I was going through videos that I had made over at our YouTube channel (Philippine Dreams), and I noticed a recurring theme emerging: That is, that I am giving the impression that the Philippines is a sun kissed, bountiful paradise possessed of only of redeeming qualities. After reviewing the videos, I decided that in the interest of depicting things as they really are, I needed to do a video devoted to the other side; namely, the negatives that one will encounter in this island archipelago. With this in mind, Michell and I sat down and sketched out a list of some of the downsides of living in the Philippines. So, without any further ado, here’s what we came up with: 1. Bonecrushing Heat and Humidity: This continues to be the biggest challenge for Yours Truly. When one hears about tropical heat and humidity – but one has never truly experienced that aside from perhaps a short trip to Disney World in Florida – one cannot truly fully appreciate it. The first thing I noticed disembarking from the plane in Manila was the wall of super-heated humidity that swept over me and immediately started me on what has been basically an eight month sweating campaign. The coolest times of the day here are between 3 AM and 8 AM – by around 10 AM the sun is up and cooking everything beneath its unrelenting gaze. Add in the oppressive humidity, and the sweat that build up on your skin turns into what I can only describe as a disgusting coat of protective slime that requires multiple short showers throughout the day. It didn’t take me long to appreciate the concept of siesta; that is, resting and relaxing in front of a fan with a good book during the hottest hours of the day. When I go out, I also make sure that I have a bandanna in my pocket to wipe off the extra sweat as it accumulates on my sweltering brow and runs down the back of my neck. Using air-conditioning for me is a must, especially in the evening when I’m trying to sleep. With the high cost of electricity, I keep the airon on its lowest setting and also set the two-hour timer which switches on a wall fan when the air conditioner shuts down. Using this system in conjunction with a little bit of air-conditioning in the hottest part of the afternoon results in daily electricity cost of about $2-$3 USD. It’s hot, man – very freaking hot. If I ever settle down and purchase a property much effort will be put into finding a breezy or elevated shaded location. 2. Rampant Poverty – the Philippines government just recently announced that only 20% of the population is living in poverty. Then again, the government defines poverty as anyone making less than US$388 a year; this compared to poverty in the United States being defined as anyone making less than $11,700. One doesn’t have to look far to appreciate the truth – the vast majority of Filipinos are very, very poor. Half of the population – nearly 50,000,000 people – live in urban slums the likes of which you have to see to fully appreciate. Half of the population of Manila lives like this, with some 30,000 residing and a massive pile of garbage nicknamed Smokey Mountain that actually has its own school system. Far from being concerned about acquiring worldly goods, most Filipinos are more focused on where their next meal is coming from. Before moving to the Philippines, I lived in a neighborhood in Boston Massachusetts where most of the people living beneath the poverty line. (Most would call it a “ghetto”) Compared to the Philippines, however, the folks in my neighborhood were doing alright for themselves, having access to social support programs that provide food and housing assistance and quality healthcare. The poverty here is right in your face; you’ll see it every day in the faces of the street kids who sleep on the concrete at night and beg for pesos during the day. 3. Widespread Political Corruption – Graft and embezzlement are flourishing in the Filipino political system. Although the country is experiencing record financial growth, very little of that actually filters down to the people who need it most. This corruption is most easily seen in public construction programs where much of the money is funneled into politicians pockets and the projects themselves are only half completed before funding “runs out.” At present, there are a number of Filipino politicians being charged with “pork barrel” embezzlement scams. It will be interesting to follow the disposition of these cases, as in the past not much has been done to these offenders despite a great deal of overwhelming proof. This corruption is one of the biggest challenges of the Philippines faces and the Filipino people deserve better. Hopefully, over time, more folks will become involved in the political process and demand real, lasting change. Personally, I am optimistic – Filipinos take social media very seriously, and there has been good coverage of it in the news. Keep your fingers crossed! 4. Lack of Infrastructure – the Philippines suffers from lack quality Internet, electrical production, and adequate road systems. Much of this can probably be attributed to some of the issues related to the political corruption and mismanagement of financial resources necessary to develop quality infrastructure. All of the islands experiences a blackouts (called “brownouts” for some reason….), interrupted internet service, water cutoffs , and the like. Corruption also has an effect on the quality of construction in the Philippines as some politicians have been known to use substandard material so that they can pocket the balance. (Keep this in mind the next time you are dodging massive potholes on a national highway.) One last word on Internet: the Philippines has not joined the Pacific Asian Internet service hub and relying instead on their own routing system. The bandwidth is severely limited and Internet speeds are very low and intermittent compared to the rest of Asia. That said, we are lucky enough to have a 3 MB connection with a company called SkyCable which has provided us pretty good service. 5. Noise – Unless you live on the top of an isolated mountain, the sound of crowing roosters, barking dogs and warbling karaoke are going to be the backing soundtrack to your life. If you can find a place that has a large enough lot that insulates you from the surrounding cacophony, consider yourself very lucky. Personally, I have been fortunate, as the sound of roosters and barking dogs don’t really bother me. For some expats, however, this constant racket is insufferable, and many are constantly complaining of it. Also keep in mind that Filipino houses are not insulated in the windows that they use provide no protection from outside noise. We have had a few occasions, where the racket of neighbor’s sound systems have caused us a “bit” of stress. And we are not talking about little “bookshelf” speaker systems that people are using – these are full-blown studio/club PA speaker systems with multi-thousand watt amplifiers that can shake the very foundation of your soul. It can be – at times – a little much. 6. High price of Electricity and Gasoline: Gasoline in the Philippines is over five dollars a gallon, and the price of electricity is about twice that of the United States, weighing in at about 30 cents per kilowatt hour. This kind of takes some of the shine out of the Philippines being a haven for foreign “economic refugees” if they use a lot of electricity and gas. We try to keep our air conditioning usage as limited as possible but still use about 70 dollars USD a month. We also try to limit our use of our Pajero 4X4, which doesn’t get nearly the gas mileage that our scooter and motorcycle get. So, that’s it for the first part of the video, which we had to cut into two parts because once again, I rambled on and on. In the second part, we talk about being away from friends and family, the food, crime, and scammers. Take care ya’ll, and we’ll see you next time!!

I know it sounds stupid but I live in Spain, ibiza & I paint my roof white. The walls are a very light magnolia colour. The difference is so noticeable. I doubt your landlord would allow you though?
Keep up the posts. Steve
Thanks, Steve and congratulations for being the first comment on our new site, MyPhilippineDreams.
That makes TOTAL sense, but for some reason they prefer to paint their metal roofs a dark color which totally absorbs the heat. There is also no insulation beneath the roof, so it just radiates down into the house. Yuck. My landlord would love if I painted the roof – he just wouldn’t pay for it.
Painting metal roofs black instead of white? What’s that all about?
enjoyed the article, a little hard to read, paragraph key broken mr. English major? Or is it my browser? 🙂
LOL. Yeah – I have to go back and edit the formatting on a bunch of the posts. They got a bit wonky when we did the migration from blogger to WordPress. Thanks, GTD.
Nate are you and Michelle married already ?
Robert Anthony
No, we are not married, Robert. Just dedicated and long term. I have known her for about 3 years now and we have been together for 18 months.