Okay here we go. At first I thought I'd just write a few paragraphs about life here, then I realized there's way too much to write about, so I'll just break it down into different aspects.
Poverty, Safety, Crime
One thing I noticed when I arrived was that there's a lot of poverty here in the Philippines. I'm from NYC though, and not from the best neighborhood, so this wasn't anything new to me. But I can understand how it might be somewhat of a culture shock for someone who isn't so used to poverty.
I know a lot of people come here, they see beggars, homeless people, guards in front of banks holding shotguns, and they think it's a dangerous city. My opinion is that if you use common sense*, the Philippines is extremely safe. I feel safer where I live than back home.
*Don't carry lots of money, don't flash money, don't wear expensive jewelry, ignore anyone who tries to talk to you on the street, research where you're going, stay out of trouble areas, stay in well-lit open areas, etc. and you'll be fine 99% of the time.
Random tip: If you ever go to Divisoria/Quiapo (a trouble area), be careful as there are snatchers there.
Here is a Youtube video of them in action. People on jeepneys are talking on cell phones and snatchers are grabbing their phones from behind and running.
The Visa Issue
I get the 21-day tourist visa waiver each time I enter the country, then I extend as needed. I think over time, it has cost ~$40-50 per month to stay here, which has been very reasonable.
Rockwell Center
This is where I live:
I wrote in a previous post about why I love it here, but basically for $650 per month I live in one of the most exclusive apartment complexes in the country. I've seen some famous people around here like the Aquino family, Ding Dong Dantes and Raymond Gutierrez (the US equivalents would be the Clintons, Brad Pitt, and Ryan Seacrest).
Everything I need is here (mall across the street with supermarket, restaurants, stores, etc.) and if I didn't want to leave the area I wouldn't have to.
For comparison purposes, here is a typical Manila street:
TV
I have SkyCable and it's decent. Almost all the 70+ channels I have are in English. I don't watch much TV but when I do, I watch: HBO, Showtime, Discovery Channel, Nat Geo, CNN, Myx (music), Channel V (music). The Balls Channel shows UFC events for free, which is awesome since it's like $40 in value per event. The one thing I hate about the TV here is ESPN SportsCenter Asia. It sucks compared to SportsCenter USA.
Internet
I have SkyBroadband and it's been excellent in my recent experience. When I first moved in, it was great, but then it got worse as Sky got more subscribers. Then after Ondoy hit, it became good again. It's good now. Very reliable (can't remember the last time I've been disconnected due to internet), good speeds, no complaints at the moment. I will probably get PLDT as well when I move into my next place and use it as a backup.
Others have had trouble with Sky, but I don't know why it works for me and not them.
Stuff to do
Metro Manila is a major metropolitan area with not a lot of nature and it isn't very touristy. But there's tons of stuff for residents to do in the city:
Restaurants
Shopping
Nightlife (clubs, bars, lounges, wine bars, karaoke, prostitutes, strip clubs, shows, etc.)
Concerts (Usher, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, Rihanna, etc.)
Spectating cockfights, boxing matches
Go karting
Laser tag
Shooting range
Sports: Basketball, tennis, golf, swimming, BJJ/MMA, even surfing
Live poker
Movies (P185/$4 for a movie)
Games at Timezone
Billiards
Ice skating
Cooking classes
Massages
etc.
Travel
One of the best things about living here is its proximity to other Asian countries I've always wanted to visit. I've been to Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Later this month I'm going to Indonesia.
There are also a lot of beautiful places to visit in the Philippines.
Banaue - Rice Terraces
Bohol - Chocolate Hills
Boracay
Palawan
Camiguin
And countless other places.
My personal favorite vacation was in Ozamiz where I went swimming with dolphins.
There you can swim with and feed dolphins (these are not my pics btw).
Here's what I want to do next:
Waterfall jump
White water rafting in Cagayan De Oro.
Okay, that's it for now. I'll finish my write-up another day. Still a lot more to talk about.