I am aware of this aspect, which is why I would want to know the family situation before hand as much as possible and to prepare myself and possible wife for this. Ground rules would need to be established.
And yes, I know that I will be perceived as being wealthy by everyone I meet. My friend that I am chatting with made it clear that I would not be able to move into a small village because people would gossip about my relationship with a younger woman, they would overcharge me for just about everything, constantly want to “borrow” money to invest and the young girls would try and seduce me in order to have my babies (and the money). The rich forgeign dudes burden I suppose.
I started speaking about my trip with my Filipono coworkers yesterday as well and they laughed and told me that I could have three wives and start my own village.
I have been told by people who live there that about all of the typhoons hit the west side of the Philippines and not the east side where Davao City is located. But that they do get storms that spin off from the main body of the typhoons and cause flooding. Its another reason I am choosing this location and looking at flood plain maps.
That happens everywhere in the Phils. We call it the Longnose Tax or the Kano Tax. Kano is short for Americano, and applies to any foreigner. They are all KanOs (accent on the O) in Filipinos’ eyes. When we are negotiating a price I lurk in the shadows and let Mrs.D handle it.
that might actually not be too bad, as you in your simulation trip want to avoid all “euphoria”, right?
… If you can’t take long bouts of bad weather in your vacation, chances are, you can’t take it later, either … (that kind of train of thought) … so in a way you really WANT your vacation to suck … so you have a worst-case experience to draw from.
That doesn’t seem to check out. You can see the tracking of the storms for various years.
In this part of the world, most of the tropical storms and typhoons goes from east to west (so they hit the east side of islands) and south to north. Some go north to south, but only a few wander around from west to east, which is what would be required for typhoons to hit the west side of the Philippines.
You can see the tracking at it moved from the east, hitting the east side of Mindanao.
Note that I lived on the east coast of Taiwan for 10 years and tracked all the storms in this part of the Pacific because I had to put up plywood over windows and the front door of my house if the typhoon was both strong and close enough to cause problems.
We were a typhoon magnet attract a lot of typhoons and tropical storms over the years.
Maybe I desribed it incorrectly, people who lived there (and live there now) are telling me that typhoons generally veer north of Davao. And that flooding is more of a concern than typhoon force winds.
It’s a matter of chance. Storms happen and people see patterns that nature doesn’t create.
I don’t know what the kind of buildings there, but in Taiwan they build them to withstand typhoons, but water can get in through the windows and such. It’s wise to be prepared.
Yes, typhoons seem to always travel east to west and south to north. They seem to hit the Northern Philippines more than the Southern part. There are exceptions. Like 3 or 4 years ago the strongest of typhoons hit the central Philippines head-on. The electricity was off in Bohol for three months.
Back then there was only one source of electricity for the entire province, Now there are two sources, so hopefully a long powerless stretch won’t happen. We’re getting solar power for our next house though, to be sure.
I checked out all of the trackings in your link but I am not seeing where any typhoons actually came near Davao City, although “near” can be subjective. I think maybe that the people there are so used to rain and tropical storms that they put typhoons in a separate catagory and don’t really get worked up over anything but the flooding that a storm can bring.
The flooding they mention quite a bit. Elevation alone will not protect you, the city infrastructure is lacking and lack of proper drainage is an issue. And there are landslides as well if you choose to live on the side of a mountain (which I don’t).
Of course flooding is a major concern, but my point is that you can’t assume that typhoons won’t go there just because they haven’t directly hit them recently.
It’s not a show stopper, but just something to be aware of.
I think earthquakes are as much a hazard as typhoons. I was 30 miles from the epicenter for the 7.2 in Bohol in 2013. I feared for my life for a little while. All the oldest churches had unprecedented major damage. Since they were all built 500 years ago I presume that was the worst earthquake in at least 500 years. It is on the Ring of Fire.
related to those catastrophy scenarios (typhoons, quakes, MIL) … which living arrangement are you planning?
house vs. appartment
renting vs. buying
b/c at first glance, renting an appartment would make most sense (until you know the finer ins-and-outs of the location you live … and also for safety-reasons)
Didn’t like the neighborhood as much as you thought? too much traffic-noise at night? … end rent and move 2 miles left … that kind of thing
I have been in a relationship with a Philippina woman for the past 1 1/2 years, it is going well. I have had 4 Philippina girl friends in the past and each one I broke up with for the same reason. The conversations were always lacking, and they tend to try and say the “right” thing all the time. On my recent I have been working on getting her out of her shell and speaking her own mind without fear. It seems to be working and now I am starting to wonder if I didn’t prefer her more quiet LOL. In my experience they have all been extremely affectionate, I think that is what draws me to them.
I’ll start out renting Air BnB’s to get a feelbfor different areas. It will depend on access to hospitals, malls and decent parks. It may also depend on who I meet up with. Don’t see buying a home until I get a good feel of rhe area.
I have been their for work and liked the people. There are many different types of areas to choose from and the dollar goes further there. I work with Filipino friends now that I have know for 20 years now and am getting some first hand advice.
I have spent time in Mexico with my now exGF and while I liked it the language barrier is too much and the crime exposure is too high. In the Philippines they speak English which is a big plus.
And the religious aspect is also a draw. The women their are more traditional, and that is attractive in my retirement years.
This is what drew me to them. Sveral of my friends have married philopena girls and they are beyond happy. The guys I am talking about might be a 3 or 4 on the scale and the girls are solid 7’s. maybe 8 when they are dolled up a bit. They are also about 20 years younger, and it seems to be working. My girlfriends have mostly been close to my age because that is what I prefer. My current girlfriend is a year older than me. They tend to be a little sensitive when it comes to things they take pride in, like cooking for instance. I love to cook but if I insist on cooking, she thinks I don’t like her food. She is getting better, but it has been a little trying. When it comes to love making, they are always ready as far as my experience goes. My only complaint would be the same with American girls. I am creative and have an active imagination. None of the girls I dated seemed to be able to just let their imaginations go except when it comes to romance. I love how they are like American women in the 1950’s. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
The rich forgeign dudes burden I suppose. 
