Before settling down in PH i'd like to spend up to 3 months in some remote island/s where i can be a away from confusion.

[hk blues]

5 hours ago, BrettGC said:

The same goes for internet connections, unless you're in Manila or Cebu, advertised speeds are never achieved. 

Not entirely true nowadays, Brett. Here in Iloilo we're on fiber and I'm on the 35mbps plan and I get 40mbps consistently, never below 35mbps.  

Even before our fiber upgrade, we were consistently getting above the advertised speed for over 2 years.  

[Freebie]

if it were me Id choose either Bantayan or Siquijor. I have just returned from a 4 week stay in Bantayan. My 4th stay there.... yes hurdles to jump though doe to various and numerous " protocols" but well worth it.

Now thinking of my next trip, maybe combining Valencia in Dumaguete or Dauin, and Siquijor.

Forget Romblon, and Guimaras abnd Biliran . I didnt find these had many redeeming features... Malapascua.. very picturesque but very very small.

[f5m9v6]

11 hours ago, BrettGC said:

As most will attest to, there are no truth in advertising laws in The Philippines.  A good example of this are the skin whitening creams, many filipinas honestly believe that over time these creams will will lighten their skin permanently. 

The same goes for internet connections, unless you're in Manila or Cebu, advertised speeds are never achieved.  This includes the provincial capitals eg Dumaguete, Davao City etc.  I'd suggest your contact does some speed testing using something like https://www.speedtest.net/ to verify the speeds.  The president made some noise last year about the providers getting their act together but nothing seems to have progressed beyond the usual snail's pace of infrastructure improvements in PI.  However, as a frequent visitor to Dumaguete and surrounds I can say that hotel wifi (so a shared connection) is passable for streaming, email, browsing etc but anything beyond that is not; online gaming, video calls (sketchy 50% of the time) etc.  I can't comment on home connections there though, but there are many on here that can give you more information on that. 

 2 hours north in Guihulngan City, where the wife and I have a house, it's much the same, specifically with Globe (one of the providers) on the equivalent of a cable connection most of the time.  They're currently rolling out fibre to the area though, so we'll see.  

What about access to your funds?  Transfer fees or international credit card charges can get a little expensive over time and as a visitor, you can't open a local bank account to begin with.   It's hit and miss once you receive your ACR-I card on a tourist visa once you qualify for it but some banks have accepted them.  

Link to internet speed test:  https://www.speedtest.net/

I realized i need to be very careful about the Filipino connections i make. One house agent i spoke with a few times said opening a bank account is no problem.

Even if its not possible "i have a backup plan with my local bank for that", where i can get very low interest rates to withdraw money anytime i need. I have it all figured out!

If visa extension does not provide me with all things i need, my plan is to apply (in the future) for a Retirement Visa.
And even if things don't work out etc i can always return back home.

The light skin cream analogy you gave was funny! I know some people here might understand/take it wrong or whatever, but one thing i noticed in PI is the religious irresponsibility and dumb mentality. Meaning a filipinos daily life is all about blessings etc; yet the agent i told you which has been active and reliable in his communication with me, and willing to help me with address registration for my bank account etc asked me to borrow him 20.000PHP. I told this to a filipino friend of mine in europe and he told me he has big guts to ask someone he does not know this much money when i am in the other side of the world and he told me this is the 1st red light!

I transferred the guy already 2.000P just for him being active with me and willing to help, then he wanted the whole arm!

I've noticed filipinos tend to be passive! It's annoying...
 

Edited April 9, 2021 by f5m9v6

[f5m9v6]

1 hour ago, Freebie said:

if it were me Id choose either Bantayan or Siquijor. I have just returned from a 4 week stay in Bantayan. My 4th stay there.... yes hurdles to jump though doe to various and numerous " protocols" but well worth it.

Now thinking of my next trip, maybe combining Valencia in Dumaguete or Dauin, and Siquijor.

Forget Romblon, and Guimaras abnd Biliran . I didnt find these had many redeeming features... Malapascua.. very picturesque but very very small.

I'll stick with Siquijor, Bantayan and Boracay for my 1st visits. Thanks!

[f5m9v6]

6 hours ago, hk blues said:

Not entirely true nowadays, Brett. Here in Iloilo we're on fiber and I'm on the 35mbps plan and I get 40mbps consistently, never below 35mbps.  

Even before our fiber upgrade, we were consistently getting above the advertised speed for over 2 years.  

For a city not as crowded or developed as dumaguete (correct me if i'm wrong) that's actually quite impressive.

And like i said, if PLTD exist in your area, with a fiber business plan you can go up to 500mbps.

[graham59]

So, your plan is to work online ? 

[f5m9v6]

12 minutes ago, graham59 said:

So, your plan is to work online ? 

Exactly!

[sonjack2847]

5 hours ago, graham59 said:

So, your plan is to work online ? 

This is what he faces inconsistent signal

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, sonjack2847 said:

This is what he faces

Looks like my stock charts 

[hk blues]

15 hours ago, f5m9v6 said:

For a city not as crowded or developed as dumaguete (correct me if i'm wrong) that's actually quite impressive.

And like i said, if PLTD exist in your area, with a fiber business plan you can go up to 500mbps.

I've never been to Dumaguete so cannot comment on the levels of development but Iloilo City alone has a population of almost 500,000 compared to maybe 150,000 in Dumaguete so I think you may may be mistaken.  Iloilo is a very well-developed city but doesn't have a huge ex-pat community hence a perception it's less developed.  

We don't use PLDT, rather Globe who offer a 500mbps fiber plan (non-nusiness) at 4,999.