Ever Get Bored Or Lonely As An Expat?

[Old55]

I know most Expats living in Philippines have a Filipina companion but do you guys ever get lonely or bored at times?

[Thomas]

Well. I got bored once back when I were 10 years old   :lol: 

(I were eager to make something, but didn't have a small part of the equipment and back then the shops were closed at Sundays, so I had to wait to the day after.)

If I have just paper and pen I have no problem entertain myself, although after home computers, I prefer to use such.

 

But I start to become A BIT bored now, because I'm - but my knee isn't  :1 (103):  -  ready to move to Phils , have done "all" research allready, I want to go to Phils and do the compleeting research before I decide where to settle.

 

In Phils I find it's LESS boring risk, because there are a lot to learn about culture and (local) language...  

(I don't want to start studying the language, before I have decided where to settle, so I know which local language it is there. Probably it will be Visayan, but it can be an other too.)

[MikeB]

Not particularly lonely but lacking in intelligent conversation, probably the reason a lot of us get involved with forums. 

[the_whipster]

intelligent conversations in the Philippines are rare. The odds on most of them occuring in Manila, are probably quite high. At the very least, there is a marked urban/rural divide here.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Only in crowds.  For example, at times when I have been single I have been known to congregate with groups of filipinas in hopes of snagging the best one.  Doesn't work for me.  I find the conversation is quite banal as in What is your job.  Do you have a wife . . blah blah and I have to repeat it many times.  I have much more interesting time when it is one on one.  With other expats, there are times when I have been know to congregate with groups of expats, usually at a coffee shop or bar, in places where I have not yet met anyone I feel comfortable being friends with.  This happens whenever I move to a new place.  When there is a crowd of expats the conversation gets quite down of the Philippines and people usually spout off a lot of crap that I know not to be true.  I find that irritating but in time I get to know the people who I am comfortable with and then . . bye bye boredom.

[jon1]

I always have something to do. When I need some western conversation I pop on down to the local establishment ran by an Aussie and mix it up. Usually once a week is enough for me. I ride my motorcycle, most of the time alone but sometimes with Expats when they are back from their rotations. I have a home brew set up and have started a potted garden on my back porch. My wife and I try a new recipe a week swap out on who cooks the weekly experiments.

 

This week we started off by doing a quick rode trip to Illocos Norte for a 3 day getaway from friends and family. The next couple fo days  I am having my roof redone. Next week, am remodeling my bathroom. 

[Thomas]

intelligent conversations in the Philippines are rare. The odds on most of them occuring in Manila, are probably quite high. At the very least, there is a marked urban/rural divide here.

Well. Perhaps depending of I don't communicate any much with people from Manila, because I don't like Manila  :)

but of the 5 most clever Filipins I know, only one is from Manila, and she is the highest educated, but the LEAST clever of them  :) 

But yes true it's biger chance to find clever people in cities, because there are very few jobs rural for them - but I don't find it any clever to live in the polluted, traffic jamed Manila  :)   if having any other option. 

Two of theese five clever ones are btw LOW educated  (=just High school, which is 2 years less education than we have for High schools in "kano countries".)

[BrettGC]

I guess I'm lucky.  SAO is educated, opinionated and articulate. But yeah when I'm there, I do miss the western perspective sometimes.  But the more time I spend there the less it happens. I find the hardest for me is a common interest, music (I'm a pretty major metal head - any one else had to sit through hours of kareoke mindless pap?), books (she doesn't read a lot - I've always got a few books on the run on the Kindle) and to start with TV (I've educated her on the joys of The Sopranos,  Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under, Dexter, Utopia, Game of Thrones etc).  We enjoy the same movies generally speaking but she's genuinely confused as to why I enjoy doing the renovations on the house myself.  I have a good circle of expat and Pinoy friends there so I do have an outlet.  I've introduced her to the simple pleasure of sitting on the beach, fishing rods in hand, me with a San Magoo and her with a decent bottle of Sav, whether we catch anything is incidental.  I'm not there full time yet, but I can't see things changing much given my attitude to life.  It's all about perspective and damn, whenever I'm there, I'm at my happiest. Long term we'll have to wait and see.

[BlancoDiablo]

Just strike up a conversation with all of the expats that are former SAS, Navy Seal, Green Beret, Delta Force, Marines who served on the Space Shuttle.

 

That will take care of any boredom. 

 

:1 (103):

[the_whipster]

 

Well. Perhaps depending of I don't communicate any much with people from Manila, because I don't like Manila  :)

but of the 5 most clever Filipins I know, only one is from Manila, and she is the highest educated, but the LEAST clever of them  :)

 

this has kind of gone off at a tangent but i find that not only people in Manila tend to be better educated and more wordly, but even lower class people like taxi drivers have better contributions to make if you get talking to them which can be not so easy as obviously in bigger cities people tend to be less communicative and can seem kind of alienated - especially, if you have been in the province for a while. They may not be so friendly. But that does not mean they are not ok. They have just seen more. Manila is just going up a couple of gears compared to provincial cities. Although I don't much like Manila either.