The Philippines is the only Asian nation I have visited but there are a number of things in it's favour
* Most speak English but it doesn't take long to realise that while they hear and know the words, that does NOT mean they understood what you said. Forget your Aussie idioms, you must learn Americanisms.
* "Ordinary" food is cheap but better quality stuff was not cheap, at least in Makati City where you would NOT go to live anyway.
* Beer is cheap but you would never drink it as a staple. Wine is expensive. Rum is good AND cheap. I brought home a bottle of Blue Mai Tai and it was delicious and cost < $5 a bottle.
* The locals are genuinely friendly. I thought overdone and unctuous at first but by the third week I accepted it as genuine. It is easy to be addressed as "Sir, Ma'am" by attractive young people, none of whom are overweight. It feels good.
* Taxis are cheep but if you are going to be a local you will need to work out the jeepne system. My reading says there is an etiquette one must learn.
The big downer is their awkward immigration laws. I have seen no way I could retire there with a 12 mth visa, renewable at the Town Hall. The best you can get is 6 months and you MUST exit the country and come back. Now if you are in Thailand, how easy is it cross into a neighbouring country and then walk back? It is a long expensive flight to Singapore or KL so you may as well come back here and satisfy residency while you are at it. I know there is a direct flight from SYD to NNY but I have not been able to find it on the cheap flights offered on the net. At my age I do not enjoy such long flights considering I live in Nth Qld which seems as you are flying half way back from whence you came. Cairns flights now seem to be mainly to Nth Asia.
And for information only, having sex with a married woman is a crime. It is an old-fashioned Spanish based Christianity practiced there. Beats the hell out of Islam.
