A book on how to make a living in the Phililippines December 23, 2008

 Generally im not one to buy E-Books and certainly not ones from the Philippines.. why?

Because generally they are very poor quality and just a quick money making scheme. Tie that with the fact that many of the books are upto a decade out of date they are pretty useless. But I decided to start advertising this book by Bob Martin so thought I should at least buy it to see if its worth the money. As a book its no novel but it does provide exactly what it says it will and to be honest I thought before I bought it the price was a bit high but once I had read a few of the chapters a lot of it makes sense and many of the ideas are things that are very obvious but unlikely to have explored unless someone had already proven it had worked. So would I buy another book from Bob? Simple answer yes but obviously it has to be something thats interesting not only to me but of use. This book is easily part of a bigger picture and I can honestly say with a few of the ideas from the book you can easily make a living and develop a business. There are parts of the book I wish were better developed in structure but with “google” at your fingertips many of the ideas are going to work with a little research. Its worth its price tag and I will be trying most if not all the ideas in the future to prove which ones do work and which ones are difficult ( I wont say fail because quite simply I believe most businesses can prosper with the right people/connections).

Now do I get paid for you clicking the link above? Simple answer yes.. did I do this review for the money? Simple answer “No” people who know me will tell you im about as straight shooting as they come. Often people wish they hadnt asked my opinion because they get an honest reply and normally with complete breakdown of reasons. So if your serious about moving to the Philippines and starting a business then this is a good place to start even if abroad. Because there is one thing I will say about people who have yet to even visit the Philippines who assume they can just move here and start a business the majority come with the same ideas Bars,diving,farming,internet cafe aswell as a few others.. but the truth is most of these businesses either offer poor returns are over subscribed in areas or both. Either way your chances of success with a bar,diving school etc.. are a lot slimmer than with Bobs ideas. Aswell as the fact many of Bobs ideas can be started in your home country even before you start looking for your speedos for your luggage. Many of the ideas are internet based and with a few tips you can soon be on your way to a steady income.

So what is it about Minglanilla? December 23, 2008

A lot of people may wonder I live in Minglanilla over other locations within Cebu. Well there are several reasons. Firstly Aprils family are here, aunts,uncles,parents,cousins something i never had when i grew up due to my parents moving around the world with the British army. So its nice that April has that here and I wouldnt want to take April to an area where she would be too far from relatives. But there are many other reasons that make Minglanilla home. The town is literally 5 minutes from the house by tricycle or car. We have a swimming pool nearby that we can use on a resort. The beach is 5 minutes from the house although its not the best in the area.. but then again I dont like sand on my feet so suits me..(its full of stones). Main thing is though you are central its about as quiet as a province can get within a stones throw of the city. Yes there is the road dust in the morning and evening rush hours but thats about it. There is no constant flow of heavy traffic just general. But the other thing that really makes Minglanilla a great place to live is the fact as soon as you head off the main southern coastal road and head inland within 5 minutes you are literally in a sea of green.. most of the land is either minor developed or untouched. A touch of the real Philippines with the access to all the major facilities within a 20 minute radius of travel you cant really beat that.

A few things you will find different when stopping in the Philippines December 14, 2008

This is mainly aimed at people looking at renting properties or buying property. Simply because most features you expect in the west maybe missing. Why? because price is critical here. Often the roofing is metal due to keeping cost down, electrics substandard to name but a few things. But then again even if you rent locally you could find things like :-

Shower

 

This is what a local shower looks like. A tap a bucket to fill with water and a pot shaped scoop to wash with. Very simple but effective the reason for the bucket is many houses dont have a seperate water tank to store water and its very common for water to be off at certain times of the day. This is the way round it. Disadvantage of this type of system is the water is very cold in the morning. But the big advantage is the bigger the bucket the more showers you can have if the water is off.

The other thing you will notice on this photo and the next is that there is water filters on both taps regardless. I havent found anything in the water that I would call a real threat to health but have had several pebbles. Which makes you wonder if a pebble can get into the water whate else can.

Electric showers are available and pretty reliable but I strongly advise getting your earth bonding correct and also a full inspection of your electrics to make sure the system can take the strain of the extra current. The other thing you may have noticed is there is only one tap. There is no hot water. The easiest and cheapest way round this is to add an exterior tank to a sunlit area and you will receive free hotwater. Ive noticed the tank at the house we are currently renting has been moved which is why we now have cold water 24/7 instead of hot 50% and warm 50%. But you cant have everything.. There is two ways to receive water to a house generally and most places have access to both. One is a deep well which taps into the underground waterways which has a major advantage its free! generally its low in pollution and likely to be as good if not better than the tap water. We currently have only the deep well water which is pumped up via an electric pump into a tank then we just fill it as we need it. An example of what is called an E-Pump is shown below :-

Not the prettiest objects but saves using a hand pump each day to get the water out. Add a tank with adapted ballcock to automate the pump and you wouldnt need to get upto the pump to regular. Cheap to run and if its maintained regular will run for literally years. Ive worked on motors as part of my previous work and to be honest the older ones are better than a new one. Why? Because the internal blades and many other components now are made of plastic where before they were metal. So if you take into account heat generation from the pump in motion its life cycle due to component failure is very much reduced. Ive worked on military motors which are fully metal many are over 30 years old but the new ones are lasting 1 – 3 years. Although supposed to be direct replacements. So if you find a good motor that looks a little old but all metal components its likely to outlast a brand new one.

Another thing people dont realise is getting used to Aircon in hot climates. But if you use Ceiling fans or wall fans they are much cheaper and also involve less cleaning and running costs. As you find bacteria build up often causes minor coughs and sore throats and at the worst case scenario legionaires disease if not maintained. The wall mounted ones I find dont take up to much space and you dont get the shadows at night of spinning blades next to the ceiling or wobbling of light that you get with ceiling oscilating fans. Either way you should also add at least one small battery backed fan to your list of essential items. Its only when you find you havent bought one in a powercut do you realise how hot it gets quickly and how much you miss the item. Try and get one with a larger battery compartment as you should be able to use motorcycle batteries which are easy to come by and also test it regular as a lot of batteries are resold as new here. Something to be aware of. Its not just street vendors but often where you least expect it. The fan shown here cost less than £10.00 but ideal for keeping things cool during the night if theres a power cut aswell as the fact it has a built in light and very compact.

 

Another thing people dont realise is Gas is fed from tanks not from mains in the majority of locations its cheap one bottle will last you several months but the big problem is many of these bottles wouldnt pass safety standards in the West. Currently the one we are using at the moment is missing a seal which is spilling gas when connected. Its been repaired locally with an elastic band. Not the best solution to a very dangerous problem. Ive seen the damage done with a fire extinguisher would hate to see the damage done with one of these tanks going off. Anyway getting back to my point. These are connected to your cooker via a hose as there is nothing else in the house that requires gas.

Another thing people forget to take a look at is security on a property before buying. This is a picture from one of our windows. This is a typical layout in the Philippines “on request” before you rent get them to fit a mosquito grill and security grill. They may ask you for 2 – 3 months rent in advance to cover the costs. But its worth it mosquitos are a major problem not only for irritation but Dengue is still a big problem in Cebu and other parts of the Philippines. Malaria is supposed to be virtually none existant but to be honest I wouldnt be so sure as many of the figures arent accurate due to the majority of population finding medical fees too expensive so the death registry is unlikely to be accurate. Getting back to the design. The metal grills are good security and if designed well look very artistic and in keeping with the house. My father inlaw makes them so if you ever want some made please drop me an email. The mosquito mesh is either metal or plastic depending on whats used. Generally it keeps 90% of the pests out but ants are the biggest problem everyone seems to face and an ongoing battle. The louvre type windows work well especially if you have open fields or above ground level to allow air to flow through the house. Means you dont need Aircon during the day and depending where you are maybe no aircon at all.

Hope  you found the information useful. But one thing i will add is all western things are available but at a cost. Not only buying costs but running costs. A house without Aircon can have a bill as little as P500 a month. But a single Aircon unit can add as much as P2,000 per unit. So if you can get by with fans give it a go. Try for a few days the first couple of days will seem too hot but with the fans your body will adapt. Saving you in the wallet especially if your here long term.