What a fascinating thread this will be. I can't wait to read the responses to the question. As one who intends to move to Cebu in a few months, I am both excited by the prospect, and I have some trepidations, as well. I want to fit in and be happy, but I also want to contribute to the society in some way. I often wonder if I am sensitive enough to avoid insulting people by my ignorance. My thinking has been along very practical lines, the weather is better, the people are so nice, the cost of living is so low, etc. But will I be happier than I am now? Only time will tell, but those who contribute to this thread will certainly go a long way toward helping me to understand what lies ahead.

As some of you already know, I will be permanently relocating to Cebu City on January 10th. I will be staying in a Pension Hotel until I can find a house or apartment to rent. Which of course, may take a few weeks to find and to move into. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to rent a mail box at the Cebu City Post Office until I establish a permanent mailing address in Cebu City?

I'm out about 60 grand and haven't even moved there yet, so far I have started an internet cafe, bought 2 apartments, about 6 hectares of land in bohol 3 hecs which are landlocked the other 3 are actually a great investment. Wifey wants to grow mangos, I want a caribao for bragging rights in forestville NY,USA. Also supporting an extended family, but ya know what ...ain't life grand... I've been taken to he cleaners tenfold by american blondes in the past and don't regret any money I've spent in the phils at all . I'm outta here jan 28th, Ive sold my business and plan on being in the phils for at least 4-5 months a year . I do plan on spending some time in Cebu and will look you guys up. Actually a family friend has separated husband that has a dive resort in malapasqua near you guys .

One thing that my wife, who is from India, likes about where we are in the U.S. is the relative lack of ""critters"" crawling around everywhere. Even a harmless lizard crawling on the wall gives her the creeps (and that was virtually all the time in India), though scorpions, venomous snakes, and such understandably cause more concern, esp. in regard to our small children. If I may digress with an anecdote or two.... What was really cool about a trip we took to Mexico, apart from all the little scorpions that were in the house, was the ""vinegar bug""--it looks just like a scorpion, but bigger and plumper, and when you squash it, it emits this horrendous vinegar odor. Another treat was the ""jumiles""--these little bugs that they say are nutricious to eat because they have iodine. Often they're eaten alive--if they escape while you're trying to put them in your mouth and they make a run for it on your cheeks, no problem, just reach out your hand and scoop em back in. Now I mention this by way of illustration of my wife's and my respective mentalities--needless to say, my wife did NOT try the jumiles. I did, however, and found the little critters quite tasty. Very distinctive flavor. What chills and thrills along these lines does the Philippines have to offer? Do you have to keep any antidote handy for dangerous bites? Also, is there much malaria, dengue, or other stuff to be concerned about, and is there any way to prepare or prevent such?

Like doctors, you can find the best architects in the world in the Philippines. Just be very, very, very careful. My architect told me that the standard width of a spiral staircase was 6 feet and stupid me believed him! You should have seen the commotion after all the beams and columns were poured for the surrounding area of the spiral staircase! This was one of the main focal points of my house! It worked but not because of my architect. Be very skeptical of your architect and try to research as many home design books and western standards books you can find. Many people use the architect JUST to take care of the building permits.

There are lots of loan options, but the terms are generally much tougher and with shorter timeframes than you are accustomed to n the US. The gauntlet runs from Indian nationals walking around Manila with bodyguards and picking up daily interest for small loans to larger companies, very much like our mortgage or savings and loan outfits, which use similar standards as lenders in the US. My wife's family have been involved in lending, both in pawn shop and private basis. There is regulation of business practices and auditing of books, but there are also lots of private arrangements which may involve attorneys drawing up the papers and professional appraisers evaluating worth of property.

What a great question!! Isn't answering that question really what this thread is all about? (Well, at least one of the valuable purposes this thread serves.......) I've spent about half my time the past two years in the Phils. I visited many, many different places and met scads of people. I was married to a Filipina from Quezon City for 22 years and had visited the Phils several times during that marriage. So.......that all being said, I do have some familiarity with the country and its culture. There were times I was convinced that I really wanted to live in Cebu full time (not necessarily the city of Cebu, but the greater island of Cebu). I almost bought property a couple of times, with a Filipina partner. I chickened out because of the unrelenting corruption by bureaucrats at all levels, because of the activities of the NPA, because of the erosion of the Peso, because of my lack of faith in the land title process in the Philippines, and so on. I tried running a little business in Cagayan de Oro with a wonderful Filipino partner. It failed. (I was successful running my own businesses in the States for years, but the Philippines truly is ""different."") Where I live (Port Townsend, Washington) is cold, wet, windy and generally miserable six months of the year. Yet, I concluded it was more bearable than 85 degree, humid heat, day after unrelenting day. I do love the Filipino people and admire there ability to get out of bed each day and face so much adversity. But after a while, watching them struggle so hard, with so little to show for it, became a real emotional drag for me. So, to make this long story at least a little shorter, I have concluded that I would not be happier living in the Philippines full time. But then, that is only MY opinion......

My wife and I are considering retirement in the Philippines. We have some time to get ready as we will not be doing this for approximately 20-22 yrs from now due to the time needed for our retirement age to kick in. My major concerns really revolve around cost of living and type of investments that I should consider presently to be ready for the big move. I would like to get some advice from anyone as to what would be the best plan to use to prepare for moving /retiring. The only steps that we have taken so far, is that we have begun to purchase land to build a home a few hours outside of Manila. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You came to the right place. Don and the others would love to give you insights. I must say you are one of the youngest visionary in this forum. I congratulate you! Mainly, because I thought exactly like you at your age - of retiring here 23 years ago...and am living your dream. As an ex-USAF service man, twenty five years ago, I planned my retirement and now am living my plan as most of the retirees here. No one can really answer your question about cost of living because no one here can predict what the COA will be 22 years from now. But, as to your query on how to prepare, type DRIP in your search engine. DRIP is an acronym for Dividend Re-Investment Plan. Am living proof that investing in DRIPs 23 years ago in the states is one way to fuel your dream of retiring here. My monthly dividends help support a frugal lifestyle without the monthly SS check which will start 5 years from now. You have gone one step ahead of me if you have already invested in real estate here in Pinas.

This brings to mind something I would like to say. I am going over to the Philippines about the first week of February, to start my life there. Personally, I want anything possible that may help me to adjust to living there, to be answered and available if at all possible. I, by far, am not saying I can't handle living in the Philippines. However, I'm quite sure I will be living and trying to get accustomed to a totally different lifestyle, a much different culture, and to a life without certain things I may take for granted, here in the US. Now, with that said, this is a list of nationals who live in the Philippines, expats who have gained the right knowledge and have moved to the Philippines, and others who are just jealous of us and want to live in the Philippines. LOL Just pickin' guys/gals. Seriously though, it is a list of very diversified people from all over the world. Anyway, I feel as though any question about something from one's home country (that may help them to adjust better *in* the Philippines, and is answerable by others whom are already there and have adjusted to life there), certainly *does* have to do with living in the Philippines. Does it not?

How can you possibly plan for investments and cost of living in another country 22 years from now? You can't even realistically do that in the US for other regions in the same country. It may not be a bad idea to purchase land for an eventual retirement home, but only to save yourself the added cost of disproportionately higher prices many years in the future. But I would recommend not going whole hog beyond what you would need to construct a house with a reasonable space around the house, as the risk of your changing your mind or losing the property (for a variety of reasons) in your remaining 22-year wait is very high. You can't plan on retiring and building a home in a given area, with any chance of success, unless you have physically scouted and researching the area within a year or so of your intended move there.

I may be out of line here on this board by requesting this so up front apologize first. With all of the things that I love about the Philippines I do dearly love some cooking there that is done. I adore pancit and lumpia. My wife is currently still in the RP awaiting my petition of her but was raised with household help so her cooking experiences are hmmm somewhat limited. Does anyone have a good pancit canton recipe or guisado? I did attempt to search the archives to no avail. Please email me offline so I don't clutter this message board.

Is a kid growing up in the late 40s - early 50s, i used to see a lot of bull frogs in and around our neighborhood in the fringes of Manila. During those times, our neighborhood still had the semblance of a countryside. Elders told us that they are not edible or eatable, lots of messy roadkill, and as such they were considered as nuisance. Also, we were told that they were introduced to the Philippine wildlife by the Japanese during the war to augment their food supply. How true these are, to this day, I'm not sure. There used to be a picture in the photo section Robert Warren's daughter toying with one. Whether it's the same specie that i used to know as ""Palakang Hapon"" or Japanese bull frog, i'm not sure either. But there is one cheap delicacy in the Philippines, that I never fail to order whenever I make balikbayan trips, either at a fast-food court or upscale restaurants specializing in native foods, is the lowly ""Kuhol"" or black round snail. Stewed in coconut milk and ginger, yummy... I could finish a bowlful... just make sure you serve it with a sturdy round toothpick to pluck the delicious meat from the shell, otherwise i'll bend a fork finger. How the kuhol compares to the French escargot, I also do not know as I have never tried an escargot. Does any one here know the comparison? As a kid, i never really cared for kuhol. We used to gather them at ""Kangkungans"" by the railroad track and barter for a glass of refreshing Halo-Halô with the proprietor of a neighborhood sari sari store. I guess tastes for exotic foods are acquired at one's adult life, not as a growing up kid when you prefer sweet stuff.

Actually, I have a thought here. I am interested in the mundane items of building things and living/conducting business in the Phils and _distinctly_ un-interested in what passes for American sport, especially pro football. But certainly it's very important for many. My thought is, what baout taking the tack that Perry, Don and some others interested in their Carabao Polo activities took? Start a se [arate Football in the Phils list. Yahoo lists are free, you cna set one up in 5 minutes, and when you think about it, if you are truly into the game, there is an awful lot of information that could be shared.. much more than would be approriate here. Especially for those who also follow college ball, the sheer amount of data involved with keeping up with players and games seems daunting, but if you truly love the gamne, what would be better than your own special place? If one of the fans who wants to debate what amount of football discussion on the main LinP list wanted to make the small effort of clicking at the 'Start a Group' link at the top of the page, perhaps everyone would be happy on both sides of the 'goal line'. Just a thought.

There are times the list seems to just abound with complaints about Filipino relatives trying to live of the 'rich foreigner'. I'm sure this happens often enough to be a problem, but my experience is as yours, I have yet to receive a single 'request for the blue' and have foolishly embarrassed myself and others a time or two by attempting to rush in with help, when none had been asked for. Mita and I have discussed at some length what people should do if there be a 'non-performing' member inn the family.. someone who won't/can't get a job. By far the ideal situation seems to be shown by your piggery efforts. Not only is there an opportunity for modest money to be made on both sides of the investment/labor team, but most importantly, even if the money barely eeks out to cover the expenses, a man, a woman, a whole family can be made whole. Surely starting a business in partnership with a relative is not for everyone, but it should strongly be considered as putting a family on it's feet with a future is worth far more thna any handout ever could be .... give a man a fish, he eats one day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

There is also available a yellow and green dye for cement. A good alternative that a lot of people use is red Vigan tiles from Ilocos with wood, pebble washout or black cement borders. My sister has her lanai in Vigan tiles with black pebble washout borders. She sealed the whole floor and made it virtually maintenance free. The tile is cheap, of good quality and readily available. The LinP website has a good book on Philippine homes which I bought a couple of years ago. You will find a lot of good ideas for a cool tropical home. The book is ""Tropical Living - Contemporary Dream Houses in the Philippines"" by Elizabeth Reyes. My mother has a small lanai on one side of the house, she enclosed it with grills and used ordinary bricks for flooring. We call it her ""jaula"" or cage cause it is totally enclosed in grills to deter thieves. A cherry blossom tree is right inside the lanai and has grown thru the grills. She has her orchids and bromeliads on the walls and the tree's trunk, hanging ferns and lots of potted plants. A very nice idea especially with the frosted glass and steel french doors that connect the lanai to the main living area. The doors are always open and makes the whole house cheerful and cooler. Of course she has screen sliding doors to keep out mosquitoes from the house. A few mosquito coils in the corners of the lanai makes it the perfect party or entertaining area especially in summer.

Are people really bothered by the few extra bytes? If so, is that by virtue of filling their hard disks faster? Or are they on some kind of system where they have to pay more money for larger emails? It happens that the fellow who installed my email client believes that the world would be a better place if everybody used strong encryption. So he set my email client to automatically sign the emails its sends, in case anybody wants to respond accordingly so as to use encryption in subsequent correspondence. I saw no reason not to go along with that policy, though I'm not necessarily married to it. I do use encryption every once in a while for trade secret purposes. I'll turn off the autosign feature if others confirm that the sig is a nuisance in some way. I guess the rationale might be that if everybody everywhere treated it is as a norm, then repressive governments' snoops would not have their suspicious eyebrows raised every time they intercepted a gobbledegook email? And if it is objected that such thinking cannot persuade after 9/11, the response would be that totalitarian governments like Stalin have killed and oppressed in far more massive proportions than any terrorist thus far. Stalin and his ilk have done it with lower tech means of monitoring the populace, viz. an elaborate and costly spy-on-neighbor system. Think what such could do with even easier means? Even governments which currently are relatively benign could be corrupted in due course by such power at their disposal. Further, today we have a situation where highly repressive governments in the world are _having_ to open themselves up to the outside world just to survive. This entails increasing communication (including emails) among individuals and firms inside and outside those countries. And that, in itself, would seem to hold out enormous potential for positive change over the long run, by creating a tapestry of connections, alliances, shared interests, etc. with _diverse_ people and groups and companies in the repressed country so as to mitigate against the concentration of power at the top. This positive potential, however, is compromised to the extent that governments can monitor communications easily. Strong encryption stands in the way of such a government's efforts. So, then, this line of argument suggests that we would be doing the people in these countries a great favor if we all _insisted_ on strong encryption, among ourselves and with everybody we receive email from, thus making it a worldwide norm or ""given"" for doing business. Individuals, firms and organizations in the Philippines might help in particular, one might argue, because they are in close geographical and/or business proximity to some of the largest and most powerful offending countries. Of course then the anti-privacy side might respond, what about all the horrific child abuse and other mischief that people are perpetrating using private communications? Then the pro-privacy side might respond, isn't it better to spend more money on targeted law enforcement efforts to infiltrate the terrorists, pedophiles, etc. than to give governments and others a carta blanche for snooping this increasingly prevalent and indispensable medium of human communication? The debate goes on...

Everyone seems to want to know about starting a business in the Philippines. I guess I'm right along with them. I think the main reason is because there are many small businesses you can buy into for 5-10 thousand dollars. You just can't do that in the U.S. Here in the states, people want 7-8 bucks an hour to work for you. They want insurance, benefits, and retirement. On top of all that, the huge chain stores, and restaurants, will drive you out of business. They have tremendous buying power. If you start a small restaurant or fast food business in the states, your main source of applicants, for the wage your willing to pay, are high school/college kids. I know from personal experience, that many times these kids are unreliable. Don't get me wrong, there are great workers here, but in the Pizza business I run, my employees are constantly calling in sick, or their car broke down, etc. Most are still living on mom and dads money, and missing a day of work won't hurt them, but it puts a lot of strain on the business. After reading about the culture of the Philippines, the workers there seem to be somewhat more reliable. Probably, because they need every penny for their family. I want to move to the Philippines permantly, but can't do so without some income of around 600 U.S. dollars a month. I've been brainstorming about what type of business to try there in Cebu. As I said in my previous post, I will be recieving $1500 dollars a month for the next 4 years, and I want to invest at least $800 a month on a business in the Philippines. It is my sincere hope that after 4 years, I will be able to generate at least $600 a month to live on for the rest of my life. Someone told me to try a sari-sari first. I was also wondering about a food stand on the street. I understand that many people there eat from street vendors. I was thinking about a BBQ type business. I love to BBQ. Do filippino's like to eat BBQ? I'm not trying to get rich. I just want to try to make a profit of say U.S. $20 a day. If I can do that 6 days a week, I'll make almost $500 a month. That's all I'm trying to do, is make enough to live on. Does anyone think this type of profit is attainable from a roadside business? Am I allowed to own a business in the Philippines? I know I'll have to pay taxes to the government there, but can I legally own a small business. I have no relation to any Filippino's. Please help with my questions if you can.

Below is the law as I read it. The part that interests me is the paragraph saying that you have to have a filippino partner to own a business there. Is this law old? What is the current law now? I don't want to own property. I'll be happy to lease. Can anyone point me in the right direction? SECTION 1. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 6977 is hereby amended to read as follows: ""SECTION 3. Small and Medium Enterprise as Beneficiaries. - 'Small and Medium Enterprise' shall be defined as any business activity or enterprise engaged in industry, agribusiness and/or services, whether single proprietorship, cooperative, partnership or corporation whose total assets, inclusive of those arising from loans butt exclusive of the land on which the particular business entity's office, plant and equipment are situated, must have value falling under the following categories: Micro less than P 1,500,001 Small P1,500,001 P15,000,000 Medium P15,000,001 P60,000,000 ""The above definitions shall be subject to review and adjustment by the said Council moto proprio or upon recommendation of sectoral organization(s) taking into account inflation and other economic indicators. The Council may use as variables the number of employees, equity capital and asset size."" SECTION 2. Section 4 of Republic Act No. 6977 is hereby amended to read as follows: ""Sec. 4. Eligibility for Government Assistance. - To qualify for assistance, counseling, incentives and promotion under this Act, businesses falling under the above definition must be: ""(a) duly registered with the appropriate agencies as presently provided by law: Provided, That in the case of micro enterprises as defined herein, registration with the office of the municipal or city treasurer shall be deemed sufficient compliance with this requirement; ""(b) one hundred percent (100%) owned and capitalized by Filipino citizens if single proprietorship or partnership. If the enterprise is a juridical entity, at least sixty percent (60%) of its capital or outstanding stocks must be owned by Filipino citizens.

To cut to the chase, you must have a Filipino partner to have a legal interest in a business in the RP. Lots of expats don't bother putting their name on any paper and conduct business, but they have no enforceable legal rights or can be reported and deported. Although there are similar requirements in Mexico for non-legal residents of Mexico to work or be involved in business activities there, it is much easier for foreign nationals to conduct business in Mexico informally than in the RP (IMHO). My first wife was a Mexican national and I had some experience in her home area (Chih State).

let's talk! You can do well on your money/budget. However, you need a fleet of roadside stalls. There is a limit to how much food you can dispense from a stall. Look up my post on food stalls in the archives for some ideas. You will need to register with the BIR for tax, the Mayor must give you a Mayor's permit, then there are health permits to be obtained, plus you might need police and Baranguay clearence on your employees and so on. On a tourist visa you can't do it legally, period. Without more income you can't get a retirement visa or a business visa, you need to put tens of thousands up as a bond or something. Marrying a Filipina to get a 13a is insufficient reason for marriage in my book. I would suggest you use someone like my company secretary to make you legal. He (or whoever you choose) can obtain permanent resident status for you, introduce you to potential business partners, perhaps working on a lease arrangement of their personality as he puts it. In other words you rent their status and pay them a fee for having them front your business on paper. In legal terms, they are a partner, but a silent one or non-executive. I am in the process of forming a partnership with my parents in law and my wife for the piggery. It will cost about US$400 to set up and be legal. There is no value in being outside the law anywhere, especially in a place like this where you are far from home (almost like getting a traffic ticket in Alabama, I believe) You do not want to spend a night in a local gaol (jail). I can introduce you to the people I know and work with here but Caveat Emptor. I trust them and am very happy with them, they are now friends as well as colleagues but you need to make your own assessment. You do not know me and just because I am a foreigner doesn't mean I am not trying to scam you, either. There are plenty of criminal foreigners here, believe me. (why is it when we are overseas we tend to trust our countrymen more than the locals at first meeting? Is it a subliminal racism thing? This is an observation and broad statement, don't take me literally, I don't mean anyone in particular, of course). There are many opportunities here, but apply the universal rule; you only get back what you put out. There are no free lunches. Again, I am happy to answer any specific questions although for the next few days I am on Malapascua and very busy with my own business efforts, so replies might be delayed. Keep your dream alive, Carl and always ask, would I do that back home? Cheers, Perry Everyone seems to want to know about starting a business in the Philippines. I guess I'm right along with them. I think the main reason is because there are many small businesses you can buy into for 5-10 thousand dollars. You just can't do that in the U.S. Here in the states, people want 7-8 bucks an hour to work for you. They want insurance, benefits, and retirement. On top of all that, the huge chain stores, and restaurants, will drive you out of business. They have tremendous buying power. If you start a small restaurant or fast food business in the states, your main source of applicants, for the wage your willing to pay, are high school/college kids. I know from personal experience, that many times these kids are unreliable. Don't get me wrong, there are great workers here, but in the Pizza business I run, my employees are constantly calling in sick, or their car broke down, etc. Most are still living on mom and dads money, and missing a day of work won't hurt them, but it puts a lot of strain on the business. After reading about the culture of the Philippines, the workers there seem to be somewhat more reliable. Probably, because they need every penny for their family. I want to move to the Philippines permantly, but can't do so without some income of around 600 U.S. dollars a month. I've been brainstorming about what type of business to try there in Cebu. As I said in my previous post, I will be recieving $1500 dollars a month for the next 4 years, and I want to invest at least $800 a month on a business in the Philippines. It is my sincere hope that after 4 years, I will be able to generate at least $600 a month to live on for the rest of my life. Someone told me to try a sari-sari first. I was also wondering about a food stand on the street. I understand that many people there eat from street vendors. I was thinking about a BBQ type business. I love to BBQ. Do filippino's like to eat BBQ? I'm not trying to get rich. I just want to try to make a profit of say U.S. $20 a day. If I can do that 6 days a week, I'll make almost $500 a month. That's all I'm trying to do, is make enough to live on. Does anyone think this type of profit is attainable from a roadside business? Am I allowed to own a business in the Philippines? I know I'll have to pay taxes to the government there, but can I legally own a small business. I have no relation to any Filippino's. Please help with my questions if you can.

I can't say about the business part of your concern, since I am ignorant of profit margins, overhead, etc. of any given business there. However, I have been doing some serious research for a good while now, on the actual cost of living in the Philippines. More specifically the Visayas, since that is where I prefer to live, I think. In this time, I have learned that you can live pretty well, especially if you have simple desires and needs, on less than $600 USD. I intend on doing that myself. I am going over there, near the end of January or first of February to live, myself. Now, one way to help save some money is, hook up with another member who is going there to live as well. Then, consider rooming with them. It may surprise you, as to how much money you may be able to save yourself, while living there.

Marrying a Filipina to get a 13a is insufficient reason for marriage in my book. I would suggest you use someone like my company secretary to make you legal. He (or whoever you choose) can obtain permanent resident status for you, introduce you to potential business partners, perhaps working on a lease arrangement of their personality as he puts it. In other words you rent their status and pay them a fee for having them front your business on paper. In legal terms, they are a partner, but a silent one or non-executive. This ""fronting your business is illegal"" violating the ""Anti Dummy Law,"" I just mentioned, in my circumventing the law post, can expose you to all kinds or risks, even jail. In my opinion this is not good advice, or is promoting commercial marriages. Such post to not belong on the list. As moderator I read thought I read this post, and let it through. But, because the text does not wrap and was strung out, I missed this advice. I made a mistake, by letting it through. I will be deleted from the files. I ask the other moderators and members to forgive me. I believe you have to be over here a long time and make a few locals powerful mad, as everyone does eventually, and get taken to the cleaners before you understand these ''corner cutting,"" things that may work for Filipinos, they don't work for foreigners very often. I would suggest that members listen to people with a track record here, someone who has been here for at least five years and has been successful, and even then with caution, on business formation. Don't believe everything the lawyers tell you. They can just be setting you up to take you down, and you never will have an inkling as to their true intentions. Unfortunately we have few who have been in business here successfully for that long. But we do have some. But just because they may not post and you may not get an answer is not reason to take advice that is patently against the law.

I think you are confusing bartering with bargaining, bartering is when you exchange one commodity (except money) for another commodity, ie. you exchange one pig for 2 goats. Bargaining is when you are offered a price and try to get at a lower price. Regarding bargaining it is very common here as in many other asian Countries. In street markets, except for say food and few other small items it is a must. In shops it also acceptable and recently I have succesfully obtained discounts below ticket cash price (as it shows credit card price as well) in SM and Landmark when offering cash when buying larger items. Car, property, houses is a must. Just be polite when doing the bargaining and it is bad manners once agreed on the price to pull out.

According to the Motorola site it is GSM 900 Class 4 /GSM 1800 Class 1 Dualband. Therefore it would work in the Philippines as long as the phone does not have a SIM lock. Is my information wrong?

The Motorola C332 is for use on GSM 850/1900 MHz networks only. The Philippines uses 900/1800mhz so I doubt if your phone will work here or in Europe. You can read the details at Motorola's website.

However, I am personally shipping other items by Balikbayan box (28""x16""x18""), for $100. This way, they will be delivered door-to-door. When I arrive in the Philippines, I just get them from the place I shipped them to originially. The only drawbacks are, you have to have an address to ship to in the destination city. And, it goes by container ship. So, you will have to wait for it for up to 2 months for your boxes. I am shipping things I know I won't need there right away. A good way to go though, in my book. For me this is much better. No weight restrictions. No handling for me. Any future shipments of 'supplies' I want, can then be shipped this way as well. That is, directly to my home in the Philippines.

First, I have only had one reply so far, from anyone needing me to bring something over for them. I truly meant I would do what I can for any of you, who are there now. I feel as though I will have room for a few smaller items anyway. Please feel free to ask. I will let you know if I can't do it. However, I will put my best foot forward for you.

think $600USD per month would leave a couple pretty 'thin' especially in a city setting ... but _can_ you live on it? Certainly .. millions of Filipinos raise whole familes on much less. The real question is _will_ you live on it? Only the person asking the question can truly answer that, because everyone (rightfully) has their own prefernces, their own tolerance for comfort/discomfort and their own bargaining skills for making wise purchase. Come here and try things out for a while, and then ask yourself...it's the best way.

I use the cafe just over old mactan bridge its 10 P the connection sometimes works sometimes not and sometimes the cafe is a bit noisy bec there is chickens in the room next door or running around inside the cafe!. It can also only fit 4 people inside at one time or 20 filipino children! playing Quake or the likes. hahaha

Also, everyone's requirements are different, and a lot depends on what part of the RP one would settle in. There are some calculations you can make to determine how much of an investment, at a fixed rate of return, you would need to continue getting a set amount of money each month without touching the principal. However, such calculations do not take into account expiration of interest rates on time deposits, with lower rates only available at future times, and the market going belly up for even conservative mutual fund investments.

Did you decide on the conservative estimate of 8hours? The reason I ask is that most cafes are operational for longer than 8 hours. Some open as early as 8am and close as late as 10 or 11 pm... They offer other services too such as desktop publishing, fax services, printing, photocopying, music downloads among others. The prices I've seen in NCR for printing alone is P8 per page (Black ink) P10-15 (colored, varies if with photos). Then of course there are refreshments that they can sell to their patrons. There is one establishment in Quezon City that isn't just an internet cafe... its a laundromat too. You can do your laundry and surf in between washloads.

I've been watching the rise and fall of internet cafes in the RP over the last 5 years. Their history seems to parallel video stores in the US -- touted as turnkey investments for folks with investment money but little specialized experience. Eventually, the small video stores disappeared because they couldn't compete with the big stores, cheaper merchandise or access to new movies. Matter of fact, some people in the RP who did make lots of money were franchisers of internet cafes who would set everything up, collect their money, then walk away. Diversification is the key. Cafes near schools rely on students using pc's for schoolwork or for games. Office services and refreshments also make a difference. But the average small-scale internet cafe using dialup internet access and modem-sharing software hasn't a chance unless it's situated in the boonies somewhere, but then it won't make enough money from the locals from connectivity alone to be worth the effort

Internet cafes may have been good idea a few years ago but not anymore. The more successful ones are those doing business near major universities in Metro Manila. They have a steady clientele of students. Other services like photocopying, fax, printing, snacks and coffee perhaps can all add up to boost the business and make it profitable at the least. I suggest some of you guys think of manufacturing for export - Furniture, clothing, even Christmas decorations. You have your foreign connections and know the markets abroad. What the Philippines needs most is your experience from your own country. Filipinos are great with design and are copied by other manufacturers in other countries. Couple that with cheap labor, you should be able to make a go of a small manufacturing enterprise. Here's a link that may help you:

Don't you think all these people would much rather stay in their own country if business was on a level playing field, every immigrant I know coming here, is coming to make the american buck. It's a hell of a lot easier here than anywhere in the world by a mile, what other reason would people wan't to come here for ?? I think knowing the culture is just one facet of being in business, when you start a business in the Phils you are a minority and everyone is against you they don't have minority set-asides like we do here , if you are a minority here they throw business your way, anywhere else in the world it's a disadvantage. I am in the construction business for 40 plus years and roughly 15% of our work has to be given to minority and women business enterprises. You come here as minority and you get every advantage known to man, we deal with the federal and state goverments daily I have personnaly had it with this crap, my wife who is filipino will get work handed to her as soon as she registers as a minority business, no bids no nothing they will just set aside work for her. Heck I told my wife I'll loan her all she wants if she'll go into business. My family came here from Ireland and none of them went back disappointed .