# Looking for work - but why Philippines?



## emasonhome (Sep 20, 2018)

Hi,

My husband and I are looking for professional work opportunities and are considering a number of different countries as options (Australia, Singapore, Cayman Islands, Taiwan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, China, Vietnam). 

We both have significant Project Management Experience in the UK Automotive industry. 

Having read through a number of previous posts and guides, I'm interested to hear from anyone working in this sector, or that has migrated to the Philippines. Would love to chat about your experience, opportunities and visas to help narrow down the options (we hold UK Passports).

Thanks!


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Howdy And welcome to the forum. I would assume you will get some pretty good information from the other country pages that you posted on. However, The Philippines, as nice as it is, is primarily a retirement destination rather than a country for working. There is employment here for expats but mostly in the service industry such as hotel and bar management. Even then, the salaries would be so low as to not be worth your time if you are needing to work for a decent income.
Hope you are able to find something in the countries you have searched in.



Best Regards

Asian Spirit


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## emasonhome (Sep 20, 2018)

Thank you for the warm welcome and for taking the time to reply.

I agree that the Philippines is not a typical place to go for working expats, however I have recently read that places like Manila and Cebu are driving more foreign investment, industrial development and growth. That, coupled with a staple manufacturing sector, the presence of automotive companies such as Mercedes and BMW, and trading partners such as the US gave me cause to think that it may be an option.

To give a little more background on us... One of the reasons for the diversity in the countries we are considering is because we recognise there is a trade off between making money and living somewhere we would really enjoy. Having been to the Philippines a number of times this definitely falls into the latter category for us. As the cost of living is so low then as long as the income of both of us covered more than the cost of living, this would be a consideration for us.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately there is no real automotive manufacturing here in the PI, just car sales and repairs. I am not sure where your work experience would fit in at the sales or repair side of the industry. I am not sure the car dealers pay very well either as I recently took my 12 year old Toyota to a nice Toyota dealer in Tarlac and their hourly rate is only 500 pesos/hr ($10 US). They have huge overhead with a large staff and large air conditioned showroom. Smaller independent shops might only charge 50-100 pesos/hr. So not sure even management makes a very good wage.

Also locals do not look favorably on foriegner's who have a business or are working here. I would just not do it. To retire here is one thing but work here is another. I personally would not consider work in either Mexico or the Philippines. 

Tim


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

It's important to remember too that companies here will not and are not allowed by law to hire for a position that a local (Filipino) can do and thus a work permit/visa will not be issued.
If you work here without that permit you run the very serious risk of arrest and deportation. It is just not worth the risk. For a look inside of the area where foreign detainees are held, read This Article. A stark, harsh look at a place you never want to be.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

lost_lyn said:


> But it's not. The Philippines is insanely expensive!


I am not sure where you get this idea from.

According to this site

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Manila

Manila, usually considered the most expensive city ijn the Philippines has a cost opf living index of 37.5 or the 413th most expensive city in the world out of data on 526

Cebu ranks 425th.


Davao ranks 458th.

Provincial cities are generally considered much less expensive than the major cities but offer fewer benefits and options.


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