Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) About How To Travel, Retire, Work or Start a Business and Live in the Philippines
Recently a comment came in which asked a question that really is applicable to thousands of readers who pass by from time to0 time: Can you advise about the schools? Should we be looking at private American schools? What is the tuition … my wife and I are raising our 2 year old grandchild. This is such an important and far-reaching question I decided to make it a full-fledged articles so more readers would be able to find the information easily. Basic Philippine … [Read more...]
My good friend and blogging colleague JD from Baguio brought this to my attention today. Those of you interested in Baguio as a destination for your Philippine adventure might like to join JD’s Yahoo Group. Here is the entire article from the Manila Standard dated May 15: Saturday - Sunday, May 15 - 16, 2010 CHED flunks 147 nursing schools A TOTAL of 147 public and private schools face closure of their nursing courses after their graduates performed below … [Read more...]
We had some interesting discussion a couple weeks ago about strategies for schooling children if you were to decide to live in the Philippines. Most of the discussion sort of stopped at the high school (secondary) level. But what about those with older children ... baccalaureate or higher education here in the Philippines for foreigner or foreign/Filipino children? Possible: Absolutely. There are a number of great universities here in the Philippines ... several were already mentioned, … [Read more...]
Another aspect of childhood education that poses a lot or problems for parents is the issue of where to get help, and how to keep the student (even those attending traditional classroom schools), on track, motivated and ready for quizzes and exams. Back in my day, when 2+2=3 (things were cheaper then), the answer was always, "hire a tutor to give your child some special help." Good advice, but in today's busy world, perhaps easier said than done. And if the school and the student are in … [Read more...]
Today I have a real treat, a long-time blogging colleague and friend Tom Nixon has agreed to do a little guest post here for PhilFAQS. Tom is another of those nontraditional knowledge workers that I keep talking about. He runs his own publishing company, authors books based on his specialized knowledge and runs websites. One of his specialties is online high schools, mainly based in the US, but not always restricted to students from the US. There online schools are set up by different … [Read more...]
Many times, I have received queries about how a foreigner or foreigner/Filipino couple would educate their children if the took the big step of moving to the Philippines before waiting until the children were 'up and out' of the home and US schools. First of all, let me give you a burst of philosophy and say, the right time to make the move (or the right time to decide to stay in the Philippine or move back to the States) is likely to be different for every family. There is no one size fits … [Read more...]
There’s a question I have been asked regarding living here in the Philippines a time or two in the past. The shortest answer is, a heck of a lot less than an equivalent school in the US. But that’s not a very specific answer, is it? Also, you can always get into a veritably endless argument about what an ‘equivalent’ school is, are Philippine colleges and universities ‘up to snuff’, is a Philippine degree any good anywhere else … the list goes on. Well I can tell … [Read more...]
Some readers may remember the blockbuster HBO series, The Sopranos. Many know I a a certified (certifiable?) Sopranos fan, maybe because so much of the show was filmed a few block from one of my boyhood home and I grew up knowing a lot of characters who could have been hired, as is, directly into a Sopranos episode. Anyway, one of the taglines used in advertising the series was “Family, redefined”. Welcome to the Philippines, my friends. Whenever the subject of … [Read more...]
Let me start this post off by stating I surely have nothing against nursing. I have the utmost respect for a man or woman called to that profession and we certainly all need nurses, and as the US population ages we will need more and more. However, sending a child to nursing school has become one of the huge growth industries in the Philippines and one can't help but wonder if all the current interest isn't centered around the fact that work visas for nurses are currently one of the few … [Read more...]
One of the issues that stops many families with children from moving to the Philippines is the perception that they can't get a good education for their children there . As a matter of opinion I feel that the Philippine public schools are, in most cases, woefully lacking. If you disagree, fine, send your kids there but don't argue with me. That certainly doesn't have to mean that you have to postpone a move until your children have graduated from college. There are many ways to get a … [Read more...]
A faithful reader asked my recommendations on some books about the Philippines. I'm not nearly as well-read as I would like to be. What? Me read a book? LoL. Seriously, Laurence, a very good request but not one I'm ready to undertake at the moment. I can recommend: Culture Shock, Philippines Culture Shock is a classic that explains a lot of the ins and outs of how Filipnos thing and react to common Western "norms" Some Good Philippine books I can't be responsible for all of these, but … [Read more...]
If your Philippine experience is anything like mine, you have already been asked for advice on education and likely a time or two been asked to help fund a student in the family. In 2008, as I write this, college age kids and their parents seem to be focusing on only two things ... forego college and take a job in a BPO (Business processing outsourcing) firm ... typically a call center ... or go to nursing school. Filipino nurses are in demand in many countries and there is no doubt … [Read more...]
