The Philippines, Your Positive Or Negative Thoughts

[Mr Lee]

My thoughts on life in the Philippines are a mixture of positive and negative but I feel the positives seem to outweigh the negatives many times over and luckily at least for now, my wife and I are not in the group of people who may be the ones who are forced to live in the Philippines in order to survive on our limited income because I have been blessed to have made some correct decisions in life or just been plain lucky in the outcome of those decisions and which lead to having more than one pension. I realize that not everyone is as lucky as I have been and I am in no way bragging and while I do not wish to compare myself for any other reason than to say, we have a choice and we still enjoy our time in the Philippines and hope to someday make life here full time, and I feel that should show people that it must be worth it to live here.Anyone else wish to post their thoughts on this subject?

[Travis]

for it being a 3rd world country things are mostly positive & the friendly people make life a pleasure here

[Art2ro]

I've been in and out of the Philippines in the past 40 years and lived here permanently in the past 12 years and the major negative things that I see in the Philippines still, is the high poverty rate, crime, drugs/human trafficking, pollution, lack of water/sewage treatment plants, lack of affordable medical/medicines for the poor, traffic gird lock in major cities, poorly constructed roads/highways, major flooding always in the same areas all other the Philippines and their bureaucratic red tape in any government functions in any office available to the public! I probably won't see any major improvements of the negative things I have just mentioned in the next 20 years or in my lifetime! :thumbs-up-smile: Everything else other than that is OK!

Edited February 25, 2010 by Art & Jho

[TheMason]

The big negatives for me are:PollutionPovertyCrimeInfrastructureLow-quality goods and servicesNo civil rightsNo consumer protectionsThe positives for me are:Lower cost of living.Easy access to travel throughout Southeast Asia.Another potential positive is that its my wife's home and she might be happier here than in the US. We're in the process of moving back to the US, so I'll be able to tell if this is an actual positive or just a theoretical one in a year or so.

[Inspector]

I do believe I read elsewhere, if it was not for the fact you either HAD a filipina wife/finacee/gf... or liked the fact you could get woman here easily, would ANY of the expats be here? I doubt it.I could name a lot of other third world countries, with the same third world problems here we can list here all day, that are vastly superior for an expat to live. The biggest difference is the language barrier. IMHO, Panama is the best place to live as an expat, BUT not if you are lacking in Spanish. Thailand is also a far better place to live as an expat, but again...language. Third world is exactly that...third world. Roads suck, pollution, overcrowded, poverty and begging, the crime it causes and the corruption it breeds, the filth, the jealousy, the walking dead dogs...... ect..... ect....ect.....My biggest dislike of the Philippines over other THIRD WORLD countries, is the food. This place has brutal food, and ANYBODY who says otherwise is by far seeing things too clearly through rose colored glasses. Any filipino food recipe?...sugar it, and it will taste good. You know the place is brutal when the BEST filipino fried chicken places are outdone by KFC. KFC??!! That's fast food chicken crap in the USA. Oddly enough, most of the cooks on my ship during my Navy days were filipino, and it was GOOD! What the hell...where did you guys all go? I miss you Eddie and Mark Anthony...please, contact me! ASAP! I still love you guys! :thumbs-up-smile:

[Patsada]

I do believe I read elsewhere, if it was not for the fact you either HAD a filipina wife/finacee/gf... or liked the fact you could get woman here easily, would ANY of the expats be here? I doubt it.I could name a lot of other third world countries, with the same third world problems here we can list here all day, that are vastly superior for an expat to live. The biggest difference is the language barrier. IMHO, Panama is the best place to live as an expat, BUT not if you are lacking in Spanish. Thailand is also a far better place to live as an expat, but again...language. Third world is exactly that...third world. Roads suck, pollution, overcrowded, poverty and begging, the crime it causes and the corruption it breeds, the filth, the jealousy, the walking dead dogs...... ect..... ect....ect.....My biggest dislike of the Philippines over other THIRD WORLD countries, is the food. This place has brutal food, and ANYBODY who says otherwise is by far seeing things too clearly through rose colored glasses. Any filipino food recipe?...sugar it, and it will taste good. You know the place is brutal when the BEST filipino fried chicken places are outdone by KFC. KFC??!! That's fast food chicken crap in the USA. Oddly enough, most of the cooks on my ship during my Navy days were filipino, and it was GOOD! What the hell...where did you guys all go? I miss you Eddie and Mark Anthony...please, contact me! ASAP! I still love you guys! :thumbs-up-smile:

I agree with Inspector in most of the points:* the classical filipino food is mostly unacceptable for our expectations - one still can escape to acceptable foreign restaurants (in some places) or quality home cooking, if ingredients are available* I'm sure some Filipinos can cook pretty well, but not necessarily filipino cuisine (fried chicken / chicken adobo)* if you live (prefer to live) in or near a big city, be prepared to face all the problems of any big city - living in a quiet, nice, peaceful, fairly clean place like Camiguin, many of the above mentioned problems are simply nonexistent * right, Mason:- Low-quality goods and services- No civil rights- No consumer protections* Panama would have been my first choice if I hadn't a filipina partner As I have decided to spend the rest of my years (hopefully many) here, I have to arrange myself with the circumstances and I must say that I succeed pretty well..even without rose colored glassesPatsada

[sjp52]

I do believe I read elsewhere, if it was not for the fact you either HAD a filipina wife/finacee/gf... or liked the fact you could get woman here easily, would ANY of the expats be here? I doubt it.I could name a lot of other third world countries, with the same third world problems here we can list here all day, that are vastly superior for an expat to live. The biggest difference is the language barrier. IMHO, Panama is the best place to live as an expat, BUT not if you are lacking in Spanish. Thailand is also a far better place to live as an expat, but again...language. Third world is exactly that...third world. Roads suck, pollution, overcrowded, poverty and begging, the crime it causes and the corruption it breeds, the filth, the jealousy, the walking dead dogs...... ect..... ect....ect.....My biggest dislike of the Philippines over other THIRD WORLD countries, is the food. This place has brutal food, and ANYBODY who says otherwise is by far seeing things too clearly through rose colored glasses. Any filipino food recipe?...sugar it, and it will taste good. You know the place is brutal when the BEST filipino fried chicken places are outdone by KFC. KFC??!! That's fast food chicken crap in the USA. Oddly enough, most of the cooks on my ship during my Navy days were filipino, and it was GOOD! What the hell...where did you guys all go? I miss you Eddie and Mark Anthony...please, contact me! ASAP! I still love you guys! :thumbs-up-smile:

You might be right about being here because of the ladies as that is what got me here, But once I was here and experienced all that the Philippines has to offer, I was hooked. Maybe because I am retired now, I am looking to relax and take it easy. It seems that a lot of Filpinos are good at that as there is a relaxed atmosphere here. In general most Filipinos I have met are very happy and friendly. Seems as if they would give you the shirt off their back. I think it is a lot easier to fit in here than some 3rd world country that can,t speak English. I guess i,m lucky as I never cared about fancy meals or every thing having to be just so. I have learned a lot from being in the Philippines. In the west we are wrapped up in making money and spending it and here it is more about enjoying your life with out all the money and toys ( a little like going back to basics ). If I want a special meal, I just show my wife how to make it and she does it. She learns very fast. Only problem is some of the meat here is not that great. The thing I am having a hard time getting use to is the heat and humidity . Oh and one more thing that bothers me is I cant get my wife to switch to mashed potatoes instead of rice lol .

[love2winalot]

Hiya: Well, as a poor boy, i kind of disagree with most of the above post. My Philipina wife of 18+ years is why we will be living here permanently. I arrive back on the 7th of April. I gre up in a small town in Oregon, spent 8 years in the Army in Korea, and hate big cities. So, for me, Living in PI is like being a kid in the country again. In Morong, Outside of Subic Bay/Olongapo, we built a big house on our sister in laws land. Her husband is a seaman. We also bought a small, 40'x75' beachlot just down the road from our house.I love it here. Paid for house, beachfront lot with hammock & and Beer. =Weeeeeeeeeee. We also own a house in Caloocan city manila. It is all about what you are used to. If you have a higher standard of living, medical issues, do not really belive in, "when in Rome", then living here could verry well end up being a disappointment, or mistake. For me, I am eating the food, swiming in the ocean, driving just like they do, offering 250 peso for that 300 peso pair of Crocs, and enjoying every minite of it.

[MikeB]

The big negatives for me are:PollutionPovertyCrimeInfrastructureLow-quality goods and servicesNo civil rightsNo consumer protectionsThe positives for me are:Lower cost of living.Easy access to travel throughout Southeast Asia.Another potential positive is that its my wife's home and she might be happier here than in the US. We're in the process of moving back to the US, so I'll be able to tell if this is an actual positive or just a theoretical one in a year or so.

I agree with your negatives and I would add indiscriminate littering and smoking. Not many Positives in your list....how about respect for elders or older people in general. It's probably more a part of Asian culture as Filipino. It's a big positive for me, none of us is getting younger. Far different from the Western attitude.

[Singers]

I do believe I read elsewhere, if it was not for the fact you either HAD a filipina wife/finacee/gf... or liked the fact you could get woman here easily, would ANY of the expats be here? I doubt it.I could name a lot of other third world countries, with the same third world problems here we can list here all day, that are vastly superior for an expat to live. The biggest difference is the language barrier. IMHO, Panama is the best place to live as an expat, BUT not if you are lacking in Spanish. Thailand is also a far better place to live as an expat, but again...language. Third world is exactly that...third world. Roads suck, pollution, overcrowded, poverty and begging, the crime it causes and the corruption it breeds, the filth, the jealousy, the walking dead dogs...... ect..... ect....ect.....My biggest dislike of the Philippines over other THIRD WORLD countries, is the food. This place has brutal food, and ANYBODY who says otherwise is by far seeing things too clearly through rose colored glasses. Any filipino food recipe?...sugar it, and it will taste good. You know the place is brutal when the BEST filipino fried chicken places are outdone by KFC. KFC??!! That's fast food chicken crap in the USA. Oddly enough, most of the cooks on my ship during my Navy days were filipino, and it was GOOD! What the hell...where did you guys all go? I miss you Eddie and Mark Anthony...please, contact me! ASAP! I still love you guys! :thumbs-up-smile:

I agree with Inspector in most of the points:* the classical filipino food is mostly unacceptable for our expectations - one still can escape to acceptable foreign restaurants (in some places) or quality home cooking, if ingredients are available* I'm sure some Filipinos can cook pretty well, but not necessarily filipino cuisine (fried chicken / chicken adobo)* if you live (prefer to live) in or near a big city, be prepared to face all the problems of any big city - living in a quiet, nice, peaceful, fairly clean place like Camiguin, many of the above mentioned problems are simply nonexistent * right, Mason:- Low-quality goods and services- No civil rights- No consumer protections* Panama would have been my first choice if I hadn't a filipina partner As I have decided to spend the rest of my years (hopefully many) here, I have to arrange myself with the circumstances and I must say that I succeed pretty well..even without rose colored glassesPatsada

In Asia the No. 1 is Singapore. -- Brilliant-- food -- service and everything works. I hated leaving after 6 years BUT a week back in UK and I got over that. I do not miss S'pore or the stress.No. Last is Burma - lovely people also.No. A little higher is PI. Food is deplorable. Quality of meat Etc.System?? non existent and Corruption IS the ruling class. I love it -- because of its people. The smiles and sincerity of most. The tranquility of the provinces. The bottom line -- one Loves or Hates it. I had decided on PI BEFORE I met my wife. Nam - Thailand - Malay - Costa Rica - Cyprus - Portugal +++ had been in the running but PI being English speaking (?) and Christian won.Still exasperates me when I go shopping SO I don't usually. I get someone to do it for me. Any family member or neighbour will spend a happy day queuing and shopping for us for payment of a Big Mac or less --- Jolly BEEee. To a country BRGY resident it is like a holiday with transport & food for free AND all that chat with people in the City!. They love the trip out.UK is a great place to live a private life but the weather and PC crap gets one down.PI is my choice and NO Regrets as Cristina is happiest there with her family.UK Tom Edited March 25, 2010 by Singers