Snowy79

I think it's a common concept that may just be tweeking a little.

I think my alarm bells would be ringing if she had a 50% rise one year ago and now she wants a further 50% without an explaination. I'm sorry to sound harsh but if you live apart six months every year it sounds more like a business arrangement than a marriage. Tread carefully.

I usually jog on White beach, Boracay most days and run along the water's edge but a couple of weeks ago the tide was a bit high so I had no choice but to run along the tree line. There's a good 2km of coconut trees lining the beach and as I was approaching Willy's rock one landed just in front of me, it made a good old thump as it hit the beach. Enough of a thump for a group about 20ft away to turn around. Looking up the tree was at least 40ft high and the coconut was larger than my head. I think if it hit me I doubt I'd have survived judging by the imprint in the sand.

Just saying.

They're not made of wood.

I get quaint questions like : why did she like your post? why did you smile at the waitress? Why is that girl looking at you?

You could drop to 50k peso if happy in more basic accomodation. You can get not bad for 15k or slum it at 3k.

For me it's the cost of living on one of the most beautiful islands in the World for about 80k peso per month. I'll add I'm a non drinker, non smoker and like my own cooking. 4.5km of white sand that's cleaned most days and aquamarine seas. Another handful of decent beachs also, all within a 7km long island with an International airport on the doorstep and a ferry port.

Dating sites have been going down hill the last few years and is now turning into a business. There's even offices set up where girls turn up for work daily. Their job is to scam money or to convince you to sign up to a paid dating site. The smart ones don't ask for you to send money they convince you to offer it or they ask for such a small sum that to you it's nothing. One or two dollars, multiply this by ten or twenty guys per day and they earn more than a skilled labourer. There are many decent girls still out there but this quarantine is even making the good ones desperate. Good luck on your endevours but if it was me starting fresh I'd be working on pure friendship first without giving money and maybe arrange to meet a few girls on your first visit. You'd be surprised what phone software can do to a girls looks these days.

Make me the 4th don't do it. Look on it as a bonus though that you have been invited into the family as it narrows down the risk of her being a bar girl. It's a common ploy by bar girls to pretend they are from dangerous areas so the boyfriend doesn't catch onto her lifestyle. From my perspective it's not a safety issue that would be my fear but the massive culture difference. Think of it as an atheist spending Easter with a group of devout catholics. I'd certainly opt for getting the girlfriend to experience a Western culture inside the Philippines than the other way around unless you intend to settle in the province with little Western luxuries. You can rent a nice Air BNB for a month relatively cheap, certainly cheaper than feeding 15 family members for a month in a tourist area and she can bring a chaperone along. Getting to see what makes a Filipino tick on a daily basis is fun enough on your own without a whole family wanting a piece of you. They are lovely people but they can overpower you at times with their questions, if you answer some in a joke like manner be careful as many don't get jokes, this could end up in them taking offence. Best to see how your partner reacts to you then you can gauge her family.

I've noticed over here the best by date can be ignored as you never know how it's been stored before it lands on the shelves. I've had bread lasting and looking fine a few days after the recommended best by date and others going off before that date. The latest being two weeks ago. I bought bread with a four day lifespan and two days later I fancied some French toast just as night was falling. I quickly knocked up two pieces and an hour or two later I was on the CR. I've usually got a cast iron stomach and thought maybe it was dodgy eggs. Got up in the morning and my neighbourhood monkey was outside the window. I had no bananas so thought I'd give in some of my Gardenia bread. I pulled the first slice out in daylight and it was covered in mould. Looking at the rest of the bag it looked like it had been left out for weeks.

It's OK. I self identify as a black, transsexual, lesbian, political refugee from Boracay. They'll be queuing up to offer me free health care and a council house.

For the UK it's only 3 months out of the country and you no longer qualify for free NHS treatment. I'd be working on the principle they can treat someone straight off the first dinghy claiming asylum they can treat me. Failing that treatment is free in prison and I'd get free food and accomodation.

I'm one of life's optimists and currently running with no medical cover. I work on the principle I've had a good life, pretty fit for my age (55) and from my family history we tend to live to a ripe old age. I've had a couple of medical procedures here in the Philippines all injury related and all easily affordable. It certainly worked out cheaper than insurance costs. If I get the big C or any other life threatening disease I'd be heading back to the UK and become a burden on the NHS. Anything else they are free to pull the plug on me.

I think I've been around long enough now to fully grasp the culture here. From my perspective and that of a few more seasoned veterans I can't emphasise enough the old adage of not investing more than you can afford to lose. I relate to my time in the military as a boss and having to advise the youngsters about some of their potential spouses. I'd listen to the same stories that I'd heard 100 times and pretty much knew in 90% of the cases how things would pan out but would they listen? They all were convinced they're the one that would prove me wrong. Sure enough 6 months later they'd be back in my office tails between their legs. Now living in the Philippines I'm seeing it with so called educated adults. Meeting strangers on line and investing their life's savings on their dream partner. You try to advise them but get the " it's true love, she's different." It doesn't matter how many examples you give of couples so in love that suddenly separate once the house is built or couples that split up and a few hours later the love of their life has moved onto a guy she just met on line ten minutes after separating, yes some are that cut throat. I'm actually helping a friend just now who told me his partner walked out once she found out he had run low on money. I'm away from where he is due to Covid so asked a friend to keep an eye on him as he took the break up bad. My friend then told me that'll explain why she was flirting with a load of guys at billiards. She has one kid by him ( maybe) and another on the way. I've learned to buy a decent sized condo and live with your partner long enough to see if the mask slips and then you've still got somewhere to live if things go pear shaped.