Essentials to live in the Philippines

Tinned Peas.
The ones here are like Ball Bearings

I would suggest any medicines you need on a daily basis, here they are nor always available, also any tinned foods you cannot live without. Some are here some are not

Door springs the old  spring type. Never found here. motor & rod, splits for grill can not find, grill I can find.  Learn town & were things are were you live. Learn to shop the market, May not look good but food is better there,fresher & much cheaper than the malls. If you are large pants, shirts I can find above 38 waist pants are hard to find.  Peas I found the frozen ones in bags are not to bad. Still a little hard.  Fishing equipment is hard to find of good quality.  Turkey is hard to find and good ham.  They have good cheese here but most don't melt well.  Sardines in mustard. All other they have.  A good tender steak. Beef here is durro. But lean.  Most I can not find I can live with out here.  Always have some extra money on you. You find buys here in the strangest places.   Big thing is learning town, were to shop, how to find. Learn to ask other expats. Things impossible to find know 3 or 4 taxi drivers ask them.  Give a reward for finding for you. It may take a few weeks you may find it at a pawn shop across town but they know you pay a reward for some things they can find. It can be found.

Hi Cristine,

I'm smiling because I just brought one suitcase.  Why because when you get here you live in shorts flip flops and at -shirt.  That's it!  Maybe at night you might want to wear some sweats!  Everything you need can be bought here for pennies on the dollar.  Oh, bring money, or have it wired to your account you open here when the time comes.

Make sure your bank will write money overseas!

That's it!

Joe

Christine,

Just pack a bag and come.  Don't worry about it.  Do not focus on what you left behind.

Richard

after one and a half yr here i coold not find shaving soap,as far as fihing gear is consurned i found chinese merchandise in Manila to have a lot i needed and the rest i order tru GALLEON and let it come from the US .
vegys as leeks , brussels sprouts and some other tippical euro vegys are not to be found ,i woold not advise to bring canned foods as most of these can also be ordered on the net.
i used wilkinson shaving soap and once this cup was empty i just truw a bar of dove soap in it and used that ,it works haha.
as others alredy advised ask frends you wil make here for advise,and the use of rewards is good advise in this to.
for the rest one soold bring along good will and acseptance towards an other culture , i considder this very inportand.
am european ,and in europ manny say foreigners soold adapt to ower culture ,so ceeping this in mind i try to make adapting to a priority in my day to day life here and am enjoing my life and marridge here so much that often i ask myself were i deserved such blessings .
so bring only what you cant mis,make frends be polite and enjoi life.

greets Dirk

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your valuable inputs on this topic which has been launched on all forums by the team expat.com.

This is so mainly to help those who are considering the move to better prepare themselves.

All the best
Bhavna

Money is really good to bring since cash gets a better exchange rate and as I found out after typhoon Yolanda, when there is no electricity and the banks and financial institutions are all closed, its really nice to have cash.
Medicines, not all the medicine here are authentic, even at some of the bigger pharmacies.
An extra pair of glasses, some optometrists, even in malls, will give you the wrong prescription
Good solar powered lights
A good computer, for some reason they are a bit expensive here
An open cell phone, some cell phones here are counterfeits
Your brand of shaving cream, many Filipinos do not shave and there is often a very small selection available
Condoms, again, better quality control on most foreign brands
A good camera, if you like to use the real thing. They are a bit expensive here
Extra shoes if you have big feet
Extra clothing if you are plus sized
A motorcycle helmet if you ride, the "one size" fits all mentality here does not work
Alkaselzer, its hard to find here
An extra belt if you are plus sized
A package of pens, many of the pens I have bought here stop working
Razor blades, again, the quality of the brands available here is poor, even name brands
Puzzles, they are hard to find here and expensive
A dairy cow, all dairy products are expensive here*
High thread count sheets
A real washing machine, the Barbie and Ken versions of washing machines here are pitiful*
A really nice slow cooker, not rice cooker, good ones are hard to find here and $$
A really nice food processor, if you love cooking

Good quality products are available here, but expensive and many brand named products are counterfeit.

Ordering from over seas can lead to expensive shipping charges AND
The post office here acts like a kind of customs, and will charge you exorbitant customs duties on even the smallest package, even if that package has a customs declaration showing its true cost. And if you question the high duty costs, the post office will either return the package or KEEP it for themselves. (You think I am kidding???)

If you are a Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or German citizen, you should bring a computer keyboard. The above mentioned countries has letters that doesn't exist on a English keyboard.

Just some soup spoons because many meals here have a liquid base and all the spoons are the shallow dessert type.

I find philpost absolutely weird, they lose parcels for months then they turn up, I was charged 112 peso for custom clearance on some parcels and not others. I find ems is fairly reliable to send out. The secret to an easy life here is adapt to what you can get, it is not Europe or America. I use the markets for veg, meat, poultry spices etc If i have fish I go to the wet market, But know your prices well.  because sometimes the mall is cheaper. Easy to spot counterfeit as they are a lot cheaper and a cursory examination will show. counterfeit cell phones, some are extremely good copies, you pay the money and take your chance. I have a Sharp single tub washing machine, I managed to find 2nd hand at 1700 peso good value and works well. Just beware of what you are doing, be like the Filipinos make do and adjust to what you can get. I miss nothing from Europe except cheese, here it's just rubber with no variety. Otherwise enjoy as I do.

For good shoes, belt, billfold. I found a good cobbler here.  He is not cheap. Good shoes from him cost the same as good shoes at the mall.  But they last twice as long. And can be resoled for knock around shoes for another year.   Wife even likes him.  She can show him shoes she likes. Most he can make not all. Custom to your feet fitted.  Even she says for the same price in good shoes his last twice as long.

bring along ur daily medicines and special ointments ,coz some brands may not always be available here especially if ur not planning to stay in  a big City..In Manila you can find most of the things at a big mall or specialty stores.tho they may cost higher than the usual coz they also got them shipped from outside the country.Just a thought.why would you look for the things you hav from ur country to the country u plan to go,especially Asia (Philippines).you can find some  of ur  " essentials" here too, but that will depend on where you are.If u are in Manila,,you can find als,ot everything here..but not in other big city in provinces, they still have very limited resource to offer.why look for the foods and brands u left back home,,why not try the foods available  here..thats one way you can be able to adapt to the place visit.try their "own" and try not to look for the "things" from home.trying something different once in a while is also "essential" for "living the life"..dont forge to bring some smile and positive attitudes..that will keep everything lighter,,enjoy the places you visit, learn from all the people you encounter,give out smiles and u will surely get some back.Also ,be cautious of the place you want to visit,gather some info first or ask some expats.it always best to be safe everywhere you go.God bless and Enjoy the Philippines

Sincerely, pack very light and keep your visit short. Better, go somewhere else. It is not safe here. Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam are better places to visit for vacation. To live here, not advisable.

I live in CDO and the only thing I found that I could not get is ink for the inkjet printer I brought with me.  Nobody sells Kodak ink in the Philippines.  As mentioned above good peas are hard to find but once and a while one of the more western markets has some good ones shipped in.  They don't last long.  They use to have Butterball turkeys but now another brand I never heard of.  The beef isn't real good but the pork isn't to bad and chicken is chicken.  There isn't anything really I can't live without here, we can find almost anything I need or at least my wife can in the local stores.

i am belgiam and this concern me to
the vegitebles
the soil is good in the philipines there is water availeble so i gues it is worth importing sead to growthem in the back yard
tot personal use
a frezer is the solution then

using the local brand of materials can solve suply problems

You mentioned that the soil is good in the Philippines.  It is not good in Palawan.  I am now making my own soil by starting a compost pile.  Wife, tried to grow tomatoes and all the plants died.  The mud here has no nutrients in.  Don't try growing in Palawan.

martin jaumain wrote:

i am belgiam and this concern me to
the vegitebles
the soil is good in the philipines there is water availeble so i gues it is worth importing sead to growthem in the back yard
tot personal use
a frezer is the solution then

as a felow belgian i totaly agree on growing ower vegetebals,and i am planning on starting a vegy garden .
about the tomatos:if you buy seeds in a mall be notsurprised of finding not the seeds mentioned on the pakage i both leahtas seeds and got tomato plants out of them hahaha
i usualy do not plant anny seeds in full ground i let them develop to smal plants in self made germinators this way i am asured that what i plant is alredy on it way to become a produce.
and as in manny things location location location some plants (like tomatos)do not like to be in ful sun all day .
so to stay with the topic indeed if one likes the vegys one is used of eating it is a good idea to bring along seeds and start a vegetabel garden or grow these in flower pots on a balkony

greets Dirk

Martin , the weather is too hot at sea level for growing the normal range of vegetables you have in Belgium. Best to grow the common variety. Lettuces do grow but not with foreign seed.

well said, why come here if you want what you left behind? Don't come, stay where you have what you want.

Not safe here!!!!!! New York is more dangerous than here ,Thailand is far more dangerous,  and I live in Midanao, I often walk home at 2/ 3 o'clock in the morning. I would not visit some areas, the same you do not visit black areas if your white.  Here is what you make it. I have friends from all religions Catholics ,Muslims, Born again etc. so I suggest you need to apologise to the millions of Filipinos you insult.

Apologies for insult! I did not insult anyone. I only told the truth as I see it, as I live it, as I work with it. I did not compare here with NY or Bangkok. But it is true that Thailand, in general is far safer and more orderly than the Philippines. If you wish to cover for my time, I will be happy to gather and submit official statistics, police records and analyse of safety and order in this country. So please, enjoy your life here as you wish, but don't try to shut-down others from sharing their views and lived experiences. Perhaps, this is the reason why you are here!

iff it is safe or not is not the topic here , but i never had the feeling it is not.
who walks the streets showing of juwelry or other expansive items makes themselfves a target for criminals all over the world ,that's a fact.
for the last months we stayed in a very rural region of Davao Oriental,all the ppl around us are poor,one day i had a technical problem with my trike and manny very frendly ppl helped my to get it back in working order for wich i thank them very much,never had anny agresion towards me at all.
bringing akseptance and respect for the culture,good manners and an open smile towards the ppl i meet seems to be a good idea for all who comes to live in The Philippines
ofcorse using common sense in were and wen one go's  is good no mather were one is.
some prefere to look at the dark side of life i prefere to look at the sunny side,that do's not meens am walking on a cloud or so ,i am realistic and know nothing is perfect,but we can try to do small efforts to make it les inperfect he

greets Dirk

Is it safe. Were do you live here?  Davao was voted 3rd safest big city in the world last year. In the province crime can be so rare as to go years before hearing of one.   In other places this is not true. Manila is high crime in some places.  But still safer than most American cities.  were I live crime is rare. Walk the streets at 2am and no one bothers you.  But poverty is high. I do not wear expensive things here for show.  And there are pickpockets here. Mostly young kids under 15.  At 15 they can go to jail. Become good citizens on there birthday it seems. Thailand been there it is the same. Were in Thailand?  All Countries have places you should not go.  In the far south there are rebels. Don't go there.

For ink in C.D.O. Have you tried Columbia down town on the centeral?  Next to McDonalds?  Also they refill at Giasonos.  Columbia may take 30 days to get. If they order for you.  But they treat me like a king there.  True a few piso higher on some things but they give you so much free help if a problem so. What is 5 piso more for a 500 piso item if they back it.

Hi everybody,

We are getting off topic here.
Can we please only share our own point of view on the  Essentials to live in the Philippines ?

Thank you,

Priscilla

When we are back in Europe. We always put together a Balikbyan Box with mostly canned foodstuffs, that are either not available here, very expensive, or poor quality.
These include. Peas. Tomatoes. Mushrooms. Kidney Beans. Sweet Corn. Pickels. (Gherkin, Olives Red Cabbage, Saurkraut. etc)  Frankfurter, and Bockwürst Sausages. Canned Meat. Pet Food.
Unfortunately Cheese, and  Wine don't travel well unrefrigerated. So we have to do without.
(Usually when I return to Europe I suffer from The Ben Gunn Syndrome. "Just a Morsel o  Cheese Matey" )

As well as Food, we have sent Power Tools. A Chainsaw. A Saw Chain, Sharpener. A Bench Saw, and numerous Hand Tools. All much cheaper, or not sold here.

People will always have different items in their list of essentials. Take my husband and I for example. Under footwear, we have different versions of "essentials."

I think the most essential thing to bring to the Philippines, which is applicable to everyone, is knowledge. Before moving here for long term, try it out for a few months first. Come here when the weather is at its hottest. Do research. Learn about the culture, what you can live with (or without), the areas that would suit you best, your actual budget, what items you can or cannot find here, etc.  You will then be able to determine whether you would want to live here, and also determine the essential and not-so-essential stuff to ship here for your long term stay.

Essential material things to bring for this first trip: money, a bank account which can wire money here and from where you can withdraw money, clothes for warm weather, cellphone, laptop, 3-months' supply of medication / prescription which you cannot live without, a paper-based phone book (not just the one on your cellphone, which you could lose if your phone gets lost or broken) which lists important numbers of contacts both from your home country and here.

Another essential thing to have is something intangible: an open mind. Remember that this is not America (or your home country). Understand first before trying to be understood. Don't expect that you can still keep here the lifestyle and stuff that you're used to back home and still spend as much for the same things as back home. Try out some of the things that locals do to live by.

The culture is very different, especially driver mentality. The rude driver who cuts you off might be, in a different situation, the pedestrian who will stop and help you out if you have engine trouble.

Keep a positive attitude and be respectful.

Everything lol

I can find anything that i need or use in Cebu at any of the malls.
Even large size shoes/sneakers as there is a payless shoe store.
As far as medications go i never had a problem getting my meds at Rose Pharmacy.
Occasionally out of stock so i just go to another Rose Pharmacy location. They are reputable without having to worry about imitation/China knock off.
SM supermarket and Super Metro supermarket has large selection and variety and can find many items i would get in the states.
Only thing i have yet to find is a bag of pretzels!!!!!
Do see Dorito"s and Lay's and pringles but i would love to find pretzels.

I dry the seeds from veg that I buy here. My papaya tree grown from seed is now 8ft tall and has 9 fruits, squash Is very prolific, just trying sayote at moment growing well. Aubergine, tomatoes, etc buy the fruit/veg, dry the seeds, plant it is simple.

I am not sure that you are correct.  I have lived here for many years without problems a friend from Bangkok was scared for her life most of the time because of lawlessness in the capital. The usual problems are of course prevalent but mainly in  southern Mindanao. I can say with much certainty I would live here and not Thailand. Vietnam different. You say you did not compare with New York but I did to show that wherever you live there is danger and it is more dangerous to live in New York than here.

Bank accounts are not that easy to open if you're a foreigner anymore. Check the requirements carefully.  Bring you're plastic. And a spare plastic in case you lost the first plastic. You can always put you're foreign check into your girl friends dollar account and hope she don't blow it when you're not looking. BTW I was married to a Filipina and the BPI would not give me an account until I could produce the 13a Visa. Now it's a piece of cake. I deposit a NC check into my BPI dollar account about every 6 months. It clears in about 28 bank days and the spending continues.

I am Australian and married to a filipina i met in Australia.
We travel every year to her home town in the provinces in Leyte.
We find that the only essential we need....is money.  Just about everything else is available.  Maybe not what you are used to, but something nearly equivalent to.
We generally stay for between 3 and 7 weeks.  We do not have any bank accounts in The Philippines....so use money transfers through Western Union or Moneygram.  We transfer funds in lots of $500.  Then collect as required.  Any transfers we do not collect in The Philippines, we collect back home on our return.
Most foods etc are available.
We have been doing it this way since 2008....quite successfully.

Travelling to, and living in, are two way different things Pete. Let's face it, twelve months is a lot more than three to seven weeks.

Getting good quality things here at a fair price it not easy, and in some cases, nearly impossible.

""As an expat living in the Philippines, what would you advise the ones about to pack to bring along?
What are the items you can easily find in the Philippines? On the other hand, what is less common or quite expensive?""

I have said that you can get here many things LIKE you can get in developed countries but the quality is NOT there. And, strangely enough, some of those knock off products are more expensive here that quality stuff abroad. So I bring stuff from abroad that make our lives here more comfortable and enjoyable.

I am not talking about culture of this country, but the likes of the foreigner who have chosen to live here. That is the point of the thread.

And thanks to the moderators who UNFROZE this thread. I am not sure why they froze it to begin with, but as they know, this site is not a Filipino site, but part of a world wide expat.com group. Not owned by Filipinos.

Why wouldn't you use your debit or credit card to access your funds through an ATM?

S&R stock them

I think your totally wrong. NYC is considered the safest large city in the US. ** If you said Chicago, St Louis or Detroit you may be nearer the mark.