Hi from me and my Davao dream...

No Vanni, unfortunately it is much more mundane than that. I have scuba dived off Apo Island not far from Dumaguete, Negros many times, and was waiting to see a shark!

I will venture an opinion; if it is unwelcome please tell me and I will delete it.

A reliable way to become un-married is to bring a wife to the Philippines.

A friend of a friend is taking up a teaching post in Manila next summer and bringing his Spanish girlfriend with him; I offered him the same advice.

I know precisely one (1) non-Filipina lady - she is English - who enjoys living in Manila and she is unusual in these respects - she grew up here, her closest friend is a Filipina, she has always been strikingly good looking and until she was widowed she was exceptionally happily married - she took over her husband's business when he died.

Every other foreign woman I have known who has lived here has hated the place.

Not only is there far too much "competition", but a non-Filipina will be the subject of constant unwelcome attention, she will be ogled and touched wherever she goes - a comment made to me by several other Englishwomen who have lived here - and worst of all she will be the subject of endless gossip and will be expected to "conform" to the code of behaviour that this society imposes on its women.

Filipinas are very tough; they need to be. Few foreign women are as tough.

A foreign lady, unlike a man, will have few if any friends from her own nation to associate with; it will be hard for her to get or to keep employment, it will be hard for her to start a business, she will, in short, have little to do.

This is not the ideal basis for a happy relationship...

Very fair comment Andrew, I cannot see many Western women fitting in to the everyday life of the Philippines.

The advantage HappyRizal may have though is that his wife is Columbian and therefore may or may not stand a better chance of a successful integration. A very good friend of mine has been married to a Columbian lady for about 15 years, I went to see them only a couple of weeks ago in Glos. Having worked in Columbia a few times I would say they are a little tougher than your average British lady due to them being brought up in an environment not dissimilar from the Philippines.

In other words, its pretty rough in some parts of Columbia, watch you don't get kidnapped and all that fun stuff

Colombia - derived from Cristobal Colon, who we call Christopher Columbus.
I hope you don't mind me pointing this out, Timmers.
I worked there also and the amount of people who confuse "Colombia" with "British Columbia" is shocking. Even the BBC do it all the time
Of course he was Italian, Cristoforo Colombo, so it is linked to Vanni (and Dom) and this thread.

Even our wives get "hot under the collar" (better than swearing) when they see Filipinos trying to take advantage of us "long noses".

As your wife is a good cook, Dom, surely she will love the Antipasto and the other hundred or so courses that is an Italian meal. I worked in Italy for a few months and I have never seen people eat so much as there!

I am not allowed to have financial dealings with Filipinos - any Filipinos, espescially not the family!

I have found this to be a good rule!

There are certainly many things to take into consideration when considering moving to the Philippines, like Dom I have romantically considered retiring there but it is not for me, I couldn't stand the stress and the huge mistrust issues that I would have when dealing with people there,

I do intend to settle in the Philippines.

We seem to be having quite a large influx of Italians moving on to our little island over the last 6 years.
We have some really good Italian restaurants here now.. Great Pizza`s!
I say,keep on coming!
Here`s one I thoroughly recommend.
Giuseppe Pizzeria and Sicilian Roast
http://www.tripadvisor.com.ph/Resta...st-Panglao_Island_Bohol_Province_Visayas.html

So do I, it's not for everyone. there seems to be more ex armed forces, expats over here. Nearly everyone I have met are from the marines.

Does that mean you have to be a tough guy to go and live in the Philippines? suppose it helps

Dunno. I expect that good health and a good pension will help

Its the good health and the pension that are two of the critical elements to consider when moving overseas permanently, you cannot guarantee either which is where a lot of uncertainty lies. We all know that the Philippine health system is nowhere as good as the UK so it is all about balancing the risks.

Even with the best healthcare and pension provisions you are going to die fairly soon.

I have paid big $$ for private worldwide healthcare over the past 20 years, big money but very few claims.

Pensions have always seemed like the number one scam to me.

Funnily enough I just received one of my pension statements today, unfortunately I wont be retiring anywhere sunny and exotic

So Bognor's out then ...

No I don't think that at all. just merely making an observation. Living in the Provence though is not for wimps.

True!