-Apartment hunting time depends on how picky you are. There isn't a problem finding a decent apartment for shorter term (recommend you rent 1 month at first) within a day. Go www.sulit.com.ph and search, get some numbers of owners/brokers, within the area you want, who have many units for viewing.

I'd say 4-5 days or so if you're new, longer if you're very specific about your desired place. For more than 3 months renting period, you should beware of brokers. Most brokers seem professional and servicing, however in general, truth is they don't give a **** about helping you out once the payments have been made. Careful about large deposits, chances are you won't see the money again.

-Payment is typically cash all upfront OR postdated checks, plus security deposit. You won't be able to paypal/etc your rent the huge majority of the time. Security deposit depends on renting period and if there are a lot of valuables in the unit. For 1 month you shouldn't deposit more than p10k. Longterm, 6months+, typical is 2months deposit in my experience, but like I said it varies. Good luck!

PHP-THB at OK rates anywhere in Manila?

Will I likely be able to use a PHP HSBC account debit card in BKK?

This is where our live rake is going

**** Mick Arroyo. And gloria.

hfagoiaeo

Great info, much appreciated.

If I understand correctly, my best option is bring some euros, exchange them to pesos and use that to pay cash for a 1-month rent first (I don't have a bank account at this point) and then use postdated checks later on for a longer-term rental.

Btw, if the real estate agency fee smaller if you rent just one month? That's not my experience in other countries.

Others ITT may be able to provide location/name of decent money changers with a good rate, as a lot of them can't be trusted.
Or just use your VISA/card, however most ATMs here cap daily cashouts at p10K and most of the time there'll be a $5 fee, plus currency conversion. It's tricky to withdraw a lot of cash with foreign credit cards from unfamiliar banks.

Mostly, the rent will be a little higher for just a 1 month contract but the difference should be relatively small, not more than 10% IMO. If they juice up the rent too much for 1month just ditch the broker You can negotiate the given rent almost always and is recommended. The 1 month suggestion is because you might not like an area longterm
Some brokers/agencies have minimum 3-6 months rent, however that is also negotiable.
Make sure to investigate average rental prices for your desired kind of unit online

fgejiorajg

She's never touched my money. I tend to test them early on and leave a buyin or so in a tempting location, she could have stolen much more before. But as she knew it was gonna end, I guess that changed. As I put my money in my bag before going internet cafe (ya she broke my laptop when I said NO to the whole "my daughter needs money for school" routine 2 months ago), I paused for a while to think if it was better to not leave valuables at this point, but decided she's not gonna steal it.
As a poker player I have indifference about losing money, it's not about that obviously. I just went starbucks and bitchslapped her in front of her friends.
Lot of things are learned, first (last?) LTR so I'm fine with poor results...!

Meh its good that c*nt didn't stick around longer and do a lot more damage. Slapping her was probably the wrong way to go but I can't blame you for being upset, violent confrontations here rarely end well for either party.

F it man, too many available girls here to sweat it over a rotten one. I got burned kinda hard in the past by one but I moved on and found someone awesome, wish the same for you.

Any chance of details of burnage? Always looking to learn from people its happened to, so I can heed the warning signs.

I had a friend who visited whilst on an extended separation from him wife. Girl sent him an email saying he was pregnant so he came over looking to do the right thing. We all told him it wasn't his blah blah blah.

Luckily he is a hell of a lot smarter than me. So first thing he did when he got here was to install a keylogger on his laptop to see what she was sending to others. Found 3 or 4 others that had the I'm pregnant its yours message. She also had other fake ID's

He also has friends who work with ultra sounding technique and now they can work out date of conception to pretty much exact date. When he confronted her she did the scream rant at him. Then proceed to send him Tagalog Death threats.

If the answer to the question below is yes then it would take ALOT for me to ever trust them.

Is she or has she ever been a prostitute?

Having lived here for two years the points i'd make would be

1) She isn't back in her province
2) It wasn't her third day working when you met her
3) You weren't her first guest
4) your not her only boyfriend
5) Her laptop wasn't stolen she pawned it
6) There is no pig farm
7) When she wants to leave somewhere sharpish it's because her other boyfriend is coming back into town
8) After knowing her for one week you are not the love of there life
9) Never give her your pin code to your ATM card

I'm sure there are a load more but constantly test them. I've learnt that if you probe enough the stories you are being told will eventually fall apart.

If you Think with your brain not your dick you should be fine

Also if their facebook status updates resemble anything like this.

Lol I think a lot of uneducated girls will have facebook statuses resembling that.

Yeah, I have a lot of Thai and phils girls on FB and they all write random shyte like that. Unless they are all bar girls

Walking down Makati Ave around 9pm.. old drunk guy runs at me from the side and yells "hey" and takes a running punch at me. Hits me in the jaw, I am stunned. 2 seconds later I look at him he looks at me and then a guard and runs away.

That's such a rarity.

I would say that's not gonna happen but yeah. I would say he hits like a 9 year old girl, what's that, osteoporosis getting the better of ya?
Then I'd probably double cross him with the cops so he could learn. Nah I'm not like that but anyway.
That's very unfortunate.

It's just **** that would or could happen anywhere else. I, in general, think foreigners are very reserved here. Or was he filipino? It's way out of character either way.
Sorry this happened, especially in Makati ave.

I'd think he mistook you for someone else. I mean. It's the whole race thing sometimes. Ex used to say "hey he looks exactly like you" when it's nowhere close, understand?

Actually for LTR..I don't give a ****. They might resemble the hunchback of notre dame as long as they're
-Honest
-Smart
-Having enough cash in their ****ing purse
and capable of ******ed conversation obviously

I know what I want now. And I salute everyone who said to get away from my girl. I was being noble but it ****ing cost me.

I agree with most of the points PITom made.

Yo anyone going KoRn on Aug 10? PM if you wanna join up.

As a side note..

It's Araneta Coliseum in Cubao obviously. Did any of you go to a crowded event there?
I mean

PATRON(103&101) STANDING (Reserved Seating) 4755
PATRON SEATED (Reserved Seating) 4755
LOWER BOX(200 & 201) (Reserved Seating) 4225
LOWER BOX(202 - 215) (Reserved Seating) 3700
UPPER BOX A (Reserved Seating) 2640
UPPER BOX B 1585
GENERAL ADMISSION 530

What the **** is a seated ticket on a rock/metal concert. What is general admission. Just ship a mosh pit goddamnit

can't say anything here but lol

the BDO atms i used in SM Fairview had a 50k daily cap.

A pretty good rule of thumb (anywhere, but maybe especially Philippines) is just to never, ever, EVER, date a girl with a kid. I don't care how good she looks. I saw a Canadian friend of mine get had by a Philippine girl (in China, oddly enough), and now he's married to her. She convinced him to move to Phil and buy an apartment there, too, where he lives with her and her kid (and her mother, too at one point). Last I heard she had a "really good opportunity" working on a cruise ship for a year. And he's just chilling in Phil looking after her kid.

Summary: Has a kid == is HIV positive, as far as dating suitability goes. Lots of girls out there, why choose one with a kid?

Edit: btw, the "Philippine Kid Scam" has been around for a long time, Bobby Fischer's estate was even claimed by some random girl in the Philippines (he was exhumed, surprise surprise, it wasn't his kid).

fanapathy, try online dating for a while. It's not so easy at first but once you develop a solid routine you'll learn that Manila is one of the best cities in the world for meeting girls. Hit me up and I'll give you some tips.

There's a lot of crucial points about girls on this page now.

Yeah I was getting into online dating when I met my ex. Put up an alright profile on OKCupid just to try, got a decent amount of interest.
Would be great to get some tips, also for IRL for that matter. Enough with needy girls, I hate it. Being with them feels like a giant paralyzing leech on my back.

To share a little bit more that might help someone else,
I tricked myself using logic to believe ex was wealthy. Met in a high end place with p500 entrance, which with reputation on the line would weed out most prostitutes and poor girls. She was familiar with all high end areas and activities. Had a decent place with nice furniture. Was gladly paying for my stuff.

Now all this was obviously because she'd broken up with her ex a month before and it's a good time to bring up this controversial point:

Stop donating to the poor (girls), you are only making matters worse. You are just helping them become a much more dishonest lazy materialistic bitch

Going after ones who are upper educated and independent IE professional types accountants, lawyers, business ladies etc... (student is ok if they have enough support structure to know they won't treat you like a payday) or have families that are independent/middle class is a big help. The mentality here can be ruthless, it's not just the girls but the families will hit them up at every chance if they don't have much and think of her foreign bf as a ATM. Problem is most of these well off types are going to be on the conservative side of things and I doubt you would meet one at a bar or would be "closing the deal" within a few dates.

There are exceptions to every rule tho obviously, some from poor backgrounds are amazing girls but the problem is the mentality of the families here that if they can't provide for themselves, whoever has money in the family is supposed to be responsible for everything. It can work out but you really got put your foot down and make things clear from the get go that your not an ATM, you'll see their true colors. Creates a lot of conflict if your girl will be expected to provide for everyone (sadly this is the reason behind a lot of failed relationships out here) which is why it's great if you can find one with a family who is already set on making their own way. It does workout sometimes for guys here that don't follow this but it's the minority.