The hard liquors I see Filipinos drinking are Tanduay Rum, Fundadoor Brandy and London Dry/Gilbeys Gin.  A pint size of Tanduay Dark is P20.  The stores do sell many other brands including US made products such as Baileys, Chivas Regal and Absolut Vodka. A liter of Baileys sells for P700, about $14 USD.  More and more less known brand names of vodka, bourbon, whiskey and flavored/cream based liquors are appearing every week.

Tanduay Rum seems to be the most popular cheap hard liquor.  A 750ml bottle is only P52 here at the mall.  It has plenty of alcohol content I can assure you.  Gin is probably next in popularity.

Alcohol in the Philippines is very cheap and available everywhere.  US brands are about half the price in the states.  There are many drunkards here and most Filipinos will admit this.

Filipinos also have a coconut wine they call Tuba.  They drink it warm and it has quite a kick.  I see tricycle drivers drinking it starting around 6AM at Sari Sari stores and canteens.  It is not unusual to see them drunk at 7AM and later see them passed out on the sidewalks or in their tricycles.

I do not go to any Filipino bars except with my wife or her family.  I strongly recommend not going alone.  Like many other places where depressed impoverished people live, alcohol brings out anger that is easily directed toward an expat.  

The appliances here (refrigerator, washer/dryer) are usually smaller than in the states.  Washer/dryers are made of a heavy plastic and are very simple.  All the washer does is agitate the clothes back and forth and pump some water around.  The dryer part of this device is a little misleading.  It spins clothes to leave them damp.  They don't come out dry.  Filipinas like to hang their laundry outside, which is ok with me as long as it gets done.  Often rain will sneak up and ruin your day.

The cooking stoves are small two or four burner units (sometimes with oven) that burn propane (here called Shellane and Gasul). Gasul is P525 for 11 kilograms.  I won't try to convert this.  Suffice it to say that is about $7.50 USD that lasts about 45 days.  Many Filipinos cook with wood because they can't afford propane.  This is why there is smoke in the air most of the time.

You can buy full sized appliances.  I am looking at a full sized refrigerator freezer for about $300 USD.  If you want to save money on meat, buy a ref with a large freezer or get a separate freezer.  You can buy a whole pig and often the family will butcher it for you for some of the meat.  You can get roughly 88lb of meat out of one 200lb pig.  

Balik Bayan is a Tagalog term which in English means returning Filipino.  An expat can obtain a Balik Bayan stamp in his passport when entering the Philippines with his Filipina wife.  It is good for one year of visa fee free living.  The new written rule states that no matter how long you left the country you can be given this status upon your return with your wife.  It used to stipulate a one year absence was required.  This term is defined and explained on the Philippine Government website.

You can go from Balik Bayan back to extending your Tourist Visa to avoid that trip out of the country with your wife for another year.  Just visit your local Immigration Officer just before your Balik Bayan status expires.

Always carry your marriage contract with you coming back into the country just in case.  I have heard that some expats had problems getting this status at the Manila airport in the recent past.  I passed through Cebu and received this status with no problems.  Hopefully the Immigration Authorities at Manila Airport now follow the new wording issued by the Philippine Government.

The bathroom (or toilet) here in the Philippines is called the Comfort Room (CR).  Here only the upscale houses and apartments have flush toilets.  The older ones with poorer tenants either have a stool and water source where you poor in a bucket of water yourself to flush, or they might just have only a hole in the ground.  These are not necessarily unsanitary, just inconvenient.

If you have a shower, you will probably have to buy a shower heater if you want warm water.  Some rentals are starting to have them, but not many.  I just heat a dipper full of water to warm the first bucket I use.  Then the cold water feels good during rinse.

The AC power systems in the Philippines are in need of repair and update.  Often you will see a tangled mess on an electric pole where new user wire has been added for many years as needed.  Often wind and rain will develop a break or direct short killing the power source.  The other reality is that the electric companies are busy replacing parts of the system as best they can.  Often scheduled brownouts will occur on Saturday or Sunday and will last for announced period from about 7AM to 5PM.  If your refrigerator is full of frozen meats, sometimes you end up just cooking all of it.

Since brownouts kill the TV cable and internet access, all you really can do is buy a small generator or special batterys to run some fans to stay cool.  A generator to run the whole house is expensive and usually brownouts don't last more than 10 hours.  Food usually stays good in a refrigerator for 10 hours.  

Keep some candles handy for night time outages.  We have a chargeable battery powered light that comes on when the power goes off.  They often last over an hour.  We have candles already stationed in those places they are needed.

There are two cable companies in most areas.  Both are around P400 per month.  They both carry the same channels like  Fox News, CNN, Disney, HBO, Cinemax, Star Movies, USA Network, Philippine Channels, ESPN, Star Sports, Solar Sports and many other channels.  It is a very good deal.  Picture quality is good.  Often you can see live US sports events if you don't mind the odd hours they are on here.

Fox News isn't available in Dipolog anymore.  I have it with Fil Products Cable Co. in Dumaguete now.

When you shop at the Mall, Friendly Store or Happy Home they always have change for P500 bills, which is what comes out of the ATMs.  But other places like the post office are always asking for correct change.  Some places even do high volume business and still can't break P500 bills.  P500 is about $10 USD.  Here that is a lot of money.

If you have something delivered, like your purified water or Gasul, you better have correct change or tell the owner to send change.  The young Filipino boys who make deliveries will never have change.  Often the motor cab  drivers will tell you 'No Change' hoping you will just give up the P20 bill.

We have collected and keep a jar of change full.  You never know when you will need it.

In the Philippines there are several higher learning centers.  Your Filipina may want to go to college now that she has you.  Also, some of her relatives may have children who will work in your home as a Helper for only the college tuition.

I payed P1360 ($28) per semester for my wife's niece who was our helper.

I payed a total of P18,600 over 6 months for Care Giver classes.  I believe Cebu is higher and Manila is higher than Cebu.  Cebu has many good universities.

College is very affordable here.

There are several sources of  'Cost of Living' estimates.  I have listed below the URL where other information can be obtained.  My cost of living is a comparison to the cost of living and conditions of living in the US.  In some cases I  have no comparative information and listed actual costs:

Rent:  20%

Food:  40%

Electric:  70%

Gasoline:  75% (It was P26 per liter in May 2004.  Today, April 2007, it is P39.

Cooking Gas:  Comparable

Heat:  None required

Transportation (Motorcab):  2%  (Taxi in Cebu):  30%  (Bus-aircon-long distance):  $11/300 miles to Zamboanga City from Dipolog City.

Transportation (Owned):  20%  (Depends on how much you spend on a vehicle)  (Jan 4, 2006 regular gasoline is P35/liter)  (Many use motorcycles with 50KM per liter mileage)

The overall cost of living reduction I enjoyed when coming to the Philippines is around 65% less than in the US with comparable things.  Please understand the houses here are not insulated and not built like they are in the US.  I don't own a new car and wouldn't have one here.  I like to keep a low profile.   Jan 4, 2006 I pay P8000/month rent for a brand new 3 bed, 2 bath apartment with gated and walled parking and backyard.

I got rid of my car and now enjoy the bigger motorcabls in Dumaguete to get around.

Please visit http://livingincebu.com/cost.htm to see other cost of living estimates.

If you haven't lived here before, then you are in for a few disturbing discoveries.  The people are mostly very nice, but it is common to see men urinating along the road.  Very young children  run around naked and urinate where ever they happen to be standing.  There are many people with no job and no place to live.  They walk the streets begging and looking for odd jobs.  When you shop you will be followed around by beggars.  These are mostly children.

The air in congested areas is often filled with fire smoke, exhaust fumes, the stench of rotting food or animal, drying fish, human urine and other things.  You can move away from it as I have by getting more into a country setting.  I still smell some smoke from cooking fires from time to time, but seldom is it very thick like before.  There are plenty of fair breezes clearing the other fumes.

Even with all the poverty most people are very congenial and respond to a smile of recognition.  Many wear a frown, but when you throw them a smile their faces light up.  Crime here is mostly in poorer areas.  There are a few drug users who steal to feed their habits.  The good news is you can isolate yourself with smart habits and fenced/gated living arrangements.

There are many fiestas.  These people love to eat and drink.  Birthdays usually are celebrated with the killing of a pig to serve roasted.  This is called Lechon.  There are many holidays where feasting and drinking and dancing and singing karaoke go on into the night.  Here in Dipolog there are several celebrations (one or two for each Barangay) and  they celebrate many holidays.  Twice per year there is dancing in the street in the middle of town with band playing.  They sell beer and everyone has a blast.  My wife and I attended one of these.  To my amazement I was taller than almost everyone there.  I am 5'9" and could see over the crowd.  This is a new feeling for me. 

Filipinos have their own ways of doing things.  For example they like to show up at a friends house  with just an announcement at the window where they stick their face to let you know are outside.  It is traditional to serve some drink and snack to visitors.  We have had some old friends of my wife show up at dinner time.  I feel sorry for this particular friend of hers because her husband died and she has six kids.  There are many stories like that around here.  We fed her and her daughter once, but then realized they would come back all the time if we kept providing dinner.  So, we decided to be going somewhere when they arrived.  That worked.

When you have money you will be asked for loans.  Be your own judge on this.  I have figured out who I can trust and who I can't in the family.  The amounts are small, but there are many family members and most never pay back.  I don't loan anymore.

I employed a husband in the family out of work.  I specifically described what I wanted him to do and we agreed on wages.  That was about $20 USD per week each.  Anyway, I would come by and see how he was doing.  After about a week I came by on a Saturday and found the husband had been fired and another Brother's son was working.  I also found out that they were doing something entirely different than I had agreed to pay for.  GRRRRRRRR!!!!!  I then put my wife in charge of Managing such things.  Now there is no misunderstanding.  She watches every peso, bless her heart.

The times I seem to run into rude Filipinos is in the stores shopping and on the roads driving.  Some will cut in front of you in line or just stand in the middle of an aisle when you need to get by.  Not to mention the gangs of beggar kids waiting outside.  They follow you to your car asking for money and get really close.  I've yelled at them before.  The store owners have guards and the guards are armed with shotguns.  These guys can keep the kids away.  Just ask.  On the roads there are those who don't look when they pull into traffic.  Motorcab drivers are the worst with motorcycle drivers a close second.

Humility is not a common virtue of the people here.  If you prove someone wrong about something, sometimes they get very mad.  Case in point:  My wife sent her cousin to buy hair color.  She wrote a note that said how much to spend, what the brand name was and not to buy the big one.  Well, the boy came back with the big one.  My wife had to go to the store and confront the sales person.  The sales person got angry, so my wife got the Manager.  The Manager chewed out the sales person and the sales boy who read the note, but gave her cousin the wrong size.  All of this hassle occurred because the sales lady lacked the humility to just say, 'Yes, you are right!", and give out a refund.  Other times I've had Filipinos say they can do a particular job, then never come back because they discovered they actually couldn't do the job.

Another humility example was my auto mechanic.  He would come to the house whenever I called and I was very happy with him.  Then one day I asked him to fix something he didn't know how to do.  He said he would be there, but never showed up again.  Talk about a defeated attitude.  No wonder so many stay poor.

You will be happy to learn that Dentists are very cheap here.  My wife had two teeth extracted and bridges manufactured for about $30 USD.  Her friend had two bridges manufactured and installed for about $20.  The Dentist has an office and is very good.

I don't drink the city water.  Not enough chlorine is used to kill bacteria in the old pipes and it is very dingy looking.  Even Filipino children sometimes get sick from it.  They all eat what is called ice candy here which is made using city water and sometimes well water which has been found contaminated around here.

Purified water is readily available and cheap.  I get two 5 gallon containers about every 8 to 10 days for P30 each.  That is about $1.13.  This does not include delivery.  You do pay a P300 deposit for the plastic bottles and you will also need a dispenser which costs around P3000.  The dispenser has hot and cold capability.  I just use the cold.

Water pressure in Dipolog is unpredictable.  Where I live the pressure goes down low Monday thru Friday mornings for about two hours.  At night the pressure is enough to make a hose useful.  The city water in Dumaguete is clean and always available.  I still don't drink it though.

Some apartments have a 200/500 gal. tanks you fill everyday from the city supply.  They are used to support bathrooms when city water pressure is to low.  Most have no automatic shut off or alarm to tell you they are full, so you have to watch the overflow spout.  Dumaguetes water supply has improved so much that the tanks they have are no longer used.

Oh what fun it is to drive a car here in Dipolog.  There are supposed to be some driving rules, but few drivers pay much attention to them.  Here, if you want to turn left, you have to watch for people passing you on the left.  Put your arm out the window and point because motorcycle and motorcab drivers pass on the left, the right and pull out in front of you.  There are few stop signs.  You cross intersections by pulling out into the lanes making people stop.  One lane will have two vehicles in it.  When you drive you will encounter people, bicycles, cows, chickens, dogs, cats, motorcycles, motor cabs, trucks, cars, buses, semi sized trucks on the roads and even rice drying in the street on mats.  People walk on the road and not on the side.  People park their vehicles half on the road.  Motor cab drivers wonder all over the place looking for riders.  They can turn on a dime and will turn around right in front of you.  When turning left people cross into the left lane entering the lane of oncoming traffic while they look for a spot to barge in.  It is comical to say the least.  

Lucky for everybody that only motorcycles can get up much speed.  They pass and weave in and out of traffic at a fast pace.  Many of them have had one or more accidents.  Mostly you travel about 20 Kilometers per hour in your car along with the motor cabs.  People are always in a hurry and will pass you anywhere they can.  I own a big car.  It is easy for me to barge in.  

The cost of a license and liability insurance for one year is about P4000.

Here in Dipolog you can get anywhere in the city by Motor cab for P6.  There are very few Jeepneys, but many buses and trucks with closed beds used as taxis.  There are no taxis here, but you can rent a van and driver 10 hours for 2500p.  No rental cars available without drivers in Dipolog yet.

Dumaguete is much better, but they charge a little more.  The motorcabs are nice for a big foreigner.

I have had some experience buying drugs here.  The first thing you notice that is different than in the states is the prescription.  The prescription can be written on any piece of paper.  But, you really don't need it if you can remember the name of the drug.  Filipinos buy their drugs by the dose.  So, when you ask for something they say, "How many?"  

The costs of drugs here is less in many cases, or there is a substitute.  The other factor is you only buy the exact number you want and not a whole bottle.  I did find acid reducers are higher here than in the states; but, the substitute I use is sodium bicarbonate pills which are very cheap.

For the last 20 years Filipinos have had written and spoken English required in every school year.  They go to school 10 years and graduate from high school.  Most Filipinos know some English.  The ones working in the malls and stores and those working for companies that deal with the public speak English fairly well.  I was amazed at how well the Filipina at the cable company spoke the language.  I am sometimes angered, however, when a Filipino who has had 10 years of formal English training and still can't speak half good English tells me I should know Visaya already in the short time I've been here.  Incidently, Visaya is not found in any training books or on any talking CD's I've found yet.  The older Filipinos understand some street English and maybe some Spanish as well as their own language.  Here in Dipolog they speak Visaya.  I am learning it slowly but surely.  

If you know where you are going to stay when you come here, you can begin learning some of the language yourself.  There are 3 Philippine languages I know of.  Tagalog (spoken in Manila), Cebuan (spoken in Cebu) and Visaya (spoken on the island of Mindanao).  

See 'Learn the Language' below to get started with your training.

If you get get married to a Filipina and live very close to her family, you probably will be asked for loans, starting businesses, pay medical bills, pay for school... and on and on!  During the process of getting all the documents ready for a Catholic wedding you will be forced to attend seminars and interviews with church and city paid personnel.  In my case it was the Priest who warned me that when you marry a Filipina you become one of the family who contributes to the family just like Brothers and Sisters.  What the Priest said was true.  This is what they want you to think.  However, if you stand your ground, they will eventually leave you alone most of the time.  

Filipinos are different from each other just like everyone else.  Some take advantage.  Others are very honest.  You have to figure out who you can trust and be very careful to have your Filipina wife Manage your relationship with her relatives.  If you trust her, then let her do the talking.  Tell her that money you give to the family is money that won't be spent on her.  This has worked for me.

I think a prominent problem with Filipinos is a somewhat lackadaisical attitude towards money and not a very good sense for business.  Big money (to a Filipino) will be spent on a birthday party even though they can't pay a bill coming due.  And, if you pay, then you will always pay.  When you put your foot down it is amazing how they somehow find the money somewhere else!

A Fixer is a person who can get you documents and other things difficult for a non language speaking expat to get.  There is a subculture of Fixers here in Dipolog.  I hear they are everywhere else too.  My first experience with a Fixer was when I needed to buy my car and get licensed.  My wife's sister is the one who took me to the lawyer, took my money and came back with what I needed.  She got a cut of course.

There is the National Transportation Office here.  Outside of that office there are several Fixer's offices where this stuff goes on.  This is where she took us.  My wife was not even aware this was going on and was visibly pissed off at her sister for charging me a fee just like anyone else.

I cannot verify that there are Fixers that can get any document you need, but I know someone who says that.  He says they can get any visa or anything else for a price.  I, on the other hand, will trust a lawyer here or even a travel agency to help me.  

So, now you know!!!

Food here is cheap, but much of it is not as good a quality as in the US.  Pork is loaded with fat.  Filipinos like to cook the fat until it is crunchy.  The beef is tough and must be cooked a long time.  You rarely see a steak or frozen turkey.  Those two are very expensive. There are MacDonalds and Burger Kings in Manila, but in Dipolog a hamburger has a slice of pineapple on it and the bread is not sweet.  They eat hotdogs by the bushel here too.

Chicken by far is the best buy after fish.   There are many kinds of canned meats including sardines made here at a few pesos per can.   There is some fresh cows milk here in Dipolog.  The rest is powdered.  Vegetables are sold in open markets called 'Tabos'.  My wife spends about $10/week on vegetables.  She makes very good meat and vegetable dishes. They have Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, Sprite and Dad's Root Beer in the mall.  A 1 liter coke is P20 in small stores. I've found only one paper towel in the rolls.  People carry cloth towels around with them.  I have yet to find ground coffee here.

We spend the following per month:  P8,000 Rent, P13,000 Food/Other, Transportation P2500, Electric P2800, Water P326, Cable P400 and Alcohol P2300... total = P29326.  We live very well and could easily live on less.

Once you get all of your household expenditures for TV, furniture, ref, water dispenser, washing machine etc you can live easily on what I spend.  We eat very well.  I am also putting my wife through Care Giver training and paying for her sister's daughters college.

Restaurants:  There are small places all over Dipolog.  Most famous I guess is Joe Anato's chicken place.  It is good and costs only P55 for a big piece of chicken and rice.  The chicken is roasted over coals and is very good.  Anato's is not air con, but they have fans.  There are others I haven't tried.  Circus Cafe is an Italian place where expats go and I believe it is air con.  Please visit Dipolog.org for further info.

Dumaguete has many fast food restaurants including two Jollie Bees (one with drive through), a MacDonalds and many others.  There is also a Shakeys Pizza.  There are very nice aircon sit down places too.  Even the Joe Anato's has an aircon section here.

The houses here are constructed out of bamboo or block and wood.  Today bamboo costs just as much and concrete blocks.  Hollow blocks are 7p each.  There now is a ban on cutting trees for wood.  Many landslides have resulted.  

If any houses are being insulated, those are the new ones.  I'm telling you this because your aircon will be fighting an uphill battle unless you take steps to stop the heat sources.  If you can insulate your room and replace the windows, then do that.  But, if you rent, all you can do is buy some sheets of plastic and cover the windows.  The windows here are mainly the louvered kind which barely can keep a mosquito out let alone anything else.  They do stop the rain, but you need screens to stop the bugs.

When it rains hard the sound inside my old apartment is very loud.  We wake up at night and often run downstairs to make sure the windows are closed.  Another problem with housing here is insects.  It took us two months to stop the ants from coming in.  Filipinos don't mind a few bugs and lizards.  I do mind them.  I bought bug killer and put up a chemical barrier everywhere they came in.  Now we only see a few.  As for the lizards, they eat flies and mosquitos, so they can stay.

There are 6 or 7 Internet Cafes here in Dipolog and there are many all over the Philippines.  Here it is still 25p per hour.  (This is a good price)  I understand other places in other cities are higher (up to 50p).  Out in the boondocks forget about it.

There are still two ISP services I know of here.  One is through the phone company.  These ISP service companies try to force you to buy website space with your internet access as they did when they started exploding in the US.  I told both of them it is a mistake to try and sell novice computer users here a website with their ISP service.  Those went broke in the US.  What I did to get around this problem was purchase internet access cards.  At the present I pay 250p for 18 hours.  The only problem with the access cards is you cannot be assured of logging on anytime you want.  I get up early in the morning, so I have that problem whipped.  

Another drawback for the internet access card is there is no notice delivered when your time is running out.  The connection just goes away!

There is some higher speed access available depending on where you live in line of sight with an antenna.  Smart has one, but we were too far away.

I have Globe Broadband here in Dumaguete.  It is a flat P995/month.  It is almost always available.  I like it alot.

There are many books available to learn the different languages here; however, you can download complete dictionaries absolutely free.  Just search the internet. The only thing left is to learn how to pronounce the words and perform the correct sentence structure.  I am learning from my wife.  I am learning important daily use words first and the way to use them in sentences.

You will receive instructions about your marriage responsibilities during seminars required by the city and the church.  One thing you will be told is that you will become part of the Filipinas family.  They conveniently use that excuse to get you to help pay bills, loan them money and start businesses.  My advice is to be silent about how much money you have.  Don't even tell your future wife.  Be generous up to some limit you set and tell them that is all you can afford.  Don't loan any money.  There are loan services available they can use.  Have your wife interpret what you say and what they say.  Some family members like to hear what they want to hear and not what you really said.  In my case my wife became Manager of family affairs.  I told her what to say and she conveyed it to them in Visaya.  After that everything was fine.

In order to get married to a Filipina you have to go to a US Consulate and obtain permission to marry.  We went to Cebu.  I think the fee was P1340 for the documet.  You must bring a certified copy of any divorce you have been through.  The Filipina has to bring a birth certificate both for her and any children she has.  Please visit http://www.weddingsatwork.com/culture_laws.shtml and read about the requirements to marry a Filipina.

A great majority of Filipinas are Catholic, so expect a Catholic church wedding.  Marriage ceremonies in the Philippines are based on the tradition the family has practiced.  I've been to three weddings and all three were conducted differently.  The ceremony, the pictures and all that goes with it is VERY VERY important to Filipinas.  The groom doesn't have much to say about it.  All he does is pay the bill.

If you are Catholic, then you must present your Baptismal records.  If you don't have them, you can pay to have it done there.  If you are not Catholic, you will be asked what religion you are.  I was never baptized, so they took out the Catholic Mass part of the ceremony.  I was also instructed and signed a document stating that I would not hinder my wife going to Catholic Church and would allow any children we had to be Catholic.  My advice is, 'Don't argue the point!'  

My experience was that I was pushed by my wife and her family to buy the best of everything.  One friend of ours suggested a P30,000 wedding dress.  I knew you could get a very nice dress made in this country for a lot less, so we went shopping around town and found one for P13,000.  I also would have settled for a Court official marrying us, but that was rejected.  I ended up buying a wedding package at a local hotel for P33,000.  It included everything and it was nice.  We also fed 100 people in that package.

They use what they call Sponsors here.  Sponsors help pay for the church.  The Sponsors are picked by the Filipina.  Usually they have some money.  The Sponsors help perform parts of the wedding and get a special place at the wedding feast for their trouble.  They often get up and say a few words during the reception/dinner.

I was glad when the wedding day was over.  It was a long day, but I have been glad ever since that day that I married a wonderful lady.

Drugs and procedures performed are much cheaper here than in the states.  Nurses and Doctors make 10 to 20% of the wages and fees paid to the same people in the states. You can get most anything done; but, they come only after the cash is paid up front.  I hear of medical coverage you can purchase for in the Philippines, but I have not heard how well they pay.  There are plastic surgeons and there are laser eye corrections being performed here too.

There are ambulance services, but most of the time the family will transport the victim to the hospital.  Here there are three hospitals.  One is a no frills, no air con and bring your own blanket place making it the cheapest.  The next has air con rooms and better conditions.  The best is the Dipolog Medical Center.  Private rooms with TV etc.  It, of course, has a higher price.

I would join one of the many Yahoo Groups and ask members your questions about medical care.

My Mother in Law suffered a stroke, so we had to bring her to Dumaguete to Silimans hospital.  They have a CT Scanner.  It is a pretty nice hospital (though old) compared to most I've been in here.  The rates are P500 per night non-private room and P1000 private.  Mom's Doctor charged P700 per visit.  The CT Scan and X-ray together were P4000.

On a tourist visa you can't own property here without being married.  Actually, your wife's name is on the deed and you are listed as the husband.  Same goes for a business.

Until you learn the prices of everything, depend on your Filipina to tell you what the price is and to go with you shopping.  They WILL take advantage of you.  When we were buying the Bridal Bouquet I waited outside until my wife got the price.  Then she motioned me to come in.  You should have seen the shop owner's face.  Even with her there the shop owner tried to slip in something else at a high price.  I just listened for the final bill amount, which I already knew.  When I heard the higher amount I just said, "No!"    

Your Filipina may try explaining something about herself or a family member and try to get you to agree before money is mentioned.  I've learned to catch her at these times and I always say, "How much?"  Then either say no or this is all I have.

My experiences regarding the quality of appliances (longevity of proper operation) when purchased new are mixed.  First you have to understand that most Filipinos cannot afford a full sized washer/dryer or refrigerator.  But many can afford cheaper versions.  

The washer/dryer is actually a plastic bodied washer that just swishes the clothes and water back and the dryer just spins the clothes until they are just damp.  The dryer part of my washer/dryer quit working.  I think my helper overloaded it.  It is under warranty, but it will be gone for a month to fix.

Many stores sell off brand goods that have a name sounding like a US company.  For example Mitsuboshi instead of Mitsubishi.  I guess the laws are different here.  Many of the appliances are made in China or Japan and often are purchased by lots at a discount.  The merchant takes his chances on how many items in the lot are actually good.  The merchants here do try to honor their warranties.  Problem is the return rate is high for many off brand items.  I purchased several fans before I learned to go with Panasonic (old Standard).

You can get a full sized refrigerator or freezer.  I don't know about washer/dryers, but I assume you can get those too.  Air con units here are rated in horse power.  I would say a room 15 X 12ft with no insulation and louvered windows like here would require at least a 2 horse power unit to keep it cool.  The problem with air cons is when the voltage here gets very low, which is around 6PM to 9PM.  They don't work very well and the microwave doesn't work at all.

These are some of the inconveniences you will put up with if you live here.  I have become used to them and still find living here pretty great.  These people have learned to adapt to these issues and you can too.  Sweating is actually good for you and helps you lose weight.  Everyone has the same problem so body odor and all the rest that comes with being hot are just ignored.  You take more showers.  You learn to take it easy.  

There are now malls in most descent size cities.  Malls here charge more just like in the states.  It is better to locate small stores owned by locals.  There is literally no or very little advertising used in Dipolog City.  You have to ask the locals where you will find what you want.

I finally found ground coffee in Dumaguete!!!

I have not heard of any incidents here in Dipolog City.  The locals say there was NPA activity here years ago.  Been pretty quiet since I've been here.  In Dumaguete I hear there are some gangs, but if you stay home at night, you'll be ok.

When you get here you will discover that people in the Philippines don't use the same exact time as everyone else in the world.  They either advance or delay their clocks to suit some purpose, the reason I don't know yet.  

An example is my wife's school.  They publish that the first class starts at 8AM and all the others start on the hour during the day.  After she got there she noticed all the clocks were set 20 minutes ahead.  This annoyed both of us for two reasons.  1.  She has a son to get off to school etc.  2.  They published the wrong time.

The internet cafes do this same thing.  I think everyone does here.

When I find out the reason, I will publish it here.  

Filipinas generally work hard, play hard and love one man at a time.  If you marry one, usually you will have three hot cooked meals, a clean house, a fun person to be with and an excellent sex life.  Filipinas usually are taught how to please a man and keep a husband.  Many of them are excellent cooks.

Foreign men are in demand among Filpinas.  I get winks and stares even when my wife is with me in the stores.  It makes a guy feel good, especially after the way he was treated in the states.  Most Filipinas are looking for a better life and would like to guarantee some financial security.  You have to use common sense when  picking one to be your wife.  The whole family will try to win you over.  Make sure you come before any family member except her children.

Filipinas are not perfect, however.  If they get mad, you will just have to wait them out.  When the monthly cycle comes around with my wife, I stay away from her for three days.  She can be hell if I open my big mouth.  Also Filipinas will want you to make decisions about many things she should be taking care of herself.  You just have to get used to how they are and remember what great lovers and cooks they are during those bad times.

There are a few bad ones who only want to rip you off.  Take your time and don't let anyone rush you into anything until you know for sure.  There are expats here who can do investigations for you if you need that level of help.