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Family Feud

September 2, 2010 By Feyma 19 Comments
Fists up, it's fight time!

Last week I was so excited to get a phone call from my agent Mae. She knows, of course, that we are on the lookout now for a new place to live. She told me on the phone that she had a house for me to look at and its not that far from my house right now. That really makes me happy since we like to live in this part of town. Near to everything. Location right now is really a plus for us. She knows that we want to be in a quiet neighborhood and not in a traffic area. She told me that the house that she wants me to see has the specifications that I was telling her about. So we set up the time to meet up and go from there to see the house. Well, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feyma Tagged With: Daily Life, Davao, Family, Feyma Martin, Living in The Philippines, Moving, Relationships

The timing just seems right

July 16, 2010 By MindanaoBob 109 Comments
Looking for the perfect house in Davao!

On Monday, I wrote an article entitled Round Two, in which I told about our seemingly endless battle with our idiotic neighbors.  It seems that for almost the entirety of 2010, we have had continual problems with one of our neighbors, and I promised in the article that I would be writing a follow up.  Feyma and I have come up with what we think is a good solution to the problem. We're moving. The lease on our current property is set to expire around the end of October 2010.  We like to have a longer term lease, and our lease on this house has been for 5 years, and we are nearing the end of our 5th year of residence here.  The house we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Bob Martin, Daily Life, Davao, Financial, Living in The Philippines, Moving

Getting real about jobs in the Philippines

June 16, 2010 By MindanaoBob 78 Comments
This is the scene at a Philippine job fair... can you compete with this?

One of the most frequent e-mails I get from people is one that asks me how they can get a job in the Philippines.  People want to move here, but they don't have any money, and they write to me and ask me how hard it would be to find a job here in the Philippines. Have these people not been to the Philippines before?  I mean, it would not take long of seeing beggars in the street to realize that there are not many jobs available.  It would not take long of vacationing here to realize that if you do find a job, it won't pay very much.  I mean, I have even gotten e-mails from people who are plumbers in the States and are planning to make a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Bob Martin, Business, Daily Life, Expats, Financial, Living in The Philippines, Moving

Furnishing a home

June 8, 2010 By JohnM 54 Comments
sofa

Since LiP is focused on the interest of expats in the Philippines and those who want to move here, there are many inquiries as to the cost of moving. Your biggest expense in moving probably won't be rent, or the tickets to get here. Once you arrive, you need to furnish your flat or ship furniture here to use. Jeff Foxworthy once talked about his flat during his college days as part of his stand up act. Though funny, it had a grain of truth to it. I, like most people, when younger, would see one of those big cable spools near a dumpster, and would think, "coffee table!"  There are millions of uses for milk crates. Sleeping on a cheap mattress … [Read more...]

Filed Under: John Miele Tagged With: Expats, John Miele, Living in The Philippines, Moving

100

May 25, 2010 By JohnM 40 Comments
100tn

Well, that doesn't say much, doesn't it? This article marks my 100th posting on LiP. I've really enjoyed writing these articles over the last two years, and hope to continue to do so, as long as Bob will have me. Yes, sometimes I'm a bit, let's say, opinionated, and sometimes a bit of a smartass, but I've tried to write in a fair and balanced manner, even if I've raised a few neck hairs on some folks along the way... Nothing personal: There will always be differences of opinion. So, in honor of my 100th posting, please see my checklist below, entitled: 100 Things to Do BEFORE you Move to the Philippines... 100. Decide, really decide, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: John Miele Tagged With: Expats, John Miele, Living in The Philippines, Moving

Bon Voyage, Part 2

April 28, 2010 By MindanaoBob 101 Comments
Toby Gorden

Remember, last week I wrote an article entitled "Bon Voyage" and I told you about the fact that a lot of expats are leaving the Philippines right now, most of them are headed back home?  Well, at the end of last week, I found out about another expat friend of mine who recently left the Philippines too.  Unfortunately, though, he left the Philippines in a completely different way than you might expect. I was not close with this fellow, but his name was Toby Gorden.  Toby was from Australia, and I met him a few years ago for the first time.  I was introduced to Toby by another Australian friend that I have known for a long, long time, Leon.  … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Adjustment, Bob Martin, Daily Life, Expats, Filipino Culture, Health, Language, Living in The Philippines, Moving

Projects I am working on!

April 22, 2010 By Feyma 6 Comments
The bar area now includes a storage area

Its over a month now that I have been working to helping a friend renovating his new place. He wanted to move, and asked me to find the perfect place for him.  I think I did too! He really loves the place because its near the water. The house is really big. It has the number of bedrooms he wanted. The master bedroom will be something after we are done renovating. I didn't really realize it will take this long to renovate. My friend is really picky when it comes to the work. He really wants it nicely done. So I hired some people that I can fully trust with the work. Its Jun, my brother-in-law, and Jun Jun. They do very good work. They've been … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feyma Tagged With: Business, Davao, Expats, Feyma Martin, Living in The Philippines, Moving

Paying For That Dream House

April 15, 2010 By PaulK 48 Comments
20-500

HAPPY APRIL 15th! Before I start, I want to wish my fellow CPAs, accountants, tax preparers, and other financial service people a “Happy Tax Day (April 15)”! Work was long and arduous this year (with all of the new and strange tax provisions), but you’ve survived.  Have a Happy 4/15! Now, here's this week's article. . . . Dream Houses Over the past few weeks, Live in the Philippines Web Magazine showcased a couple of “dream houses” in The Philippines.  The articles and their accompanying pictures stirred up some thought and generated a few comments and questions.  Several readers expressed a desire to own their own place … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Paul Tagged With: Adjustment, Business, Daily Life, Expats, Filipino Culture, Financial, Living in The Philippines, Moving, Paul Keating

Can you do that? Is it legal?

March 26, 2010 By MindanaoBob 53 Comments
eagle

A lot of European countries, particularly the United Kingdom have a long tradition of their Citizens becoming expats.  What is an expat?  Well, it is somebody like me, a person who goes and lives in a country other than that of which they are a citizen of.  Americans, like me, don't do this with nearly the frequency that our British cousins do.  Because of this, there is a lot of misunderstanding among Americans about how to do it, whether it is legal and such.  I get questions about this from Americans very often. One of the most misunderstood things in this realm is whether or not you will lose your American Citizenship if you go live … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Bob Martin, Daily Life, Expats, Living in The Philippines, Moving

What do you think this is worth?

March 5, 2010 By MindanaoBob 63 Comments
Club House

In my ten years in the Philippines, I have lived in five different houses.  I've mostly lived in rather large houses, since I have a large family.  We did live in one house that was quite small, but it was only for about 6 months or less, because we could not find a larger house that we liked.  As soon as we found a more suitable place we moved. In addition to various house sizes, I have also lived in different types of neighborhoods.  I have lived mostly in very "Filipino Neighborhoods."  I mean places where you know who your neighbors are, places where anybody is welcome.  Places that are, frankly, mixed use, as the article I wrote … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bob Tagged With: Bob Martin, Daily Life, Expats, Filipino Culture, Houses, Housing, Living in The Philippines, Moving
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