Living Conditions in Manila, Philippines Bad for Her

[toddriegel 2]

Tell her to go to nearby villages. She should be able to get a place to stay. My wife stays at montalban rizal and she pays roughly 2000 pesos a month for rent. Everytime she needs to travel to manila it takes her 3-4 hours because of traffic. When she has her medical, she'll be staying at a nearby hotel because the medical takes a couple of days. If she can't move maybe she can find work and you can work two jobs. It's not fun but I do it. Hope this helps.

[TheResistance 6]

POA, what is "bed space?" A room for rent in a place of unknown people, or some hotel type place?

Ann Marie and Leo, I will try looking into those. Also, bars bad. She is Christian. She will not be near drinkers. Especially drunk intoxicated men.

Tahoma, in her job in Singapore, they paid her little for the work she did. She spent very little money over the years (she is not materialistic) but never able to save enough (her own food, toilettes, data plan for cell, cabs). She does not want to be where she is, but she felt she had no choice because of family issues she could not handle in Iloilo. The people she staying with in Manila did not tell her about bugs in people's hair, and house members using other people's personal hygiene items, etc. And I only sent her money once so far because she had enough to live on in Singapore and did not need any from me at the time. No, she does not want to live there.

amberammo9915, she was a nanny/housekeeper for about a decade. Has experience in business management as well. Any advice be appreciated. Her age, late 30s. She tells me people her age can not get jobs because companies only want to hire (mainly) the young and "hot" looking people to sell more items. Believe me, people like me look at the price, not the people.

She does not drive and does not really trust cabbies or jeepnees because of how they trick and mug even locals. Where she is, she can not leave her ring or money because housemates already stole some. She is concerned walking around with her ring on and cash. She says a safety deposit box is only for "rich people who can afford it."

I do not see why (from what she claims) waking up at 3a, leaving at 4a to take cabs, etc, to work 8h, to come home at 9p is reasonable. The money in cab fare alone! The safety in a woman traveling alone at night. I that life in the Philippines? 16h days for 8h shift?

The only reason she in Manila was to leave the money abusive family of Iloilo. She left Singapore, to Iloilo, because of the abusiveness of the employers. Now she lives with dirty people and neither of us knew this is how she be leaving. This is frustrating! I get what I know from that country mainly from her, tid bits from people here, and reading the news.

I found a village is a term for a subdivision. Right?

Gregory&Dyn, yes I am indeed looking for help. Not criticism. People do not know our background and our time limit.

Greenbaum, thank you!!

toddriegel, I have been trying to find a real job, and a second job, for ages. Jobs that I can do, am capable of doing, I will take.

Several of you mentioned traveling 1-4h from one town to another. How do they do so without driving? Cabs drive that long? Jeepnees? I been on a lot during my two weeks in Iloilo and Boracay, but never took one more than half hour. We had a car rented during the photo shoot, that was arranged by the photographer.

I hope I answered and addressed some comments and questions people had. I appreciate the people willing to provide me with some information, and I will reply back with some other answers to other questions asked to me soon enough when I can speak to her.

Thanks.

[TheResistance 6]

And please do forgive me for sounding tired and desperate. I am just a person whose love is half way around a world and, as a man, hurts that I can do so little.

[Lee&Ana 88]

My wife used to live in zambales. She would only earn 4,000 pesos or roughly $94 USD. Her bed space was 1,500 month. If she is receiving $200-$300 a month from you that is plenty. She should check out some provinces. The average salary for a Filipino is about $250 and that is working in Manila and commuting.

[Tahoma 2,291]

She didn't say this was her preference just that she doesn't know what to do. Both are seeking help. Any positive suggestions?

^^^ I think the suggestion is obvious: get a bed spacer.

OP...The first priority should be to have your fiancée find a safe and clean place to live. This can be done in the Manila metro area if you can manage to send her $300 per month. She can get by on that amount. The job is secondary. She can focus on finding work once she has found a decent place to live.

Your fiancée should get a bed spacer in the Manila metro area and learn to use the MRT, LRT, buses, and jeepneys to get around. Being from Iloilo, she should know how to keep her money and her ring safe carrying them on her person.

[POA 175]

POA, what is "bed space?" A room for rent in a place of unknown people, or some hotel type place? Hi! Yeah it is a room shared by women. Most of the time, call center agents, at least the ones that I stayed since I was a call center rep. The bars are close but not too close that she will pass by any drunk men or pass by them going home from Clark.. The places I stayed in are safe. Never had any issue. It is also very accessible with jeepneys and buses if she needs to go to Manila. There are a lot of companies in Clark that she could apply for if she wishes, but of course, it is up to your preference. I didn't grew up in the City but worked in Clark all my work life in the PH. It is a city but traffic is not as bad as the main city.

Ann Marie and Leo, I will try looking into those. Also, bars bad. She is Christian. She will not be near drinkers. Especially drunk intoxicated men.

Tahoma, in her job in Singapore, they paid her little for the work she did. She spent very little money over the years (she is not materialistic) but never able to save enough (her own food, toilettes, data plan for cell, cabs). She does not want to be where she is, but she felt she had no choice because of family issues she could not handle in Iloilo. The people she staying with in Manila did not tell her about bugs in people's hair, and house members using other people's personal hygiene items, etc. And I only sent her money once so far because she had enough to live on in Singapore and did not need any from me at the time. No, she does not want to live there.

amberammo9915, she was a nanny/housekeeper for about a decade. Has experience in business management as well. Any advice be appreciated. Her age, late 30s. She tells me people her age can not get jobs because companies only want to hire (mainly) the young and "hot" looking people to sell more items. Believe me, people like me look at the price, not the people.

She does not drive and does not really trust cabbies or jeepnees because of how they trick and mug even locals. Where she is, she can not leave her ring or money because housemates already stole some. She is concerned walking around with her ring on and cash. She says a safety deposit box is only for "rich people who can afford it."

I do not see why (from what she claims) waking up at 3a, leaving at 4a to take cabs, etc, to work 8h, to come home at 9p is reasonable. The money in cab fare alone! The safety in a woman traveling alone at night. I that life in the Philippines? 16h days for 8h shift?

The only reason she in Manila was to leave the money abusive family of Iloilo. She left Singapore, to Iloilo, because of the abusiveness of the employers. Now she lives with dirty people and neither of us knew this is how she be leaving. This is frustrating! I get what I know from that country mainly from her, tid bits from people here, and reading the news.

I found a village is a term for a subdivision. Right?

Gregory&Dyn, yes I am indeed looking for help. Not criticism. People do not know our background and our time limit.

Greenbaum, thank you!!

toddriegel, I have been trying to find a real job, and a second job, for ages. Jobs that I can do, am capable of doing, I will take.

Several of you mentioned traveling 1-4h from one town to another. How do they do so without driving? Cabs drive that long? Jeepnees? I been on a lot during my two weeks in Iloilo and Boracay, but never took one more than half hour. We had a car rented during the photo shoot, that was arranged by the photographer.

I hope I answered and addressed some comments and questions people had. I appreciate the people willing to provide me with some information, and I will reply back with some other answers to other questions asked to me soon enough when I can speak to her.

Thanks.

[amberammo9915 19]

And please do forgive me for sounding tired and desperate. I am just a person whose love is half way around a world and, as a man, hurts that I can do so little.

A housekeeper and nanny job does not pay much in the Philippines compared with Singapore but if she can accept a job like this while waiting for her papers then at least she has some earnings plus free board and lodging, this way I can try to find her an employer through my sister who is also a Christian like me. Btw, does she knows that you are seeking help for her in this forum as she may be sending you messages of her inconveniences for you to help her further and NOT other people? Please make it clear to her that you are doing this to avoid offending her unintentionally.Good Luck!!

[toddriegel 2]

I have a few questions and I mean no disrespect toward you or your fiancee. How well do you know her and have you known her for a while? The amount of money you send should be more than enough for her to live on and find a cleaner and safer place to stay. My wife is living on 5-6000 pesos a month. Her water bill is 100 pesos. Food is so much cheaper in villages then in manila. She isn't just trying to get more money from you is she? My wife is roughly 1 to 1.5 hours from makati/manila. Every time she travels there she has to go by tricycle(motor bike and side car) to a jeepney to a bus then cab. Its a pain but it's not like she has to do it that often. When the traffic is bad, she expects a 4 hour ride. I've done it a few times with her and it sucks but they're use to it and it's not that expensive, maybe 300-400 pesos round trip. She really needs to get outside of the city or maybe move back with her parents or another relative.

Another question i was wondering, have you started petitioning her to come over? Do you have kids under age of 16? When you fill out your affidavit of support, you will be required to make a certain amount of income above the poverty level. If you don't meet the requirements you'll need to have someone else help petition her. I have a great job make good money but when I count me, my wife, and kids, I just made enough above the requiement and I'm no where near poverty. I have my own house and cars. lol It's just something for you to think about and look into.

[toddriegel 2]

If she isn't sure which bus or jeepney to take to get to her destination, all she has to do is ask the driver. They can tell her what one she needs to take. My wife does it all the time and after a few times she's getting a pretty good idea. Ask your fiancee where all the money is going towards. She doesn't have to eat at big restaurants. There are plenty of safe mini restaurants on side streets that sell food for a quarter of what big restaurants sell. I feel your pain man and I'm just trying to help giving mine and my wifes experiences.

[zeeeeeeek 9]

I have a few questions and I mean no disrespect toward you or your fiancee. How well do you know her and have you known her for a while? The amount of money you send should be more than enough for her to live on and find a cleaner and safer place to stay. My wife is living on 5-6000 pesos a month. Her water bill is 100 pesos. Food is so much cheaper in villages then in manila. She isn't just trying to get more money from you is she? My wife is roughly 1 to 1.5 hours from makati/manila. Every time she travels there she has to go by tricycle(motor bike and side car) to a jeepney to a bus then cab. Its a pain but it's not like she has to do it that often. When the traffic is bad, she expects a 4 hour ride. I've done it a few times with her and it sucks but they're use to it and it's not that expensive, maybe 300-400 pesos round trip. She really needs to get outside of the city or maybe move back with her parents or another relative.

Another question i was wondering, have you started petitioning her to come over? Do you have kids under age of 16? When you fill out your affidavit of support, you will be required to make a certain amount of income above the poverty level. If you don't meet the requirements you'll need to have someone else help petition her. I have a great job make good money but when I count me, my wife, and kids, I just made enough above the requiement and I'm no where near poverty. I have my own house and cars. lol It's just something for you to think about and look into.

I had the same thoughts, but didn't want to offend.

[jandjin 19]

I have a few questions and I mean no disrespect toward you or your fiancee. How well do you know her and have you known her for a while? The amount of money you send should be more than enough for her to live on and find a cleaner and safer place to stay. My wife is living on 5-6000 pesos a month. Her water bill is 100 pesos. Food is so much cheaper in villages then in manila. She isn't just trying to get more money from you is she? My wife is roughly 1 to 1.5 hours from makati/manila. Every time she travels there she has to go by tricycle(motor bike and side car) to a jeepney to a bus then cab. Its a pain but it's not like she has to do it that often. When the traffic is bad, she expects a 4 hour ride. I've done it a few times with her and it sucks but they're use to it and it's not that expensive, maybe 300-400 pesos round trip. She really needs to get outside of the city or maybe move back with her parents or another relative.

Another question i was wondering, have you started petitioning her to come over? Do you have kids under age of 16? When you fill out your affidavit of support, you will be required to make a certain amount of income above the poverty level. If you don't meet the requirements you'll need to have someone else help petition her. I have a great job make good money but when I count me, my wife, and kids, I just made enough above the requiement and I'm no where near poverty. I have my own house and cars. lol It's just something for you to think about and look into.

I agree with many who posted suggestions. $200-300 / month is a lot of money in Philippines. that's more than enough to rent a small room even in some parts of Manila and eat.

[JL818 18]

Your fiancee's story does not really make sense to me.

She worked in Singapore for a decade but has no savings? From a previous post you mentioned that she does not support her own family but only works for herself. Yet she is a small spender?

- In Singapore she was probably making around $500 to $600 a month (sounds small to you and I, but is a LOT for someone from the Philippines). Most people working there will send back the surplus to their families, but you mentioned in another post that your fiance does not do this.

- When working as a maid in Singapore, toiletries, food, housing, and other living expenses are provided by the employer, so I don't understand your statement about how all her salary was used on such items.

- Even if she wanted to treat herself to the occasional meal outside of what was provided by her employers, the average meal in Singapore is around $2-4 USD.

- The subway system in Singapore is among the best in the world and covers pretty much the entire country (you could get from one end to the other in about an hour). There should generally not have been a need for her to take the cab, unless she was a big spender or poor planner. Cabs are a last resort in Singapore, even for someone who makes 15x your fiancee's salary.

I found it odd that you said that your fiancee is afraid of taking jeepneys and other common forms of public transportation there. Everyone in the Philippines takes this type of transportation and rarely cabs (they are usually a final option) because they want to save money (taking a cab would cost many times more than a Jeepney). I have not met anyone who refuses to take a Jeepney out of fear, and I have been throughout the Philippines.

Finally $200-$300 a month is a very decent sum of money over there. That is around the same salary that a registered nurse makes over there in a month, much less a retail worker.

Please don't take this post the wrong way, but I do think it's important for you to ask your fiancee some tough questions and corroborate her responses with other Filipinos you know.

Edited December 28, 2015 by JL818

[Boiler 43,597]

I had the same thoughts, but didn't want to offend.

Me too

[oliviaalexandra88 9]

If you want to her to be away from abusive family but live in a comfortable and inexpensive place, Manila is not the right place to live in. The cost of living is high there and if she does not have work, $200-300 is a lot plus if she knows how to budget it til the next time you send her money. That is if you plan to send her money every month... I do not want to be disrespectful, but I do not think she could afford to be picky especially when you are doing everything that you can to provide for her and you shouldn't be the only one to make the effort of finding a cheap and decent place for her to live in. Have her move to Davao while waiting for your papers to be processed, everything in Davao is cheap and your $300 could last 2 months. She could find a job there, too. While waiting for your process and then just have her fly to Manila when it's time for the medical and interview.

[TheResistance 6]

To address some misconceptions, inquires, and shenanigans.....

amberammo9915, yes she knows I look for answers on this site and ***removed***. She has access to Facebook groups.

toddriegel, yes known her for over a year. Also, I surpass the required income even with what I do. As far as transportation, she knows how of course, but from all the stories of cabbies picking up someone else to assist in a mugging or they not let you out of vehicle unharmed is disturbing. As far as the money, she had to buy her own plane tickets out of Singapore and Iloilo. She has to pay for transportation. There was family issues she was to do, by tradition. Then family took advantage by demanding money from her. It was a mess, but as she left her job, she had very little. And yes, she does not spend much, but she was not earning enough to save. As I said, they were abusive. She is not a big eater either.

JL818, you are correct in your bullet points. She hardly had savings, and rarely sent money to family. As far as "maid," they made her one from what her job was: nanny. She had to buy at times food and such she needed. She does not buy clothes, or games, or jewelry, etc. As the transportation goes, not afraid, but cautious and she has no place to leave things aside where she is staying.

You all got to take my word for this. Yes, there are much in details I have to leave out, but you can trust my words (says the unknown non-human in cyberspace typing this).

Oliviaalexandra88, it was her only option at the moment. I believe she could have handled the family matters, but that is me.

Edited December 28, 2015 by TheResistance