Philippines Vs Thailand

[johnyB]

Hey I am opening a new topic, because I am curious about it.

 

As a poker player being sick of legislation in european countries I decided to move to SEA. Firstly I want to stay there for 3 months and then I will see if it`s for me or not.

 

As for my question. I am not sure what country should I pick. My budget is significant, but on the other hand I am not too spendthrift. 

 

 

1) Acommodation - I think as far as acommodation is concerned, Bangkok is almost unbeatable. You can find a very nice condo, good located with inside gym and pool on the roof for about 700$. I tried to find something in Cebu, but it seems to be much more expensive and selection is also not as great. Moreover bills for electricity and water seems to be much higher in PH than in Thailand. There are probably a few pokerhouses in Cebu, but that`s not what I am looking for.

 

2) Internet connection - Well, as a poker player I need to have a stable connection. I have read articles that in PH it`s quite rare to have a stable internet connection. Is it true? How much would I have to pay for a stable one?

 

3) People and religion - As for a catholic it would be definitely much more easy for me to get used to living in PH than in Thailand. I also met a lot filipino in Vancouver, BC and all of them were incredibly friendly. 

 

4) Language - Well, if in Thailand was official language english, I wouldn`t think of going to PH, but unfortunately in Thailand hardly anyone speaks english fluently and it makes everything much more complicated. Language is a big reason why I prefer PH.

 

4) Visa - For shorter period of time Thailand seems to be easier as far as visa is concerned

 

5) Girls - Ok, I let this one as the last one. If you compare thai and filipino girls, what are the biggest differences? 

 

 

If anyone can write his opinion or any idea, it would be highly appreciated from me. Cebu seems to be more expensive than Bkk, but as I wrote above, I have never been there so hopefully someone more experienced can add his point of view.

 

[scott h]

Welcome to the forum Johny.

 

Having never been to Thailand, I am sure our member Mogo will be chiming in shortly, BUT as I see it the number 1 advantage of the Philippines is:

 

ENGLISH, you can pretty much travel anywhere in the country and you will be understood and you will be able to understand those you talk to. Signage is almost exclusively in English, so what you might not understand you should be able to puzzle out. I think Mogo has said the further you get away from tourist areas in Thailand the less and less English is spoken. That is simply not true here in the Philippines. 

 

Internet?: The closer you are to a major metro area the better the connection. Here in Metro Manila I so rarely have internet outages it is hardly worth mentioning. (except for natural disasters and those can happen anywhere). Yet in the case of an outage there are alternatives. We keep an "internet stick" (USB plug in) just in case of an outage 100 pesos for 3 days service. Speed is not as high as DSL but I would wager (notice the poker reference lololol) that it would be enough for online gaming.

 

Girls, there are lots of topics here about that, ill let you use the search feature and you can read at your leasure.

 

Expenses. Same as above, but the bottom line. You get what you pay for in the end.

 

Good luck and keep checking back until Mogo chimes in. :cheersty:

[Old55]

I have never been to Thailand but have many times to Philippines the past twenty years. 

Agree with your first three points.

Thai ladies are generally slender even at an older age. Many Filipinas become overweight. Perhaps Thai ladies are more attractive but that is in the eye of the beholder. Culturally Thai people are very different than Western folks Filipinos less so. 

I am married to a Filipina and truly believe you could not find a better wife than a Filipina. 

Edited February 7, 2016 by Old55

[robert k]

With all due respect, I think you need to search the forum, for about a month and not just limit yourself to one forum as you have basically asked for the entire collected wisdom. I would say that if you like Thailand, learn enough Thai to get by. I will say that if you are adaptable, the Philippines is a good place.

 

Accomodation. Cebu is high priced, especially online. I have seen what you described in Manila for about the same price. In fact, I'm pretty sure you can find a nice condo in Cebu for $700 or 33,250php.

 

Internet? I'm sure you can get a decent connection with decent speed. If you need some redundancy from outages, you could go with cable and if it goes out use broadband.

 

Most people I have met in the Philippines are friendly, much of it depends on your attitude.

 

Visa? 30 days free waiver.  2- 6 month tourist visa and with a few other hoops to jump through you can stay up to 3 years before a visa run. From what I hear, the visa run in Thailand about doubles the cost even if you do it in the cheapest most uncomfortable manner.

 

Girls. I like them better than most American women I have met but not all. I have never had a man tell me he knew exactly what women think, want or why they act the way they do. If a man ever does tell me that, I will think he has lost his mind. It doesn't matter where a woman is from, this will apply.

 

Good luck with your search and decision. :tiphat:

[mogo51]

Welcome also to the forum and thanks Scott for the reference.  I think I can give you some answers to most of your inquiries.

I have lived in Thailand on and off 8 years, the last 2 years fulltime.  But in that time, have had 6 trips to Philippines and my s.o is

s Filipino.  She is a teacher here, I  live in Pattaya. We will relocate to Philippines in 12-18 months.

Firstly, accommodation is cheaper in Philippines and $700 would get you very lavish accommodation in both areas.  As advised by Scott for the most reliable internet, Manila and its surrounds would need to be your choice.

Electricity is more expensive in Phils than Thailand.  From what I read, see and inquire there is very little difference in the overall living costs of the two locations.  Infrastructure is somewhat more advanced in Thailand in the cities.

Your biggest problem will be your chosen lifestyle of playing poker - gambling is ILLEGAL in Thailand.  Just last week our wonderful Thai Royal Police raided a house where a number of senior expats were playing BRIDG.  E socially and arrested and charged them.  It has been reported that they have made a grave error as this is not an illegal game, but my point is that this highlights the mind think of RTP.

 

'Farangs'  are only tolerated here, not 'welcomed' and it is getting worse under military rule.  Language and communication is a constant problem. Not sure I agree with the comparisons if body size with Thais/Filipinos - Thais are getting larger!!!

So far as the two choices for partners, I have tried both and there is no comparison  IMO - Filipino women win hands down.  Like Old55 says and I am in total agreement - as I too have an amazing partner.

 

So I think that sums up my views and I hope they are helpful.  Most of all, be wary of your chosen profession and pursuing it here in Thailand.

[Old55]

:th_thbestpost:  :thumbsup:

[johnyB]

Thanks everyone for helpful and firs-rate replies!

[virginprune]

I have lived in both countries, for me the Philippines wins on all counts. I lived in rural Isaan in Thailand, I found there that they have the same issues as here regarding brownouts and Internet connection. Cost of living similar apart from electric, as previously mentioned.

Regarding the people, there are many lovely, friendly people in both countries. I have not been to Thailand for 5 years but I can readily imagine the change in attitudes since the coup....that started noticeably after the airport sit in in 2008.

Concerning visa requirements, it is far easier to stay long term here, in Thailand if you are on a tourist you can only get 15 days renewal now at a walk over, mine was the Friendship Bridge into Laos, unless that has changed. My married friends there, on a married or retirement visa, have to have a large sum, used to be £16,000, in a Thai account at renewal every year and they also still had to do a 90 day report.

The choice is yours, so best to try living for 6 months in each country and choose where you prefer. Good luck!

[Onemore52]

My 2 cents worth:-

 

I have lived in Vietnam, Thailand and now the Philippines.

 

The comment that Mogo51 made about Farangs only being tolerated and not being welcome is so very true in my opinion, and to me that nickname says it all, it is not an endearing term at all.

 

In the Philippines, I have found the people to be warm and friendly and for most of the people I have met do not give a rats two hoots about how much money you have, unlike Thailand, of course there might be the exceptions as in any other country.

 

I was sitting out on the verandah of my 1 bedroom apartment having a San Mig and thought "Yes I am happy here, this will do me just fine"

 

Like I said just my 2 bobs worth.

 

Cheers

[Tukaram (Tim)]

The accommodation and internet kind of go together here in the PIs.  The nicer the area, the better the internet, and the higher the rent.  Thailand seems to beat the PIs for both.  Thailand wins on infrastructure across the board.

 

The 2 biggest things for me was language and ease of visa.  Philippines wins both.

 

The church bit is a bummer - Buddhists make so much more sense to me ha ha... So culture and religion Thailand wins for me.

 

I am married so... girls are not so much of a concern ha ha.... but the eye candy is good in both  :tiphat: