KEY Thread Best Posts in Thread: If not Dumaguete then where?

Sounds like what you are looking for would be either Dumaguete or Olongapo. Both have their pros and cons. Traffic in the Philippines sucks during rush hour in any urbanized area and the beaches surrounding those same areas are most likely going to suck because of the complete lack of concern the locals have for their environment or for cleaning up after themselves. You are going to have to drive at least 30 minutes away from any urbanized area to get to any halfway decent beach (great beaches are few and far between in this country).

I see that you didn't complain about the pollution in your post about Cebu....Olongapo has more vehicles spitting out black smoke than Dumaguete (even though it is only a third of the size) but it is nowhere close to the levels Cebu has. The food in Olongapo is far superior (both local and foreign food) than you will find in Dumaguete and you will not have much problem finding imported goods at the malls there. The downside of Olongapo is going to be the women and local business "culture" . There are more women there with a lot of experience with expats and know all the cons and methods for "extracting cash" and they will sniff out an inexperienced expat quickly and chew them up and spit them out. It is a dog eat dog place and unless you know what the prices should be (and know how to negotiate) you will most certainly be spending a lot more money there than you would in Dumaguete. It gets really old, really fast having to negotiate a lower price for almost everything you do.

For the "food poisoning" I would suggest eating lots of yogurt before you come to the Philippines again. It is probably not so much food poisoning as it is your body not being used to the local bacteria in food. Yogurt should help your gut build up some defenses to it. I have the same problem when I occasionally go back to the US with 'food poisoning".

Concerning you phone being stolen: I imagine it wasn't snatched out of your hands or your pockets......which is where you phone should always stay. If it was stolen out of your house/hotel room I'd suggest not leaving it behind when you go out and to be careful who you invite back to you house/room. I believe this one was probably due to you not being diligent in keeping your belongings secure. Many locals here have hands as sticky as the geckos you see crawling on the walls and ceilings.

Locals are crap drivers pretty much everywhere you go. The only places you can avoid this is by living on the old US military bases, Clark and Subic. Those were the only two places I've been in this country where the traffic laws were strictly enforced.

As for girls not staying faithful.....you'll just have to figure that one out through trial and error. If you ever find a sure fire method for finding a faithful partner please report back to us......and then write a book about it because you will make a lot of money if you figure that one out.

 

This thread is becoming a mess. I have split the side conversations into 2 different threads already (including posts I have made). Any future posts that do not speak directly to the OP's question will be permanently deleted, no matter how useful the information is.

Just as a reminder to what was said in the OP:

If you have questions that don't have anything to do with this start another thread in the appropriate section.

 

Guam? Kinda expensive and it's part of 'Muricah......and 'Muricah has lots of rules and laws....and they actually enforce them.

Wait, what? Guam not expensive? I suppose if we are comparing it to Hawaii maybe not, but here in the real world "expensive" doesn't even begin to describe Hawaii.

Note: I visited Hawaii 6 years ago and I absolutely DESPISED everything about the place. One night in Waikiki I was approached while getting money out of the ATM by the most nasty, smelly, malnourished, body sore infested, methhead of a hooker I've ever seen in my life and asked if I would like a bit of fun for $300........per hour. After I caught my breath from LMFAO I told her to lay off the pipe and to FO.....then I went the nearest hole in the wall dive bar and bought myself a $10 rum and coke (you know, the cheap stuff in Hawaii ).....where I was later presented with the same business proposal I had at the ATM earlier from 4 more equally nasty and obviously AIDS infested methhead hookers. This lovely evening happened the night after I had to pay a $75 entrance fee to get into a club, only to find out, once inside, that the place was completely empty.....and the drinks were $18+. Did I mention that the $300 a night hotel I was staying at had stinky black water coming out of the shower......and when they moved me to a new room, 3 nights before my flight out, I had my first experience with bedbugs? Yeah.....Hawaii is awesome and totally a great value!

A person who considers Hawaii and Guam plans "A" and "B" for retirement/relocation should probably put the Philippines around plan "P" or "Q". The Philippines should not be compared to Guam.....and never even mentioned in the same breath as Hawaii.

Hawaii - Guam - Philippines = Apples - Oranges - Microbial alien life on Mars

That is not easy, convenient or affordable for the vast majority of expats. I have not heard of a country anywhere that is so welcoming and accommodating to tourists when it comes to visas as the Philippines is. If you are single, not expected to die in the next 20 years and have absolutely no intentions of getting married, the Philippines is about the only options out there for long stays in a foreign country. If there is another country out there that will let a single tourist in his 20's, 30's or 40's stay for 3 years straight without any type of financial "investment" obligations I'd be very interested in hearing about it. To my knowledge no such pace exists other than the Philippines.

Step 1: "Currently hold a passport of his/her nationality with a non-immigrant visa type that allows him/her to stay in Thailand on the basis of a one year visa extension for a total of at least 3 years up to the submission date at submission of the application."
Out at step one.....but let's assume that I have already obtained this mysterious 1 year visa and have extended it a few times (which I'm guessing costs significantly more than "free"):
Application fee - 7,600 THB
Not (and never will be) married to a Thair residence book - 191,400 THB
Multiple re-entry permit (good for one year) - 3,800 THB
Endorsement in residence book for temporary departure - 1,900 THB
To re-apply for residence permit when revoked due to late return to Thailand or departure/return without re- entry permit -(i)Application fee – 7,600 THB
If application approved, or reissue of residence book – 95,700 THB
Total - 308000 THB = $8840.42 USD = No thanks

1. Applicant must be 50 years of age or over.

Crap, didn't even get past the first requirement. Guess I'll get around to reading step 2 in another 17 years.