I'm thinking about living in Makati for 6+ months. Am I likely to run into visa renewal troubles after a few months with a western european passport or is it very unlikely?

When you arrive, you will have a 'visa' for 21 days so long as you have an outgoing ticket. Before the 21 days expire, you either need to fly out and back in or get your visa renewed at one of the Immigration offices. You then have to renew every 2 months - there is no need to leave the country to extend your visa.

I have my maid do it every 2 months so I don't really know the process, but it costs something like 6500 pesos or so for 2 month extension. I once over-stayed my visa by a couple of months, and when I went to fly out one day, airport immigration simply directed me to a counter in the airport where I paid a small fine and it was no big deal.

Due to airport security, I don't think you can get into any of the 3 NAIA international terminals without a ticket which shows you're flying out that day, so you'd have to an Immigration office 3 weeks after you arrive to extend. Normally, I could help you with this but I'm leaving the country this week and sending my maid to the US to work on an H2B visa. If you run into problems down the track, PM me as I'll be in touch with my maid and will ask her where she goes etc. You can probably Google it pretty easily though, I would imagine.

I can't think of any reason you'd have problems using your CC in either Philippines or Thailand. I have used my CC's occasionally to deposit with no problems since Moneybookers brought in their "no gaming transactions for Asia" policy 2 months ago.

I didn't know FTP or Cake allowed withdrawals *back* to your CC. For withdrawals, I use Wire Transfer.

I move a lot of money around on Cake and FTP via P2P and could help, but I mostly post on other forums which I imagine I can't link to here, so for peace of mind, you're probably best off getting help off 2+2 high volume posters in one of the transfer forums or something.

I'd imagine there's some electricity brewing in the Philippines today..

Manny is an animal. He just crushed the old man. I not quite seen anything like it before.

Hey guys!
I want to go to the Philippines in february or march and need somebody who can show me around and help me to get an appartment with reliable internet etc.
I offer free coaching in exchange (I'm a Deuces Cracked coach)

I live in Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila now since a week.

If you wanna meet me just send me a pm.

You have obviously never been to Davao City (3rd largest).

And the time I spent in Manila was mostly in Ermita so I can sat unequiviclly that English is not spoken fluently there. Makati is the only exception afaik where most people speak well.

PaulB

This is probably the best article I have read about buying a condo in Manila. PM me if you want the source.

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I bought a condo in Makati almost 4 years ago. It is 150ish sqm. With a parking slot (titled) on the 20th floor of a 38 floor building. It was a 3 bedroom back-converted to a very large 2 bedroom w/maid quarters. Purchase price was 5. 1 million (at p56 to the dollar) which seemed like a fair amount based on comparable units in the market. This covered everything in the transaction including a condo certificate of title from the Makati City Hall (where I picked up the original copy and paid about 10 months of back taxes). I took many months to make the decision. And here are the lessons learned.

If you are a working professional you'll probably need to live in Manila. (close to the airport) Manila is a lot like Mexico City. Spend a few months here and get to know the place. The best places to live in terms of investment value are Makati, Rockwell, and Fort Bonafacio. The most interesting places (in Manila) to live in terms of lifestyle are Malate (awesome nightlife and shopping, tons of pussy (and stick pussy should you indulge)), near the water, close to the US Embassy) and Makati. I choose to buy in Makati as it's the financial district of the country, lots of old money, great restaurants / shopping and there were better deals in Makati than the Fort and Rockwell (which are newer areas). While Malate may have been more fun (in terms of the classic "Pearl of the Orient" experience) Makati just made more financial sense. If you are retired, then Tagatay and Cebu are great choices (mostly beach and resort destinations). In all these places you can get decent internet access. Makati, Rockwell and the Fort are the best. Followed by Metro Manila (Malate), Cebu and Tagaytay.

You need no special visa to buy a condo. Show up on a tourist visa. I recommend going to the Philippine consulate and buying the one year tourist visa. They will automatically give you 59 days on arrival.

What did I do right?

Use a local to handle every aspect of the transaction. Agree on a price before you personally inspect the unit through your representative. If they sense a foreigner, the price goes way up so have a nice Spanish sounding alias. Have a local you can trust (or who's trust you can buy) do most of the legwork. Do not use any member of your girlfriends family for this. In the Philippines, everyone is looking for their cut.

Examine the area. I almost bought a great 3 bedroom unit overlooking the Manila Yacht Club in Malate. They are now planning a new high rise that would have obliterated the view. Do your own investigation of the area because the developers won't have a clue or will lie to you. Real estate titans are at war here, and they will build in some areas just to piss off competitor's in the market. Look at the small things. Super cheap doors and fixtures will translate directly into less rebar and more sand in the cement. Examine hinges, wire gauges, locksets, under the counter plumbing, cracks in the concrete and fire control systems.

If you are buying from a developer, make sure you get a title. Without a title you do not legally own anything. Get this in writing before putting money down. If you are buying from a owner. Make sure they have the title and taxes current, and in their name. There is no escrow. So when you pull the trigger you'll wire a big lump of cash to these people. Know who they are, look at their passports. US tourist visas are a good sign that the owners are not in this to rip you off. Basically, check the class credentials of the seller. If the sellers are clearly upper middle class, drive nice cars, have vacationed in the US and own reputable businesses the deal is probably on the level. If it is your girlfriends uncle who arranges visas for her friends to go work as entertainers in Japan. You may have a problem. Check whatever back story they tell you about why they are selling. Remember. As a foreigner you can only own a condo. Not a townhouse, not a connected property. If it has land (as part of the deal), the purchase is illegal and while you may still hand over the cash (and even get a title); in the eyes of the law you are not the rightful owner; someone will eventually find out and steal the property from you. Again. Only buy a condo.

Ask about appliances. It is common for new units to lack air conditioners, hot water heaters, and kitchen appliances. Expect to pay for these separately. Make sure your unit has plumbing for hot water in the bathrooms and kitchens. Chances are the maid quarters will not have facilities for aircon or hot water. (locals treat domestic help very poorly) If you plan to use the maid quarters as a quest room. Make sure there is some reasonable way you can add these comforts. (I added a shower water heater, and was able to duct (hack) a small aircon unit that vents into the buildings exhaust fan system).

Understand your building monthly fee structure. See if you can get a discount for paying all your fees yearly. Make sure there is a working, tested fire alarm and sprinkler system. Make sure there are no rules in the condo association that prevent you from voting if you are a foreigner. Find out if any of the major owners or shareholders of the condo corp. Actually live in the building. Remember, uneducated Filipinos are a very dirty people who live (and eat) like raccoons. Make sure your building is strict about tenant boundaries. If the doorway to each unit has about 10 pairs of crappy sandals outside and a shrine to the virgin Mary. Don't buy in that building. Locals will live with 8 roommates and leaks (water), roaches, puddles, short circuited appliances and bare wires don't seem to overly worry them. Personal standards for cleanliness and sanitation are FAR LOWER than yours. Even the best buildings in Makati or the Fort can have foul people supported by remittances raising chickens and living stone age lifestyles above or below you. Look for signs of that. Feathers in the hallway. Look for other foreigners in the building. Ask what percentage of units are owned by foreigners. Ask how many owners live in their units. An owner occupied unit above you is likely to fix things like the inevitable leak in the plumbing which will destroy your drywall. The renter will live for months with no shower curtains, water pouring into the walls, a kitchen infested with roaches and a smell of burning wire they just can't pinpoint. I had renters above my unit with leaky plumbing, no shower curtains and tile damage in both bathrooms. It has taken a year to resolve. Luckily, the building is reputable and tried to repair all damage. A process I had to babysit every step of the way. Ask if your building has a local staff of maintenance engineers or contracts this out. You are much better off if they contract out. Local building engineers are, in my experience all clueless yahoos who will paint over leak damage, stuff newspapers into walls to try to 'soak up the water' before it hits your drywall, or attempt cement patches on damp nonviable concrete. Take lots of pictures as they do the work. Remember. There is a reason this country is such a ****hole. It's a perfect storm of incompetence, laziness, corruption, poor education, remittance welfare, low standards and an accepted practice of jacking foreigners. You will deal with this in the nicest buildings, and even the nicest buildings will (due to the tropical weather and pollution) look 30 years old five years into your ownership.

Keep all utility bills, receipts (especially for appliances), invoices, everything. You will need them for taxes, as proof of payment, to establish that your electrical meter has broken (why is my power bill 40% more this month); you never know when some scrap of paper will be the key to getting something done. Never give anyone a complete set of keys to your condo. Put US made high quality (Medeco) deadbolts on all internal doors. Insist on references and police clearances for any domestic help you may hire. Lock, alarm and webcam everything.

Be assertive about your property taxes. There is a strong chance you will not receive your yearly tax bill. Before the locals declare your property in default without due notice (and "auction" the title to a friend or relative) send someone to city hall every year and take it upon yourself to pay the property tax proactively.

Another unexpected surprise will be your utility bill. Local rates for electricity are possibly the highest in the world. I typically spend $500. 00 US a month on electricity and water. However, I run my aircon (and dehumidifiers/ air filters) all the time, have lots of computers, and take hot showers.

Shower (multipoint) water heaters will explode (and flood your kitchen / bathroom) should there be a dramatic change in water pressure. Make sure your water heaters have a drain path, if possible, to a floor drain.

Some unsolicited personal advice

Be willing to consider whatever you invest here as "fun money". If you are just visiting to get laid. Rent. If you don't have an income from outside the country. Rent. You will NOT find any job in this country that will allow you to live a western lifestyle without some pretty high in-demand skills (you'll take a paycut) or a family member in the Philippine Senate. Do not invest in ANY business venture until you have lived locally for at least five years and establish connections. Never go into business with a girls family.

Most guys are here for the pussy, the girls (at all economic levels) love to **** and all speak English which makes it a lot more fun (and meaningful) than Thailand or other similar destinations. Risking the purchase price of a condo over a few pints of semen is not an intelligent financial decision. However, if you (also) love traveling in Asia, a low cost of living, and being close to opportunities in the region I strongly believe the Philippines represents the best overall investment opportunity in the pacific rim. However you only have rights as far as your cash and connections will carry. Stay off the radar. Do not attract attention or trouble to yourself. Never forget these key points.

- You are a guest (be respectful in whatever dumb situation you face) in this country so act like one.. You are in a poor country. There is POVERTY all around you. Never lose sight of this.. You have no rights here (beyond some minimal protection as an investor) and frankly if your "rights" are at issue, you're probably a self-absorbed idiot who's already lost the argument.. Don't break the law but if paying a fee will settle the issue. Go with the fee.. Always carry photocopies of local ID (don't carry the real ID) unless you are going to the airport.. The locals have no ethical issues with ripping off foreigners. Your embassy WILL NOT HELP YOU. Re-read that a few times.. Filipinos are pack animals that think and act as a group. His/Her priorities will always be family, the children you may have together, friends and then possibly you.

If you are single, do not invite locals to your place. That girl you let yourself believe was at 18 at the bar will look 14 at breakfast the next morning eating a hot dog and txting her friends. What you spend on local hotels will pay huge dividends in peace of mind as your modest condo will come across as very wealthy here in the Philippines. Again, don't be a target. I am reminded of a story a friend tells. He told his girl that things were so expensive in San Franciso that he spent p20K pesos on a coffee maker! She replied cleverly "I paid two pesos for mine! " and held up her spoon. The message intended was "things at home are super expensive so I don't always have a lot of money to send you, " the message received was "holy crap, this guy can blow a months salary on a coffee maker! "

OK. What did I do wrong? What mistakes did I make?

I can say that I did almost everything right. Great location, lots of new buildings going up nearby and something the size I have usually sells (today) in the 9 to 10 million range. Unlike my US investments, my property here has appreciated. Owners live in the building, it is reasonably well maintained, many of the condo board members are also residents, it's not too poorly built.

OK. What I did not count on was the noise (mistake number one). Even on the 20th floor if you have bus and jeepney traffic these morons will lay on the horns constantly, day and night. Live deep inside a village and away from a main road. Clashy noise is music to the Filipino ear. They will park for 15 seconds outside your building, blast their Mexican airhorns, and speed off before anyone (everyone) who heard it could possibly react to it's arrival. Near as I can tell the horns have no purpose beyond amusing the drivers. If you have window style aircons they will pick up all the outside noise and direct it inside.

So, mistake number two. Window style aircon units. Even if you replace the crappy single pane glass the noise will still wake you up early. Also, make sure the rocket scientists who design the building (if you have window style aircons) put them high up instead of on the floor. I have small fans in front of every aircon unit to direct the cold air upwards. Which adds to the noise and cost. The aircon above you may drip onto your aircon making a loud banging noise with each drop. All night long. Buildings are supposed to fix these things but you'll wind up being responsible for getting them to act no matter where you buy. Lastly, submit all requests to your building office in writing because the locals love paperwork even more than dried out fish and burnt pork. Demand a written reply. (you won't get one, and this is a good precedent to set should anything ever go to court).

Local electrical systems are not grounded and locally manufactured switches, outlets, and other electrical devices are garbage. Expect to replace everything. Be very careful when replacing. If you have computers or home theater systems you care about buy a high quality power / noise filter (or UPS) from APC. Use data center grade gear and don't skimp (do not buy any locally manufactured junk.) There are surges, brown outs, and extreme variations in voltages and frequencies. Until I put my computer rack on a decent standby power system and regulator, I lost power supplies and motherboards frequently.

I have broken the "don't bring a girl here, " rule on a number of occasions and have regretted it at least 50% of the time (mistakes 3, 4, 5, 6.). One girl (who I suspect may have been underage) became a stalker leaving me notes, letters, cards and sending crazy text messages. Another quickly made friends with the building guards (one was, of course, a distant relative) who (for a while) reported my comings and goings to her long after we were no longer an item. Others texting me "can I come over, " or just showing up. (much better to spend the night in my clean place, hot water, lots of food, fresh sheets, clean towels, someone to hug) then back in a bad 3rd world rental room shared with other 7 other girls. Again. Never forget that this is a poor country. Remember the best part of paying for it is saying goodbye when the transaction is complete!

OK. So you have bought a place because no one could talk you out of it. (or sending that girl money every month for the last two years). What's next?

Before you leave the USA (which is where I am from) sign up for Vonage. Get the device all set up and configured then toss it in your luggage. There is nothing like being able to call friends and family for the sanity check you will frequently require. They can also call you locally, which is good. Bring a good Uniden 5. 8 GHz base with extra handsets and batteries.

Get on eBay and order Medeco deadbolts (and extra keys). You'll immediately want to install locks the locals can't pick, drill, or make copies of keys. Don't buy a lock for your door (like one of those cool fingerprint jobs) that costs more than the average local makes in a month. Nothing you own or do should stand out.

Use Mon Cargo (on the west coast) to ship heavy stuff. Standard U-Haul 3x3 boxes are $50. 00 each with no weight restriction. They will go sea cargo so don't ship your pets or anything you really need badly.

I'm in the computer business, I have both PLDT DSL and Skycable. Highest speeds possible into a Netgear load balancer. If you require things like big hard disks, or a new PC. Buy it in the US and ship it as personal effects.computer equipment in the Philippines is about 6 months behind the rest of the world and usually broken or defective when you buy it as new. So load up in the US or Japan, and walk with confidence through "Nothing to Declare. " In almost 4 years of living here I have never been stopped. Don't bother shipping appliances or power tools, the Philippines is 220 VAC.

The American expat community here is small and very xenophobic. I almost never see other Americans while out and about. Figure out some way to get involved and meet people. You will get lonely, and the comforts of a pretty girl only go so far. Reach out with the understanding that you will need to work twice as hard to be seen as anything other than "that white guy. " When you do meet other white guys. Be very selective. Most people are here for a reason, if they aren't with a big US company or the embassy then they will be ex-military, selling bogus stock through illegal boiler rooms, or participating in other adventures you probably don't want much to do with. Lastly, whenever anyone asks me what it's like to live here I simply say "Imagine what Hong Kong would be like today if the British had turned it over to the Mexicans. "

Never forget. Bro's before Ho's!

Thanks for that article. Long but good. I read the whole thing and wish I could've read it before I came here. He reiterates on a lot of stuff that I unfortunately learned the hard way. He also makes me feel okay with my decision to pass on a 1BR loft that I recently came across.

Amen to that. Would have saved me a lot of pesos also instead of SOHK (School Of Hard Knocks).

I guess I have to be bit more specific: I dunno where to live yet, this is important for me (no order):

1. safety (so nobody breaks into my appartment at night)
2. reliable internet
3. near nice beach, I love reading at the beach
4. not overly touristic
5. hookers available (I don't really want a relationship atm)
6. stores where I can buy everything I need near my appartment
7. I'm sure I forgot sth important

I don't really care about discos and the such, I'm more the introverted type, if I can talk to somebody once a week I'm fine. Basically I want to spend half my day at the computer and the other half at the beach or wherever there's something interesting.
I'm 22 fwiw

oh, and (sorry can't edit anymore) a maid is very importand and I'd like to have a gymn around.

HaiaN, exactly how long are you planning on staying?

I'm not sure if you're going to find a nice beach right by a place with reliable internet, especially if you want it not overly touristy.

I think you're ruling out Metro Manila if you want proximity to a beach, since you're looking at a 3 hour drive to either Subic or Batangas, possibly twice that with traffic. Cebu might have what you want, but I haven't been there. I think that none of the really great beaches of the caliber that you might see on TV are going to be on the main island of Luzon.

If you're willing to bend on 4, I suppose Angeles City might have the best. Definitely hookers. Large, easy-to-get-to mall. The internet is probably as reliable as anywhere else. Large expat community that look out for each other and put out a lot of info on how to stay safe. Subic has beaches and is reportedly less than an hour away now with the new expressway. You might also find what you want in Subic itself. Subic will be a bit removed from the sex tourists, but you will still have play4pay opportunities nearby.

HaiaN, we are fairly similar. I'm also a semi-introvert and I also love being near the beach. I'm living in Manila at the moment. There's no beach here but there is the option of taking a short trip to Boracay and Puerta Galera, which are two of the best beach islands in Asia.

If being close to the beach is an absolute necessity, then Thailand might be a better alternative (although from what I hear, people don't speak English quite as well there). If not, I would just live in Makati. I think your #1 priority in any third-world country should be safety. I live in Rockwell, which is a gated community, and I think if I lived anywhere else I would be paranoid about someone breaking into my place and stealing my laptop, which isn't much in America but here it is worth more than most people make in a year. Everything that I need is literally around the corner or across the street and I live like a king.

Also, I know you didn't mention these in your post, but the food here is delicious and some girls are insanely hot. Especially if you like half-Asian half-white girls or girls who look mixed. I don't think there is anywhere else on the planet that beats Manila in that regard.

Hey Guys, thanks for your responses!
I was planning on getting there in February, I wanted to get a room in a Hotel in Manila for 1 week or so until I find an appartment. I have no idea for how long ... maybe 2-3 months, maybe a few years, depends on how I like it.
Subic sounds interesting, is it hard to find a decently priced, furnished appartment there? The beach is one of the most important things really, having some tourists around is fine if that does not mean the prices for everything skyrocket.
I guess I could stay in Manila (makati?) for a Month or so and travel around a bit to see where I like it most. How can I find a decent appartment there?
Hmm maybe I could grind like 4 days a week and then hang out 3 days at some beach and sleep in a Hotel, that could be a decent solution.
How expensive is an appartment in Rockwell? Sounds like a good home base to start.

if you want a nice apartment you have to rent it atleast 6 months, they never do short term.
Only the not so nice places are up for short

What's a good area to live in in the Philippines if your important issues are (in order of importance): Safety, nice apartment/reliable internet, good proximity to some relatively high stakes live games (5/10nl+ preferably), nightlife, good/healthy food..... also proximity to a beach would be nice but not necessary.

I'm potentially looking for a few roommates for a really nice place here. Hit me up via pm if you're interested. Year lease starting around Feb.

Price-wise, I think that Makati might be almost as expensive as living in the U.S. I think you're generally looking into renting someone's condo unit. However, I can't really give any specifics on prices and apartment availability or how to go about such things. From poking around a bit, I'm guessing you should budget $1500/month minimum for a nice one-bedroom place.

I can't really say how much Subic will fit what you need. I just know that, with the economic zone and tourism there, that it has a chance of having what you need internet-wise. I don't know how much bandwidth you need to multi-table online, but I was getting what was supposed to be 1.0mbps dsl on a residential package for an older home. You can pay more for a faster connection. It was enough to watch video on youtube and do video chat.

I am no judge of beach quality. If you're looking for a place where hot chicks run rampant in bikinis and lay out sunbathing, the Philippines isn't really the best place for that.

I think that people are overly paranoid about the safety thing. Sure, you have to invest in things like locks. You need to avoid making yourself a target by being flashy and balla. You need to be smart and avoid scams. For example, some people are afraid of Mindanao. If you stick to Davao City or General Santos and don't do anything stupid, you are probably safer than Manila.

Is it less safe than the U.S.? Of course. But it's not like some sort of crazy crime rate where you need to hire armed bodyguards and a car with bulletproof windows if you want to go anywhere. On the other hand, if you're completely socially inept (which is not the same as being merely introverted) and incapable of making friends so that you are always going everywhere alone, then perhaps the Philippines is not for you.

Makati. There are also some surrounding areas that are as developed like Fort Bonafacio City and Eastwood but I can't really comment on those areas. Most of the foreigners live in Makati because it's the Central Business District and as a result it is the safest area.

Internet is good all over Metro Manila. The two big companies for TV/broadband are SkyCable and PLDT. I have a 6mbps internet/TV/phone package that costs $80 per month.

For live poker, there's the Metro Card Club in Pasig City (10-15 cab ride from Makati). But I don't think it spreads 5/10+ that often. Maybe only on the weekends and during tournament time. Even in Macau, 5/10+ is a rare find.

No I'm not a complete social ****** But I like being on my own sometimes, is going around alone a problem?

It seems like a good compromise between safety and beach is Angeles City. What are the prices for appartments there? $1500 for 1-bedroom sounds awfully expensive - here in Germany I pay ~$600 for 47 square metre and this is like the safest place on earth, only the climate and the society kinda suck imo.

Beachwise I just want to have one where I can hang around without sitting in the dirt or whatever.

A friend of mine wants to come as well, 1 or 2 months later, is there a way to get a furnished appartment until then?

I wouldn't say that going around alone is inherently a problem, but there is something to be said for safety in numbers.

I may be exaggerating a bit about prices in Makati. But the cost of living there is probably close to living in the Western world. The price keeps out the poor, basically. Electricity will be a huge expense, especially if you die from the heat and need to run air conditioning all the time. (I've found that I usually just need a fan at night.) I asked one of my parents' friends who has a Makati condo how much he was spending on electricity and he said about $300/month.

I think you should be able to get a nice multi-bedroom place for under US$1000/month (including utilities) in AC. It might even be a house and not an apartment. The cheaper hotels are going to be $30/day (well, maybe something like $12/day if you have no standards), so $900/month, and they offer discounts for long-term stays. Some offer wifi, but I'm pretty sure it won't suit your needs.

Beach-wise, understand that you're going to be paying an entrance fee and then you often have an option of paying for the use of a hut or cottage.

Here's one of my secrets for researching about the Philippines (and other parts of the world). Sex tourists are a bunch of cheap bastards with varying intolerance for third world conditions and they have (free) message boards to share info. If you are interested in hookers, you can read about that too, but they will also talk about how to stay safe, where to stay, what restaurants can appease their soft western bellies, etc. and they will talk about how they can do it as cheap as possible. These are people who whine if the price of girls goes up $2 or if people over-tip. I find them a bit disgusting but at times grotesquely fascinating. (I've also played poker against some of them and, yeah, I can see why they would feel the need to pay hookers for sex). Some of them do move to the Philippines or spend 2-4 months/year there, so there are people with knowledge you can use.

Hey one thing, you said that AC is 1 hour from the beach but on google earth it looks much farther away?

Thank you for your answers, you've been very helpful!

Hi,

I'm thinking of moving to Manila with a friend who is also a poker player. I've been there many times before. I'd like to have at least 3 months of money for stuff in advance, and only sign a 3 month lease, just in case I get fed up w/living in manila. I can stay with some family I have there for about a month while I look for a place for us, but I have a few questions.

1) How much money do I need for 3 months of living? I'd like to live in Makati or relatively close by and share a nice (by western standards) 2 bedroom, as well as have regular air con. Also need wireless, phone, decent food at nice places regularly (by nice I mean a decent place in greenbelt often, not going to the Shangri La constantly), regular twice a week or more cleaning, and transportation by cab.

2) Is it better to live in an apartment complex or a house? I've noticed that a house in some of the better areas can actually be cheaper and will have a ton more space than a nice apartment in one of the better buildings in the Makati area. Plus if it's in a gated community it should still be safe, right? Or am I missing something?

3) How would it be if we didn't live in Makati? I noticed places in fancy areas that are not directly in Makati (like Alabang) seem cheaper. If this is feasible, any recommendations on neighborhoods? What are the major drawbacks if I don't live in Makati?

4) Since I'm ethnically filipino and have plenty of family there, it was suggested that I stay w/family for a month and look for a place while I'm there, as I'll get better deals/etc. if I do this. Is this a good idea or should I just look and see what I can find online plus talk to people by phone who I know there while I'm still living in Switzerland?