i will be moving to the Philippines soon has any one been i want to know more about what its like there?

Question

i will be liveing in a city called manila whats the food like and the music i would love to hear some philippine style music are the people friendley where should i go first and what should i go see thanks for any advice you have

Answer 1

- Metro Manila is simply referred to as Manila, comprising 17 cities and municipalties...(but there's really a city called Manila, the capital of the country.)

- Makati is great, business center of the Philippines...aside from Ortigas center, Ayala Alabang Corporate City etc.

- Lot of malls and places to hang out (The Fort, Greenbelt, Eastwood, Malate etc.)

- You are safe in Manila, dont worry about kidnappings or whatsoever, you're not on a secluded area but of course precautions are needed.

- Watch out for some pickpockets roaming around esp. in not so nice or crowded places.

- Music.., we actually listen to American music, aside from OPM (Original Pilipino Music)

- Filipino food is a mix of dishes and culinary procedures from Spain, Mexico, China and the US. (it has a history anyway). Some restaurants serves diff. cuisines too.

- People are mostly hospitable...just be nice to them, they are indeed friendly.

Comment : Well, it seems like senseofhonor have such a bad experience in the Phil. Actually, I have seen lots of foreigners in Manila without any bodyguard and they can freely wander. We never hate them as long as they're not rude.

Answer 2

I lived in the Philippines for two years and I'm a Canadian. Manila is highly polluted and very hot but the shopping is totally amazing. Franchised restaurants everywhere so if you're not into diving into the native food that soon then that's a good place to start. Music is influenced by a lot of ballroom dancing and filipino love songs ... they can sing really good. People can be friendly but keep your pocket close. Choose your friends wisely, some can swindel you and leave you stranded and they are not afraid to ask to borrow money from you/have you pay for their meal without paying you back.

You have to go to Boracay. It's come a long way and has become much more commercial but still retains its beauty in its beaches. Best time to go is January/February. I have the time of my life every year I go back to the Philippines ... and I enjoy it more to be with my in-laws. They are great!

Answer 3

Food is still with all the Carb = Rice... and I prefer staying away from Manila... PHILIPPINES is an archepilagic country --- we do have 7,107 islands if HIGH TIDE --- 7,117 if low tide...

,,, the cost of living in the islands are very impressive and you can help the locals,,,

Answer 4

Sassy and bluecross , are good examples of the Pilipino people ,
they are for the most part nice and generous , it is an impoverished nation though so guard your money . Be safe and you'll do well . Oh , also remember filipino's are very proud , don't do something stupid by trying to act superior . (I've seen people do that before, not a good thing at all . )

Answer 5

you're very much welcome here.. the people are friendly and hospitable. don't worry about the security coz its not that bad as what the news says, just be careful of robbers and snatchers (just like in any city in the world). you won't have a problem about food coz we have restaurants that have different cusines, american, chinese, japanese, mediterranean, spanish and other specialty restaurants, you'll have a lot of choices. As to places to go to, you can travel to the different islands and discover for yourself the beautiful islands, from north to south, east and west ;-)

hope you have a great time..

i'm proud to be a pinoy! (pinay)

Answer 6

try to visit www.livinginthephilippines.com or www.travel-philippines.com (philippines visitors guide on yahoo! travel...it will help you a lot.

Answer 7

you must be kidding,hope that you are dark. they do notlike americans there,itisnt safe for you. you will be a prisoner in your home. i know that u r putting me on,why would anyone move there without a visit. wow,take a body guard and a army.

Answer 8

surely there has to be a reason why you are moving there without ever having been there. hopefully there is a legitimate reason for you to move there, if you know someone there already then it will fine but if you know no one there and have never been there before you are making a huge mistake.be prepared for cultureshock .i have lived in manila for almost 3 years with my wife (im american and my wife is filipina)

the biggest problem you will have living in the philippines will be the culture differance, compare to american culture and thier culture is backwards (although its not a bad thing, you just have to have alot of patients learning how they do things there and why they do the things they do) expect about 3 to 6 months to adjust there (getting used to traffic , waiting in line, mass confusion, learning tagalog..) the first few months you will become very frustrated with thier culture, then one day you just wont care anymore and you will have become adjusted.

manila is the 9th largest city in the world with a population of about 15 million so if you have ever lived in new york or los angles you will know what to expect. as far as safety goes just use your common sense as you would in any large american city. there are about 275,000 americans that live in the philipines right now (most are in visayas region). that seems like alot but with a population of 80 million its not even 1/2 of a percent.

getting around manila you can use buses , taxi cabs , jeepneys, or MRT, and LRT (the trains can get you about anywhere in manila and usually are the fastest route)

you can find about any kind of food in manila from traditional philipino food to fast food (mcdonalds , burger king, KFC, taco bell, shakeys pizza, and pizza hut)and even some nice resturants like chili's, outback streakhouse, and tgi fridays. manila is loaded with shopping malls and you can buy everything from the latest fashon to pirated knock-offs of the original. basiclly makati would be the area you find most of the stuff that is american. the farther you go from makati the less you find american items.
philipinos are some of the friendliest people in the world and since everyone in manila speaks at least some english its not very hard to comunicate with the people there (again the farther you get from makati the less english is spoken) most people are soft spoken and shy to forgieners but as long as you are nice and give them respect they will treat you very well. most people are poor, but they have strong family values and are very humble.

the music there ranges from techno and hip hop to heavy metal and oldies, karaoke is very popular there as most people even have it in thier homes. there are plenty of clubs there for dancing and having fun. about the only music i didnt really hear that much there was country music.

for places to visit it really depends on what you like, if you like culture and history i would say visit intermuros (spanish fort in manila that was japans last stronghold in ww2). manila has some wonderfull old spanish churches, luneta park and the boardwalk are nice to visit and walk around. from manila you can take a WG&A ferry and get about anywhere in the phills. for beaches and resorts go to cebu ( see-boo) or boracay (bore-rock-eye), baguio (bahg-e-o) is about 120 miles north of manila (7 hour buss ride) and it a small city in the mountians that has nice cool weather (alot of americans live there as well). its best to have philipino along with you when you travel around outside manila for the simple reason of translations and your less likely to get harassed by beggars and scammers. i have never felt threatened in manila or in danger (even at 2am walking down a street by myself) but since it is a big city with alot of poverty and crime (most crimes are petty theft) it always best to keep alert and dont take chances. probly your biggest problem will be overcharging (if the price isnt posted they will usally ask about triple if they see your a forgiener so dont be afraid to haggle on the price to get your best deal in the markets)
probly the most thing i missed about the usa was the food for some reason, even though you can get american food in manila its just not the same, you will see when you go to the grocery store there and cant find certian items common in usa. depending on where your from in usa you will have to get to to the weather, even though its 80 to 90 degrees all year round which is great they have very high humidity (usally 90 to 95%) so its always "muggy" there. if your from florida or hawaii you shouldnt have a problem with the weather that much. you should go to "living in the philippines " website and join up to thier yahoo group, you can pick up alot of information and ask questions and meet other americans that live there (having another american friend there is almost vital as while you are adjusting they can help you cope with your culture shock and also will understand when you need to "vent" about your frustrations of thier culture).
also here are few things that you should ship there with you when you move (some may sound strange but you wont regret taking it there)
1) zip-lock freezer bags (they always come in handy and are impossible to find there.
2) a good back-pack or shoulder-bag for when your around manila
3)a good pair of walking sandals (right now you can buy them cheap in usa this time of year)
4)kool-aid or lemon aid (its cheap and taste good and cant be bought in phills)
5)first- aid kit (they have cheap band-aids there that dont stay on)
6)a HUGE bottle of asprin, HUGE bottle of TUMS or rolaides, alka-seltzer cold medicine, neosporin or anykind of ointment for cuts, (you will eventullay get sick during rainy season and cold medicines there suck, also most medicines are sold individually and it becomes a hassle to to the store and buy 2 asprin at a time just for a headache.)
7) if you are shipping a container and will have plenty of room i would sugjest shipping alot of a canned food like soups (they only have cream of mushroom and chicken noodle at most stores and if you want brands like chunky or progresso they are hard to find and very expensive, about 5$ per can) also ship any kind sealed food that you really like (salsa, velveeta cheese, ect). a few cases of each should last about a year,
about every american i know in phills agrees thier cheese really sucks, and to buy imported cheese its very expensive (i had to pay almost 6$ for a small brick of colby cheese)
8) bring your computer and printer and any other technology items , everything there is alot cheaper than here except for technolgy items like tv's, computers , dvd players, ect..(a 19" tv in usa will sell for about 75$ vs. about 130$ in phils) you can pick up voltage converters for electric items (usa runs on 110v where as phills runs on 220v, if you plug in something electric from usa it WILL burn up in a few seconds.
9) if you are over 6' tall or on the heavy side bring shorts and t-shirts and plenty of clothes (philipinos are small people ,average heights are about 5' - 5' 2" for women and 5'4" - 5'8" for men so it hard to find clothes to fit bigger people there)
i really hope you research the phills online and learn as much as you can BEFORE you move there so you know what to expect there good luck and have fun