Looking through rose tinted glasses

[stevewool]

Here i go again asking the obvious and sometimes silly questions to those folk who have been there and have the tee-shirt too, but its something new to me and maybe a few others who may be following .

I have read about so many things on here about life over in the Philippines from people who like life there and those who dont seem to enjoy it as much.

I was just looking at places that could be nice to live in and i remembered what someone said in another post about the house being so grand and just to big for the later years in life , so why build so big , could it be to show off, could it be you have so many kids , or so much money you have to spend it on something.

I think in my quest of a nice life over there is safety first but to see as much as i can when we can , i dont fancy sitting in a house looking out at a concrete wall wondering what is on the other side, or afraid to go on the other side. but am i being realistic about that.

Do you have to live with a wall around you to protect you or is that to protect your belongings , will a privet edge do , i do know its not England where you stand either side or a chain link fence or a white picket fence in the USA and you know you are safe to a certain extent .

All the folk i have been to see over in the Phils do have this wall or some great big dogs i must add.

[Dave Hounddriver]

3 minutes ago, stevewool said:

so why build so big

In many cases its a dream house the individual(s) had for a long time and finally they can afford it.  But after a certain amount of time they find they cannot afford the larger house because building it is the easy part, maintaining it, paying the taxes, and hiring staff to clean and repair it is the expensive part.

If one looks closely there are a LOT of huge houses that have gone to rack and ruin, or are sitting empty, or have only a caretaker awaiting a new purchaser, or rented for dirt cheap because few will pay what they are worth, or filled with family members as the owner left the country and could not sell it.  Funny thing is the owners never seem to drop the price no matter how run down the house gets.  I'll never figure that part out.

On the other hand, there are some big beautiful houses, owned by people who can afford them, that are well kept up.  I'm sure these are either rich people's dream homes or built for large families or possibly built just to show off.  Each to his own.  If you got the money, build what you want 

[intrepid]

52 minutes ago, stevewool said:

Do you have to live with a wall around you to protect you or is that to protect your belongings , will a privet edge do , i do know its not England where you stand either side or a chain link fence or a white picket fence in the USA and you know you are safe to a certain extent .

On my second trip here back in 2004, we had just built a home for MIL.   I was setting outside relaxing and chatting with an older cousin who had traveled around the world somewhat in the past.  I mentioned how nice the new house looked and seemed very solid construction and the foreman had followed my drawings very closely.  Except I had not drawn bars on the windows or a wall/fence around the property.  Asking cousin why all the security around each home here when this small town of San Carlos City seemed very safe?  Earlier talking with the local police superintendent I felt little crime going on here also.  Cousin responded that this country has a lot of poor people and sometimes the temptation to take things is just too much for some of them in need.  Houses built close to the street where an open window with something laying just inside within reach could be an easy target.  He further stated the bars and fence are similar to the door locks used in the western world.  They help keep the honest people out and in check.  He got me thinking.  Back home I could leave my bicycle outside the house all night for days and no one would take it.  However, I surely would not leave it very long in front of my house along the roadside.  So you adapt to the surroundings and take the safety and security measures needed.

[Gary D]

The wall is not for your protection it's to keep the squaters of the lawn.

[MikeB]

1 hour ago, stevewool said:

Do you have to live with a wall around you to protect you or is that to protect your belongings , will a privet edge do , i do know its not England where you stand either side or a chain link fence or a white picket fence in the USA and you know you are safe to a certain extent .

All the folk i have been to see over in the Phils do have this wall or some great big dogs i must add.

The fences are not what keeps you safe in the US, it's the thief's understanding that you can call 911 and get the police there pretty quickly. That, and knowing the homeowner may well be armed to the teeth. You can also have a 24/7 monitored security system, as we do.  

When I lived in the Phils I had the 6 or 7 ft concrete wall all around with barbed wire and the ubiquitous broken glass glued into the top of the wall and steel bars on all windows. Our shih-tsu would hardly qualify as a guard dog though. I did put contact alarms on both doors so that would go off if the door was opened during the night. They're cheap, I definitely recommend doing that. All these things are a necessity but I didn't kid myself that it would keep someone out that was determined to get in. In the 1st class municipality where we lived for 5 years the police may or may not even answer the phone at night. Someone who should know told me there were 20 f/t officers for a 70k+ population, including mountain barangays where they pretty much have their own laws and enforcement. Fire dept, well, that's a whole other topic. 

One of the few foreigners I knew was renting a house from the town mayor at the time. The mayor, of course, was extremely connected and the foreigner thought that would keep him and his property safe. He was robbed the first week when he was out, lost everything. 

The best thing you can do is the oft-repeated "keep a low profile and try not to make enemies". Be courteous and friendly but not too friendly. Don't be flashy and never discuss money. Don't gamble. Common sense things if you choose to live in a "developing country".

[expatuk2014]

A late brother was in the police so we knew all the ins and outs of how the police  work her

And he said when we finally arrive here full time his advice was to live as though everybody else regards us as rich and always think that everybody wants what you have ! Which is why one of the first things we did was to have heavy duty folding gates fitted to the front of the compound and a high sea wall at the back which we raised by another 3 feet later.

No vaulables are kept downstairs and all of the wifes jewellry is kept upstairs in a safe

We never let anybody upstairs that we do not know and most visitors are entertained in our bayo kubo we now have a 24 hour recording CCTV one camera facing the front gate and the road, a second camera facing the walkway between the 3 homes, and the third camera facing the back garden  and the sea wall.

We also have 3 dogs who freely roam in and out of our home and the sisters

our own dog is called Arnie as he is big and he thinks the world of the wife everywhere she goes so does he .my daily watch is a 16yr old seiko i have others which i only wear on special occassions.

Overall i feel safe living here 

 

[jpbago]

14 hours ago, stevewool said:

All the folk i have been to see over in the Phils do have this wall or some great big dogs i must add.

In line with the rose tinted glasses, the walls are there so that nobody steals the imported dogs.

[Reboot]

No one leaves valuable property unsecured and open to theft in the United States. I lock the car. I lock the bike. I don't leave jewelry on a car seat in easy sight. Why? It's a temptation to steal, and someone will succumb. 

However, in the US, I don't worry about leaving my muddy boots in the bed of the pickup truck. No one is going to bother to steal that.

In a wealthy neighborhood, I don't worry about things a lot more valuable than that.

But I've had muddy boots stolen under exactly those circumstances in Central America.

In a poor country, things of small value that it would not occur to anyone as worth the trouble of stealing in a rich country are nevertheless tempting to steal. It's a tempting thing when you are truly poor. Barred windows and doorways, walled property, these are things that discourage the temptation.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Reboot

[Dave Hounddriver]

47 minutes ago, Reboot said:

In a poor country, things of small value that it would not occur to anyone as worth the trouble of stealing in a rich country are nevertheless tempting to steal.

I know it sounds funny to others but I cannot even guess at the number of padlocks I used to buy.  I kept "misplacing them" and had to go buy another.  Then I was informed that I was unlocking my gate and leaving the unlocked padlock in reach of locals.  They stole it for the scrap metal value.  Here's me spending a few hundred pesos on a new padlock every few days so some scrounger can steal it and sell it for 5 pesos.  I don't even want to calculate what that lesson cost me.

[Queenie O.]

Besides the security issues with vehicles and tool sheds and outbuildings and gardens and keeping people honest,  walled houses lend some privacy, style and some sound protection to your place, and keep your dogs/pets out of the road.  We live right along the old national road, not in a subdivision, so we have a high, well lit wall and solid red gate in front, and once you come in to the yard there's a sense of peace and privacy. There are decorative palms and landscaping outside the wall as well.  We have a small cctv camera hooked up by the gate that shows to a computer screen downstairs, but that's only to see who might be at the gate and who needs to come in.  Our back sea wall is pretty high, but not secured, and anyone who really wanted to, could climb it I suppose. We have three outside mongrel dogs that freely roam around, and are quite vocal and protective of their turf though.