Moving to Manila
 

Hello everyone,

I would be very grateful for some advice, Im from the UK and im in a relationship with a girl in Manila.... we really want to be together so Im considering moving there for a couple of years. I Have around £8000 savings and Im a current manager in a customer service role with also experience in sales.

My plan is to move to Mandaluyong or around that area and just look for work which will be enough for me to live there for a while, marry my gf and return to the UK. Anybody got any experience or help for me to find a job here and relocate?

Many thanks

Re: Moving to Manila
 

there is call center work if you want that

e-mail <snip> he is the manager there

ask for 35,000 pesos a month to start

Re: Moving to Manila
 

Is that the best salary I could get? Would 35,000 per month be enough to live ok?

Re: Moving to Manila
 

Be aware it is very difficult for a foreigner to get a job here. As mike says, call centre work is one but compared to UK is poorly paid - it's not bad for here though! I believe the call centre will sort out the appropriate visa for you but you will need to ask them about it. Once you marry your GF then SHE can sponsor you for a 13A visa , which is probationary for one year, then she applies for it to be made permanent.
Regarding then returning with her to the UK. As the Brit citizen YOU will have to sponsor her for a Spouse visa. This is fairly straightforward, but time consuming , months, not days, if you can meet the financial requirements Appendix_FM_Annex_1_7_Financial_Requirement.pdf
Have a read of this then come back with any questions and the good folk here on BE will be able to help you - many of them have been this route.

Re: Moving to Manila
 

many locals will earn about 26000 a month for the same job, so 35000 is good as you are a new member you cannot send pms I will try again to send the contact details

Re: Moving to Manila
 

35000php a month would be sufficient(only just) if you were living in the provinces.Living in Manila creates a different set of circumstances.The cost of renting, electric,transportation, literally everything etc is considerably more than the provinces. Depending on your lifestyle costs will vary greatly, for instance rent. If your willing to rent somewhere with very, very,basic facilities ( small, no air con,sparse,etc) you could pay 10 - 15k a month. Renting anything in Makati and the posh areas would be far in excess of the 35k.

I would suggest you read as much information on various ex pat sites, including this one and get a fundamental idea of 'living in the Philippines '.Without wanting to damping your enthusiasm,my personal opinion is that you have not done enough research into living here and you would be in for a real shock how little your savings and potential salary would suffice in Manila.

Re: Moving to Manila
 

:goodpost:Plus income tax here is higher than UK!

Re: Moving to Manila
 

Most condo's with a pool cost around 15-20k in makati or mandaluyong also my gf earns 25k per month..... I dont think it would be that tight. Ive been here many times before. So if me and my gfs earnings are around 55k with my savings Im sure it will be ok. My last visit I stayed in an air conditioned apartment called light residences with a pool and gym costing 18k per month it was very nice....

https://rentpad.com.ph/long-term-ren...b20a80965&cl=1

Re: Moving to Manila
 

Hi Pistopey,

As I mentioned it depends on your lifestyle. Yes you can rent for 15-20k a month, but for that money it would be very, very,small (20 to 30 sq meters). If you add on any service charges ,electric (4K) water (300) transportation (3k) food (12k without imported food) taxs etc,mobile phone, internet connection, tv channels etc. your budget of 55k would not leave you much, especially if your eating out, and like entertainment.
Another real expense which you may have overlooked is medical costs. They are obviously lower than the U.K however if your on a tight budget you will find them very expensive.Eventhough you have some savings they would be quickly eroded if you had to return to the U.K at short notice, or had a minor operation. I had a minor operation to insert titanium plates in a fractured cheekbone and it cost PHP 173k and that was after a 25% OAP discount!
Apart from the daily living costs have you considered that working in a call center is predominantly done at night, and would probably entail working six days a week, with very limited holidays.Working at night would have the advantage of avoiding the daily crusade of Manila traffic, however should your girlfriend be working on a day shift, you could end up like 'passing ships in the night'.
I have been visiting the Philippines for over 25years, and now live here permanently. During my many visits, and permanent stay I have developed a true and factual knowledge of budgeting, and culture of the Philippines.
To conclude, yes you can live on 55k a month in Manila, but it would be a meager existence, certainly not one that I would undertake.

Re: Moving to Manila
 

The work hours of call centers can be brutal

The call center details I sent you are aligned to Melbourne time. You start at 3am and go through to 9pm Once training is done and you have competency on service thresholds you may get a shift to suit your domestic patterns.

Remember the western countries et up here to reduce their pay roll costs so they are not going to increase by much. You earn less than 1/3 for the same job in the melbourne office.

Re: Moving to Manila
 

Mikek1 and mikemike

Thankyou for your help whilst I'm considering my options on what to do....

Moving here will only be temporary option, I feel I can budget enough to live ok with that type of budget.

I also have a TEFL certificate and will look into teaching English online to get a second income if possible.

Even after six months or so if I don't like it or cant adjust I can always return home.... I'm just tired of visiting the PH for a month or so then having to return home, I'm still young I want to try to live and see if I can make a living, yes its extremely difficult but I'd rather give it a go and the worst thing what could happen I return home to what I have already.

Re: Moving to Manila
 

There was an advert on the right hand side of this page that was advertising for 'online English teachers', I think it was called bussimates or bizmates something like that. I am sure a quick site search will come up with the right name. But then you have check that where you are thinking of living can get sufficient broadband width to enable you to do it.

Re: Moving to Manila
 

Working out here will definitely be an experience but not necessarily beneficial to your future career. It will be hard work and the salary will never match your living costs, especially if you are accustomed to a western lifestyle.

Living and working in Manila is pretty tough. You could try other BPO hubs - Clark, Cebu, Baguio, Davao.
I live and work near Clark and pay a lot less in rent and other expenses.
We eat Filipino food so save money there too.
I lived close to my partner's family before and got to know them all, which was nice, but it's much better to be away from the in-laws and have your own space.

You could look at sites like monster, indeed, jobstreet and see what kind of jobs are available, and even start emailing places. If you are a manager you may get more but the problem is if you dont have experience working with Filipinos you may not be great in a more senior role.

If you want to work online you should set this up before moving over. Get a few regular customers and maybe do some networking to see if you can pick up some VA work or something. Look at sites like Upwork and Peopleperhour. Again you will find yourself competing for low paid work. But if you use your savings as well you might be able to last a year or so. Just save some money for your ticket home!

Re: Moving to Manila
 

you can stay here quite a time on a renewed tourist visa. The office details i sent you can assist with employment if you wish