Living Life on Vacation

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the luxury life as much as the next guy, and if I am sponsored to do a story on certain hotels and restaurants, I will happily jump on that gig. I have had the opportunity to stay at some of the finest hotels and eat some of the most wonderful delicacies, but I do not believe that is experiencing the true beauty and culture of any foreign land. If you want to understand a country’s people, you have to get involved. You have to live with them until they are comfortable with you being around. You might never be considered a local, but in the Philippines you might be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you can become a part of the family.

Philippines Travel Guide

Expats in the Philippines

One of the peculiar circumstances you will notice once you have spent any time in country is that most of the expats in the Philippines are Filipino. This may seem like it is an oxymoron, but not too long ago, the US Navy was accepting Filipinos into the service, with the idea that after they had served for a certain number of years, the sailor could apply for US Citizenship. Many did. They served their 20 years most honorably, and then returned to the Philippine Islands to live off their retirement pension. In fact, the Philippine Islands is the only foreign territory in the world has hosts a US Veteran’s Hospital. The Navy no longer offers this opportunity to Filipino citizens, and as a result, the retirement community is growing older, and smaller. The younger expats here now are either Americans, Canadians, or Australians with a smattering of representatives from other countries. You could add other Asian countries to the list as well, but mostly they are working here on loan from their own country and stick to their local communities.

Check out the Lonely Planet guide to Philippine Travel

Philippine Home Rentals

The disparity between rich and poor in the Philippines is immense. As such, you could find any home you desire, from a gated community spending thousands a month in rent and having your live in maid and driver take care of everything for you to a hunt house with Rattan walls that only threaten to keep the weather at bay. My suggestion is to get out of the city. The Makati Province in Manila is famous for its luxury homes and shopping districts, but you will have to close your eyes and pretend that poverty doesn’t exist if you want to explore that ivory tower. The fact is that the poverty level in Manila alone has been compared to the poverty in Haiti. There are an estimated 22 million people below the poverty line. You can watch a quick video and get an idea of their situation here.  Most Filipinos outside of the city live very sparse lives. The rural areas have limited water supplies, the power grid is sketchy and internet is almost non-existent. I suggest finding a happy medium in a smaller town, such as Lingayen, where you will have access to major bus lines and the conveniences of a touristy area, without all the trappings of a main tourist trap and definitely minus the expense. A rental home could cost as little as $40 (that’s forty dollars US) per month, but I would expect to pay closer to $100. You should get a decent bathroom with running water at that rate, although you might have to transfer water from the shower to the toilet to get it to flush, as this is very common across the Philippines. We are fortunate here, my wife and I have a homestead in the Philippines. She had it built before we were married and her family lives here when we are not on the island. It is considered a pretty nice house for the area, but it is definitely not up to code. We have constant issues with power outages, and we pump water by hand daily, even though we have an electric pump that pushes water to a reservoir tank on the roof.

Check out the playlist I created on my YouTube Channel about Life in the Philippines. Go ahead and crush that Subscribe button while you are there!