boyee Posted November 9, 2019 Posted November 9, 2019 On this forum I read a lot of guys complaining about many of the things that are irritating about living in the Philippines compared to their western home country. I think this is normal to vent your frustrations however I must believe that because you are still living in this beautiful country there must be more wonderful things that keep you there. I'd like to know what those things are. I'll go first. I am not a fan of super loud singing or blasting car horns but I absolutely love to wake up to a cock crowing, a few motorbikes speeding by and the sound of someone yelling Taho from the distance. Don't get that back at home and it just reminds me of the Philippines. I love the food! Filipino food most of all but all kinds of food seems to taste better in the Philippines. I especially love street food. I love to see kids playing in the streets with a smile on their face. Kids with home made sidewalk games instead of peering into their phones. What do you love about the Philippines that you just don't have in your homeland? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Marvin Boggs Posted November 9, 2019 Popular Post Posted November 9, 2019 (edited) All the complaints that frustrate me about the philippines, tend to have the same root cause as the things I love about the Philippines. 1. - the govt here is too poor and disorganized to have created a 24/7 police state like we have in the US. Most of my fellow expats on here may disagree with that assertion, but i stand by it. I love freedom. In PH I don't have to put up with facial recognition cameras, spy drones, or my car sending a data stream to the govt. They probably don't have the resources to store my phone calls, messages, and text data either, although I have no way to confirm. 2. - I love the happy people in general, and I second your observation about kids and playing. I attribute this to a foundational morality rooted in the Christian faith which has not evaporated yet; and a general lack of affluence that has kept materialsm to a minimum. Filipinos are happy in the simple things of life, and I love that. 3. - I love the big extended family unit, which we have kind of lost in the US culture. We are working on my wife's Filipino family tree, and there are 79 first cousins! Holy guacamole! In the US we have been career-minded and materialist for a couple generations already, perhaps to our detriment. 4. - I love the availability of locally grown food, and locally made products. Sure, we have organic stuff in the US. But in PH i can hear the pig squealing just a few doors down the block. The chickens are still small and tasty. The eggs have huge yolks. When I want a mattress or a piece of furniture, I can just have one made. If I really want to live cheaply, we can just knock together a bamboo hut. 5. - Despite the prevalence of ladyboys here, I love the fact that filipina women expect their men to be men. They don't mind being soft and feminine, and for the most part they expect a man to know what to do. Its very traditional in that regard, and I love it. Edited November 9, 2019 by Marvin Boggs 9 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Popular Post Tommy T. Posted November 9, 2019 Forum Support Popular Post Posted November 9, 2019 (edited) Marvin makes some good points. Firstly, I love my girl... She makes me happy and always tries to please me - cantankerous as I can sometimes be. And I always try to please her. I am not so fond of the loud music (especially the off-tune, drunken karaoke), but it is fun to see virtually all Filipinos usually singing a song or humming a tune. The way of life is generally rather simple compared to USA, but not totally so. To disagree a little with your comment Boyee (sorry) I see virtually everyone with a cell phone in hand. Parents give toy ones to their very young kids so they feel part of the group. As Marvin stated, a lot of kids do fine entertaining themselves with cast-off stuff to make things to amuse themselves - sort of like I did when I was a little kid, so there's that... But having said that, there is the family group and closeness. As Marvin said, a lot of that has been lost in USA. Family is about the number one priority here. Freedom? Hmmm... I can't agree with Marvin totally about his comments considering all the checkpoints I go through on usually a daily basis along with bag checks. But other than those minor inconveniences (that are there for OUR safety as well as others) I feel rather free - except also a slight lack of freedom of speech. As a guest here, I feel it is important to keep quiet about politics and policies that may be irritating or offending... I feel privileged to be permitted to be a guest here and value that highly. I, too, love the availability of fresh vegetables and also very fresh seafood. I don't love Filipino food in general, but I like a lot of it - especially my favourite, kinilaw! Whenever L and I visit any relatives, they always make that for me. Mostly, the people are nice to me and very helpful especially if I look like I need a bit of assistance. While some of us (me included at times) knock the lack of availability of some western products, here you can always get what you need, just not always some things that you might want. That's not a big deal for me. Edited November 9, 2019 by Tommy T. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Arizona Kid Posted November 9, 2019 Popular Post Posted November 9, 2019 2 hours ago, boyee said: What do you love about the Philippines that you just don't have in your homeland? I love what they don't have here. Loud alarm clocks and self entitled people! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Kid Posted November 9, 2019 Posted November 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Marvin Boggs said: Despite the prevalence of ladyboys here My GF and I love seeing them when we go for a drive every day. We know 2 of them and they are some of the funniest people I've ever met. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post GeoffH Posted November 9, 2019 Popular Post Posted November 9, 2019 (edited) As I get older I am finding that the increasing regulation and oversight of everything in Australia annoys me more and more. It's true we have to be a bit careful around some subjects in the Philippines but there are many more topics that are now effectively off limits in Australia. And the comments about family are correct in my opinion, in Australia there isn't the single family unit that existed when I was young. My Australian family are spread around a country that takes 4 hours to fly across and don't see each other a lot, even the closer couple are once a month visits if that.there isn't the same large family experience that I have and love in the Philippines. And I know people complain about the heat, and sure it does get hot... but I grew up with freezing winters and I hated them then and I hate them now. And now I'm older I can't handle being out in the freezing cold like I could when I was young, it triggers my angina half the time. So I end up staying inside a lot when I'm in Australia. And honestly, the malls in the Philippines are so far ahead of the ones near where I live in Australia that there isn't a comparison, yes there are big ones in Melbourne and Sydney but I live in the country, near a smaller city of 140,000 and the malls are small too. And wages are high, so I have to do a lot of stuff myself that I am finding it increasingly difficult to do. Edited November 9, 2019 by GeoffH 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bastonjock Posted November 9, 2019 Popular Post Posted November 9, 2019 The stuff that I like about the Philippines is the stuff that reminds me of the way that it used to be in Scotland Relatives would drop in unannounced, they would turn up and there would be drinks and food and a song or two , this was before karaoke, so of you played an I instrument you were most welcome Family gatherings of thirty to forty people , at the beach , games of football with just jackets as goal posts , we kids would make our own fun , a phone was something that was in a big red box My dad and his brothers did not use banks, they borrowed when necessary from each other and paid it back , families supported each other 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Popular Post scott h Posted November 10, 2019 Forum Support Popular Post Posted November 10, 2019 18 hours ago, boyee said: What do you love about the Philippines This is an easy one. I will love anyplace where I can retire at the age of 55 and my standard of living goes from solid middle class to middle upper class just by getting off the airplane. Are there things here that bug me? Yep, but I can put up with a lot of crap for the quality of life I can afford here 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Tommy T. Posted November 10, 2019 Forum Support Posted November 10, 2019 (edited) 20 hours ago, GeoffH said: And I know people complain about the heat, and sure it does get hot... but I grew up with freezing winters and I hated them then and I hate them now. And now I'm older I can't handle being out in the freezing cold like I could when I was young, it triggers my angina half the time. So I end up staying inside a lot when I'm in Australia. Yeah... I forgot to mention climate. I would rather be here where it is maybe a bit too hot often, than in Toronto, Chicago or Seattle in winter when my nose hairs freeze! i think I also forgot to mention that the overall pace of life here is slower (except for motorcycles and traffic when there are no blocking snarls). USA was just too fast paced for me... And I hate malls. But the ones here are better than the ones in a number of other places I have lived... Edited November 10, 2019 by Tommy T. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post boyee Posted November 10, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted November 10, 2019 Forgot to mention the girls... too cute 2 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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