Comments on: How Many Americans are Living in the Philippines

By: Dave S

Dave S — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:06:00 +0000

Hello! I really enjoy reading this blog, as I am about to move to the Philippines in the next year or so. I am approaching my retirement in the US Army later this year, and will be moving there with my Filipina wife, whose family lives on the south end of Makati, near the American cemetery. We have been preparing for this move now for the last couple of years, and quite frankly I’m very nervous about it!! However I promised my wife a few years back that we would move back after I retired, and I’ll admit it is an exciting place to visit… just wondering what it will be like living there long term.

By: jc

jc — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:06:49 +0000

It is amazing to me the comments about The US economy but at the same time immigrants keep coming in drogues.People retiring in Philippines face harship too ,like medical care and adaptation to a new way of life.If you are well off than you are ok anywhere in the world not just there.I have been there and i see a lot of americans struggling and nobody to watch their backs. If you are married expect to support an extended family of numerous siblings with ever ending demands.
So weigh the situation with pros and cons before taking the plunge .

By: Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:45:14 +0000

Filipinos do not call all foreigners Kano. They do not call a Black man- Kano. They do not call an Indian or an Arab Kano.Kano is reserved for light Caucasian people, even if they are citizens of the Philippines.

White man- Kano
Black man- Neg-roh
Indian man- Bumbay
Chinese man- Insek
Korean man- Koreano
Japanese man- Hapon
The English word “foreigner” is reserved for white people ONLY, the Filipino word Dayuhan which means foreigner is reserved for all foreigners- non citizens of the Philippines.

By: Lonnie

Lonnie — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:04:59 +0000

I am also intersted in an extended stay in the Philippines. And also interested in knowing how many United States born citizens live in the Philippines.

By: dmihalia

dmihalia — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:39:43 +0000

Hi Quin

Thanks for sharing your company and the opportunity with me but many of my family are involved with such things as I was at a younger age. I’m pretty much set in what I do and have planned to do in the future. Sorry if any of my posts gave the impression that I was looking for an opportunity.

By: Quin

Quin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:28:56 +0000

Greetings Mr. Mihaliak,
I really enjoyed learning about this information that you have shared. I also thank you for helping people in this matter. I noticed in your post that you were looking for ways to earn a living in the Philippine. Our company is expanded at a tremendous rate and we just opened in the Philippines this year! Our growth is simply because of two things: the product and the company. I am sure you have heard of the Discovery Channel. The Discovery Channel did a documentary on Moringa a botanical that when taking in small quantities sustains life.
Here is the documentary: http://www.healthwealthmiracles.myzija.com/zijatv_moringa.html

We are the first company to market Moringa in its’ purest form. 100% Organic, Kosher Certified, Halal, Hashidic, no perservatives, no chemicals, no stablizers over 90 naturally ocurring nutrients in this botanical in comparison to the next highest botanical has 27 naturally ocurring nutrients. So the product is amazing just google Moringa. And people order this product every month because it works! We have thousands upon thousands of testimonies! Helping with blood sugar levels, pain from inflammation, breathing ailments, blood pressure issues. Don’t have health issues? One can use it as a supplement. Preventative is always good. There is also a weight management system for those who want to lose weight and keep it off. The system eliminate the up and down weight problems. Second the company Zija International is a company of integrity! Debt free, has private owned Moringa farms and harvest Moringa from start to finish, excellent compensation plan. Since we are new to the Philippines there is a major opportunity to share a dynamic product and opportunity with people here. Zija is just hitting momentum the company has just hit the 50 million dollar mark and was at 25 million just last year. The company just announced it’s first profit sharing pool. There will be a few more so there is time for you and others in the Philippines to get aboard now! This is a beautiful opportunity to bring health, wellness and financial growth to many people. You have my email let me know if you would like more information if not for you please think of someone who maybe able to benefit from this opportunity. What I dont want to happen is for you to read this message today and 1 year from now say, I could have been one of the main leaders in the Philippines but I passed over the opportunity from Quin. So take a careful look. If training is followed you and your family will have much success!

By: dmihalia

dmihalia — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:43:55 +0000

Great comment that could be turned into a post. As far as the food goes I like fresh fruit and vegetables so I eat mostly the local stuff whether I’m in the province or in Laguna. As far living outside I have been assured that my new home is about 2 blocks from what is being planned as the new Makati with a Starbucks, hospital, and Lasalle school among other things being built but I’m good with that because I like the city life and visit Manila as often as I can. Traffic, I can deal with and actually look forward to driving in Laguna and around Manila (crazy huh).

I’ve bought a place in one of the neighborhoods with empty lots and agree that there is some room for improvement but it seems the families who owned the empty lots have been taking good care of them. Now if the millions of cats can be controlled I’ll be ok.

By: Stranger in Paradise

Stranger in Paradise — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 09:42:15 +0000

Well we are neighbors here in the Philippines, I’m a little north of Binan, but still in Laguna. The new ShopWise in Pacita, San Pedro, has many American imported products.
Just to give a cost of living on American products. One item I find interesting to look for is cheese. Yep, the quality of cheese is interesting as a local product so I shop for Land O’ Lakes and can usually find the 8 oz size for 200 pesos (~$4.50). Don’t underestimate the duties placed on US goods is the point. But, let’s consider and egg is an egg and a tomato is more or less a tomato. But an avocado isn’t an avocado here. The local variety is sweet so it’s actually used in ice cream. Point being local varieties of goods like produce and fruit aren’t going to taste the same.
Meat, well it’s about the same 200 pesos (~$4.50) for 2 lbs of ground round beef for hamburgers that’s the quality you are used to in the states. As far as steaks and other cuts of beef you won’t find the consistency of quality. One time you buy it may be fine and another time you buy it maybe less than what you hoped for. This goes for the Monterey Meat shops and other butcher shop type operations existing in the supermarkets. If you want certain cuts like porterhouse they know what you want and will be more than happy to make a custom order. Heads up, it’s likely frozen when you get it. Probably the biggest disappointment will be hams, especially during the holidays. They look like cheese balls at about the 1 Kilo or 2lbs size. So, ask the butcher for a custom cut and then cure it yourself, if you want it that way. Surprisingly Turkeys are making some in roads here. My neighbor, a Filipina married to a Brit, has opted for raising turkeys instead of chickens. Fortunately I don’t have many neighbors like her. Oh yeah, Filipinos can be very inconsiderate when it comes to noise, odors and trash and that’s something you will have to get used to. If there are restrictions, no one will enforce it.
Much of the urban areas look like taking a train ride through Pittsburgh or some other city with many business building carcasses sitting collecting dirt on their walls. There is graffiti but not as much as the states. This happens for many reasons but a business’s longevity comes to mind. So, just as you wouldn’t want to live in the urban areas in the states for the same reasons you don’t want to do that here either. I’d recommend something outside the concrete jungle unless you are planning to work, then your choice is a commute like LA, DC, or maybe as bad as NYC. I worked in Makati and the commute to Laguna can be 3 hours on a Friday night, even using the Skyway Tollway (~$2 one way) here. So, consider the “condo in the city” approach seriously if you plan to work here in Manila or Makati. But, if you are used to traffic, I’m from LA, the commute is endurable.

Wow, real estate. OK, it’s more speculative than you are used to. The major reason is that people may not build on their properties for many years while they pay off the lot. What the neighborhoods become in the meantime is the problem. Many of the Homeowners associations don’t have any power and Filipinos just do whatever they want due to budgets being tight and usually it’s function more than form. Oh, and usually only half the homeowners will pay dues to cover guards, trash collection and street lights. Filipinos will gossip about a neighbor but confronting them about an eyesore or not paying their share isn’t likely to happen. My approach was to go into a neighborhood that was already established for more than 10 years and what it is…is what it is…
Driving, well you know when you leave an event like a football game or a basketball game, you know how people drive in the “free for all” mentality. That’s the way it is here. So drivers see a line of cars and just cut up in front. Yep, then others follow until that second left turn lane is getting long and then a third and fourth left turn lane is created. Eventually the 4 lane street is blocked with left turn lanes…gridlock… Yep, it’s that crazy. Good news is as long as you drivers license is valid you can convert it to a Philippine drivers license for about a buck. Just get good insurance and don’t believe any driver in the event of an accident. Just get there details, block the road with the cars still as they were when you bumped or whatever. If you pull over to the side of the road as a courtesy, then the other driver at fault will likely see the opportunity to lie through his teeth. So take pictures and just sit tight until the officer arrives. Please also understand that the officer may take a bribe to write his report a certain way… so have your pictures to refute that situation.

Hope this helps and it’s been fun to lay it out without the sugar coating.

By: dmihalia

dmihalia — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:17:06 +0000

Coach, first of all thanks for reading and contributing to my blog. As far as numbers I will agree that it there has been a steady move for many Americans to the Philippines over the years and the numbers may be hard to count. Buying property and homes is not as easy as it seems and I kind of like the barriers still in place blocking an all out buying of the Philippines by foreigners. In my case, it could have been a different county where I choose to move depending on circumstances none of which were financial. I just fell in love with the country and don’t want it to become Americanized as my wife feels it is.

As far as your comment “the Titantic is about to sink sometime very soon”, I have faith that the American people will recover and not let this happen but maybe I’m just being hopeful. Either way I will never abandon my home country entirely, it’s just that I prefer living in another place. Kind of like the saying in West Virginia where I’m from “once a Mountaineer always a Mountaineer” I will always be an American. It’s just that I will be an American living in another country.

By: Head Coach

Head Coach — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 13:42:40 +0000

To add to my earlier post, 2 million total US citizens living here is really not that big of a number especially since it probably started accumulating since the 70’s. 2,000,000 is only about 2% of the entire population and to answer the original question of how many natural born citizens are living here, 250,000 would be something like 1 in 500 people. Seeing as how the USA has an illegal immigrant population of up to 30 million people while there are probably 10 million naturalized Americans of Filipino birth in the States now who plan to come back (or already have come back), the math gets even easier to reconcile.

As I said, if Americans have the means to bail on the States, they have been taking it, even if secretly over the past 10 years. Look at Eastwood City and similar condos. Americans own something like 20-30% of all of those thousands of units. I was in Leyte and Cebu recently and everywhere I turned I saw Americans building houses or at the malls. Americans are stealthfully buying up everything tangible since they can invest in that manner without having to declare it to the IRS. Property is probably the only thing you don’t have to declare to the IRS…at least not yet. But by then more Americans will start forming property holding corporations.

As I said, the US has a huge problem on its hands. If you look at the current legislation they are proposing, people will have their assets withheld at the rate of at least 30% even if their taxes are paid in full. Other countries have already done these kinds of capital controls under the guise of “fighting” Al CIA-da. They couldn’t care less about stopping or catching terrorists. This is all to crack down on Americans who realize that the Titanic is about to sink sometime very soon.
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