Q&A 25 questions
I did a Q&A video on YouTube last year. It covers a lot of basics about my wife and I, and our house. A range of topics all taken from the comment section of my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/titotimtravels I try to answer the question on the comment section but do miss a few. Here are some that I missed, and some that are asked frequently. First, the video, then the shooting script. Most of the answers are about the same – but in the video I do go into more detail on some of the questions.
Questions are taken straight from the YouTube comment section, I did not bother to correct spelling or grammar, as it was just a shooting script. More of a guideline.
1 Are You A Filipino?
No, I am from Texas. I am a pasty white guy
2 Did you do any of the work yourself? (house)
No. I am happily retired. I was glad to hire out all the work.
3 What’s it like compared the USA?
That could make an entire video series of its own, but generally people are people the world over, but the most obvious differences is the poverty here is rampant. The entire country reminds me of a Mexican border town. Infrastructure is a joke, but it is very pretty and the people are so friendly it makes up for a lot.
4 If an american like myself moved to the Philippines how much would they need to have as far as money/cost per month?
As they say here “up to you”. My wife and I do ok on under $1,000 a month. I would rather have about $1,500. How much is dependent on your comfort level. Everyone has to answer that one for themselves.
5 If you were to have a heart attack or something important do you just lay there and die or do they have para-medic or something available and how far to a hospital?
There are ambulances, but around here you just get a jeepney to take you directly to a hospital. In a real emergency I know I would be dead. But I just can’t live my life worrying about “what ifs”. We only get one day at a time and that is how I live it.
6 Does uncle speak English?
Not really. I have been here long enough I should be speaking some Ilonggo by now… no excuse
7 Closed Captions weren’t the greatest on this video
Yeah, closed captions are automatically generated by YouTube and are usually comically bad
8 Do you cook Caldereta using goat?
I wish. I ate more goat in Texas than here. There are goats everywhere. No one seems to eat them or drink the milk. I have asked for goat and still not got any.
9 does it flood there?
In the city more than out here. There is no real drainage system. We are just lucky enough to be close to the ocean and it drains out. When they paved the road they raised it about a foot but provided no extra drainage – they turned our whole area into a flood plain. Good thing my house is fairly high.
10 how much the cost of your house sir
About $7,000 USD. Half of that is what they call a house, and half is my fault for wanting the options: ceiling, glass windows, floor tile, paint, and American style CR fixtures.
11 Dunkin Donuts and a Coke! You give up your diet?
No. That is the beauty of IIFYM… all things in moderation… and it was a coke zero. I try not to drink my calories.
12 Is it common that Filipinos don’t use mustard?
Oh yeah. All the grocery stores sell it, almost no restaurant stocks it, and I have never seen a Filipino use it. Most I have talked to have never heard of it. It is mostly vinegar, I think they would like it.
13 how much the size of the house, wed, and length
Main room (kitchen, cr, and combo living/bedroom is 15×26 (feet). Front porch is 15×10. Total is just under 550 sq feet, 45 sq meters. We are planning a dirty kitchen and store room – size is yet to be determined.
14 Is your wife working or plan to get a work?
Not really worth it at p250 a day, and since she is 29 almost no place would hire her, cutoff age is usually 25. She has talked about going back to college but never committed to it
15 You don’t like gravy with your fried chicken, Filipino Style?
No.
16 what type visa did you use?
Over the years I used a few different ones. I started on the tourist visa. I extended that for like 2 years. Then, when I got married, I got a Balikbayan stamp for 1 year (not technically a visa). Then I got my 13a visa (spouse visa). So now I am on permanent resident status via the 13a. The immigration setup here is very easy.
17 How do you deal with snakes? How do you repel them?
Never seen a live one, except at one mountain resort that kept a non-poisonous one there. Don’t know why we don’t have them. Seems like a good place for snakes.
18 Will find it hard eating cold food all the time, if you ask will they heat it up?
The nicer restaurants serve hot food. The mall joints I have never asked, and at the carendarias most have nowhere to heat the food.
19 My own follow up question – what is a carenderia?
The small restaurants. Bigger than a food cart, but not by much. More like a sidewalk shop. Quite often part of a sari sari store.
20 did they sell brown rice in the Philippines?
Yes, they have brown, red, and black. My wife says brown rice is for poor people. That seems to be the common attitude here.
21 Did you experience somebody tried to take disadvantage with you?
Not often. You will get it around the tourist areas mostly. Here in Iloilo even the taxi drivers are cool. I had much more problem with that in Mexico than here.
22 how far are you from the city?
About 20 km from the city, around 12 miles, but only 6 km from town
23 How old are you/how old is your wife?
I am 53, she is 29. BTW when we got married I was 50, she was 25.
24 Was it your cooking that convinced your wife to marry you?
No, she actually eats very little of my cooking. She likes her standard Filipino foods and is not an adventurous eater.
25 Is the beach a walking distance from your house?
Yes 1 km (1/2 mile)
