Update: House Hunting In Manila

Well it has been a long 2 weeks, but finally today we put pen to paper and signed the lease. I wish I could say that the process over the last 2 weeks has been great, but they haven't exactly been the easiest.

We found the perfect property for us in Legazpi Village. Less than 5 minutes walk to the husbands work, and 5 minutes to Greenbelt shops as well so both of us are happy. And we have an awesome pub across the road which has a 4 hour happy hour each night. Woo hoo!

We advised our real estate agent that we were happy with the property and to draw up the lease for us. If you are working for a large company that has an in house lawyer it is best to have them look over your contract just to double check there is no tricky wording in there for you. We had a few small changes be made to our lease after having the husbands work lawyer review it for us. Nothing dramatic though.

One thing to be aware of is the deposit (aka bond) that a lessor requires. The common deposit over here is 2 months rent - regardless of the amount of time your lease is for. We wanted our deposit to be reduced from 2 months to 1 as we are only signing a 3 month lease. However after many discussions back and forth we ended up agreeing on keeping it as 2 months. That just seems to be the way it is. If we decide we are going to stay for 12 months that 2 months will roll over we wont have to pay any extra.

Also make sure if you have a fully furnished unit that you sign off on an inventory list as well. Our list makes mention of curtains (which haven't been installed yet) so we have held off signing this until Wednesday when we move in and confirm all of this has been installed properly.

Filipino people are very polite, however they are not very time efficient. Getting the rent cheque from my husbands work was like getting blood out of a stone. That probably would of been easier to be honest. You just need to keep on their case and stress the importance of getting something sorted on time as if you leave it up to them they will not deliver on a promised time. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to paint the Filipino people as dishonest or untrustworthy but the way business is done over here is different to back home, and to a Westerner if you do not understand this, you can see them as dishonest people.

So today the dotted line has been signed, the cheque has been handed over to be banked and in 2 days time we move into our condo in Legazpi Village. I am very excited and cannot wait to get out of the hotel and start living life together, as locals in this city.

Until next time,
Jacs xx

House Hunting in Manila

Today the boy & I went and looked at some Units (aka Condo's) for lease in Makati.
We have a budget of PHP50000 a month to spend on a rental, which works out to be about $1250 per month. In Australia this wouldn't get you very far, but thankfully over here we are able to have the choice of some nice & new fully furnished apartments within a 10 minute walk of his work, and the Greenbelt shopping area.

There doesn't seem to be too many Real Estate agents over here, mostly agents work as individuals rather than part of a company.
The last couple of days we have been going into unit blocks and asking the reception if they have any rentals available. This has seem to given us a better response.

Money talks in the Phils, which can be an advantage and also a disadvantage. Be a little bit vague with how much per month you are willing to spend, because we found with one person when we told them we want to spend up to PHP50000 all the properties were priced at PHP50000.

Here is some pics of a property we viewed today, which we are very keen on. This is located in the Legazpi Village area, just behind Greenbelt and Ayala Ave. This property in a new 1 bedroom condo, with gym & pool facilities onsite too. We have a couple more viewings set up for tomorrow and Thursday. Really hope we find somewhere to live this week, so we can move out of the hotel next week and start living life like a local.

The entry - into the lounge area

Little kitchen area

28th Floor Apartment ... VERY high up

I'll keep you updated with how we go house hunting.
Unit next time,
Jacs xx

What to pack??

What on earth do you pack when you are moving for 3 months, with the high possibility of that becoming 12 months??
Everything, you pack everything. Well that is what I did.
Thank goodness for Qantas and their new 30KG baggage allowance, because if we had only 23KG each we'd be paying a small fortune on excess baggage.
To me, 3 months can be a holiday. I spent 2 months travelling around Europe a few years ago and that was easy enough to pack for, because I knew I was coming home. But in the back on my mind, I know this isn't a holiday, this is our new life. We might not be coming home after 3 months.
A lot of people said to me 'take minimal things as you can buy everything while you are there' but what about all my comforts from home I don't want to leave behind.

29.3KG of pure craziness

Trying to separate my belongings from items I would take on holiday and items I need to live was quite hard for me. In the end I settled for the majority of my clothes, a small amount of my shoes (I bought about 7 pairs and for me that is good) only 4 handbags, and then the mother of all make up cases and toiletries.
I hate to admit it, but my make up alone weighed 3.7KG!

After being here less than 24 hours though, being close to the Greeenbelt area there really are a million different types of shops so if you do forget to pack something, you will easily be able to find a store that sells it. Including the kitchen sink.
Don't bother paying for excess luggage charges to come out here, save it for when you return back home. I know I am going to need it.

Until next time,
Jacs xx

We're moving ... To MANILA???

If you had asked me where in the world would I want to live as an expat, I wouldn't of answered Manila. I would of said New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris, or even Bangkok.

Nothing against Manila & it's people but I had never travelled there before, and it wasn't high up on my places to visit list either (I'm not entirely sure it even made the list, and if it did it was a transit airport on the way to Boracay)

So a month ago, back to normal life after marrying the man of my dreams & going on an amazing honeymoon the offer was made in passing to my husband that 'he'd be perfect for the role, but they never bothered asking as they thought he'd say no what with just getting married' 

He came home & said it to me, and we both thought about it.

I jumped online and asked my trusty friend google to tell me about Manila and I was pleasantly surprised at the results: 

The capital city & second largest city in the Philippeans - Manila is the central hub for business, education & transport -Manila has a reputation as a congested, polluted concrete jungle, and is often overlooked as a mere stopover for travelers aiming to reach other Philippine provinces or islands - Manila city is sprawling, bustling, and culturally complicated, with a colorful multi-cultural heritage and varied nightlife.

Ok maybe I, like many others haven't given this city the credit it deserves.

Four weeks later, many hours spent deciding if I can leave my dog & cat for up to a year (thank goodness for family) endless hours googling expat life in Manila, places to eat & drink & a contract being signed at work & we are locked it. We are becoming expats & fly out to MNL international airport on 1/1/14. Who said life after marriage was boring???!!!

I hope to use this blog as a way for family & friends to see what we are up to & stay in touch, but also hope it becomes a handy resource for others who are planning on making the move as that is the one thing I found a lack of when I was doing my research - there are no good blogs/sites ran by expats that give you an honest, first hand account of what expat life is like. 

Until next time,

Jacs xx