Dave Hounddriver

Add my vote. We stopped using pocket wifi years ago. Just use the data on the phone. I pay 299 pesos a month. It is only 2 gigs but I am not using it to watch movies so it is fine for facebook, email, and messages.

Tell it to the judge. (Edit: I do see the humor in the video. I suspect the whole event was staged for that purpose. Otherwise, the people with the sticky paper are self appointed vigilantes.)

Topic moved to appropriate subject heading. Sorry I cannot help with your question.

Maybe not in the UK, but come to the Dumaguete get together on Thursday. Buy us all a round and we'll get Jack to sign that you are a good 'un.

Yes, or if they watched him get out of the car and run into the store, then they papered his car, then he came out pushing his granny in a wheelchair.

Yes I stayed in a very expensive condo in Cebu that was cockroach infested. Welcome to the Philippines. I have also stayed in expensive hotels in the Philippines with ants or bed bugs. It is what it is. But its a treat to find one clean of all vermin.

I found World Remit to be the quickest way to send cash. After getting the bugs out of it (sorting out their ID requirements) I can go online and send instantly and she can pick up as quick as she can get to a L'Huillier. For longer term, planned sending I prefer a Philippine bank account which I can transfer to using Transferwise. I can give her my debit card and she can take the money from any ATM. But as previously mentioned, the BEST way is not to do it at all. Ohh if only I could be so lucky.

It is great for retired Armed Force officers of foreign countries with existing military ties and/or agreement with the Philippine Government. A monthly pension of at least US$1,000.00. If you qualify for it then you will likely find it is the best deal available.

So true I find myself starting to wonder why that is. Perhaps it is the way they are raised. Perhaps it is the church telling them it is better to give than to receive. However the end result is people spending whatever they have in their pockets and thinking that others will provide for them tomorrow. I suspect that your wife is comunicating to her family and friends that you found yourself with some spare cash and are unsure what to do with it. Hence the message. I have tried to instill a commitment to silence in my wife, explaining that our financial affairs are nobody else's business and illustrating the point with anecdotes about her speaking about our business and the consequences of same. She is coming around, slowly.

I have seen Aussies do that when they build a house for themselves, but then they have to use only appliances and tools with an Aussie type plug or else find an adaptor. I have seen Americans do that PLUS bring all their own tools and appliances and get a 110V transformer so they can live as if they never left home. So the answer is yes. It is mildly inconvenient for others who will may want to use the sockets for local appliances but if you are using English appliances and tools and want English sockets then you should bloody well have them!

Would you know? I had my Panasonic air conditioner fixed (couple of years back now). The guy took it to his shop and it came back fixed. Great, it was only the capacitor. A couple of years later it needed to be fixed again, this time for another problem. The repairman charged me 7500 pesos for a "motherboard". I said: "The darn thing is only 5 years old, how is it that it needs a "motherboard"?" The repairman said: "The aircon is only 5 years old but the motherboard is at least 10 years old, where did you get it repaired last?"

https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k4372

Not personally but I know three couples in a similar situation. A few years into the youngsters and none of the expats are unhappy about their decision, even though the first year of life for some of the babies was fraught with medical problems. I am told that the medical expenses getting through that first year were higher than all the other costs. Insurance helps. It is commonly believed (proven? I dunno) that a baby with an older father will have more medical problems.

Interesting. Learned something new today. "LPG is mixture of flammable hydrocarbon gases that include propane, butane, isobutane and mixtures of the three". In the past I thought it was a synonym for propane. Thanks for educating me. Fortunately, Dr Google says they are interchangeable. Google says: "So in theory, because LPG is a combination of propane and butane and these gases are suitable for use with a barbecue grill then there's no reason why you can't use LPG. Certainly there is no issue with smells or odours contaminating the food." But don't believe everything Dr Google says. Try it and let us know if the food tastes the same.

On or before 30 days has passed you extend up to 59 days at any Bureau of Immigration office. On or before the 59th day you go back to the BI office and ask for a 2 month extension. Repeat as needed.

. . . . had great insurance and a healthy bank balance as that hospital bill was over 2 Million pesos almost a decade ago. When a good Philippine hospital sees you coming with buckets of cash then they bend over backwards to treat you well. Some Philippine hospitals even do a good job with only small buckets of cash. Very few Philippine hospitals do a good job if you are on the kind of budget that members of this forum often mention. This is all my opinion based on observation of others in Philippine hospitals, and observation of those hospitals via first hand experience. Have you been in the hospital here JGF? I am wondering why the praise you give them. I mean its not like I died in there so I cannot say they are not that bad. Hmmm, but many others I know did die in Philippine hospitals so I cannot say they are that good.

Yes, but the test is called the "Common Basic Sense" test, sometimes colloquially called the Common BS test. It is administered frequently on this forum. Don't worry. You passed.

Perhaps. Or your reaction could just be "butt hurt" because Sweden is further down the list than you would like it to be. Funny how people get when their IQ is mentioned.

I won't disagree with you. I will just say that: With all the High IQ expats retiring in the Philippines, one would think we would bring up their average.

If you think you are giving everything now, wait until the divorce lawyer gets involved. Find a way for her to get what she wants. Happy wife = happy life. Not saying be a doormat, just find a way for her to get it . . like pay for lessons out of her share of the family budget.

Are you sure? How did you wire you 220V dryer or range?

Thats irony. Getting information on intelligence from the Telegraph I mean.

Here is a very interesting report listing countries by their average IQ level http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/average-iq-by-country/ It is very interesting to me, because most of Southeast Asia scores higher for average IQ than the countries we expats come from. I guess we are not so smart after all. However, with most of South East Asia scoring very high, the Philippines looks to be the lowest on the list. How can that be?

Positive. Done it many times

I did what you suggest when I was 52. I had half your money. It went faster than expected. But I enjoyed every minute of it. If you live long enough you will be on a smaller budget than those around you. But while you have your health and some money is a good time to enjoy life. Some enjoy life by partying it up in the Philippines. Others enjoy life by working until they are in the grave. I don't understand those latter types but I know some. Up to you what you enjoy doing.