As long as you behave, you should be ok
just don't start fights with the locals

[QUOTE=WuTank;10564176]
And from what I have read so far on the intrawebz ayala abang (obv wrong spelling) is supposed to be a nice place and we can get like 400 sqm villas furnished for 2k there, would your advocate living there./QUOTE]

Ayala Alabang is possibly the fanciest area in Metro Manila, but to some degree is like living in the suburbs, so if you like very upscale suburbs it's a great place, but if you want to be in the center of everything it is not the place. Also, be careful as some of these houses can be very high quality building and furnishing but can be run down and poorly maintained. With a price like that it sounds like this could be a real risk.

Also, regarding my mentioning 3 months for my initial stay, I gave misinformation. However apparently since my dad is still a citizen I am eligible for dual citizenship.

My understanding is certain parts of Mindanao are dangerous. For example back in December there were some explosions in Iligan city (no deaths only some wounded from shrapnel). But I believe Davao is one of the safest city's in the Philippines do to their mayor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davao_City

Security and Civil Defense

The city government has invested millions of pesos to ensure the security of people living and working in Davao City. Aside from the usual forces of the Philippine National Police, a special military task force has been formed to insulate the city from terrorist attacks and other forms of criminality. The Task Force Davao, as it is named, is affiliated with the Philippine Army and is headed by an army colonel.

Also I have some friends from there and they say it is safe and have never told me about anything terrible happening there.

I go to Davao pretty much every other year and I've never had a problem. I feel alot safer in Davao than I do in Manila. It's really only dangerous if your in the remote areas of Mindanao where the Islamic extremists are. Davao is really safe especially because the mayor is like a bounty hunter who rides round on a harley davidson and has like a private army that intimidates all the badies! LOL

The pollution in Manila is just overwhelming. I cannot understand that anyone wants to stay there more than a couple of days.

Im now staying on baloy beach in Subic, and this area has a lot of power failures, so you need to find a place with back-up generator if you are going to play poker from here.

Do anyone know about the internet situation(stable or not) in Mindoro(sabang beach) and Palawan??

tagaytay

Tagaytay is awesome.

hey alex that was fun HAHAHA

thx for watching out for me I guess i had too much red horse and was thinking silly

Yeah no problem man.

On another note for people who are considering moving here I should warn you of my awful experience with sky cable. On a Monday 2 weeks ago I got in touch with sky cable to open up an account. The next day I was informed that there was an unpaid balance from the previous tenant and that I could not open an account until that was resolved. By Friday I was able to get the owner of the unit to pay it (it was not a large sum and I knew it was costing me money to wait and not pay it, but out of principle I wanted to not pay it).

After nagging them, they schedule an installation for Thursday of last week. I then find out that they cannot install my internet because the previous account is still open and needs to be closed (perhaps they could've figured that out when there was an unpaid balance from the previous tenant). On Tuesday they showed up again saying they were going to pull out the modem, however they looked around and found no modem, so I don't know what the purpose of that visit was. Since then I have nagged them constantly every day but they have apologized profusely while being unable to schedule an installation.

I considered other internet providers, but apparently they are either unreliable in terms of the connection or they take a very long time to install as well. I am pretty unhappy with the situation. They have promised me the installation will happen early next week but who knows. In the mean time I have accessed the internet via wireless in public places and a friend's apartment. Who knows when I will actually have my own connection.

Thats why I only move into condos with a working connection.

You should look into getting an EDGE / 3G stick. Manila has working 3G afaik.

Journeyman, not sure where you're from but condos in Manila typically do not come with internet already installed, as owners don't want to pay for it when their units are unoccupied. I would also recommend against mobile internet. I've owned a Globe Visibility USB stick and tried the SMART equivalent -- both were incredibly slow and unreliable.

Alex, in your situation, it doesn't really sound like SkyCable is at fault. The previous tenant screwed up by not disconnecting his services, and whoever was handling the rental screwed up by not making sure it was taken care of. Scheduling problems are inevitable. They can promise several times to show up on a specific date but don't be surprised if they never show up (I speak from experience). It's one of those things you have to live with when you're in Asia -- you just have to plan for the worst.

I use Sun mobile with USB stick. Not reliable enough for poker.

I recommend PLDT landline DSL flatrate.

As back-up or main internet provider?

As main internet provider. Mobile internet as backup.

u get what u pay for. my internet is 3k a month. works fine. don't go cheap if u play poker professionally.

Yes. If you know the right people. You can PM me for a contact number if you like.

Chilis makes mad burgers. The Filling Station at the bottom of Burgos St. has impressed me in the past.

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The situation with getting scammed in Manila is just part of the cost of doing business. Paul is a great resource for people moving there but he either has a lot to learn or he isn't exposed to the White Man Scams.

Rockwell assisted in a scam by the owner to steal money from my deposit. The 2 months security deposit is a complete scam, because unlike Australia, the funds aren't held in escrow by the government (or even by Ayala / Rockwell), the funds are held by the owner. You're basically at the mercy of the owner, and I was 2/2 exposed to complete scamming owner ****s on my two apartments in this regard.

It's a pretty generic scam in Manila. I had to threaten the lives of both owners before I received my security deposits back, both 4-5 months after leaving and both docked a couple thousand $ without receipts of supposed (bull****) repair work completed.

yeah, you should make sure you get receipt when you give the deposit and demand that you get the deposit back cash when you move out.

Doesn't work too well in most non first world countries and even in most first world countries owners try to con you out of deposits.

I am thinking of getting an LCD tv, but if the prices used are better I would rather buy one used. Anyone have any suggestions for where/how to do that?

I should also sleep with Jessica Alba.

[ x ] You have missed the point by about 10000 miles. Give or take 1 mile.

[ x ] I still think check boxes are hot.

(edit: I should actually clarify I didn't really threaten lives explicitly. But both times, I was probably 0% chance of receiving my security deposits back until I told them both that I was "sending people around to collect the money and they'd better have it ready for me in cash if they dislike conflict". That seemed to create (at least a portion of the amount) available all of a sudden. Both times, the person I sent was my sweet maid.)

do any of you guys have bank accounts with local banks like allied bank, PNB etc... was wondering if some banks have safe deposit boxes... im gonna be there next week and i was thinking about putting a few valuables in a safe deposit box in a bank eg, passports, foreign currency etc... its either that or leaving it in my apartment, my mum said its cool cos theirs a security guard for my apartment block but jus checking if you guys did the same

There is a shortage of safety deposit boxes in this country. I used to have a relative who worked at one of the local banks and he had to help in order for other relatives to bypass a long wait list for safety deposit boxes.

lol

Just buy a small safe from ACE Hardware and pay your building maintenance guys a few dollars to deadbolt it into the corner of your closet or something. No need to mess around with bank safe deposit boxes, imo.

Bump. There is one thing I do not understand. When I am in the nicer neighborhoods I see hot girls in droves here. In Rockwell, at Greenbelt, even in Ortigas metrowalk and to a lesser degree Greenhills mall I see this. Then I go to a less upscale mall like Mall of Asia or SM city Santa Mesa and it sometimes seems like there is not a hot girl in sight.