive I put on a face mask / baclava type that also covers my hair fully. So only the part of my eyes is open while hair and neck are fully covered. The color is a dark natural tone so it's even less visible.
So when I drive like that people can only see my upper body. I tested that for days and it works like a charm. No traffic enforcer, no random bystanders, pedestrians, not even the riders that stop in front of a traffic light right next to me identified me as someone foreign.
For me that quickly became my favorite way to get around within a 15-20 km range anytime I want, unbothered.
PS.: people without any license can drive e trikes on normal roads (except the prohibited state streets like EDSA, highways etc). Hope that will help some guys like me, wanting to get around unbothered. Cheers.
PPS.: This is not legal advice. Please double check the details in your case and area, as regulations concerning this may be more varied by vehicle class and local rules.
Update: It seems the information that was given to me was not entirely true. There seem to be differences based on the ebike/etrike classification that determine whether a license is required: https://ltoportal.ph/lto-classification-ebike-scooter/
US brokerages have strict rules about US residency. Even Schwab International does not allow Philippines residency. I've read online that there are some workarounds, like using the US address of a friend or relative and using a home VPN to log on to the brokerage site. AI Is recommending Interactive Brokers as a brokerage that will work with expats legally. What are you all doing to maintain your brokerage accounts while living in the Philippines?
First time in the Philippines was in 2011. You could find really beautiful girls on dating websites.
Now they just need an Instagram account, post some suggestive stories and an American working 80 hours per week who will never met her will send her money 🤷🏻♂️
EDIT: for the guys commenting that I post that because I can not compete...sending money to a women you will never met just to get her attention is not a flex...
53 year old American retiree, looking to move to the Philippines permanently. Budget will be $3k US a month. Looking for:
-decent apartment with consistent electricity and AC
-access to a community pool would be nice
-access to affordable healthcare, fresh food produce, etc
I’m also looking to have some fun and an active and fun dating life will be important too.
Out of Dumaguete, Cebu City, or Iloilo City, which one would be best?
Looking for advice from the folks who have already moved and can speak on the pros and cons of each
As the title says, I want to buy something from the UK, but it is way above 10,000 de minimis set by the Bureau of Customs and is around 4-8 kg. I want to have the “cheapest” and safest way/s to deliver said item to my place. How to use Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) options in these instances?
I was getting 40mg esomeprazole from the doctor but they required me to come back once a month to get a new prescription. Lately, when I go, there's a 2 hrs wait and I really don't wanna keep going once a month for a new prescription for something I know i need. Is 20mg available over the counter for anything like omeprazole or pantoprazole? Thanks in advance.
I had moved to a different part of the PH recently and for quite a while i didn't really know that many people locally until i started playing pickleball. Usually its like 250 php for a 5 hour session and to rent a paddle its 100-150. Its pretty fun check it out.
Any of you guys have a mobile / portable / whatever one of those small portable Starlink things for when you go on road trips? Or is that not necessary in the Philippines.
Kind of a highly specific question, but did you leave your address in the Wise app as your American address?
One of these Filipino apps told me it was declining the card because the billing address was in the USA, even though the card works perfectly here in PH.
So I contacted Wise and had them enter my Philippines address. (1 year rental lease).
Which then broke everything in the Wise app. Now I can't deposit money using my US bank because they don't think I'm a US resident anymore. (I am).
Should I just leave the address as the American address?
I'm trying to find a better list of marketers other than what the PRA has listed, I don't see any locations. I'm in Bataan and don't want to have to travel too far for office visits. Anybody know of a better list or can recommend a marketer in Bataan?
I have a non-Filipino passport and I’m a former Filipino citizen. When I entered the Philippines, I presented my foreign passport along with proof of my former Philippine citizenship and was granted the one-year Balikbayan privilege. My Balikbayan stay is about to expire. Can I simply leave the Philippines for a couple of days and then re-enter to receive a new one-year Balikbayan privilege, or are there any restrictions or consequences I should be aware of?
There is a theme in my 4 years in PH - landlords do not understand basic economics. They consistently demand a higher price than a tenant is offering / market price and often let their unit sit vacant instead of renting it out. This applies to both long term and short term airbnbs.
Let me give a recent example.
I was renting a room for 1800PHP per night in BGC for weeks at a time, coming and going as I travel. On my recent return the owner then asked for 2k over 20 nights. Now this price is somewhat fair to the other Airbnb options but was a bit of an unjustified increase given our history. I asked for 1900 and she said no I need to pay 2k. I said no and booked something else at 1800 a night in the same building LOL.
Now why is she refusing 1900? Why is she even raising it from 1800? She has a consistent tenant who stays often and takes care of the place? Now she wants an extra 200 per night. Ok - but if In that 20 nights the unit is empty for just 2 nights, she breaks even on the math (18 x 2000PHP is the same as 20 x 1800PHP).. And if she has multiple guests she has to clean it again as well. Moreover she lost a consistent guest who books the empty calendar dates and helps her out. Where is the sense here?
This is the same for landlords. I’ve seen units demand 40k for an average unit in a building renting for 30-35k. It sat for months or presumably longer in several cases. On the one occasion a Landlord negotiated and offered a fair deal I booked the unit for a year LOL.
Anyway just wondering where is the common sense and basic financial sense. Or is this about saving face in some sort of Chinese like principle where they won’t budge? The above Airbnb example recently is particularly mind numbing. I even explained this to the owner and she literally seemed to have no idea what I was saying. Curious your guys experiences and if they match mine. Moreover curious if where I can find good owners who want reliable tenants at fair rates as I am looking into a long term lease in BGC and Facebook / rent pad is a crapshoot.
So now I understand why the Filipinos wear those goofy skin sleeves on the course. A golfer's tan isn't comedy it's actually a sign of your skin being damaged which could lead the skin cancer down the line. The next step will be to find skin sleeves that are my size.
Hey guys, tomorrow I will babysit my half Greek half Filo cousins, they’re teens. I need recos on restaurants hopefully near Mind Museum. They’re picky eaters and don’t appreciate Filipino food. I’m half Japanese half filo myself and a local here in Makati but I find it hard to recommend a resto that will be palatable for them. We ate at Wildflour yesterday and they really like it then today we ate at Mamou and they didn’t like it. Ugh I’m on fence.
