lbounds

Congrats to both of you

- I avoid driving in Phoenix whenever possible....

Yes, I wish I could however that's my daily commute. I underestimated traffic here. 30 mile drive takes me about 1 - 1 1/2 hours depending on traffic. I usually see accidents somewhere on the way every day,

haha.. yeah the one he was driving had a home made gearbox and it always had problems shifting. It had steering problems too. Maybe the scary part was the driving tests before you get a license. You just drive around in a circle and if you don't fall off they give you a license. No driving test in traffic or even a parking test.

That's what usually happens anyway. Don't worry about Davao City at all. I have been there countless times and I have NEVER had a problem. I actually feel safer walking around there than I do in Manila. The mayor keeps a pretty tight ship down there and most criminals know that crimes does not pay, and if it does it is with their lives.

I was like you at first as well, but you need to stop thinking of Mindano as one province. There are very different regions in Mindanao that are not filled with extremists. I have traveled up in the Northern and Eastern Mindanao and I have been fine. Just make sure to keep your wallet in your front pocket and don't wear flashy jewelry. I say that because it's easier to do that than to get it stolen.

Where in California are you living right now?

Yeah, I feel the same about Davao. I've been there 4 times now. My wife is from Mati. We live in Arizona now since we moved from California a few months ago. I should update my info.

Thanks for everyone's comments and suggestions. I probably would feel more comfortable just sticking to the motorcycle taxis or just getting a driver for the day. We did that when we went to Eden park in Davao and the same when we were visiting in Cebu. I know it would be an adventure to drive over there especially in the city. Hardly relaxing lol. The first time I went there I couldn't believe how many people could fit onto one motorcycle.. It's more fun in the Philippines right.

I'd hate to see what "ambulance" service might be like if it's needed. In that video they said that about 10 people die per day in Manila traffic. Scary.

I guess I'll just figure where I want to go and hire a driver. Whenever I go back with my wife she wants to stick close to family so there's a lot I haven't explored yet that I wish I could. I'll get to it I'm sure.

Sadly there were two bombings recently in movie theaters in Davao malls where I have been before. There's a lot of bad fighting with the military and muslim extremists now on the west side of Mindanao. Davao has always been a peaceful place for me whenever I visited before. I hope the Philippine military and government can fix this situation. I've always wanted to visit the underground river at Puerto Princesa but I may hold off on that for a year or two since that's in the Muslim area.

Just wondering if any foreigners here have rented cars to drive themselves around in the Philippines. I guess there's a big difference between city and province driving but even on country roads it can get crazy with speeding buses and trucks.

It almost seems like a free for all driving style in the cities.

I just saw this 45 min discovery channel episode which is on youtube on "Don't Drive in Manila"

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/456017-dont-drive-in-manila-discovery-channel-episode/

I spend most of my time in the province about 4 hours from Davao when I'm visiting. I'd just like to be able to jump in a car and go instead of waiting for a driver but I'm about 75% on it not being a great idea. Besides the driving style what happens if I get in an accident etc. I'm sure I would be expected to pay big.

Any driving experiences anyone has to share with car rentals ?

Thanks

Discovery channel did a show where a foreigner tries to drive all the vehicles that Filipinos do in regular crazy Manila traffic. Some parts are funny for sure. The episode is 45mins long. I could never drive this kind of traffic daily

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyzF4JPEmAE

I was once walking past a cop car with a small box on my way to UPS. The cop got out of the car and approached me yelling "Stop, why did you kick my cop car" meanwhile I was at least 15 feet from the car at all times and no one else was around either. I think he should have been spending more time eating donuts instead of harassing people he swore to protect and serve. There's a few bad apples in the bunch.

My wife is overseas visiting family and has been sick for one month with a hard cough. Over the month she has been to 2 doctors 5-6 times with different prescriptions none of them worked. Just today we found out she has pneumonia and now has the right medicine for this.

I guess I'm frustrated that it took a month of my wife being sick before she got the correct diagnosis. I hope she is feeling better soon.

One of the reasons I thought retirement in Philippines may not be a good idea would be quality of healthcare.

You'll probably be able to meet friends by visiting the local Filipino communities. Just look for the closest Seafood City for grocery or Filipino restaurant. If you visit Seafood city you'll find other Filipino shops and places to eat nearby. There's several in Orange County.

My wife met and made a great friend on one shopping trip.

We stopped in Hawaii from Philippines for a few days and had our civil ceremony there. We got a souvenir certificate signed and in a few weeks when we were back in California we got the marriage certificate and also 2 certified copies. Our wedding was basic and legal there to satisfy the requirements. A year or so later we did a full church wedding with all the family in the Philippines.

Lbc has reliable shipping from Cali. You can Google for the price info.

Island rose has been reliable for me. I've used them several times

First time I am guessing the passport was not in her married name.

You shouldn't need a copy of the marriage certificate being the passport is already in her married name (but its only one sheet of paper - to ease the mind). And her green card is in her married name... of course.

Hi Hank,

Yes, you are probably right. Her passport had her original name on the main passport page though we had a passport amendment that showed her married name. It basically was a signed stamp that showed her married name on a different passport page.

My wife is going to visit family soon and is a 10 year green card holder. I just want to make sure she will have everything she needs to travel without any issue.

She will have:

1. Current Philippines passport with married name

2. 10 Year Green card

3. Copy of marriage certificate

Even though the last time she traveled she had a valid green card someone still asked to see marriage certificate. I can't think of anything else she would need. At this point any USCIS receipt or anything else would be too much I would think.

All she should need is a current passport and valid green card for travel correct ?

Thanks

a few random photos from Philippines. No where else can you get a Wendy's hamburger delivered by motorcycle

Well the guy got in the bee suit, sprayed and sealed the hole. It probably took 15 minutes. I wasn't asked to pay so the management company paid for it. No idea the cost but it's done. It was bees.

The property management has an expert scheduled. Hopefully its not a big job.

I noticed in my rented house a few bees inside after a rain storm. Looking around I saw what looks like bees building a nest in the roof getting in through a hole in the wood on the second level. No way for me to reach that.

Does anyone have any experience in getting rid of this kind of problem and I wonder how much it would cost. If I tried to spray them it probably would just make them mad and they could possibly come in the house. They could get in through some small holes above lights in my ceiling inside the house. That's probably how they got in after the rain storm.

I front loaded on every submission from initial K1 to ROC for 10 years. The time for our 10 year ROC was I think months faster than others at the same submission time but I think we may have gotten randomly selected. It was a good thing because I was in process of moving out of state.

Super book is a great series for kids that's viewed in different languages around the world. I don't remember seeing that ad here myself though.

we are in Glendale..

I've been to Halo-Halo twice already. Yes, my car showed it was 111 outside on the drive home but "it's a dry heat" that's just dang hot anyway I look at it.

I'm sure we will meet some Filipinas the longer we are here and get out of the house.

Thanks for both of the suggestions

We recently moved to Phoenix in the last 2 months and my wife is looking for filipina friends especially those that speak Bisaya. She is from Mindanao and does enjoy speaking that as opposed to just Tagalog.

She is very friendly and would like to find some new friends. Does anyone know any Fil-Am groups in Phoenix that may have events ?

Thanks for your replies.

Green card received in the mail today!!!

Congrats