Moving to the Philippines
What are the Philippines?
The Philippines is an archipelago in Southeast Asia, consisting of over 7000 islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
The Philippines is divided roughly into 3 regions: the northern part Luzon, where the capital city of Manila is, the middle Visayas (Cebu) and the southern Mindanao (Davao).
It’s a sunny, tropical country with plenty to offer for anyone who is considering moving to the Philippines, from the US, Canada, Australia or Europe.
It has no land borders, but shares maritime borders with Taiwan, Japan, Palau, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and China.
The Philippines is a multinational state, with a lot of different ethnic groups, cultures and languages.
I’ve been living here for many years, and it’s by far my favorite country in the world, for many, many reasons.
There are some obvious disadvantages, as is the case with every other country, but overall, for me, the Philippines is awesome.
There are roughly 110 million people living here, across an area of over 120,000 square miles.
The Philippines used to be a Spanish colony, and this influence can still be seen today, both in the language (which uses a form of many Spanish words) and the general look of some Filipina girls.
Around the turn of the 20th century, the Philippines came under control of the US, which lasted until its independence in 1946.
It’s a unitary sovereign state with a rather tumultuous history in the latter half of the 20th century, with a dictatorship, slow but sure economic growth, and horrible leaders.
The Philippines is an emerging market, a newly industrialized country and is home to a great level of biodiversity.
It lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which means earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and typhoons occur on a regular basis.
If you want to move there, just check it out, find a Filipina girlfriend, or even buy real estate there to get an asset abroad, I’ve got a company named Serenity Relocation which can help you with just that. Contact me and we can talk options!
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Disadvantages of moving to the Philippines
Moving to the Philippines - by the numbers
Climate: 7.6/10
Typical Southeast Asian tropical country, warm and humid. Not a lot of variation in climate, except when you move to a mountainous area with a higher altitude
| Hours of sunshine (8/10) | Temperature (9.5/10) | Rainy days (8/10) | Humidity (5/10) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
6.4 |
26.6 C – 80 F |
11 |
75% |
Level of English: 8/10
Cost of Living: 9/10
| Minimum Annual Wage | Average monthly cost single person |
|---|---|
|
$2,696 |
The Philippines is a very cheap place to live, and if you’re single, you can easily get by on $600-800 a month, without having to give up on many luxuries.
If you’re supporting a family, this number would be roughly double that.
Of course, all of this is highly dependent on where you live, and what kind of lifestyle you desire.
It’s very possible to spend thousands of dollars a month here, blowing it on drugs, alcohol, partying, hookers, you name it.
But if you’re just a normal person, living a quiet life with a few hobbies, you truly do not need much money.
In addition, you can open a bank account here, making it rather easy to plant a flag, or save on expenses.
Taxes on international income: 7/10
0%, unless you are considered a resident (if you spend 182+ days per year there), then it lies between 5 and 32%.
However, if you have a location independent income which does not get paid into your Philippine bank account, I don't see how the government will be able to tax you
Economic growth: 8/10
Average GDP growth over the last 10 years: 5%
Safety: 6.7/10
Safe in nearly every bigger city, but there are definitely regions you should avoid, such as the western part of Mindanao or the slums in Manila.
| Global Terrorism Index (5/10) | Intentional homicide rate (6/10) | Rape rate (9/10) |
|---|---|---|
|
7 |
6.5 |
6.3 |
Visa: 5.7/10
How is living in the Philippines as a foreigner?
Living in the Philippines as a foreigner is pretty awesome.
You often enjoy an elevated status in the eyes of many girls, which makes dating a breeze.
In addition, if you are used to making a Western salary, you can live here very comfortably.
English is widely spoken, so you can communicate with nearly everyone at a basic level.
There is no real need to learn the local language, although I would advise you to do so anyway.
Filipinos are – at least to foreigners – very nice people, and I’ve met many wonderful human beings.
Is it any good for planting flags? Yes and no.
You can’t easily get Residence or a passport here, but investing in real estate (condominiums) is an option I personally pursue, so you can definitely do that and take advantage of the growing market.
In short, if you want to live a relaxed, low-pressure, sun-sea-beach life, you can’t really go wrong with the Philippines.
Whether you want to party all day, raise a family, or just escape the West, you can do so here.
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Tell me what happened to you when you moved to the Philippines…….did you gain weight, did you mellow out, did you get board – etc. What was shocking to you? What was hard to get use to? How did your girl friends treat you? Did it take time to get use to the food…………every get stuck in a CR with no TP……did you learn the proper technique 🙂 to clean up? Did you lose or gain weight? Do you like rice more or less now? How about fish…….have you learned which fish has the most and least bones?
Hello Tony, thanks for your comment. I’ll try to answer your questions:
-I did gain weight, then lost it, now trying to gain it back (bulking up in the gym)
-I never got bored, there’s a lot to do here
-Nothing was shocking to me, because I’ve lived in India and China before, and the Philippines is absolutely way less extreme
-The heat was probably the hardest to get used to, but now I don’t even notice it anymore
-My girl friends treated me very well, they’re absolute sweethearts and I can totally recommend anyone to get a Filipina girlfriend
-It didn’t take long to get used to the food, because I’m very flexible and I just started buying stuff at the market and cooking it myself, before handing that task over to the girlfriend(s)
-I never got stuck in a CR with no toilet paper in the Philippines, because that happened a few times in India, and since then I always carry tissue with me
-Proper technique to clean up is wiping until there is no more poo on the paper, I learned that roughly 30 years ago
-I lost and gained weight, currently I’m about the same level as when I got here, sadly enough
-Rice is about the same to me, I’m not a fussy eater, it’s just fuel
-Regarding fish – I do know some fishes that have a lot of bones, and I don’t buy those, I just buy Pangasius filet, without bones
Did you end up getting residency there. For younger guys it seems like the sirv visa is really the only option and renewing ACR cards seems like it would be a pain
hi Nick,
Nope, residency isn’t an option for most people unless you marry, which can fuck off – for reasons I probably don’t need to explain to you.
I just have to renew my Tourist visa twice a year, which takes roughly an hour to get sorted, the ACR card is included. For me this isn’t a pain at all, I can just walk to the immigration office, they’re helpful and friendly, and I’ve never had any issues whatsoever in over half a decade of living here.
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for the reply. Good to hear that a residency is not necessary in the Philippines. And glad to hear that the ACR process is not bad.
My long term plan is to own property in both South America and the Philippines. Then spend half the year road tripping across South America and half the year island hopping in the Philippines.
So it sounds like I’ve completed the residency portion of my five flags plan. Now I just need to get the two passports I want (South American, and Caricom), then get my two condos, and I’ll be set.
Sounds great Nick, you’re on a roll!
One last question Stephen. I now know that permanent residency is not necessary in the Philippines, but do you think it would still be worth getting in case they ever tighten up their visa laws like Mexico is doing now? I was looking into the Special Investor’s Residency Visa (SIRV) which seems to be open to anyone and only requires you to invest $75,000 in the Philippines stock market and leave it invested.
Yes, this seems like a good option and I’ll add it to the post. If you can afford it, you can hit two Flags at the same time here – investing in a rising economy, and your Residency.
I would like live the Philippines with my girlfriend soon to become my wife.
Hello Michael,
Living in the Philippines is a great idea – marriage on the other hand not so much, but that’s not a topic I’ll discuss here 😀
I am completely anti-covid and know the whole thing was a scam (I respect your opinion if you disagree).
Now that you know my viewpoint on this, how did the Philipines handle the last 2.5 years?
How strict were they on lockdowns?
Were there restrictions on access to the beaches?
Were masks mandatory outside?
What was the general attitude toward these outrageous illegal restrictions by locals?
How high was conformity there?
To put it into context I got out of Western Europe in 2021 and moved to Mexico where they didn’t give a sh*t about any of the covid nonsense, festivals, clubs, tours, beaches, restaurants, everything open apart from in CDMX which bought into the nonsense hook line and sinker too.
Hello Mark,
I doubt there are many people who are pro-Covid, but I get your point. I’m not sure it was a scam – but I’m not ruling it out either, because it definitely gave the elites in charge a precedent for restricting freedoms and personal liberty, without incurring the wrath of the populace – which means they can do it again.
The Philippines sucked ass in this regard. Government inefficiency, stupid lockdowns, silly mask-rules, and so on.
The locals mainly went with the flow, they’re mostly christians so they’re used to being sheep. Conformity was high, and with a president like DU30 … can’t blame em.
Well, Mexico sounds like one of the few places where they apparently handled this right – by ignoring it mostly. Can’t see them having higher mortality rates than countries with tight as hell restrictions, so that kind of makes your point eh?
How is the internet? Could I continue my U.S. remote work reliably?
It heavily depends on where you go – if it’s somewhere on a remote island, then it’s unlikely. However, in cities such as Manila, Cebu and Davao, the internet is of acceptable quality, depending on your provider. I’ve been working here online for over 7 years now, and while there have been interruptions etc, for the most part it’s really doable. In the past year, I think there have been a few days without internet, but that can be alleviated by having a backup pocket WiFi or a mobile hotspot.