Is It A Safe Place To Be

[stevewool]

Most of us have that dream to one day move over to the Phils and live happily ever after, well try too,

Well after reading a few threads from other sites and on the news too about people being murdered or rob and so on, it has put a downer on things,

Am i moving to a place that is going to be bad for my future,

I am planning my future to live simple and safe but to enjoy myself going to places and staying as long as i would want too, i am not into dangerous things and i dont go out showing off with look what i have sort of thing,

So is it still a safe place to think this is going to be my future, our base will be Marikina but also i may like other places too stay for months on end,

The people who are living over in the Phils have you seen a change in how you act on safety for yourself and your family, are there places that you just do not go too,

England is not a bad place to be but there are places you know to avoid

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

So is it still a safe place

 

No, and yes.

 

It is no safer than anywhere else, and no worse.  I can tell you misadventure stories about things that happened to me and my close friends in the Philippines but I can also tell similar stories that I hear from my relatives when they are walking the streets of London.

 

It is wise to prepare for the worst.  I mean use caution, have a dog, bar the windows and doors, lock the gate, have a security guard if its practical and don't leave your house empty.  But then you hope for the best and most times you get lucky and no bad things happen to you.  Don't get a false sense of security when nothing bad has happened for a while as that's when you will get your motorbike stolen.  :cheers:

[expatuk2014]

I live in Los banos , more or less surrounded by relatives ( aunts-cousins-brother-sister etc )

I feel quite safe but theres always the thought of being robbed when we go out !

A cousin lives opposite us and house was broken into and things taken while he was at his daughters wedding !

luckily he had seen my security camera I had installed myself and I had shown him hot it works and he bought

3 a week before his daughters wedding !! it was one of his drinking buddies that broke into his house !!

I am installing 3 more cameras so the whole area will be covered ! will then have 3 waterproof fixed cameras and one wireless

controlable camera at the main gate  with a speaker !

 

we have dogs as well and so do the neighbours ! we have grills on windows on the main family home and soon all windows.

but for me cameras are a good thing and cheap !

 

 never keep all atm-credit cards together and only use the cards you need at the time.

both you and your wife have a set of door keys when you go out.

dont wear expensive watches just to go shopping espec if you have to use a jeepney

a friend of ours got held up just for his seiko 5 watch !!

never keep all your money together split it 50/50 when you go shopping !

 

and dont even think of carrying a gun or replica 

and dont carry a stun gun or stun torch !

 

yes may seem obvious but be careful and the philippines really can be paradise !

[Methersgate]

I live in Los banos , more or less surrounded by relatives ( aunts-cousins-brother-sister etc )

I feel quite safe but theres always the thought of being robbed when we go out !

A cousin lives opposite us and house was broken into and things taken while he was at his daughters wedding !

luckily he had seen my security camera I had installed myself and I had shown him hot it works and he bought

3 a week before his daughters wedding !! it was one of his drinking buddies that broke into his house !!

I am installing 3 more cameras so the whole area will be covered ! will then have 3 waterproof fixed cameras and one wireless

controlable camera at the main gate  with a speaker !

 

we have dogs as well and so do the neighbours ! we have grills on windows on the main family home and soon all windows.

but for me cameras are a good thing and cheap !

 

 never keep all atm-credit cards together and only use the cards you need at the time.

both you and your wife have a set of door keys when you go out.

dont wear expensive watches just to go shopping espec if you have to use a jeepney

a friend of ours got held up just for his seiko 5 watch !!

never keep all your money together split it 50/50 when you go shopping !

 

and dont even think of carrying a gun or replica 

and dont carry a stun gun or stun torch !

 

yes may seem obvious but be careful and the philippines really can be paradise !

 

That looks like really good advice. 

 

To be held up for a Seiko 5 is quite something, but it is the watch that all Filipino seafarers buy, so it comes with a reputation (and its a good watch)

 

Would love to know how the cousin dealt with the discovery.. but it does illustrate that what people say and what people actually think can be two very different things.

On the whole I would rather rely on relatives than on security guards. But that may be more expensive... 

[scott h]

So is it still a safe place to think this is going to be my future, our base will be Marikina but also i may like other places too stay for months on end,

 

Good topic Steve, one that has been addressed many times before, but IMHO one that can never be revisited to often.

 

Just like our home countries, there are areas here that smart people NEVER go into. The same holds here, if you see a bunch of young men standing in a narrow street, don't walk down it. If a person doesn't need to be walking around at 2am in the morning, don't lol.

 

We have lived here in Metro Manila going on 3 years, I walk 3-5 kilometers a day. (at 4pm). I don't walk down narrow dark streets, I keep my head on a swivel and avoid dicey situations. I have never (knock on wood) had a single problem (safety wise).

 

We have bars on our windows (quite decorative in fact), well lit street (again, quit decorative and adds to the appearance of the house) lock the doors at night or when we are taking a nap. We have never had a break in.

 

In other words, if we use good common sense I really don't see how we can be less safe here than in our home countries.

 

But that's just me. :cheersty:

[Old55]

expatuk2014, I agree with you having family living around you would be very beneficial. 

I'm also curious how the thief was dealt with.

[Gratefuled]

A quote from your question

 

"The people who are living over in the Phils have you seen a change in how you act on safety for yourself and your family, are there places that you just do not go too,

England is not a bad place to be but there are places you know to avoid"

 

I feel very safe here in Mindanao. I would feel safer if allowed to own some firearms. No one wants to be a victim. However, I've never felt any need for weapons for protection. I guess maybe just lucky or maybe I know how to behave and where to go and not to go.

I was in more danger in southern California by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

so, yes, the PI with all its faults is safe if you behave and are cautious and know where to go and where to avoid trouble.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

My wife tells me not to go on walks by myself because it is not safe.  I tell her if I did not deel safe I would not live here. 

 

Sure there are some bad guys here - just like anywhere.  I feel just as safe here as I did in the US.  Actually I feel safer becasue everyone here is so much friendlier.  Use your common sense and you should be ok.

 

I spent a year living in a bamboo house.  We did lock the door when we left... but had no windows... so what was the point?  We would go on a trip for a week and our big screen tv would still be in our house when we got home.  I think you are more likely to get run over by a jeepney or bus than robbed or murdered.  :tiphat:

[mogo51]

Yes a very good topic and some excellent input by members. Evenu5ally, we will be living in Phils, so I am

on a mission to try and find the best place. As I will check out (more than likely) before her, it is a

serious decision for us, when the time comes.

In the times I have been in Phils, I have never felt unsafe but the same can be said for Thailand where I am

currently.

The safety measures that many members have gone to, seems excessive to me, but that does not mean I believe they

\are, it is up to the individual to apply appropriate security as they deem necessary. I think the CC cameras seem a

good idea. They have great success in Thailand 'solving' crimes. But it is a shame such measures are required, but

such is the way life has evolved in this crazy world. NEVER would I have a gun.

[Dave Hounddriver]

The safety measures that many members have gone to, seems excessive to me,

 

I remember they seemed excessive to me in the beginning.  Then after you are the victim and see a few friends being victims you realize the importance.  Unfortunately the criminal types can sense the new people and they tend to become victims before they become educated.  Sometimes I think it is a badge of honor among the criminal types to show off what security measures they can get around so in those instances higher walls and barred windows are simply a challenge.  It will surely surprise you when you first see a filipino scampering over a 14 foot high wall in 14 seconds, or when he puts his hand through your open, (but barred) window to snatch your keys off the nightstand so he can unlock the door and walk in unhindered.

 

Yesterday morning I heard a persistent pounding on the front door at 9 am.  I wasn't expecting anyone but checked and found one of the subdivision workers who was here to do some cosmetic work on my gate.  So he needed me to unlock it.  YEP.  The gate was chained and locked and I am surrounded by a privacy wall but he had just hopped over the locked gate to knock on my door.  And that is why so many have yappy dogs.