Live in the Philippines

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

The right clothing for the Philippines EAM

How to Move to the Philippines, Podcasts, Shopping / by

Well, we have a new feature here on LiP starting today.  It is a Podcast called “The Expat Answer Man“.  Basically, it is a show where people can call in and leave voicemail with a question about moving to the Philippines, living in the Philippines, or the expat lifestyle in general.

To listen to the Podcast, just click on the play button of the audio player that you will see just above this article.

Today is the very first episode of this podcast, but I hope to include it here on LiP once per week in the future, provided that enough people leave questions that can be included for the podcast.  Actually, it is my plan that there will be daily shows of this Expat Answer Man Podcast which will be featured on a new website that I am working on, with one episode per week included on LiP, so that readers here can get a feel for the show, and hopefully pick up a few answers to questions that they may have in mind regarding life in the Philippines.

Today’s Episode

Wearing Shorts
Wearing Shorts

For today’s episode, Episode 0001, we got a question from Bill in Wisconsin.  Bill is wondering about appropriate clothes to wear in the Philippines.  This topic has a couple areas to look at:

  1. Clothes that are comfortable in this climate.
  2. Clothes that are culturally appropriate.

So, give the Podcast a listen and see what  you think.  I hope you enjoy the show, and will listen in each and every week.

[powerpress]

Do You Have a Question?

If you want to send a question for inclusion in a future Podcast, just use the app below, click on the button below, where it says “Start Recording”.

Questions submitted by eMail will no longer be answered, you must submit through the voice message above.

Thanks again for listening, everybody!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hi Bob, As a regular long time visitor to Davao I would to concur with your recommendations and would like to add that on some occasions long pants should be definitely worn i.e. visiting the Bureau of Immigration (BI) or in fact any government offices. This can be extended to most Asian countries as I had a personal experience when visiting Thailand’s Immigration Bureau where outside signage states long pants are compulsory upon entering. My experiences tend me to believe that the Asian way of thinking relates anybody wearing shorts (other than for exercise or beach activities) to that of a field worker and I think anybody who has visited Asian countries know to well that the class thing is well and truly alive. Did you know that in Davao a lady is prohibited from wearing shorts when riding on motorbikes … apparently it is very distracting to male drivers 🙂 … anyway Bob, I really enjoyed your new format and hope it goes well …. cheers Greg

    • Hi Greg – Thanks! I’m glad you liked the Podcast format!

      I didn’t know that ladies in shorts are prohibited from riding motorcycles, I see that all the time, though, so they must not enforce that one much! 😉

      Yes, you are correct on the Bureau of Immigration… shorts are not allowed there. I should have mentioned that to Bill, but I forgot to. Hopefully he will read the comments!

      • I only found this out after my wife had to attend a 3 hour lecture at the LTO on local traffic laws after be caught doing a left hand turn into Maa Road from the far right lane of MacAthur …. she was more upset that the officer could not be enticed not to write the ticket Emoji

  2. Bob,

    I am one of those that would rather read than listen to a podcast. Mostly since it is hard to speed them up and also skip past stuff that is fluff etc.

    I have tried them in the past and when I have time they are cool, but I look at/listen to, podcasts the same way I do TV or YouTube. Not very often.

    Wish ya much luck on this change, but the time involved Vs reading is a no go for me personally. Just one mans opinion of course, I am sure there are folks that will like the fornat, so thanks for listening.

    • Hi Joe, thanks for your input. A few points…

      1. I do plan to offer transcripts in the future.

      2. It is not a change in format. LiP will still continue to consist of primarily written articles with a podcast once per week or so.

      3. It is only a 6 minute podcast, so it won’t take a large amount of anybody’s time.

    • Hi Joe, yes, I am aware of that. However, the policy had changed back and forth many times over the years. Also, the New regulation is not honored in all locations, some BI offices still don’t allow shorts.

    • Tito Joe – I never knew of these laws. In Dumaguete they seem not to matter. I always wear shorts, a tank top and flip flops. No one ever has said anything or looked at me funny.

      Dumaguete is a little different though. The law is to wear helmets and maybe 1 in 30 people do. They believe they don’t drive fast enough to warrant helmets. Lol

      • Hey BB
        I too am in the Negros Oriental province (Bayawan City) and I inquired about the non enforcement of the helmet law. I was told that they had to repeal it after the 2nd drive by shooting from a man conveniently wearing full face motorcycle helmets.

  4. Congratulation with the podcast, it’s a great improvement. some may like to read, but others may find it easier to listen. Now there’s both choices. Also good to think of people that might have trouble reading, bad eyes and so on. One thing more – to be vocal makes it easier to avoid misunderstandings, it often happens in writing, since there’s details that just can’t be written in a way that the reader understand as it was meant to.
    About dress code: I have it the same way as you Bob, when i go to malls, restaurants and other things public, i always wear long pants. Honestly, it’s not much hotter than wearing shorts – if it is at all. I feel best that way. If i am a “tourist” somewhere in resort places i wear shorts and look like a tourist 😀
    Sometimes i can be surprised (could be i should say – not anymore) when we go out on a hot day, my asawa could even take a long sleeved jacket on. She says it protect from heat, well i guess she must be right, she’s the one born in this climate.
    I like to see when a website develops all the time. Thumbs up-

    • Thank you so much for offering your opinion, Axel. It seems we are alike in so many ways. In the past, we have found our feelings to be similar and it seems we also have the same feelings about shorts as well.

      Thank you for your compliment about the podcast. I have gotten almost 100% positive feedback on it. 🙂

  5. Bob,
    Podcast sounds like a good and interesting idea. Looking forward to maybe trying it in the future. Generally I just wear long pants to gov’t offices or when catching a flight. I just feel more comfortable wearing shorts on a daily basis

    • Hi PapaDuck – Glad you enjoyed the podcast. I only wear shorts around the house, never long pants! But, if I go out, I switch to long pants. I just feel it is the right thing to do. But, like anything in life, we all have our own opinions, as it should be! You gotta do what makes you comfortable!

      • Bob – It might depend on the culture of the area. Dumaguete is a real flip flop/shorts culture for locals and foreigners alike. If I wore long pants often I would feel a little up dressed.

          • IMHO if I was a businessman or person who wants to make an impression I always wear longs unless the time and place dictated other … even it makes me uncomfortable!

          • Hi Bob – I have been at Robinson’s mall most of the day as it is colder than my house and thought I would observe people. It appeared about 50% Filipinos wear shorts and 50% wear long pants. Foriegners appeared about 80% shorts and 20% long pants. I’ve been told many Filipinos wear long clothes so they don’t get darker skin from sun exposure as well.

            • I’m not here to fight it out with your over this, Brenton. I stated my opinion, based on more than 14 years of living here. You have stated yours. That’s good enough for me. I have offered my advice, and you have offered yours. Everybody should do whatever makes them comfortable.

              • Bob – On a funny note, for the first 2 years of living in the Philippines, I never actually even owned a pair of long pants, shorts only. I had to buy a pair 2 months back as it’s a requirement for church ushering at the church I attend. Now I wear them every second Sunday when I usher.

            • Brenton … 50% … with respect … no way …by the way my wife uses me as a sun shield walking from the car park to the mall to shield her beautiful brown skin from getting darker 🙂

              • Greg – most foriegners wives are much darker skinned in the Dumagiete region and don’t seem so concerned about staying so white anyway. Not sure if this is a Philippine wide trend though.

  6. Hi Bob!

    Thanks for posting my question on your podcast. I truly enjoyed it. I’m glad I asked the question because I would have loaded up on lots of shorts and less jeans. Once again you saved me a lot of money!

    Thank you very much!!

    Bill
    Wisconsin

  8. Again, your resourcefulness shows through in the introduction of this new format as a LiP feature, Bob. Rightly or wrongly, I see this podcast as an innovative approach to filling a void created by not having enough writers to contribute one article per day in a 7-day period. This makes me wonder if there is “pressure” from your sponsors – the comment counters – to publish a new article each day?

    Needless to say, it’s your website and you can do anything with it as you please, but, for me personally, I would not mind reading three or four “substantial” articles of great interest in a week that are certain to generate plenty of comments than reading seven articles in a week that look as though some of them came from the bottom of the barrel. LOL No offense meant here.

    IMHO, I think LiP readers would be better served if they were given sufficient time to digest and contemplate the article they just read before they are fed another article the following day.

    One other thought that might help fill the void I speak of is the format similar to the Ann Landers column that Feyma introduced some time ago. I thought that made a big splash when it was first introduced, but I didn’t see a follow-up to it after a couple of publications.

    • John – Many of the things that you always think are demanded by “the sponsors” are not what sponsors are looking for. For example, the comment count is not what sells products.

      Let’s just state the truth, shall we? Why did I introduce this new format?

      1. I am the type of people who enjoys trying new things, new technologies. I like to have my hands into new things to try them out.
      2. You have been following this site for many years, so you surely remember that over the years I have had a few bouts with problems in my wrists and hands due to arthritis. Doing audio instead of typing is something that has pretty close to zero impact on my wrist/hand problem, and I can do for many years to come. That MAY NOT be possible with typing, we’ll have to see.
      3. Since the time when I was sick a few months back, I have become quite a fan of listening to podcasts, and thus had a desire to do it myself.
      4. This question and answer format helps bring in readers to participate more on the site, which makes for a closer connection between me, the site owner, and the readers. That is something that I enjoy greatly.

      I don’t worry too much about sponsors. The amount of traffic on the site is what sponsors like, not the number of comments. Only a tiny fraction of those who read the site leave a comment. I do enjoy having an active comment community, but mostly sponsors could care less about that.

      Thanks for your continued reading (and now listening) of the site, John.

        • I had a stroke in 2001, yes, and have written about that many times. In 2006 or 2007 I had some terrible problems with my wrists. Went to an orthopedist and found out that I have osteoarthritis. Luckily, through doing the right things to control it, I usually have only minor pain. From time to time it flares up, though, to the point where I can’t even pick up an hold something very light. I did write about this when I was sick a few months back, said that the spider bite had caused my arthritis to go septic and I was in extreme pain.

          I’m not worried about laryngitis. 🙂

          • John! I thought you were the guy who read all of the comments! I have answered this question in comments at least a dozen times in the past few months! Scott moved to the Philippines back a few months ago. Since he moved, he keeps telling me that his is going to write an article.. he never does though. Other than going up north and holding a gun to his head, I know of nothing I can do. If he writes, he writes. If he doesn’t, all I can do is seek out a new writer, or make some other arrangement.

            • Yes, Bob, I am the guy who read all of the comments, but I can’t speak for the comments that have scrolled out of sight after the 25th comment when I am asleep. But when I am awake I rarely miss any comment posted, as a I visit the site several times a day when I am not out, so don’t accuse me of not contributing to site traffic. 🙂 Heck, LiP is the ONLY Philippine-related site I visit.

              I know that Scott Fortune has moved to Pangasinan, and I also know that you responded to Big P’s and Papa Duck’s inquiries about him. I was just wondering if you had heard from him ever since. Have a nice day.

              • I heard from him just a few days ago, John. He promised that he would be writing an article for the site. But, he has already told me that many times, so we’ll have to see if he follows through.

  9. For the upcoming Philippine vacation, I have more shorts than long pants set aside, but then again I have no plans on visiting the BI or any Philippine government agency. Most of my shorts are cargo shorts that reach to the knee in khaki, fatigues, black, and camo, but I also have dress shorts in linen that don’t wrinkle like the cargo shorts. On the second day of my arrival in the Philippines on my last visit, I was “dressed up” preparing to go to the SM mall, meaning, I had on well-pressed long khaki pants and a Abercrombie and Fitch shirt. One of the student boarders commented that I looked like I was going to a dance. I went back upstairs and changed to cargo shorts and flip-flops. LOL

  10. Hi Bob, Have you ever looked into Dragon software products? You speak and it types for you.

  11. I enjoyed the podcast, Bob. I wore shorts more when I first started going to the phils also. but wear long pants much of the time now, especially in the nicer malls and restaurants. However, It does seem to be more casual in some of the smaller places I have visited such as Dipolog. As you and the other posters have said, go with what you’re comfortable with just try to be respectful and dress appropriately as the place and situation dictates.

  12. RJ,

    I’m glad you brought the dialogue back to the intended purpose of this site which was the asking and answering of questions via podcast. I respect people’s thoughts and opinions so long as they are truly ‘wondering’, but my interpretation is some of the typed questions here were borderline ‘provoking’ or ‘accusatonal’ in nature.

    I’m thankful for the people like Bob who put their heart into what it is they are doing. I’m not experienced with living in the Philippines and I enjoy every mechanism used to inform me of the issues and how to live there.

    I love the podcast because I can ‘click’ play and listen to it while doing something else. Even for a short period of time. It’s new, fun and exciting for me.

    I’m sure the other folks who posted here feel the same way. People keep coming back because you earned your stripes Bob. It’s why I keep coming back because you are a trusted and credible blogger who truly loves what he does. It shows through your work.

    Thank you!

    Bill
    Wisconsin

    • “I respect people’s thoughts and opinions so long as they are truly ‘wondering’, but my interpretation is some of the typed questions here were borderline ‘provoking’ or ‘accusatonal’ in nature.”

      Tell me where it is “provoking” or “accusatonal’ in nature. My conversation is with Bob, not you. My interpretation is that you have appointed yourself as the sheriff on this site.

  13. When I Visit and stay at my family’s home, and when I am around the neighborhood of Tabogon Cebu I mostly wear shorts. It is mostly the main apparel of the area. And we are not in the sun that much mostly staying in the shade when possible.

    I remember when my Grand Father showed up, in the Philippines, to meet my wife for the first time before we got married. We had to go and shop for something that he would consider appropriate. LOL He Is now 86 years old, and I remember him going swimming with me as a child he wore his long pants. Shorts for him is never an option and showing any shoulders is a big NO NO. So my whole life I am always had to consider who will be at a function or activity to not offend them, just to show respect.

    Most times when I go out in public, not local, I wear long pants. Not as much as it being more appropriate then for me it is more practical.

    When I visit, I pack about half and half long clothes and short clothes. Mainly if I am out in the middle of the day or if I am riding on my motorcycle I try and keep as much of my skin covered. Even Long Sleeve Shirts. I can get burnt pretty fast, and a 2 hour ride on my bike can really hurt later on in the day when I relax.

    But for the most part if I do make a mistake someone will correct me, and I apologize, and I don’t make the mistake again. Like when I showed up to the Department of Immigration with shorts on, the guard informed me that next time I need to dress appropriately, he was really nice, and I assured him I wouldn’t do it again. Being nice does have it’s benefits.

    And a lot of the times while I am in Cebu I don’t wear the long clothes all day, so just a few hours here and there and I hang them back up for another occasion. Well, the pants more then the shirts. Kinda like we did as kids with our Sunday clothes.

    I also do this because I like to take my clothes in town to be cleaned. And if my Mom-In-Law, or my Wife Finds them, And they (mom more than wife now LOL) will clean them, and it really hurts my feelings to think about how heavy these American size jeans are, when someone is cleaning them by hand. So if I see them grab something I can say “oh that isn’t ready to be cleaned.” Then I hide them and take them to the cleaners. My wife laughs at me, she knows what I am doing.

    • James,

      Thanks for sharing your story. Everyone’s thoughts on this matter is helping me decide to what actually to ship over. I swear – I must have packed and re-packed my box ten times. The rule of thumb I guess is trying to avoid paying more in shipment than what the items are worth. However, I doubt that’s going to happen because I’m finding there are things I should bring with me out of necessity due to lack of the product or quality over there. In the long run the value of having it exceeds the value of shipping it.

      I kind of got off track a bit, but outside of clothes I think that’s another question for another day for ‘The Expat Answer Man’ because quite honestly – I’m lost as to the other things I should pack and ship. I feel another question coming on…….

      Bill
      Lost in Wisconsin lol

      • You Know Bill,

        To me it would be hard to find something not worth paying the shipping if you want and need it. Unless you ship rice? And with the price over the last couple of years going up there even that may be worth it. LOL let me take it back I remember my wife putting rice in between the cans and stuff one time when we shipped a balikbayan box.

        I am about 2 years out from moving permanently there, and I have already got Three boxes of shorts clothes and stuff that I have bought on sale when they are out of season. We plan to do everything with 10 balikbayan boxes. $950 in shipping cost.

        You are not shipping that way, are you?

        Shipping the Standard way can be pretty expensive.

        My advice Grand Ma was Right. You can’t have too much underwear. It never goes out of style.

    • You really hit the nail on the head with one statement, James… be nice. If you make a mistake just apologize. That kind of attitude goes a long ways here toward being accepted, and even loved by the local people.

      • The only time I have ever lost my cool, and I still feel bad about it today. 7 years later. Back when I was new to Philippines, Was when i was trying to get internet for the first time in Cebu City. at that time i was pretty much living there with my wife. Before she got her Visa to come to the USA.

        But that is another Story another day.

  14. Hi Bob;
    Gee, I must have been visiting Lip for some years, I seem to remember a few Podcasts you did some years back, lol.
    Congrats on the new Podcast theme.

    Personally, I go 100% Cotton for clothes in the PH. I wear thin long cotton pants when going most places and Shorts around the locality.
    I will never understand why some guys wear Jeans, way too thick and hot !

  15. Nice job on the podcast Bob. I noticed a slight bit of ” popping ” sound in the audio when you were speaking but not objectionable as the subject matter far overrides it. As Chas mentioned, I too remember a few of your podcasts in the past. I do enjoy reading articles here although as LIP continues to grow, reading everything all the time is time consuming although a pleasurable consumption of time for me. While listening to this podcast it gave me the idea to download or, record the audio on a dedicated audio recorder, with the Podcasts, I can listen to ” LIP” in the car while commuting to work and back.

    Clothes ? Not one of my favorite things as at home I usually just wear my work clothes and I even do that on the long journey to visit there. I never wear shorts there ( remember though I am only visiting ) I usually wear long sleeve shirts but when my Filipino friends give me special T Shirts I do wear them when appropriate. I usually have my friends go with me to try and buy a few shirts when I am there and have found that PH size and USA size designations ( SM M L XL XXL etc. ) are for sure not the same LOL. This year I am going to try to remember to buy a few shirts here in the USA while the summer clothes are still in stock and on display in the stores.

    Another reason I don’t wear shorts and for that matter short sleeve shirts ( except where noted ) is that at times I spray my clothes with insect repellent to help resist the possibility of a Dengue carrying mosquito having its lunch on me. Several years before my first visit to The Philippines, I had a case of Basal Cell Carcinoma ( a very common form of skin cancer related to long exposure to sunlight ) .Fortunately, it was all removed from my face and with a bit of plastic surgery no one would ever know it happened.

    On my first visit to The Philippines, the airline ” misplaced ” my luggage between Taipei and Manila. It was not so much the abscence of clothes upon arrival that bothered me, I was more concerned about the Pasalubongs I had brought for friends. What a way to start a vacation by shopping for clothes, not one of my favorite things LOL. With the help of my Filipino friends, I bought enough stuff to last me for a few days. These included some undershorts branded ” Warren ” and undershirts branded ” Guitar ” . I found these to be very comfortable and have bought more of these on visits that followed. Still wear them to this day so they must be durable and long lasting. Made In The Philippines too, so they are a good reminder of my visits.

    Do I sweat a lot because of the clothes I wear when I am there ? Of course, but we have similar weather and sometimes hotter here in New York in the summer but of course not continually. For me though, as a visitor on vacation, The fun and excitement of just being there, being with friends, going to places and seeing things that I want to see and have taken an interest in or participate in for the most part overrides any discomfort of the climate while I am outside in it.

    I will look forward to future podcasts here on ” LIP ” and I think the idea of audience participation will be an excellent feature.

    • Hi Bob – Yes indeed, I did a few podcasts here before, but only a few. John Grant used to do Podcasts on LiP as well. I hope that I will be able to make it a regular thing here now. I do need folks to call in with questions, though… and I did not get very many! So, please do call in using the button on this page, and ask a question for future podcasting!

      I am lucky that I have never had my bags lost by the airline, but it seems to be a pretty common experience. I have done a lot of flying over the years, but not so much these days, so I guess I was just lucky.

      Glad you enjoyed the podcast, Bob. Yes, listen to it on your drive to work or whenever you can get something else done and listen in the background! But, please give me a call and ask a question, or even just say hi to the LiP audience! 🙂

      • Ok Bob, I will really have to think to come up with a question as so many of them are answered right here on LIP. A Call just to say Hello ? I’ll have to think of a few things to add beside just saying Hello, and of course you and most readers will already know what I would talk about anyway………………Best vacations I have ever had…………………..LOL.

        One thing I am going to start looking into soon though, has ILS and night landing lights been installed at Languidigan Airport. Last I knew it was supposed to be completed mid year 2014.

      • Well, I can’t say my bags were lost, but they didn’t quite get to New York in time for the plane. Back in 2008 I got a one-way ticket and a trow-away ticket at the last minute, meaning within a week of leaving.

        And while my plane on the tarmac, in Charlotte NC we were delayed, an hour, and were told that they couldn’t take off because JFK in New York was shut down temporary. Something about electrical shut down or something.

        I had got there about 5 minutes before the plane was supposed to leave from New York. I was running through the airport and a representative from Asiana Airlines met me, and ran with me in the airport to put me in front of the line to get through security,and put me on the plane. She said she was assigned to make sure I got on the plane. WOW, that was pretty good Customer Service. As the plane was taking off I realized that my bags probably didn’t get the same service.

        I extended my stay in Manila for several more days, before my bags got there. Was fun staying in Cherry Blossoms Motel and wearing the same set of clothes. Was all I could do? Now I fly directly into Cebu.

    • Hi Bob – One thing I wanted to reply to, but which I forgot in my previous reply. Yes, there was some popping on the podcast recording. I was using a new equipment setup/net mic for the recording. Since recording this, I have purchased a pop filter to add to my setup. Future episodes should not have any pops at all!

    • Oh, I forgot to mention, the lost luggage was delivered to the hotel by LBC about 3 days after my arrival. All in tact and nothing missing.

  16. Churches discourage the wearing of shorts. Many have signs forbidding entry while wearing them. The rule tends to be ignored, however. A priest once frowned at me and “lip pointed” at my shorts while giving communion.

      • Yes if I know I’m going to church I always change to pants and a collared shirt. Sometimes we unexpectedly end up in a church, however. Usually while traveling. We see a church and just go in. Thats when I got the priest’s frown!