What the Philippines is REALLY like for Foreigners (HONEST TRUTH)

Salamat for visiting my country. Try next your visit go to Iloilo province you’ll enjoy the nice beaches and the people also Palawan. There’s so much fun in the Philippines

Well said bro then try Davao City and see the difference in cost of living and security.

That guy who followed you was definitely a gay guy Filipino. Lol.

When are you going to bury the power and communication lines. Davao city has almost completed this project and it looks more the city beautiful. Manila, Cebu and other big cities has a lot of spaghetti wires and it reflects the cities housekeeping. Sorry to say this.....

Great video

I thought this was an "honest truth" lmao.....another b.s. channel. Bruh, I've lived in the PH for over 2 years and Filipino's are the most selfish people I've met in 6 countries. Every SEA country is thriving and has economies that are developing EXCEPT the Philippines. These people think because of lying channels like this one that they are perfect and don't need to be responsible for toxicity in their communities. If you don't have money in your hand these people are very standoffish and rude. Not an opinion, my experience living in La Union.

Craig, the U.S. has a lot of influence on the Philippines and Filipinos. people love American culture more than any other cultures outside of their own, and American English is the preferred use of English by Filipinos.

i remember when i was a child i think that was 2002, i tried to approach walking foreigner grandma to offer some help, but maybe she was scared for me to approach her, i think she's though of us with danger approaching her that's why she act angrily but i understand it then i leave her alone.

Since you appreciate our Filipino culture and country, thanks, I support other foreign vlogger by simply subscribing and liking them. Keep up the good work mate! Welcome! To the Philippines!😊

Every country and its people has a plus and negative sides. Economically, technology etc, etc advantages or disadvantages

filipinos are "welcoming" until you become non-white foreigner. filipinos, really, are racists. if you put indian-nationallity and arab jokes into a book, you'll have so many volumes.

enjoy your stay, brother! travel the islands ❤😁👌

My life here in California is pretty affordable than living in manila. My rent including utilities is $700 and I'm getting paid $5,000 per month which I can't have if I ever move back in the Philippines

What is your monthly income and are you comfortable with it?

Ang foreigner ok sa kanila tumira sa Pinas ksi mura ang mga bilhin kung dollars Naman ang kinikita nila ..

I've been living here for 13 years, having an local wife of course -- and just everything you say, is totally true. I've been around in the World, like Central Africa and such, and the only place I've been attacked, is peaceful Oslo (Norway).

That’s is so true. We get by, and the next day we are still smiling because we love life, we know God and family are our treasures. Some of your prices are kinda expensive though.. hehe

Us Filipino but to be Honest most of Foreign Choose Thailand than my Country Philippines i dont know what exactly reason but thats the Truth

And we have really fancy coffee shops too!

I just moved to Toronto from Iloilo City about 4 months ago. Just to put into perspective how Filipinos get screwed, groceries here doesn't cost that much more than groceries in the Philippines. If you go to costco you can get more for your money. Actually the salary to price ratio here in canada is way better than anywhere in the Philippines apart from the housing market.

One comment after another of how good it is.
Maybe Pinoy Pride and Crab Mentality, corruption, bribery, is finally now non existent ?

Seriously this country is like a toilet bowl. Better countries out there like Thailand for sure. One thing good about this country is Philippinoos love being noisy. Karaoke, music, cell phone , they are good at waking you up all hours of the night with loud motorbikes.

No food poisoning, you're lucky. Every time I go back home I expect to get diarrhea atleast once or twice during my visit. Thanks for keeping it real. I've only seen 2 other vloggers not edit out acknowledging the ill effects of the food they have eaten. I swear I've seen other vloggers like you eat stuff back home that even my own relatives would warn me off from eating. Either they were really lucky like you or I suspect they didn't want to admit having any regrets. Again thanks for acknowledging atleast the possibility.
Last time I was back home, my brother-in-law flew in to join us. First day he had some halo halo, got sick right away.

You have lived in two of the more expensive areas that you could live and so yes you are correct, you could definitely live less expensively in some other locations. I would disagree with you though about sacrificing quality of life or lowering your standards to save money. Living in a smaller size city would allow you to maintain just as high of a standard of living for much less money. I have a friend who lives near Dumaguete in a three-bedroom house that he and his wife rent, and their total monthly expenses are about $650. Living at San Carlos on Negros I estimate my expenses to be about $800 a month, and that leaves plenty of money available to go to various destinations and enjoy life, plus eating out two or three times a week normally.
It is a little more expensive for expats to live in the Philippines than it is for Filipinos because we do enjoy AC and a hot shower, and want things a little bit nicer than what the locals may accept.
But life is good in the Philippines, and a retiree could live comfortably.

Foreigners need to get used to "brown outs, "water stoppage", street food, LBM, 24 hours of heat and humidity. Poor sewer system and many places only septic tanks. Redundancy in paperwork.

Explore outside Metro Manila so that you can defferentiate the difference.

I have lived in Quezon City since December 2016 and have found the Filipino people to be very friendly, respectful and polite. They always respond with either a "po" the mark of respect in Tagalog, or Sir or kuya. Unlike the UK where we receive a grunt or "mate", if we are lucky. I have not experienced any safety or security issues anywhere I have been. It has become more expensive to live since COVID and the Russia-Ulkraine problems, but that's the same in most of the world. The only negative I have experienced is their driving. In the city there is little application of road courtesy and far too many change lanes or make turns without indicating. And bikers......well! But a long 10 hour drive from NCR to the north can be very enjoyable.

If by chance you make friends with people in the poorer more colorful places in the Philippines, you might just feel safer and more welcome than in BGC or Makati. Its strange that poor people seem to be more open and giving when you befriend them.

lol you went to the most expensive part of the philippines. it's like living in the most expensive places of any particular country. so don't expect it to be cheap. great video though. very informative. i think the big mac index is still a perfect measure of affordability of a country: how much is the the cost of a bigmac in one place compared to another

as a Filipino, I hope you are having a great time here! We are delighted that more foreigners like you are discovering the kindness and hospitality of the Filipino People. As per our customs, we usually treat our Foreigners as guests of the house and when we say 'guests', we make sure that our guests are comfortable and is enjoying our home. We are also accepting of different cultures no matter what country you are from so it's okay if you may sometimes mispronounced one of our words. Your recognition alone is already an honor to us. Finally, We hope that you will enjoy the Philippines as much as we do more in the coming years. Cheers! 🍻

Hello 👋

What an objective insight. Fair enough.

I've been living in Silay city Philppines now almost 8 years. I think is fairly safe. And like u said the people are friendly.

nothing really true...fare from the realty

try sinigang na baboy , inihow na baboy with rice great combo

I'm happy for you.

we have a waterfall in town but, ice skating, malls, theatre2houraway. we have starlink, 55 a month at home.

23 yrs and i love it. 72 now. no stress. i live on cebu, but been all over. 8 years ago bought 5000 sqm high up facing ocean , 3 terraced floors, 5 min walk down to beach. house and land $ 80000. 5 bedrooms, 3 bath. docter $ 5.00, antibiotic 10 cents. 5gal bottle water refill 40 cents. wife farms, chickens, veggies,fruit trees, veggies, sells cakes and pigs.4 biting dogs, 4cats so no tresspassers,lol.

Location, living conditions and quality of life. And you think Makati and BGC provides this?! We think very differently! I love nature. Concrete EVERYWHERE provides very little of this. Horrible location, low quality of life in my opinion. You think living in a high rise condo provides these things. I strongly disagree. But if that’s the life you want so be it. I’ve spent time in both of those places. MANY foreigners enjoy the beautiful country (province) life near beaches and many conveniences of smaller cities of 300000 to a million population instead of in the middle of 20 million. I have a very difficult time spending more than $800 all in unless I drink like a fish and spend a ton on chasing women or trying to impress others. Just trying to provide a different prospective here I guess. But I don’t enjoy city high rise dwelling so that’s where I’m coming from.

Philippines is a culturally and ethnically diversed country. You can try visiting to the Southern states/provinces.

U are so good looking & engaging.! Just subscribed.!
Now I can see my home country more thru ur vlogs.
Good luck & enjoy ur stay.

Maraming salamat din sa iyo at mabuhay ka Craig.

ive traveled alot of places and i think its stupid to label a country safe or not...safety is very relative.. i.e. its safer to stay in provinces or in BGC than it is living in makati or caloocan etc.

If it wasn't for its race-based land ownership policies, it would be a great country to live in.

Honestly mate, BGC is like sheltered, sanitized living when you are in the islands. You'll only get glimpses of true living conditions.

It's quite expensive there too. Try to get out of your comfort zone, while still maintaining safety. Explore and you'll see the true beauty of the land.

Cheapest safe cooked meal you can get is around 15 pesos. Basically 20p, but it's only in certain regions like 4 and 5. Other areas can range from 50p to 1£. You need to cook your own rice if you're staying for months. 45-55 php per kg. About 1.2£/day.

What you are doing is essentially living day to day on takeaways. It will be expensive.


But you know what's really the same? Scottish hospitality and Filipino hospitality. Same rules apply.


Try and look for Bopis. It's the closest thing to Haggis, with a few differences in spices.

But the best thing here is friendship. If you've drank a few shots, shirtless and in the streets with a few buddies, while following the drinking etiquette, then you're considered and treated as one of us no matter where you came from.

Manila is one of the safest city in the world ..u can see security guards in almost all establishments... other cities in Europe like Rome for example have many pickpockets that victimize tourists

I have dated 300 Filipinos. 90% are scammers or compulsive liars. No-one can be trusted in Philippines for relationship or business.

This is a terrible review of the Philippines. Living in the Manila and Makati area, is a long long way from the Filipino culture. Sorry you only got to see the commercial side of this wonderful country