I have to admit I am often quick to shoot down people who attack OFW’s for the simple reason is I understand what the OFW’s go through. They are often in very poor conditions living in countries they don’t want to be, doing jobs they don’t want to do. For what? my wife was talking to me from an OFW’s point of view yesterday explaining how they felt and that more often than not OFW’s send 2/3rds of their salary home to help support relatives but at the same time I often wonder why many of these relatives don’t support themselves. I live here! We have lived on a very tight budget before and presently I know how hard things can be but at the same time I would never ask for a bailout from a relative.

I think my biggest problem is that so many people do not appreciate the sacrifices OFW’s make and I read an article yesterday regarding a Balikbayan box someone was receiving. The words were about the gifts “they wanted” and things they couldn’t find locally. Not once did the words “thank you” or “its greatly appreciated you don’t know how much this means to me” appear only text of literally I expect and I demand. If not they would be disappointed. Disappointed? I have done things in my life time that would break many other people, I have seen things that can and do give nightmares. What do I expect when I send Balikbayan boxes home ? the same thing I get when I do.. Thank you! It was a surprise and more importantly “you shouldn’t have!”. A gift is a gift.. and people shouldn’t forget or disrespect that, your brother,sister,uncle,aunt,parent are working hard out there somewhere in the world to make sure YOU have a better future than they did. RESPECT it!

Some of you will be thinking how dare you as a Foreigner!! I will ask you this am I really a foreigner? I work in the UK to help support my wife, my children and develop a retirement plan for my father and mother in-law. Aren’t I more of an OFW than you would like to give credit for? I spent 8 months of last year away from home working from 6-7am until 8-9pm 5 days a week before commuting on a Friday to see my daughter in Worcester for 5hrs that gives me Saturday off! as I drive back to work on Sunday. At the same time I am living in a small apartment to keep costs down so I can come home aswell as send money home to support my family. I may not be Filipino but much of my life overlaps and here I am living in the Philippines, here I am as a resident and in 5 years time a Citizen.

I support OFW’s because many don’t have a voice because they worry about offending relatives, I support OFW’s because I have worked as hard as they do, I support OFW’s because they are not only hard working but the light for many, I support OFW’s because they are the backbone of my home. But what is more important is that YOU support the OFW’s strive for independence and the ability to stand on your own two feet. Remittances are easy to receive but hard to earn make anything you do receive count. Build a future in the Philippines or get out, either way don’t waste peoples money that is earned by hard work, tears and suffering.. you owe it to them.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tonight is my favourite weather in the Philippines as I stood out in the thunder and lightening. Everything is unusually quiet as most people are at home and the air feels fresher with the moisture from the rainfall. Its an experience I will never grow tired of and one I look forward to enjoying. Its also why I remembered to write this article in relation to the weather as its something not covered often.

The other day someone mentioned going into the Summer season in the Philippines and its a common mistake for foreigners to make. There is no Summer season only Wet and Dry seasons we are currently getting close to the Wet season which is why we seem to be getting heavy rainfall although there is droughts being reported in a lot of the farms as well as the general population struggling to get water from deep wells (including ourselves which are now getting fed from a reservoir). The other thing to remember is the different times of the year do affect the general climate. E.g. if heavy rain you can sometimes feel very damp and sweaty quickly due to the moisture in the air. There is a quick list of the climate temperature ratios below but to be honest I find the November to February the best time to be in the Philippines. There is no humidity information but just base the fact that in the wet season its a lot more dense.

Dry Season:
March -May (warm) 33-34 C
Wet Season:
June- October (monsoonal)
November -February (coolest) 29-31C

Popularity: 25% [?]

A statement you are probably a bit surprised to hear or maybe not? But its something you will hear time and time again “don’t waste your time and money in the Philippines” yet so many of us do live, work or retire here. In reality if you take me for example I work contracts in the UK and often there can be gaps of 2 – 3 months. There is also the tax threshold that once reached makes it pointless to continue working for the year same with the threshold on car millage all these big taxes add up to a value of 6 months in the UK. Because more than that it starts to become expensive. So generally after my 6 months I will fly back to the Philippines, dont buy a house in the Philippines many will tell you but in essence the trick is to buy a cheap house.. or rent keep your money ticking over in stuff that makes money rather in a financially dead concrete structure. Land is cheap and unlikely to change, buying a condo or a sub-division house in a major city may seem like a good investment but my current concern is the quantity being built and the fact I cannot see it being sustainable especially with so much owed in mortgages. Buying a cheaper piece of land (you will need to be married to a Filipina). If you take a condo in Cebu city for example expect to pay P3m+ for a shoe box of a property.. Yet if you head 45mins south you can get 2 hectares of farmland for P1m – P2m for me its no real competition as I can build a house I want on the farmland and still generate a localised income that keeps the house maintained as well as views of greenery over that of a skyline of concrete. Don’t get me wrong here there are good reasons to live in a condo as well but out of personal choice and value for money I wouldn’t buy one. The other thing is you can own the condo 100% but with the 2 hectares of farm maybe you can get a lot of your money back within a few years so even if your marriage did go sour you have recouped some of your investment already anyway. If you have kids at least your leaving some form of sustainable income as well. Just my perspective on it. Or another similar option below which is our lot not far from Minglanilla town which reside at the top of one of the hills. Its a bit cooler up there and  this would be the view from the garden as its taken from the end of the lot overlooking the greenery below. The lot is for sale at the moment purely because we need the money from this lot to buy another lot nearer where we are doing our projects. But the point is the lot is for sale at P370,000 which is around 370 – 380 sqm. We have plans from an architect friend for building a house on the lot which is another P500,000 so for less than P1million you have a lot at least twice the size as most sub division lots and a house that comes in for around 1/2 to 2/3rds cheaper than you would get in any sub-division. As well as the advantages of the views instead of solid concrete neighbours walls. Which also lead to another problem in sub-divisions most seem to be tightly packed reducing airflow which also increases heat build up. Before you think this is a sales pitch on my lot its a comparison I am toying with the idea of finishing the lot ourselves if it doesnt sell within the next few months as it would be an ideal location for a summer house for family or just for stopping over at weekends either way its a nice lot the road upto it is still under discussion as the neighbours are still wanting it finished. One thing I am doing though is sitting quietly as the lot in front of ours has just started construction of a nice big house. With little road access they will have no alternative but to concrete the road otherwise they will really struggle.

Getting back to the main topic doing business in the Philippines isn’t easy either but its not impossible. The biggest issue I have found which some people will be thinking is corruption, poor quality etc. but its the fact not enough Expat’s network together. There are people who have been here for decades who have everything from transport companies to restaurants and hotels. Most generally keep themselves to themselves but at the end of the day its cross networking that saves time and money for everyone. Even getting trivial things can become complex scenarios here and a prime example is a friend of mine who was sold fire extinguishers that later involved someone coming round trying to get more money as the fire extinguisher agent had disappeared with the money. With so many hotels and other businesses needing these sort of items wouldn’t it be better that GOOD suppliers are cross shared so that everyone shares the benefit of reliable service? same with getting the right food suppliers, laundry, legal processing hundreds of things that relate to so many businesses but are rarely shared. I don’t want to form a business forum because at some point someone tries  to assume ownership or responsibility for the group yet the whole point is that its not owned by anyone but a combination of people who just want to do business in the Philippines. If someone has a solution for getting people to work better together I am all ears…

So what do I think about the Philippines myself? I find frustration in a lot of things purely because people don’t want to listen or understand. I find people will avoid change at all costs.. I find that people will often say yes when they mean I haven’t got a clue.. I find government officials quick to try and extort money as corruption ripples through too much of society here that it has become the norm. I find that most expats wives families have caused rifts that have separated them from their daughter, niece, extended relative assuming that their relative has won the lottery not that they have gained a new family member and friend. But at the same time I find people around me are friendly I can wonder around at 3am and there is no drunks wandering around with a kebab in hand vomiting up the road as I would find in the UK. I see people every day that will do most things just because their your neighbour or friend not for reward. I find that the cost of living is a splash in the ocean compared to the cost of living in the UK. I wake up to the sun each day and the choice of what I do is mine.. unlike the U.K. where life has turned into a rat race where even standing still costs money you have to constantly look for the next pounds to stay ahead. Here its different.. here life is at a pace you choose just don’t expect others to keep up with you if you want things done faster. All in all life is good and although my frustrations are to do with speed of projects as I have the next 5 years planned ahead. In reality the Philippines is a country that doesn’t believe in prompt or quicker but more it will happen when it happens. Which once adapted to you can start to relax and enjoy the country… Have I adapted? not to slow paces of life and I never could.. but what I have done is realise that I don’t have to either. If someone is fixing the jeepy for example expecting the mechanic to take 1 or 2 weeks instead of 1 or 2 hours is something I have learned to adapt to. But when working on websites or trying to find more opportunities to make money I can still fill my time as its something I can control myself.

Popularity: 20% [?]

A new venture we are currently looking at and I know a lot of people out there are looking at finding ways for early retirement and this maybe a venture you could take an interest in. We are at the starting phase which is mainly looking for distribution networks and will likely be a business that can go in many directions or as far as you want to take it. But remember the jewellery side is a stepping stone. We are currently wanting to distribute for others but in the future we would also be interested in partnering in manufacturing with people of like minds. So take a look and drop me some emails as I would love to get some feedback on what you think.

Popularity: 18% [?]

A few people have been asking lately why do I live in the Philippines? besides the obvious of having a beautiful wonderful wife there are a lot of other reasons. Although I find lately more of the expats who have been here longer than me are getting close to calling it a day but most issues seem to keep stemming from family rather than from things directly relating to the Philippines as a country. People may complain of the smog but at what point did anyone say they have to live in a city? We live on the doorstep of Cebu city yet in a quiet neighbourhood where everyone knows my name and my biggest problem is kids being loud in the net cafe.. not exactly a hard life. Food costs here are all related to peoples diets I hear people complaining about the costs being “cheaper in the U.S.” then maybe its the diet that doesn’t match the surroundings.. We can buy a whole chicken for P140 and  rice at P2.5 a portion meaning we can have 4 meals out of less than P200 where can you do that in most countries? On top of that the chicken and rice is already cooked we just have to eat it. A lot of the food here is poor import quality but it doesn’t mean you have to be buying it your habits need to change to not only save money but to get a healthier lifestyle. Coconuts grow on trees, pineapples from the ground how much fresher do you need it? Most meat is killed the same day as there is very few people with freezers and a culture of not trusting if its not fresh that day. Its called “double dead” which is a term used for animals that have been slaughtered but didn’t die but in a few hours either got slaughtered again or died. People can tell from the meat if this has happened and its a sure fire way to lose customers.. In most cases the meat vendors here have been here for a very long time and unlikely to do these things. I haven’t had any problems with meat or fruit, only an odd upset stomach from sea foods which can occur anywhere in the world depending if its cooked properly. Others will also tell you “not to have ice” in your drinks etc yet most ice you see on the streets etc are not for drinking its for cooling round food to stop it going off in the heat.

Life here can be as easy or as hard as you make it. Most days I can stay in bed until late as often I am awake until 3-4am and nobody will bother me to get up as most things here run like clockwork without me. In the future I can see a lot of project developments that will make our small area something people will take an interest on how to do or to inspire others to take part in as I strongly believe the Philippines has a future and its not from sending its work force abroad but from within. Many lands lay empty here like a lot of conflict countries the food is not sown so it isnt harvested. People complain of poverty but is the truth that a lot of people that own lands should be forced to farm them instead of lay them bare.. If there is land disputes on ownership isn’t it better to get the land working than sitting looking at a field of nothing? There is also the problem of rental costs on land which is too high for people wanting to lease the land for farming but its also tied into farming methods that are obsolete. Multi crop development is the only way these things can work as well as moving away from aggressive fertilizers to natural ones that are cheap or even better free! instead of poisoning land with chemicals. Can I prove it can work? Its not can I but I will.. at the same time though I need to change peoples way of thinking as a friend of mine and others have found that your biggest thief is often your own staff. Yet they do not look to the future of the farm but of today only. They don’t look to the fact they look after the farm and the farm looks after them and their family. I take on these projects because I know things can improve and I take on these projects because most others won’t or don’t I know often I will return here to write how crap things get sometimes but at the same time I will return to show how positive things will or have become because these are all reasons I am here and why I live here. Back in the UK I have a good job as a consultant which many things fall into the same categories as often I do work because of failing sectors within a company. I go in change things for the better and then leave. Only difference with the Philippines is that I will be staying although have so many projects on going I don’t think I could run out of things to do.

One thing I would advise anyone going through hard times lately if its family related you need to sit and clear the air with your partner and explain how things are likely to go if things don’t improve. I hear from several people they are 2nd or 3rd in line when it comes to loyalties if that is the case you need to get everything in perspective if your so disregarded then you cash flow stream should stop immediately as nobody respects you. Someone mentioned respect to me recently and the fact I didn’t respect someone. Truth of the matter respect is earned not given as a right because it all falls back on the “gift” ethos that if you give a gift its appreciated but if its expected then you shouldn’t give anything. I may appear harsh sometimes but if you listen to expats who have been here a lot longer than me they have been through all the same problems I have and are a lot more aggressive in actions from it because they have seen and realised being nice and friendly more often than not people will abuse you. Doesn’t mean all people are like that though we have a lot of good friends and family but as well and its the bad that generally end up really bad and disrespectful and that is also my point most of the trials that come along do not respect me and at which point the hammer comes down firmly and will stay that way.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Your not Pinoy you don’t understand is something I hear time and time again and not just people directing at me but from other foreigners. It varies in different degrees of the reason its used and at the same time I have heard from other foreigners if your marrying a Filipina don’t expect to be second or even third in line because her relatives will come first then the children then somewhere further down the line is you. If this is the case why are people complaining when there is bad husbands? treat the guy badly and wonder why you get the same treatment? The guy that is accepted as an ATM or a means to an end who not only embraced the Philippines culture and adapted to it in many ways is still just seen as literally nothing by the majority.. do you feel this way?

Its also been used as regards some conversations a friend of mine had with OFW’s in his town as they are all part of the same church. When they are living a poor mans dream. They work hard and are just keeping their head above water but the families back in the Philippines squeeze every ounce of money out of them leaving them tired and the near impossibility of developing a life in the UK. The time I have spent in the Philippines its very obvious that many have a culture of choosing not to work and often if there is an OFW or relative marry a foreigner many people simply will choose never to work again if given the opportunity. It has to be one of the major factors that lead to a divorce between a foreigner and a Filipino. But often I see the fact that people don’t need the amount of money they are requesting from abroad and most if gets wasted. I have only seen my wifes parents embrace the opportunity to a better future. I have spoken to a few Expats at the last gathering I went to and they had a frustration of wives relatives who wouldn’t work and refused to do so. As well as students who at some point dropped out of the education system after being sponsored and asked “are you sure you will complete the course if not we can use the money on something else”. The same topic ended up on another discussion which was “its not my money its Kano money” which is the assumption that people don’t see the money as theirs so this is why it leads to it just being frittered. Which in turn would come back to the “outsider” argument again.

So next time someone says you don’t understand your not Filipino\Pinoy it might be worth noting how they see you and how or what your discussing came about. Because if its something that is exploiting your friendship or trust. Then say your right i’m not and you can use the argument from the other way round for example someone asking for money “I’m not Pinoy im a foreigner and in my culture if you respect it you wouldn’t be asking for money”. The under current of emotional blackmail is something that shouldn’t even be looked at but its often the reason people pull the comment out of the hat because there is no other justification for what is or has been done or happened.

Popularity: 21% [?]

The time I have been in the Philippines I have struggled with a serious lack of milk being available. You can get UHT but to be honest I would rather not have a cup of tea or coffee than have that as a poor substitute for semi-skimmed. So what has happened is last month with my wife being pregnant I have been looking for things she can have at home and I bought Salabat as I had seen it on the shelf before and I was a bit surprised how good it does taste. Its made with Ginger and sugar and can be drank with or without milk. The downside for me though is the quantity of sugar in the drink as its a bit much for my taste buds but it does beat not being able to have a cup of tea. So if your struggling for a tea its definitely something worth trying at least until you find a source of natural fresh milk. Also Salabat is readily available due to it being a Filipino drink.

Popularity: 19% [?]

I arrived the other morning to find that work had begun facing the last section of wall with a skim of concrete. But was a bit dubious to the use of scaffolding. It seems sturdy enough but wouldn’t climb it myself. A discussion about it came to the solution that there was a lack of timber so “making do”. Also by the time I arrived it was nearly finished so it was  just as easy to let them carry on. But it is something I am looking to include in further budgets some kind of scaffolding. Preferably aluminium due to the problems and speed of rust here. Most of the building we will be doing in  the future won’t be above second level. Although I am seriously considering designing the lot that we want in the future on a 4 floor design but likely to be built in phases similar to the apartment you see in the photo where the netcafe was finished and the roof was the solid slab of concrete floor from the apartment above. Which didn’t leak even in heavy rain.

Popularity: 36% [?]

I will let you decide what type of day I had today. It initially started with a quiet morning waking up to “showtime” Cebu which had a competing team from Minglanilla and then headed off to double check our Smart Bro share it connection. Quick speed test and it came back at 0.04 (should be 1.00+) well I know it should reach 2mb with the two connections so to say its poor is an understatement. A quick phone call and the same excuses later. “we have put it to our technical support and they will contact you within 24hrs”. Its been a month and not once have they called back in the number of times we have called them. They are simply doing nothing but stalling. So enough is enough packed up the crappy routers and took them back to the agent at PLDT who quickly passed the buck to the SM branch as they cant process it at the PLDT branch. Yet they were quick enough selling it to us from there? Well no point arguing I needed a desk to stick them on so I can stop paying for the damn things. 20 minutes later I was in SM North wing at Smart Bro another wait on a ticket system and finally I can deal with someone who can actually do something. First issue was “im not the client” as my wife ordered the units. But I had already drafted a letter before I left the house that April signed. Next was I needed ID what do I need ID for im returning units? ? Do they ask the same question for couriers? After a discussion I dumped one of the routers there and kept one to keep the net connection going until we get the canopy service. A lot of people may say the canopy service is bad but we already have the service nearby which is running at 750kbs the internet cafe was managing on 400kbs at best and still managing to get customers so reducing our costs by P1,000 a month and getting a reliable stable connection is all we really need then hopefully it will stop a lot of the errors im also getting on software. I think the updates are being corrupted due to poor connection causing data loss. Left all relevant paperwork and complaints processed as well as the long log of calls that were made to Smart about the service.

It was about now life got interesting. SM is very busy at the moment by the way the overspill car park has some sort of stage going up so be warned parking is busy. Anyway the SRP has been a bit congested after 3pm lately so I decided to cut through the city to save time. Good or bad is hard to say as I ended up breaking down near Mango square. Who helped push the jeepy out of the middle lane of the road? was it fellow motorists.. you can bet for sure they wouldnt! their idea of helping is beeping horns as that seems to fix most things?? anyway luckily 3 of the tubig (water) sellers helped get it to the side of the road. Radiator was out of water so refilled and we managed to bump start it. I gave the guys P200 for helping some of you may think that is too much but to be honest I would rather overpay and have them help me again if I need it than be left stranded. A good investment as I started heading home I began to wonder what is causing the problems with the engine as it overheated the other day aswell which was very unusual. Knowing from previous experiences of when I first started driving I came to the conclusion it must be alternator trouble which was proven right about 5 minutes later as my lights started to dim. Now driving home in the dark with no lights tucking in tight behind vehicles to avoid being picked up for not having lights by the police I drifted through 4 intersections with traffic police. Luck was on my side and I managed to make it home. I had switched off the lights to conserve power also the engine began to stall with them on as it was beginning to kill the engine which is why it eventually stopped right under the Mango tree with the light at Aprils parents place. I quick check of the engine found that the fan belt had come off and jammed behind the fan. A quick repair tomorrow and back on the road. One of the main reasons we bought the jeepy in the first place is there is very little to go wrong. The engine is a 1997 Toyota Engine out of a Corolla it has the extra pulley for the air conditioning or power steering neither really needed on our open Jeepy. But the rock solid chassis and engine will no doubt keep us on the road for years to come.

So internet will hopefully be sorted within a week, made it home and repairs to the jeepy are 30 minutes in the morning was it a good day, bad day or a Smart Bro day?

Either way tomorrow is another day and im just looking forward to getting things sorted so I can get on with something that generates more income.

Popularity: 46% [?]

Today was a bit of an odd day as we decided to stay at home and look at getting the apartment built on top of the internet cafe. This year we have decided to look at buying two homes to rent out if we can get find the right properties. After scouring the net and being in realtor hell for a few hours it has become very apparent I need to put my shoes on and go and look myself. There are also private sellers and crazy prices online as they are always trying to rip people off for a profit and where better than online.

So I came across a couple of small deca houses which are small to say the least with a price of P600,000 and loan available through PagIbig so I thought great as we could transfer the loans over could be easier than trying to get a direct mortgage as well as the fact we could actually pay P300,000 up front giving us P300,000 to pay. So started doing the maths….

Ok something seriously wrong here they actually want you to GIVE THEM P600,000 for the 5 years they have lived at the property and take on the remaining 25 years of the loan. I sat and done the maths on what they are asking :-

P600,000 up front

Monthly loan of 4,625.00 for 25 yrs = P1.387m

Total = P1.987m just shy of P2m for a house that is worth P750,000

So for them having the property for 5yrs they have paid P277,500 and want a P322,500 golden handshake and I get dumped with their debt of a loan. I really cant understand the logic behind this although speaking to April she said they expect to make a profit for having a property.. Im still scratching my head.

Popularity: 60% [?]