Living Happy

[stevewool]

Having just come back of holiday , we went to Dubai to see the family has  my wife had not seen them face to face for 6 years, a great time we had too,

Why i am asking this is because when we was there the news was on everyday about the phils and the corruption that happens what seems to be all the time,

Does this effect any of you who lives there, your day to day life, am i worrying to much about it,

Idont want to be a target to some smiling captain who wants that extra gift or some other official who thinks they can come and take what is not theres, , does this happen , can you live there below there radar ,

Am i reading and looking into this to much too

[Dave Hounddriver]

Corruption in the Philippines CAN affect any one of us significantly but corruption in the Philippines does not significantly affect most of us.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

Most of the corruption seems to be above my level ha ha.  If I start driving I could deal with a  corrupt cop sometimes I guess.  But just minding my own business at home.. just not a problem.   But now that they know I am here I get donation envelopes just like every other house... basketball uniforms, barangay festival, whatever they need this month ha ha.  But that is not corruption - just being accepted in the neighborhood!     :tiphat:

[jon1]

I think for someone to be able to live Happy, they have to first know what makes them happy and be happy with themselves. I have seen too many unhappy expats that can’t or won’t adjust to their surroundings.

 

To avoid a lot of the corruption, you have to understand the local rules and ways. If living in a metro area like Cebu or Manila, I would recommend hiring a driver until you can get a good lay of the land, the way the traffic rules work (basically no rules), what types of infractions the local police typically enforce, and alleviate a lot of the stressors incurred by driving.

 

I would not recommend getting into any business ventures until you have made plenty of local business friends and learn the in’s and out’s of the area. Even after you think you may have already got all of that info, I would still consult a lawyer to sanity check your business plan and validate any possible irregularities.  Any matter involving local government (driver’s license, vehicle registration, immigration, property tax, etc.) has the potential for corruption to be involved. If you get educated in the processes involved PRIOR to initiation, 99% of the time you will save a lot of cash and ass pain.

 

If you are just living day to day minding your own affairs, you will probably not be affected by the corruption directly. It’s when you get into matters like the above that most people start running into problems.

 

You have to be flexible, set your expectations lower, sloooowwww down and enjoy living here for what it is. I am not saying that you should sacrifice your standards 100% but that is a very unrealistic goal to think that you could live the same as your home country (conveniences wise, products wise).

 

just my $.02 ..

[stevewool]

thanks all so fare for the advice,

That is my plan to slow down and blend in , no business plans at all, just sit and watch the world go buy for the coming months first

[Jake]

I think for someone to be able to live Happy, they have to first know what makes them happy and be happy with themselves. I have seen too many unhappy expats that can’t or won’t adjust to their surroundings.

 

You have to be flexible, set your expectations lower, sloooowwww down and enjoy living here for what it is. I am not saying that you should sacrifice your standards 100% but that is a very unrealistic goal to think that you could live the same as your home country (conveniences wise, products wise).

 

just my $.02 ..

Make that a buck fifty!  Excellent head shot bulls eye Jon......thank you!

[BrettGC]

thanks all so fare for the advice,

That is my plan to slow down and blend in , no business plans at all, just sit and watch the world go buy for the coming months first

 

That's my plan for life :D

[joeatmanila]

Corruption in this country is a fact. How it affects us depends on us. When I go to a government authority for a paper or so, some do have corruption (fixers) and you get your job done faster and less hassle, some do not have any and all is done within the same day. Nothing I could complain about. If I do not want to pay the fixer, I pay the gas back and forth, my time etc. It is what it is and nothing we can do to change it. Either live with it or leave it so to be happy.

On anything else I am not affected. Napoles is way out of my league...

The basketball uniform, neighbor died etc envelopes yes they do have some corruption, say out of 4500p only the 3000 will go to the purpose but as one mentioned above by giving an envelope with 2-300p once twice a month is not a killer but rather an acceptance to the local community. Yes I could pop up and demand clarity and after I will pay...who do I think I am? It's not my country neither culture, or I live with it or I leave it.

Yes there has been times I was asked extraordinary amounts of money for nothing...then there are other ways to go with it, depends the situation but the money did not left my pocket.

Relax guys, lay back enjoy the nice weather, your loving and peaceful family, your san mig, your girls, your boys....whatever makes you happy here and let this world live as they do. If anything you want to change, just give them the example of a good living by seeing the way you live (not monetary wise).

oooppsss wife is calling my foot masseur is here!!!! 150p 1 hour from knee and down, BYE!!!!