brussels_sprout

The north easterly Amihan wind sometimes brings cool air down to Philippines in the summer (Jan-Jun), here in Palawan it is hot and dry as a bone at the moment. No rain for weeks, but we hardly get a mention on the weather bulletins anyway. The safest and most boring weather in Philippines, i think. No typhoons, volcanos nor earthquakes.

The water supply now is piddly (now i understand where that word derives from). There is a single water tower set on the highest point in the town nearest the boondocks, to supply (or not as the case may be) the whole town.

The days of the wet season Habagat monsoon winds are over, palawan seems to be getting a couple of "low pressure areas" annually around December time the last few years. Last year during the LPA that passsed over Mindanao then came to Palawan, but it was just a light wind by the time it arrived here. I was so disappointed, but better that than sleeping without a roof, i suppose.

My leccy bill is around 2,000p for small house, i like to have the ref on super cold to keep the SMP beers very chilly. We have aircon in one room but never use it (adds 50% to the bill basically). Yesterday there was a 12 hour brownout and all my ice cream was ruined, not to mention the warm SMPs.

It is my son's first birthday on Monday. Everyone calls him 'cano because he hardly has any filipino features at all, white skin, light brown hair, but with a vaguely almost vertical nostrilled Sth east Asian nose.

Is it hotter here than in Arabia, desert-rat ?

desert-rat

Advance happy birthday to your son brussels- sprout. My daughter is 3 in March and she has very western features too, white skin, brown hair but the nose is definitely Filipino!!
No Philippines very much cooler than the Gulf. Now its very pleasant here 27 C in the day and a cool 16C at night. Another 3 months and temperatures will be in the 40C's with high humidity. Overnight lows of 37c are very common in July.

brussels_sprout

Your daughter same ? All western features , except the nose, wow great, maybe it is like that when there are dominant Brit genes. Is she taller and stronger than the local Filipinos too ?

Nearly all Brit/Filipina mestizzos I see, look very Filipino to me, all the Azkal Brit football players, the teenage boy on Filipino Teenage Big Brother.

I was quite sure what you meant by "here", presumable , the Gulf ? You are there now ? In some high altitude places in Phils you can have those temperatures.

Tonight i watched "Bourne Legacy" set partly in Manila, ever seen it ?

kevray

I think after driving here in Anhui China, Cebu will seem wonderful, the Chinese think they can drive the same as being a pedestrian, ie stop, change direction speed up and slow down, without any regard to others, the one roundabout in my city is hilarious, as it is a complete free for all, in any direction and any side of the road.

I intend to have just one AC in the living room, I don't like sleeping with AC, and here I use a ceiling fan which does fine for me, has much thought been made about solar panels??
I am making enquiries about solar panels to power an electric hot water tank to be mounted in the attic space, seems a cheap way to have hot water, but am sure it is easier to think than do!!!!

desert-rat

Yes I am in the Gulf now. Summer lasts forever here and not even a fluffy white cloud to break the blue sky monotony. I know some places in Phils like Tugaegaro get hot but not the constant 45C+ for days on end.
Yes my daughter is stronger, taller and certainly more dominant in nature than most of the local kids. She bosses older kids around and speaks 3 languages already.
Not seen the film yet but will have to download it and have a look.

desert-rat

Kevray we considered solar panels but then went with water heaters. I actually enjoy the tabo with cold water when we are home. more refreshing but still handy to have hot water just in case.

tropicofcancer

We live in a big house, the walls are very thick, and we are fanned by sea breezes. The three main bedrooms all have aircon. Which I have no need of, but the other occupants do. Our monthly bill is around P6000. Electricity is roughly P9 a unit for big users (CEBECO).
A cylinder of Shellane is around P950 for 11kg.
Petrol is hovering around P55 a litre.
A phone line plus Broadband "2MB" will set you back P1295 per month.

tropicofcancer

The P1295 is before calls, local ones are free, to mobiles it is P12.

Most people opt for a wireless landline and BB connection.

obunchyo

Hi Black bear...
All the advise offered is good, but I have been married to a Filipino for fourteen years..she is honest, hardworking and we have a great life together...her family I love them all, they are all great and my mother in law I love like my own mother...I like you had two dogs in the uk and friends are looking after them..
But don't worry, I have twelve dog over here...in the Philippines...take a chance and so long as your gf is honest you have no problems...renting out houses isn't that good an idea...it's hard to get borders and even harder to get the money...
If you want an income..try water business...or you seem to like bikes...a motorbike shop...it all depends on where you will be living..ie, Manila, or the provincers....I live in Dipolog and love it...I'm friends with the expats in Dipolog at great bunch of guys...
Take the plunge...you only live once..I hope everything turns out well...

kevray

Another question!!!

I have a 3 year old chinese car, in excellent condition, but its street value is peanuts, around 1,500 UKP, I understand I can import used cars to Phils, and have to pay up to 100% import tax based on the book value (19,5000RMB), which would still be cheaper than buying in Cebu. Can I fill the car up with my bits and pieces here in China, drive to HK and then import complete with all my stuff???

Has anyone moved from China to Phils? and if so which freight company did you use?

piero

well first off cant help with shipping from China, but a lot of dodgy stuff arrives in containers from China so expect a full turn out. Your car well you could try the Philippine Embassy and maybe waste your time. If you can ask the guys that make up the numbers , ie the customs in Manila Port around 1500 pounds you will maybe get a 10 to 20 year old car here, so yes if your happy with the car and can pay at least double what its worth try and ship it. But you will need to register it so i would avoid a back door option as your papers may show it as a 100 cc bike , but what do i know

6monthshere6monthsthere

Weird

Just read this entire thread.

I will tell you as someone who has no commitments to the Philippines except that I outsource work there, I want to hear all sides, if someone has had poor experiences, I want to know!

The guy may have been hanging out in the wrong bars or with the wrong women or families but turning the thread into an case of I am right and you are wrong is no help.

The bad dark side or potential dark side is of more use to me as someone considering going to the Philippines than the superficial stuff I can google.

We will see

Any advice on where to rent near a good beach, i will if i do come out there be setting up a small call centre and admin operation, so staff and facilities for this will be required.

thanks

PeteinHongKong

The difficulty you may have is that nice beaches and the staff and facilities to operate a call centre (e.g., reliable and faster internet) do not necessarily go together. Even in Cebu City where we live internet services are very variable and the same provider can give very different service quality from one area to another. There are not that many nice, natural beaches in Cebu generally; some that are tend to be relatively isolated and although rents might be relatively cheap I don't know how feasible running a business would be. Maybe the situation is different in other provinces.

tropicofcancer

PeteinHongKong is correct about the Internet, location makes a big difference to the service received.
Now a friend was running an Internet business from his home in Liloan 18kms North of Cebu City. He found that wireless connection was the most reliable. He used Globe Tattoo and experienced little difficulty. Sun Cellular have a good reputation, but sadly they do not cover all areas in full. You need to pick your supplier based on service to your area.
It would be interesting to see the experiences of others as regards phone/ISP.
There are very good beaches in Cebu, and always places to rent. The trouble is that in the areas foreigners choose to live, the rents are dollar price. Best to get a Filipino friend to negotiate for you.
If you choose Cebu, best to do a tour round, and find the place that most suits you. There are a lot of American citizens around Carmen, it is indeed a pleasant area, with its "harbour." Mactan is very popular with the British. Some good beaches there, but napaka mahal (very expensive).
There are places all along the coast, well served by Ceres Liner air-conditioned buses. Driving is a bit like being on the dodgems at times. There are rules, but they are rarely obeyed. I drive here.
The climate in the Visayas varies very little through the year, with the wet and dry seasons being fairly similar weather wise. See previous posts. 86ºF (30ºC) is the normal day time temperature.

6monthshere6monthsthere

Hi,

Well I have got someone who is in Cebu, she tells me she used to run a call centre, now I am taking this with a pinch of salt but giving her the opportunity to pass work on to others have them run a few calls then follow up myself to see how they worked out.

If I can find a reliable person to run a call centre slash admin place I have no reason to be there everyday, I prefer to be outwith the city in general.

She is in Cebu and the set up i am thinking about is 8 people, part time, possibly renting one of these ready made set ups but with locked in staff, this woman to run it, email me through results and I go in once a week.

That is what I am hoping for
Depends how their test calls go over the next few days.

I assume I can get her to give me info on rents and such and chuck her a bonus for finding me a sweet place to stay.

Hot weather does not bother me, I am in sicily right now and in the summer it was regularly passing 40c, the hottest day being 45c
So i know it is humid and sweaty but I can live with that, water and fruit..

Any good rental websites you can suggest?

I am not really up to speed on the rental pricing, but would hope to pay no more than 800 gbp a month, probably wanting 6 to 12 months