What do you NOT love about living in the Philippines?

[GeoffH]

The main thing I don't like in the Philippines is the lack of emergency medical care, regular care (except on holidays) is fine.

Sometimes the pollution is bad but I tend to avoid going into the city on days like that.

 

Honestly there are more things that annoy me about Australia as it is these days than there are about the Philippines.

[Guy F.]

Enjoy "It Is What It Is" by The Dogs of Wah, a band composed of expats in Bohol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Qwv0p4mAU

[Jack D]

5 hours ago, Viking said:

He did  in the other topic,  what we love about living in Philippines. This topic is about what we don´t like.

My mistake, since I meant to ask him what he did NOT like about living in the Philippines.  

[gery0x]

13 hours ago, Jack D said:

gery0x, could you please tell us what you NOT [sic] love about living in the Philippines?

you're right, sorry about that, I didn't even leave a personal opinion in my own topic yet *lol*!

 

Hmmm.... What comes to mind....

No.1: the concept of 'loss of face' can be annoying sometimes, but I can actually handle that because I regularly spend time in mainland China and there this is much much MUCH much worse than in the Philippines!!

 

No.2a: as another member already said: the lack of effort to do things correctly/exactly! Whenever I hire somebody to do some work around my house (e.g. a plumber or a mason) I have to control almost every single of their steps in order to get the job done right.

I know of only one (1!) single carpenter who really does an amazing job every time I hire him!

No.2b: when you pay them too much at a time, there is a high chance that the next day they simply won't show up at the construction site!

 

So that's definitely the negative aspect of the "l'aisse faire"-lifestyle which I positively mentioned in the other topic... (here (click))

 

No.3: the littering and carelessness with nature!

The guy in the video in post #1 of this topic complains about that too and I think he is absolutely right; for every tiny thing you buy they give you a plastic bag, which I more often than not refuse with the words "save the planet!!".

And where do all these plastic bags end up at the end of the day? On the streets and (much worse) in the ocean, because there literally are no trashcans around the city!

 

No.4: the widespread assumption that every single americano must be smoking RICH!!!

This doesn't relate to close friends and relatives of course, but for example I'm sure all of you once hailed a cab at NAIA or somewhere in Manila and were charged 5x the regular price.

(in German language we call this "Langnasenzuschlag" -> "long nose surcharge" )

 

No.5: this will sound funny but it's actually true: tourists!

I hate nothing more than the typical 2-week-tourists who think they can treat the locals in condescending ways because of No.4!

Gladly Davao is pretty much safe concerning tourism because everybody is afraid of Mindanao these days.

 

Well, actually that's all. In overall I love living here and I didn't regret it for a single day so far.

And, as others already said, there are far more things that I dislike about my country of origin as opposed to the Phils! But that's a different story...

Edited December 21, 2019 by gery0x

[Jack Peterson]

I often wonder what we would think or have to say if our Filipino members (and we have a few) Told us here what they Did Not love about us (The foreigner) being here, many of them would say There is an Alternative  

[Marvin Boggs]

After learning to manage my expectations pretty well, there is one persistent gripe that I just can't get over:  Public urination.  I find it filthy, disgusting, and lazy.  And I'm not talking about peeing discretely in the bushes, I'm referring to peeing on the Barangay plaza wall in broad daylight.  Drivers stepping out of their car on a busy street to take a whiz.  There are certain places in the neighborhood we don't walk past because of the smell of urine.  I don't know what can be done about it, as this is more of an education issue. 

 

[Tommy T.]

3 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

After learning to manage my expectations pretty well, there is one persistent gripe that I just can't get over:  Public urination.  I find it filthy, disgusting, and lazy.  And I'm not talking about peeing discretely in the bushes, I'm referring to peeing on the Barangay plaza wall in broad daylight.  Drivers stepping out of their car on a busy street to take a whiz.  There are certain places in the neighborhood we don't walk past because of the smell of urine.  I don't know what can be done about it, as this is more of an education issue. 

 

My partner, L - full Filipina - is totally disgusted by this. She refers to them peeing "like dogs." Spitting is one thing (and disgusting to me also), but peeing everywhere seems a bit over the top...

[gery0x]

1 hour ago, Jack Peterson said:

I often wonder what we would think or have to say if our Filipino members (and we have a few) Told us here what they Did Not love about us (The foreigner) being here

That's a very valid point, Jack!

Maybe open a topic about it? I'd really love to read that feedback!

[Jack Peterson]

3 minutes ago, gery0x said:

That's a very valid point, Jack!

Maybe open a topic about it? I'd really love to read that feedback!

 Nah! not from me I have been here too long  to worry about the bad and stay Positive but I am glad you see my Point, In reality this Topic is going to Nationality bashing and that is never Good, we have been near this sort of Thing before and in they end all they do is cause problems we just do not need  Just to say if people really do not love/like the philippines why Stay? many do not realize we are in fact Criticizing our Loved ones, their Families and on and on Food for Thought 

[stevewool]

As a newbie here I hate the ignorance from some of the folk here , the drivers , the motorbike riders, cat sh-t , dog sh-t , people pissing up the walls, flies and lumps of fat on the food, other then that it’s great.