Philippines BI Rejects Even More Foreign Nationals in 2018!
Last year I remember reading an article in the Manila Standard titled “Don’t be Rude, BI Tells Foreigners”, where the Bureau of Immigration (BI) had advised foreign visitors to respect Philippine laws and not to be rude towards immigration officers. It goes on to say that 74 foreigners were barred entry into the Philipines last […] Read More
Sari-Sari Stores in the Philippines – Are they Profitable?
Sorry?-Sari! In a previous post titled The Philippines Sar-Sari Store, I explained what a Sari-Sari store is and how they have evolved into an integral part of the eco-system of Filipino society. Over many years, I have come to know many locals and foreigners alike who either own a sari-sari store or who have attempted […] Read More
Season’s Greetings and Staying Safe in the Phillippines
Staying Safe this Holiday Season. The following information is part of a holidays message that is published by the U.S. Embassy in Manila every year around this timne and it is applicable to all foreigners living in the Philippines. The holidays are especially challenging because of the pressures placed on the poorest of those citizens […] Read More
Don’t Be a Forgetful Expat – It Can Cost you!
Just after finishing a one-hour racquetball workout with a friend, I remembered he had made a visit to his doctor earlier in the week. He had been complaining of some knee pains a few weeks prior and finally had it looked at. When I asked him how his visit went, he told me that the […] Read More
How I Lost Weight By Moving to the Philippines!
How I Did It! By the beginning of July of 2013, we were on our way to our retirement destination, Samar. I had had enough of the work-to-live lifestyle and the stresses that came with working inside the real estate industry during the Great Recession (2007-2009). I wasn’t just the recession but also the subsequent […] Read More
Pinoy Pride – Is It Nothing More Than Hollow Arrogance?
I recently read some responses to an essay assignment by a Philipppines school teacher to her 8th and 9th grade students. The assignment to the class was to answer the question: “What is the best the thing I have done for my country?” One of the students responded in her essay with “I actually don’t […] Read More
The Sari-Sari Store… or is it the Sorry-Sorry Store?
You May Recall…. As a kid growing up years ago, if you had a nickle (5 cents U.S) in your possession, that nickle would burn a hole in your pocket if you didn’t get down to the “Five and dime” variety store to spend it on a handful of candy. Or maybe it was a […] Read More
Guam, Philippines and Alice’s Restaurant on Thanksgiving
#livinginthepacific Guam – It’s Much different than living in the West (Except on Thanksgiving!) When I first conceived the idea of this post, I thought it would be difficult to describe the differences between living on Guam in the Western Pacific to life in the Philippines, when in all acutality, there are more similarities than […] Read More
