Live in the Philippines as a 23 year old foreigner

chesspsps wrote:

Hi,

I'm a 23 y.o. French and I know a 27 y.o. Filipina who I've been talking to for more than 3 months, she works in Iraq and we plan on meeting up in the Philippines in July when her contract ends, and have something more serious...

Anyway I'm earning money online as a freelance translator since I got back from studying in Japan in July 2018, I had a lot of ambitions but after some things that happened to me I'm just looking for a simple life in a country like the Philippines. The thing is I'm wondering about the costs of life, renting etc.

Firstly, I'd like to know how much it would cost me per month to live somewhere like in Tarlac for example, by accommodating myself to the "Philippine standards"?

Secondly, is it easy to rent as a foreigner? I've heard that foreigners cannot (or shouldn't?) buy there...

Thirdly, I'm wondering if there are foreigners who speak Tagalog fluently here... and if yes, how did you learn the language?

And finally, is there someone around my age and in a similar situation that happily lives in the Philippines? If yes, how do Filipinos see you?

Thank you for reading!

Hi bro, I'm 28 and have been living here since I were 25. Life in the PH is not a simple life unless you have lots of money. I survived before with around US$ 800 / month but if you have $1000-1500 a month, life would be easier. I am staying in Metro Manila so cost of living would probably higher than in Tarlac. Another issue is internet here is very expensive and slow, since you are earning money through online jobs, it might be a problem for you.

It is easy for foreigner to rent, but make sure you ask a several options in the area or if you trust your girl, ask her to ask for you. Although most Filipinos can speak english, based on my experience, asking 'how much' in english instead of tagalog will likely to lead to a higher price. Also foreigners here can buy condo, but cannot buy land.

There are a lots of foreigners who speak tagalog fluently. You can search on youtube Daniel Marsh, he speaks tagalog fluently in his vlogs. I am trying to learn too through my filipina girlfriend and I just found this website https://learningtagalog.com/ . You can start from there your online lessons on youtube.

Anyone can live here happily with a stable source of income. Filipino sometimes see foreigners as people who have a lots of money but I have also met lots of Filipino that are trust worthy. So my advise is just dont trust anyone easily, don't reveal your financial details until you really trust them (including your girls). Do some tests : ).

speaking French  and Japanese can easily find a job in metro manila but not sure in Tarlac.

Thanks for the replies guys

@Kindawn US$800 sounds like a normal amount and it matches with https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Manila ... So this website must be pretty accurate, and according to it, it looks like you could live pretty decently in Tarlac for USD500 more or less
I'm wondering about that because my incomes are not very stable (for now at least)...

As for the Filipina I'm talking to, she seems respectable, and is always telling me she can work for herself and her family and doesn't care about money at all, so I think I can trust her... but yeah I guess it depends on the person in the end and it's pretty much like any other country

Nice channel also, I watched some of his videos and I didn't think there would be a lot of foreigners who would bother learning the language since English is everywhere there, it's pretty nice, I'm thinking maybe if I learn it it will open more doors

Also it may be too personal, but how are you making money there?

@abczoe, really? I've always thought French and Japanese would be completely useless and never get me a real job in the PH, that's whats worrying me a bit actually, because I majored in Japanese studies at university, and I've learned web development by myself also but that's pretty much it... So I don't know if I'd be of any use
Earning money via internet is okay but I see it more as a side job to get extra money, I wouldn't say no to a job even if it doesn't pay much

Bonjour ! Most of the jobs in the Philippines are only for the Filipinos... and it is not enough thats why millions are working abroad ! For the foreigners, there are allowed only to work in highly skilled jobs where there are not enough Filipinos. President Duterte would like to open more the list of authorized jobs for foreigners but there are strong resistances against it. For now, most of the jobs opened for foreigners are in the BPO industry. Some BPO are looking for French speakers

But I am not sure if there are BPO in Tarlac ! In Tarlac the main employers are the plantations of sugarcane. Living with 500 dollars or less will be difficult even in the province for a foreigner !

Hi thanks for your reply

Yeah that's what I've heard unfortunately, it looks like most foreigners who work there have their own businesses

Also I'm not focusing mainly on Tarlac, the thing is I'd like to avoid living in Manila if I can, even though I might have the best chances of finding a job in that city...

I'm working in a BPO. The reason foreign language other than english here is useful because BPO will most likely to have clients in non-english speaking countries. As a result, BPO need native language speaker in order to work with their clients. From a financial aspect, you may want to work in metro manila (since there are more chances to get a job) and visit Tarlac on weekends (around 3-4 hours travel time from Manila). Or you can make your online income stable first before moving here.

Ah I see now, yeah that sounds like a more reasonable plan... I think i'll figure out where I should go depending on the opportunities that I get when I'm there already

Thanks anyway it's a bit more clear now!