[GermanDude]

Does anyone here basically pull off the arbitrage thing...of working for a company in the US (or similar country), but living in a cheap (yet nice...) country? I'm thinking of friends who are enjoying life in Asia right now (but are basically broke and still get by) + of all of you south america fans..

Im wondering if that could be a much better move long-term than trying to make that 6figure salary that everyone seems to be after ...the field I'm in (online stuff) could possibly allow me to do that. not a sure bet of course, but seems more realistic than enjoying life while being locked up in a bird cage trying to get rich and complaining like all those parrots..

I remember someone liking it when I dropped a 2pac quote in the psat, so here's another one "Currency means nothing if you still ain't free"

[Lumiere]

Yeah I have been doing it sucessfully pretty much non stop since 2006

[manilaguy]

I used to live in Manila. I did lifestyle arbitrage and now i'm in the US making dollars (and walking on unlittered paved roads.. fuck yeah!!). Basically, I'm the odd one. I'll go back eventually when my cash reserves are sufficient enough.

I have a friend who works in a US bank, gets paid US dollars, and lives in Manila working for said US bank. Her life is good. The trick is to get paid in US dollars. She said her pay was adjusted but she still comes off way more positive on her income statement. Same deal with caucasian friend who works in India as upper-management in an engineering firm; he says he makes shit when converted to dollars but cost of living somewhat makes up for it... and his Indian wife makes good curry. shudder. Also check out Australian companies who have operations in Asia.

Cheap standard of living is a useless metric if you get paid/earn a third world income.

[GermanDude]

Where do you live & do you work for a company in the US / what kinda job do you work? consulting? running your own business? ...if I may ask ..

thanks! Im highly interested in this option..

[GermanDude]

thanks for your reply, too @ manilaguy (wasnt there, yet, when I read it).

when you did lifestyle arbitrage..what kinda job did you work? did you pull off getting a US-salary (not just getting paid in US-dollars, but also making as much as you would have gotten, had you done the job in the US), yet have the low cost of living?

or were you in a similar position as the friends you mentioned?

[manilaguy]

I was poking at the concept of lifestyle arbitrage, coming from being educated by jesuits in Manila and now working in the US. I never worked a day in Manila, although I can attest to how shitty my batchmates get paid for working the same amount of complexities that I do here. Life isn't fair, oh well.

Most of my batchmates work for American companies in the realm of outsourcing. I joke with a friend that it is more likely for someone in Manila to be working for an American company that it is for an American to be working for an American company in America (unemployment/outsourcing joke).

If you are German and interested in Manila, you can try reaching out to German-Filipinos. There is a well-established German community operating there as evidenced by former classmates and Germans in Makati. The national hero, the first filipino-player with a passport, Jose Rizal wrote a poem for Germany: A las flores de heizelberg.

[GermanDude]

thanks. never working a day in Manila sounds great, as well ;-).

Actually, I had 2 half-phillipino friends when growing up. I guess you all can guess which one of their parents was German and which one phillipino/a ;-).

Not sure if this has been discussed before...but.... is there an area in the phillippines, where women have this spanish/latina look? that one friend (a guy..) I mentioned was sometimes mistaken for being southern american, actually (certinaly looked more like that). ...and there is spanish ancestry/spanish city names in the phillippines, right?

[manilaguy]

(02-12-2011 04:17 PM)GermanDude Wrote:  

thanks. never working a day in Manila sounds great, as well ;-).

Actually, I had 2 half-phillipino friends when growing up. I guess you all can guess which one of their parents was German and which one phillipino/a ;-).

Not sure if this has been discussed before...but.... is there an area in the phillippines, where women have this spanish/latina look? that one friend (a guy..) I mentioned was sometimes mistaken for being southern american, actually (certinaly looked more like that). ...and there is spanish ancestry/spanish city names in the phillippines, right?

Like the poet Rizal(who lived 100 or so years ago), I have a German girlfriend who i think I'm still in love with, so i don't know. Word of caution, Germans would be down on the dating totem pole in respect to Americans.

If you want mestizas by the numbers then there is another city down south called Cebu. The problem is they are elitists in a different magnitude to date outside their in-bred circles. However, you will not have a problem dating a local native girl.. the more desperate the plight, the easier for you!

Good luck.

[Tommy]

(02-12-2011 06:01 PM)manilaguy Wrote:  

(02-12-2011 04:17 PM)GermanDude Wrote:  

thanks. never working a day in Manila sounds great, as well ;-).

Actually, I had 2 half-phillipino friends when growing up. I guess you all can guess which one of their parents was German and which one phillipino/a ;-).

Not sure if this has been discussed before...but.... is there an area in the phillippines, where women have this spanish/latina look? that one friend (a guy..) I mentioned was sometimes mistaken for being southern american, actually (certinaly looked more like that). ...and there is spanish ancestry/spanish city names in the phillippines, right?

Like the poet Rizal(who lived 100 or so years ago), I have a German girlfriend who i think I'm still in love with, so i don't know. Word of caution, Germans would be down on the dating totem pole in respect to Americans.

If you want mestizas by the numbers then there is another city down south called Cebu. The problem is they are elitists in a different magnitude to date outside their in-bred circles. However, you will not have a problem dating a local native girl.. the more desperate the plight, the easier for you!

Good luck.

Cebu and the area around Cagayan De Oro (not very safe)