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Following on from Rye's eloquent "I don't care" post, I am getting the distinct feeling that's it's got to the stage now where the vast majority also "don't care". How many deaths have their actually been in Negros Oriental in the last 6 months from covid? I don't follow it closely. Have there been any?

Today was my first day back teaching with full face to face classes. Chatting to people I quickly realised:

Students: They don't care.
Parents of students: They don't care
Teachers: They don't care

Wearing masks where one won't get fined: Nobody cares
Social distancing unless it is monitored: Nobody cares
Curfew: Nobody cares
Checkpoints: Nobody cares

As for me, I really don't care!

 

A year and a half ago at the start of my coronary nightmare in the SUMC ER I was told that a filipino was rejected from the ER because he could not pay. He died on the sidewalk in front of the hospital, heart attack. I learned a long time ago that if you did not have the ability to pay you were SOL as far is getting medical help here in the PI. Thank goodness my VISA credit card with a large credit limit kept the hospital doors open for me. As far as helping out with pesos. Wife paid for two cataract operations in her family. We also paid a large part of three funerals in wife's family. I also help out people I did know, before some one came asking for help. Just a couple of weeks ago I donated two vials of my "lantus insulin" to a 10 year old type 1 diabetic that is going blind because his family can't afford the medication. When the planes quit flying my shipment of lantus insulin was delayed and I had to buy it in Dumaguete at about 45 USD per vial. I told the the Barangay Council Woman that she and the kid's mother were not to tell anyone where they got the lantus insulin and insulin syringes because I did not want to here a bunch of sad stories that I was going to have to sort out trying to figure out what were real needs and what were cons. I do not do recreational drugs or smoke and I was raised up POOR and hungry so I have a very soft heart when a comes to poorer than me folks need help.
I and wife live from month to month but an awful lot of filipinos live from one meal to the next. About three years ago I gave 3000 pesos for a 5 year old that had Dungy when in fact there was nothing wrong with him. I got coned. But that did not stop me from helping others, it just made my far more cautious with my giving.

My 5 centavos

 

Please help me understand your suggestion. Are you asking for a quality control system for our posts? And is this so you can enjoy reading DI? If so, borders on arrogance. We are not here to please you and could care less if you are critical of the postings.
If I misinterpreted your comments, my apologies, if I am correct, why don’t you leave this forum.

 

To me, Inhouse Security is preferable than an untrained/Badly trained Mickey mouse armed guard outside

 

I moved there (Dumaguete) in 2009 with my Filipino husband not knowing how long I would be there. He was terminally ill and wanted to go home to die, so we uprooted us and our 10 year old daughter and made the leap. It was very hard the first couple of years, I missed Oklahoma and my family terribly. My mother, my older daughter, her husband and my granddaughter were all in Oklahoma. I learned to adapt to the ways and became to love the people, which isn't difficult at all. My daughter and I returned to Oklahoma a year after my husband passed. If I had had a permanent monthly income I probably would have stayed, but I had to come back to go back to work. We have been back 4 years now. I have no regrets at all of moving to the Philippines, I feel very fortunate to have had that experience, and I know that I could live there when I retire, which is something I am seriously considering, but that is several years away. My daughter considers Dumaguete her home, as that is where she spent her most formative years, plus she has many family members and close friends there. She is saving money to make a trip back next year, possibly.
I would say if you are concerned about your health as you age, then your plan is probably a sound one. It is difficult to find medical care there that you find here, especially if you need specialized care. But spending a few years there so that your wife can be with her family and you can experience life there, that would be very rewarding and I am sure you would not regret it. You might even find that you don't wish to return.

 

I like your honesty. After viewing your site (good job!) I have no doubt your will back up your words with actions.

However, I'm sure people will figure out if Dumaguete is for them on their own. They'll see the trash and the other problems. They'll likely travel to other places and make their own comparisons. No need to bash the place in a thread where people are asking for information. Better to simply answer the questions. Otherwise we might as well copy and paste your reply automatically to everyone with a "New Here" thread. We can at least represent Dumaguete in the best light and let new arrivals make their own decisions from there. And it's not like we're all making a sales job on how clean and beautiful Dumaguete is. Go ahead and call BS where you see it, but we're pretty good here about keeping it real.

 

I first set foot in the PI in Jan. 1967. During the War in Viet Nam.
In 1987 came here to marry a Dumaguete girl almost 30 years ago.
Our first 22 years was in Alaska and we came back to Dumaguete once and some times twice a year during that 22 years. We moved back here to stay in June 2010. For me there are more dangers to living in the US than there are here. Will I ever go back to the US? HELL NO! Wife has orders to scatter my ashes here and I have told my family in the US to not expect me to return, not even for a funeral.
I'm here for the duration.

 

As an older expat and 8 year resident, I would beg to disagree with you, Midniterider. Strongly. Only problem is, I’m not sure I can. Are you being too harsh? Maybe. The medical facilities here may not be as bad as you imply, but if I were to contract any major illness, I’d get myself back to the States, pronto if I could. As for the rest of your points, there’s definitely something to be said for all of them. I still like living here, a lot – otherwise I wouldn’t be here, but I think your post is worthy of consideration for anyone planning on relocating to these parts. The remedy, I believe, is to take it slowly, step by step. Forget burning your bridges back home, sending a dozen balikbayan boxes of stuff you may not need or be able to use, obtaining a permanent resident visa – just be here awhile, rent, don’t buy anything you don’t have to buy – then see how you like it, and decide for yourself whether or not you agree with Midniterider.