This May I am getting married and moving to the Philippines. My wife-to-be and I like to travel but it is a hassle to get visas for her as she has a Fililpino passport. Is there some visa, some other stamp in her passport, or some other document that we can get that would demonstrate that our marriage is recognized by the US government and which would ease the way for her to get a visa from third countries? Right now she has a 5-year multi-entry tourist visa into the US. Is there some other visa that she can get that gives her the right to come back to the states whenever she wants? Since we will be living in the Philippines, she will not be a permanent resident or have a green card nor can we apply until, and if, we decided to move back to the states. At least, that is what I have been told. Any ideas, suggestions?

Please be aware that we are experiencing some problems with Yahoo. Some members are having problems posting messages to the list. While we work with Yahoo to resolve the difficulties, we ask your patience and understanding.

I have a VCR that makes copies. If you want to send it to me I can make many copies. If so email me and I will send address.

I would not expect to get much work out of a ""maid"" after having relations. Most likely she would expect she had different job description then, with different benefits.

I am arriving in Cebu April 7-8 for 4-6 month visit. Will be getting some dental work done, doing some scuba, touring around. Cebu area will be my base I think. I am looking for a safe room, maybe in family home? I will have scuba and other gear to store and worry about. I will not be having overnite guests and no involvment in ""entertainment"" industry. I would rather give rent money to a nice family than hotel chain. Anyone care to make recommendations?

whats the latest on the retiree bill before the government? has it passed yet. what can be brought in duty free. does any know if 20 foot containers can be handled in Bacolod yet? used to be only 10 foot containers could be shipped into Bacolod.

First off, thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my mail.. I'm American, and my wife is a Filipina from Toledo City area Cebu. We are just now starting to plan for our future, it is still maybe 5 years off that we will be seriously thinking about moving to Cebu for 10 out of the 12 months a year. Can someone please help us with ideas on what it takes to ship belongings to Cebu from here in the US. Note, we are from Connecticut, next to New York.... Could we bring one small car and a 20 ft boat along with our personal belongings? I take it we would have to do all this via shipping container. What are the sizes? Does anyone know of any web sites I might like to look at that deals with cargo shippers, and rules or regs for Philippine Taxes, Import Charges..Ect......We are new to this, so any and all info would be much appreiciated...... Really, would like to know about the boat for sure.

We continue to try to deal with Yahoo, to resolve some problems with the group livinginthephilippines1. Thus far, we have had no success. If any members are unable to post messages, please feel free to send your messages directly to me at: tnowel@mindspring.com I will be happy to post them to the list for you. If you are experiencing other difficulties with the group, please let me know, so we can deal with it. Thank you for bearing with us during this difficult time.

I am curious for those renters in Cebu, what are their utility bills? And please try to be as specific, electric, gas, cable tv, land line phone, etc

I am curious for those renters in Cebu, what are their utility bills? And please try to be as specific, electric, gas, cable tv, land line phone, etc. Here's my last months bills. Electric - 4,184 pesos Water - 320 pesos Phone/DSL Internet - 3,658 pesos Satellite TV - 750 pesos Gas - 320 peso's [the gas normally lasts me 2-3 months]

Hello group, I was just wondering if anyone has any info. about this SAR epidemic. It just so happens that my plane will transfer in Hong Kong of all places. I am not worried too much but if anybody has any input in this matter it might ease my mind a little bit. Thank you in advance. .

As far as I know, still only van packs to Bacolod. All shippers should know that and pack your 20/40 foot containers to offload to 10' in Cebu??? or Manila. But, my information is 2 years old..... Also, I have not seen any new construction in the port area, so it still maybe true. But, at my age, they could build a mall and I would only notice when it opens.

Listed below are my utilities expenses for the last month here in Cebu City. These are for a three bedroom duplex. Electric = 1136 pesos, I haven't felt it necessary yet to install aircon, I use ceiling fans & a stand fan. Gas = Haven't had to refill the full tank/bottle yet that came with the stove about 2 1/2 months ago. Phone = Land line (local service) is 847 pesos. I also pay 2500 pesos per month for unlimited DSL service. Water = My landlord has a deep well, house water is provided free. I spend 400 pesos per month for distilled drinking water. T.V. = Cable service (SKY Cable) is 550 pesos per month. I hope this helps.

I am curious for those renters in Cebu, what are their utility bills? And please try to be as specific, electric, gas, cable tv, land line phone, etc.

I know how trying this can be.... As a new member, I need some guidance in coming to the Philippines to meet my future wife. I am trying to figure out which is the best for me cost wise and convience wise as there are choices. I can fly from LAX to Manila and then to Cebu I can fly from LAX to Hong Kong then to Cebu I don't know what the fares are yet so that might make the call for me. My Lady lives in Cagayan De Oro City and I will have to fly her to Cebu or Manila to meet me. My questions are as follows: Is Cebu safe for us and are there any places where we can go that are reasonable by the coast.... Hotel info and a quiet place would be great if anyone knows of such a place.... If we were to meet in Manila, does anyone have suggestions where we could go that would be peaceful and safe? There are so many people in the states that are concerned about my travel there and my safety... Especially at this time..... I am concerned about her safety as well.... I'm a nobody, just a working stiff so those are my credentials.... It is our first meeting and I would like it to be special for both of us.... Any help would be greatly appreciated... Brian B. We continue to try to deal with Yahoo, to resolve some problems with the group livinginthephilippines1. Thus far, we have had no success. If any members are unable to post messages, please feel free to send your messages directly to me at: tnowel@mindspring.com I will be happy to post them to the list for you. If you are experiencing other difficulties with the group, please let me know, so we can deal with it. Thank you for bearing with us during this difficult time.

A few months ago there was a series of comments about how to call the PI from USA, cheaply and with a good connection. Someone posted a reference to the FilAm Phone club (http://www.filamphoneclub.com/) which I signed up for. I've now had the service for a month and have found the following: 1) connection is better than the www telephony method I was previously using 2) the charge rate (ie 6 second intervals I think) is more fair than the phone cards we used to buy (which advertised something like 10 cents per minute but had some strange charge rate that gave an effective rate that was much, much higher). All in all, and keeping in mind I've personally only used the service for a month, this is the best method of calling the PI that I've found. You do need to observe their suggestion that you follow the number dialing with a pound sign though, as that somehow gives a better connection ( I could not fax without hitting the pound sign, once I hit that pound sign faxes went through ) - good luck.

I have taken the liberty of converting Budd's .xls file and posting it here for those of you who do not have the proper program on your computer to view it. I have also decided to make a few comments on his budget. I do this only because some of us have a smaller monthly income, and I wanted to compare his budget with others that have been posted. Budd's monthly income is $2000 a month. My income is a little over 1300. I know of others who claim to live on half that. I will say that each person has their own comfort level. I only compare because I want to see if I can maintain a living on par with Budd, while making less money. Here are my findings. You will note in the Budget below that 1000 pesos have been set aside for medicine. I dont buy medicine regularly, so I can cut that 1000. There is 20,000 pesos budgeted for girls and bar hopping. I don't drink alcohol so I can count that out. Also another 2500 pesos for his home bar. Again I can cut that out. There is 1500 for clothing, and 1000 for computer software purchases. I don't buy clothes every month, and I don't buy software every month, so I can cut that out. There is 1000 budgeted for personal care. I don't know what that is for, but I'm cutting it out, because I thought the 3000 for household was high, and any personal care will be included in my 3000 for household. I know Budd has a higher comfort level, and is probably single, so he may need more for personal and household, and beer. My comfort level is smaller. My fiancee did say I could tango with the occasional Filipina, but I don't think I'll be needing 20,000 pesos a month for that. He also budgeted 4000 a month for miscellaneous. I'm going to leave that alone, because misc. can cover many things, and you always need to budget for the forgotten things. Most don't think about buying toilet paper, razors, shave cream, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. You could easily cut a few of the other estimates down, like the DSL internet, but I do want to maintain a certain level of living. So if I add up everything I cut, it adds up to 27,000 pesos or about $501 U.S. Dollars. If I subtract that from Budd's total of $1,367 I get $866 for the month. That is well within my $1300 budget with 400+ Dollars left over for investing or saving. I felt I personally could cut even more out of the budget, for instance, I could cut my rental budget to 10,000 pesos instead of 12,000. I could cut the food budget from 10,000 to 8,000. The maid I can live without(but I won't). So if you have a lower monthly income you could easily cut another $110 off. Allowing you to live on around $700 a month, and still live reasonably. You could even go to the extreme and cut it down to $500 a month, but my comfort level is not that low. All in all, I find Budd's budget right on the money. I myself want to limit myself to living on $800 a month. Solely because I want to invest and save at least $500 a month for my future. I realize I won't be able to save that every month, but if I can put it back 9 months out of 12, then in a few years, I'll feel more secure with a nest egg in the bank. Perhaps one day I'll even have a million dollars in Philippine Pesos. JAN 2003 (XR: $1 = PHP 53.70) BUDGET House Rent 12,000 Electricity 3,000 Bottled Gas 250 Telephone 1,500 Cell Phone 150 Internet (DSL) 2,500 Cable TV (Sky Cable) 505 Maid 2,000 Visa Extension 1,260 Mail Service 350 Medical Treatment 1,000 Dental Treatment 1,000 Medicine 1,000 Food (Groceries) 10,000 Food (Restaurant) 2,500 Distilled Water 450 Household 3,000 Personal Care 1,000 Clothing 1,500 Entertainment (Bar Hopping & etc) 20,000 Computer (Hardware/Software Purchases) 1,000 Home Liquor Cabinet / Beer 2,500 Miscellaneous, Taxis & etc. 4,000 PESO TOTAL 72,465 Peso Totals in USD $1,367

Welcome new members! We have 2,047 members as of today Feb 25, in the Philppines, up from 2,030 Jan 25. But because of resignations, we have more than the additional 17 indicated. Members come and go. Most resignations (I ask resigning members to e-mail me the reason they resigned, when they do) were because of the large number of posts they were receiving ""e-mail overload."" So I post this again, to help those with ""e-mail overload,"" and explain some rules and help you get information quickly. Please read it all. It is *important.* All we have to do you avoid headaches or problems, is follow these simple rules. *There is no need to worry about e-mail overload! Just handle it properly as below: * If there are too many post for you, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LivingInThePhilippines1/ and change your preferences to ""no e-mail."" That way, you can then read or delete selected messages while online, from Yahoo instead of getting them on you computer in your email client, Outlook Express, Eudora or what ever. It may take a few hours or more to take effect. Choosing the ""Digest"" version helps with mail management a lot too, but they still come to your e-mail client. They should only come twice a day. That change takes some time too. I you pay by the hour for your connection time, this may be better than the option, above. It also takes time to kick in. There are other options, but these are simple and will be all you need. **** Getting to the Information, quickly. There are many posts in the *searchable* archives of more than 29,000 post, open to you. Search for your answers in them to save repeats of posts and get information quickly. Repeats are of questions, already answered in the archives many time, are not very popular with members. Please, search the archives first, if you can. You may find some very interesting things, for which you were not looking. Read website at www.livinginthephilippines.com. It needs an edit, but many answers to your questions are there, most quick and easy to find. In the files section of our Yahoo Groups list, there is a compressed 2.5 megabyte file form ""Listbot"" with 1,300 or so messages on it. Download and read it for quick information. There are some valuable posts there, some of the best ever made, when the list was fresh and we were too. In the bookmarks (favorites) section and files at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LivingInThePhilippines1/ interesting information that may answer your questions. In the photo section you can post pictures. Other members have. You can view them. SOME RULES: To keep the order necessary to provide you with the information you need we need some rules and guidelines as below: *Stay ""on topic."" For example, if you want to talk about golf, that is for the a golf list. But if you want to talk about golf in the Philippines, this is the place. Off topics posts are a list killers. Do not post them.* [Some of the many topics we have covered, and continue to discuss are listed below the ""Rules""] *This is a non commercial, free list. This is not a place to promote yourself or your business, or that of your business associates. Advertisements can be purchased on the website, only.* *Jokes are not welcome, unless they are Philippine related. Humor is welcome. But this is not a joke list.* *Post like, ""Good post,"" ""Thanks,"" ""I Concur,"" or ""Okay,"" are not welcome. This list has a polite tone, good people so we are getting too many ""Thank you's"" Please don't post them in the interest of cutting down the mail load.* *This is not an introduction service, bride, husband or marriage service. We don't sell or give out or ask for any names of Filipinas or Filipinos nor can you.* *Flames and profanity are not allowed. If you disagree, attack the position, not the person, please! If you attack the person you will be removed, whether your position is right or wrong, if you attack the person.* *Request for donations, even for good causes, are banned.* *When one of the moderators or I say a topic is banned or off topic, that is the end.* *Links to porn sites or site that link to porn sites or International Introduction Services, sometimes called MOB services are not allowed.* *If you have a problem with these rules, mail me at don.herrington@skyinet.net, or a moderator. See their addresses, below. They are a great help.* *These gentlemen are volunteers, no pay and often under appreciated. Without them there would be no list.* ***Read the 14 Commandments of e-mail,*** that I will post too, good stuff for this list and others. And apply them to your posts on the list. For instance, *If you change the subject of a post, change it in the subject line too, and make it descriptive. This makes it easier for everyone, especially those searching the massive archives. Please be aware our advice carries no guarantee. Others and my opinions are only opinions, not gospel or law. We all tend to generalize at times, in an effort to communicate. This is to be expected and proper. Sweeping generalizations should be characterized as such. You may get off list ""great deal,"" "" get rich quick"" offers we can't prevent, promises of massive returns on investments. Neither ""Living in the Philippines"" nor I, endorse any business proposals you may get from anyone on or off the List. On List they are prohibited. We cannot stop the Yahoo ads or not until we change to private list server or message board, an option under consideration.

Topics *about the Philippines* we have and do cover include: Getting here, including courier flights; Places to live; Cost of living and variations; Hotels and pension houses nation wide; Buying, building and renting property real and personal property; Water Sports; Golf; Cars, motorcycles bikes and driving; Immigration; Health and live insurance Relationships with maids, helpers, drivers; Finding friends; Marriage; Annulments; Divorces; Romance but *not* introduction, pen pal, or MOB services; Laws and regulations as applied to foreigners; Weather; Natural disasters; New People's Army and other such groups; Safety; Transportation, jeeps, buses, ships, air; Health care and insurance; Banks and money transfers; Investments; Internet quality and costs; Hiring maids and helpers; Differences in cultures; Problems with adjusting; Relationships between Filipinas/os and foreigners; Acculturation; Nightlife; Restaurants; What to do in your spare time; Shopping; Duty and tariffs; Relocating and adjustment; Doing business (many kinds); Shipping household goods; Visas, visas and visas; Cultural differences between different Filipinos; Languages; Politics; Travel locally, internationally; Getting an education here; Schools for your children; Shipping household goods here; Political and social issues; and others.

The 14 Commandments of Email 1. Thou shalt include a clear and specific subject line. (If you change subject, *thou shalt* change the subject in the subject line.) 2. Thou shalt edit any quoted text, from the post you are answering, down to the minimum thou needest. 3. Thou shalt read thine own message thrice before thou sendest it. 4. Thou shalt ponder how thy recipient might react to thy message. 5. Thou shalt check thy spelling and thy grammar. 6. Thou shalt not curse, flame, name call, spam or USE ALL CAPS. For emphasis, use ""*"" *not* uppercase. 7. Thou shalt not forward any chain letter or *off topic* joke. 8. Thou shalt not use e-mail for any illegal or unethical purpose. 9. Thou shalt not rely on the privacy of e-mail, especially from work. 10. When in doubt, save thy message overnight and reread it in the light of dawn. 11. That which thou findest hateful to receive, sendest thou not unto others. 12. Thou shalt not include tag lines with multiple references to political campaigns, personal websites, and pithy quotes. 13. Thou shalt absolutely never forward a virus alert. If thou must, though shalt only forward a link to a specific web page with the domain of the seer Norton or the seer MacAfee, wherein the evil virus is described. 14. When using Yahoo Web Mail, checketh the little box that says ""Wrap Message Text, so those who seeketh knowledge from Yahoo do not have to scrolleth hereith to eternity to obtain it. Thank you for your valuable time, friends. And thank your for applying these important ""Commandments"" to your posts. Your compliance will make the List a more valuable service to you and others.

I retired yesterday (Jan, 31) and I am moving to Cebu City to Live, arriving there on Feb. 12. I would love to meet as many of you as possible. I o not know the city yet so if you will please leave some dtails about where you will be my fiance and I will show up. I will get a cell phone as soon as I get there and I will post the number here. I the meantime you can contact m at this email address. Hop to meet you soon--Dee

On the Calendar I see there is a gathering at Ratskys on Feb. 23, is this open to everyone. Forgive my ignorance Iam jut trying to make sure I don't break any traditons since will be just be moving to Cebu 10 days prior to this date. Let me know who to contact, what to bring, etc. All help is greatly appreciated.

New member here, living in the UK with Filipino wife and intending to live in the Philippines in the next 5-7 years. I have searched the Archive for Personal Taxation and drew a blank, so I would like to ask the following question: What happens when you have income paid (annuities etc) from your home country to the Philippines? What is the situation re Personal Taxation in the Philippines? And what happens when you want to visit other countries from the Philippines re Clearances etc? Best Wishes to all Members.

By the information below, it is clear that you will be receiving income, by way of annuities from your home country. Pursuant to our (Philippine) Tax Laws, ""An ALIEN INDIVIDUAL, whether a resident or not of the Philippines, is taxable ONLY on INCOME derived from sources WITHIN the Philippines"". (Sec. 23(D)National Internal Revenue Code of the Philippines, as Amended by R.A. 8424). So that, you will not be subject to any income taxes for the annuities or income received from your home country. I hope this will answer your questions and enlighten you on the issue of individual taxation in our country.

Hi everybody, pardon the question and i hope no-one gets offended but am coming over to cebu in april to visit my wife and was wondering , are the condoms over there any good and does the size vary?or are the condoms over there the same as manufactured in the west? now i'm not saying i'm well endowed but just normal but would like some advice. sorry to ask in such an open forum and would not be offended if you deleted the message but would like advice if possible. tried to ask the wife but she doesn't know who to ask.

I could have replied to any of the ""budget"" messages, but chose Jim's because it's the shorter, but still passes the thought. Also, changing the subject may keep Budd from sending an invoice for all the hard work he's done.

I've been on Negros Occidental, just west of Cebu for the past three weeks. The budget calculations we've recently seen ring true for areas outside the one and only major population center. I'll have a bit of extra money when I go unemployed and move down from Korea, so I intend to let the environment decide what the initial expenses turn out to be. I'll have time to let economic necessity determine which stay or go. I've not, however, been able to decide how to plan for the twin gremlins; inflation and currency fluctuation. If some kind of economic voodoo results in a situation like Php45 to 1USD, things will change a bit for the worse. The most likely scenario, for the next two years, however, is $1USD buys 55-58Php, but with the resulting inflation that will mean eroding purchasing power, even within the same year. Things will change a bit for the worse. Don't think we can expect long-term status-quo. Don't think we can expect things to get cheaper. The quite thoughtful plans I've seen discuss expenses in today's money. I think the resident LinP budgeteers are mostly writing about what they plan to spend...what's coming in is a different matter. Even so, I'd like ideas on factoring in what could be 5,6, even 10% annual inflation for staple commodities? Have you planned for it? Will you just ride the tide?

Could someone shine his/her wisdom/knowledge on setting up a nonprofit organization in the Philippines? Related to this question is whether a monetary contribution/donation from a citizen of a foreign country be accepted without legal implications to the nonprofit as well as to the donor himself/herself?

Just wanted to say that I have been to Ilocos Norte several times. I f your sure you want to be there then Joe is wrong. Its better to buy but having a house build is even better. I am having a 5100 sq. ft house built w/ all conv. and it will cost me approx. $12000. Other wise if you can't do that the look around and you can buy a home very reasonable if you use American money. But always hagle about the price..Good luck maybe see you there one day..

I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers but I will stand by what I said and I tried to say it in a nice way. The information I get traces Chikka back to ownership in the Philippines. I was not trying to flame the Philippines but just stating a fact. I do not think an explanation to the Pinoy members is needed here. Pinoys are all too aware of of the value of most products and services from the Philippines. I love the PI and love living there for the most part, but the facts can not be changed. The best always. Gene D. Well since you made the original derogatory comments here, Gene, it might be fair to our Filipino members to go ahead and explain it. By the way I don't know what information you have that indicates Chikka is based in the Philippines.. the parent company is in the British West Indies and Chikka Pte (the owner/operator of the web site and service) is a Singaporean company. It seems to me they provide a heck of a lot of service to people for free, but like any other service that's free, you can always choose to go elsewhere. It seems unfortunate that you have been having dificulties with it, but I am at a loss as to why you feel your difficulties are caused by the Philippines or Filipinos?

As I can see Attorney has given you her usual good advice. That's a major plus factor for the Philippines - no nonesense of trying to capture your income that was earned elsewhere. The second part of your questions puzzles me a bit. I'm assuming you carry a British passport? There are no issues or requirements to visit other countries from the Philippines with the possible exception of any countries that may already restrict British subjects (which I imagine is a vanisingly small number). It's not clear if your wife is still carrying a Philippine passport or if she has opted for UK citizenship? Either way, the rules or restrictions applicable to the passport she carries governe where she can vist, not the country in which her trip began.

Mita correctly advised that there's no taxation on money brought in from abroad. But for UK citizens retiring here in Philippines it's even better than that! If your annuity is a ""pension"" then you can also avoid paying UK tax on your pension. This is because there is a Double-Taxation treaty between UK and Philippines expressly stating that a pension can only be taxed in the country in which you are resident. I can supply a plain text copy of the document if anyone would like it. It's 48k.