There was a good discussion today on my friend Bob Martin’s blog, www.liveinthephilippines.com about building homes today.  It reminded me I have been promising myself to get busy on a series about the subject.  A lot of Filipino homebuilders don’t do a very good job … sad to say … because of the frequent attitude [...]

Korean Firm to invest $684M more in Subic.  This makes the total Korean investment close to 2 billion US dollars.

Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) of South Korea will infuse an additional $684 million on top of its original commitment of $1 billion into its shipping project at the Subic free port, the Subic Bay [...]

Here’s the List of 2007 Nursing Board Exam Passers.  Congrats to all, especially just one of our very special nieces who is on the list.

As an American living in the Philippines I hear the term “Third World” nation virtually every day.  I often hear in from fellow Americans in an off-handed derogatory manner … whenever something doesn’t go exactly the way the American feels it should be done the old “Third World” adjective creeps into the conversation.  I often [...]

“Here”, of course, being the Philippines.  I’ve said before and undoubtedly will again that the best thing the Philippines could do for national advancement is to make it illegal to utter the phrase, “if Only”.  Apparently, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has struck that “weak sister” phrase from his vocabulary for many years now.  he [...]

I am pretty much a dyed in the wool Boeing kind of guy.  I worked on Boeing aircraft for years and as a student of aviation history I find the Boeing story fascinating.  But there is no denying that AirBus also builds some great airplanes … and there is also (sadly) no denying the fact [...]

Shopping is a big thing here in the Philippines.  It’s big culturally in that many Filipinos love to spend a day at the mall, and it’s big to Westerners as well, because malls are often the best bet when trying to find that certain something you miss from back home.  SM is the largest chain of [...]

OK, we talked a little about biodigesters.  This is interesting technology and already has market penetration in the Philippines but is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.  In particular biodigesters do not provide a lot of utility for small urban lots.  Also, in an average home here in the  Philippines your gas bills [...]

The Philippines has a number of airports served by airlines.  It’s also a viable option to charter a flight into some of the smaller airports.  There are reliable charter operators at manila, Clark, Subic and Cebu … just to name a few.  Aviation in the Philippines, of course, dates back to the days of the [...]

I promised some more information alternative energy.  The first thing I want to talk about is using methane from biodigesters.  That’s because I decided this is perhaps the most complex and the least useful to the average expat resident.  I’d be hard-pressed to use one effectively on my rented city lot and dwelling for [...]

Jim and Joan, a real-world case study: 
Jim and Joan are a couple I first met more than 20 years ago in Colorado.  I have disguised their names because I haven’t cleared this story with them … but I can assure you they are real and every word I am going to type is as accurate [...]

I’ve been meaning to write this post … actually I’m sure it will turn into a series of posts .. for along time now.  A week or so ago I noticed a comment on Bob Martin’s Philippine Living blog where Bob mentioned the high cost of electricity here (we currently pay more for electricity than [...]

In eight years of dealing with questions about moving to the Philippines I think there is a no-contest winner for the number-one most frequent question asked … Can I own my own home.  Unfortunately this is also a question which raises many people’s ire … because the Philippine laws on land ownership are … to [...]

One of the places aside from the Philippines I have lived is Thailand.  I spent several very happy years there and I love the country and the people.  My wife also lived and worked in Thailand … it’s certainly on our list of places to re-visit … after we get tired of touring the Philippines … only [...]

Since I moved to the Philippines 8 months or so ago, my ‘real income” had taken a huge hit … as much as 15% … in the wrong direction, of course.  People in Canada, in the UK and every other country I can think of … who earn any significant percentage of their money in [...]