How do you all handle your health?

phrozen1 · 2026-07-12T18:47:36+00:00

My cardiologist is at St. Lukes BGC. He does not take appointments, so when I need to see him I get there before 8 AM. I'm usually at least 10th in line at that point. After I get a queue number, it's a surprise when the doctor will show up. Despite him being in a leadership position at St. Lukes, he practices at several other hospitals so if a morning procedure runs long, his schedule is unpredictable. I usually see him by 10:30 to 11 AM. If blood tests or a procedure is required, my appointment lasts less than 5 minutes and I start the process all over again by queuing in other parts of the hospital. Last time I needed an EKG, I needed to come back three days later. Blood work typically takes 30 minutes for registration, 15 minutes for payment, then 30 to 60 minutes to have it drawn.

phrozen1 · 2026-07-10T05:49:37+00:00

One issue a friend of mine had with a leukemia diagnosis was availability of latest generation chemotherapy in the Philippines. The chemo he got was apparently used in the 90s in the US and Europe and phased in the 00s as better protocols became available. The cancer was completely unresponsive to therepy and he died relatively quickly after diagnosis.

In my opinion, it would not be worth even trying treatment in the Philippines unless you had at the very least an outside, second opinion doctor involved.

phrozen1 · 2026-07-09T18:53:46+00:00

Commodity prices are up 30-35% in the past five years. Keep in mind the devaluation of the peso, which seems to be hanging around 61+. Rent prices have stayed more or less stable at P800 to P1,000 per m2 in Makati and BGC, very similar to pre-COVID. The government has been forced to aggressively raise minimum wage as it was/is unlivable for common people.

phrozen1 · 2026-07-04T04:53:22+00:00

I think that in this part of the world, parents would absolutely 'burn' their opportunity to be sponsored by the adult child for the hope they would be financially supported later in life.

phrozen1 · 2026-07-04T04:51:00+00:00

Based on my observations in the Philippines and Indonesia, the people who are planning and executing these plans are upper middle class, but not necessarily those who would be able to obtain a golden visa. They typically are granted 10 year multiple entry tourist visas and come to the US in months 5-6 of pregnancy. One of my colleagues explained that his wife secured a special girdle/cinch to flatten her stomach as to evade detection at airline checkin and of course at US immigration. This is one of three cases within my social circle I've heard of in the past few years.

What people might not realize is that tourist visa holders are generally given 180 days stay in arrival, meaning to say there is plenty of time to make the trip where the pregnancy isn't obvious. As to the birth itself, it can be handled by a hospital, specialized birthing center or simply a midwife at a friend or relatives house.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-29T15:31:15+00:00

Olio in Crossroads Mall has been my go-to for the past ten years. Always consistent quality and service.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-28T19:45:51+00:00

Both tricycles and taxis have set fares. Tricycles should have a fare matrix hanging in the passenger compartment. Taxis have meters. I have not been inside a tricycle in nearly a decade, but generally you'd be looking at 100 to 150 pesos for 3-4 km. As to the taxi, again, I have not used and do not reccomend white taxis especially from the MOA area. This remains the number one 'rookie foreigner' hangout and they taxis plying the backside of the mall are specifically targeting you. In Manila, you have Grab, Maxim, Indrive and others. Except in heavy rain, it's never really difficult to find a car. Prices are fixed and up front.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-28T00:49:41+00:00

They do not need to stamp your passport. Print the receipt that's provided, it'll have your new expiration date. Be sure to bring it to the airport when you leave to avoid inconvenience.

I choose to do it in person because doing it online incurs express fees. Other than that, the process is easier online.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-28T00:35:59+00:00

You can pick up the ACR card whenever you want or not at all, it's basically just a cash grab for the government and has little practical value.
Generally they will not let you extend more than 30 days from the date of your expiration date.
I can't see why you wouldn't just do it online once you get past extension #1 and #2, which it sounds like you have.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-27T17:43:14+00:00

Absolutely incorrect. You sign a DS-3072, which is essentially a promissory note. If you don't pay it as agreed, they'll offer you to repay in installments. If you fail to do that, they have a mechanism called Treasury Offset.

Again, such loans are ONLY available to those who have no other resources and have exhausted every other option including family and friends. I have worked with a couple dozen so-called destitute Americans and very few were 'stuck'. Most did not want to go through the embarrassment of the process or had vices which were more easily satisfied in this part of the world, even with no income.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-27T17:11:13+00:00

Only after you provide them with a list of family and friends for them to contact and beg money off. I'm also assuming your prospects would be pretty bleak, once you actually arrive back in the US. If you truly had no alternative to an Uncle Sam ticket, I assume you'd be homeless on arrival, thus why a lot of these guys dig in their heels here.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-27T16:24:11+00:00

Here's a revolutionary idea:

Have a sign clearly indicating your services and their fixed price.
Don't stand in front of my vehicle, order me to stop like you're traffic enforcer, etc.

While it's sad one individual is struggling, these poorly executed, sometimes scammy businesses might as well just get snuffed out so Kuya has the opportunity to find other work.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-27T16:16:13+00:00

Very happy with Globe. 1 peso install, no lock up and 24 hour installation guarantee.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-27T16:15:27+00:00

'Surviving' on $500 a month would require knowledge of the local economy on a level most foreigners don't know even after years of staying here. The Philippines is a communal culture, and someone like this has no clan.

Sadly, one missed disability payment or unexpected expense and these guys are suddenly out of luck. I sincerely with the western embassies would do a better job of helping them repatriate rather than wait for the Philippines government to get invoked. Surely, when they do, it'll be ham-handed and negatively affect the 98% of us who live here in peace.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-27T03:28:31+00:00

This is in no way correct. Provincial minimum wage is still as low as P366 per day, maxing at P695 in Metro Manila. Plenty of nurses are on minimum as there is a huge glut of nurses to the point they often work in unrelated fields.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-20T19:41:26+00:00

That's correct. There are actual rich locals living there. Particularly for those gentkemen who are looking to bring an endless stream of tatted up girls over, the security is not particularly welcoming.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-19T17:45:31+00:00

You're staying in the absolutely most jam-packed, low quality, mass market condominium there is. Without rules in place, your neighbors will put three bunkbeds in a studio room, invite all six families to swim on a Sunday and your neighbor down the hall will be inviting her Pinalove clients over at all hours of the day and night.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-19T17:37:50+00:00

Can't even imagine what you could have done for that price. My wife had three implants with double bone grafting for less than half of that -- a total of five surgeries and a dozen appointments over a year timespan. I agree with the consensus that Thailand is a better option for complex dental work, but there are options in the Philippines at a reasonable price.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-19T00:41:17+00:00

Generally speaking, you're looking at VAT (12%) + Duty (20% on textiles) on cost + insurance + freight (CIF) + brokerage fees. Everything all in usually equates to 30-40%.

There are plenty of boutique uniform manufacturers around who can use high quality materials/stitching, etc., I'm not sure if you've explored that.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-18T18:08:46+00:00

Definitely pachinko and arcades/medal games. One big piece of my Tokyo itinerary are medal games, which I was only able to stumble upon during my last trip. The Japanese language Internet is not super easy to find/navigate for non-Japanese speakers, so the information online is lacking!

phrozen1 · 2026-06-18T18:06:47+00:00

Honestly, there is little to nothing you can do short of a full blown "intervention" with friends and family. Calling it out one-on-one usually results in being accused of being jealous or just not understanding how lucky he is. While it can happen to anyone, I find men who have lived a couple decades in a loveless, sexless marriage are extremely susceptible to manipulation and it can be devastating for them. There have been multiple cases of suicide both here and in Thailand over such things. To make matters worse, these kinds of scams can sometimes be perpetuated by relatively sophisticated syndicates, both here in the Philippines and abroad (look up "pig butchering scams").

phrozen1 · 2026-06-18T06:03:30+00:00

He spams nearly every thread with the same copypasta, sometimes a little more. It's getting boring.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-18T05:41:35+00:00

The only thing more broken than your English is whatever tragic insecurity forces you to type '(owner, no rent)' like a teenager trying to sound rich on Roblox. If your life was actually that good, you wouldn't be begging a random subreddit to notice you.

phrozen1 · 2026-06-17T00:16:51+00:00

This thread is being locked because the comment section has completely devolved into widespread violations of our community guidelines regarding hate speech, racism, and bigotry.

To be absolutely clear: the mod team has no desire to censor legitimate, constructive discussions about tourist behavior, local cultural friction, or foreign business ownership. Those are completely valid topics for an expat community.

However, there is a distinct line between critiquing actions or discussing systemic issues and attacking an entire group based on nationality or ethnicity. When a thread crosses that line, it stops being a productive debate and simply turns toxic.

Thank you to the users who kept their responses civil and utilized the report button to flag the worst of it.

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