American expat Michael is a new resident in Cagayan de Oro City in the southern Philippines, where he will be settling down with his wife. Read on to learn about his practical and personal reasons for moving to the Philippines, what he thinks of the locals, and some tips on what to do and not to do there.	Michael Turner

September 21 2006 

-Where were you born?
I was born at Baptist Memorial Hospital, Escambia County, Pensacola, Florida, USA, at 1:20 PM on March 20, 1961. That would make me 45.5 years old.

-In which country and city are you living now?
I just got married on September 1, 2006, so right now I'm on honeymoon, traveling around the Philippine archipelago and will be for a few more weeks, but my wife is from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Province, Mindanao Island, the Philippines, and we will settle down there after returning from honeymoon.

-Are you living alone or with your family?
I'll be renting a house in Cagayan de Oro, not just for me and my new bride, but also for my bride's parents, brothers, grandmother, nephews and who knows who else. Families are more important in The Philippines (average household size = 5.3) than they are in USA (average household size = 2.6). As part of my Filipino acculturization, I intend to adapt and that's a good place to start.

-How long have you been living in the Philippines?
I've just moved here. I arrived in the Philippines on August 16, 2006. However, I spent two months here in 2004, and 6 months here in 2005.

-What is your age?
See 1st Question.

-When did you come up with the idea of living in the Philippines?
I came up with the idea many years ago. Coming to the Philippines is really the culmination of a life-long path. There's just something in me that demands I get off the beaten path. To come here, though, I needed a reason, not just a desire, but a practical reason.

Back in December 1996 I read an article in Wired magazine by Neil Stephenson, titled "Mother Earth Motherboard" or "The Hacker Tourist" in which he traveled around the world watching technical events in progress. One event he covered was watching scuba divers pull the first Fiber Optic Link around the Globe (FLAP) cable onto the shores of The Philippines, and then he went on to describe how this country, because of it's steeply sloping sea coasts and the low cost of laying cable, would one day make this country one of the most wired countries on Earth. I realized also that fiber optics would quickly make the export of knowledge work (uffshoring, outsourcing, globalization) something that Third World countries could do and I set about to take advantage of that, but it still took me a few years to come up with the business idea that would eventually bring me here.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
No, as an American, I'm pretty welcome here. Just show up and they'll stamp your visa.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
Medical insurance is high on my to-do list, but I have not done this yet.

-How do you make your living in the Philippines? Do you have any type of income generated?
I have a business here in the Philippines which I started via online instant messaging and email with people I met in the Philippines in chat rooms. I had to converse with a lot of people before I found anyone I wanted to hire, but once I hired the first person, that person quickly enabled me to find other people with the proper skill sets that I could hire.

-Do you speak the local language and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
English is the language of business, education, and government in the Philippines. While most people do not practice speaking English in everyday situations, virtually everyone in The Philippines understands English. By some standards, the Philippines is the third largest English-speaking country in the world, after India and the USA.

There are also multiple languages here. Tagalog is spoken in the Northern Philippines, but I mainly stick to the Southern Philippines, where Visayan is spoken.

I do try to pick up words and phrases as much as possible, and I may even take classes in Visayan and/or Tagolog in the future. However, I do not speak any language other than English, even though I had 3 years of French and 2 years of Spanish in school. So, I'm a bit on the language-deficient side. Still I try, and I often win some smiles, giggles and good faith by simply trying to speak the native language.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
The last time I was in the Philippines, from January to June 2005, for six months, that was previously the longest I had ever been out of the United States, and I was really ready to get home after those five months. Today it's pretty easy to stay in touch with people in America via the Internet or via telephone, even from the Philippines, and that's mostly how I stayed in touch with family when I was in the States. So, while I miss family, I pretty much stay in touch with them the same way I did when in the States.

In the States I lived in Hollywood, Florida, where there's a paved broadwalk for 2.2 miles along the beach, and I spent a lot of my time bicycling or rollerblading on the beach. I rarely went shopping or out to night clubs, generally finding that too expensive. Here in The Philippines, because of the way people drive, without observance of many traffic rules, and the lack of dedicated bike paths, I'm much more hesitant to ride a bike here. Plus, about a month ago, one programmer working for me was side-swiped by a drunk jeepney driver, while on a bicycle. He was very fortunate to escape serious injury.

Anyway, here I go out to clubs more in the evening and spend a lot more time in the malls as both are a lot less expensive than in the States. I plan to begin scuba diving while here as there are lots of great reefs here with sparkling clear water, but I've yet to initiate that. The other thing I like to do is just travel around the islands here. Travel is inexpensive, and I like seeing various sites and places, and meeting new people.

-Do you have other plans for the future?
Yes, I am hoping to travel to South and Central American in the next year, looking for opportunities to expand my business. I may also go to India, Thailand, and Vietnam with the same intentions.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
I expect to rent a large house with 4 or more bedrooms in the next couple of weeks. I have some people doing the preliminary house browsing for me now. I expect to be able to find a nice place, with a large yard, for $200 to $250 per month in rent.

-What is the cost of living in the Philippines?
If you want to live to the same standards as most Americans are accustomed to, as in, say, South Florida, where I am from, you can expect the cost here to be similar to what you would pay in South Florida. If you are willing to live more like the locals, to not live in a neighborhood full of houses with exquisitely manicured yards, then you can live a lot more cheaply here.

For instance, electricity, gasoline, and internet access costs about the same here as it does in America. However, you can get a full-time live-in housekeeper here for just $60 to $75 per month. A full-time driver might cost you $100 per month. Food is a lot less expensive, but I find I am unable to shop at the places where the cheap food is sold, often in open-air adhoc markets, but I can send someone to do the shopping for me at considerable savings. If I want to shop at the premium grocery stores here, the cost can be very similar to USA. Alcohol is very cheap here. Johnny Walker or Bailey's Irish Cream sells here at about half the price you would pay in South Florida.

-What do you think about the Filipino people?
I love Filipinos. They are culturally significantly different than Americans and American culture. America is a guilt-based culture and the Philippines, like most Asian countries, is a shame-based country. This means that motivations and behaviors have different impetus and results. In large part I think this is because Western nations use the law more to control people and their behaviors, whereas here it is more society that controls people, the way people interact with those around them.

There are place here I would not want to go, as I believe being in such places would endanger me, but then there are places in South Florida I would not want to go either, for the same reasons.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in the Philippines?
I want to have children and raise them here, before bringing them to America as teenagers. Children here are imbued with respect for their elders and love for family that is just not seen in America, except perhaps in first generation immigrant families. I know from my own experience growing up in America and watching other children that America is taken for granted by teenagers rather than appreciated. I believe that by raising my own children in the Philippines, they'll grow up with a greater appreciation and respect for America, and for the values and opportunities it represents.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in the Philippines?
Don't drink the tap water. Stick to "mineral water" or bottled water.
Carry around lots of small change. Taxi drivers will often plead they can't change your P100 bill when the fare is only P60, which means you leave them a P40 tip when P10 would be more appropriate.

Learn to text message via your cell phone. The Philippines is the text messaging capital of The World. On American city sidewalks you see people walking with their cell phones to their ears, here you see people thumbing away at their keypads. Texting is only 1/8th the cost of a one-minute call, so it's the communication method of choice.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about the Philippines?
Michael's Blog (that's my blog)
issavalles (that's my wife's blog)
Harvest SEO (that's my commerical SEO-wholesale website)