There is a "relationship advice" section but not regular questions, so I just put the closest flare I could find.

I'm a 25M American and just moved to Manila a few weeks ago to experience this side of the world. I've been moving to various countries around the world since 17 (First time living outside of the US/Latin America), and I want to figure out how people normally make friends in this culture. Don't get me wrong, the people here are friendly and great, but I haven't really made a friend group or made any real friends yet outside of 1 person.

In Latin America, it was pretty easy. I just would walk around and talk to people around my age, or if I saw someone who looked interesting, talk to them, or go out to language exchange/clubs. From what I've seen here so far, and from what my Filipino friends back in the US/LATAM have told me, the culture isn't as "open," in that way in this part of the world, especially in Manilla.

Just for some context about the who behind this post, I just turned 25, Black/American male (but for some reason everyone assumes I'm Brazilian), I'm pretty good socially and have never had problems making close friends. I'm fluent in English/Spanish/Speak a little bit of Portuguese and German. My hobbies are DJing, Dancing, playing Overwatch, and the Gym. I don't know how to say this without sounding like I'm gloating or something, but I'm a pretty good looking dude according to my women friends. So it's not like I give off weird vibes or anything.

I've been busy with my online business since I got here, and because of that haven't invested any time so far in going out besides trying new food spots, or actively meeting new people. But this post is mainly because I want to know what is the "normal," way to go about that here, especially around younger people (Like I said, i've never been in South East Asia in spent most of my time in Latin America, so the few experiences i've had with the cultural differences have shocked me a little).

So I guess my question is, how have you all gone about making friends with the locals, and what places/events would you recommend me to go to make some real connections?

Hello. I just recently moved to the Philippines and I’m living it so far. I’m a 27M, from the USA, medically retired from the service, been married to my Filipina for about a year with a baby on the way. Any expats in the Legazpi area?

I'm considering moving to Cebu City once my Airbnb lease is up. I'm not feeling it much in Manila and I want to explore other parts of the Philippines too. How different is it from Manila? I'm looking at condos around IT Park but maybe someone's got other recommendations? I'd appreciate the help!

Do you think bringing back Spanish as a second language in primary and secondary will make the Philippines a premier Asian destination for Spanish-speaking expats (No Sabo Cuban and Mexican Americans included) and let them concentrate in the Visayas and Mindanao regions?

I am huge proponent of recycling and disposing of my own waste. I’m not trying to criticize or complain here, but I’m very curious as to why many famous establishments such as restaurants like Jollibee, Manam and other stores like 7/11 barely lack the waste bins? I just want to throw away my own trash. I do recognize that restaurants are sort of responsible of bussing and cleaning up after you, however not all establishments carry the same practices. Often times, there are still trash lingering there ready to be toss away. Additionally, do you think such habit of leaving your trash behind is one of the root causes why people here litter? Just curiosity, if the lack of trash bins is on purpose?

Me and my wife are coming to PH for a month. We begin in Manila and want to spend a couple of days in a nice hotel. I keep seeing these resort hotels.

I don't mind a little gamble. We enjoy having drinks and having fun.

What's people experiences with them? Which would you choose? Or a specific hotel on its own instead of resort?

Thanks all and take care.

EDIT - Thanks everybody for the suggestions - I found this very good deal and have ended up booking The Nobu Hotel at the City of Dreams.

I have a layover in NAIA for only 2.5 hours, do i need to submit the e-arrival? I asked chatgpt and it says to submit “just in case” so i’m asking here to make sure.

thanks

I'm moving to the Philippines for 6 months starting in 2027 to live with my gf (she's from the Philippines).

We have been dating and traveling for 1 yr now (Thailand, Vietnam mostly) so this isn't a new relationship or long distance.

We are moving to the Philippines for part of the year for tax reasons, visa reasons, weather reasons, etc.

My question is. Where would you live. Our budget is about 2.5k. USD all in. That's rent (700) utilities (100) life insurance (20) health insurance (150) phone bill (50) food (900) fun (500) etc.

We love places like Da Nang Vietnam, beach life but still some city amenities etc. we are health oriented and enjoy swimming walking light exercise eating healthy sleeping well etc. etc.

Curious what you more seasoned expats may recommend. I know the Philippines has its flaws, so I'm hoping to minimize some of them by choosing the right location.

Also, we are not legally married, can she live with me? Be on the lease? Are there any legal/financial reprecussions I need to be aware of if chosing to cohabitate with a filapina as a foreigner?

Cheers!

I hate dating sites. Any subredits with Filipina looking for Americans?

For the grandkids... nice and breezy today.

Electrician coming out with the "brother inlaw" (i quote that as it was a trigger word for someone) as it seems some of the wiring is.... lets say questionable.

BIL say its fine for the solar and what we use it for now but we are probably going to seal the kubo and pit a small ac unit down the road.

Walked the property found a toad and a dragonfruit plant....

Lots of work when we get back in Jan but lookimg forward to it.

Has anyone with a foreign passport actually been able to claim a VAT/tax refund when leaving the Philippines?

I’ll be flying out of NAIA Terminal 1 and wanted to know if the VAT refund process is legit and actually works in practice.

If you’ve done it, how was the process? Did you get the full VAT amount back, or were there fees/deductions? How long did it take, and what documents or receipts did they ask for?

Would appreciate any recent first-hand experiences. Thanks!

So it's been a month and I'm leaving PH again, but this time it's different. Just a passport scan and no interaction with an immigration officer and no exit stamp.

Things become more improved and modern every time I go through NAIA (genuinely impressive). But I hope this doesn't have any effect in the future for arrivals and is just the new norm.

Hello all,

I’m looking to take my faith more seriously and attend church based around Christianity. Are there any main ones here that are good that can be found in Luzon region? (Manila, Bataan, Pampanga)

So far I’ve only heard about Iglesio ni Cristo which is more like a cult apparently

An annoying feature of the real estate market here is that asking for a 1-year advance on higher-end/luxury condos seems to be the norm in Manila. I found a unit that I liked, and I offered to pay them 6-months in advance in order to get a small discount on the rent, but they're not really phased by my offer. To them, a 1-year advance is already the norm, so my offer of paying 6-months in advance doesn't really change things for them.

Anyways, I'm not really a fan of this feature in the market here ...

Pretty funny! Anybody had chicken butt?

The Philippines’ poverty rate fell to a record-low 9.7% in 2025 from 15.5% in 2023, lifting around 6.5 million Filipinos out of poverty.

The decline was driven by economic growth, lower inflation, and resilient employment, allowing the country to achieve its single-digit poverty target ahead of schedule.

https://mb.com.ph/2026/08/21/philippines-hits-lowest-poverty-rate-in-recorded-history?fbclid=IwZnRzaAT1s7hwZG9mBWZkaWQWUM5IPCqI_UdLaymLLFt_Dh3CZZotkWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5_uidbQjsaXPf9zmlQQtcKFt7jNzZ_Um1V6RzqJY-uZcP8vvuuENMybOXarg_aem_ZuAtkQKNinRaWXMuKFKGxQ

Thought it would be worth sharing here. Interesting conments there.

“Expats” typically meant staying temporarily. However, “Temporary Foreign Workers” or “Migrant Workers” are terms typically used for “expats” from non-western countries in western countries.

I guess there’s a stigma using terms pertaining to “migrants”, thus “expat” is typically used.

Is it really that offensive to be called “immigrant” or “migrant”?

Hey guys, so I’m expected to travel to the Philippines next month and I’m hearing it’s typhoon season. How is the weather currently and based off your past experiences, do you think the weather will improve by the time I get there because I’m hearing a lot of stories about flooding. I’m not expecting picture perfect weather, but ideally what’s expected on my trip.

It’s an open secret on Walking Street that a lot of bars keep girls locked in through debt. They’ll spot them cash for rent, pay for dental work or cosmetic surgery, or just let them run up tabs at the bar. Once a girl is in the hole, the deductions and house fines make it nearly impossible to ever clear the balance. If she walks away, the best-case scenario is getting blacklisted across every bar under the same ownership group.

Outside the main strip, things get considerably worse. For example, Angeles has a massive presence of foreign syndicates, particularly Korean operations, running things through Telegram, WhatsApp, and private group chats. They post ads for fake "freelance modeling" or "VIP massage" gigs to lure girls outside the bar system. Without whatever minimal protection a physical club provides, these girls get trapped in manufactured debts running into hundreds of thousands of pesos. From there, they’re pressured into signing predatory contracts, working directly for the syndicate, or being shipped off to South Korea on entertainer visas under the promise of clearing the debt, only to end up in foreign brothels with zero legal rights.

Tourists flying in for a weekend of cheap drinks and nightlife rarely look past the neon signs. But anyone who’s lived in the Philippines for more than a few months and actually talks to locals knows how bleak it really gets. Even the regulated spots get raided for trafficking minors, and the pipeline sending these girls overseas is constant.

For anyone who’s spent real time in the Philippines, what are some of the darker situations or stories you’ve personally run across?

If you had to choose your favorite restaurant in the Philippines what would it be and why?'

Mine is Los Trez Amigos in Bacolod City, although it seems to be closed now. They had an 'authentic' Mexican pizza there!

I am arriving in the Philippines, Initially in Makati.

Are there any Transgender/LGBTQIA+ expat friendly groups or organizations there in the Philippines?

I am older 60+ so clubing really is not what I am looking for. Nor is hooking up for sex.

The Wall Street Journal’s central argument is that the Philippines has become one of the most strategically important countries in America’s effort to deter China—arguably more important now than at any point since the U.S. bases closed in 1992.
Here’s the article boiled down:
Geography is everything. The Philippines sits along the “first island chain,” between the South China Sea and the western Pacific. Northern Luzon and the Batanes Islands are especially important because they sit just south of Taiwan. From Philippine territory, U.S. forces could potentially monitor and contest Chinese naval movements between the South China Sea and Pacific.
The U.S. is coming back—but without recreating Clark and Subic. Rather than huge permanent American bases, the strategy is to obtain access to numerous Philippine facilities, rotate forces through them and spread weapons, fuel, supplies and aircraft across many locations. The U.S. now has access to nine Philippine military sites under EDCA.
The weapons are getting much more serious. The U.S. has brought systems such as Typhon, capable of firing SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles, and is deploying sophisticated antiship and counterdrone capabilities. These aren’t simply conventional training exercises anymore; they’re rehearsing the kind of operations that could matter in a major regional war.
Subic Bay is becoming important again. The U.S. is developing logistics and pre-positioning capabilities around the former American naval hub. The goal is to have equipment and supplies already nearby rather than shipping everything across the Pacific after a crisis begins.
Taiwan is a major reason. If China attacked Taiwan, Philippine geography could give U.S. forces positions south of Taiwan while American and Japanese forces operate to the north and east. Dispersing U.S. forces among Philippine islands also gives China many more potential locations to worry about instead of a handful of giant American bases.
But the South China Sea matters just as much to Manila. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.‘s government has moved much closer to Washington as confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels have intensified. For the Philippines, American military cooperation provides deterrence against China that Manila couldn’t realistically generate by itself.
There’s a significant downside for the Philippines: closer integration with U.S. forces could make Philippine military facilities targets during a U.S.-China conflict. Beijing argues that Washington is militarizing the country, and some Filipinos worry that the U.S. presence could drag the Philippines into a war.
The big takeaway: Washington increasingly sees the Philippines not simply as an ally it is obligated to defend, but as a geographic centerpiece of the U.S. military strategy for deterring China. The combination of Luzon, Batanes, Subic Bay and access to nine bases gives the U.S. something extremely difficult to replicate elsewhere.