Job offer Manilla Phillipines

[lotuselan7]

Been offers job in Mailla ( about 20klms south to be exact).
Lived in Thailand before and Japan. So nothing that new.
But going with wife and baby daughter and wondered if anybody got insight to lifestyle / expat situation out there. Fancy the job but it needs to be a 3 - 5 year move so want to get it right.
Mark

[mattnunn]

Manilla is pretty rough, I did 8 weeks there and had visits to some contractors out in the country a bit and we had to take armed guards everywhere. It's not like anywhere in Japan (I don't know about Thailand).

[alfaman]

I think King Herald may live in the Phillipines - maybe ask him?

[XJSJohn]

Not so far removed from Bangkok for an example (to live / work in, not visit khao San road / soi cowboy etc as a tourist)

Which district / area? The guys here that know Philippines properly will be able to give you more advice then I am sure.

[lotuselan7]

Thanks. Office in Alabang which looks nice place to live.

[King Herald]

Yup we reside in the Philippines. We're in Angeles City now, about 100k north of Manila, but we actually lived in Alabang about fifteen years ago, and it was moving along apace back then, with new malls and some sophisticated apartment buildings going up. So, you won't living in total squalor, and Manila is but a half hour away by taxi.

There is a lot of modern world development going on in the Philippines but you often have to put up with the third world dust and debris in between the decent areas. If you're a golf guy, there is a large golf course, field, court, whatever they are called, maybe 10 miles from Alabang, in laguna I think it is called.

[lotuselan7]

King Herald
Thanks, my office will be Alabang and told either Alabang or McArthur is it? are best bets for living. Really want a house as have young daughter and a small dog. As for best place to live access to facilities (coffee shops and other expat wives for Mrs) where would you recommend. Anything I should watch for be aware off?
What's situation with Malaria, does any body take medication! Thinking primarily about baby!
Mark

[anonymous-user]

My advice, don't bring the dog, I've never known it to work a UK dog will hate the heat. And again think about a house, UK wives do not ike the dirt and the insects, I've had two houses hated them, my house in Borneo, rats, monkeys and cobras in the garden I wouldn't let my kids use it.
In Borneo we just had a cholera out brake, hundreds in hospital, don't know how many dead, made little news, do you really want your kid in the garden?
Maleria is not a big problem in my experience (KH knows more on the locakl your are talking about)

[lotuselan7]

Re Dog ours was born and lived first 3 years in japan so used to heta and he did live in apartmnet (small dog Pommeranian).
My wife is also Aussie so snake and things that bite dont worry her to much but thanks for warning.

[King Herald]

lotuselan7 said:

King Herald
Thanks, my office will be Alabang and told either Alabang or McArthur is it? are best bets for living. Really want a house as have young daughter and a small dog. As for best place to live access to facilities (coffee shops and other expat wives for Mrs) where would you recommend. Anything I should watch for be aware off?
What's situation with Malaria, does any body take medication! Thinking primarily about baby!
Mark

Houses are available in every price range, but you need to do some research on the area, obviously. The PI is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be but you should be able to get a nice tidy place in a secure compound without problem.

It is some fifteen years since I was over that way so it has probably changed beyond recognition, but Google Earth will hook you up with the general layout.

Do you plan on getting a car when over there? Does your wife drive? The roads range from 'okay' to 'bloody awful', and the driving is some of the worst I have seen in the world, but you do get used to it.

Second hand cars are mega expensive, like £2000 for a 15 year old Corolla, but new ones are a vast amount more than in the UK. They do take a beating from the roads, and traffic is almost suicidal at times. I'd recommend some sort of decent sized 4x4 or SUV, depends on your budget.

You can hire a full time driver too, maybe £50 - 75 a month.

There is a main toll highway directly to Alabang from Manila/Makati, the SLEX 'South Luzon Express-way'.

There are some useful Philippines internet forums around, but you have to trawl through and find one you like, as most are dedicated to sex tourists. I used to be one one called something like "living in the Philippines" but I left it after a while, too strict and pedantic, but very useful for local information. Not sure if this is the same one: http://liveinthephilippinesforum.com/forum/index.p...

You can also get a maid to clean house, for about £50 a month, but you have to be careful as dishonesty is rife. We just fired our own maid for stealing my wifes jewellery.

There is no malaria in the PI, or not in Luzon anyway. Nobody takes medication.

Is your daughter at school yet? There are some good international schools around, but not sure how close to Alabang. Our daughter is at 'St Pauls American Christian School', in Angeles City, which costs about £3500 a year but is based on the American system. You can probably find a similar suitable place near Alabang.

Edited by King Herald on Friday 19th October 14:31

[King Herald]

Berw said:

....... rats, monkeys and cobras in the garden I wouldn't let my kids use it.
In Borneo we just had a cholera out brake, hundreds in hospital, don't know how many dead, made little news, do you really want your kid in the garden?
Maleria is not a big problem in my experience (KH knows more on the locakl your are talking about)

The PI is not as bad as that. You do get rats, but I've never seen one in the garden or house. Monkeys? I've never seen one wild in the PI.

Chances are the OP would live inside a walled and secure compound, with security guards on the gates, which will be pretty civilised and well maintained, depending on budget.

Here's another useful forum link I just found browsing: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68...

[mikial]

lotuselan7 said:

King Herald
Thanks, my office will be Alabang and told either Alabang or McArthur is it? are best bets for living. Really want a house as have young daughter and a small dog. As for best place to live access to facilities (coffee shops and other expat wives for Mrs) where would you recommend. Anything I should watch for be aware off?
What's situation with Malaria, does any body take medication! Thinking primarily about baby
Mark

I`m in Negros Oriental, 80 minutes by air from Manila so my comments are just centered on my experience here.
As highlighted already, I think your dog would suffer , difficult decision to leave your pet behind but is one you would have to make if you relocated here.
Dengue, (also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.) is avoidable by simply spraying the premises regularly , I`m not sure if in a highly urbanised area it is a such a risk as it is in the provinces.
I think the biggest jar to your system (apart from the heat) would be the driving experience.

Good luck with your venture.

[King Herald]

Dengue mosquitoes do tend to travel up to a half kilometre from their home base, so screens and long sleeves, repellents and mosquito coils are advisable at certain times of the year. We use several of the ultra violet fly trap killer devices, which seem to work okay.

[XJSJohn]

King Herald said:

Dengue mosquitoes do tend to travel up to a half kilometre from their home base, so screens and long sleeves, repellents and mosquito coils are advisable at certain times of the year. We use several of the ultra violet fly trap killer devices, which seem to work okay.

Unfortunately Dengue is a problem all over SE Asia, even here in super clean and efficient Singapore with weekly and sometimes daily fogging etc you still get serious dengue outbreaks!!

Just got used to always having a can of Deet mozzie repellant handy and an good stock of mozzie coils at home!

they do say that the Dengue mozzies only come out at dawn and dusk but i do not plan to put this to the test .....

[mikial]

XJSJohn said:

King Herald said:

Dengue mosquitoes do tend to travel up to a half kilometre from their home base, so screens and long sleeves, repellents and mosquito coils are advisable at certain times of the year. We use several of the ultra violet fly trap killer devices, which seem to work okay.

Unfortunately Dengue is a problem all over SE Asia, even here in super clean and efficient Singapore with weekly and sometimes daily fogging etc you still get serious dengue outbreaks!!

Just got used to always having a can of Deet mozzie repellant handy and an good stock of mozzie coils at home!

they do say that the Dengue mozzies only come out at dawn and dusk but i do not plan to put this to the test .....

It`s an unpleasant fact of life here that you will be bitten by a mosquito, I was several times over before I started taking precautions, they were just an annoyance that lasted for 20 minutes or so, ( bloody red ants are worse !) I now use a cream ( Green Cross Insect repellent)on exposed skin areas and an anti dengue spray killer , so far so good.

On the plus side , I have just returned from a breakfast of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, fresh pineapple juice , toast, butter , jam and brewed coffee ...el fresco and overlooking the sea between Cebu and Negros for 260 php.inc tip ( circa £4)

[King Herald]

Avon 'Skin So Soft' has been recommended to me as one of the best mossy repellents, and is not harmful to the skin like some of the more toxic varieties. It might be hard to find in the Philippines, or most Asian countries, but you do see it around.

[BartSimpson]

I live about 15 minutes from Alabang. There's some really nice subdivisions popping up there now, so we're looking at moving there early next year as the drive to Makati everyday for work is really starting to do my head in from where I currently am in Dasmarinas.

Drop me a mail lmdh(at)outlook(dot)com if you need any help with anything.