If I might add my twopence worth - I moved to Valencia after 10 yrs in the UK military and 38 yrs working in Africa and middle east. The beaurocracy in the Phils is mind boggling - but it's usually not the fault of the person 'behind the desk'. If you think the brownouts are a pain - try living in Nigeria. You need to be aware and careful when buying (especially) property - be aware of the rules - check the title. Most of us came here because we were dissatisfied with conditions in our home country - don't expect it to be the same as your home country. I've found (4 years) that most Philippinos are warm hearted and friendly - of course there are 'bad' people - there are bad people in every country. Dumaguete is a pretty laid back place - yes there are too many tricycles and the traffic is getting worse, but I doubt if putting lights / enforcers on every junction would speed things up. Maybe they will finish the ring road sometime. Continual bitching is not helpful, and neither is sniping at other members. There are a lot of helpul people contribute to the site - maybe we should concentrate on helping each other. That's me done bitching.
Only if two pence is of equal value to two cents. If it's worth more than two cents I'm afraid you will need to delete a bit of your comment.
JM, Yes it's true over the years there are some who have moaned about the way of life here. I have on a few occasions pointed out, we ( expats) are guests in Philippines Being married to a Filipina I know just how easily one can offend them. Thanks for this opening thread, I have often wondered why there are few Filipino's on this forum. regards JB
I have not seen the sh*t hole ......I HAVE SEEN GOOD PEOPLE LIVING UNDER VERY HARSH CONDITIONS...Those same people who smile at me and say hello... .I have seen kindness courtesy and much more friendliness here even on the streets by someone I have never met something that would never occur in the U S and I just got back from there....I love my country but I have have also fallen in Love here in Many Many ways with the different culture and slowness of life.... and I think the people who sincerly live here know what i mean
Personally I found your country beautiful, the people wonderful, friendly, I think it is what you make of it, personally I know Filipino friends who live in Australia who love it there, I honestly hate it here which is why I am coming back to live with my asawa in our small Nipa Hut where I can embrace the Filipino Culture. I have witnessed more so many Filipino who are very critical of those who are poor or those who work in positions below them, humanity is like one large Ant Nest where we all have our place that supports the running of the Nest at large, take away those many deem beneath them and that Nest will soon crumble. I am poor, p*ss poor broke and it will take me a year just to save for my Airfare to return back home with my family, and I joke with my Filipino Family as they joke with me, but to someone looking in from the outside, it might be perceived as being critical of one another, when it really isn't. I think that is the way *some* Posts here might be misconstrued, others who openly attack the lifestyle in the Philippines I distance myself from as I am a FIRM believer in the old saying; "When in Rome do as the Romans do". Here in Oz many who are overly proud of being Australian and moan about immigrants adopting OUR way of life, I do NOT expect one single Filipino to bend to accommodate me while I live there, it is I who must adapt to live as everyone else does, to go there to live, then live in a bubble bringing my way of life here with me I feel is ignorant. I also think a lot of the problems is with media such as this, you can not really gauge what the other person may mean even when using a Smiley/Emoticon, speaking face to face you can *feel* the conversation, where places like here, often people, especially when in an emotional state of mind, are able to read something in a total opposite way to which it was written and intended to sound, this is where rational conversation helps, if one is able to be rational and think, converse with one another, then often 9 times out of 10 they eventually agree with one another and admit that they took the words in a negative way. Other times the words mean exactly what they say in how they were written, those are the pricks who should know better, who should take their grievances face to face instead of airing it in words online. :(
OK HAD to post..how bout we put an end to this topic and ill wrap it up. The majority of people that visit the Philippines have a wonderful encounter however they have to be prepared to deal with the culture and living in a totally different way in what they may be used to if they shall choose to LIVE Here.. Vacationing is different.. Like all people there are Good and Bad, you can not take the actions of few and make a broad spectrum of opinions/suggestions over one culture due to ingnorance of few people... This goes for everyone, americans, australians, british, no matter where you live you should understand what I am talking about. In general, most of our experiences here in the PI has been great which is why we chose to live here, and why this website as a whole even exists... People that love the area, the culture, have decended on an online place to share ideas, their opinions, experiences, etc. Its great. Now, lets move on to the next topic.
