Coming to the Philippines may be easy for foreigners. Acquiring a visa to enter the country will not even make you sweat. The hard part of it is getting along the culture easily and the quest for a place to stay.The Philippines is a highly urbanized country despite being coined as one of the "third world". Just recently it was brought up to the level of "newly industrialized country". If you are an expat who's looking for a place to stay in the metros, it will be easier, but for those who are looking for a peaceful settlement away from the bustling highways, it will be a bit difficult, unless you know someone who is a native.
Before doing any transaction or deal, always make sure that the person who you are dealing with is trustworthy. Its a bad thing to note, but there are a lot of fraud fixers here and some who will take advantage at your being 'innocent' of the country. So if you're planning to move here, do your assignment and research first.
For the new and less experience expats, I suggest that you stay first within the metro, near the vicinity of the offices you need to visit in your first few months of stay. Yes, the first few months will not be too much enjoyable as you need to do a lot of department submissions like going to the immigration.
Staying in cities like Manila, Makati, Pasay, Parañaque, Mandaluyong, Pasig and Quezon City is advisable since these places are just a few minutes away from the major offices, including the US Embassy and other consulates of other countries. Big cities outside the National Capital Region that offers the same comfort are Cebu, Bacolod and Davao. Also, if you still want to be in the capital of the country but prefer not to stay in the metros, you can do so by choosing in any of the nearby provinces like Laguna, Cavite, Rizal or Bulacan. These areas are usually a few minutes to an hour away from Manila. Living in this places can let you live away from busy roads and polluted highways but not too far from the services you need.
Also, these places are generally 'safe' for newcomers while they try to incorporate to their new surrounding. It's like having a practice before you officially go on with your adventure to the whole county and travel each of the 7,000++ islands of the Philippines.
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