More Britons than ever before are considering starting a new life abroad. But what are the key considerations people should make before taking their first steps to becoming an expat? There are many and leaving your home country to set yourself up in a foreign land is truly a huge life change. Britain is...
On several websites and forums I have read that it is difficult for foreigners to open a bank account in their name in the Philippines. Today I applied for one and there was no problem in getting one. I went to BDO near our house. I was asked to show two ID’s and I...
Sometimes a website cannot be reached ! For sure you all have seen a similar message on your screen. Most of the time there are problems with that website: files could be corrupted the server where all files are stored is too busy Web.com.ph hosts already almost three years all the files of ExpatinthePhilippines.com...
The new forum “ASK EXPAT in the PHILIPPINES” is available for everybody now. Just click on the ASK Forum button in the menu bar, click on the logo at the right, or follow the link: ASK EXPAT in the PHILIPPINES forum Becoming a member is easy and after that you will be able to...
How to change someone’s life with a plastic bottle is easy. Just check out the YouTube file below. Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light), is a sustainable lighting project which aims to bring the eco-friendly Solar Bottle Bulb to disprivileged communities nationwide. Designed and developed by students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
Very soon I will start a new FORUM as part of this website. In the comments on many posts, and also through private e-mail I receive many questions about life in the Philippines as an expat. Questions about health and insurances, questions about visa, about taxes, about legal papers, and many more ‘expat’ related...
Today is September 1. The first day of the months with -ber in the name. In the Philippines we call them the ber-months, which means that slowly houses and shops and malls shall be decorated with Christmas displays and lots of Christmas decorations, blinking lights and so on. When people meet they wish each...
Fighting corruption in the Philippines has high priority. Only that way the situation for everybody will be better. (your mouse pointer over the ticker gives you more time to read these statements) Read about the following initiative, initiated by some business people in the Philippines: INTEGRITY INITIATIVE is a private-sector led effort...
Yesterday evening and also whole night it has been raining. From time to time accompanied by thunder and lightnings. From time to time rain was realy strong and heavy. Unbelievable that so many water can fall on the earth in so little time and on the same place. I was not able to measure...
When I visited SM Marikina just a few days ago, again I spotted something worth telling you and showing you what I’ve seen. After shopping for a while I always need to go out for a few minutes to have a smoke. I know that this is a bad habit of mine, so no...
Now smoking on a lot of places in Manila is not allowed anymore it is a good moment to look for alternatives. Some of the alternatives are: do not go out anymore and just smoke in your house try to smoke in the ‘forbidden’ areas, without being catched quit smoking finaly (your partner will...
Today, and also yesterday, a tropical depression is passing the Philippines, dropping lots of rain which are causing floods, unreachable areas and several casualties. The name of this storm is: “Juaning” (international codename Nock-Ten). It is the tenth ‘typhoon’ in the Philippine area of responsability of this year and it has a diameter of...
In our search for an other house we haven’t had success yet. But we are also not in a hurry. Many thanks to the readers of this blog who are helping and giving tips. Recently I spotted this nice tree house not for from our place. But definitely this is not the kind of...
Yesterday I wrote about an advertizing sign with wrong spelling. Today I like to write about an advertisement I saw recently in a motel. Flor and I were attending a wedding in Manila and the reception was held in a hotel. This hotel is also known in Manila as a motel and has many...
Everywhere you are looking in the Philippines you see sign boards. Along the high ways they are the huge bill boards with commercials, in more common streets they are smaller and show shop names and the like. Lots of Filipinos have problems in spelling. They often just write what they hear or think they...
When Flor and I moved to the Philippines in 2008 we decided to rent for some time and see if and where we were going to buy a property to live. We decided to do it this way so we were not in a hurry and could make a better decision and choose a...
Living in the Philippines is funny for me from time to time. This also has to do with my family name which is ‘van Dam’. It happens every time when I have to fill in my name in forms or in shops and other places. And it also happened when I applied for my...
June 19, 2011 is Fathers day in many countries in the world. Also in the Philippines. But the Filipinos also remember the 150th birthday of one of their greatest hero’s: Jose Rizal. JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on June 19, 1861, in the...
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 Filipino time: | +/- 1 hour  |
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