Archives for September 2018

You Have To Make Decisions Before You Die

24/09/2018 by Dave Starr 4 Comments

Making decisions before you die.

(Updated 24 September 2018)

Most People Who Die Don’t Want To Die and Most Are Not Ready For It.

I think that is a pretty well-accepted statement above. We all know we are going to die, but except for the sad case f suicide, virtually none of us wants to die. And we sure are not ready right now. Most of us know there are many things we would like to straighten out and make right before that last morning wakeup.

You Can’t Make Things Perfect, But You Can Try

Especially if you move to the Philippines, you usual;y have more loose ends than you bargained for. For the sake of your loved ones, and especially children you may have left behind, please give things some thought BEFORE that moment when all your earthly thinking will stop.

I Get Messages Like This All The Time, And They Make Me Sad.

Do It Yourself or Ask For Help in the Philippines

23/09/2018 by Dave Starr 2 Comments

Do It Yourself or Ask For Help in the Philippines.

(Updated 22 Sep 2018)

I had fun writing about my waiting for the chicken article centered around getting my car fixed. I’m glad some other folks enjoyed it also.

I actually had fun that day living out the experience too … why? I feel, mainly (except for the un-invited summoning of Philip), I was on my own.

Not knowing the language “to speak of” and often being a bit ignorant of local customs, it can sometimes seem a bit daunting to go off on your own to get things done. But always having to have an interpreter/helper/shepherd guiding you can be very wearing at times as well.

Many Foreigners Refuse To Have Fun in the Philippines

Just Fall In Line Behind The Chicken

22/09/2018 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Just Fall In Line Behind The Chicken.

(Last Updated 21 Seo 2018)

Hauling Out and Dusting Off An Old Favorite

I first published this post nearly 10 years ago. It’s always been a favorite of mine because it tells a lot about what it’s really like to live in the Philippines, day by day.

It has had its share of readership but it is now buried so far back in the archives hardly anyone is ever going to find it, so I decided to dust it off, polish it up and make a few edits to bring it up to the present.

How Did The Chicken Get In Here?

A while back I took my car to the dealer for its routine 40,000-kilometer service (that’s about 25,000 miles for the Metrically challenged out there).

Yep, four years now of living in the Philippines and car ownership in the Philippines and I have accumulated 25,000 miles already?

Already? Heck, I would have run up that many miles back in Colorado in only a year … one of the many reasons that living here is much cheaper than living in the US, even if you insist on the luxury of your own car.

It’s now 12 years living here and I have just over 100,000 km (60,000 miles.)

Can My Philippine Friend Visit Me in the USA?

20/09/2018 by Dave Starr 40 Comments

US Visitor Visa concerns. Can My Philippine Friend Visit Me in the USA?

(Updated 21 September 2018)

Originally published sometime back. Significantly updated and corrected for my current reader’s information. Thanks for being a reader, by the way.

I have received a lot of queries over the years about the US Visitor Visa (known as a B2 Visa to the US State Department) for Filipinos.

Mainly these questions revolve around the subject of getting a Filipino friend a temporary visitor’s visa allowing them to enter the USA for a short visit.

People want to know, mainly:

How do they (the visas) work,
How much do they cost,
Can my girlfriend get one, etc.
I’ve heard they are very hard to get, and why?

It occurred to me today that I hadn’t written about these issues in some time when I opened an email from a reader here with some specific questions: [Read more…] about Can My Philippine Friend Visit Me in the USA?

Use A Fixer in the Philippines?

15/09/2018 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Live in the Philippines — Use a Fixer?

(Updated 15 Sep 2018)

Should You Use a Fixer?

Here are a few thoughts on a question that comes up frequently here on PhilFAQS where we try to answer the most common questions about living in the Philippines.

With this question, you are not going to get a clear, quick answer from me, but I’ll give you some current guidance and some real-world experiences that will help you decide some things for yourself.

I Know A Guy

One of the joys, as well as the hazards of living here in the Philippines, is that you can often buy almost anything you want .. or hire someone to get something done for you.