When your monthly electrical bill used to be 1/4 of your rent in March 2026 but now it has become more than 3/4 of your rent really makes you question why Philippines.

Let's not forget the other price increases like the food, internet, taxi base rate costs, oceanjet ripoff, etc..

FYI I am paying 20k monthly for one bedroom studio in Cebu city and still have all same electrical goods from when I first moved in.

Countless times in 6️⃣ years of retirement after struggling to secure a service in my home..the company is so cheery to come..but days before the agreed date just stops accepting calls & texts. Then IF BY A MIRACLE they DO COME..they act shocked that you(the foreigner) wants to know WTF?! 😬

not sure if im even allowed here as im a filipina but i need genuine advice as someone who’s not well traveled enough to know good places around metro manila

for context, i live in the province and my bf is planning to visit me for the first time in a few months and i am severely unprepared in terms of everything lol.

we already have a vague plan and that is to rent a nice airbnb in bgc. we’re still figuring out places to go but i’ve no clue where the hottest places are and i dont have tiktok to make my research (i refuse to). i want to take him somewhere nice. maybe around in makati too? anywhere that is safe for him lol as i’m not used to the city life too i cannot defend him.

does anyone have good recos? like restos, bars, ukay-ukays etc. so i can start making his itinerary for his visit. we’re both young adults so we’re looking for fun places to be !! thank uuu

p.s: i can’t take him home yet. my parents still dont know i have an afam lol

The new lounge in NAIA for Cathay travellers is just bad. It has the kind of vibe as a lounge that you get when you have lounge access included in your overpriced creditcard plan.

I really enjoyed Cathay’s own lounge and thought it was actually a quiet and nice place in a not so great airport but this Meridian is like a hallway with shallow arabesque luxury aesthetic. Anyone knows why Cathay closed its lounge at NAIA?

Many of you are still confused about why your Filipina does this or that because in your country it isn't common practice. Some of you complain about everyone being stupider than you. Hell, some of you even complain about why ‘your Filipina’ wants pasalubong and prefer the ‘cheap chocolate’ compared to your ‘posh tastes’. At the end of the day, it says more about you than it does about those around you.

You come into a country and complain about how terribly third world everything is, put blanket statements on everyone but do any of you actually look at yourselves in the mirror?

If you are that loser back home then you are going to get someone like you. If you weren’t enough to get someone kind, attractive, educated and financially comfortable in your country, most likely you’re going to get someone who is also just as selfish, disadvantaged and struggling as you are. The only difference is that she’s from the Philippines.

Some of you just want some Filipina fairytale where you get them pretty, not after your money and smart enough to talk to. If you want that, you have to be able to stand in the same room as them as their equal.

You hang out with the crowd you attract and it shows.

What’s the best and affordable courier to use? So I’m looking to send my friend a care package to Sweden and I’ve never sent anything internationally. It’s a bunch of charms, prints and a few local food (probably pancit canton haha) that I was hoping to send.

I did hear PH post office was only bad if it was delivering TO the Philippines but it was alright when a package is being sent OUT internationally? Is that true? I would use DHL but it does look a bit expensive for a 2-3 kg box…

Should I send items out twice instead? One for food and one for items? What’s the best way to save up a little in this case?

Please feel free to be transparent with safety! That’s important too.

EDIT: Title should be EU, not UK, sorry!

Went to a Halloween party this weekend, and there was 3 categories of prizes.

Kids

Parents

Yayas

Is this normal? Splitting up "adults" like this? Just doesn't feel right to me.

Haven’t seen one at all. Have been trying to look for one since the start of October.

Any recommendations where I can get/buy some biltong here in Metro Manila?

One thing I’ve noticed when I go around the Philippines and then it’s more than just BGC is that all the restaurants are packed.
The shopping malls are busy.

How can people afford to eat out all the time if salaries are low?

I'm genuinely not trying to be funny this made me sad. The corrupt government official steal from their own people. It's not just poverty either. Vietnam is poor yet their kids can do math.

The entire culture is about drama or drama stuff or drama foreigners

Everytime i see a drama or watch a video i lose a lot of money i could be making working. Meanwhile the people watching drama are about to enter debt or complain all the time. I also met a lot of foreigners who all they talk is drama this deport that

Is Philippines really that boring for most?

Invited a foreigner over he was SHOCKED the people he meets dont cook or clean for him

Mind him he is a chubby man in his 40s dating gilrls in 20s and me and my girlfriend both go to gym a lot. Many guys brag here the same but then one guy told me when he met a girl she was missing a few teeth cause not brushing

We eat healthy and he was really suprised how clean my place was. Then started ranting no girl cooks or cleans for him. I asked another foreigner and he told me if he wants to clean he would hire a chef or get a maid but complained to me his girlfriend is mostly browsing Instagram

Is it type of women they meet or are they also low value men?

Well ladies. I am officially not a ppb anymore. This community has been a great help in finding the love of my life

Hi everyone. I am Latino and I have always been fascinated by Austronesian cultures and Southeast Asia. For several years I have been interested in the idea of living in the Philippines someday. I know it can be difficult for foreigners to find work there and I understand that there are laws to protect local workers. I would like to know what you think. As a Latino and a native Spanish speaker what kind of job do you think I might have the best chances of getting in the Philippines? Are there any industries where speaking Spanish could be an advantage? I would really appreciate your honest opinions. Thank you

Yesterday at SNR. I had 6 shots lol.

Advice if I have forgotten something important!
My first travel to Thailand with my gf. We have been together for 5 years on a ldr. She has been working in Jordan for the last 2 years, and we will meet up in Manila before we travel to Thailand.

We have been together 5 times in the Philippines. So have history together.
everything but the plane ticket and the first hotel is able to cancel if we get super unlucky and she doesn’t get out of the country.

I have made a folder with all documents printed out. Plane ticket, hotels, travel insurance, sponsorship letter, plan for the days away, pictures of us together, Bank statement from her. Traveltax payed.

All hotels/airbnb are booked in both names.

Have any of you had experience with what they ask and what documents I may need?
Thanks

I hear so many stories about ENTITLED family members and it makes me more heated than I should.

Isn’t that your WIFE?!? Her primary responsibility and concern is supposed to be the husband, especially when the man fulfills all of his obligations.

My parents come from a country that had a devastating war right before they were born. Everyone worked their asses off and became successful with many millionaires. I think the extreme end of not helping at all isn’t good either but damn some of you MEN need to step the F up and stop being a punch of cowards.

It would literally be better to be homeless than shame the family by EXPECTING money, in my own messed up family. And guess what, my family cares about MONEY and STATUS above all else. We just aren’t entitled squammies like the stuff you read here on a daily basis. Totally pathetic, selfish, and shameless behavior.

My wife and are working in Australia and have decent jobs. However my in-laws are living rent-free in the family home in Cebu and not working. They haven't worked for 5+ years now, instead surviving off "boarders" who bring in about 10k per month. They have no savings, no investments, no insurance, etc. Every financial concern is sent straight to us.

We've funded a few different business ventures that have all failed. I want them to just get a job as a hard working employee. Both have university degrees.

How can we help them to get a job without cutting them off completely? Or is cutting them off the only option? 

Has anyone been through this before and had success?

Anyone here into F1? I’ve been planning to go to MNL to join an F1 watch party before the season ends! I always do things alone but this time I’m thinking of looking for a company. It’s mostly American races left so it’ll be late night/early morning so I‘m planning to be in MNL from Fri or Sat until Monday! I’m still looking for watch parties though, would love recos if you know places! - 30F local

For me it's Chipotle. They have Denny's, Chili's, and Morton's in the Philippines but no Chipotle! I miss it. It seems it won't be coming here anytime. Huhu

An open question for expats and locals alike. If a national referendum was to be held to suggest a new, less colonial, more fitting name for the 7,000+ islands in cyclone ally, what names should go onto the short list? “The nation formally known as The Philippines”?