Nah, unlikely 7.5 hours of your time is worth $240, so good deal imo

I recommend OP to look for some student girl if you look for girlfriend or someone graduated from uni already and having decent job.

If girl asks for money talks alot about shopping wants to take selfies with you and post somewhere and goes to starbucks and clubs they are bad signs.

Students generally dont have much money and if you sometimes want to take her out even to eat something or to movies or whatever you generally have to pay - some might have some money though and if she is unwilling to accept that you pay its a good sign. If girl is finished with studies realized that her salary sucks in the Phil. its more likely you run into someone who try to use you as greencard / have your money. Girl who lives with parents is a pretty good choice in multiple ways.

I think the food markets are way cheaper but never been to them though. Its a tough city to get into places that are not popular / marked on map or something. Generally the girls will be very helpfull with everything for sure if they have the time. Just remember to show them that you apprechiate the help.

the question isnt can you survive on manila for $600, which you can, barely, the question is would it be the wisest thing to do

look at your budget right now

250 on rent

300 a day on food

45ish on visa

so you have 5 dollars left over, not counting internet, electricity, or other true essentials


you dont need $10 a day on food so there is one way to get wiggle room, but on that budget your money is going to go a hell of a lot farther in cebu or angeles or anywhere but manila

Agree that Manila/Taguig for this tiny budget is a poor choice no matter how you spin it. IMO you should've chosen another city, but I guess, the budget for exploration wasn't available.

Rent plus utilities plus food equals at least $500. Leaves next to nothing for wear and tear, etc. Don't think that's feasible for most, but being young, comfort might not matter that much.

Health insurance? Your EHIC won't get you anywhere. What works in Malta, won't work there.

Groceries in the PI are more expensive than in Germany/Malta for the most part, except for that odd coconut and kangkong. Don't expect shopping sprees at SM Supermarket, local market operations are disgusting, if you ask me...

Finding a GF will be the least of problems.

Good luck.

good luck ! I'll be checking the updates here.
Many say that there are cheaper cities than manila in SE, like which?

Cambodia is probably the cheapest place, but it's cheap for a reason (it's super ghetto).

Thailand is the best balance between cheap and safety/finding everything you need etc. Great value for the money on rent, easy transportation etc.

I think Vietnam is somewhere between those two countries.

If you want to live on $600 and still live confortably, Cambodia is the best bet. Most locals there live with $150/month.

i would say thailand if you dont mind taking bus rides for your visa runs, particularly CM

can get a nice enough apartment there for under $200 a month quite easily, eat street food, probably need to get a motorbike though

snooky would be good

ive only spent under $700 once and that was in Angeles, could do it there easily if you dont do any hookering

cebu would be doable

$800 is the sweet spot, there seriously is just a huge difference in that extra $200, it takes you from scraping by to being able to afford some 'luxuries' from time to time and most importantly not having to worry too much about overspending

Will definitely be following this, good luck out there!

Landed yet? Curious to see pics of your place

Info Shove....where are you? I hope the kid is ok, maybe just taking time to get intern netern working.

I just arrived. For the first month I'm renting a private room in a shared 3 br apartment in a gated community in Taguig for 8000 php ($160) including bills and internet so I'm even below my budget. I couldn't resist that offer. Anyway, the room is super small, a queen sized bed could literally fill the whole room. The living room and kitchen are normal like Western standards. The community feels safe.




Quality of food in Phils seems to be really diverse. Had my first Filipino meal, rice with some really strangely prepared pork, in a small restaurant at the airport for 150-200 php and the meat was pretty much like you described street food but in a restaurant. Half of it wasn't fully cooked or bad parts of the meat and I got nausea for a second.

When I arrived at the place the Filipina host offered me some other rice meal with pork and other meats and it was really good.

To be fair the nausea causing food was more like a takeaway than a restaurant

Good for you for having the guts to try it ! Ya the food is tough but sounds like your adaptable . If you can stand lots of white rice it helps . Also . the franchise places can be cheap and more consistent (jolibees) .... I cant imagine your living situation but your tougher then i am . After living in cebu i can say the food was maybe my biggest complaint (consistency , healthy , shopping , ect )...Maybe you can get in a routine that works for you (same meals cooked , same place when eating out) cuz thats important with your finances . ...... If you post your expenses on a daily or even weekly basis your gonna have a LOT of followers reading this thread . Most say your budget cant be done in manilla . I say as long as you got enough savings to leave on a moments notice more power to you . And youll have a helluva story that youll be able to tell your grandkids someday ! Be careful and good luck to you p.s. make an active effort to meet foreigners you can trust (as many as possible) . Its not easy but even a solid aquitance can make all the difference if you find yourself in a jam (even a minor one)

good lord that room

Spent my first night and this bed is uncomfortable as hell. Anyway for only $160 I can do this for a month. Then I'll be looking for studio apartments or for 12.5k the bigger room in this shared apartment. I like this apartment and the gated community, and the host seems nice too.

You should of spent the extra 90 bucks for your own place had to be a better way to cut your cost down.

I see that your suitcase barely fits on the overhang of the bed. I couldnt imagine bringing a girl into that room and trying to have sex in a bed that small. I'm 6'1 and over 30 so i guess for a younger smaller guy it would work out ok.

The problem I have with most own places is that there is a 1-2 month deposit that I don't wanna put aside let alone risk losing. Here the deposit is only 4k.

The suitcase is huge, it fits a 30" screen. The bed is normal single size like most single beds in the US/EU, it's just the hardness that makes it uncomfortable. It's not too small for me but I'll see how bad it is if I have a girl over.

I think all you can do with the deposit is go to a place somebody recommends as you'll know you'll most likely get your deposit back since the person recommending it did. If you go just a random place more likely you lose it. A bigger more reputable place is going to lose more on business from the word of mouth of stolen deposits then they would gain from 1-2months rent.

nothing says young man of the world like a teddy bear dresser

j/k..good luck op, sounds like a good adventure without much downside

Will be lurking over about your report..Good luck there..

You play poker too?It would be nice to have more real event reports about poker scene there..

Cheers

So, what will you be doing all day then?

What's the area like? Only locals, or some Westerners? What's the transportation like there? Can you easily access your place with public transportation? And where would it take you to?

Hope the communal area of the apartment is spacious and nice enough to spend time there. Room can't be more than 4 sqm.

I don't think anyone suggested that surviving on this budget is impossible. Living on it appears to be a different story.

Have lived in a reasonably nice new-build townhouse 4 BR+3 Bath of 160 sqm, privately rented for 18k/mo. in a large PI city. OK, wasn't furnished and no utilities included, but on a budget this tight, why would one have to go through all this in Manila... Our landlord was a Pinoy and despite breaking the rental terms (moved out too early), he refunded the full 2 mo. deposit. Not all Pinoys are crooks.

That room actually seems too expensive even for $160, and Manila. Maybe the other 2 in the apartment are overcharging you as a foreigner

Found this 20sqm apartment on CL for $120, also in Taguig, and 'village' is that they call gated community in PI, so maybe centennial village = gated, not sure

https://manila.craigslist.com.ph/apa/5952655337.html

cats are OK - purrr
dogs are OK - wooof

Favourite part of the ad.

Think youd be running good if you didnt see a roach/rat in there daily

No poker and also no Youtube anytime soon. I'm gonna be working my ass off on a different project that I can't and don't wanna talk about here. I'll focus the thread on budget, girls and any other experiences I have in Manila other than work.

The communal area is better than you'd expect after seeing the room and I'm only using the room to sleep. My room is the smallest in an otherwise decent apartment imo. Some more pics:



View from my tiny room:


The neighbourhood seems relatively upperclass for Taguig and has a lot of foreigners. It's called Acacia Estates.

I don't know about transportation other than a 30 min GrabTaxi ride from the airport cost me 200 php ($4) so even a nit like me can afford it over public transport every now and then.