Philippines general questions

[mentor]

I decided to open this topic, to get help from more expert members and people who know the facts about the Philippines reality.
While nobody knows all, and of course internet can be of a great help,
there are times that only a human can really make an estimation of some conditions, as close to reality they can be.
I hope to have your help here. For some of you, what I will ask, maybe it is obvious for you, but not for me.
And with your help, may I find out lies that I cannot discover by myself.

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Lets start.

This period I am talking with a nice lady from Davao.
She told me that Saturday is her day off the work, so she will go to her parents, and there is not good or any mobile signal there!
But I guess, specifically ‘Saturday’ is the day most people go out…
When I asked her to tell me if her parental house is elsewhere, she told me two things:
- it is in the same city, but so far from her workplace!
- for this reason she rent a room in a boarding house.

Now, my questions:

- Is Davao so huge (1,5million), and does it make sense for a poor girl, to rent a room close to her work, in order to be close to her work?

- Are there many places in Philippines, that indeed they do not have any mobile carrier signal? I mean, is the coverage so bad? And is it possible this to happen even when we talk even of a suburb of Davao?

[davewe]

I decided to open this topic, to get help from more expert members and people who know the facts about the Philippines reality.
While nobody knows all, and of course internet can be of a great help,
there are times that only a human can really make an estimation of some conditions, as close to reality they can be.
I hope to have your help here. For some of you, what I will ask, maybe it is obvious for you, but not for me.
And with your help, may I find out lies that I cannot discover by myself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lets start.

This period I am talking with a nice lady from Davao.
She told me that Saturday is her day off the work, so she will go to her parents, and there is not good or any mobile signal there!
But I guess, specifically ‘Saturday’ is the day most people go out…
When I asked her to tell me if her parental house is elsewhere, she told me two things:
- it is in the same city, but so far from her workplace!
- for this reason she rent a room in a boarding house.

Now, my questions:

- Is Davao so huge (1,5million), and does it make sense for a poor girl, to rent a room close to her work, in order to be close to her work?

- Are there many places in Philippines, that indeed they do not have any mobile carrier signal? I mean, is the coverage so bad? And is it possible this to happen even when we talk even of a suburb of Davao?

Yes! There are places where mobile signals are poor and of course you haven't said whether you are only talking with her via phone or computer with wifi, whether the connection is from her rooming house or her work place.

I'm surprised you asked the question since you have been chatting with many girls in PI and so should know that there are many places that internet, wifi and even mobile are poor.

As to a "suburb of Davao," did the girl say her parents lived in a "suburb of Davao?" More likely they live in a rural area outside of Davao with poor connectivity.

My wife's parents live in a "suburb of Cebu" - only 3 hours away lol - and cannot get internet connectivity. I'd pay serious money to get it for them, because that would make communication much simpler. Janet Skypes them via phone but the connection is often poor.

And finally it is very typical that she has a room in a rooming house close to work - very common.

[mentor]

Thanks for the information davewe.

[Zambales]

Davao is one of the largest cities in the world in terms of land area but not population. There are also four provinces with 'Davao' in the title such as Davao Oriental.

[mentor]

I had a nice discussion with a girl for the last weeks.
But now she sent me a message, telling me that her phone had failure, and she has difficulty in messaging. She sends(somehow) just one message a day. Yesterday she told me that she wants to fix her phone, and continue talking as we previously did...
If there is no way of communication I will leave her for sure.
But I am thinking if she is real(?) to give her some time to do what she will do. I am suspicious though...
What do you think?

[Zambales]

A subtle hint fo you to send her money to buy her a new phone most probably.

If she still is able to message you albeit only once a day on this phone it must be still working.

[mentor]

Yes...I am on the same thought too.
I just wonder if I should give a little bit time to completely clear things, or just tell her immediately goodbye and not lose even the smallest fraction of time with her. We had a nice conversation till now, for some weeks, but maybe now it is changing. Suggestions?

[Hero]

I just wonder if I should give a little bit time to completely clear things, or just tell her immediately goodbye and not lose even the smallest fraction of time with her. We had a nice conversation till now, for some weeks, but maybe now it is changing. Suggestions?

Stop wasting time on her. If a woman really likes you, then she'll find a way to talk to you.

[davewe]

I had a nice discussion with a girl for the last weeks.
But now she sent me a message, telling me that her phone had failure, and she has difficulty in messaging. She sends(somehow) just one message a day. Yesterday she told me that she wants to fix her phone, and continue talking as we previously did...
If there is no way of communication I will leave her for sure.
But I am thinking if she is real(?) to give her some time to do what she will do. I am suspicious though...
What do you think?

Well I would hope that you have multiple irons in the fire so that she is not the only one you are communicating with. Then while you are talking to other girls she is dealing with her phone problems.

The other obvious question I would have is why you insist on trying to do this all via mobile. Just as you should be communicating with more than 1 girl, you should be communicating via more than one technology. Does the girl in question have a laptop or access to one? Can you go to an Internet Cafe and chat with you there? Those are options you should look into.

The other issue with mobile is that when the girl says she is having problems with her mobile the reality might be that she is out of load and too embarrassed to say so. So while it might be that the phone is broken, it might also be that she has no money for load. Just a thought.

I was lucky. My wife worked in a Pension House that had decent wifi. So most of the time we were able to readily communicate. OTOH when she went home to the provinces and we had to rely on mobile it was much harder. Issues included general connectivity, weather, and running out of load meant that often it might be days between communication.

So don't rule the girl out but keep your options open.

[mentor]

If a girl has as a hometown or lives in Angeles, is this bad in any case?
Unsafe choice even to examine?
Tell me about...possibilities.
Not a bad idea to tell about Manila too.

[Zambales]

Obviously not every girl who lives in Angeles is a slut or a scammer but you're more likely to find one here than the majority of other places in the Phils.

Are you still relying on that daft strategy of Filipina's coming to you rather than you going over there, Mentor?

[mentor]

Obviously not every girl who lives in Angeles is a slut or a scammer but you're more likely to find one here than the majority of other places in the Phils.

Are you still relying on that daft strategy of Filipina's coming to you rather than you going over there, Mentor?

No, I decided to go there but after knowing a girl well over internet and be quite sure about her. Then I will see how it goes in face to face mode.
In any case, no easy/fast trips, but a plan of visit will take place.
Of course, being there at some time, will be crucial factor for my final decision on a girl, but I want to eliminate the possibilities of investing my time and efforts in the wrong girl even while I am not in Philippines.

[mentor]

Any opinions on filipinas living outside Philippines?
Do they retain most of the old good values that the filipinas have in their own country?

[Zambales]

Good question, Mentor.

It's probably about a 50/50 split. The ones that do change become snobbish or victims of the materialistic rat race.

I know of a guy who's married to a Pinay. He's got a decent paid job but is not wealthy. His wife seems like a decent woman and he is smitten with her but she hangs out with a few Pinays who are married to rich guys. They lavish their wives and because of this she feels inadequate ultimately putting pressure on him in a way to spend more than he would like. She has the best of things, regular trips abroad, cruises, latest expensive fashion etc.

The problem here is that when you are "competing" or "keeping up" with people who are far wealthier than yourself, one day you could come to a sticky end.

Not all of them are like this though. The more down to earth ones are the women who have come to a more developed country by their own accord through employment such as nurses who don't have the security of a husband. They soon realise that the West isn't paved with gold.

[davewe]

Any opinions on filipinas living outside Philippines?
Do they retain most of the old good values that the filipinas have in their own country?

This question is asked often and there is no easy, cut and dry answer. Of course someone who moves to another country and lives there for years (perhaps decades) will take on some of the characteristics and attitudes of that culture.

The US, where I live, is a materialistic culture; no question about that. Women come here to discover that they can earn many times more than is possible in the Philippines. Their husbands, even if ordinary working stiffs, are rich by Filipino standards. Does it have an influence? Of course it does. And in fact most guys wouldn't be happy if their Filipina partners did not come to understand and take on some Western characteristics. Honestly - do you want her to cook dried fish 7 days a week? Nope. You want her to learn to like Western foods, understand Western customs, be able to comprehend and discuss the local news, etc.

If you marry a Filipina in your home country, she will befriend many other Pinays. Some you will like, some you will view as selfish and materialistic - same as Western women. My wife is openly and hilariously critical about a few of her friends and their shopping and bragging habits. We have a couple friends who are fond of posting the receipt for an item on Facebook, just so we can all know how much she (or her husband) spent.

In reality, more often than not - it's the husband's fault. If the girl overspends his money on luxury items - that's his problem to correct. Some do and some don't. Some guys just view this as the price of marriage and other guys get frustrated. But in my experience very few want to get rid of their wives over it. Their wives make them happy and that makes up for it, I suppose.

But it does get hysterical. Janet and I are preparing for my retirement and move to the Philippines. So we are gradually selling all of our stuff. One particularly materialistic and thick girl said to anyone who would listen, "Poor Janet. They are not doing well and need to sell their stuff "