.

[Ghost]

.

[Bobby]

$1000 is not a lot of money in the scheme of things as you say. Anyone can lose that sort of money pretty easily initially until you learn the ropes. I have by helping to pay for things like course fees (was she really on the course? I'll never know now). Losing a grand for me is really just part of the rich experience. You can't go to a place like the Philippines and expect everything to go smoothly - what would be the fun in that?

However, I'm drawing a line in the sand on perhaps 1-2K. Ladislav, how did you lose $5K in the Philippines and $15K in Thailand? That's a lot of cash for me.

[Taco]

Filipinas that describe their appearance as "average"(a sign of humility) and are non drinkers are less likely to scam you than other women. They may not be sexy but at least you can trust them. Here's some examples.

1. http://www.dateinasia.com/avremaej
2. http://www.dateinasia.com/mizar
3. http://www.dateinasia.com/imeyednacot
4. http://www.dateinasia.com/icy_heaven123
5. http://www.dateinasia.com/loretslasit

A Filipina that drinks is going to get drunk in seconds and then sleep with a bunch of guys she doesn't know. This is not good if you want a stable relationship with one.

[Ghost]

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[ladislav]

However, I'm drawing a line in the sand on perhaps 1-2K. Ladislav, how did you lose $5K in the Philippines

By maintaining 11 girls ( yes, 11) and some scammed me pretending to be studying.

and $15K in Thailand?

Investing in forex and then not getting paid on a business deal

That's a lot of cash for me.

Oh, well, I went to Saudi and made it back pretty quick.

[newlifeinphilippines]

And trust me, Filipinos cheat and lie to each other, too. They deadbeat each other and steal and rob. They use anyone who is naive and nice. The good people that I know there, the honest and kind ones got used as well. And those foreigners who live there often become crooks and cheats too.

My wife's former Filipino manager was dating a hooker and he didn't know it until she stole all the stuff out of his apartment.

Also, my wife used to have a small loan company and an American expat borrowed some money and now refuses to pay her.

Disputes over money and property in the Philippines are very common and often require a visit to the Barangay Captain who acts as a mediator since no one has money for a lawyer or claims court.

wow your wife sounds rich. her own loan company?

What the heck can a barangay captain do anyways?

[newlifeinphilippines]

I agree with Ladislav: let's support each other and not criticize too harshly. We need to come together when a member of the forum has a bad experience in a country. Let's encourage each other rather than tear each other down. ...

It depends (how's that for being definitive ). A guys says, "I've traveled or moved to another country and I am experiencing the following problems. Any suggestions?" Then the reaction should be sympathetic with genuine suggestions on how to make his experience better.

But if a guy says, "I had a bad experience therefore the entire country and all it's people suck and anyone who suggests otherwise is an idiot..." well such a person's gonna get disagreement and not a lot of sympathy. I feel bad that the OP did not have a good experience. But when his conclusion was that he would go back and pump and dump, essentially for revenge - then I have a lot less sympathy.

I will stick to my 1st comment in the thread - that most guys will not have a great time in the Philippines - at least not long term - and that I no longer have any reason to try to convince them otherwise. Ghost and Newlife should not return to the Philippines - it's clearly not for them.

I want sex and companionship why wouldn't it be for me? LOL

[Bobby]

However, I'm drawing a line in the sand on perhaps 1-2K. Ladislav, how did you lose $5K in the Philippines

By maintaining 11 girls ( yes, 11) and some scammed me pretending to be studying.

and $15K in Thailand?

Investing in forex and then not getting paid on a business deal

That's a lot of cash for me.

Oh, well, I went to Saudi and made it back pretty quick.

Interesting! thanks for getting back to me. Maintaining 11 girls and only losing $5K sounds like a pretty good deal.

I'm off to Thailand for a holiday for a few weeks in October.

[newlifeinphilippines]

Filipinas that describe their appearance as "average"(a sign of humility) and are non drinkers are less likely to scam you than other women. They may not be sexy but at least you can trust them. Here's some examples.

1. http://www.dateinasia.com/avremaej
2. http://www.dateinasia.com/mizar
3. http://www.dateinasia.com/imeyednacot
4. http://www.dateinasia.com/icy_heaven123
5. http://www.dateinasia.com/loretslasit

A Filipina that drinks is going to get drunk in seconds and then sleep with a bunch of guys she doesn't know. This is not good if you want a stable relationship with one.

Pics are worthless since none ever look like it on cam. Most look uglier and sometimes they look prettier than their pics. Only a few times ive seen teh girl look like her pic. actually if anything you know its a bad deal when the girl doesn't look like her pic. it means she edits or takes unusual pictures or outdated pictures to lure men in. Many girls have recent photos on facebook in all kinds of shot but then get them on camera and its like a whole different person.

[Taco]

Filipinas that describe their appearance as "average"(a sign of humility) and are non drinkers are less likely to scam you than other women. They may not be sexy but at least you can trust them. Here's some examples.

1. http://www.dateinasia.com/avremaej
2. http://www.dateinasia.com/mizar
3. http://www.dateinasia.com/imeyednacot
4. http://www.dateinasia.com/icy_heaven123
5. http://www.dateinasia.com/loretslasit

A Filipina that drinks is going to get drunk in seconds and then sleep with a bunch of guys she doesn't know. This is not good if you want a stable relationship with one.

My ex-girlfriend described herself as average and had a very wholesome look. Rarely drank. Church-goer. Unfortunately, appearances can only tell you that someone is bad, not that someone is good.

Find a tattooed, cleavage-popping bar-girl and you know she's bad from appearance only. Find a wholesome looking girl and she could easily be just as bad.

Which island is she from?

[ladislav]

Interesting! thanks for getting back to me. Maintaining 11 girls and only losing $5K sounds like a pretty good deal.

That is the money that was not put to good use but spent fraudulently. The money that was actually spent on real study and improvement does not count.

I'm off to Thailand for a holiday for a few weeks in October.

Please Google "Do not move to Thailand" and read it very seriously.

[Bobby]

Will do. At this stage I have no intension to move to Thailand but I'll read the article just in case I'm tempted to change my mind while I'm over there. Don't want to end up like these guy

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-maga ... 3/far-home

[Ghost]

.

[Rock]

When I moved to Ukraine from Russia at age 14 ( after spending 10 years there), I remember it was a culture shock. Russians are much more honest. There's friendship. They help each other a lot. I had lots of friend who would stick up for me.

Now, when I ended up in Ukraine, the locals saw me as a simpleton. I got cheated and even beat up. It took me three years to make friends and even then, they turn against you in a whiff. So, the Philippines was a breeze basically except that they have people who are much more skilled in the art of cheating. They butter you up and con you and then bang! So smart! I really admire the skill. If they could put that intelligence to better use, it would really benefit the country. The scams they create there are amazing. Brilliant!

Like the last one was a work of art. A man walked up to me and talked to me in Visaya and showed me a gaping wound. He said he needed money for shots and that a gengrene was developing. I being a nice guy went to a pharmacy and bought him shots. He then disappeared. It turned out that he was taking those shots back to the pharmacy and getting refunds. And he was doing it to Filipinos. He could not speak English.

You want to be really scammed in the PH? Learn the language. Then, they will apply the art of scamming of a much higher caliber. The one designed to scam Filipinos. So many people there fall for work scams, loan scams, etc. You will fall for those, too.

They scam people from the country. Shamelessly. One girl I knew ordered a wig extension online and they asked her to send money by Western Union. Then the company just disappeared. Smart!

TV Patrol in the Philippines goes around finding the perpetrators all the time.

But the most common way is borrow money and not pay back. Pretend being sick or in the hospital and then ask for money. Or come up with some legit excuse to borrow money - like- I need money for school or to get a visa- and there's no school and no visa. These are very effective ways to pump some money into one's wallet. One girl said that her brother needed bail to be taken out of jail. But there is no brother and no jail.

In America, people are more honest with small things but scams are perpetrated on a higher scale. Advanced loan fees, investment scams, etc. Americans are aware of such scams and know how to protect themselves. Foreigners/immigrants to the US don't. Same with the Philippines.

It does not mean that there are no good people there. I have some really good friends. They make the whole thing worthwhile.

The mean streets of Manila are not for the naive and the trusting. There is a reason why the US Embassy does not give student or tourist visas to Filipinos. As in virtually none. Too many scammers.

But once you know how to protect yourself and have a group of friends, it's a great place to live.

I still think it is very naive to fall for any of those scam scenarios you describe above. If you wanna give to the less fortunate, there are many legitimate ways to do it rather than getting cheated so frequently.

If anyone needs money for any reason at any time in any country (USA included), just make a polite excuse to deny them. It's really that simple Lad. Even Winston, the guy who signed over $1,500 to a Nevada brothel has pretty much managed not to be scammed in Philippines. If you learn how to say "sorry" and "no", then you cut out a huge percentage of the scam possibilities. All that's left are holdup pings/muggings, pickpocetings/snatchings, and more elaborate investment/consumption ripoffs.

A slightly more sophisticated scam was being perpetrated in LA area not too long ago. It involved callers who had somehow managed to glean personal data on individuals, pretended to be from the IRS, and would call these people up posing as IRS agents. They basically convinced the people they were indeed from the IRS (otherwise how would they know for instance the last 4 digits of your social), acted like they were about to execute an audit because they believed tax fraud had occurred and that a certain amount of underpaid taxes plus penalties and interest had already been accessed (usually 10s of thousands of dollars), but due to shortage of manpower, they were offering a quick solution (no audit and wipe the slate clean) - just wire something much smaller figure (like say $3,239) to such and such a party/account by the end of the day. This really worked on quite a few people because it scared the hell out of them and panic tends to override rational thinking.

[Taco]

Filipinas that describe their appearance as "average"(a sign of humility) and are non drinkers are less likely to scam you than other women. They may not be sexy but at least you can trust them. Here's some examples.

1. http://www.dateinasia.com/avremaej
2. http://www.dateinasia.com/mizar
3. http://www.dateinasia.com/imeyednacot
4. http://www.dateinasia.com/icy_heaven123
5. http://www.dateinasia.com/loretslasit

A Filipina that drinks is going to get drunk in seconds and then sleep with a bunch of guys she doesn't know. This is not good if you want a stable relationship with one.

My ex-girlfriend described herself as average and had a very wholesome look. Rarely drank. Church-goer. Unfortunately, appearances can only tell you that someone is bad, not that someone is good.

Find a tattooed, cleavage-popping bar-girl and you know she's bad from appearance only. Find a wholesome looking girl and she could easily be just as bad.

Which island is she from?

Luzon.

That explains why your having problems. I chatted with a lot of Luzon women before I got married and it didn't take me long to realize Luzon women have "issues". Filipino men from other provinces won't go near them. You need to concentrate your dating efforts on Cebu women or Mindanao women. Women from Southern Philippines are generally easier to deal with but you do need to have a selective screening process in place.