Archives for October 2018

Blessed Are the Meek — Or Are They?

19/10/2018 by Dave Starr 2 Comments

Last updated 19 October 2018

Blessed Are the Meek.

First of all, let me throw in a little disclaimer here. This post isn’t really all that much about religion, but I do throw in some Bible teaching and no matter what your personal feelings about religion, you can’t learn much about the Philippines without recognizing the fact that it is one of the most religious countries on earth.

I am a private individual and I pretty much keep my own religious views private … but I also have the freedom of the press and if I want to speak of things with a religious tone, I will.

You folks who feel that people who mention God or Jesus Christ in public are doing something forbidden, can go ahead and start preparing your “He spoke about God” case against me … or just click on to read something else. Fair warning.

The Bible is Important in the Philippines

Some time back I think I lost a Filipino reader and a budding friend because he wrote me and told me how wonderful it was that Filipinos are “meek”, and he didn’t understand why I didn’t seem to see that as a great strength of the Philippine nation and people.

I responded to him that perhaps he and I weren’t seeing things exactly the same when it came to the true definition of “meek” … and the conversation died right there, aborning.
[Read more…] about Blessed Are the Meek — Or Are They?

Things To Think About Before You Retire To The Philippines

18/10/2018 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Things To Think About Before You Retire To The Philippines.

(Updated 18 October 2018)

Recently I read an interesting article about a USA couple who retired to Mexico. Part of the title had the phrase “what no one tells you about starting a new life abroad.”

What PhilFAQS Will Tell You About Starting A New Life Abroad.

A lot of this article offered some good advice, much of which I have been advising people about for years. (If you have questions or need help about moving overseas, email me, I’ll be glad to help.)

But sad to say a lot of this article presents a surprising degree of naivety and a lack of research, or basic understanding of how things work, both in the USA and in overseas locations.

So Here’s Your Homework Assignment Do it Now, Please.

How To Retire in the Philippines with $200,000 of Savings

17/10/2018 by Dave Starr 2 Comments

How To Retire in the Philippines with $200,000 of Savings?

(Updated 17 October 2018)

Interesting title, eh? If I had $200,000 USD in savings would I even be retired in the Philippines? Would you?

Well, let’s explore so issues and possibilities.

A while back I posted this article about retiring here in the Philippines with NO money. You might want to read that if you haven’t already. Just click on the link, go ahead, I’ll wait for you here:

How To Retire in the Philippines With No Money

As that article says, you absolutely have to have some money to retire in the Philippines, but the actual monthly needs may be very small. [Read more…] about How To Retire in the Philippines with $200,000 of Savings

Is Getting Married a Quick Way to the USA?

16/10/2018 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Is Getting Married a Quick Way to the USA?

(Updated 16 October 2018)

Here’s a very common question I get here at PhilFAQS … how can a US and a Filipin0 (Phil-Am) couple get together in marriage as quickly and cheaply as possible?

I’ll keep this short and simple and answer this reader’s questions as directly as I can.

If any of you have similar questions which I don’t cover here, feel free to write and ask.

I value all your comments and I appreciate them greatly.

Here are the reader’s questions and my answers, as best I know.

(Please remember, I am not a lawyer, this is NOT legal advice and is my personal opinion only).

If A Filipino Marriage Isn’t Recorded, Does It Exist?

15/10/2018 by admin Leave a Comment

If A Filipino Marriage Isn’t Recorded, Does It Exist?

(updated 13 October 2018)

I’ve written many times before on this subject, and no doubt I’ll write more, it’s a very common question.

Here’s a recent readers question from the comments section, let’s take it apart and perhaps a lively discussion will get started.

Let me first make two disclaimers:

I am not a lawyer and nothing I write here should be considered legal advice, it’s my personal opinion and personal interpretations ONLY.
I would never, knowingly, advocate EVER, under any circumstances falsifying documents being submitted to the US government.

That being said, let’s hear from my reader:

My Reader’s Question

I have a question and i hope you can help me.. I was married and divorced in Dubai but never registered it here in the Philippines and upon checking all my documents here says that I’m still single.

What do you think, is she really married?

Top 10 Art Schools – 2018

09/10/2018 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Top 10 Art Schools – 2017

Art Schools in the Philippines.

(Last updated 8 October 2018)

This was originally published many years ago, but it still gets traffic. Obviously some of you are still searching for answers in this subject. I’m trying to “clean house”. There are well over 1000 articles here on PhilFAQS and I want to “clear out the deadwood”. Should I keep this, update it or send it to the trash?

A lot of people search for and ask me direct questions on Art Schools in the Philippines. Most art school candidates in the US never think of the Philippines when it comes to school but there can be some real advantages to attending school here. The Philippines is a world center of artistic talent, especially in the performing arts area.

In particular, costs will be lower … a lot lower in many cases and, if you’re a US Military Veteran with educational benefits you can go to school at a VA approved Philippine school and come out way ahead cost of living-wise.

To find out about VA-Approved schools visit the site of the only overseas VA Office (located in the US Embassy, Manila)

The top 10 art schools in the Philippines shake out something like this:

There may be others who would argue for a different ranking among these schools or that a few different ones should be on the list, but these are top-notch schools and you can not go wrong investigating them for yourself, your spouse or your children.

Good luck in finding a quality education with an international flair and a very affordable (by US standards) tuition bill.

Don’t forget, if you are currently living outside the Philippines and want to get a visa to stay here as longs you remain in school you can apply for a 9(F) Student Visa to avoid paying tourist visa fees and continually renewing your tourist visa.

Let me know your thoughts on Top 10 Art Schools in the Philippines.

Ba Baba Ba — Going Down in the Philippines

06/10/2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Don’t Ask For What You Don’t Want.

(Last updated 06 October 2018)

Why Don’t People Ask For What They Want?

I came across something a day or so back from a faithful reader, JJ, which I certainly should have made into an article here a long time ago.

This was originally a comment to my article expressing one of my embarrassing moments at trying to be funny at the expense of a Filipino … never a very good idea. So, here it is.

Funny Filipino Words

Actually there are a lot of funny Filipino words and even funnier ways that Filipinos use them.

Sometimes Filipinos repeat the first syllable to make the word in future form.

So the word “baba” which means “down” will become “ba-baba” or “will go down”.

“Kain” or eat becomes “ka-kain” (will eat).

“Talon” or jump becomes “ta-talon” (will jump). And so on.

Another word we use like the word “lang” (In English, “lang” typically means “only”) is “ba”.

We use this after asking a question.

So for example if you are going to ask if a person will eat, it goes like this “ka-kain ba?”, of if going to jump “ta-talon ba?”

buh buh buh buh – buh buh buh buh”. Hehe

Ha ha JJ, ha ha (or should I say, ha hahaha ha?

Making It Hard On Yourself In The Philippines

03/10/2018 by Dave Starr 2 Comments

Making It Hard On Yourself In The Philippines.

(updated 30 Jul 2018)

Why would people want to make it hard on themselves?

Especially when breaking the law and prison time is involved?

Frankly, when the consequences of breaking a law include possible prison time, I personally become very law abiding … you can be sure of that.

But what about a law that seems ancient and virtually obsolete to many Westerners?