Not sure if AC would be the best place to live, might get burnt out after a while, better off living in manila and heading there for weekends etc. Just realized there is a casino there which i cant beleive i havent been to before, anyone know if they have a craps table?

Yeah, but it's really more like once every other month, and it's too small of a thing to be the major deciding factor between which country to live in.

IMO Thailand is great, and Philippines is pretty good.

I like Bangkok much more then Manila in terms of over all city vibe, ambiance and general ebb and flow. But I prefer Manila for both food and beer, and also, of course, live poker.

So, I can't fault you for choosing Manila, I probably would too. But you would definitely be doing yourself a disservice if you don't make it down to Thailand at some point when you are over in SE Asia.



If you want a city cheaper then Manila (Makati is a smaller subcity of Manila,) that has a decent offering of live poker Cebu really is your only serious option. I've lived in both cities, started out in Cebu actually. If you like big city feel Manila is really the best, but if you don't mind a smaller, slightly more laid back, often a bit quieter city feel, then Cebu might be better for you.

Anyways, as I've been saying to you, ultimately you'll probably find yourself living in both cities at one point or another in your time in the PI.

No little about electricity. Im from the uk so i brought plug adapter with me .
Did buy a good one that had a surge protector inside.
Depending where you live blackouts (called brownouts in phills) can be frequent,even daily at times.
Windows shut down my laptop once , as protection,when a blackout happened.
Not sure if my laptop would of fried or had some damage without the surge protector but i was glad i had it.
Have also read that when electricity is restored it is best to wait 5/10 minutes before reconnecting as somethingwhatever is not stable immediately and can damage electrical equipment.

Originally Posted by kick2dante
there would be no poker in davao right?

electrical outlets in PI will be the same as in the US right? anything i can plug in here i can plug in there?

and in a $4-500 a month apartment in makati should i expect there to be an oven? maybe an oven? no chance of an oven?

Your not going to find a decent place for 500 in makati. if you do it is probably a shared apartment/condo. Makati is New York to Philippines so apartments are pretty steep and for those that well to do.

As mentioned for that price you can find a shared condo if not just look a few blocks outside main city and you will find decent enough places.

Manila, has 4 major casinos and have over a dozen poker rooms... so you will have many actions if you want something besides online play.

sounds like i should bring my surge protector over with me

damn ITT u just made cebu sound better than manila cuz im definitely laid back and not big city kinda guy

ive seen some pretty nice looking places in AC for under $300 a month, and one nice 2 bedroom furnished for exactly $300

and i like how we keep having this "u cant find an apt in makati for $500 argument" over and over and over

some people say its impossible, most say it can be done, and ive seen some on sulit in the $300-$400 range

Yes,deffo bring surge protector with you.I assume that if you are a shark and living in some expensive high-rise/mansion etc., these places will have protection\back up generators,otherwise i would use one.(im a fish so province and up the mountain for me.)
As i have not read your first post in this thread i have no idea what this trip is about for you , what your needs are,age etc.
What i can tell you is that i am not a city fan either. I recently had to spend 2 sessions of 4 and 3 weeks in manilla and i could not wait to get back to cebu.
I find it far more relaxed,the women are +++ more attractive(my wife agrees!)and i def. get more smiles per minute then in manilla.
Have absolutly no idea about poker in cebu/night life/ and if for someone visiting the phills for the first time cebu is a good option or if you should do manilla first and meet other x.pats to help you settle in.

It's really quite easy to buy a 12 month student visa for $500 in Thailand and then you can stay in country for a year and can renew it for up to 10 years.

Also I don't remember where you come from. Americans on get 30 dat stay as a tourist but Europeans and Brits get much longer allowance from 60-180 days just as a tourist.

Still PI has live action but Thailand has a much better infrastructure.

You've been to PI before, haven't you? Youre not just packing up and moving to a severely poverished country based on what your read on forums, are you?

actually thats exactly what im doing

In at the deep end K2 GO FOR IT!

Not sure where you got the $500 figure since the actual cost is double that (the tuition alone costs 20-25,000 baht).

This is really stupid, not because you're jumping into the deep end with no money, but because:

1. You don't research very well, and in the Philippines you have to be resourceful if you want to enjoy it out here. All the resources are out there (I've personally listed many) yet you still ask stupid questions like how many pesos is 1 USD, and is there poker in Davao. How do you expect to do anything when you actually get here?

2. You don't take advice very well. There have been countless times where people have tried to help you and you just ignored them. Not just in this thread but in both Thailand threads too. Not smart, especially considering you've done zero traveling yourself.

3. Your posts tell me you'd be better off in Thailand but you seem to feel strongly that the Philippines is "right" for you, despite never having been to either country. I suggest you make a list of pros and cons of every city you're interested in and evaluate what's important to you, but given your unwillingness to do any research it's unlikely that you would do this.

Whatever you say Paul.B it will be a life changing adventure for him, whats the worse that can happen? he gets killed? if that's the case he wont have any worries anyway, I guess getting kidnapped is pretty bad too, other than i think the learning curve will be great for him. By the time he has conquered PI the rest of S.E Asia will be a cake walk.

But...perhaps i have a morbid curiosity to see how it goes for him, i'd happily read a daily blog from K2 once he is here and living the dream

Asking questions on an internet forum is a form of research. A lazy one albeit, but still a form of research.

So asking all these questions on 2+2 is researching and it is using a resource. He might not be going about it and the most optimal approach, but he is going about it.

Hmmm... You came on this site asking for informations but yet dont want to hear/accept infos that goes against what you think is right. For your info I am a poor blooded FILIPINO who has migrated to the US when I was 5 years old. Since then I have traveled to philippines (mostly manila) between 2005 -2008 about 12-16 times a year. I may not know much but I think I should know a little to tell you that 300-400 isnt going to find you a place in Makati city, which is the financial district in Philippines.... saying that you will find a place for that price is like saying you will find a decent apartment in New York City for $500-600... Yes, Philippines is a 3rd world country, it doesnt mean though that everything are going to be cheap "RealEstate" there more costly than alot of places that you will find here in the US mainland.

NOw, in regards to those places that you have seen going for 300-400 are you sure they are in makati City proper? Or for that matter that it isnt a shared apartment/condo with 2-3 other people?

Well, anyway goodluck to you.

and meant to say PURE BLOOD PINOY and not POOR, although that could be true as well.

ok 12,000/16,000/20,000/25,000 baht, whatever the tuition is you know what I mean. It's easy to avoid the headache of a visa run every two months and probably cheaper too.

Anyway, K2D is being lazy when many of his questions have been answered before on this forum or other expat forums if he was willing to take the time and RTFF.

Moreover, no amount of research is going to prepare him for a country like Philippines, but in the end everything will probably work as it always does but not without making some mistakes.

Anyone tried the pak-pak .