3 months: budget $1000 for housing & utilities, maybe another $1000 for food & entertainment. Obv more if you're a spender. I don't think you will find an affordable rental house in a gated community. Your best bet is to look for a furnished 2BR apartment when you get here and negotiate a 3-month lease. Shouldn't take a month to find one... more like 3-4 days max if you're determined.

I'm thinking you mean 2k a month, which is reasonable for living nicely, but if you don't that's sick? Ok cool, so it sounds like if I have living expenses for that period + plane ticket I should just hop on a plane asap and start looking for a place?

I should clarify. I've read that the time on the relatively new toll expressway from AC to Subic is less than an hour. I don't know how far you will be traveling once you exit the highway.

That assumes you can trust your family, which is, sadly, not always the case. Also, keep in mind that they don't always know how much expensive things should cost, especially things they could never afford. In theory, having a local negotiate things for you has the potential to save you a great deal of money.

I think you should do both. Research and feel out some things, but don't agree to anything until you actually get there. Plan on staying with family for up to a month with the option of moving out earlier. Or at least that's what I would do. But I am kind of nitty in both poker and life, so I may be prone to taking excessive precautions that most people think aren't worth the effort.

Do you know a good website where I can find appartments to rent?

you guys know if all the major non usa sites allow for people in the philippines to create accounts? b2b, everest, ongame, pacific, party, boss, crypto, ladbrokes, entraction?

Have been attempting to email the sites but for example party poker has some automated email response since my email isn't a registered account with them and I can't seem to get through yet

Is there any tax withholding on poker winnings for non-Filipino residents? For example, was there any tax for making it to the money at the APT or APPT Manila tournaments? I don't want to play in any US tournament because of the -EV 30% withholding tax/rake, so I am looking for online satellites for any foreign tournaments that have no taxes on poker tournaments.

I was looking over my shelves of Asian books. One book I would recommend for people traveling to the Philippines is the Philippines entry in the Culture Shock series.

A note on the LA cafe:

Yes it is a ****hole but it is also a fascinating place. A couple of girls might be dangerous outside but the place there is safe and a funny place to hang out with some friends. My recomendation: go there with your friends for a couple of beers or the barrel. Its a must see in my opinion but dont look for your future wife inside!

Going to play the APT end of January, going to do something else in the Philippines after, was thinking of going to Boracay on the 3rd of Feb. Would anyone else be keen? Is it a good place to go out?

Is there anything else good to do in the Philippines that people would recommend?

I'm no expert, but you might want to check out Palawan, the scenery is awesome and there's good snorkeling and scuba diving

How safe is the metro card club? Also, I imagine the hyatt is safe inside the casino, but if you come out a big winner in say a 100/200 php game would you ever have to worry going to your taxi etc.? Basically do I ever have to worry if I come out after a big night at the card room if I am careful, and what do I do to be careful?

Metro is very safe. As long as you are not drunk out of your mind I would not worry about getting mugged by cabbies. Just look alert and you will be fine. If you will be staying at a hotel and plan on playing really high stakes it may be worth it to hire a private car.

I think the 100/200 games last til sunrise like 5-6am you can safely get a cab and head back to your hotel during the early mornings or you can put your money at the metro for safekeeping and withdraw smaller increments, this is the best option imo, since you will keep on playing at the metro anyways.

Anyone know where I can get a ****ing 30" monitor and a good desktop around here that's not ******ed overpriced?

Also, does anyone want to do thailand with me for a bit?

I was there really late at night(but unfortunately, I couldn't get into a game). Its a gritty area, but not as dangerous as it looks. The entrance is very close to where the taxis pick you up, no worries. Just leave the rolex and the bling at home and you'll be fine.

Locuste Horde why did you chance your pic???

I found mine at www.tipidpc.com

silly Q here, but do they sell peanut butter there?

Yes, they sell peanut butter.

The longer I live here, the more I like it.

Is neteller blocked on the phillipines?

i hate my life in america, can't wait to get back to the philippines

yes, if you try to log in from here your account will get locked

where exactly do i need to go to pay those 50$ so I ll be allowed to stay more than 21 days

cheers