haha nah just read it a lot. everyone uses ******* in 2014 anyway

i dont get why you guys are calling it a sense of entitlement

its more everyone can understand me well enough so whats the point


nothing to do with feeling entitled for me at least

Interesting clash of attitudes and the results. Positive outlook v negative outlook.

How typical is Dante's lifestyle among expat grinders in Asia? 20 hours a day indoors is just 3 hours less than on death row. Money sounds tight on here and the Cambo thread. Typical of most grinders?
No offense Dante.

Frankly speaking I think that the majority of poker players in the Philippines are a couple buy ins away from busto. I'm exaggerating a bit here of course, but you see two extremes.

A few of my friends from the 2008-2010 scene have survived, but I know that they have gone busto countless times. Usually they go back to working some random job to rebuild their roll, from dealing in illegal poker games, to taking sportsbets for a syndicate, or something similar.

They stay mainly in their condos/apartments, eat 8 pesos Lucky Me instant noodles, and drink cheap beer. They also usually have some Filipina girl coming over for free or for 500-1500 bucks for when the urge hits them. To them, this is continuing in pursuit of the dream.

They wear ratty clothes, 80% of which are poker tournament freebies, freak out if you suggest to eat somewhere better than McDonalds, and flat out refuse to go out because they are afraid it might be more than they can afford.

Of course, when they bink some tournament (which is still too small to really be life changing ... 20k usd or less), they spend like there is no tomorrow, until they are back to almost where they started, plus a little extra to maybe gamble on another tournament or two.

Then there are the good grinders (small percentage), that play pretty much only cash games, and they win, and win a lot. However, they become anti social to the point where it's pointless to talk to them about anything but poker, which gets old really fast. This is a pretty small minority. I can only think of maybe 4 or 5 guys that have made it to this point. One of them plays as high as 12.5/25k USD to this day, but I don't see him play too much anymore.

Thanks for the insight. That lifestyle sounds similar to older guys who holidayed in Thailand, went home and sold up. They squander the money from a house sale, and eek out on family handouts, scamming new expats and maybe small pensions. Their warcry is "a bad day in Thailand / PI / Cambo, is better than a good day in the west" ! It isn't imho. The west is good, but expensive. But you probably won't be eating noodles and dodging $2 fares or texts, as long as you have a job.

i find it funny how i always get so much **** on here for being so cheap yet of the people ive met through 2+2 only wabby spent more a month on accommodation than me and he was paying 500 a month for a huge mansion that housed himself and his wifes family

my not going out has nothing to do with not being able to afford it, and i eat pretty much whatever i want.... only exception is if i was in manila because there are actual expensive restaurants there

but in cebu/angeles its rare to see anything over 300php a meal and generally 200-250

my not going out has nothing to do with not being able to afford it, its that i dont want to


not everyone is materialistic like salty and that is what he doesnt seem to understand (well that among many things)

i can guarantee no matter how much money i had i would never be flying to hong kong to get my dresses hemmed

rofl

I don't think comparing extremes is accurate, or helping people. imho, most people on here are looking for a mid comfort zone.

I found on forums, that most of the aggro comes from frugal guys, who don't like bigger spenders. I like money saving tips, as I can never find them, and hate looking for deals. Both yours and Salty's input is valuable to different people.

SERIOUSLY?

You really can't just leave me alone and go our separate ways can you?

You asked for it, and I'm going to give you the truth, which you will deny.

1) The reason why you haven't met anybody who pays more than 500$ month on rent ...

REAL expats would never deign to meet with you or to be around such a broke loser. The average rental of a SMALL condo in Makati CBD, Fort, Rockwell are at or above that 500$ rate, and you have no idea how small that would be. I guess all the people living in those cities are clueless and getting ripped off.

2) You can eat pretty much anything you want ...

Because you eat CHEAP unhealthy food from the streets. If all you want to eat is garbage, then by definition, you can eat anything you want.

By your definition, expensive seems to be at or above 300 php/meal. I guess you have never had a Yellow Cab Pizza or eaten at Shakey's, because that can hit 300/pax easily.

Let's not even talk about a mid range resto, you can't even afford to eat anything above Jollibee.

3) I (SWF) am materialistic.

I am not very materialistic at all. I do not live a baller lifestyle, and you will not see me buying a new car every year or two years or whatever. I drive my cars into the ground, I take advantage of sales, and I am the type that will buy a cheaper soap if it is still good and cheaper than my regular purchase (think buying Zest instead of Nivea).

That said, I like to be able to buy whatever groceries I want, drive to wherever I want without worrying about gas/diesel cost, eat at whatever restaurant I feel like, texting girls without worrying about load charges, and any one of a million things that has you penny pinching and whining your entire day away.

4) Having a suit made in Hong Kong

YOU DON'T EVEN WEAR A SUIT, AND YOU KNOW JACK ABOUT IT.

If you did, you'd understand that having the right fit, and getting the right material for a tropical country is very important. Also, it is generally cheaper for the same quality in Hong Kong versus the Philippines, even after factoring in the air fare and hotel.

From what I remember, you wear cheap flip flops and shoes coupled with raggedly andy clothing.


The truth is, you live at the very bottom of the human population, and your inability to see further than your nose is the piles of steaming excrement that surrounds your pathetic life.

It's sad but true. Go home man.

Apart from eating out, my lifestyle is very moderate.

It's unlikely that I would recommend a ridiculous option for people asking for advice, but I do assume (from experience) that people are generally looking for a level of comfort akin to their previous lifestyle.

If you need advice to live on 15 thousand pesos a month, I will ask one of my staff to break down their budget for you.

If you need advice to spend 1 million pesos a month, that's a little more difficult, but I'm sure I can make stuff up.

I don't think my life is extreme at all.

SWF quick Q - Is it K2's actual life style choice that upsets you or jus that he moans on here about the odd thing, like text load - being ripped off for a dollar etc..?

For example if he only posted about how much he loved his cheap life, would you feel the same level of frustration/anger about it?

If you look back, I've ignored all of his recent posts, even when he is ranting about something incredible nitty and stupid.

You have a right to live your life whatever way you want, I may disagree with your choices, but it is your right. Some of my poker friends live a life as nitty or even more nitty than his, but I don't react this way to them.

The only reason why I'm so incredibly rude to him is that he will poke jabs and talk crap about me, even when I am ignoring him completely to avoid conflict.

This whole issue started when I posted in a different thread about some guy who called me a troll for saying his plan wasn't very realistic, and K2D immediately charged in and talked crap about me when it didn't involve him at all.

If he leaves me alone, then I have and will do the same. But he can't seem to do it, his life sucks so much he needs the attention from somebody, seems like it's this forum.

Nobody inferred that you suffer from the entitlement disease...I simply stated it was something I witnessed in the majority of foreigners I met while I was there.

In fact, I think practically every foreigner has this sense of entitlement to some degree.

Think about it. Why do we enjoy being there? I think a good part of it for most of us is that we receive attention we don't enjoy at home. I'm not talking only about attention from the beautiful ladies (but of course that's the best part!), but also from many others who are friendly towards us and interested in hearing our otherwise boring stories.

Granted, I'm (probably) much older than you, but here in the States I don't even bother trying to make an effort to get to know women. It's just way too much work. I'm just an average guy. I make friends very easily but the women here are (in a Filipina friend's eloquent language...) "un-understandable."

In the Philippines, I'm confident I could meet a dozen nice and beautiful women a week with minimal effort. I'm sure you know what I mean.

If suddenly, all this attention was cut off, would you still enjoy your stay in the Philippines as much? I would guess not.

My point is, you come to expect all this attention. This attention will often translate into special treatment, which (at least subconsciously) makes you come to expect this treatment.

With many foreigners, this sense of entitlement is magnified a hundred fold. They think they are the most special person in the country and it's all about them. I was often very embarrassed to hang around foreigners and sometimes ended up apologizing for their behaviors.

I don't get the entitled vibe from you, though as I said, I think all of us foreigners have it to some degree.

I heard there are a lot of places to visit there. And I'm curious about the chicks. haha

lol salty is sooooo off base on how i live its hilarious


A) i never eat jolibee, or street food

in cebu the majority of my meals come from restaurants at ayala, or pizza from a nice (and luckily cheap) place in IT park, or i get food from the supermarket at ayala or SM and make my own

fwiw ayala and IT park are 2 of the most upscale places in the city...... im sure there have to be more expensive restaurants around but i dont know where they are and the food at the resto's at ayala and IT park is plenty fine

ive ate at shakeys once, bought food for me and 2 girls, it was like 600php total i believe

as mentioned outside of manila you can eat well for 200php a meal, dont see 600php a meal outside of manila except for a few nice and overpriced places i know of in angeles, but there is some really good food in angeles for 200 php (patch's place, rasoi, salvatores)

B) where did i say anyone living in makati or the fort is clueless and getting ripped off? where did i talk trash on where anyone was staying? you are getting to the spiv/paul B point of delusional when it comes to me that you are reading things that arent even there

all i said is that everyone i have met from 2+2 has been living in cheaper accommodation then me........ so why did you rant like a lunatic?

C) you say that you cant be comfortable unless you spend 80k a month in the philippines and NO ONE ive met from this site spends that much when here....... so while you think you are always giving good advice and correcting the horrific wrongs others post you are posting BS as well... my whole point with the dresses hemmed in hong kong thing is that your average 2+2 poster isnt going to care about things like that

D) you say that you wouldnt recommend a ridiculous option for others but at the same time on here talk about how if you dont spend 80k a month you might have to live in a building more than 6 years old........ HOW DO YOU NOT SEE THATS A RIDICULOUS THING TO SAY!


now go on and twist everything i just said and throw around a hundred more insults


and pooter i think he hates me so much cuz im the only one who continues to call him the condescending arrogant dbag that he is........ everyone else did at first but let it die, i dont let things die that easily


its funny when i was in the western world recently all i did was think how happy i was to dodge the 9-5 boring job live in the suburbs life, wouldnt trade my current life for the life of 99% of guys in the US if you take away the headaches

A) You can BS people who don't live here about food prices, but not somebody who has been here more than a week. Shakeys at 600 for 3? What did you do? Order 5 pieces of chicken and share one soft drink with three straws?

B) You have stated before that paying more than 30/40,000 for rent in the Philippines renders you a life fish. I can't be bothered to pull up your post but it's there. Nice try though.

C1) I said, for a comfortable EXPAT living, you will have to spend at least 80,000. I stand by my numbers which are fully explained in detail. You claim this is not true ... well ... most people don't stay in their rooms 20 hours a day, social with nobody, try to date girls only in their room, and complain about 80 pesos of load. You are living a broke SEXPAT life, not a regular EXPAT life.

A true expat will be living near their office, which is generally in the CBD. Average rentals will not be below 40,000, of that I am sure. Your basis .. zero, you know nothing about how a real expat lives.

C2) Somebody directly asked where you can buy a good suit in the Philippines ... I responded, you can try Edsa Shangri La and mentioned that I usually get mine done in Hong Kong because usually the quality is better and its not too expensive.

You have ZERO knowledge or expertise in this and it's not directed to you. So why slag me and insinuate that I'm gay?

D) You have to read my post more carefully. I said that with that budget, you may have to live in a building that would be more than 5 years old, BUT THAT IT'S OK and not so bad.

An older building, will have more problems, leaks, maintenance issues, and other stuff that might turn off women and OC men.

I actually am in the property business, and yes, this is a question that is asked by renters .. "how old is the building/when was the building built"?

Again, you are clueless and somehow think I'm saying that this is so bad when I'm just giving all the information in case it matters to the person asking the question.


And I don't hate you. You're too pathetic and weak to hate.

Annoying and pitiful is much more accurate.

Sorry, I retract my first comment.

You can't buy 5 pieces of chicken and a soft drink for 600, you'll be short.

I guess you bought 3 pieces of chicken for 3 and ordered extra rice. If you only drink water you will come in under budget with enough for ice cream at Mcdonalds for dessert.

I googled 80K peso for Brits = 1,163.13 GBP
Sounds realistic, and low.

It is low. It's been a while since I did the computation, but I believe I said that was the minimum, while 120,000 would be more palatable to most expats.

Truth is, no real expat is going to come to the Philippines and earn that little money and/or without housing and cola benefits.

Coming to the Philippines or any SE Asia country to earn less than what you would in your home country is simply a bad decision, unless you are already set for life.

Angus beef party size pizza 608Peaso ++ to that too I guess - free waters and BAM pizza balling!

Large size 468.

Regular 299.

So discounting taking 2 'chicks'

Also lots of palces to eat that are nice in Manila for under 300, that are not jollie bees or street food. May not be gourmet but better than cheap junk fast food. Im thinking places like Cafe' med, the big sandwich place in power point mall - Cebo's, Burger brew or whatever its called, in gb - The vietmese resto near prince plaza, and many many more. - prolly does exclude drinks but house water everywhere

On more than one occasion you have accused people that they are 'failing at life' - or words to that affect - For OMG buying a starbucks coffee or not giving a **** about buying lady drinks, followed by a bar fine.

I don't think I can agree on Cafe Med or Cibo being under 300. Unless you literally pick the cheapest thing on the menu and drink water you won't get out for that little.

I have never calculated how much I spend per head/meal, but off the top of mind I'd say that for a normal, hey ... let's go have lunch .. you will spend about 200-450 for the meal, and 50-120 for the drink, and of course add tax and service charge to that.

Of course, if you want to pick up a sandwich and coke, that'll be under the 300 range, but I think it's pretty close. I don't recall Oliver's being cheap at all. 170++ just for the sandwich? Price update appreciated.


Yeah, Shakey's prices available on the Internet. No way you get a reasonable meal for 3 for under 600. If a Filipina orders a soft drink you are lucky, they are much more likely to order the more expensive milkshake with whipped cream. Water ... can't say I've seen a Filipina girl order water very often.

i didnt say there weren't nice places to eat, but salty is saying you cant eat what you want for decent prices and really manila is the only place ive ever seen restaurants (in greenbelt fwiw) where i was like "ya im not eating there"

at shakeys we got some pizza + spaghetti + pitcher of tea deal that was enough for all 3 and leftovers for my lunch the next day...... i may be off on the price i just know that i was expecting to pay more going in and was quite happy to get out with 4 meals for the price i paid and thought if in a similar scenario again i should be returning there, but i havent bought meals for two girls at the same time since

(no 3some, banged one that night/day and the other who was way cooler than the one i was with at first got her facebook and she ended up coming out to subic and staying the weekend with me twice........ actually the 2nd one is the gambling problem chick i posted about here,,,,,, update she says she hasnt been in a casino in 6 months and also has a good boyfriend now)


this is where you are ABSOLUTELY off base

i would rather make 1500 a month in phils than 5000 a month in the western world and its not even close

you dont need to make as much money in phils when phils has 1/2 or 1/3 the cost of living as your home country


i said a life fish, and i said it tongue in cheek and you guys blew the F up over it and it was quite awesome to read your responses


look at the last 2 pages, i said that everyone i had met from here spent less on accommodation than me and that led to salty spazzing out saying i called anyone living in makati a moron


fwiw the only dumb part about living in manila is that you are wasting to much time in traffic and that gets old fast



as far as eating goes should be noted i almost never get drinks at the restaurant, i order all my meals take out cuz i eat in the middle of the night


but paying more for 1 drink than i do for a full bottle of coke will definitely hurt your food budget

Sorry man, you can't make the 600 work for 3. Food prices, taxes, and service charges, and truthfully Shakey's is not cheap at all for what you get.

And eating basically wherever you want .. and ((ive ever seen restaurants (in greenbelt fwiw) where i was like "ya im not eating there")) doesn't exactly match up. If that number you are using as the benchmark is true, I'd say that you can't eat at THE VAST MAJORITY of the restaurants in Greenbelt. Oh, I guess you can do it if you order the cheapest thing on the menu regardless of what it is and drink tap water.

If you would rather make 1,500 in the Philippines rather than 5,000 in North America, good luck to you when you realize you are getting older.

You have no pension, no health insurance, no benefits, no nothing in the Philippines. You are also an alien, so they can kick you out whenever they feel like changing the rules and you have little to no rights over a local.

You are twisting my words.

I said, the reason why everybody you have met spends less on accommodation is because all the real expats would never want to meet a loser broke sexpat like you.

Yes, try and play down your life fish comment.

Paying for many many drinks does absolutely nothing to my food budget. My COLA allowances are most definitely more than your entire month's earnings.

I will have to say, if you approach the math in poker like you do in this example, no wonder why you don't earn much and have to bumhunt.

West
Earnings 5,000
Cost of Living 2,000

Savings in West = 3,000 USD


Philippines
Earnings 1,500
Cost of Living (1) 1/2 of West = 1,000
Cost of Living (2) 1/3 of West = 667

Savings in Philippines (1) = 500 USD
Savings in Philippines (2) = 833 USD


So by earning 5,000 USD in the West, you are netting 2,167 to 2,500 USD MORE a month.

I mean seriously, if you like to live in the Philippines because you like to bang random online dating chicks without condoms, just say so. Don't embarrass yourself with the poor cost of living examples.