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Tallwhitedude123RepostReddit
Sep 28

A lot of people come to this board wondering if they should move to the Philippines, and I'm writing this because there are some things I really want you to know beforehand.

You shouldn't look at places like BGC, IT Park, or Iloilo Megaworld and think, "Wow, the Philippines has developed a lot." It hasn't. Those places are just tiny bubbles privately managed by Ayala Land and a few other major Filipino conglomerates.

“In the Philippines, 99% of the places the government 'manages' look like garbage dumps.”

Because of that, the moment you step just outside the bubble and enter a government-managed area, the vibe completely falls apart.

On the flip side, about 95% of Bangkok looks decent because the government actually manages the roads and sidewalks. In short, the government is doing its job.

BGC looks nice because it's privately managed, not because the government functions properly. The reason I'm taking the time to say this is because when a government is a mess, life gets difficult in ways you won't realize until you actually live there.

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29 original commentsincl. 18 replies
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Humble-Holiday-2010

95% of Bangkok looks like Ortigas or Makati CBD. I mean, it’s nice and walkable, but the sidewalks are small and obstructed in many areas. And I wouldn’t put BGC and IT Park in the same sentence. IT Park is a huge downgrade and much smaller compared to BGC

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Tallwhitedude123

My point is that BGC and IT Park are both privately owned. Of course Bangkok is Southeast Asia but it certainly doesn’t feel like Manila. It is much cleaner than Manila. Has far less beggars than Manila. It’s a city of millions so of course it’s busy but it’s far more organized and efficient than Manila. It’s way more modern as well.

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Humble-Holiday-2010

I didn’t say it felt like Manila. I said it felt like Ortigas and Makati CBD. While you’re comparing it to BGC. It doesnt feel like that at all

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Tallwhitedude123

You’re confused. I’m not comparing Bangkok to BGC or anything else in the Philippines. My point about Bangkok is that the government keeps it MAINTAINED. The sidewalks, roads and other infrastructure is MAINTAINED. The trash is picked up and the streets kept relatively clean. In the Manila/NCR very little is maintained by the government and everything mostly looks like trash until you enter these bubbles that are privately maintained

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Humble-Holiday-2010

In Marikina, I definitely see people cleaning the streets every morning and it’s clean and quiet in most areas.

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jmmenes

Who owns BGC? Ayala as well?

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Tallwhitedude123

I think Ayala

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jmmenes

Never knew that. I thought it was a whole bunch of companies and conglomerates there.

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Tallwhitedude123

It could be more than Ayala involved. I’m not expert on it but my point is that BGC is privately maintained

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MELONPANNNNN

BGC, and IT parks are co-owned by the BCDA, a government entity... In fact BCDA owns a 45% stake of BGC. Googling this wouldnt have been hard.

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Just-LetMeBee

BGC isn’t owned by Ayala alone. There are several developers involved in different parts of BGC, including Ayala, Megaworld, Shang, Robinsons Land, and others. Ayala is still a major owner/developer and has a big presence in BGC, while Megaworld developed the Uptown area, and Shang has Shangri-La at the Fort. Same with other townships, like IT Park in Iloilo, which is developed and managed by Megaworld. These developers develop and manage their “own” properties or townships within the city only. The overall governance is still by the city government.

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Wise-Instruction9535

Your are hyping up Thailand too much. Also, everything privately owned is always better.

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Tallwhitedude123

I’m not hyping anything. It’s the facts. Thailand is far more developed. It’s not even up for debate.

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VirtualBeyond6116

Yes, thankful for Ayala for having some standards and quality. Without them, who knows what Makati and bgc would look like. I think IT 0ark in cebu is theirs as well.

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Tallwhitedude123

Yea, it’s better than nothing but I don’t like the feeling. It’s like that movie with the zombies. All the normal people live in the isolated area walled off protected from the zombies outside but sometimes the zombies break through the wall 😮

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VirtualBeyond6116

I don't get that feeling as much, but when I go to Rockwell, I absolutely feel like that.

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JumpyPackage2046

They have this massive wall between Rockwell and Poblacion. You may need to walk a good 1km to go to next entrance. This is very poor design choice. They could have added one extra entrance with security in the middle. You need to do some massive detours sometimes.

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Personal-Ad7148

U are keeping it real Which is why I don't see my self long term here I can afford to live at the best places and I do But I don't like what ure describing People in west don't know true inequality

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Tallwhitedude123

I don’t want to talk you out of the Philippines. Come here. Give it a shot. Maybe you like it. I do think what I’m posting is accurate though. Many “influencers” glamorize and overhype the Philippines, in my opinion. They don’t really talk about the realities though

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InternationalFlan645

Thanks for this list of great places to move to, OP!

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DueSignificance2628

This is not uncommon in the US also. They call it a BID (Business Improvement District) and a local organization takes over basic maintenance in a specific neighborhood in a city, like cleaning streets, gardening, etc. They add a small surcharge to all property owners or businesses in the area to cover the costs.

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TheGreatPornholio123

The BID's are amazing if setup, chartered, and managed right, or they can be a complete nightmare. An area can get so much extra services just for a small increase in property taxes (less than the cost of a Netflix subscription) that the property values will more than offset the tax increases.

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Tallwhitedude123

I’m not against anyone going to the Philippines but oftentimes the full info isn’t put out there. That’s all I’m doing here…

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IllIgan_

It’s a good shout. I think it’s important for people to be aware tbh

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JumpyPackage2046

The fact cities in the same urban area are completely disconnected politically from each other plays a role too. They couldn't make a simple subway in Makati because it was passing shortly by another city. It makes no sense but that is the way it is. Districts are not fighting against each other in Bangkok.

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sun_rise_sun_rise

MOA area much bigger than BGC. But yes privately owned and targeting middleclass and above. So no beggars or poor people residing there.

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Away-Plan-8940

Obviously. Tax here is used in Hermes stores.

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btt101

Leaving it to the private sector also does not work. 🤣

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Unclebilbo2000

Bro we get it you like Thailand. Why do spam this thread every day with the same nonsense? And why would I care who owns the nice areas? The reality is these nice areas are better than anything in BKK. There is NOTHING like BGC there. So for some people, this is enough and we can overlook other negatives by comparison. Everything in life is a trade off.

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