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Rice field

This is one of our neighbors' rice farms. He has many acres and the machinery to handle it all.
Our other neighbor uses less machinery.

Is the Philippines playing both sides between Israel and Palestine?

I think he's going to be okay

For those of you who moved to the Philippines, what was your reason?

Did you want a change of life and the Philippines appealed to you, or were you hoping to meet someone and find a partner?

I'm 19, an American guy living here with my best friend's family. They've been great, but with all the lazing around and eating I'm getting fat. How do I politely turn down food?

She realizes she's next

Should my friend who had a stroke keep up his long-distance relationship?

My friend, who's American, met a Filipina online. They've met in person twice. They're in a long-distance relationship, and his girlfriend was hoping he'd stay. He has no intention of marrying her.

Then he recently had a brain-bleed stroke. Her dad also had a stroke, and she's taking care of him. Is it fair to her to keep dating a guy who has no intention of marrying her and, given the new circumstances, can't go live there either?

Any place for Black women?

Where in the Philippines can Black women feel safe?

I'm a digital nomad, and after one uncomfortable day I was told to try the capital and give up on the beach dream.

The relatively wealthy older locals keep trying to chat me up, and the younger ones make kissing or monkey noises at me. I've been followed and filmed everywhere I go, and this gang-stalking is apparently so normal here that switching hotels doesn't help. Moving to a Western hotel chain has at least put a bit more distance between me and the motorbike guys filming my comings and goings, but even the staff can't make them leave. One Black man told me his local girlfriend deals with the aggression, but I'm not interested in dating - especially not dating just to feel a bit safer in a place where I don't even feel good.

The grammar's correct now, but at what cost?

Writing this because I'm so tired of the "I make 10k, is that enough to live here" posts

Don't be fooled by people asking "I make $10k a month, is that enough to live here?" They're just humble-bragging. Anyone making $10k a month already knows the answer.

The truth is, the average expat here doesn't come anywhere near that. Most foreigners you'll meet in the Philippines are retirees living on Social Security, sometimes with a small pension on top. We're talking $1,000–$2,500 a month. I was part of that crowd for a long time myself. When I first started my business, I was netting $800–$1,300 a month. Golf was out of the question back then! LOL!

Digital nomads here tend to be at the lower end of that range, and the visa rules explain a lot of it. Mexico, Portugal, Greece and Costa Rica all require nomads to prove $3,000 to $4,400 a month in income before they can stay long term. Mexico also no longer gives 180-day tourist stays by default, so living there on back-to-back tourist permits isn't an option anymore. Thailand's nomad visa requires about $14,000 in the bank, and Thailand has been cutting back its visa-free stays too.

The Philippines is one of the few countries with no proof of income or financial requirement for a long-term stay. So think about it. If the Philippines is so bad, why don't the people who keep ranting about it go somewhere with better infrastructure, like Thailand? The answer is that most of them can't. And another thing: why would someone making $10k a month want to live 7,000 miles away from their family and friends? A vacation or a short stint is one thing, and so is moving to be with a spouse, but otherwise, permanently?

I'll be staying in Quezon City at the end of this month
I've never been there before.. though I've been to the Philippines many times.

I'd appreciate suggestions for an area to stay in and, if possible, a place to stay

Ideally even one with a kitchen and a balcony.

Thanks so much

An urge I couldn't resist

When can you extend your visa online?

This is what I've read, but it's a bit confusing.

1st extension (29-day visa waiver extension): can be done online (extends the initial 30-day visa-free entry to 59 days total).
2nd to 5th month extensions: must be done in person at a Bureau of Immigration (BI) office (note that an Alien Certificate of Registration, the ACR I-Card, is required from this stage).
6th month extension: can be done online.
7th to 12th month extensions: can be done online.
After 12 months: stays over one year no longer qualify for online extensions and must be handled entirely in person at a BI office.

If I'm understanding this correctly:

Arrive and do the 29-day extension online (already did this).

In person for a 60-day extension.

Online for a 60-day extension.

In person for a 60-day extension.

Online 60-day extension x2.

The rest must be done in person.

Is that right? Also, I assume that even if I extend past a year, if I leave at day 350 I can still get my ECC at the airport (it says under 1 year you can get it there).

What fruit grows on your land?

We've got all kinds of fruit on our mountain property. This picture is papaya.

By the way…. papaya is commonly described as a giant tree-like herb (not a fruit) because its trunk is soft. 😳

What fruit do you have on your property? Pictures appreciated.

Sipper bottle

A wonderful mom posted that she was worried a Filipino reading tutor might give her child a Filipino accent. She sounds like a great parent, so this is a different question. Are other families with one expat parent worried about accents?

Does Team Aussie in the Philippines want their kids to sound Aussie, or is Team St. George (England) hoping for a posh English accent? If I had a vote, I'd pick Michael Caine's Cockney.

My wife grew up in rural Mindanao and speaks with a neutral, near-American accent. I speak neutral American English. Our kid learned English at 5, is now 8, and speaks with a generic, near-American accent.

The kids in our mixed-family group also speak with generic, near-American accents, even with Kiwi (New Zealand)–Filipino, Swedish–Filipino, Japanese–Filipino, or Korean–Filipino parents.

I'm not pushing the American accent. If I could have any accent, it'd be Ray Shoesmith's from the show 'Mr Inbetween.'

Just so you know

There seem to be quite a few openly racist people in this sub. Just so you know, hurling racial slurs is a deportable offense if you get caught.

Boarding a flight

Do I need to declare a wedding ring at customs?

Hi everyone, I'm really torn about this. I'm a foreigner, I have to fill out eTravel, and I'm planning to propose to my Filipina girlfriend.

I'll be bringing a wedding ring worth about 2,300 dollars

Should I declare it?

Good evening, fellow expats! I have a question for those of you who married a Filipina, had kids in the Philippines, applied for dual citizenship, and now have kids with two passports. How did you handle the official birth certificate, the difference between middle name and maiden name, and how that shows up on their US/UK/Australian passports?

My wife insists that our soon-to-be-born baby should carry her surname as a 'middle name.' I'm worried that could make it confusing what to put as the middle name on the US passport.

What did you end up doing?

Thanks!