Here, nobody says it outright, and when it comes to paying them they wait for you to bring it up. I tried meeting women on dating apps, and the ones who showed interest turned out to be either Tinder hookers or scammers. The scammers start with transportation money for coming to meet you, or they keep you talking on the app or WhatsApp and then suddenly someone is sick and they need money. They'll even send a hospital photo of who knows who and ask for money. I usually send them a prayer along with a picture of Jesus. If someone doesn't have a regular job and they're being friendly, they believe you should pay them somehow, because they're sitting with you and sharing laughs.

In Manila, basically everyone expects to get paid.

Heck yes, it's a risk. You're in a foreign country and you have no rights there. You have money, they don't. Every relationship is transactional to some degree. You really need to be on guard when dating casually here. Anywhere, really, but especially here. The bigger the difference in "power," the bigger the risk. Look up the women's and children's act so you know what kind of laws you're dealing with. My advice: Meet lots of women. Wait for a genuine connection. Pick one. Have her tested before sex. Treat her well. Don't lie. Don't cheat. Give her gifts and money. If it's only for a short time, make sure she knows that. Basically, date her seriously and exclusively, even if it's short. Don't entertain any other women while you're with her. When it ends, move on, ideally to a new area, or even leave the country lol. I'm not joking. Even better if you can take her traveling somewhere else with you. If you're just trying to hook up and date casually, in my opinion it's a disaster waiting to happen (diseases, pregnancy, extortion, false accusations, etc. etc.) Good luck!

It's a legitimate concern. Filipino women are extremely vindictive, and combine that with Asia's concept of losing face and you've got a woman out for revenge over a minor disagreement. I'm into casual dating too, and my suggestion is to meet older women over 30. Women in their 20s tend to be the most unstable and the craziest, probably because of immaturity. For example, last month on a random Wednesday afternoon I slept with a 23-year-old I met on Tinder. Just casual and consensual. I paid for her transportation and even bought her a nice meal. Later that night she was blowing up my phone, accusing me of spreading rumors about our meetup to people I didn't even know. Every denial just made her angrier. Meanwhile, earlier that month I slept with a 31-year-old woman. She wasn't very attractive, but we had a good time. She reached out the next day for a second meetup, but I ghosted her (I didn't block her, though, since that can be risky). She's never reached out since.

Find out whether someone really wants to meet you for you, not for money or a free lunch. If they ask for money, phone load or anything else while you're talking, stop replying. Early in the conversation, say something like "when I date, I prefer to meet for just a coffee first." The free-lunch seekers back off. You'll lose 9 out of 10 leads, but you'll filter out a much better person.

I think you'll be fine. Just be upfront, don't lie, and pay them. You're not really dating. Which is fine