I moved to a new apartment in Dumaguete!

New Apartment in Dumaguete

0:05 Hey, good morning everybody! I am coming to you from my new apartment in Dumaguete. Just give it a few minutes to let things get warmed up here.

0:36 Hey, what's up everybody? I'm coming to you live from my new apartment in Dumaguete. It took me a while to find it, but I found a great place and a great location, and I'm really already really enjoying it. I think I'm going to be a lot more productive here than being in the province.

0:55 Yeah, so I thought I'd just do a stream while I get caffeinated. I'm going to grab an energy drink out of my fridge here in a second.

Productivity and Networking

1:14 Um, hey Window Guys, I don't know if we've chatted, but thank you so much. I think this may be your first time joining the live stream. Welcome, welcome! Yeah, I'm loving the new place. I'm going to be so much more productive here. You know, for those who don't know, Mike has really been super instrumental. Mike of Mike's Philippine Retirement has been super instrumental in helping me to become more efficient and learn how to do things better. Shout out to Mike, you know, he's been very, very good to me, and he suggested moving to town because I'd be a lot more efficient. He was so accurate.

1:51 So, at this new place, not only is this lighting really nice, I like this soft morning lighting, but then I'm also about 10 minutes away from multiple different filming locations. And if you can't tell, I can actually do live streams. So where I was at before, it was, uh, pretty noisy and I could not do live streams. Now, I don't want to do them all the time, but I look at it like being a nice, like, once a week kind of check-in thing. But I just couldn't do it where I was before. Here, there's some windows of time that I can work within now. Does it can it get, uh, you know, a little bit more lively here? Certainly. But it's not to the extreme that it's just not a workable situation for my purposes.

2:39 So yeah, this location, I'm very close to several filming spots. I can do live streams here. I can also get to other parts of town much more efficiently. Like there's certain places that, uh, friends of mine like to meet up at. It's a lot faster for me to meet up with them coming from here. You know, for some of the meeting places, it was taking me like a couple hours to get there, where coming from here, it will take me like an hour max to get to the more far-flung places that we like to meet at.

3:11 Um, yeah, welcome everybody. You know, feel free to chime in any questions or thoughts that you have. I'm sleeping so much better here. It's just all around better. A friend of mine, I'm not going to mention his name because he's not a YouTuber, he's not a public figure, but he told me about this building, and it's just, uh, it's just a fantastic building.

3:36 Yeah, I need to start getting caffeine because after this stream, I have some, yeah, I have some video. I have at least one video to make today, and I also need to go grocery shopping, get some more caffeine to make sure I'm, I'm as productive as I can be.

4:07 Oh yeah, you know, uh, Paul is great. Paul from Old Dog New Tricks, he's a wonderful man. Um, you know, I see him lately, he's, he's had some things that he's needed to work on regarding health, but I easily see him, like, I don't know, I'd say once a week, maybe once every 10 days. It could be more often. We live in different parts of town. Um, but he, yeah, he and I have some plans to link up in the next, I would say, in the next week or so.

4:42 He's, you know, I don't want to go too much into it because I want to respect his privacy, but he and Mike have both been very, very good to me. And you'll never hear me say a negative word about either of those guys. They both work really hard at what they do. I think they work much harder than what is apparent through their channels. I mean, obviously, they've had a lot of success, but like for us, the viewer, because I was, I've been watching Paul for like five years now. I've been watching Mike for two years now.

5:11 You know, we're working all day at our normal day-to-day job. We see the thumbnail, we click, we watch, we listen, and we're consuming, right? And so, at least for me, I can't speak for you guys, but now that I've met them and kind of seen behind the scenes, they really go above and beyond on their channels. And they're also both the type to, uh, what's the word? They're not competitive in a sense like you'd think that they would look at me, a new YouTuber, oh, why would we want to help him? What can he do for us? That's not the case at all.

5:50 They've taught me a lot. They have directed me to resources. They've shown me how they do things. Even just like, you know, hanging out in the context of friendship has been really wonderful because, you know, in the US, we don't have often multigenerational friendships. Most of our friends are our age, and so we benefit. I think a lot of young guys really benefit from talking to older guys who are really successful, who we really respect, but we just don't have those opportunities. Maybe if you're in a university, maybe you have some of that, but even in those settings, people are super busy, just don't have time to kind of mentor or to kind of help you to, um, become more successful.

6:35 And so yeah, Paul has helped me a lot. Mike has helped me a lot. I just need to implement a lot of what they've tried to, the wisdom and the insight they've tried to impart upon me. I couldn't do that where I was living before. I was just really far out of town, and it was just taking me a long time to get back and forth. And also, my filming spots were even further.

Blogger Community and Work Ethic

6:58 By the way, please run up the likes if you can. It really helps with the algorithm. But I was really, I was really far out of town. And so now I'm in town. I'm around several different areas to film, and it's, um, yeah, it's just a fantastic place to be a content creator. I mean, Dumaguete, you know, you have, I call it like a virtuous cycle. I also call it a network effect where you've got so many talented bloggers in town.

7:29 Like I've met, uh, I met Filipina P, I've met Suzzy Kelly, of course, Mike, Mike's Philippine Retirement, Paul, Paul Old Dog New Tricks. I met all these super talented bloggers. Chad, Chad, Chad of Chad Foster Explorers. Chad's been really great to me as well. That if you want to learn quickly, like I'm learning far faster here than I would on my own, and it's credit to them. It's not because I'm special, it's because they are so kind, they are so welcoming.

8:06 So, you know, hardworking. I mean, it's, it's, you know, it's a different kind of hard work than what I'm used to. I mean, in America, it seems like, okay, you get your car, you go to work, you work all day, you come home, you're done. With YouTube, it can be like a 24/7 kind of a thing. I mean, it never really turns off. From when I wake up to when I go to bed, I'm thinking about it. I'm talking about it a lot during the day. After this live stream, I think I'm going to go, uh, you know, film a video. I've got some notes on some stuff I want to do. I'm not sure which topic. I just need to launch into one and start recording it.

8:41 But, um, yeah, Doug says, I've tried, I decided to try Baguio. I was recently in all three, Malaybalay, Tagaytay, and Baguio. Really love the climate of Baguio. My lease ends January 31st, so I'm just starting to look around. Yeah, getting out ahead of it early. Doug is a great, great idea.

Caffeine and Energy Drinks

9:04 Um, see here, I'm going to go ahead and start having my caffeine. I drink these Cobras. I probably need to just get a coffee maker, but these Cobras are nice. And in a pinch, you could just like refrigerate them. And one sec, I'm right, you can refrigerate them in a pinch. And they're a little bit, you know, they've got some different stuff, vitamin D, zinc, some immune system support, which I need. And apparently this one has less sugar than the original formulation. So I drink these a lot. If you work for Cobra, for some reason, you know somebody that does, have them reach out to me if they want to sponsor me. I'll take a sponsorship.

9:50 Um, yeah, other than this, I like coffee, but this is super necessary to, uh, for me to wake up and to just be as productive as I can be. These are like 20 pesos each, roughly at Robinson's. They're 30 pesos at 7-Eleven. I just buy them at Robinson's and buy a few at a time, throw them in my fridge. And if I'm not having coffee, I'll have one of these for breakfast, and it's, um, yeah, it's a nice way to get started. Just wake up, feel really productive. But I'll probably move to coffee, um, just because, yeah, just because I'm more used to coffee.

Baguio and Future Plans

10:37 Uh, yeah, Doug, um, Baguio is great. We can pull that up actually. Why don't I? Baguio, I actually am also linking too with a, I'm going to be helping a friend get started. He is a Filipino-American, and he and I met through, uh, Facebook, through mutual friends on Facebook. And so this is Baguio, guys, just if you want to get a sense of where it's at. We can zoom out a bit. So this is on the island of Luzon, the northernmost island, the new capital region. Um, I don't know if actually it would be in the new capital region. I think Manila and the Manila area is the new capital region, but you're basically north of Manila here in Baguio. But I got a buddy up there in Luzon. He's Filipino-American. He wants to start a channel, so we're talking about that. I plan to interview him. I'm, I could do a StreamYard interview with him, but the quality just doesn't seem to be, um, it just doesn't seem to be as strong as when I'm doing the, uh, the ones in person. Like the ones in person just seem to have, I don't know, it just seems to draw the audience in more. I think the quality is a little better because I shoot in 4K as opposed to 1080p.

11:59 Um, but yeah, Baguio seems awesome, Doug. I'd love to hear more after you land in Baguio. You know, please keep us updated because a lot of people, I think you, you might be surprised how many people, um, they like that climate, right? I mean, I would have thought, ah, tropical vibes, people want to live by the beach, but a lot of people are happy to just vacation at the beach or just visit the beach, and they'd rather live in the mountainous climate.

Encouragement and Healthcare

12:35 Window Guys, you're doing a great job, man. Keep it up. Really look up to what you're doing and hope to do something similar in the future. Yeah, there's room for

12:42 In the future, yeah, there's room for everybody. I envision a future where everybody that enjoys it. Not everybody enjoys doing YouTube, not everybody has the, frankly, the thick skin to succeed at it because especially when you're starting out, you get a lot of feedback, and it continues throughout. But when you're early on and you're not necessarily knowing what's going to get traction, you may not have the background to be successful. You're learning, it's not easy, but thank you so much for the encouragement. I really appreciate that.

13:22 I think everybody that wants to should try it. They'd learn a lot. I developed an appreciation for content creators through this channel, and it's a privilege to be able to do this. How is the healthcare in your area? How difficult or easy is it to receive access to help with chronic healthcare? That's something I should get more into.

Hospitals in Dumaguete

13:48 So I live not too far from several different hospitals. I think the Ace Hospital is a really popular one here in Dumaguete. Simon University Hospital, why don't we pull this up? Actually, yeah, so Simon University Medical Center, that's another really popular hospital here. Ace Hospital, this one over here. Oh, I don't know if that's the correct address actually.

14:36 Okay, so that is it. And then there's a third one I just can't remember the name off the top of my head right now, but you do have several hospitals here in Dumaguete. I know some people prefer to go to like Cebu or Manila for unique solutions or maybe there's some kind of niche thing that may be harder to find here in Dumaguete. It's very common for people to either go to one of the three hospitals in town or if they want a different kind of focus, they'll go to Cebu or Manila.

15:14 I've heard about St. Luke's in Manila being very good. I personally have not sought healthcare here, so I did in Thailand, and that went well. Thailand is well-known for great health, but I have yet to do that here in the Philippines.

Dating and Privacy

15:39 Great, you found a new place. Take care. Yeah, thank you so much. I'm really enjoying the new place. And what else? Yeah, I've got a date on Thursday, so that should be good. I'm excited about that.

16:02 As far as dating goes, unless something becomes really serious, I'm probably not going to show the person I'm seeing on camera. I know some people say that would help you get views, but there are a few issues with showing dating on camera. One is that if you break up, which does happen sometimes, then half your audience leaves because half your audience is focused on her and they want to see her, and she's not part of the blogs anymore. You know, you got to start all over, maybe you need to build a new channel.

16:43 Two, I don't want them to be the target of vitriol or attacks. It's a little bit different when you're married and they're stuck with you. But yeah, there are many reasons. Third reason is there's some elements of my life I do want to keep private. I try to be an open book to some extent, but I don't want people to know exactly where I live. I don't want people to know every single restaurant I like to go to.

Public Recognition and Video Editing

17:19 I've definitely started to get approached more and more in Dumaguete, and it's wonderful. If you see me in Dumaguete, feel free to approach me, but it's something that's an adjustment for me. It's not something that I'm accustomed to, it's not something that I'm used to, it's something that I'm having to adjust to because I'm only recently become a more public figure, and it can be a little intense sometimes being out in public.

17:45 And you notice somebody's looking at you and you're thinking, okay, do they watch the channel? It's different from having that anonymity that I had before, where I could go anywhere in town and do whatever I wanted and not think about it. Now, of course, I'm small potatoes. You look at guys like Mike or guys like Paul, they're getting recognized probably all the time.

18:15 But yeah, even just for where I'm at, it's a different thing. What's the easiest video editing software in your opinion to start with? So I use iMovie. That's just a default on Mac. I think one of my friends uses DaVinci Resolve.

Considering Cebu for Content Creation

18:35 If you don't have a Mac, if you have a Mac, iMovie is great. And sorry guys, I just muted it because there's a track that ran by. And I so I use iMovie. I've heard good things about Final Cut Pro. I've never used Final Cut Pro. I may upgrade to that, depending on if the channel gets to be more sizable. CapCut is another one I've heard about.

19:04 Did you think of moving to Cebu? Yeah, you know, I have some interest in Cebu, especially if the channel grows. That's going to be a target for me. There's a lot of reasons for me to go to Cebu. One, there's not really anybody up there that's an expat or foreigner vlogging much. I've had this conversation with a few friends that nobody's really covering Cebu.

19:34 Two, in a big city, you've got certain unique opportunities as far as vlogging goes. You're going to be able to cover different subjects that, you know, like Dumaguete's been covered. You can see every square inch of Dumaguete on YouTube. There's more and more vlogs about Dumaguete every week, more vloggers in Dumaguete every week. There's no shortage of Dumaguete content.

19:58 The difference being Cebu just doesn't have the same concentration of vloggers. I am connected with several vloggers in Cebu, several people I want to collab with. I have tentative plans to collab with like Wang, she's great. Who else? I'll probably link up with Heidi. Who else? There's, my brain's kind of foggy about it, but needless to say, I have several reasons to go to Cebu.

20:30 I think Cebu is interesting. There's a lot of different things to do up there too. Like if you want to go to other places, you've got the ferries. So like Cebu, I think is great for weekend trips if you want to have your busy city life and then go off to Bohol. Let me move up to Cebu.

Health Insurance Advice

20:59 Here, you can go to a lot of different spots around here, but see, like Bohol is, you know, Panglao. Panglao, where is P? Taby, Lauren, I think the ferry goes to Taby.

21:22 How much does health insurance cost? I'm not sure. It depends on your age, pre-existing conditions, which company. Everybody seems to recommend Michael Onad. I haven't yet met Michael. He came to Dumaguete actually a month ago, and I really regret not making it out there. My schedule was just very hectic at that time. I'll probably reach out to him soon though, just to talk to him about it.

Dating Boundaries and Safety

21:45 He's kind of the expat health insurance guy here in the Philippines. A lot of people go through him and they seem to be satisfied with the service that he provides.

22:12 Don't show the lady on camera, creeps will try to snatch her off you. I've seen it happen a dozen times. Yeah, I mean, that used to happen to me back in America when I would have a girlfriend and have roommates. The roommates would always, unless they were my friends, which was rare, they'd always hit on the girl because, you know, I guess they were low-effort guys. Couldn't really try to find their own lady.

22:34 By the way, guys, give us a thumbs up if you can. It helps with the algorithm. I noticed 18 folks are watching.

22:51 Dumaguete is definitely waking up now. There's more and more traffic as the city gets up. Yeah, there's no gain from it long-term. Short-term, people will be like, oh, you know, pretty lady. Because this woman I'm seeing is like that, I've been chatting, that I'm looking forward to meeting. We've been chatting for a few months off and on, and she is very attractive.

23:21 And I just, I don't want to, yeah, I don't want to deal with the creeps. I don't want to deal with her being bothered. She's a sweet person.

Recommended Cities in the Philippines

23:48 Okay, Billy, I'm new to the Philippines. As a start, I want to stay in Cebu. What other cities do you recommend? Cebu is great. I've spent some time in Cebu. Cebu is very easy, especially if you're in IT Park. IT Park, Cebu, super easy. You're going to be able to get everything you need there. Data, a lay of the land, you'll hear some of the language being spoken. You've got Western-style restaurants there if you need to go shopping. All the shopping you could want is in that area.

24:17 It's, I think it's a good intro. As far as other cities, I recommend, you know, of course, I'm biased toward Dumaguete. I live here in Dumaguete. In this region, those two are very popular. What else?

24:48 It's hard for me to say. Billy, if you could just share some of what your interests are, that's more of what I go on. Like, what are you looking for here in the Philippines? Because it depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for adventure, I'm going to recommend different places than those who are looking for dating, versus those who want beaches. There's, it's kind of a choose-your-own-adventure over here, which I really like.

Philippines as a Diverse Destination

25:14 That there's something for many different kinds of people, and I think that's why the Philippines attracts so many different kinds of people. You get the full spread here, like, as far as this interesting cross-section of humanity.

25:33 Are you going to go back and give up your storage unit at some point? I'm going to resolve that eventually, Oscar. I, yeah, I'll eventually have to resolve that, maybe next summer. I don't really want to go back to the States, but me not wanting to go to the States has nothing to do with me needing to go back to the States.

25:56 So maybe next summer, I'm thought about doing some seasonal work in Alaska, like doing six months to build up my cash reserves. I'm in a position where I've got investments, but I don't.

26:11 I've got investments, but I don't want to liquidate them. I'd rather give them some more time to mature and, you know, going back and building up the cash pile for six months and then knocking out the storage unit. Just, you know, handling that would decrease my burn rate and give me some cash to come due in six months. So, one thing I thought about if I can't get back into tech is doing six on, six off. Six-month seasonal work, which I've never done. I've heard some people don't really like it; it's not a good fit for some people. But if I liked it, doing six on, come here for six months, go back for six months, and just kind of oscillate between the two until my YouTube channel is much bigger.

26:56 You know, my channel is steadily growing, but it's not rapidly growing, which is fine with me. Like, I'm much more of a 'slow and steady wins the race' person. I would do YouTube even without the growth promise or the financial incentive. It's just a lot of fun.

Motorcycle Safety and Lifestyle Choices

27:26 Okay, Billy says, 'I heard Dumaguete, you need a motorcycle to get around.' So, I personally don't ride. For me, it's a safety factor. I'm just not super coordinated, and for me to ride, it would, you know, just there's a certain risk involved. And so that's why I'm living in the city. Not going to specify where in the city, but in the city, I can take trikes, I can walk, and occasionally I run into friends who say, 'Hop on the back,' and I'll ride with a friend.

Australia and Positive Interactions

28:14 Yeah, Billy, CapCut is great. Oh, hey, great to see you, Buick. Good morning to you and Adelaide. What a nice country, Australia. I still haven't been there yet, but I hope to go someday. One of my very kind subscribers said, 'Hey, you could crash on my couch if you come out this way.' So someday I will go to Australia.

28:36 I think a lot of Americans admire Australia. I've always thought it's cool because it's like America, but you have a smaller population. And I think that's appealing sometimes. For me, I've lived in some big cities in America, and it can feel a bit crowded, like San Francisco, the second most densely populated city in the United States. And it just, you know, feels a bit stressful at times. But not to say Australia doesn't have big cities, but it seems like it's a little bit more spread out. Maybe it's just my perception.

29:12 All the Australians I meet are super nice to me, super friendly to me. Maybe I'm just biased, but they've always been good to me. Like, I've met Australians in Thailand, I met Australians here in the Philippines, and I get along with them very well. I worked with an Australian guy; I forgot to say that. I worked with this guy from Australia, and he was, I think, one of my favorite people I've ever worked with. He was super patient, super kind, very good at his job, worked very hard. I can't say anything negative about the guy. I mean, he was just... I still look back fondly on him. I need to send him a message sometime, actually on LinkedIn, and just thank him because I was totally lost in that job, and he really helped me to get up to speed.

YouTube Community and Work

30:05 So, Discerning Dash I, moving to Cagayan de Oro for me, I have income to not rely on YouTube. But since I'm young, I want something to do. It would be weird to not work since I am not retirement age. Yeah, YouTube's a lot of fun. I mean, it's just, to me, the most valuable thing that I've gotten from YouTube so far is community. I've met so many cool people through YouTube. If I was looking at it, evaluating it just from a financial perspective, I'm way better off getting additional tech skills and working in tech on an hour-per-hour basis. It's just far more valuable use of my time. But I enjoy YouTube a lot. It's connected me with a lot of really talented, hardworking people. I've met a lot of good friends, not just here in Dumaguete, but now increasingly around the world through the platform. It also incentivizes me to, like, introduce myself. I deal with social anxiety, so it forces me to kind of get over that and go out and talk to people, and I think that's good for my mental well-being.

31:19 Medical insurance. Doug says, 'Medical insurance depends on age, from 68, and pay about 1K a year, 1 million PHP coverage.' Yeah, I can get. And I can... Yeah, that I recommend reaching out to Michael Onad. And I need to send Michael a message, actually, just because it'd be nice to interview him at some point. I don't know if he does interviews, but I'd like to interview him. Maybe collect some questions beforehand, just to see what people want to know. What questions, you know, asking him would be helpful.

Medical Insurance and Self-Insurance

32:02 Alex would recommend getting MediCard or Maxicare. Reason is because they are PH plans, and the chance of it not being accepted is lower. Imagine you get a US plan and you have an emergency clinic... don't take it. Yeah, so I'm currently at a point where I self-insure, but I also live a low-risk lifestyle. What do I mean by low-risk lifestyle? I'm not suggesting you don't have insurance. One, I do not ride a motorbike. Even three months in, I still do not ride a motorbike. People encourage me to ride a motorbike, and then I see them get into an incident where they end up injured. I'm not going to get into much detail further than that. Two, I don't run around the Philippines much; I mostly just stick to town. Three, I don't drink. Not a judgment against those who do drink; I just don't do it. I live a very, like, even though you could say I'm a young man, I live what I call an old man lifestyle. And I have substantial coverage in terms of reserves for a medical incident. That being said, I am researching medical healthcare options. I'm not opposed to getting it, but I just want to know what I'm getting and what I'm getting will cover what I need because there are circumstances. And this isn't a criticism of any insurance provider. There are circumstances of travelers getting insurance and then getting into an issue, and then the insurance not covering their specific need. So it's not a blanket judgment. I appreciate you for mentioning this, that you want to research and you want to get the coverage that will actually cover you because there are circumstances. You see this in some Southeast Asian countries where people will say, 'Well, I had insurance.' They didn't understand the policy, they didn't understand what it covered. They thought, 'Oh, it's cart blanche to just engage in high-risk behavior, high-risk activities,' and then they get into an issue, and it doesn't necessarily cover what they thought it would cover.

34:20 So yeah, we just zoom in on downtown. Greetings from North Florida! Hey, Florida Ken, welcome, welcome. Get in, yeah, $1,000 a year. I don't have any pre-existing conditions, it's quite reasonable. Yeah, health insurance generally, like most services will be cheaper here in the Philippines. I find that services in general, on average, are cheaper here in the Philippines, and that goods are more expensive. So you'll pay more for imported goods because oil is expensive. They're bringing products out to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And then services, where people's labor is involved, tends to be more economical.

35:07 Doug says, 'I used Michael, really good guy.' That's great to hear, Doug. Yeah, I'll need to send him a message. It'd be really great to do some kind of collaboration with Michael because everybody I know recommends him, which really says a lot about the quality of service that he provides.

Motorbike Accidents and Risk Assessment

35:31 Buick, my 25 years of experience in the Philippines, most foreigner accidents are because of motorbikes. Then out goes the money out the window, 100, 300, or even 500k pesos to pay hospital costs. Yeah, that's why, you know, I don't ride. I'm not judging guys who do ride. I have plenty of friends who do ride here. I'm just not coordinated. I will come out and say that without any shame. I'm not the most coordinated guy. I've even had friends tell me that when I'm riding on the back of their motorbike, I'll occasionally do that. Like I said, occasionally with a couple of friends that are very, very safe riders. But to me, it's like I've seen so many accidents in Southeast Asia at this point. In almost every Southeast Asian country I've been to, except Singapore and Malaysia, motorbike riding is common. It's not a pleasant sight. You're talking about life-changing events. I've seen a ton of GoFundMe's where people, 'Oh, I was doing everything...' It's...

37:01 So yeah, with motorbikes, it's definitely you've got to be very cautious. You've got to be very careful. You've got to, you know, you just gotta really know what you're doing. And for me, it's just not worth the risk. Maybe I live a bit more boring lifestyle than some people, but that's okay with me.

New Apartment Experience

37:35 Gerard says, 'How do you like the new apartment?' I love the new apartment. It's fantastic. It's a lot quieter, as you guys can tell. It's great for streaming, right? Like this is so much better than in the past. And also, it's solid for editing. Like I need a somewhat quiet environment to edit, and so I can actually focus here. It's also just like the location is awesome. I really like this new place. It's a lot more convenient. All around great, Gerard. I'm very happy with this.

38:17 This place isn't listed anywhere online. I found out about it through word of mouth. I was not expecting to find this, to be honest, because it's not easy to find housing in Dumaguete. Everybody wants to live in Dumaguete; it's a very popular city. And there's just such high demand because it's not like Cebu or Manila, which are big cities that have a ton of options. I think Dag's demand has just skyrocketed, and so you've got a lot of people that want to...

38:50 You've got a lot of people that want to live here, and a good chunk of the housing is occupied by college students. You've got four colleges here in the city, so they occupy a lot of the housing. It's not always so easy to find a place to stay, but I found it. It took me some time, really. This spot has a fantastic location; it's pretty much one of my ideal locations. I'm surprised I could even find a place, and it's going very well.

Safety and Transportation in the Philippines

39:43 Having said that, Dumaguete is much safer compared to Bali or Thailand. The traffic is pretty slow here; people mostly seem to drive at a modest pace. Dumaguete is just not as big as some of those big cities in Thailand or Indonesia. You're not getting the same level of rush hour. It does have rush hour, but it's not to the same extent that you have in Cebu or in Manila.

40:22 I hope that helps. Having said that, I'm buying a car. It's 1 million pesos, but my life and family are worth more. I'm buying an SUV because I'm married and want to keep my family safe. Having a car is not a bad idea; if you've got a family, it's definitely worthwhile to have one. I have several friends that have purchased cars, and they seem to be very happy with that decision.

40:47 It just seems like a safer option from what I can tell. Parking is not always going to be easy, like here in Dumaguete. Parking is not as easy. I think Cagayan de Oro is probably a bit better. I spent some time there; it's actually the first place I landed in the Philippines. It feels more spread out. Dumaguete is spread out, but downtown is pretty compact. Cagayan de Oro seems to have a little bit more spread out downtown. Maybe it's just me, but I think you'll enjoy having a car there. There's a lot to see in that area.

Viewer Engagement and Future Content

41:22 You may want to go up to the mountains, like Malib Balai, or what else is there down there? We can go down to Coron, or all the way over here to Manolo Fortich. Yeah, there's a lot to see in Cagayan de Oro.

42:04 Feel free, guys, to chime in with any thoughts or questions that you have. It's great to see so many folks on here. I really appreciate the support. I think this is the most viewers I've had on a live stream before. Wow. Guys, if you can run up the likes, it definitely helps with the distribution of this content.

42:38 I'm just trying to work on some more ideas. I need to flesh out some more notes and get the next video together.

43:00 Does anybody have any interesting experiences this weekend? Did you do anything fun? I was mostly moving into my new place, so nothing too exciting. But yeah, next weekend should be more interesting. I think next weekend I'm going to do a trip with a friend of mine, and that should be exciting. I'm going to try to do more of a travel-style vlog.

Travel Vlogging Challenges

43:22 I noticed when I did the poll, a lot of you want to see more travel stuff. I'll explain why I haven't done as much travel stuff, but why I'm willing to do it. One, my travel stuff doesn't seem to get as much engagement. I've done a few travel-style vlogs, and it just doesn't seem like they get picked up as much. I don't know if it's my titles or my thumbnails.

43:46 But the audio is a little bit trickier too, because if you're in environments that are less predictable, it's harder to predict background noise. So, what you've got to do is basically mute the audio and then dub over it, which, I don't know, the pacing in putting it together is more complex. Not saying I don't want to do it, but it becomes more complex, and there's a learning curve to it too.

44:14 I've learned how to do talking-head videos; I haven't learned as much about how to do solid travel content. If the audience doesn't engage, I tend to prioritize content that I feel like can help grow the audience. I also feel like other people do travel content really well, better than myself. So that's another factor, but I'm not opposed to doing it.

44:41 It's something I'd like to do. I need to make some notes and think more about what I would cover in travel-style content. Maybe I'll set up another channel. I've got a few different channel ideas. I want to split off my interviews into another channel.

45:06 That's probably one of the biggest ones. I feel like me doing talking heads and interviews in the same channel could confuse my audience. I know Mark from Every Man Has a Story does that, and he doesn't seem to have issues, but it's something I've been thinking about.

Future Content Ideas and Stories

45:46 We'll probably go for about 15 more minutes, and then I will be rolling along to try to get my day started here. I've got so many ideas; I'm really excited about the future, guys. I think there's a lot to come.

46:19 Feel free to chime in with any questions, comments, or thoughts you guys would like for me to cover. I do want to do more stories; that's something that a friend of mine suggested. I wouldn't mind doing the story of my first day in the Philippines, and then the story of my first day in Thailand. I think those stories would be interesting.

46:38 My first day in Cambodia... well, I don't know if I could. To be honest with everybody, that might be members-only content. I don't know if I could talk about my first day in Cambodia. It was an awesome day, but not necessarily safe for public consumption. But yeah, I think those two would be interesting: first day Philippines, first day Thailand.

47:15 I don't know if I remember my first day in Mexico; that would be an interesting one too. First day in Colombia, first day in Peru. Yeah, I think I remember my first day in Peru as well.

Holiday Plans and Weather

47:54 Yeah, feel free, guys, to chime in. I think those would be the most interesting ones. Maybe some of the changes I've noticed, but I don't know how interesting that would be.

48:28 Does anybody have any upcoming plans for the holidays? Travel plans? Going anywhere fun or interesting? It's getting cold in North America, I think. It's still hot here. I talked to a friend of mine about this and asked him, 'Does it cool off?' because I remember when I came here five years ago, it seemed to cool off in like, late December, early January. It seemed to be perfect weather then.

49:12 They said it doesn't really cool off, and I'm noticing what they mean. It doesn't really feel any cooler right now than it did several months ago. It's still kind of hot and humid.

Meeting Viewers and City Costs

49:39 It's not letting me scroll up for some reason. Oh, I apologize, guys. It was not showing me the comments; it was just showing me the top comment. So, Gerard, that would be an interesting tour of the new place. Let me get caught up on these comments. I'm sorry, guys. For some reason, it just started showing me the top comments.

50:15 So, December 20th, we'll be in Dumaguete until January 3rd. Doug, feel free to send me a message. I'd be happy to meet up. And let me know if you're open to doing an interview. I totally get it if not, but I had a friend tell me, 'Look, you've got to ask. You've got to shill. You've got to ask people. If you don't ask, you can't expect to get as many interviews.' So, I think it might be interesting, but like I said, if not, totally fine.

50:42 Cagayan de Oro is much more affordable than Cebu City's uptown area. A four-bedroom house is renting for 25k. Yeah, I think Cagayan de Oro is almost like a mini-Cebu. It has some of the same vibes of the bigger city you get from Cebu, but of course, it's at a more reasonable price point. And I felt like you had there a lot of western-style restaurants, conveniences, and amenities.

Weather Forecast and Channel Ideas

51:10 Grim says hello from Alabama. Just wanted to comment for the algorithm. Welcome from Alabama. Nice to meet you, Graham. Thank you for supporting with the algorithm. Maki AI, what is the projected weather in the next two weeks? Great question. It says it's going to be raining, at least for the next week, but it hasn't really. We haven't really had that much. So maybe some hours around noon, it looks pretty sunny out there right now. Maybe the clouds are rolling in. I haven't been outside yet this morning, so that's something I'll do after the stream.

51:58 Discerning Dash: Too many people do travel videos. Yeah, see, that's how I feel. Travel videos are kind of saturated and it's super competitive, such that there are way more talented people at that kind of content than myself.

52:13 I like different playlist sorting instead of different channels. Grim, that's not a bad idea. Gerard, it is about 9:00 a.m. Have you ever watched 'It's Me' YouTube channel? I don't think so. I'll take a look though; that's a good suggestion. Window guys, hey, it's me. Let me see here. I'll just pop that in my...

52:49 Wow, I don't know why he's never popped up for me. Looks like he's got a solid channel.

Latin America vs. Asia

53:29 Okay, cool. Doug, that's great to know. Yeah, if you can, Doug, reach out to me on email, and we can organize something. Doug says, 'I would do an interview. I've had an interesting expat life; quite a lot has been South America.' I'm a fan of South America. I think South America is wonderful. It's certainly close to the United States. I think a lot of guys, like one of my subscribers, I can't think of his name, he mentioned he's from Norway. I don't know why his name is escaping me right now, but he mentioned he's not interested in Asia; he's interested in Latin America.

54:03 I'd like to get back to Latin America at some point. It's not top priority right now, but it is intriguing. There's a lot more to see. I'd like to see Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Those four are very high priority for that part of the world. For me, I also wouldn't mind doing, now this would have to be planned out well because there are some safety concerns, but I'd like to do a backpacking trip through Central America, starting with...

54:32 Through Central America, starting with Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. His channel does not pop up for you because he's married, so it's a different channel vibe. Other channels target new guys to the Philippines and talk about relationships. His channel popped up for me way back.

55:04 That's a great point that I'm not a married content creator, so it's going to be a different vibe. Oh, sorry about that, guys. Thank you for catching that, Doug. Sometimes a vehicle without a muffler will come by, and I don't think it sounds the best on your end.

56:22 Thank you guys so much for coming in and participating and sharing comments and thoughts. I'm not quite ready to wrap up, but I just wanted to thank everybody for your patience as I try to grow the channel and find solutions to the different challenges of vlogging. It's a really exciting and fun time to be on YouTube and growing a community.

56:47 Thank you so much, Doug. By the way, I think we'll have a lot to talk about and interesting things to discuss. A lot of guys are interested in Latin America. They feel like Asia is super far away from their home country, and there's a stronger cultural difference versus Latin America. In my opinion, Latin America felt less like a jump culturally.

Life in the Philippines

57:12 I personally felt like I adjusted faster in Latin America than I did here in Asia, even being Asian-American. Latin America reminds me more of the US, especially because I lived in California and Colorado, two states with substantial Latino populations. It just didn't feel like as much of a stretch.

57:55 Hey Tony, good to see you. I'll probably push it out a bit longer because Tony has been with us since day one. When I first started doing this channel and doing streams, it was me and Tony chatting back and forth. That encouragement and support when I was starting off helped me to stick it out.

58:21 I've talked to a few friends with big channels that have told me they wanted to quit several times. But having that core fan or subscriber base helped me to push through those difficult times and really made a huge difference. It helped me to get through the early days and keep moving forward.

58:46 Tony has been a big help, supporter, and encourager of the channel. Everybody should thank Tony for his generosity, his time, and his financial contribution to the channel. How's it going, Tony? Always good to see you, man.

New Location Benefits

59:08 I've moved locations. This location is going to be so much better for me to create content. I was out in the provincial area, and it was not good for me to make content. It was too noisy, very far, and super inefficient. I was traveling 40-45 minutes each way to get to downtown city.

59:27 Now I'm in the city and I'm walking distance from several different filming locations. I never would have thought I would find a place in this area at this price point that I found it at, but through word of mouth, a friend told me about this building. It's fantastic, the management is nice, and I have more privacy here.

59:51 I've got a desk here, like a proper desk too, a nice desk I can work with. So, all around, it's going to be great. I'm going to be trying to put out a video every day. We'll see if I can keep up with that level of production. I want to keep it high quality too; I don't want to just put out a video for the sake of it.

1:00:15 I'm sleeping a lot better here. That's a big one for me because when I don't get a good night's sleep, I have brain fog, I can't think clearly, I have a bad mood, and a bad attitude. That comes through my content. I like to be more charismatic, but when I'm half awake, it just doesn't come through as much.

Early Supporters and Channel Growth

1:00:42 Tony, I saw it before you retracted it. That was a good one. Grade nine. Oh man, that's so funny. Thank you, Kevin. I really appreciate that. Kevin is a new friend of mine, and I'll be seeing you on Thursday, Kevin. So, the last week at our location, there have been some private events, so we've had to be flexible and work around that.

1:01:16 I should be there Thursday, Kevin. See Tony. When I first met Alex, it was his first day of grade nine. He was a quiet, shy guy. Now he's a popular kid on campus, but still remembers the dudes that were his pals when he started out. I would not be here today without the early supporters like Tony, Mike, and Paul.

1:01:52 I'll never forget them, and I still consider this the early days, really, until I hit like 10,000 subscribers. I'm still going to be calling this the early days. To me, it's still a micro channel, a baby channel. The snowball is starting to pick up a bit more, but I'm still very much in the early innings.

Philippines as a Long-Term Base

1:02:15 I would like to do this channel for the next 40 years. That's kind of the goal. The long term is that this channel will document my life in the coming decades because I want to go to a lot of different places. I want to live in some different places.

1:02:36 I see the Philippines as potentially being a long-term home base. It's got a lot to offer. The Philippines is easy mode. You've got English, and especially in Dumaguete, you've got Western amenities, a community, and people helping you level up. The visa is very accessible.

1:02:55 Of course, dating if you're a single guy is great in the Philippines. There's just so much to love about it. Once I grow the channel to a more substantial level, I can go all over Asia from Manila. So, for me to get to other parts of Asia, I'll fly to Manila and then fly to other parts of Asia.

1:03:17 Indonesia is on my radar, not too far from the Philippines. So, the Philippines is a great base, not just for YouTubers, but in general. There's a reason you see so many foreigners here. They're very welcoming here; they get the sense here, more than maybe any other Asian country I've been to, that they're happy or welcoming toward long-term residents.

Lifestyle Choice and Welcoming Culture

1:03:45 It's not just the vacation or the traveler that is welcome here, but also those who want to live a different lifestyle. This is a lifestyle choice to live outside of your home country. I enjoy it a lot. I don't think it's for everybody, but hopefully, this channel can cover some areas that I feel don't get covered as much.

1:04:14 Calvin explained you were moving. Yeah, I'm liking the new place a lot, Kevin. It's fantastic. I'll be happy on Thursday to share a bit more about the location. I don't want to share it publicly, but something I'd be happy to share with you in person.

1:04:14 Calvin explained you were moving. Yeah, I'm liking the new place a lot, Kevin. It's fantastic. I'll be happy on Thursday to share a bit more about the location. I don't want to share it publicly, but something I'd be happy to share with you in person.

Nepal and Travel Aspirations

1:04:30 Any thoughts on Nepal? It has that esoteric, mystical Cusco feel. Nepal is interesting to me, Tony. I actually had a guide for Everest offer to sponsor me for an Everest Base Camp trek if I would record it. He said, 'Hey, if you vlog it, you could just come with us, we'll cover your costs, we just need you to vlog it.'

1:04:30 Any thoughts on Nepal? It has that esoteric, mystical Cusco feel. Nepal is interesting to me, Tony. I actually had a guide for Everest offer to sponsor me for an Everest Base Camp trek if I would record it. He said, 'Hey, if you vlog it, you could just come with us, we'll cover your costs, we just need you to vlog it.'

1:04:59 I don't know if that offer still stands. It sounded like it was evergreen, like, 'Hey, whenever you get to Nepal, we could just do this.' So, Nepal is up there, one of my favorites. I'm going to mention one of my favorite bloggers, Gabriel Traveler. He's actually a fellow Canadian, Tony. He grew up in the Vancouver area and then moved back to the States.

1:04:59 I don't know if that offer still stands. It sounded like it was evergreen, like, 'Hey, whenever you get to Nepal, we could just do this.' So, Nepal is up there, one of my favorites. I'm going to mention one of my favorite bloggers, Gabriel Traveler. He's actually a fellow Canadian, Tony. He grew up in the Vancouver area and then moved back to the States.

1:05:23 I think he's a dual citizen, but I'm a huge fan of Gab. He's a very mild-mannered, down-to-earth guy with a point-of-view perspective. It doesn't feel flashy or over the top; I feel like I'm in his shoes going through these countries. He's also done a lot of budget travel, so his style is very relatable.

1:05:23 I think he's a dual citizen, but I'm a huge fan of Gab. He's a very mild-mannered, down-to-earth guy with a point-of-view perspective. It doesn't feel flashy or over the top; I feel like I'm in his shoes going through these countries. He's also done a lot of budget travel, so his style is very relatable.

1:05:52 Personally, I love Gabriel Traveler's content and his style. Nepal is high on my list. I'd like to go to Nepal at some point. I might try to dovetail that with India. It needs to happen sooner rather than later because I've heard India and Nepal can be pretty densely populated and not necessarily as comfortable as Southeast Asia.

1:05:52 Personally, I love Gabriel Traveler's content and his style. Nepal is high on my list. I'd like to go to Nepal at some point. I might try to dovetail that with India. It needs to happen sooner rather than later because I've heard India and Nepal can be pretty densely populated and not necessarily as comfortable as Southeast Asia.

1:06:32 But it's an interesting vibe there. Herbalder's videos in Nepal are really interesting, and lots of English is spoken there. The people seem really cool. So, when I first landed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, one of the managers of the hotel I stayed at was from Nepal. He was from Pokhara, which is close to where you fly into for the Everest Base Camp trek.

1:06:32 But it's an interesting vibe there. Herbalder's videos in Nepal are really interesting, and lots of English is spoken there. The people seem really cool. So, when I first landed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, one of the managers of the hotel I stayed at was from Nepal. He was from Pokhara, which is close to where you fly into for the Everest Base Camp trek.

1:06:56 He was super friendly and welcoming, a very kind man, and a good ambassador for Nepal. I think you have to be pretty hardcore to stand Nepal. I've heard the weather can be chilly, obviously, being up in the mountains with the effects of altitude. It's not necessarily the sunny, comfortable beach vibe you get here in Southeast Asia.

1:06:56 He was super friendly and welcoming, a very kind man, and a good ambassador for Nepal. I think you have to be pretty hardcore to stand Nepal. I've heard the weather can be chilly, obviously, being up in the mountains with the effects of altitude. It's not necessarily the sunny, comfortable beach vibe you get here in Southeast Asia.

1:07:26 But I'm not knocking it. It's an adventurous place, a place I've really wanted to go for a long time. I used to...

1:07:26 But I'm not knocking it. It's an adventurous place, a place I've really wanted to go for a long time. I used to...

1:07:32 I wanted to go for a long time. I used to climb forers in Colorado, and so to be in Nepal, uh, where you've got that high altitude lifestyle, zero infrastructure in the mountain villages, isolated too. It's a little bit harder there as far as like I don't see a lot of vloggers being based there. I know people pass through there a lot, but I don't think it's quite like Southeast Asia where people come and settle down for a long time.

1:08:07 I also don't know about the Visa situation, so maybe there are long-term decent options. I just haven't heard as many people talk about it, but it is a place I do want to go. I debate on like, I mentioned earlier in the stream, I thought about seasonal work in Alaska. I thought, work six months, save up all my money, come over here.

1:08:28 But India needs to happen, and it needs to happen before I get too much older because it's not, you know, it's sensory overload. I mean, you've got honking traffic, shouting, just a lot of different kinds of pressures and things like that. And then Nepal could be part of that trip, so maybe just do four or five months in India and a month or two in Nepal, something like maybe half and half. I'd have to work that trek in there at some point.

Future Work and Tech Industry Changes

1:09:04 But there's a lot to see up there. But, um, yeah, sensory overload, especially for those of the quiet disposition, definitely for an introvert. Then it's, yeah, it could be overwhelming from what I've heard.

1:09:30 Listening to the birds singing, it's a lovely, lovely place.

1:09:48 What kind of video I want to do today? I've got so many ideas. So I may just try to land this seasonal job in Alaska. I may be washed out of tech unless hiring picks back up around the New Year.

1:10:04 Tech is changing a lot with AI. The role that I used to do, I think it may be like eliminated because they weren't necessarily getting an ROI on it. I was a sales development representative, and you're setting meetings, but a lot of the times the meetings are not converting right, so they're not showing an ROI.

1:10:51 And, you know, they're not necessarily getting like a return on investment. So yeah, so I may be washed out of tech. And it's, what's the word I'm looking for? So I thought about doing seasonal work and kind of bouncing back and forth.

Members-Only Streams and Live Schedule

1:11:09 I don't necessarily want to spend the money or borrow the money to go back to college. And doing an office job, like it's just hard to go back to that lifestyle. I'm not totally opposed to it, but it's, yeah, it's just a big change.

1:11:38 Yeah, thank you, Tony. It's good to see you and good to chat. Now that I'm in this new place, I am going to be trying to incorporate more members-only live streams. I do get some trolls on here, and they just tend to be distracting.

1:12:26 I should be able to. I'm going to try to do like one main live stream per week. Monday morning seems to be good. I know it's helpful for people in North America because it's late night there. I think it may be kind of, it's probably not the most convenient time for people in Europe, probably around, it's probably early morning in Europe. And then it's, I guess it's convenient too for people here in the Philippines.

Budgeting in the Philippines

1:12:52 But yeah, it's, um, it definitely helps to kind of balance out like video after video. And I think too, it helps people with interaction and getting to experience Q&A style.

1:13:34 But yeah, feel free to chime in with any questions or thoughts. If I am washed out of tech, Tony, then I'll probably do seasonal work off and on while I grow the channel. There's a lot of interesting things for me to cover that would help me save up some money.

1:13:53 Okay, Billy, what's your average budget and pay? I aim for like, I don't know, 60k a month or so. I undershoot that. I think that's a reasonable price point for most people to start unless you're like a hardcore traveler and you want to live Filipino style. Then it's, you know, it's hard.

1:14:19 I personally think most people are not going to be happy going much under like 60k per month. I know some people talk about micro budgets, but I think most people would not be happy living like totally Filipino style in every way. And that amount too will allow you to move around a little more.

Cost of Living in Cebu vs. Other Cities

1:14:38 And well, the key, Billy, is like I don't live in Cebu. So in Cebu, you can find places less than 20k. It's more so in IT Park where you're going to pay more. If you live on the outskirts of Cebu, you live in different parts of Cebu, then that's where you can find more budget-friendly accommodation. But the more modest budgets, they're just not going to apply to Manila or Cebu, especially these days. Both of those cities tend to be pretty pricey and getting more expensive because they get a ton of international attention.

1:15:15 You get a lot of people who land in one of those two cities with a lot of money to spend. So yeah, I'm not, I don't have to be in Cebu. So where I'm at is fine. But yeah, it's definitely worth looking at other cities if you're more budget-conscious. I think Cebu is just going to be a harder fit.

1:15:47 Oh, no, let me correct. My total budget is 60k per month, but I often undershoot that because, for me, like I don't ride a motorbike. So one, I don't want to ride a motorbike, but two, that saves me money. I don't necessarily travel around a lot.

1:16:19 20,000 would be rent in Cebu. So yeah, I couldn't live on that. I know people that do, just to be fully transparent. I know people that do live on 20,000 per month, but that would be very hard for me to pull off and be comfortable. Could I do it in an emergency situation? Sure. I think I could do it, but it would be a major sacrifice in terms of quality of life.

1:16:45 At that price point, we could talk about a 20k budget. You'd be living in a Filipino-style apartment, a very, very small apartment. You would not have aircon, where here I have air conditioning. You would be probably cooking your own food or buying like, maybe if you went to a fruit and vegetable vendor or something like that. But it's just a very modest budget. You wouldn't be traveling, you wouldn't be able to go around. You'd probably have a very limited social life, like you're not going to go to coffee shops on that amount.

1:17:23 And the big thing is that you don't have room for error. When you're living on that 20,000 peso per month budget, you cannot afford to have a health issue. You cannot afford to make any kind of mistake. So for me, having the higher budget isn't necessarily about living high on the hog, it's about having room for error, especially when you're early on.

Budget Management and Quality of Life

1:17:45 As you live longer overseas, typically some people say their expenses go up. I found my expenses actually dropped down because I learned how to live more efficiently. I know places that have better pricing, I know what things cost, I don't overpay for things as much as I did when I first got here. I know how to do things in an economically efficient way and get the most value for my money.

1:18:16 So yeah, I would say, and you don't have to max out your budget. You know, like I said, I could afford to spend 60k, I don't spend 60k, but that's roughly what I think, as far as being a bachelor goes, I think that's really you're better off at like the, I would say the 90k budget, maybe 95k is a safer bet, especially if you're closer to retirement age and you're more at risk for health concerns or health challenges.

1:18:45 You don't want to be living on the edge, right? If something happens, then yeah, exactly. If you want to be close to malls or getting around by walking, you're going to typically pay more. It's just going to be more expensive because a lot of people really like that walkability. They like being able to walk to malls, they like being able to walk to coffee shops, they like being able to walk to western-style amenities or restaurants. So anytime you're around that kind of environment, you're going to be paying a premium for that.

Cebu as 'Tutorial Mode'

1:19:19 So yeah, Cebu, especially when you're first getting started, Billy, Cebu is a great option. I look at it, I call it kind of like IT Park area, what I would call tutorial mode, where you're still getting the lay of the land, you're jet-lagged, you're getting used to how do I get my money right? I've got money in the bank, how do I access it? You've got all these, you got these training wheels, as I like to put it, that are going to make that process a lot easier for you.

1:19:48 And you'll just be able to adjust a lot better. By the way, guys, please give us a thumbs up if you're enjoying this content. It really helps with the algorithm. So yeah.

Affordable Apartment in Dumaguete

1:20:08 This place is like 8,000 pesos per month. So that's about, let me just pop it in. I'm paying about $137 at today's exchange rates per month for this apartment. It's a studio apartment. I don't have a kitchen. I do have aircon.

1:20:31 I don't cook, so to me, not having a kitchen doesn't really matter. I prefer going out to restaurants. I live in close proximity to many different restaurants within walking distance, dozens. I mean, more restaurants than I can reasonably cycle through. Very convenient location.

Visa Extensions and Immigration

1:20:55 Is immigration asking for more info when you do your extension? How do you extend your visa? Is it monthly? No, so the first extension is after one month, and then each subsequent extension is every two months. So I just go through immigration. You can hire a visa service, nothing wrong with that. I'll probably go to a visa service if I stay here at the year or longer mark. They really start to ask more questions from what I can tell at the one-year mark.

1:21:26 I've talked to some visa agents about it. I've just arrived in August, so I've been here for about three months. So when I go to do another extension in nine months, I'll have to have some more information.

1:21:38 I have to have some justification for staying here long term. By then, I suspect I'll be in a relationship, and so for me, that would be the information I'd provide to immigration, like, 'Hey, I'm seeing somebody, it's getting a little bit more serious, and I'd like to stay to maintain that relationship.' They just want to know you have a legitimate reason for staying. That's just the main thing. I suspect I'm not going to go into further detail. I'd recommend if you have questions, reach out to a Visa service or go and talk to immigration. I can't speak for them, but yeah, that's what I'll keep it to.

1:22:28 Lincoln, I was trying to watch on my phone, but it doesn't have chat. Did you already say how much? Yeah, so this place is cheaper. Location is key, which would be higher if I'm close to malls. Getting around with walking, a dating scene is great. I mean, it's just not comparable to back home. It's just a lot better. I get numbers and contact info of women all the time, just about every day, not even trying. I just do it for fun sometimes. I'll just ask, going for her contact info, just to see what she'll say because, worst-case scenario, they'll be your friends, right? I mean, you don't have to date every woman you meet, but sometimes they're in a relationship, or they have a single friend, or a single cousin, or a single sister.

Dating and Financial Boundaries

1:23:34 Yeah, so I'm closer to town and saving. Now, I do have aircon here where I didn't at the last place. So with my aircon bill, I expect to balance out. I'll probably be paying about the same, but I won't be paying to go back and forth, and I won't have to rush home as much. Like, you kind of worry when you're living out in the province and you're not riding a motorbike. Am I going to miss the last trike, or am I going to overpay for a trike? Here, I don't worry about that. Yeah, it's nice to be in the city for sure.

1:24:33 Yeah, the Jeepney stops around 7 PM, I think. 7 PM is when the last Jeepney stops. So where I'm at now, like if I can't get a trike, I could just walk. It's like a 30-minute walk.

1:24:51 My issue is some of the dating sites, a lot want money assistance, maybe for studies. How do you respond to this question? Yeah, so you mentioned the dating scene. I've been talking to Christian Filipina about a sponsorship, and I'll probably agree to that. I just need to talk to them more about the finer details of that, but I think Christian Filipina is going to be a solid option. You just have to have boundaries. You have to be okay with saying no without feeling guilty. It's really up to you what your budget is, what your means are, what you can afford, and what you can't afford. If they want assistance, it really comes down to what you feel comfortable with. I would say have boundaries, and if it's something you can't afford, you can't cover for whatever reason you don't feel comfortable paying for that.

Dating Scene in the Philippines

1:25:54 I tend to think you shouldn't be sending money until you've met in person and had some dates. I look at it like there's a difference between dating money and girlfriend money and wife money, right? Like if she wants you to cover her cell phone balance, that's reasonable, right? If she's chatting with you and you're enjoying communicating with her, that's reasonable. It's totally different if you've never met her and she wants you to replace the roof on her house or buy her a car. So many guys, I think, struggle with boundaries. They struggle with loneliness and think they can just buy their way to affection, and I just don't think that's a solid long-term plan. I've definitely had some women here hit me up for money, and as soon as I say no, the attention turns off.

1:26:46 Now, the advantage I have is that I'm in the Philippines. So if they are not reciprocal, or if they're only interested in money, that's fine. There are so many nice women here that it's just not a challenge to find a nice Filipina here in the Philippines. There are so many lovely women in many different cities, provinces, regions, and cultural backgrounds. You're not going to run out of nice women here. Some guys get in their head like, back home, where maybe it's not easy to find a girlfriend or a wife, they think they're going to be lonely forever. It's not like that here. If you want to stay single here, I think it's harder to stay single than it is to find a good relationship here because there are so many lovely women here in the Philippines.

1:27:50 Yeah, Tinder is more used for relationships here. So I've used Tinder some, but I don't use it as much because now I just meet women in person. But that's the big thing is I would say apps are okay for learning about culture and having some basic conversations, but I think they're valuable. I think they have a place. I don't necessarily know if you... I see, I'm torn on it because there are tradeoffs. I look at it like there's a trade-off with the apps. They provide some benefits with some costs. It's not a perfect solution, nor is meeting in person a perfect solution. So you have to just accept the tradeoffs.

1:28:42 I think one of the things that appeals to a lot of older Western guys about the Philippines is the ease of meeting women and dating. Yeah, dating is just a really big draw for guys here. There's no way around it, it's a major appeal. It's just a lot of fun too, to just be in this environment where you can meet women. You don't like in the US, there's this pent-up frustration. You go to cities and the guys are all aggressive and like, have this pent-up frustration, this rage, because dating is so disheartening or discouraging or bad. And you don't have that vibe here. Everybody is just more chilled out. You see a lot of guys in relationships here, and in my opinion, there are so many nice women here that you don't feel like you're having to mate guard.

1:29:47 Crude, maybe crude is not the right word, but back home, you see guys super protective of their girlfriend. They've always got to have their arm around her and this and that, like they're trying to fend off the outsiders. Here, most of the guys that want to be in a relationship, they can be in a relationship. Most of the guys that are single and want to be single, can be single. So it's just not all this pent-up aggression that you see in the West.

Dating Culture Differences

1:30:13 How quick do you move in a girlfriend? From your experience with exes, it depends. It depends on the situation. I don't have experience with that one, so that one's not one I can really speak to. A lot of bloggers say they have had zero success back home and haven't even tried talking to a woman in years, and then they arrive in the Philippines and overnight, they meet women every day. Back home for me, it's cultural issues. I just don't really align with the culture in the West, so I don't really date a ton of women in the West. I never had issues when I was younger dating in the West, and as I get older, I found more and more the good ones settled down and were taken.

1:31:07 The difference between the West and the Philippines, broadly speaking, in the West, the good ones are taken. Here in the Philippines, there's plenty of good women who are single. So that's kind of a difference there. And also the age. The average age in the West is much older. The average American is like 40, and if you take out the major cities, it's probably even higher than that. Like if you go out in rural America, there's every rural town or small town I've lived in has been majority like senior citizens. And where here, the average person is like 27. So if you want to date somebody who, like for me, I'm 32, so I wouldn't mind dating somebody that's 27. The woman I'm chatting with now, I think she's about to turn 27, so we're five years apart.

1:31:55 That makes sense. I'm not out looking for a woman who is old enough to be my mom or something like that, no offense, but that's just not what I'm looking for.

BGC and Expat Bubble

1:32:18 BGC looks so modern, but it would come across a higher cost of living. Yeah, BGC, you definitely pay a premium for that. 30 in a wake-up, that guy lives in BGC now. He recently moved there. I like his channel a lot. He does some interesting content, but you pay a premium for that, right? You're going to pay high rent in BGC. You're going to have those big city kind of lifestyle.

1:32:58 I look at it too as kind of a bubble. You're surrounded by other expats in many cases. I don't know if I necessarily want to live there, I guess because I've lived in big cities in America, maybe it's that I've had that kind of BGC quasi-BGC lifestyle.

1:33:19 So yeah, does a Filipina approach the expat, or are most shy? Yeah, many Filipinas that would approach you, you need to be cautious of them. Most Filipinos are kind of shy. I've had Filipino men introduce me to their Filipina friends, and they, the Filipinos, immediately, like they're shy and they start giggling and kind of walk away a little bit. So they can be shy. And the ones that will cold approach you, you've got to be careful about them because a lot of those...

1:34:00 about them because a lot of those ones that are bold like that they've got some kind of ulterior motive. They might be hunting for your wallet. So yeah, be cautious around anybody in general, any woman in general, that approaches you. I see some well-said things on the apps, you can find people from all over and be more selective, but I prefer the local.

Meeting People and Social Receptiveness

1:34:26 Yeah, I agree. There's value to be had in the apps. You know, there's the reason so many people pay for them and use those services, but it's not the same as meeting in person.

1:34:39 Congrats on losing weight. It's not easy to lose weight. I've been losing some weight here in the Philippines too, just from walking and exercising a lot more, being more mindful of my diet. It's fantastic.

1:35:00 It took me about a week on my three-week trip to adjust talking to women there in the US. You get so used to being hesitant because women can get offended or take a simple hi as negative. And especially at work, you don't want to mix work and dating. That's a quick way to lose your job.

1:35:16 So most guys do come here and they're, you could say, very shy, very reserved. I felt that way. It took me some time to get out of that mindset. My friends were encouraging me, 'Hey, just go talk to her, just go say hi.' I still hesitate a little bit, but not nearly as much as I did back home.

Community and Social Atmosphere

1:35:37 And I made a lot of great female friends that way, and romantic interests as well. People here in general are just so much more social and receptive to talking and chatting, getting to know you. They're curious about people, like back home, people are just focused on work, they're so stressed out, they don't have time to relax and have a conversation.

1:36:00 They're constantly looking at their watch, like, 'I got to be here, I got to be there, I got to do chores, I got to do this, I got to do that.' Here, people's lives are more relationship-oriented in general, so they'll make time to have a conversation with you. They'll talk to you for 10, 15, 20 minutes, maybe longer.

1:36:18 You just don't have that social atmosphere in the US. There's no more sense of community. People don't really take family as seriously, so most people in America are isolated and they don't really have that vibe going on.

1:36:40 I did swimming for one month before my trip and lost 12 pounds. I gained it back though.

1:36:43 Where are you going in Asia, Stoic? You mentioned you're going somewhere in Asia.

1:37:01 Oh, okay. Have fun, man. Safe travels.

Life in the Philippines vs. USA

1:37:09 It's a good decision. I'm glad I came over here. It's definitely a better and happier life than I had back home, and I don't miss the United States at all. I miss a few people, I miss a few friends, that's about it.

1:37:29 I don't miss the lifestyle, I don't miss the stress, I don't miss the cultural problems, I don't miss the crime, I don't miss the winter weather. There's just very, very, very little I miss about the United States. It's just not what it used to be.

1:37:43 It doesn't offer the same opportunity that it used to offer. It's very stressful, people are very stressed out, they're very wound up. People cannot afford to live like the life that they used to be able to afford to live.

1:37:58 And I don't think that America's coming back. I had conversations with expat friends of mine that have basically said, like, the middle class is done in America. It's just not a thing anymore. You're either rich or you're poor, and there's not much in between.

Economic Changes in America

1:38:16 It used to be that that was like a California or a New York thing, but these days I think it's like everywhere in America. People suggest, 'I'll move to a small town.' The small towns are just as expensive in some ways as the bigger cities, relative to income.

1:38:39 Potential. Lincoln, okay, cool. I looked into it. Want to go soon?

1:38:45 Yeah, I don't know if I see myself going back to Vietnam anytime soon, but it's worth seeing. I think.

Travel in the Philippines and El Nido

1:39:11 And I'll probably wind down in the next 10 or 15 minutes, guys. Feel free to share out your experiences.

1:39:50 The Philippines is great. It's such a nice country to travel in. It's easy to get around.

1:39:54 Yeah, thank you so much, Tony. I appreciate it. It's a great chat, and it's been great to share a bit about the new place and share a bit about these experiences.

1:40:07 And I haven't been to El Nido, so it's on my radar. One of my buddies is going to make a trip up there. He suggested I go up there. I don't know, you know, with the new place, maybe in the spring I'll go to El Nido.

1:40:29 But El Nido is definitely appealing. A lot of people really like it up there. It's a bigger city than Dumaguete, and it comes with some, you know, some conveniences and some bigger city amenities that Dumaguete doesn't have. I've actually heard housing is cheaper up there too, so I don't know if that's true or not.

Cost of Living in Small Towns

1:40:49 I haven't been up there. Yeah, some people definitely suggested El Nido to me.

1:40:55 Lincoln, even small town land, 10 or more years ago, you could get a large plot of land for two to five K per acre. But even in tiny towns, it's getting to 50K plus because so many people are fleeing big cities.

1:41:06 And then in the country, you've got a budget for driving more. You've got a budget for entertainment. You know, if it's not at your house, you're going to spend more to get to it. Yeah, small town living is not cheap anymore.

1:41:23 You can also overpay for certain services because it's less competitive. You know, if I know I'm the only good electrician in town, I can charge an arm and a leg. Or if I'm in a big city and I've got to compete with other people, then maybe there's some more pressure on pricing.

1:41:39 Like I found food to cost the same or even more in smalltown Colorado than it did in San Francisco area because San Francisco is more competitive, there's more restaurants, there's more variety. Small town America ain't really a good deal anymore.

DIY Repairs and Trade Skills

1:41:57 The cheapest rents in small town America are easily $800, $900, $1,000 a month, and there might not be any good jobs in that area. There might not be any jobs that pay more than $15 per hour. So you're not necessarily getting a deal anymore in a small town like you used to.

1:42:56 I'm selling a house in Moab. Oh, wow. I used to live in Grand Junction. I don't know if I made it out to Moab. I'd rather do a four-hour drive, four hours round trip, and do my own plumbing than fix then pay unskilled people what they quote.

1:43:07 Yeah, and then if they do the job wrong, you're spending more time and money to fix it, go behind them and correct it. And it's, oh wow, yeah, Junction is interesting. What a small world.

1:43:22 Lincoln, yeah, Junction. I lived there and I lived in Delta for a while too, in 2021. I lived in Delta and yeah, I'm familiar with the area. What a small world. Man, I wish we could have met up, but we didn't know each other back then.

1:43:40 But yeah, if you can do it yourself, you can really do it right. Of course, then you're spending your time. But I thought about going to trade school, I thought about getting into the trade back home, starting up some kind of trades business to fund my travels abroad.

1:44:01 And yeah, it would take some time to build up. It would take some time to learn, but it could certainly, you know, it's like very few people have gone into the trades or learned about the trade, so it could be a lucrative option.

Deceptive Practices and Moab

1:44:21 Sure. Yeah, I think I may wind down here. Thank you so much, everybody, for joining. It's time for me to roll out.

1:44:32 That's why I try to explain to folks why I need to sell and not rent. Yeah, there's definitely a trade-off there. But yeah, everybody, if you're watching this on replay, give us a thumbs up. It helps with the algorithm. Comment down below if you enjoyed this live stream, and subscribe to the channel if you want to see more content like this. And we'll see you all soon. Take care, everybody. Bye-bye.

1:44:34 paid $3 to $500 and somehow end up with a worse leak. Yeah, it's like it's easier to break things worse than it is to fix them. And some people, they just don't have the skills to do it, but they want that money, right? They want to get paid.

1:44:46 And so they'll agree to the job even though they don't know what they're doing. I've got a story too about my grandmother and hiring this guy she thought she could trust, and he used old parts. Like he did a repair with super old parts, which caused an expensive problem, and they had to bring in somebody else to go and fix it.

1:45:06 Of course, it's her fault for trusting the guy. The guy is known to be a scam artist. But yeah, there's a lot of deceptive people back in America.

1:45:15 Yeah, Moab is going to be extreme because they know people like, they know you're remote, right? Moab is a remote location. You're not really close to anything, and people have to take it or leave it when it comes to pricing. It's like, do you want your tourist accommodation to be fixed, or do you want to just have like broken amenities so that the tourists leave bad reviews and they complain and maybe they try to get a refund?

Concluding Remarks

1:45:49 So yeah, Moab, your hands are kind of tied, both as a tourist and as a business owner.