|
I retired last year and came to the Phils as the first country on my list of 6 to check out as a possible place to live. I've been here 8 months, much of that in Cebu City. I'd been here before for vacation and I'd vacationed in third world countries before. I'll touch on topics not already mentioned.
The air pollution in the cities is more than I can handle. Respiratory illnesses are common here. If I stay it won't be in a city. The minor illnesses and health risk are not worth it.
Some foreigners here live in the cities, for others it would be hellish. There are places that are an hour or two drive (or ferry ride) from a large town that are a world of difference. Some of these places actually have ammenties that appeal to foreigners.
As a foreigner one has to keep a low profile. Don't argue, don't object, don't glare at the person who just tried to rip you off, under serve you or tell you it can't be done when you know full well it can. Smile and walk away. Smile and walk away. Revenge killings between locals are an almost daily occurance here. Foreigners are usually murdered as part of an early morning burglary where the hired help and wife sleep right through the whole thing. It's never discussed but I figure that what happened was the burglary was piggybacked on the revenge killing.
Some mentioned Baugio. Much cooler climate but the city is situated in an ancient caldera (remains of a volcano that blew its top) witch traps the air. The air is crap. Worse than that is the city has about 10X the population it was designed for. Morning and evening drive times are more like parking lots than roads.
The two main reasons the foreign men seem to stay here is that English is spoken and that Filipinas are happy to take foreigners as as lovers and husbands. In tourist oriented areas and businesses the English ranges from adequate to good. Outside that and I did better in Mexico with my 30 year old high school spanish than I do here with my English.
As for the girls and women. Just remember that even though you may learn to spot the scammers there is such a thing as The Long Con. 'Simple' as it applies to females is a concept that one could write a book on and still not understand it as a foreigner. There are some of the sweetest 'simple' girls and young women imaginable here. Finding an emotional and intellectual connection that would justify a long term relationship with one is a challenge. True love happens, but what also happens is two people decide that they would be happy respectfully taking care of each other.
Many of the disillusioned foreigners describe the locals as stupid and ignorant. I'll agree with them as ignorant, at least about things that a high school educated person from the first world would know. Stupid is another matter. One has to look beyond the surface to try and find a cultural justification for behavior that appears to be stupid. If one can't do that eventually one is going to snap at someone and that goes against the Prime Directive: Keep a Low Profile.
I've been to various foreigner hangouts. If it's during the day there are many men here with expressions on their face that shows they're angry that it's too early to start drinking. They're almost always the ones here just for the inexpensive English speaking bar girls. The men who are not here for that reason tend to keep their distance from those who are.
Doesn't matter what the law says, as a foreigner you have almost no rights or protections. That's one reason very few foreigners drive their own cars. Get in an accident and no matter what happened, the foreigner was the sole cause of it.
I've all but decided to move on to my next country. It's been interesting here but the cons far outweigh the pros.
|