Live in the Philippines

Live in the Philippines helps expats with visas, moving and other services regarding the Philippines.

Another day in paradise

Adjustment, Expats / by / 72 Comments

One of the words you hear associated with the Philippines is “paradise.”  Mostly you hear that word from people who “want” to move here.  Want to retire here.  Have a long distance love affair with the country.  You rarely hear that word from people who have lived here, though.

Is the Philippines a paradise?  Personally, I think not.  I have long said that there is no paradise on this earth.  Every place has problems.  Oh, don’t take my words the wrong way, I love living in the Philippines.  If I didn’t love living here, I’d move.  Heck, I bet Paul Thompson would even give me a lift to the airport! 😉

Let me tell you about how my day went on Monday this week, and you decide if it is paradise or not.

Just like Paul mentioned in his article on Monday, my ACR I-Card is about to expire.  I still have about 2 1/2 months before the expiration, so it’s no rush.  But, on Monday I decided to go down to the Immigration office here in Davao and get it taken care of.  So, first thing, I gathered up my passport and all of the receipts from my annual check-ins at the BI.  I gave all of these to my nephew and asked him to take the documents and get two photocopies of everything.  One thing is for sure, if you are doing any kind of government business in the Philippines, you will need photocopies of any document involved.

Paradise? I think not.
Paradise? I think not.

After my nephew, Deo, got home from getting the photocopies, I put everything in a big envelope and headed off to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) office.  I rode the jeepney.  Traffic was extremely heavy, and it took me about an hour just to get into the City Proper.  When I got to Roxas Blvd, I had to switch to a different Jeepney, which I did.  Another 15 minutes ride and I was at the BI office.  Here in Davao, there is a mall just across the street from the BI.  I got thinking and realized that I would also be needing some ID photos for my new I-Card, so I better go to the mall and get some photos taken, which I did.  It took an hour to do that, 45 minutes of the hour was trying to get somebody to help me, even listen to my questions.  Typical service.  After finishing up with my ID photos, I walked across the street to the BI office.  The guard at the door asked to see my passport, which I gladly showed her, then she asked what my business was at the office.

“I need to renew my I-Card,” I told her.

“Oh sir, the lady who handles I-Card renewals is on leave” she replied to me.

“Oh, OK, but when will she be back to work?”

The guard replied, “We don’t know.”

I asked her how would I know when I should come back again then, and she told me that I could go inside and talk to the person in charge, and maybe he could help me.

So, I went in and asked the person in charge of the office, he also said that they don’t know when she would be back again.  Another person inside the office told me that I should “come back tomorrow.”  I didn’t do that, because 2 out of 3 people said that nobody knows when she will be back, so it is doubtful that she will be there tomorrow.  All the while, I was wondering why there is only one person who handles I-Card renewals.  But, to be honest, this is how stuff works in the Philippines, so I was not angry, upset or frustrated, I just accepted it, and said I’d come back another time.

Was this inconvenient?  It sure was.  Was it normal?  Indeed it was.  So, why get angry.

But, is this the way things are in “paradise?”  No, I don’t think so.

For anybody who says that the Philippines is Paradise, I can only guess that they have never lived here.  But, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a nice place to live.  Paradise it is not, a nice place to live it is.

Don’t believe me?  After you’ve lived here a year, drop me an e-mail and tell me what you think then.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bob;
    So, it’s not just me then!
    The ATM machine is empty, the girl with the key is on vacation. Did it not dawn on the boss that the contents of the machine could also be on vacation?
    If you can’t let it slide off, like water off a ducks back, you are doomed to high blood pressure or worst. I remember all the good days, which out number the bad days 99 to 1. Good enough odds for me.

    • Yes, Paul, we all face the same Philippines every day. The difference in you, I and others is how we choose to face it, and whether we let it slide off our back, using your phrase. I enjoy living here. I know you do too! 😉

  2. You are absolutely right Bob! Paradise does not exist. Anyplace on this Earth you will experience good & bad days. It’s how someone handles those bad days that makes their own paradise exist. I feel all so wise today! Slap me!
    Keep smiling & “Don’t sweat the small stuff”.

  3. After living here for 5 years now, I have finally figured it out, the Pines is like a completed jigsaw puzzle with the pieces put in the wrong place. I guess that’s why I enjoy it here so much.
    Frustrating days, there have been some, like when the local water supplier was cleaning out the tanks of the city, we were advised on the day that there will be no water for 3 days. That’s cool, I was prepared for that, I had built a reserve tank to hold 4,000 litres of water. I advised our family of ten and calculated how much water each of us would use, all agreed. That morning after doing Mall duty with the wife, hot and sticky, I decided to take a shower….turn on the tap and to my surprise, No Water? I looked into the tank….bone dry??? Cut a long story short my bro in law decided to empty our whole water supply of 4,500 litres because he thought it was a great idea to clean out our tank because the city was doing the same thing. To add insult to injury it was on a day when we had a 6 hour brown out. I of course ended up staying in a hotel for the next few days but life is like that here. You never know what surprises are around the corner…..ah well.

      • Hi Sir Bob, all is well. I still read all your articles and have done so since 2007, I am sure I have read everyone of them. Still my favorite mag on the net, just don’t post much, as I prefer to read what the newbies have to say.
        I see all is well with you and your kids are certainly growing up now, best wishes to all.

  4. Paradise? Purty durn close if you enjoy your cigarettes like me. Back in Nevada the price for a carton is $29.00. Here in Legazpi it’s less than $4.00. Unfortunately, Legazpi has an anti-smoker law prohibiting lighting up even outside on a sidewalk or park. There are some restaurants here who still have smoking sections. Nevada: Take it outside. So yeah, no place is perfect. Here is a lot closer, though. But I’m sure relishing this retirement month. (I’m 1/12th retired at the moment).

  5. Remember Bob, one of the definitions of paradise is ‘an intermediate place or state where the souls of the righteous await resurrection and the final judgment.’ With that in mind, it could very well be purgatory for some!

    Boss…you should live closer to the beach!

    • Hi Randy – Well.. purgatory.. I can’t say it is or it’s not. It’s a nice place to live. It has downsides too. Many people who have a dream of living here think it’s a paradise… I just can’t agree with that. 😉

    • Hahaha Randy funny you should say that, we live right on the beach. Before Sendong ( tropical storm ) washi, the waterfront was 25 meters away, now the waterfront is right up to fence as the beach sand has been washed away. No worries about lack of water now.

  7. I’ll be away from the laptop for awhile. Need to go sit outside in this Garden of Eden and run Randy’s post through my pea-brain a couple of times.

    • Sorry Mike, didn’t mean to get so philosophical! I guess what that definition really means is that if your are satisfied with where you are at while you are waiting for the inevitable, then that is your paradise. Me, I just need to see the ocean, a palm tree, and flip flops on my feet, 365 days a year. And cheap drinks can make it all worthwhile.

      And Bob, can you imagine how more intolerant of paradise you would be without your significant other? It’s all relevant I suppose.

      • Hi Randy – I love my wife dearly, no doubt on that. I don’t know if I would credit her, though, for playing the biggest part in helping me in gaining more tolerance. The person that I would give the most credit to was my language teacher, Bebe Metillo. Of course, Feyma played a part too, but to be honest, she would be the first to say that Bebe even helped her in gaining tolerance and patience here as well.

  8. I think ” paradise ” is more a state of mind than anything else. At times, something of the imagination. I come there to visit, all of a sudden it is time to come home. In addition to the overstuffed luggage, I bring home in my mind so many fond memories of my visits and I think for me, that is where the paradise part of The Philippines really is.

  9. A very thought-provoking post, Bob. Like you, I accept these little frustrations as “normal” in Phil’s, and do not let them affect my blood pressure. In fact, I have something to report that others may have experienced. In the US, my blood pressure runs about 120-130/70-80. After four weeks in Phil’s, my blood pressure as measure by our niece who is a registered nurse was 100/70. After eight weeks in Phil’s, my BP was down to 80/60. I went back to the US (where I am now) before it went to 0/0. my BP is now 130/80 once again. I have not decided whether or not living in Phil’s is good for BP, since I don’t know how low BP can go and still be safe.

  11. If I could get all the prime beef and ingrediants needed to cook here …like in the states …………… it be pretty darn close to paradise……………….

    • Ha ha.. I’ve been lucky to find a few sources of decent beef here, Lenny. Mostly in the past few months such places have come to my attention. Some other ingredients can certainly be hard to come by, though.

      • hey folks, try S & R membership shopping or Rustan’s in Manila. They’re all over the metro, you can get most of the stuff you need for cookin’. you have to pay something like 12 dollars US for a year’s membership..just like in Costco ($50.) i bought some turkey, dill pickles and beer of course in the short time I was there. Anyway, the Philippines is still paradise compared to here in Jamaica where I am now on a study tour.

  12. well heres my take. anywhere on earth the urban city setting is hell on earth and a rural setting is heaven. so as i tell everyone. stay in your city with all your conviences and fabulousness. and stay out of the rural parts. hahaha thats is paradise. and livin on the pacific ocean don’t hurt much. cell coverage is terrible, nothin is convienent and damn birds and waves are so loud sometimes ya fall asleep in the middle of the day. hahahahahah

    BTW Bob…my schedule has sped up drastically. I got fired last week and i leave america for good april 3rd. pacifco sanisidro,siargao, surigao del norte here i come. if yer ever that way stop by….a just listen for a while 😉

    • Hi brian – I think we all have our preferences, and nothing is wrong with that. In my life, I have lived out in the countryside, and in the city, probably about equal amounts of time in each setting. I am not adverse to either. I know that if I were to leave Davao there would be conveniences and other things that I would miss badly. But, living in the city also leaves me longing for the country life and a more laid back lifestyle at times. The area where we live in Davao, although really in the heart of the city is off the main roads and has a real quiet feel to it, so we get the best of both worlds to some extent.

      One of the downsides to living out in the Province, especially in Mindanao is the brownouts. Right now, much of Mindanao is having brownouts of 4 hours per day, every day. They are predicting that it will soon go to 8 hours per day, and run that way at least until November. Here in Davao, we had a 5 minute brownout the other day, and that is the only on in months, so I am very happy to be sitting here on my computer with my aircon running, while some of the guys in other parts of Mindanao are sweating and waiting for their power to come back.

      Different strokes for different folks.

      • well said…different stroke for different folks….makes the world go round.
        been in the city and country myself. i guess its just the redneck hillbilly in me that loves the country hahahaha. now if i could just find some sophistication they would let me out of my cage haha

        • Hi brian – The thing about living in the country in the Philippines is the lack of availability of stuff. When we first moved to the Philippines, we lived in GenSan, which is not even in the country, it’s a small city. If we wanted to buy butter or cheese we had to drive to Davao, which is a 3 hour drive. That is how bad it is. So, it’s not easy to live in the rural setting here, you have to make serious sacrifices.

  14. I agree with these comments. After having lived in the Philippine for almost 4 years now, I’m finally getting the hang of it and it’s quite relaxing, indeed. My wife is great and the family has their own income – so they don’t ask for much. They consider me sort of an anomaly, but a generous and competent one. I work as a commercial write (along with my wife), since I’m not old enough to collect SS (55 years old). But we earn a little over $500 US a week – so we have what we need. But seriously, I had to put aside any expectations of efficiency and take a more relaxed attitude. Things here just don’t make sense to the average American – so you need to adjust and not worry about things will turn out. If you can do that, then you will see the advantages of living in the Philippines over other countries. Just smile (to yourself) about the lack of competence when compared to Japan, etc. The people are trying on a day-to-day basis. And remember to be as generous as you can afford to be! We don’t have all that much time on this planet to put a smile on someone’s fact. Take your time and read blogs like this one – and you’ll be okay. Your relatives will look after you when you get old and you won’t be relegated to a lonely old folks home. But it’s important to get along with your new family first!

  16. Your so right about Davao immigration it’s a nightmare going there and they will fleece you for all they can get. The only polite person there is the lady guard on the door.I’ve got to go there soon because I was robbed in NCCC mall yesterday,they got my wallet with id card inside, “paradise”,I don’t think so.

    • Keith – I never said any such things about the Davao Immigration office. I have lived here for ten years and the BI has always treated me with kindness and respect. They have certainly never fleeced me in any way.

    • Hi Keith, sorry to hear about your mis-fortune. Were you actually robbed or pick-pocketed ?
      I “aways” carry my wallet in my front pants/shorts pocket. On top of that the style I buy has a zipper on the pocket. An ounce of prevetion is worth? Well that depends on what they got.
      I here the “lost” wallet report here on the radio in Dumaguete every morning and there is a bunch of them everyday. I really wonder what constitutes “lost”? Stolen, robbed, pick-pocket, fell out of rear pocket in pedicab, fell out of rear pocet while riding a motorcycle, too much too drink lol, many possibilities. I would be willing to bet a dollar to a donut that 90 % of these “lost” wallets here were preventable occurences.
      Take care, surely a hard learned lesson.
      One night in Detroit Michigan U.S.A., all in one evening around 1969 I was car jacked, kidnapped, stabbed and robbed. That was not a good night. And I was supposedly in a safe place. The nice policeman said I was lucky to be alive. No argument there. It won’t happen again, at least highly unlikely. And the jerk wasn’t satisfied with money and credit cards, he took everything out of spite, I even asked him for the empy wallet back with some real special pictures and things in it that were not at all replaceable. Of course the cops said that was stupid of me. I said hey , where were you last evening, you look very familiar. lol
      Anyhow I hope all goes well in your quest to replace everything as I know all too well what a pain it is.
      My cousin from Cebu was pick pocketed a couple of months ago. I think he learned to carry his wallet in the front pocket now. He didn’t have any trouble re-placing his I.D.’s, just the usual paperwork.
      Good luck.

  17. Although I have only spent a few weeks in the Philippines, and learn from you full timers, I recall the words of a wise old man, married to a young Filipino lady , said to me.
    He was coaching me, as I was new to the culture. He said his secret was not to see, notice, or react to things. I didnt quite understand, until his wife changed the baby’s diaper on his beautiful Persian rung. He looked at me and said-” You see that, well I didnt, because if I did it would really piss me off.” I took this to heart, and follow it, especially when I visit “Paradise”.

  18. Maybe paradise is where one is able to change a baby’s diaper on a beautiful persian rug, or go on vacation with the key to the ATM, or go on vacation indefinitely while the rest of the world goes on in its on way. Of course, this is coming from one who is looking upon paradise from afar.

  19. Bob,
    Living in the Philippines from 83-86 was the best time of my life. It’s not so much about it being paradise or not, Like Bob New York said it’s all in your state of mind how you classify paradise. I find the slower pace of life and the overall kindness of the people to be it’s strenght. The people in the Philippines don’t have to speak english to us foreigners nor do they really have to help us. But most seem to really go out of their way to make us feel at home their. Over here in the US that doesn’t happen people are stuck in their high speed robot like world and seldom stop to see the world around them. Beside I enjoy the challenges of living there brown outs, water supply, hurry up and wait and of course Paul T’s favorite Out of Stock sir, keeps your mind young and humor in check and like a good boy scout always prepared. Like I tell my Asawa the Philippines never ceases to amaze or amuse me. There is never a dull moment and even though they may do something total different then the way I would do it who cares as long as the end result is the same. Yea it’s not Paradise but it’s everything that I like so it’s paradise to me. That’s why I’ll be retired there in 24 months. 🙂

    • Hi Bruce – I was not here as early as you were. The first time I came to the Philippines was in 1990. A lot has changed since then, I can only imagine how much it must have changed since 83 when you were here. The pace of life is not as slow as it was back then, but still slower than in the USA, though.

      • Bob.
        Will be there in Oct for a month to get readjusted and see family. And that is from taking yours and other LIP readers advise and make a few trip before you jump back over for good. The Philippines will always be slower and less complex than the micro managing robitic type state the US has become. Heck most people don’t even know their neighbors anymore.
        Heck send me back home to where the San Miguels flow and the Sun is out shining all day. 🙂

    • Gotta remind everybody Philipines is not Argentina or Australia with herdful of cows and bulls..no.. It’s not a place of prime ribs,steaks and other sorts of delectable cheeses that westerners are accustomed of. .this is fish country…..it’s a great place to lose weight…

  20. Hey Bruce. I was there the same time frame as you were and agree, those were the best of times. Were you around the Subic area back then? Things were a bit different then, with Marcos and the revolution and all. Looks like I will beat you back though as we are hoping to retire by the end of this year. We will be there next month on a scouting trip, check on the house we’ve built, and visit the relatives. Then back to the rat race as we have a house to sell beforehand and then make the big move. Bob’s site has been a great resource to get us back up to speed on things. I’ll have to post my trip when I get back, if of course I have the time.

    RL

    • Randy,
      Iwas stationed at Subic as OPM (military police) I remember the fall of Marcos and People Power, Martial law and the base strike quite well.Had to patrol Olongapo and the base housing plus perimeter. Best duty I ever hadnot to mention two of my kids were born their. 🙂
      Will be visiting in Oct to check the place out, hang out with the family and see Paul for that brew we have planned.
      Shoot me an e-mail through Bob and we will get in touch.
      1yr and 4months to retirement to long for a short timers chain.

      • Hi Bruce. About being short, the shorter you get, the longer time seems to drag. I actually worked at Cubi and traveled extensively around the Pacific. I was also an honorary “Dirty 31” (Sterrett) member. I had an apartment on 3rd St. With Marcos in power and all that went with it, I never knew if I would get stranded on or off base. I also had a Barracks room. I always seemed to time it right when they closed the gates, I was on the outside! 🙂 Can’t wait to get back next month.

  21. Hey Bob,
    Help me understand something here. Why do you need to go get things copied? Do you not own your own printer, or do they need to be copied by special copy business?

  22. When I left the PH at the end of February my six hour trek through Manila to get to the airport could have been classified as any thing but Paradise. It did not bother me much as I have already adjusted to the way things are and I was thankful that I got on an airplane and flew over Manila. On the long ride to Hawaii My thoughts were not when will this ever end, but was of the kids who dropped my wife and I at the Airport, and wondering if we would be in Hawaii before they got back through Manila. It was a close race.

  24. Bob,

    Sad and funny at the same time, a typical day on a government office in the PH. Go to any government hospital, it’s also the same, “sir/ma’am sorry we’re out of this/we’re out of that, here go to this private clinic etc etc” Whew. Here in Riyadh, I e-mailed the embassy for a renewal of my passport recently and I got a reply that I have to schedule using their website. I tried for 2 days to access their site but it’s down. I finally replied to the e-mail saying their site is down and asked them if there’s any other way that I can schedule my passport renewal, the reply? The site is working now. Lol. Scratched my head. Then when I accessed the site and made my schedule lo and behold it mentioned there that “you can also make your passport renewal schedule by sending a text message to (no.) and via e-mail to (the e-mail that I was just corresponding to)….nice.

  25. Hi Bob and gang
    Long time lurker first time poster. I just wanna say that you guy got a great forum going. Philippines is definetely not paradise but it comes pretty damn close

    Cheers Jimmy 🙂

  26. Philippines is paradise. Well compared to where I am now in Europe, undoubtedly Philippines would be a place where the Europeans would love to retire[oh no am not marketing Philippines, am selfish, they can go to Greece or Malta] Where am at is landlocked [no ocean], 8 months of cold dark spell and it`s new to me. Back in the Philippines, I was at the beach every weekend to relax, scuba dive or surf the waves, these were my main sports and that WAS my life. It’s 356 days swimmable, crystal blue, powdery white sands is the main highlight. The low cost of living and it’s where I can eat fresh fish and fruits everyday. A lot of it were delivered right at my doorstep. I could remember my office at the Ninoy airport had a karaoke jukebox at the canteen. I get to sing 3 songs every lunch time dancing with the kitchen employees on top of the table while eating my lunch Here there’s no such thing as Friday nights because EVERYDAY IS Friday. I can meet my friends everynight to do late night shopping, watching movies, having dinners or cup of iced cafe latte. together and chat till we all get so sleepy.

    Flying back to Europe has always been the SADDEST days of life. I bring back with me hundreds of beach and friends fotos, hoping that I could get to imagine the snow outside is the ocean. My husband is a constant traveller in South America, so the typical lifestyle you were complaining about the procastination and manana habits are not new to him. As south america have almost the same culture like the Philippines. He loved Philippines. The sense of family belongingness, hospitality and sincerity he wasn’t able to get here in cold Europe, he felt and found it here in my country.

  27. The visa requirements routine you encounter here in Manila is the same thing here in Europe except that here they shout at you with no care who will hear. “I NEED TWO COPIES OF THIS AND THIS AND THIS! MAKE A NEW APPOINTMENT! NEXT IN LINE!”

  29. Wherever you go on this Earth you will find things you like and things you don’t like; paradise for me would undoubtedly be hell for someone else.
    I’m 9 months into my relationship with a Filipina and am still evaluating the possibilities for the future. I’ve been living in China for over 4 years now, so incompetence and mind-boggling inefficiency are part of my daily reality. I’m mostly laid-back about it (why get angry ? You won’t change anything) but there are still days when I despair. I’m also used to not living with cheese and decent bread which is very very hard, but I am still alive ! So some of the hardships of moving to PH are already familiar to me and are not so daunting.
    I was in Mindanao (Bislig) for 3 weeks in August and had a good time getting to know my girlfriend’s family, and I’m already planning my next trip, probably in late January. One of the highlights of the trip was undoubtedly being able to eat fresh tuna every day, which went some way toward offesetting the lack of cheese !
    In short, wherever you go I think you need to be grateful for the blessings you find, rather than focus on what isn’t quite right. The fact is that there is absolutely nowhere on this planet which can truly be called paradise (other than in your own heart, but I don’t want to get too philosophical).
    Thanks Bob

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