3900 Marbles and Health Insurance.

(Updated 04 DECEMBER 2019)

Let me ask you folks a question.  I just had a conversation with a lady who wanted to bounce some ideas off me about business.  It was a pleasant conversation, but there was one “take away” from it that still kind of rings in my ear and rattles around in my brain, even an hour or more after our conversation ended.

The main thrust we were talking about involved health care and health services and she made a statement right along in the regular flow of the conversation that I have probably heard a thousand times before … but it just jumped right out at me this time, and I have been thinking about it ever since.

The statement went something like this …”after all, if we are talking to retirees, their absolute number one concern is health insurance.”

Retiree’s Absolute Number One Concern is Health Insurance?

[Read more…]

Is Your Child a Citizen?

(Updated 05 December 2019)

Here’s a comment I recently received that may interest a lot more readers than just the guy who made the comment.

So I thought I’d take a few minutes and answer this reader’s questions in more detail, for the benefit of others who may pass by here as well.

The subject is something a lot of you out there have already dealt with, or will deal with, or have been wondering about …

But then many of you reading this may be Filipino citizens.  Does that make any difference in the child’s citizenship acquired at birth (often called “birthright citizenship”?

Well yes, indeed it does.  more citizenship information here

and here, U.S. Citizenship Through Parents or by Birth

Before you click on the “More” link to read the rest of this article, remember one important caveat.  I am not a lawyer, I can’t give legal advice and nothing I write here is to be considered legal advice.  This is my own personal opinion based upon my own research.

Now, if you’d like to read on. [Read more…]

How To Stay Long-Term in the Philippines — Balikbayan Privilege

(Updated 16 October 2019)

I’ve written several recent articles about staying long-term in the Philippines.  If you haven’t seen them you can read them here:

How long can you stay in the Philippines if you are a US citizen?

Ways To Stay Long-Term in the Philippines — Part 2

Staying for an extended time on a tourist visa or with many of the permanent residency visas the Philippines offers can run into some money.

How about a way that requires no forms or applications to fill up and which is absolutely free?

Interested?  It’s called the One-year Visa-free Balikbayan Privilege.  If you want to learn more, just click the “More” link and I’ll give you the lowdown.

[Read more…]

What Top Right Corner is that, Dave?

(Updated 5 December 2019)

Umm, this page you are reading right now.  Or any page on this site.

I’m asking because I have software that tracks where people have visited, and I notice that two of the absolute least visited pages on this site are the  FAQS page (that used to be a commonly understood acronym/abbreviation for “Frequently Asked Questions” and the Best Places Philippines page.

The FAQS page:

In some ways, years ago, I thought this would be the most important and helpful page on this site.  Whenever someone would ask a question of common interest … such as say “How Long Can I Stay in the Philippines?” I would enter that question on the FAQS page along with a concise answer.

That’s what having a FAQS section is all about … people can visit there and get answers to their questions without wasting their time and mine in asig the same question over and over again.

I explained it here and even included a link for people to ask additional questions with just a single click.

Here I will list Philippine FAQS (and answers) as they come in.  I’ll attempt to put them in some sort of order, but issues and opportunities arrive in random bursts, so many of these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) will as well.  Got a question you don’t see “Asked and Answered” here already?  “Shoot it to me” here:  Contact Philly.

Apparently, this was a dumb idea, since no one ever visits or leaves additional questions.

Any suggestion?

The Best Places Philippines Page:

I started this page a long time ago as a place where readers could see “their” place on the Philippines “on the map” so to speak.

Each blue pin on the map, when clicked on, shows the name of the reader who posted it as well as a capsule description as to why this might be the “best place in the Philippines” for you.

So many people have the question in their minds as to where they ought to move to in the Philippines … yet so few ever visit the map and have a look.

It’s a full-fledged link into Google Maps.  You can do so much more than just look at some pins on a map.

For example, here’s what you see if you zoom in on my own pin on my home here in Marilao, Bulacan on Luzon.

You Can Learn A Lot About The Philippines With Google Maps

Also, be sure to go to maps.google.com and try the “satellite view”.

For example, how would traffic be if I left mt home right now to drive to my local SM City Mall?

So what do you think?  Why don’t people make more use of the map?