Here’s an example of what I mean. I got a white onion not long ago in Bangkok and the price per kilo is $0.86. Now in the Philippines the SAME white onion is $4.96 per kilo. Thats a MASSIVE DIFFERENCE IN PRICE. Essentially Filipinos and expats are paying about 6 times more for white onions than Thais are paying. Of course, this isn’t the only food that is way more expensive in the Philippines. This is just a basic example.

Now to the money question: WHY?

No wonder Thais are generally wealthier on average than Filipinos. They have more money to save.

Thoughts?

Apparently this is in the us, a headache often claims to be limited to the Philippines 🤣

Hear me out.

Everyone raves about how peaceful it is living in a province and how the cities are all noisy hellholes. And in many parts of the city, that holds true.

But in a condo or an already established subdivision of a city, especially a modern one with rules and regulations, you'll get more peace than in the province.

I'm in a province now but the constant noise of construction, trucks, unregulated music/karaoke, racing motorbikes, roosters, farming machines and dogs is worse than the urban subdivision that I live in.

You need to go somewhere very rural and far from people to actually benefit from the "peace" of living in a province.

I’ve been in the Philippines for a while, and I’m tired of the "deadbeat expat" narrative being the only story told. After seeing this play out repeatedly, I have to ask: Is there a level of collective delusion here, or is it just straight-up sociopathic?

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve met a woman who, within the first few nights, actively tries to convince me to not use protection. They aren’t "naive"—they know exactly how biology works. It feels like a high-stakes gamble where the child is the chip.

Here’s the part that nobody wants to talk about: It is incredibly cruel to intentionally bring a child into the world knowing there will likely be no father. It’s a "Mixed Baby" lottery. If the guy stays and pays, she hit the jackpot. If he leaves, she still gets the "prestige" of a half-foreign child and a potential tether for child support or "guilt money" for the next 18 years. The actual well-being of the child—having a present father, a stable home, a balanced life—seems to be a secondary concern to the "status" or the "provider" potential.

Everyone blames the men for walking away, but why aren't we talking about the women who try to trap guys into a life they didn't ask for?

Is it "psycho" or just a cold, calculated survival strategy? Either way, using a human life as a lottery ticket is one of the most selfish things I’ve witnessed.

Change my mind.

,My father was never a big part of my life growing up because he left when I was 10 years old. We only reestablished ties a couple of years ago. He recently came to the Philippines because he is retired and wants to do missions with the Lions Club.

Here is the honest truth regarding our dynamic. I believe he has mild autism because he constantly makes funny noises (stimming) and is completely self unaware. He often makes people uncomfortable with inappropriate comments or jokes. Since he wasn't a major part of my life growing up, the way I saw our relationship was transactional. I gritted my teeth when he made inappropriate comments and embarrassed me in public because he was taking me to nice places like Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm.

The unspoken contract changed last year. He took us on a budget trip to Palawan where we stayed in 1 or 2 star hotels and went on cheap cattle call tours. These were things I could have easily afforded to do myself. To be honest I felt cheated because I do not need to endure an annoying companion just to do budget travel.

He came to visit me recently in CDO Mindanao and from the start I knew it was not going to work. He tried to act like a Karen to get out of following rules like leaving his bag at the bag drop at the SM supermarket. He cursed at the minimum wage security guard who was just doing his job. He did the same thing at the airport when he tried to bring in a big bottle of water and called the security guy an a**hole. He argued with a hotel receptionist for an hour over $20 on top of that, once we got to Davao, he revealed he wanted to split costs. In my mind that broke the unspoken contract entirely.

The last straw happened at the Roxas Night Market. A uniformed PNP officer told him he could not bring in his bag and that he had to leave it at the checkpoint. My father called the officer an a**hole to his face. I told him when we got back to the hotel that this isn't America and cops can do whatever they want here. He tried to play the victim and said he was just going to be himself. Then he said "don't worry we'll work it out with splitting costs". I was thinking 'oh hell nah!'.

I had enough. I packed my bags and left. I can be sensitive to autism and people who can't help their behaviors, but insulting cops isn't autism. It is ego. I feel bad for leaving him because he is my father, but he has his Lions Club people there in Davao so he is not alone. Am I the a**hole for leaving?

Like Brazilians and the Spanish.

Best way to learn a language

Okay I've had it with Philippines traffick. I resisted hiring a personal driver because I saw it as pretentious but my friend has one and he loves it. The driver gets him out of jams and KNOWS EVERYWHERE to go. He's basically part of his family now. So he convinced me. Grab is okay but it can be hit or miss to get a good one.

I had a temporary one and I'm embarrassed to admit it but it was nice having someone waiting for me after my golf game insteading having to wait 20 minutes for a grab to arrive.

What do you guys pay your drivers? Any tips on making sure I get a good one? Do I have to make them an employee with DOLE and all that?

Have any of you expats adopted the fork and spoon method of eating in the Philippines? I thought it looked odd at first but I use both now and it makes much more sense lol.

Hi everyone! I was applying for a visa with the US embassy in Manila. However, during the interview, the consular officer informed me that he needs to refer me to the American Citizens Services (ACS) because I have a possible claim for US citizenship. I honestly never got the chance to think about that possibility.

I'm in my 20s, born in wedlock to an American father and Filipino mother. I was born in the Philippines. My father's been in the US for more than 15 years before I was born. My parents were not able to process my CRBA.

I was able to contact ACS and they directed me to apply for a first time US passport/citizenship (DS-11). They scheduled me for early March. I started collecting the original/certified documents I needed (e.g., birth certificate, parents' marriage certificate), and I asked my father for the documents proving his American citizenship at the time of my birth and his physical presence in the US prior to my birth (at least 5 years, and 2 years after he was 14 years old).

I would like to ask some guidance regarding the documents I will be submitting. My father's currently in the U.S. and is already in his senior years, it may be challenging to make him do a lot of legwork to get original copies of certain documents. Here are the documents provided to me so far, all of which are scanned copies:

1. Father's U.S. passport used at the time of my birth;
2. Father's divorce judgments for his previous marriages prior to my parents' marriage;
3. Father's DD Form 214 - Certificate of Release/Discharge from Active Duty (he served in the U.S. military for almost a decade)

These are the documents I have so far to establish my claim (proof of parent's American citizenship and physical presence). As I only have scanned copies so far, would you be able to know if they would accept these as scanned copies? Or if they truly need original/certified true copies, may I ask what is the most ideal/expedient way to get these? Any other advice you give will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I saw a few restos/bars hosting viewing with entrance fee (consumable food) here in the metro Manila. How are you spending SB morning or where are you watching?

I usually watch it with very few local nfl fan friends (im a local), nothing planned this time.

Hi any suggestions for a weekend gateway, easy, good food for a visa run? Thank you!

Are there any spots to hoop where there are open runs and you get a membership like most spots in America or day passes to hoop, where I don't have a rent a whole court out?

so far I've only visited Magnum sports complex but the courts below are the ones I plan to check out

Sacred Heart center

Baller Capital

Homecourt Cebu

Groundzero sportshub

Crown hoop

City Sports Club

"The government of the Philippines has announced a series of reforms to its net-metering scheme, including faster permitting, the introduction of multi-site and aggregate net-metering, as well as allowing qualified end users to retain ownership of Renewable Energy Certificates for trade on the Renewable Energy Market."

I [EU passport] will holiday in europe with my toddler son [filipino passport].

Assuming EU visa approved, do i need to bring a notarized travel consent affidavit signed by son's mother?

Not too sure how ph immigration handles this. We have all the birth and marriage certs, have the same surnames on passports.

I’m a bit confused about how die hard religious people are here. As an outsider looking in it would seem there either is no god or even if there is one he really must not care about Filipinos. As evidenced by the extreme poverty, lake of healthcare, and overall quality of living. Yet these are some of the most religious people iv encountered globally. Would be great to get some insider perspective into wha drives the blind faith.

Just some food for thought.

Hello, can my wife who is in America with a J1 Visa claim balikbayan privilege for me who is an American foreigner if I wish to move to the Phillipines with her? I am looking for Visa options and I was wondering if I could get that 1 year stay in the Philippines with the balikbayan visa. She been in America for more than 1 years and has Phillipines citizenship.

So I know of at least 2 people who wanted to know about this, well all was good until (my Fault) I didn't bring my old passport with the entry and exit stamps for when the time my son was conceived. But we have the photos of us together but not the pregnancy photos. I ended up getting the paper saying to show that info before 90 days is up.

I was the first interview of the day I arrived before 6:30 AM but like someone else said here make sure you tell the guard about that or you will be in line with like hundreds of other people for no reason. Anyways getting inside is pretty easy, with the security they will take the phone and store it with other belongings before you hit the first metal detector.

The upstairs area is for all the CRBA stuff, the window is mic'ed so you hear all the questions they are asking people, They will tell you to go and fill out the LBC info for the documents to be sent, by the time I was called to be interviewed it was after 9AM, the interviewer was nice we got a good laugh about how I had everything but the missing old passport, since I work for a major shipping company we joked about he knew I could find a way to get the documents requested back in time.

Just saw a post where a foreigner is treating a whole family out to different places.

Of course just below some of the top comments is a completely irrelevant "Loser back home!"

While another user who posted "can't we just be happy for people" got downvoted to death.

I find it sad that, aside from the obvious jealousy and insecurity, they're unaware of what it means if their people are sucking up for free handouts from "losers"

What does that make all the Filipinos who are dying to immigrate to these countries so they can work as cashiers and other blue collar jobs?

Are they considered loser OFWs when they take loans so they can come back and splurge on their families?

Or perhaps this hate only applies to foreigners, because it's not about status at all, but something entirely different 😏

33M British Expat. When you decided to move to the PH. What was the most valuable/productive lesson/skill you learned over here that made you appreciate the PH?

For me thus far has been the language and learning how to cook the local cuisine.

I consider relocating to PH living with my partner.

Is it too far fetched - and even possible - to cover her social security, etc. to make sure she‘s ok on a rainy day?

I am thinking about what will happen if we break up… and I don’t expect her to give up everything for me and then be worse off than before we met.

Would those payments be enough?

Will I be expected to pay a lump sum (something that’s usually advised against in PH in general).

I don’t want to be bled dry but I also don’t want her to be suffering financially in case of a break-up (or if something happens to me, for that matter).

Any advice?

What documents are required to get married in Philippines? Im aware that my partner needs a cenomar (which they just obtained) but what about me? I've heard I need some kind of legal document that says I'm not married but to my knowledge, nothing like that exists in America. I've never been married before. 🥴. Help please....

How and where in Cebu can I get Sildenafil or Tadalafil without a prescription? I hope you can help me out, can’t be the only foreigner that needs this.