True enough that the cost of living is lower than in the US, but that alone is a very poor reason for moving to the RP. I heartily second that motion. I also recall Don's contention that a person who is unhappy where they are now will also be unhappy in the RP. My Filipina wife and I, currently in the U.S., hope to live at least part-time in the RP in a few years. It's comforting to know that we can live more cheaply there. But our retirement income will be healthy enough to make such a move a choice, not a necessity. For me, the biggest motivation is the hospitality and sunny disposition of Filipinos (not all of them, but most) and the opportunity to make a new life -- and make a difference -- in a fascinating land where culture change can be enriching as well as challenging. The RP clearly isn't a good place for a retiree who only wants to live cheaply, play out the string, drinking and smoking with other secluded expats and endlessly replaying memories. I could do that in the U.S. with a lot less stress -- and I could move to a trailer park if money was an issue. I fervently believe that people who live to a ripe old age are those who seek new challenges and learning opportunities. These are the people who have a REASON to live. Who feel that life becomes more enriching with each new day, each new friend, each new insight. Who can't wait to see what's around the next bend in the road. The chance to start a new life in a beautiful, sun-drenched land of smiles excites me, sustains me, makes me feel much younger than I am (54, if you're curious). There will be negatives, of course. Members of this list know we don't suger-coat the negatives. But remember that the brain, like the rest of the body, thrives on exercise.

I also recall Don's contention that a person who is unhappy where they are >now will also be unhappy in the RP. With all due respect let me say that I'm not sure I agree with this statement. I live in a country were I can't speak the language except for skoshi [very little] and 95% of the locals can't speak my language. I can't read the written language, in other words it's a pain. Everytime I go to the Philippines it feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Most if not all speak English and allot if not all is written in English. What I think Don may have been refering to and I don't want to put words in his mouth is if your not happy with yourself it won't make any differance were you live because your bringing whatever emotional baggage you might have with you.

Every place has its pluses and minuses. And, I've found that anytime a place accumulates too many pluses, so many people move there that soon many of the pluses are spoiled. Anyone who grew up in Los Angeles, CA (as I did) knows what I am talking about. In my view the secret to finding a good place to retire, is to locate a place where you really value the pluses and can adapt to, or at least tolerate, the minuses. The ideal place is a location that the minuses scare away most people. The PI fits that description for me. Most Americans would never consider living in the Philippines for all of the reasons stated in prior messages. But, for those that can adjust to the minuses, the PI offers a nearly ideal place to retire. Sure, I still have some concerns, but I am confident that I will be able to work through them. For me, I want to live close to my wife's family - I genuinely like them. And, quite frankly, the cost of living is a tremendous plus. For me, I can retire to the Philippines in 5 more years. To enjoy anywhere near the same lifestyle in the States, I'll have to work for another 15. That's a ""no-brainer"" in my book.

You've cleared the air on this for me. I didn't see any animosity in the ""things wrong"" list. Very matter of fact. My father would rush home from work (sometimes a little early) to load up the kids and go fishing. He fantasized about leisure fishing trips after retirement. His 1st year of retirement was hard on him. Boredom made him sick. He finally found an ""old man"" that wanted to sell his little upholstery shop. My folks bought it, went back to work, and their health improved greatly. A few years after that I asked my dad ""What happened to all of those fishing trips you were going to do after retirement""? He said, ""Son, the older you get, the farther the river moves from you"".

If for example you want to find somewhere in Las Pinas, get a jeepney or FX or bus to the area. Go in to a sub division on foot (no security if you don't live there). Once in there hire a tricycle and get him to show you round and look for signs to rent - there are loads at the moment. HOWEVER I would let the filipino/filipina do this without you otherwise the price will be at least double. I would also check that the area doesn't flood by asking some local residents - also ask about whether there are water supply problems. I would also check the area out at night but not too late. What we did was disclosed my existence before we signed the contract as we didn't want any bad feeling when they discovered there was a foreigner! You will have to put two/three months deposit down which may be tricky to get back. i.e. you might have to wait until they get a new tenant. I have had nothing but positive experiences where I live when there - I'm currently in the UK. You have to be security conscious anywhere - somebody did try to steal our scooter once - but that could happen anywhere. We have lived there for over a year - in fact we have left our house empty many times but always ask the neighbours to watch for us and give them contact numbers for emergencies. We have been lucky to be in such a quiet street and with such good neighbours. I don't recommend Cavite as traffic is terrible going from central Manila to Cavite. It is also prone to flooding in many areas.

I lived in HK for two years (93-95). I found really good prices by air to surrounding cities (Manila, Bangkok, etc) for typically US$200-300 RT (probably a bit more now). Forget any chance of tickets on any HK holiday, though - those get booked up MONTHS in advance. There are zillions of small travel agent shops in HK that can book flights for you at good discounts (in Wanchai, Tim Tsa Tsui, etc). The MTR (subway/underground) is fantastic for getting around. One good deal I've personally used before is the Cathay Pacific ""All Asia Fare"" - for 3 weeks, you can go anywhere they go direct (must book it all in advance). Each trip starts from and returns to HK. The schedules usually involve one night in HK. There are OK hotels there and fantastic restaurants (downtown and in Kowloon side). I went to Bali, Cebu, Sri Lanka, Bangkok and a couple of other places. It was a blast. Check it out on their website www.cathaypacific.com I think HK$ are pegged at about 7.8 / US$. I usually got slightly better fares on Thai and similar carriers. Thai Airlines is GREAT. Bali was really nice - stayed at one of the Poppies - great little place. No hint of the political problems in surrounding areas - they keep Bali safe and sound so as not to risk tourist dollars. For rooms anywhere, I highly recommened Loney Planet guidebooks. I've stayed at many of their recommended places all over the world. They always include address and phone number so you can book it yourself in advance. Travel agents always find you the most expensive places (and ones with especially good kickbacks for them) to maximize their fee. You can easily recover cost of the guidebooks in lower travel costs.

This is probably done more often then thought. There are cafe that have web cam to chat with. Cost a little more but provides a more sure feeling about whom you are chatting with. I was not worried due to introduction to my lady by another lady I knew for some time... The funny part of this whole chain of messages is, the almost homophobic fear that you might be getting scammed by a man posing as a waoman. Hate to tell you this, but it's a very common thing in chat rooms including ones not having anything to do with the Philippines. The practice of women 'working' overseas 'boy friends' for money is certainly not unheard of in the Philippines or any other country. A cam will possibly show you to whom you are talking ( in the Philippines and Thailand there are some young men who most US women would 'kill' to look like), so take even live video with a great pinch of salt. Bottom line is.. be careful and avoid anyone who ask for money. For what it is worth, I personally think the Internet_in_general_ is quite above board and honest. I have physically met a number of friends via the internet, all where who they said they were, man or woman, and I even married one *smile* YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)

Well, to support this, my wife and I spent 1 month in RP and by the second week I said this country is defiantly the ""land of opportunity"". To help thing further is staff training (within the tourist industry) in good communication with the foreigners, the smiles and the politeness is already there, just need to up the professionalism (big word). It has to be agreed the Philippines has a huge asset with its history and geological diversity it is not really being pushed to the tourist. We stayed in 5 hotels of good standards yet when asking for recommendation of a hotel in another cities or general local information we get ""ha?"". Example, We live in Adelaide, South Australia which has not a lot to offer the none wine drinker tourist, (wine industry is big) but our local hotel has brochures of every nook and cranny of the state to entice the tourist AND of other hotels in other cities are recommended. I could go on. That's just a small change to make and will give the foreigners a positive impression.

i'm a filipina working in riyadh, saudi arabia for 4 years now and just find your group very, very reliable in finding information about our country. thank you very much for helping our tourism and hope other filipinos would have more reasons to be proud of this country. although i'm not very lucky in finding a western guy, i'm still still hopeful that he's just around the corner waiting for me. i would liked to share an article written by a british journalist stationed in the philippines. his observations are so hilarious!!!! This was written in 1999. and here it goes: Matter of Taste by Matthew Sutherland I have now been in this country for over six years, and consider myself in most respects well-assimilated. However, there is one key step on the road to full assimilation which I have yet to take, and that's to eat BALUT. The day any of you sees me eating balut, please call immigration and ask them to issue me a Filipino passport. Because at that point there will be no turning back. BALUT, for those still blissfully ignorant non-Pinoys out there, is a fertilized duck egg. It is commonly sold with salt in a piece of newspaper, much like English fish and chips, by street vendors usually after dark, presumably so you can't see how gross it is. It's meant to be an aphrodisiac, although I can't imagine anything more likely to dispel sexual desire than crunching on a partially-formed baby duck swimming in noxious fluid. The embryo in the egg comes in varying stages of development, but basically it is not considered macho to eat one without fully discernable feathers, beak, and claws. Some say these crunchy bits are the best. Others prefer just to drink the so- called 'soup', the vile,pungent liquid that surrounds the aforementioned feathery fetus... excuse me, I have to go and throw up now. I'll be back in a minute. Food dominates the life of the Filipino. People here just love to eat. They eat at least eight times a day. These eight official meals are called, in order: breakfast, snacks, lunch, merienda, pica-pica, pulutan, dinner, and no-one-saw-me-take-that-cookie-from-the-fridge-so-it-doesn't-count. The short gaps in between these mealtimes are spent eating Sky Flakes from the open packet that sits on every desktop. You're never far from food in the Philippines. If you doubt this, next time you're driving home from work, try this game. See how long you can drive without seeing food and I don't mean a distant restaurant, or a picture of food. I mean a man on the sidewalk frying fish balls, or a man walking through the traffic selling nuts or candy. I bet it's less than one minute. Here are some other things I've noticed about food in the Philippines. Firstly, a meal is not a meal without rice- even breakfast. In the UK, I could go a whole year without eating rice. Second, it's impossible to drink without eating. A bottle of San Miguel just isn't the same without gambas or beef tapa. Third, no one ventures more than two paces from their house without baon and a container of something cold to drink. You might as well ask a Filipino to leave home without his pants on. And lastly, where I come from, you eat with a knife and fork. Here, you eat with a spoon and fork. You try eating rice swimming in fish sauce with a knife. One really nice thing about Filipino food culture is that people always ask you to SHARE their food. In my office, if you catch anyone attacking their baon, they will always go, ""Sir! KAIN TAYO!"" (""Let's eat!""). This confused me, until I realized that they didn't actually expect me to sit down and start munching on their boneless bangus. In fact, the polite response is something like, ""No thanks, I just ate."" But the principle is sound-if you have food on your plate, you are expected to share it, however hungry you are, with those who may be even hungrier. I think that's great. In fact, this is frequently even taken one step further. Many Filipinos use ""Have you eaten yet?"" (""KUMAIN KA NA?"") as a general greeting, irrespective of time of day or location. Some foreigners think Filipino food is fairly dull compared to other Asian cuisines. Actually lots of it is very good: spicy dishes like Bicol Express (strange, a dish named after a train); anything cooked with coconut milk;anything KINILAW; and anything ADOBO. And it's hard to beat the sheer wanton, cholesterholic frenzy of a good old-fashioned LECHON (roast pig) de leche feast. Dig a pit, light a fire, add 50 pounds of animal fat on a stick, and cook until crisp. Mmm, mmm... you can actually feel your arteries constricting with each successive mouthful. I also share one key Pinoy trait ---a sweet tooth. I am thus the only foreigner I know who does not complain about sweet bread, sweet burgers, sweet spaghetti, sweet banana ketchup, and so on. I am a man who likes to put jam on his pizza. Try it! It's the weird food you want to avoid. In addition to duck fetus in the half- shell, items to avoid in the Philippines include pig's blood soup (DINUGUAN); bull's testicle soup, the strangely-named ""SOUP NUMBER FIVE"" (I dread to think what numbers one through four are); and the ubiquitous, stinky shrimp paste, BAGOONG, and it's equally stinky sister, PATIS (fish sauce) . Filipinos are so addicted to these latter items that they will even risk arrest or deportation trying to smuggle them into countries like Australia and the USA, which wisely ban the importation of items you can smell from more than 100 paces. Then there's the small matter of the blue ice cream. I have never been able to get my brain around eating blue food; the ubiquitous UBE leaves me cold. And lastly on the subject of weird food, beware: that KALDERETANG KAMBING (goat) could well be KALDERETANG ASO (dog)... The Filipino, of course, has a well-developed sense of food. Here's a typical Pinoy food joke: ""I'm on a seafood diet. ""What's a seafood diet?"" ""When I see food, I eat it!"" Filipinos also eat strange bits of animals---the feet, the head, the guts, etc., usually barbecued on a stick. These have been given witty names, like ""ADIDAS"" (chickenís feet); ""KURBATA"" (either just chicken's neck, or ""neck and thigh"" as in ""neck-tie""); ""WALKMAN"" (pigs ears); ""PAL"" (chicken wings); ""HELMET"" (chicken head); ""IUD"" (chicken intestines), and ""BETAMAX"" (video-cassette-like blocks of animal blood). Yum, yum. Bon appetit.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches"" --(Proverbs 22:1) WHEN I arrived in the Philippines from the UK six years ago, one of the first cultural differences to strike me was names. The subject has provided a continuing source of amazement and amusement ever since. The first unusual thing, from an English perspective, is that everyone here has a nickname. In the staid and boring United Kingdom, we have nicknames in kindergarten, but when we move into adulthood we tend, I am glad to say, to lose them. The second thing that struck me is that Philippine names for both girls and boys tend to be what we in the UK would regard as overbearingly cutesy for anyone over about five. ""Fifty-five-year-olds colleague put it. Where I come from, a boy with a nickname like Boy Blue or Honey Boy would be beaten to death at school by pre-adolescent bullies, and never make it to adulthood. So, probably, would girls with nameslike Babes, Lovely, Precious, Peachy or Apples. Yuk, ech ech. Here, however, no one bats an eyelid. Then I noticed how many people have what I have come to call ""door-bell names"". These are nicknames that sound like - well, door-bells. There are millions of them. Bing, Bong, Ding, and Dong are some of the more common. They can be, and frequently are, used in even more door-bell-like combinations such as Bing-Bong, Ding- Dong, Ting-Ting, and so on. Even our newly-appointed chief of police has a doorbell name Ping. None of these door-bell names exist where I come from, and hence sound unusually amusing to my untutored foreign ear. Someone once told me that one of the Bings, when asked why he was called Bing, replied ""because my brother is called Bong"". Faultless logic. Dong, of course, is a particularly funny one for me, as where I come from ""dong"" is a slang word for... well, perhaps ""talong"" is the best Tagalog equivalent. Repeating names was another novelty to me, having never before encountered people with names like Len-Len, Let-Let, Mai-Mai, or Ning-Ning. The secretary I inherited on my arrival had an unusual one: Leck-Leck. Such names are then frequently further refined by using the ""squared"" symbol, as in Len2 or Mai2. This had me very confused for a while. Then there is the trend for parents to stick to a theme when naming their children. This can be as simple as making them all begin with the same letter, as in Jun, Jimmy, Janice, and Joy. More imaginative parents shoot for more sophisticated forms of assonance or rhyme, as in Biboy, Boboy, Buboy, Baboy (notice the names get worse the more kids there are-best to be born early or you could end up being a Baboy). Even better, parents can create whole families of, say, desserts (Apple Pie, Cherry Pie, Honey Pie) or flowers (Rose, Daffodil, Tulip). The main advantage of such combinations is that they look great painted across your trunk if you're a cab driver. That's another thing I'd never seen before coming to Manila - taxis with the driver's kids' names on the trunk. Another whole eye-opening field for the foreign visitor is the phenomenon of the ""composite"" name. This includes names like Jejomar (for Jesus, Joseph and Mary), and the remarkable Luzviminda (for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, believe it or not). That's a bit like me being called something like ""Engscowani"" (for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Between you and me, I'm glad I'm not. And how could I forget to mention the fabulous concept of the randomly inserted letter 'h'. Quite what this device is supposed to achieve, I have not yet figured out, but I think it is designed to give a touch of class to an otherwise only averagely weird name. It results in creations like Jhun, Lhenn, Ghemma, and Jhimmy. Or how about Jhun-Jhun (Jhun2)? There is also a whole separate field of name games-those where the parents have exhibited a creative sense of humor on purpose. I once had my house in London painted by a Czechoslovakian decorator by the name of Peter Peter. I could never figure out if his parents had a fantastic sense of humor or no imagination at all-it had to be one or the other. But here in the Philippines, wonderful imagination and humor is often applied to the naming process, particularly, it seems, in the Chinese community. My favourites include Bach Johann Sebastian; Edgar Allan Pe; Jonathan Livingston Sy; Magic Chiongson, Chica Go, and my girlfriend's very own sister, Van Go. I am assured these are real people, although I've only met two of them. I hope they don't mind being mentioned here. How boring to come from a country like the UK full of people with names like John Smith. How wonderful to come from a country where imagination and exoticism rule the world of names. Even the towns here have weird names; my favorite is the unbelieveably- named town of Sexmoan (ironically close to Olongapo and Angeles). Where else in the world could that really be true? Where else in the world could the head of the Church really be called Cardinal Sin? Where else but the Philippines! Note: Philippines has a senator named Joker, and it is his legal name.

Many of the ""bad"" things"" are just quid pro quo. No country let's you just move in without in some way getting an immigrant or visitors visa. Documents are expensive and there are hoops to jump through in every country in the world. Watch someone spend hundreds of dollars on different filing fees, to bring someone here, and wait a year or more to wade through the immigration process. In fact the Philippines mimics the countries that it deals with - similar to what all other countries do. Thus the hassle you see in going to the Philippines is created by the hassle the U.S. government places on people wanting to come here, with the same resources and background. Manila may have some problems but it also has loads of good cultural events, excellent universities, great shopping, wonderful restaurants, five-star hotels, stunning residential areas and I could go on. It also is a major city with all of the warts that go along with international cities. Many Filipinos write English much better then Americans. Yes you will hear many different accents from people speaking 3 or 4 different languages fluently. When I travel I do find that the water and everything else may create problems, just from the mineral content. Acquiring foreign currency anywhere costs money. The Philippines is no different. When I try and send money to the Philippines often the problem is here in my local bank, and I pay a hell of a lot of money just to move the money. Staff can't even copy filled out forms that I pre-type with all of the correct answers. Most Filipinos I know would give the shirt off of their back to you, just because you are an ""American"", and they expect nothing in return. Dealing with government is done differently, and interaction is more personal and slower. A good part of Mindanao has year round comfort, except perhaps in the rainy season. Baguio is where you go during the heat of the summer. The American government leadership is still trying to figure out who they work for - big corporations or the people. Mickey D is replaced by delicious Jollibee. Once you understand the culture and then need to deal with the bureaucracy it moves easily. But yes, it isn't as ""quick"" as here. The culture of the Philippines values SIR, smooth international relationships and interaction and that is what is paramount. Foods and dishes - you can find anything that you want in the way of foods

A continuing theme (quite naturally) is 'how is the cost of living in the RP compared to country x'? As many have pointe dout, just blanket it's more, it's less, it's the same kind of judgements are sometimes accurate only within each poster's current (or ancient) experience. The only semi-scientific method I know is to put together a 'market basket' of perhaps 50 items commonly purchased by the average person, put that market basket into standarized terms (example, if you are reporting the monthly rent on an apartment, how many square meters is the apartment), if you are reporting the cost of electricity, what is the cost in say US dollkars per kilowatt hour, etc. If there is interest in somehting like this, I'll voluteer to put such a market-basket comparision spreadsheet together. To keep the ist uncluttered, email me at: price@talarsystems.com with: Countries to include (RP, US, UK, Oz, Mexico, etc.) suggested items to include. current prices/quantities you have personal knowledge of. My only request is, please don't fill the mailbox I've just set up with triva about '6 years ago San Miguel cost xxx pesos, or the all too common 'I heard that in location x, gasoline only costs yyy pesos. I can only use information you can persoanlly attest to, not what some friend of a friend said to someone's nephew *smile* Lets' see what kind of information comes in, and I'll update the group if we can make anything of value out of this idea.

I trust you are a better scientist than I. I don't know exactly how to weight the results against prices of locally grown products against products that may be imported. Baguio strawberries sell in the Pinamungajan market for twice their price in Baguio. Depending upon availibility, Fuji apples are much cheaper than Washington State apples by a quarter in the Ayala Supermarket. Prices of produce change with the seasons. As a starter, I sell cornmeal for P17.50/kilo. I'm selling NFA rice at P15 75/kilo, what I call ""normal"" rice for P22/kilo and sticky-rice for P32/kilo American brand cigarettes go for 1P each except for longs which sell for P1.25. Stork sells for 50 centavos each. Our prices on grocery items are from 0% - 4% higher than Cebu City on average and we get a sinful price on beer,

I am coming over there in Jan2003 for a 2month stay. I have been corresponding with a friend of mines sister-law who is awidow I am trying to get info on living in a secure area in Angeles city where my friend has bought land. any info on living, marrying, visas and anything else I need to know or bring with me .

As interesting as I may find the costs of cyber cafe services, this is getting a little far-fetched. There is little relationship between how much one pays per minute of connectivity in a cyber cafe and the range of living costs in different regions. If one wants to compare living costs for different regions of the RP, and against US prices, the best method is to take a trip to selected regions of the RP. In my opinion, it's impossible to make an assessment of benefits of living in a foreign country until one has spent time in that country. If one spends his entire life in Pocatello, Idaho, then decides to retire to the Philippines based on exchanging email with a few folks, packs up his belongings and moves to Cebu, only to find that he can't stand the smell of frying fish, it was all wasted motion.

You can ""surf"" the archives here for much of the basic information you desire. After that, feel free to ask for more specific info or clarification. I wish I were looking at an upcoming 2 month trip

But before we start collecting dozens of unrelated prices, I was hoping to stimulate a list of like the top 20 or 30 or 50 things to be in a 'market basket'. The prices omeone paid for a box of Kleenex may be important but only if there's general interest in the price of Kleenex. if the intention is just to show the general trend of prices, I already can say (and most members I think will agree) they are cheap. So far candiadtes for the list are none, except I'm going to make the initial nomination of a liter of regular gas and a liter of diesel fuel ( I'll present the results in a spreadsheet that will convert this to US gallons and Imperial gallons as well..Lord knows we went thru several days a few weeks back of continual 'gesstimates' on a liter/gallon/imperial gallon of fuel's price. FWIW, last years diesel was substantially cheaper in the RP than in Colorado, yet the concensus latelyseems to be fuel costs more in the RP than State-side. Electric rates are another contentious point. I've seen members relate their electric bills as everything from well under $50 to the sky's the limit. Well if we knew the cost per kilowatt hour, then we could compare apples to apples instad of calamansi.

I refused to marry a girl in the RP last May because it can take up to two years for the INS to approve a wife's papers whereas a fiance is a matter of maybe 2 to 3 months. This is usually a real sticking point because the girl and her family want the marriage there. The INS rules seem odd but I think they may be trying to protect us from ourselves. I'm just across the smokies in Maryville TN if you need anything.

For those thinking of living in the Philippines a first step should be to spend a summer in Everglades City in South Florida. There you will have the convenience of a General Store, a Gas Station, and a couple of bars. You will also experience the same humidity and temperature as Cebu / Manila In addition you will have the pleasure participating in the local sport of mosquito swatting. The residents of this city have the choice of both saltwater mosquitoes (they're the big ones who carry off small pets) and freshwater mosquitoes and the ubiquitous No-See-Ums (very appropriately named). Additionally the pleasure of avoiding snakes and alligators is always rewarding. However there is always a 40 minute drive from this frontier to Naples for the luxuries of life if necessary.

I have a friend who has some mental health issues, primarily with PTSD related to his service in the Army. He is interested in moving to the Philippines but has asked me to inquire about mental health availability both inpatient and outpatient. He is adamant that the Veterans Administration will not be in charge of his health care or involved in any way although he is 100% total and permanent rated. He thinks he would like Cebu or around the old bases. I'd appreciate any information available.

Anyway, my wife and I are living in America now (she's been here 2.5 years so far). In a little over a year, she'll be eligible for US citizenship. Some day in the future (could be years away), we may wish to move to the Philippines for an extended or permanent amount of time (especially if the high-tech industry doesn't get any better and I lose job and can't find work and have to sell everything). I'm actually more enthusiastic about living in RP than my wife is... I miss my visits there and am eager to return. Is there any possibility of my wife retaining RP citizenship if she becomes a US citizen? If not, what rights would we lose should we ever want to move to RP, own property, be able to come and go at will, have kids, etc.? If she didn't get US citizenship, then we'd have the problem that the green card would become invalid after a couple of years of not living in America... and that would be bad! Took so much effort to get it in the first place. (I suppose it isn't sufficient to just visit the US every couple of years unless the ""visit"" is months long.) Anyway, if we were sure we'd never want to live in RP permanently (we're not sure), the citizenship issue wouldn't be as much of a big deal since a green card allows one almost everything a citizen can do.)

The dual citizenship law has not been passed yet but it will only be a matter of time...that is, if the lawmakers quit bickering and start doing their jobs. Even if your wife becomes an American citizen, she will still be able to own property here. Your family would be eligible for the Balikbayan program (provided you arrive in the Philippines together) and would be able to stay for 1 year without having to worry about visas.

Reasonable priced dermatogist are available for P200 to P320 per visit, peso 51 to $US. I don't know one off hand. But you wont' have problems finding a good one. I spend less that my deductable is in the States. But I have been lucky with my health and get all my test done free by the VA. Medical care is very cheap here, dental too. It is of high quality when you go to the upscale places, still cheap compared to US prices. Medical malpractice suits are virtually unknown here.

An INS approval of a spousal visa takes only 3-6 months, with the visa itself taking another 4-6 months at the embassy side, with an expected timeframe of 8-14 months. There is now an accelerated spousal visa mode, K3, which takes about the same time as a fiancee visa to be issued.

You are presented with a real challenge: US citizenship and resulting loss of RP benefits or continued US green card with its restrictions on absences from the US. My preference would be for the lady to obtain US citizenship, as she would then be able to stay outside of the US as long as she wants, with little impact on her rights in the RP (except for acquisition of new property). The subject of dual citizenship, as well as future changes in the RP laws regarding dual citizenship, is a whole different thread. Your wife would be subject to loss of her permanent residency if she stays outside the US more than a year, and INS has become more diligent in enforcing this the last couple of years. About 5 years ago I was involved in some contract US Citizenship preparation with a group of Yemenite nationals in the San Francisco Bay Area. These are the most orthodox of Muslims and this particular group controls a lot of property in Oakland, California. They routinely send their children back to Yemen, after being born n the US, to ensure that the children become culturally-attuned Yemenites. I was told by several of the male clients (they would not let me talk to their wives directly in most cases) that they wanted US citizenship only because they wanted to be able to return to Yemen and stay as long as they needed, but they wanted an escape valve to the US if political or economic conditions worsened in Yemen. Since ""9/11"" I have developed a new awareness of how Yemenites feel about the United States.

We can't overemphasize the importance of seeking professional legal advice in one's local area, as the laws and practice governing recognition of prenups will vary by state. In addition, an individual's particular asset circumstances should be reviewed by a competent attorney if there is any question about claims a future wife might make. There is no easy answer to the question of whether to draw up a prenuptial agreement. While we can all give advice based on our own experience and observations, ultimate decisions should be based on sound professional advice, not on listserve discussions. When I am asked questions about simple immigration procedures or even simple divorces, I always recommend that a reasonably intelligent person should try to do it himself. Those guys who are thoroughly intimidated by any paperwork, however,including simple income tax returns, are the exception. But when there are potential problems (visa overstays, deportation orders, significant assets acquired before marriage), get competent legal advice.

I have a back problem and the take care of it here. I am sure they would pay his cost for therapy here. I recomend Dra. Glenda Ilano at the Chung Hua Medical Center, and office building near the hospital here in Cebu. She deals with my head problems and helped me when I needed marriage counseling. She works with a lot of US Veterans, is VA certified and the best in town, in my opinon. And she is the prettiest too. I have checked them all. There is one at community maybe as good, but oversubscribed with patients, some with really serious problems. I would stay away from here only because she does not have time to deal properly with you and I am not sure she is VA certified. Her name is Dra. Madeline Buot, a brilliant woman, really not available or as effictive in my opinion as Dra. Glenda. Her fee is P500 per session, I think 50 minutes. Since his problems are accepted as military disability, the VA will pick up that big bill. If he needs medication, they will reimburse for that too.

As Ray said, lawters are quite mixed on the subject. If you have a real need for a prenup.. unusual assets, intellectual property, an exisiting business etc., might be worth exploring. If you are an average hourly or salaried worker, maybe with a pension plan and some vehicles and nothing else in property/holdings, there would be little need/justification for a prenup. If your idea of a prenup is to make sure your new wife gets nothing if the marriage goes sour, it's a really bad idea, because most courts will throw out anyhting that is truly inequitable to one spouse or the other. And if the prospective wife were to sign an agreement as a brand new immigrant, without benefit of a (probably expemsive) US attorney, the agreement would very likely be held inequitable. In most states property owned before a marriage is solely the original owners property (watch out for community property states) and things like pension plans are normally divided by a 'time rule'.. if you have say 480 months (20 years) invested in your plan and the marraige lasted 6 months, the most the non-employee spouse would be able to argue for is 50% of 6/480ths All that being said, if you seriously think you need such an agreement, this is the wrong place to ask .. you need an attorney.

This bank is stable. At least I hope so as it's one of the largest in the country. It's owned by the Ayala family. All they're saying there is that their net profit as against last year is down. I don't think they're in any trouble yet.

When I was in the Philippines last March I opened two accounts in this bank. Anyone who may be familar with this bank can you tell me your opinion on the following article? I'd hate to have this bank go under.

I fully agree with those who recommend consulting with an attorney. Premarital agreements are not worth the paper they are written on unless great care is taken in drafting and executing them properly. This is not a ""do-it-yourself"" project. The big problem you face with a fiancee from a country such as the Philippines are the issues of overreaching and duress. A filipina coming to the U.S. to marry a U.S. citizen is likely to be viewed by the Court as very vulnerable and the judge will likely scrutinze the document to determine if it was fair at the time it signed, whether the parties understood what they were signing and whether they had proper legal advice. You should be especially careful that you have FULLY disclosed your assets. You must also be prepared to demonstrate that your fiancee fully understood the document she is signing and its consequences. Probably the best way to convince the Court that you have not overreached is to make sure your fiancee is represented by independent counsel. I know this sounds like a lot of bother, but if you want to execute a document that has a chance of being upheld, you've got to convince the Court that you and your fiancee were playing on a level playing field.

BPI is the only more than 150 year old bank in the Philippines. If profits are temporarily falling then just have a look at Dow Jones, NASDAQ and other international stock exchanges. You then will realize that this influences also profitability in the Philippines. The analysis was read today as follows: Quote: The market closed lower by 9.69 points; investor sentiment was weakened with the dramatic decline in US equities. The drop in the local market today did not mirror the large decline in US equities, largely because our own market had already moved lower by about 20% from its peak early this year. Ending lower today were MBT, ALI, BPI, SMCB, GLO, EBC, FPH, MER A&B, AEV, JFC, ICT, MEG, and ION. The renewed weakness in US markets had erased any short-term hope of a recovery in the local market. With global markets still shaky, investors have understandably reverted to their previously-held wait- and-see attitude. The SONA this afternoon is unlikely to have a major impact on the market; rather, investors will be seeking confirmation from concrete economic and corporate performances before committing to the market. It goes without saying that any recovery is unlikely without a similar improvement in US markets.

Most world banks have declining profits due to worldwide downturn in the economy, bad debt due to corporate america, trouble in Argentina and now Uraguay and now a threat of a double dip recession in the states! just my 2 pence worth