How hard is it for a caucasian american to fit in, in the PI

[yatterman1]

How hard is it for a caucasian american to fit in, in the Philippines? How much xenophobia should I expect to encounter if I move there?

[ladislav]

Xenophobia? Zero to about 0.00001 on a Richter Scale. Mostly the people will be telling you how poor they are and how much they want to go to the USA. And overcharging you, the citizen of the richest country in the world. Asking to borrow money and never paying you back.
Every once in about 7 months, someone will say something about 'foreigners' but that's about it.
Common people will love you.
I would go to Cebu first.

[globetrotter]

Ladislav +100.

In the RP? A non-issue. You will be beating the girls off with a stick. The boys are all working on a ship somewhere, or building a hirise in the ME.

[Nate]

How hard is it for a caucasian american to fit in, in the Philippines? How much xenophobia should I expect to encounter if I move there?

The reality is exactly as Ladislav outlines. I am in the Philippines more often than not, and you have less than nothing to worry about. Especially if you are under 60, in reasonable shape and personable, you will be almost like a celebrity. And the girls? There are plenty...choose wisely...there are good ones along with the scams..like everywhere. I also would highly advise Cebu over Metro Manila.

Nate

[yatterman1]

What if I don't have much money, should I expect the girls to ditch me when they find out im pretty poor?

I was thinking about Cebu as well. What is the cost of living like in Cebu? Like a 1 bedroom apartment costs how much in Cebu?

Any reasons why Cebu would be best?

[globetrotter]

I will let Ladislav and Nate handle this.

Just know that it is cheap in the RP. Really CHEAP!

[yatterman1]

I will let Ladislav and Nate handle this.

Just know that it is cheap in the RP. Really CHEAP!

What is "the RP" an acronym for?

[Rock]

I will let Ladislav and Nate handle this.

Just know that it is cheap in the RP. Really CHEAP!

What is "the RP" an acronym for?

Yatterman, if you're a regular looking young guy, why don't you consider going to East Asia where you can teach English to cover your living costs and save some money while enjoying an active dating life? IMO, Taiwan probably has less xenophobia than S Korea or Japan. But I believe you can find a lot of interested and attractive girls in any of those countries.

I believe RP stands for Republic of the Philippines. From what some of the guys on the forum say, it sounds like they actually love white foreigners there if that's what you must have. But, it will still be there when you reach middle age.

[Winston]

What if I don't have much money, should I expect the girls to ditch me when they find out im pretty poor?

I was thinking about Cebu as well. What is the cost of living like in Cebu? Like a 1 bedroom apartment costs how much in Cebu?

Any reasons why Cebu would be best?

The gold diggers will ditch you. But not the ones who really like you. It depends. But there is such a HUGE surplus of girls, that you can always find someone who isn't as greedy.

Even when you say you are poor in the PH, many will still not believe you.

Cebu is more romantic and less scam ridden than Manila.

You can live on a few hundred dollars a month.

[Nate]

What if I don't have much money, should I expect the girls to ditch me when they find out im pretty poor?

I was thinking about Cebu as well. What is the cost of living like in Cebu? Like a 1 bedroom apartment costs how much in Cebu?

Any reasons why Cebu would be best?

It depends on what you are looking for. Cebu can be very inexpensive, or almost as expensive as some American cities if one wants to live that way. The cost of housing has in fact been driven upwards by a large Korean presence in Cebu. Cebu is far smaller than Manila, and a far better destination, but even then it is pretty big city. What do you want? Easy living or a nightlife? Davao is certainly cheaper than Cebu City as is Bohol where my place is.

Prices vary widely in Cebu. There are livable apartments renting for as little as P6000 (less than $150) or really nice and overpriced condos
for the "opportunity market" (Screwing foreigners) for $1000. If you go out a ways from Cebu city itself, perhaps Liloan or Talisay city, you can get better prices.

>>>Check LivingInCebu.com on their forums.

I like Bohol. There is not nearly the nightlife, but it is there for those who want it, especially around Panglao Island, but it is far cleaner, taxi drivers are more honest and the girls are more old fashioned. A couple of months back I saw some very decent 2 bedroom brand new apartments being offered for P7000 ($160). Food in markets is quite cheap, so long as you do not need to buy imported food.(and I do not). If you want help keeping your place clean, it should cost less than $50 per month. Electricity might cost you $20 per month if you are cooling only with ceiling fans, or perhaps $80 or more if you are using window aircon. units.

Yes, you can live cheaply and well, but a lot if it depends on what you want. If you can afford the kind of things I am talking about above, it should be no problem. You would not be considered poor. Some guys live even cheaper, but at some point I would consider
taking the advice of Globetrotter and teaching English in a more affluent country if even the prices I talk of above are too much.

The longer you stay, the cheaper you can make it. You will learn the tricks and make local contacts. I know of a man in Davao that pays
P4000 (less than $100) for a two bedroom house. It is rustic, but quite livable, with a large lot..banana and a large mango tree.

Hope this helps...


Nate

[yatterman1]

Yatterman, if you're a regular looking young guy, why don't you consider going to East Asia where you can teach English to cover your living costs and save some money while enjoying an active dating life? IMO, Taiwan probably has less xenophobia than S Korea or Japan. But I believe you can find a lot of interested and attractive girls in any of those countries.

I looked into this and would REALLY love to do this but I do not have a degree...and they all require a degree.

[Nate]

Yatterman, if you're a regular looking young guy, why don't you consider going to East Asia where you can teach English to cover your living costs and save some money while enjoying an active dating life? IMO, Taiwan probably has less xenophobia than S Korea or Japan. But I believe you can find a lot of interested and attractive girls in any of those countries.

I looked into this and would REALLY love to do this but I do not have a degree...and they all require a degree.

In fact it will turn out that you do not need a degree to teach. Talk with those on the forum who are actually doing it....they will give you the info you need.

Nate

[yatterman1]

In fact it will turn out that you do not need a degree to teach. Talk with those on the forum who are actually doing it....they will give you the info you need.

Nate

I looked into this in great detail back in 2008....like I did TONS of research and lurked on ESL forums. I am certain that the following is true:

Japan requires a 4 year degree to be an ESL teacher.
South Korea requires a 4 year degree to be an ESL teacher.
Taiwan requires a 2 year degree to be an ESL teacher.

Unless you are suggesting I get a fake degree....is this what you are suggesting? I would be open to the idea of using a fake degree if you could give me some info on where the BEST ones are (I hear the ones on Kao San Road are of loq quality). But I would never do it in South Korea because I KNOW the penalty there is 6 months to 1 year in jail. But in any other country I would give it a shot if I had good info on EXACTLY how to do this without getting caught. I also hear they verify degrees more often now.......but yeah man if you got info about this, let me know.

[Winston]

In fact it will turn out that you do not need a degree to teach. Talk with those on the forum who are actually doing it....they will give you the info you need.

Nate

I looked into this in great detail back in 2008....like I did TONS of research and lurked on ESL forums. I am certain that the following is true:

Japan requires a 4 year degree to be an ESL teacher.
South Korea requires a 4 year degree to be an ESL teacher.
Taiwan requires a 2 year degree to be an ESL teacher.

Unless you are suggesting I get a fake degree....is this what you are suggesting? I would be open to the idea of using a fake degree if you could give me some info on where the BEST ones are (I hear the ones on Kao San Road are of loq quality). But I would never do it in South Korea because I KNOW the penalty there is 6 months to 1 year in jail. But in any other country I would give it a shot if I had good info on EXACTLY how to do this without getting caught. I also hear they verify degrees more often now.......but yeah man if you got info about this, let me know.

If you go to a small town with few foreigners and they are desperate to have you teach, they won't care about the degree.

[yatterman1]

I just made a new topic for this because I think we got off topic.