This is something I've been wanting to share after 4 years of living in the Philippines: dating Filipina single moms is much more nuanced than most comments and posts on this topic say. Let me elaborate.

I dated a few single moms in Manila and Cebu. I think it can be super rewarding, but it also could be a "never again" experience or some horror story you read online.

To me it's important to understand the context first: more than 14 million Filipinas (around 25% of Filipino women) are single moms. They didn’t choose to be single moms - we’re talking no divorce, no reliable child support, their partners who just disappeared and in many cases abused them. Many of these women didn't choose this - the system and their partners failed them. Obviously that doesn't automatically make them great partners, but "never date" based on that alone misses a lot, and I think it's unfair.

I also see a lot of posts and comments complaining that her kids come first. Isn't it natural for all parents around the world? The men I know who made it work just accepted it and started working with it. My experience shows me that the moment you show her you accept her kids, she makes you feel like the most important man in the world. I don’t think it’s the fight “who’s got the priority”, because in the Filipino culture you become a part of the family, pretty much instantly.

What really mattered to me is to see what are her values, what she actually wants, and if her behavior matches what she’s saying. I always try to keep this one thing in mind: single mom who's been working double shifts for two years to feed her kids and asking for nothing is a different person from someone whose first question is about your income (like many ladies you meet on dating apps).

Many bad experiences are real - that's for sure. But I think it’s always worth looking at what kind of woman she actually is, besides her status of a single mom. So many guys made a super happy relationships with them and their kids. I hope this post will introduce some balance on the topic of Filipina single moms.

I've written a lot more on this - it's in my profile if anyone wants it.

My girlfriend and I have been together for one year. She is Filipino and grew up on an island in the Philippines.

Throughout our relationship, her parents and siblings have relied on her for money. They grew up very poor. She is the eldest of four and, at 33, has never really had her own wants or needs supported. At one point she was $2–3k in debt while also paying off her parents’ car.

After the car was paid off ($5.6k USD total), the pressure did not stop. They still guilt-trip her: they are 60 and “old,” they are disappointed that she is prioritizing the relationship, and they say she should work abroad again to earn more instead of taking steps toward a husband and a child. They almost never tell her they are proud of her or show appreciation. Everything feels transactional. She sometimes wonders if they only want her living back home so she can keep supporting them, not so she can build a life of her own.

She has always contributed more than her siblings. Birthdays, trips, food, gifts, cakes — she covers it. When she visits, she gets looks that imply she is supposed to spend. They rarely ask about her future, interests, or hobbies. Before the car, she sent home $50–$200 a month on average. The more she earns, the more the goalposts move. Once the car was done, a new need appeared. They also comment on how comfortably we live, the places we go, and the restaurants we eat at.

She recently asked about staying with her parents and siblings while she waits for her U.S. visa. Their response was: “What about us? Why not get married here? Are you only with him for a visa? It’s better if you move overseas to make money instead.” That came from both parents, who barely speak to her otherwise. They know I am financially stable, and I think they are afraid that if she leaves for the U.S., we will put ourselves first and they will lose access to what we have.

I am shocked and looking for perspective. Is this simply Filipino culture — or an extreme island version of it?

Been traveling for a lil over a year now. Gonna move to the Philippines next year for 6 months at least. Where do you recommend? Safety, beaches, decent wifi n some emergency medical care is really all that matters to me.

Foreigner asked the staff to turn off the music and completely killed the mood inside McDo

Is there a store in the Philippines to purchase Copenhagen tobacco? Been hunting for it.

I stayed there short time in uptown park suites 2. It was ok. security was a bit overkill when bringing visitors. Outside of the really expensive places. What would everyone says is the best condos in bgc for long term. Based on location,amentities and upkeep(limited to no roaches)?

Thank you for any replies.

I'd love to hear feedback on this one because it's interesting and something we only ran into recently.

My wife and I have been together for nearly 25 years, we have kids and our age is relatively close together. We met and married in a 3rd country through a mutual friend. Her family wasn't poor but also not wealthy. Middle class, good people. When we were back their recently, the family would drive us around in their cars and we would chip in on gas. Out to eat, it was a crapshoot who would end up paying.

For years, we didn't live near lots of other Filipinos and it was ok. My wife like to visit the Asian store occasionally here in the US, but she doesn't need to be with other Filipinos. It's nice when we do. There's a family that we met years ago and they are like family to us but now live states away for us.

in the last year or two, we have been acquainted with Filipinos who came from wealthier families but are in the US. We have started to notice that those who come from wealthier families look down on my wife because she married an American. They seem to carry the baggage that any women who married an American must be only after the money.

But as all of you know, that's a pretty common perception and it's easy to write that off as ignorance. What is perplexing to me is that it's also done by Filipino women who are married to Americans and living here in the US. It's like they think they are the only educated non bargirl Filipina who ever married an American. :)

Could it be they are projecting themselves? And why is this seemingly happening more recently?

Hi everyone,

I recently spent three weeks in the Philippines and completely fell in love with Manila.

What really stood out to me was the combination of Southeast Asian culture and the fact that English is so widely spoken. It made the city feel very different from other places I've travelled to.

I spent the first few days exploring Manila on my own and later got to experience the city with a local, which gave me a much better impression of what everyday life there can actually look like.

I'm from Germany, 38 years old, and I've been thinking about living abroad for a while now. My English is pretty good, although I'm not quite at the level of speaking it completely effortlessly every day – mainly because I don't get enough daily practice in Germany.

Professionally, I work in B2B technical sales, mainly selling capital equipment in the metalworking and industrial automation sector. I have a technical background as well, so I'm used to discussing manufacturing processes, machinery and automation solutions with customers.

I'm not expecting to simply move to Manila and find a German-level salary at a local company. But I'd be very interested to know whether someone with my background could realistically find a well-paid role with a multinational company, an international sales organization, or perhaps an APAC-focused position based in Manila.

Has anyone here made a similar move while still being in the middle of their career?

I'd especially appreciate any advice on:

Companies or industries worth looking into

International/European companies hiring foreigners in Manila

Realistic salary expectations

Work visa sponsorship

Whether applying from Germany or networking locally would be the better approach

I'm not planning to pack my bags tomorrow – I'm trying to figure out whether this could realistically become a plan for the next couple of years.

Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated!

I've lived in Cebu City for over 10 years and over the last few months I've never experienced this many power cuts. It's almost like back to the bad old days in the early 2010s.

There are at least 2-3 days per week (every week) where we have multiple power cuts. Now granted they don't last very long, but they are annoyingly frequent now.

This isn't just a local area issue - it's happening across the city and friends and family have said it's also happening throughout the province for much longer extended periods of time.

The media have picked up on it again that the grid is constantly hitting yellow or red alert status meaning power demand is outstripping supply.

Are people in other parts of the Philippines experiencing the same thing?

Is there any underlying issue here which is causing the increased frequency?

Hi! Has anyone experienced this recently?
We tried applying online for the additional 29-day visa waiver through the Bureau of Immigration e-Services portal. I entered all the requested information, including passport number and latest date of entry, but the system was unable to locate his travel information and told us to call BI instead.

My partner is Vietnamese and his current visa-free stay is valid until September 15. Would it be easier to just go directly to a BI office and process the 29-day extension in person?
For anyone who has done this recently: How late can we apply before September 15, and approximately how much did you pay for the 29-day extension? Also, if you encountered the same “travel information not found” error online, how did you resolve it?

First time doing this, so I’d really appreciate any recent experiences. Thank you!

This is what I’m seeing very often now. The logic is basic. It’s easier to find a woman in the Philippines compared to Thailand or Vietnam. You don’t want to stay in the Philippines because the quality of life is poor. You take her back to the US, she changes and then divorces you to be with a better man. So the solution: Move to either Thailand or Vietnam, both considered to have substantially better infrastructure and quality of life as compared to Philippines with little threat of your Filipina being negatively influenced by the locals in these countries.

I bring it up only because I’m seeing this ALOT now.

Thoughts?

I changed my Philippines phone number and changed it in Wize app.
I cant get my bank to connect to wize app now.
I go through all the process and in the web it says connected but not in the app.
I’ve deleted the banking info and the installed it.
Is it just a wait and time thing?

I made a comment on the McDonald's post about the guy wanting the volume turned down. Yet it was taken down cause apparently I used too many curse words or it was offensive or something idk but this is my rant/ honestly facts of the situation and problem that I've seen on this forum and the so called expat mentality. At least what I've seen of my month in the Philippines and less than a week in this group. So here goes.

1) this group is filled with toxic and insufferable old men who get mad at the younger generation for literally doing the exact same thing they are. But they say "oh you're using tax payers money to be lazy and come here for a cheaper cost of living" dawg ain't that the same thing you doing? You got your pension, disability or whatever and you are mad at the younger generation for being in the same boat as you? What you want us to work like slaves at a place that doesn't care about us and that will replace us at any given time? Until we are old and fragile and can't enjoy life while we can? Y'all are literally attacking and harassing the younger generation like y'all ain't never been young. Make it make sense.

2) and this is the real problem I've seen. Y'all are in another country aka other peoples homes, land, and.culture raising the price of things to the point the locals can barely afford to live in some places. y'all living like kings with a fine young shawty on your arm and y'all complain?. Like what? What are you complaining about? That they aren't acting like how you expect people or societal norms from your parent country? I'm honestly surprised most of y'all ain't got hurt yet by the actual residents aka the locals of this country. And y'all are the same people who say in the west(mainly us Americans) "if you can't adjust to the usa then go back home" like it's actually ridiculous and baffling to me. I honestly want to hear the opinions and experience of the locals here who had to deal with this kind of behavior. If you can't adjust then go back home.

Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas!

from vancouver to davao. ive seen people use Alin and Umac but im not sure if its reliable. this is my first time doing this so if you guys have any recommendations and tips let me know. thank you

why afams just stop responding?

you talk daily for days or weeks but u afams just stop responding. y?

im a tired filipina.

I know, I know… Not exactly the #1 place in the world for chicago style pizza, but i need to scratch the itch.

on a sidenote, will forever miss Devilcraft Pizza in Tokyo, absolutely delicious there.

I’m considering buying a studio at Rockwell Nepo Center, mostly for future personal use but possibly renting it out when I’m not there.

How stable is the condo market in Angeles/Clark? Is there good rental and resale demand, or are you seeing signs of oversupply?

Would you buy there now, especially at Rockwell, or invest the money elsewhere?

Would love to hear from locals or actual condo owners—not agents. 🙂

This popped up in my feed. I’m seeing MORE AND MORE of these types of posts by Filipinos on social media. It definitely vibes with what I see on the ground in the Philippines since there’s been a HUGE INFLUX of foreigners entering the Philippines not really as tourists, but essentially to live LONG TERM. These foreigners get comfortable and start thinking they are citizens and better than Filipinos.

Read the comments in this post. From what I take away from it all is that Filipinos are welcoming as long as YOU respect THEIR WAY of doing things. This is where the issue is. Many foreigners can’t stand the way Filipinos do things and will try to change it.

My prediction is that this can only last for so long. Eventually Filipinos will as a whole get tired of these foreigners living in their country acting as they are SUPERIOR. Visa regulations will likely be changed as a result. I think the core issue is the 3 year tourist visa. Foreigners stay here a long time and they forget they are not citizens and try to impose their culture on Filipinos. This don’t happen in Thailand. It don’t happen in Vietnam or other places in Asia.

I have noticed that many Filipino women try to disguise from being Filipino. From claiming mixed blood ancestory going back 3 or more generations, like who pulls that up, honestly ? I've heard girls claim to be half japanese, half Korean, half Vietnamese, half Mexican, half spanish half Indonesian, half Malaysian, and the funniest, half Singaporean, like before 1957, there was no such thing as 'Singaporean'. Then there are those claiming they are another nationality entirely. Vietnamese, Mexican, Spanish and Malaysian.

How do I know they are not ? I can tell from their reactions when I pull them up and say 'prove it'. They panic, get embarrassed, make excuses and say the classic 'i don't have to prove anything to you', which is absolute proof in itself.

My experience is kind of limited, to the dating scene, inside and outside of the Philippines, and of course social media and dating apps and online too. But then a cobbler (male) working outside my hotel in Kuala Lumpur claimed to be Malaysian when asked. I asked as I thought he looked textbook stereotypical Filipino, outside a Filipino shopping plaza, in the hear of the Filipino community

That's a second part to this too.. I've noticed that adults tell lies worthy of a child, like they've never been pulled up before, and with the attitude that I can't prove otherwise. But flip the burden of proof onto them, again their reaction is all the proof that you need.

Yes, sadly I have formed an opinion on Filipino's as a whole.

Hi everyone! I'm looking for advice on the best, most reliable, and cost-effective courier to ship a package from Tucson, Arizona to General Santos City, South Cotabato, Mindanao.

My aunt is sending me some hand-me-down gadgets, and since she's already being so generous, I insisted on covering the shipping fees myself. However, I'm having trouble getting exact quotes from official courier websites.

​The package contains:

•​2nd-hand iPhone 15 Pro Max

•​2nd-hand Apple Watch SE

•​4 phone cases

•​Charger

Does anyone have recommendations for air cargo forwarders or couriers that offer fair rates and safe delivery for electronics to Mindanao? Any estimates or past experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance! 🫶🏻

Before you say "every store has them!"

Weirdly they don't.

In the entire Landers store there's one single solitary bag of frozen peas. No other frozen vegetable options at all. I've been monitoring this for a month now.

They used to have frozen broccoli bags but apparently they went out of stock and just didn't feel like ordering more.

Every single SM supermarket I've been to: no frozen vegetables. Fresh? Yes.
Frozen section? No bagged frozen vegetables.

I'm about to go to S&R because I don't know where else to check but I'm not hopeful.

Any consistent place with frozen vegetables anywhere?