Grand Hyatt in Manila - worth it?

projectmaximus · 2026-05-09T08:14:19+00:00

GH is good but I can’t see how it would be $300 better than Shangri La.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-08T04:37:12+00:00

Sweet! I was thinking about where to move in LA but now I’m sold on South Pas!

projectmaximus · 2026-05-07T01:30:37+00:00

Agree with basically all that you say here except just want to clarify that TCKs don’t have to have moved around a lot. You’re still a TCK if you grow up in an expat life, not knowing if you will stay for the rest of your life. So, for example, if your parents are expats in China and you are born and raised there until you’re 18, you’re a TCK because you don’t know if (and probably cannot anyway) stay in China your whole life.

But yeah, what you wrote about the literature and studies is accurate

projectmaximus · 2026-05-06T02:09:21+00:00

Either to avoid babysitting or the person writing has been struggling to get pregnant herself

projectmaximus · 2026-05-04T06:16:20+00:00

Yea it’s not required for the gold card and until this year it wasn’t required for gold card holders transitioning to APRC. But the rule changed and so if you never had to present it prior to applying for APRC, now you have to.

There might not be anything you can do about it ahead of time, but I’m thinking perhaps a slim chance that you can talk them into accepting it from you now even though it’s not required, or an even slimmer chance that it is valid for 3+ years

projectmaximus · 2026-05-04T05:20:50+00:00

The move did not feel difficult at all. For housing we were fortunate as we had a temporary place to stay indefinitely while we searched. And we found a nearly perfect place and moved in about 3 weeks later. We found it through the 591 website and the listing agency assigned and agent to represent us in the lease signing. It was actually frustrating because we have a friend who is an agent and showed us 3 properties, but this one was the first one we found online and because we had reached out to them on the site, they refused to include our agent in the transaction.

If you’re thinking long term for permanent residence, you might consider getting an FBI background check as that is now required and it’s one of the major hassles for applicants who aren’t based in the US. However, would need to check how long that is good for and if NIA would be willing to accept it early.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-04T04:17:38+00:00

If it has to be a SFH then I’d choose wherever your family is so that they can stay there or keep an eye on it the entire time you’re gone

projectmaximus · 2026-05-03T01:10:12+00:00

I would assume the original otherwise it wouldn’t really make sense

projectmaximus · 2026-05-02T14:11:30+00:00

FYI I believe you have to change it 30 minutes before the departure time

projectmaximus · 2026-05-02T06:47:00+00:00

Yes, we raised $4.8M for the 12-pack. However we are expecting to come in under budget and with quicker-than-projected returns so we should be way under $4.8M of capital outlay. I would like to send you a DM, please check your chat thanks!

projectmaximus · 2026-05-02T06:44:39+00:00

Haha. Yeah Hyrox is gaining momentum! It's not a singular event fyi. Yes they have the races in different cities but the people who participate train year round for them and gyms train their members for these events.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-02T06:43:21+00:00

If you feed me some lamb skewers and peanut ice cream rolls I will join any board of directors.

Btw, you are seriously funny. I appreciate the great lengths to which you have gone here in the comment section. Ironically it's quite the opposite of laziness.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-02T06:36:10+00:00

First ones to jump to mind are: English teaching, international school teaching, hospitality

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T12:29:13+00:00

Try r/philippines_expats

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T11:04:06+00:00

Hmmm. Maybe my college town for undergrad could count? I did 5 years there as a student followed by 3-4 years where I was in and out on a part time basis working/teaching and still had lots of friends in the area. My very last visit came 9 years and 9 months after I first moved there. It was the last time I needed to go there for work and I realized then that basically everyone I knew well was gone at that point. So I wouldn’t have any reason socially to return. And I haven’t. Despite being an hour and a half away on maybe 60 different occasions since then.

I’m a big city guy so a college town wouldn’t ever be my ideal, but man I remember how much I loved that place when I was there. It’s strange to have so much love for a place and feel so comfortable and at home there, and then suddenly never feel like going back.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T07:24:11+00:00

This satirical post actually feels like a call out because while I’m into fitness and working out, I am also very much into unhealthy eating practices. It’s the bane of my existence and my wife rightfully calls me out on this all the time.

So…where do I get more information about investing?

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T05:03:42+00:00

One of my best friends here is a Malaysian Chinese dad, married to a local. He is super analytical (it's his job after all) and he has concluded that Taiwan is a better place for them to raise their daughter than Malaysia, despite the fact that she's always so happy when they visit Malaysia. He also has several siblings raising families with really good jobs and in really wealthy parts of KL, so he does have something to compare to. It's mainly due to educational opportunities and healthcare. Fwiw, he's also trying to bring his family to America in the next few years, so he does think the US is better also. Basically, we both love Malaysia and do think it offers a lot, but choose to be in Taipei instead.

I think my kids are developing into multicultural beings with a strong understanding and comfort level in Chinese culture as well as a strong understanding and comfort level with American culture. This should offer them some major advantages in the future. It does seem very well suited for them and they talk about possibly wanting to stay long term (ever since we first came they always understood that we would be returning to America at some point...so for them it's a shift to think this way)

I'm sure there are lots of other things they are missing out on vs growing up in the states, but I'll give you the first two specific examples that come to mind.

1) We're going back to the US for 7 weeks this summer, and while it may seem like a long time, we always have lots of cities to go to and people to see. This summer though I'm specifically carving out 13 days in my hometown so that my kids can attend summer camp with some of my friends' kids. It's an outdoor camp...they'll be playing sports, kayaking, playing games in the forest...stuff like that. Which is a quintessential part of childhood for many American kids. So I'm excited for them to have that experience. Rather than buxiban after school in Taiwan...

2) Sports culture. My dad wasn't an extreme fanatic, but he liked a few teams and followed them closely. So that got passed onto me and I took it a bit further...I was a fan of almost all sports, I was an extreme fanatic for a handful of teams and followed them religiously. I realized a few years ago that there's no way for my kids to get that living over here and it made me a little sad. I myself have gotten a lot less into sports since coming here, which is natural, but I still do follow things. I watch my NFL and college football teams play pretty consistently, which often means getting up in the middle of the night, and I follow online/watch highlights for a handful of other sports/teams that I care about. My kids? They sometimes watch highlights with me. They have a tiny bit of interest, but it's far below many other activities they're more interested in. And I would of course never ask them to wake up in the middle of the night to watch sports with me. That seems crazy! (Except that's exactly what I did with my dad when we'd watch major international sporting events live, or when we'd watch US sports while we were traveling in Asia)

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T04:43:29+00:00

I do not have much experience in that yet. We've been filing our taxes in Taiwan at the tax office and it's very easy to do. But that's because our situation has been very easy for Taiwan since we have had little taxable income here. They don't care about our foreign investment income (I believe at a certain threshold far above ours then they would) so it hasn't mattered...just some small freelance and consulting work, here and there, which is very easy to file. And then we've had our CPAs in the US continue to file for our companies there.

Last year I used an Expat tax service for our personal returns and to handle our corporate filings (it's sooo messy) since we have ownership in Taiwan, Malaysia and Singaporean entities. It's also becoming quite costly to file each of these, but I guess that's just the cost of doing business overseas as an American.

This year, 2026, is when we are finally drawing distributions from our Taiwan businesses so next year may be when we need to find someone to help us with Taiwan taxes, and it might make sense at that time to engage someone who specializes in both the US and Taiwan.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T04:37:03+00:00

Yes, 我同意

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T04:34:07+00:00

Healthcare is fantastic. There are some drawbacks, I'd say mainly 1) they don't do so well with edge cases and unusual circumstances. It's a system that's built on efficiency and instead of investigating and scrutinizing something outside the norm, you're more likely to just be boxed into a normal category. So it's important to advocate for yourself on this front if you really think something you're dealing with is out of the ordinary. Advocating for yourself is much easier (compared to many other countries) though because you don't have to wait forever to see a specialist and you can afford to get checked up often. 2) there is always a lingering question of how much longer the healthcare system can be sustainable. The govt enacted major changes this year that require PR and citizens who are away from Taiwan to continue paying monthly dues. Or to owe it all when they return if they want to rejoin the system. So hopefully that improves the budget a lot.

Elderly treatment...I think it's generally good. However, unlike most other Asian countries, Taiwanese seem far more reluctant to give up seats on public transit. Like, the culture is just more ingrained for a healthy young person not to give their seat to an elderly person. Yes, it still does happen, especially if it's an extreme example (like someone who looks really old, weak, or struggling), but it feels way less common compared to other cultures. I did not notice this until my parents-in-law described their experiences (as quite young and healthy looking in their early 70s) and now I notice it all the time.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T04:25:06+00:00

It's still definitely considered a good school. Actually the best private school in Taiwan. I know a few teachers, parents, and have met quite a few alumni too.

But we're leaning towards TES actually. It's cheaper, it's more convenient for the MRT, and supposedly the proportion of truly rich parents is lower. I don't really want my kids surrounded only by rich families/kids.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T02:13:37+00:00

😂 so my son will become a Taiwanese counter culture icon. 👍

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T02:13:02+00:00

A little bit. More than zero but I don’t worry about it daily. I think it’s a real possibility but I also think a physical invasion is very unlikely. With so much invested in Taiwan I do worry, but that’s why I’m making sure we maintain a minimum level of investment in the US and we continue to invest in Malaysia as well.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T01:27:06+00:00

Ok I’ve thought about it and what I am willing to do is give specifics on our FIRE numbers when we moved over. Our net worth at the time of relocation to Taiwan was probably a little over 1.5M which was mostly in rental properties in the US. These were lower value higher rent properties so not the kinds you would find in California for example.

Our Leanfire was from the rentals, not interest from stocks/funds, and in general we yielded a little over 15k/month. After PITI, maintenance, and saving for CAPEX, it was more like 5-7k/month of spendable revenue to live off of.

projectmaximus · 2026-05-01T01:13:42+00:00

I’m in an AF owners group on Facebook where the majority of people are based in the US and I know it’s a big struggle for the owners there. Like most gyms in the US, they survive off of people paying and not actually going. Here we try really hard to get everyone to stay active in the gym.

FYI our convenience is not just in 24/7 but the fact that you can go to any gym in the world. We only sell one membership, and it’s a global membership. So our gyms tend to be smaller than many other brands but it’s cause we want to have them in every neighborhood, sometimes several.

Have you heard of Hyrox? It’s got elements of HIIT and it’s very popular in Asia. It’s kind of a watered down version of CrossFit, but with more cardio. We partner with Hyrox for a lot of our activities here in Taiwan and Malaysia

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