[ZangLussuria]

Brush up on your Tulog, or anyone of the 700 local dialects....

Tagalog. Main language. Tulog means sleep in Tagalog. ☺

And yes, there are multiple dialects. Although some dialects are already considered languages because of vast differences. Tagalog, Kapampangan, Ilonggo, Bisaya, Ilocano, etc. I can't speak some well but I can understand about 3-4 of them enough to get by.
My Tagalog is on par with my English though.

-------

piglett,
It really depends where you will be setting up and how easy it is to get supplies from the nearest town or bayan. If there's constant electricity, or easily accessible water. If you will be in a farming town with a good community and you're willing to sacrifice and put in hard work to till the land, it can be rewarding.
The good thing with the climate is that it's tropical. Meaning that temps are moremor less consistent and a lot of crops are year round.
Rice is the staple as are sweet potatoes. Food is very hearty and good.
The major cities are definitely modern and can compete with the rest of the world in some infrastructure and things to do. The provinces are different.

Good luck with your plan and stay safe.

 

[ZangLussuria]

Some more things to add:

Traffic sucks and it's nice to avoid typhoon season.

The beaches are fantastic. Amazing biodiversity for diving and snorkeling.
Relatively cheap place for a vacation.

As with any place in the world, there will be pros and cons.

 

[piglett]

I sweat everytime I travel in or out of the states. I find I am more and more reluctant to travel more than a short distance and driving my own vehicle with what I consider necessary items that would enable me to return to home base. If I frequently found myself traveling out of the country I would certainly do what I could to plan and prepare for any scenario that prevented me from safe travels home. Good thing is a dollar should stretch pretty well over there. Have you considered evaluating your wife's family members for some that can be trusted, having them set up an account you can send money too, and have them stock up on goods for you? I think $50 a month would go a long way. I would hate to have good folks we need here stuck elsewhere but do what you need to keep you and yours safe and healthy.

the main diet in the Philippines is fish & rice. we already have a small fishing boat there with a crew of 3. when they return from the ocean with their catch 1st enough fish are removed to cover the gas that was used that day. them the crew takes 1/2 of the remaining fish & my farther inlaw takes the other 1/2 which he sets to the side. a second smaller boat is being built that will have a crew of just 2.

so i would have a food source & a little cash. once we buy land there we plan to hire a couple of folks from the mountain to plant enough vegetables to help supply some of the local markets. a vegetable stand along the road side could also be an option.

most folks there have very little cash to invest so not much gets done on anything but a very small scale.

i'm thinking $100 a month invested in vegetable seeds, small banana seedlings & such could end up giving a fair return even if the world doesn't end going all to sh!t.

at least i will have plenty to eat when i am there for my yearly December vacation.

 

[piglett]

Tagalog. Main language. Tulog means sleep in Tagalog. ☺

And yes, there are multiple dialects. Although some dialects are already considered languages because of vast differences. Tagalog, Kapampangan, Ilonggo, Bisaya, Ilocano, etc. I can't speak some well but I can understand about 3-4 of them enough to get by.
My Tagalog is on par with my English though.

-------

piglett,
It really depends where you will be setting up and how easy it is to get supplies from the nearest town or bayan. If there's constant electricity, or easily accessible water. If you will be in a farming town with a good community and you're willing to sacrifice and put in hard work to till the land, it can be rewarding.
The good thing with the climate is that it's tropical. Meaning that temps are moremor less consistent and a lot of crops are year round.
Rice is the staple as are sweet potatoes. Food is very hearty and good.
The major cities are definitely modern and can compete with the rest of the world in some infrastructure and things to do. The provinces are different.

Good luck with your plan and stay safe.

in the region where my wife is from they speak Bisaya , i'm planning on getting a set of wireless head phones & trying to learn some of the language while i am stuck at work in the shop fixing folks boats this winter. if i can just understand 1/2 of what people are saying it could be a big help.

the electricity is on most of the time & my inlaws have a cheep Chinese generator for when it is not on. water is no real problem as there is a river flowing from the mountains and there is a water line running down the side if the street from town to town.

i'm thinking a poured concrete house would be a bonus, as you said typhoons are a fact of life there.

thanks
piglett

 

[CrackbottomLouis]

in the region where my wife is from they speak Bisaya , i'm planning on getting a set of wireless head phones & trying to learn some of the language while i am stuck at work in the shop fixing folks boats this winter. if i can just understand 1/2 of what people are saying it could be a big help.

the electricity is on most of the time & my inlaws have a cheep Chinese generator for when it is not on. water is no real problem as there is a river flowing from the mountains and there is a water line running down the side if the street from town to town.

i'm thinking a poured concrete house would be a bonus, as you said typhoons are a fact of life there.

thanks
piglett

Have you ever heard of hempcrete? I know a guy that built with it instead of concrete in NC. He has a very positive opinion of it. Very breathable with a good r factor. Building with it is a pain and expensive here due to regulations but you might not have those hurdles there.

 

[VoorTrekker]

Hempcrete looks promising, however, industrial hemp in the U.S. is not illegal. It is highly regulated and audited/inspected.

 

[ZangLussuria]

Relatively cheap to construct. Maybe a cinder block structure reinforced with rebar? It's a pretty common method in the Philippines. Better than wood in terms of strength and structural integrity.

 

[piglett]

the hempcrete looks neat however i'm not sure it will hold up to the earthquakes over there, but i do like the idea.

i know you can add tiny foam balls to concrete to give it a much better R value.

the cement block there are mostly sub-standard however there are forms available so that you may make your own

the great thing about many Asian countries is labor is really cheep.

however you do have to feed your workers lunch

what we would do with heavy equipment in the states they do with a 1/2 dozen men with shovels & digging bars.

my wife will be returning in 2 weeks with pictures of the acerage we are looking
to buy.

i will be glad to share the pictures & so that i can continue getting ideas




thanks everyone
Piglett