There are plenty of opportunities for 18-25, attractive, over 5'2"" single college grad females with bio-data and 2x2 photo's here. Otherwise you could become a GRO. If none of these appeal, then bring money. Lots of money The Anonymous Bear, living in Bogo, Really!!! Sorry about that naughty Bear, there are few opportunities for working legally unless you have a job to go to on a flash ex-pat package. Otherwise you need a work permit to go along with your permanent residents permit, the two aren't the same. You can own a business under your 13A, but you need a front person, a FIlipino national or partners. What do you do for a living? If it is web based you can continue to run it from here, otherwise do some research and think hard, then bring more money. Contact me offline so that pesky Bear doesn't reply and if I can help you I will do my best, Perry. Living with the Anonymous Bear in Bogo, really? Tom, I want to move to the Phillipines. I dont have alot of money though! Is there any way I could move there and bring in some income working somewhere?

Where I live in the Midwest the temperature 18 degrees with winds 15- 40 mph combined with light snow. Is the temperature in Cebu nicer than this?

I have no doubt that you have the best intentions in helping our filipino nurses and i salute you for your honorable kindness. it is not illegal to help them come to canada and work as long as they are processed through the legal means which i think you did in bringing the more than 30 nurses to canada . on the other hand, there has been numerous cases where abuses by licensed and unlicensed agencies in the philippines becomes widespread that made the POEA more firm in applying the guidelines. reading POEA rules and regulations governing the recruitment and employment of land-based overseas workers (http://poea.gov.ph/docs/POEA%20Rules.pdf) especifically part II (licensing and regulation) rule IV (recruitment outside registered office) and rule VII (advertisement for overseas jobs) will guide you more about the recruitment business in RP.

Yes, the weather in cebu is wonderful, not too hot, no rain and sunny. This is my favourite time of year here. Perry, really living with the Anonymous Bear in Bogo, honestly, truly. Where I live in the Midwest the temperature 18 degrees with winds 15-40 mph combined with light snow. Is the temperature in Cebu nicer than this?

I was out of town in Indianapolis, IN for a couple weeks. Anyway, I have missed reading the board here. I hope to catch up soon on it all. When I got back, I found a site that some travellers may be interested in: http://www.netcafeguide.com/ More specifically, for the Phils: http://www.netcafeguide.com/countries/asiaPHIL.htm

What really frightens and angers me is my ability to be rude, crude and sarcastic to the hired help at the US airports who want to scan and prod my bod before I board their plane for a trip to RP. I think the word humiliation is apt here. If anything would put me off a trip to my ""second country"" it is the fear based, terror gripped mindset of US airport employees and the gun-toting National Guard. I'd rather see a dozen relaxed, smiling Filipino security guards holding shotguns in front of a 7-11 in Cebu anyday. Since fear and anger are really one in the same, I'll have to summon up some compassion and tolerance for those who want to help make Sure my trip is a safe one. And give myself a good dose of it as well.

My answer is definitely *no*! Once *we* give in to terror, we become the cattle. We are then led down the cattle chute, into the slaughter house. Or, worse case ... prisoners in our own homes. People tend to believe it's sooo safe living in the US. Well, the incidents in recent history has proven to us that we aren't all that safe here either, now are we? People, for some strange reason, thought ""it"" couldn't happen here. They couldn't have been more wrong. Unfortunately, this is why we (a lot of us anyway) choose not to travel inside the states, much less outside now. Me? I ain't lettin' noooobody stop me from doin' what imma gonna do. I ain't gonna let 'em stop me from livin' where imma gonna live neither. I truly look forward to my trip over to the Philippines. I have had a deep affection for it, since I was there last. I have missed something inside ever since leaving. I will get that back though ... very soon.

Cathay has better food, movies,(your choice of movies ) different music ( also your choice ) tv screen on the back of the seat in front of you, sound by wire, not an air tube. You don't have to go outside from one terminal to another to change planes, I fly Cathay most times & love it, Flew PAL in Oct. & hated it ! If i didn't have to go to Manila i would have taken Cathay ! PRICE-- sometimes cheaper on Cathay, sometimes NOT ! Also once you get into the domestic termanal, past all the check points in Manila there no restrooms, so if you gotta go ! then you gotta go thru the checkpoints again NO FUN !

You know how many of friends say I am crazy for wanting to travel to the Philippines with a 6 year old boy. On the contrary my neighbor has her medication(about 10 different kinds)delivered by the state to her house so she can be a safe woman in society and the liquor store close to me was robbed and the cashier was shot 2 times. Also a young 14 year old boy was hit and killed walking down the highway near me. I think Don put it on one message, ""just stay in your house and lock your door"" if you wanna be safe. Life is too short to be afraid

I was thinking not WAS thinking of setting up a business in Cebu a very small one to start, employ a couple of locals and then build a business based on putting all the profits back into it and employ more locals. BUT I do want control of the business as it is my capital that is being used and I need to make sure we do not end up in a situation where ""partners"" are ripping off the workers as I understand is the case so often in the country. So what is the way around it, the business would be Internet Based and small manufacturer and distribution..

Might also mention that Cathay Pacific is aligned with Americna Airlines. I git a very good deal through a ticket agregator from COS to MNL and return, AA from COS to LAX and then Cathay LAX-HKG- MNL. For my money it's a good airline with not bad service. Some day I want to try PAL, but if you note, their schedules are typically very late night departures from LAX or SFO.. which means you frequently sit for 10 12 hours in the airport both going and coming.

What kind of a visa are you asking about, a US visa for your wife or something else. If your wife has a US visa, what kind is it? This list does not discuss US visas much, because that's not what this group is about. If you are asking about US visas, email me at: rbacon@midtown.net and I will try to answer your questions.

Ignorance is bliss"" wonderful saying that. B4 September 11th US was in freedom heaven. If it take being searched, prodded and ""endoscoped"" to get an a plane so be it. Look at the Israelis since the 70's they had good tight security. I was impressed with Manila airports security, I was searched 6 times going from the entrance to the plane, all with smiles and giggles. We are going to the US soon and I will get through LAX (when I get there) and be pleased they are doing their job. I figure what keeps the Filipina in line is the fear of ,,,,, jail. I have been told it is not the Hilton to be in there. Hey travelling today is more exciting than sitting at home being a couch potato and thinking like EEYORE (that's the donkey in Pooh bear). Just as a foot note wonder if there is statistics to show crime within the US has dropped at all since 9/11?? (Just curious)

just finished catching up the various threads here and read something about Angeles City...well I was there last saturday to attend a friend's wedding...same old look...lots of foreigners even during the day...never saw it during the time of the US bases though and about Pampanga questions, I'm not from there but I find it just like my home in Laguna...have many friends also from there but now living here in Metro Manila...generally peaceful and quiet but always better to take care.

Check out the Sun Star Cebu newspaper web site for rentals and ring a few. Do a google search for the website as I don't have it handy. Perry Or, give these people a call; Bruce and Alice Walker, Sunraysia Apartments ecila@skynet.net +63-32 340 9040 Maybe they can help, very nice people. Mention my name if you dare. I did look at the posts from a few days before but I was hoping to see if anyone had a specific place in mind. I looked at the web site in the previous post, my fiance is currently doing her internship in Ormoc so she won't be in town to look for herself, but my american freind is there still for 2 more weeks he might be able to check out some places for me. This idea came about after I left Cebu, so I didn't have a chance to look myself, I figured since I will be bck in March the apartment would cost me about the same as the hotel for the 3 months as upposed to what the hotel will cost me for my one month, thanks for the replies, I'd appreciate any help the group can give. Hopefully I can be part of one of your get togethers when I am there in March.

If the investment capital is over US$500,000 then you don't need 60% local content, same goes for some businesses under that amount, dependant upon industry. Transportation, defence related businesses and so on are protected this way. As for the big foreign firms, many operate in special economic zones where they enjoy certain privileges not available elsewhere in the country. We all know that foreigners cannot own more than 40 percent of a buissness in the philippines. I guess marriage to a filipina is one answer. Well how do companies from Japan open up factories thier then? Thier must be a loop hole were foreign companies that are a corporation can own factories thier or invest more easily. Does anyone here know how they do it? Also the biggest diffrence between a g 7 nation and a third world nation is investment capital, and capital in general. Here in Canada we love when the American or Japanese open up a factory or buissness here, coz it means more jobs and capital. If the Philippine goverment allowed more outside investments and buissnessesn would that not create capital and jobs thier? Seems that most people from philippines would love to have a job of some sort and slowly they could progress from thier.Here in Canada we loved people coming from Hong Kong coz they had money and created jobs. One requirment we had is that they invest at least $300,000 before we would let them in to be invested toward a buissness of some sort. Many area's of Canada bommed coz of it. This seems the exact opposite to the logic the philippine goverment is taking. How will the philippines ever become an industriled nation with no capital or foreighn investments? Don't you think this law is hindering the develpoment of Philippines economically? I can see not owning large parcels of land for good reason, but owning a buissness or a few lots is maybe one reason the philippnes might have a hard time to find jobs for all it's citizens or develope more in the future. I for one would open up a buissness and spend $ thier if I could, and it would create jobs and help thier economy. Some jobs are better than none at all right? What do you all think?

I obviously intend to travel and spend several months in the country before deciding if I really want to move to the Philippines and if so, where to live. I am thinking of travelling in the new year or spring. Although I've never visited before, what attracts me to Philippines in particular is the low cost of living, climate and widely spoken English. I also understand that the country is pretty safe and the Philippino people are generally very friendly and hospitable. I have no real desire to live in a commercial area of a big city, but since I would be going on my own so would want to live somewhere on the coast, not too isolated, including a western expat population, within walking distance of local bars and restaurants, and preferably with cheaper rent and lower general living costs than big cities. A medium to large sized town, or near the outskirts of a city might be ideal. I will not have a job as such, but I will need reliable daily internet access from home to manage my investment income (I realise DSL is only available in certain areas of big cities, so in most towns I guess I would have to rely on dial-up internet access, or satellite if I could afford it). I would plan on living on $10,000 USD/year ma

MANILA -(Dow Jones)- Philippine Energy Secretary Vincent Perez Monday said the Royal/Dutch Shell Group (U.RSH) and Chevron Texaco Corp. are open to granting flexibility on their natural gas sales contract with First Gas Power Corp. This comes on the heels of a court decision that could hurt the financial capability of First Gas's main buyer, Manila Electric Co. , in which the government is the biggest shareholder with an estimated 33% stake. Perez said he met with the senior Shell officials on a recent visit to the U.K. ""The initial feedback from Shell and Chevron Texaco has been encouraging,"" Perez told reporters. Shell Philippines Exploration BV and Texaco Philippines each have a 45% stake in Malampaya, the country's biggest natural gas project. PNOC Exploration Corp. holds the remaining 10%. Perez said there is a need for the members of the Malampaya consortium to provide some financial flexibility on the ""take-or-pay"" provision of the gas sales pact with First Gas. This provision requires First Gas to pay the Malampaya consortium a minimum amount for gas purchased, whether or not the gas is actually consumed. Meralco was ordered last month to refund customers for excess charges since 1994. Meralco officials estimate the refund could range between 8 billion pesos ($1=PHP53.500) and PHP28 billion. By Ditas Lopez, Dow Jones Newswires; 632-885-0288; ditas.lopez@dowjones.com

I live in Bogo in northern Cebu, close to the water and with a few amenities including dial up internet via the landline. My house is new and small but cosy and rent is P2000 a month. Electricity with aircon on when we want it but never all day every day and it is about P1000, water P100 and cable tv P350 including BBC, HBO, ESPN etc, phone easy P5000 with heavy internet use at P33 an hour. A tank of petrol is about P700 and if the car is going I can put several a month in if travelling to Cebu, otherwise a bus to Cebu is P72. Food is expensive, especially if you want western luxuries like cheese,, bacon, butter and so on. We spend about P5000 a month, maybe more as I am not sure. All up it costs us easily P25,000 a month to live a comfortable life here, say US$500.I don't drink heavily, beer is P13-15 a San Miguel, or gamble at all or visit girlie bars where you can spend P4000 easily. I do have a banca I bought for about P40,000, currently leased to a fisherman. At first it will cost more as you buy stuff and appliances and so on, but then it tapers off and gets quite affordable. I bought a new Lifan 105cc Super Tourer motorcycle for P38,000. If buying a car I would advise a rugged pick up and buy new if you can, anything second hand is usually sad as the Filipino has no concept of regular maintenance bar a few educated city folk who can afford drivers. We have a small piggery on the folks land that brings in maybe P12000 a month, our share, plus the same from the fisherman, and soon hopefully more as other ventures bear fruit. We bought a 2000sqm block of land for P75,000 and hope to palnt mango trees, should be worth P2M a year in five years. Be careful where, how and with whom you invest your money or loan it out. Jeepneys, trikes and anything mechanical will send you broke fixing it as they don't know any better on how to care for it. Family can be your worst enemy and biggest drain, but I am fortunate with mine. Pawn shops, loan sharking and so on offer good returns but you need locals to do the work and you will always be chasing the bad debts. You really need to accept the average person out of the cities does not speak English as widely as proclaimed, but learning the lingo is fun. Accept they are poor drivers and suicidal maniacs to us because they have never been properly trained to drive. Accept they will say yes so as not to offend or upset you when the answer is no. Phrase questions to give them a way out ie; don't ask for something, ask if there is something available, ie; mayroon coke rather than gusto ko coke; it saves a long wait and eventual disappointment. Accept this is a very foreign culture to ours, despite the lip service paid via English signs everywhere and the almost manic belief anything American is better. It is very very different and not what it seems. Above all else, never lose your temper or yell at people or show up their lack of education or sophistication (by western measures). FInally, remember very few of the things that happen are caused by any malicious intention whatsoever. They really are a wonderful people with a rich culture and heritage, very warm and generous and considerate in their own way. Once you understand their way you will love this place. Don't fight it, go with the flow and always remeber just because they can't speak English or you can't understand them, they are not stupid. They are resourceful and amazing in many ways, but never apply western logic or standards to them, they are not westerners, they are Filipinos. Proudly Filipino. If you want more discussion, email me off list any time. Steve, Iloilo City and environs seem to me to meet most of your requirements.

Central air in a residential application would be difficult in the RP. Mostly because it's not considered the ""standard."" Here in the US, it's cost effective because of the pre=fab materials like soft ducts, plenums, cans and supply/return registers. To put central AC in the philippines, you have two choices, import residential materials in or design your system to commercial specs(square hard duct). Either way, you'll have a hard time finding a contractor to install it the way you want it. The equipment isn't much of a problem because Carrier and York have branches in the RP. Your best bet is to install the Japanese designed ductless split systems. They are much quieter and more efficient than the window shakers. Sanyo and Koppel are quality brand names available in the RP.

We've made it back from the RP safe and sound yet feeling a little homesick when we touched down in SFO. Pretzel and I both have a feeling of emptiness being back in the states. We wish June was here and we're on our way back to the RP stay for good. We had a great time meeting many of the Cebu based LinP members. We especially enjoyed the company of Dave and Sha Sha even though our time with them was short. My good friend Robbie Davis and wife Maricar did a wonderful job showing us around to areas we've never seen before. Of all the trips to Cebu, I've never seen the Labangon/Pardo areas. We fell in love with the area and feel this is where we will live. Robbie took me to his Mandaue Rotory Club meeting to meet the movers and shakers of Cebu which hopefully he'll sponsor me when we arrive. While apartment searching we found many fully furnished apartments for less than 20k a month. Some below 10k. It doesn't appear being caucasion means higher prices in this particular market. In fact, we learned as a foriegner, we're much more likely to get a lower than asking price. For example, at the Aurora Towers, we looked at a 2 bedroom furnished apartment that we were quoted 22k per month. Before we were even finished looking around the property mgr said we could have it for 20k per month. About an hour after we left the building, she called us and said the owner would be willing to take 18k per month because we were foriegners. I'm pretty sure with some negotiating, we could have had it for 15k or maybe less. This seemed to be the norm for everything we looked at. My dad had a great time and at 60, was surprised how many young girls wanted to get to know him. My goal was to show him Cebu as a place to consider future retirement and that mission was accomplished. I've noticed two particular areas around Cebu that have become absolutly disgusting. When we took dad to Colon St to see the Church, he was almost mugged by four men. Fortunately, I saw what was going on and scared them off but I think he was seconds away from having his pockets emptied at knifepoint. The other area is Mactan island. Mactan used to be cleaner and safer than Cebu when I first started coming to the Phipippines. Now I liken Mactan to the plains of Africa where only the strongest animals survive. The only safe places in Mactan are inside the beautiful upscale resorts. Outside the resorts, there are thieves everywhere, tricycle drivers demanding 125p for a ride, taxi drivers claiming meters aren't used in Mactan, restaraunts tacking on ""cooking charges"" for the food they prepare and bringing extra beverages when you tell them ""no"", thugs following the foreigners around...It's really sad these two areas, with so much history, have become so bad. In closing, we had a great time and as always, our time there was too short. As I sit in front of my computer writing this my only thoughts are on returning to the RP.

as the time i carried ""am express"" i had to pay to get them had to go to three different places to cash them, and by the time i was thru it had cost me $50.00 i'm not sure what exchange you will get for pound notes, but may be best to try and get $100.00 bills US while still in the UK.

Contact your nearest RP consulate. The renewal can be done by mail, but follow their instructions to the letter. If you live within commuting distance of an RP consulate, you can probably ensure better service. Start the process immediately. One should always have a passport with at least 6 months time left when travelling.

Get new, crisp, U.S.$100 notes. They will get the best exchange rate and will be accepted everywhere. $50 and $20 U.S. dollar notes are also accepted almost everywhere, but $100 dollar bills are the preferred currency by ALL money changers. Avoid crumpled, torn, or stained notes. The money exchange booths will always ""deduct"" for them.

Forget the traveller's check. You'll have very little use for them. Money changers don't accept them anymore. Hotels give you a lower exchange rate when you pay with TCs. Bring crisp US$100 bills. The malls are the best place to change your money. After you leave the booth, don't exit the mall right away. Linger around and look very carefully around you. Window shop and take note if there is anyone suspiciously eyeballing and/or following you. Should you notice one, report immediately to a security guard. If the person is a stick-up artist, he will vasnish the minute you approach a ""siky=FB"". Usually, there's a guard assigned next to the booth but if there is none, there is always one at the exit.

When reading this i wonder why one would like to bring cash money. Just use an ATM card and you will be OK. For example this is withdrawn at 27-11-2002 and I was charged Eur 377,17 for Php 20.000,00 with an exchange rate of eur = 53,02649 php. If anyone knows how to make money by changing EUR to USD and then to PHP just let me know. Please take into account charges at all banks involved. I would use and ATM card in the Netherlands and still do the same here in the Philippines and yes I can also use the ATM card from a peso account to withdraw Euro's or any other currency when I am abroad.

We are intending to recruit Nurses for New York Hospital, since my niece is a doctor there. Her parents are the one putting up the company. While in the Seattle area, Nurses are in demand in Elderly Homes.

To look around is good advice at any time but you will not see any suspicious looking person. When changing or withdrawing money try to see who is around you, then walk away and check again. If you spot the same person 3 times in a row than that is suspicious. No need for security as your behavior will show that you are aware of your environment and any criminal type would rather select somebody else as his victim because they are looking for an easy target.

Unless you have the dollars or can get them cheaply there is no point buying dollars in the UK and changing it to Pesos in Philippines, you will lose out twice on the exchange rate. I have noticed S&M give reasonable rates better than the bank. Also consider as somebody has advised getting cash with your ATM card, but given the bank charge no good for small amounts, or where you can just use a credit card. However when bargaining always have the cash. I have recently being buying electrical items in Landmark and S&M and have got substantial discounts by bargaining and paying in cash. I have checked the rates in Hong Kong (at Worldwide) but they are not so great, and they will convert you through Hong Kong dollars, which again means losing out twice. Recently I had to change a large amount, more than you would need for vacation, and they gave me a much better rate after asking.

Actually, from all sources I have researched, space air conditioners may be more cost-efficient than central air conditioning, and you might want to consider that direction. For upscale homes in the US, space air conditioners have never been the norm in the US because of the variables involved with separate units for each room, etc., but in Japan the other extreme is found with new residential construction (space air conditioners).... I will heartily second that, Ray. I've lived in Japan for several years, and believe me, _there_ is where you are talking high electric costs 90sft 2 bedroom home typically $300/350USD. Japanese '2-part' aircons (the compressor outside on a slab or bracket and the evaporator in a thru-wall unit hounted high on the wall at the ceiling) are the most effcient and most silent in the world. I would not dream of sealing up a house in the Philippines and continuously air conditioning all of it, but a good brand like Hitachi is readily available in the Philippines and will be just the ticket for say one in a bedroom and one for a computer room/family room 'refuge' on scorching days. I started to post some links but there are more than 700 dealers/service centers just in the Manila Post classified site, so suffice to say there will be no problem in finding quality aircons and people to install them. Two-piece Hitachi 'inverse' aircons (have a heat pump cycle where they run in reverse for winter warmth) are in the $600USD range in Japan, so I'm sure straight aircons could be found for much less in the Philippines. One could, of course, install as many as were wanted (subject to how many amps of electric service you can get from Meralco) but it can never be as efficient to cool a whole house with a typical US-style forced air furnace/aircon.. how many rooms can you occupy (and thus need to have cooled) at once?

I've got an idea to bring down your phone bill. It might work, it might not. I'm thinking - that you can call anywhere on the island of Cebu with no long distance charge when you use a Globelines landline phone service. You would definitely need to confirm availability and cost. If you have a PLDT phone you might want to find out how much it cost to call Cebu City. Anyway if you can call Cebu City at no cost (say with Globelines) you could then use Prepaid internet cards, or a more cost effective ISP - and this might help you with your phone/internet bill.

Then I wanted to install A/C for my little house, I needed to consider 'Split Type' since no provision for 'Window type' had been made, and did not want to block off half a window to install. The price was the big factor here since Split Types are more expensive than Window Type units. Here in Cebu, over on Mactan, I found a place called 'Cheap & Cool' and as the name suggests they specialise in discounted Aircon units. Some are recon surplus units, but others are brand new. When I enquired the price of 1HP Split Unit (Carrier), it was much lower than I expected. There had to be a catch and there was. The units were Taiwan manufacture and all instructions in Chinese! 'Cheap & Cool' gave me translated insructions and made up the copper piping with flanged ends,dual pipe insulation, drain hose & clips, mounting bracket plugs & screws. All parts for DIY assembly. The only problem with the installation was drilling the large hole through the concrete wall for the copper pipes, drain hole, and electric cable. The trade secret is to use special diamond tipped drill apperently. This cost me Php21,000 for everything if I recall. I find we only use it for couple of hours a day if really hot and humid and no breeze and fans alone not good enough to keep cool. Many days we dont use at all!

Lately,I've seen many mentions of using atm cards in the Philippines.One should make sure they are usable in the Cirrus system.See ""atm card"" in archives.