Blog
Stay updated with our latest articles, insights, tips, and comprehensive guides designed primarily for expats planning to settle in the Philippines.
Filipino Languages
The Philippines is one of the most linguistically dense countries on Earth. For a relatively small land area, it manages to pack in 180+ living languages, most of them Austronesian.
culture 26-12-2025
How To Survive Rolling Blackouts In The Philippines
Unreliable electrical utilities are a fact of life in the Philippines. If you have a reliance on electrical power (meaning, you can't have it down for hours or days, potentially weeks following a major natural disaster), you need to have a backup plan that will likely be some combination of generators, solar, and battery solutions.
expats 26-12-2025
Finding Competent Professionals In The Rural Provinces
There comes a moment in every expat’s rural Philippines journey when optimism dies.
culture 25-12-2025
Skills Every Expat Living In The Rural Philippines Should Know
This post completes the 'Be Your Own Maintenence Department' Series. What skills sets should you have if you are living in the rural Philippines?
expats 25-12-2025
'Finished' Means Something Different Here
What does "finished" mean when building a house in the rural provinces?
expats 24-12-2025
Parts and Replacement Equipment To Keep On-Hand
This post outlines parts that one should have on-hand for routine maintenance and emergency repairs.
diy 23-12-2025
Essential Tools for Expats Living in the Rural Philippines
Living in rural Philippines means one thing very quickly becomes clear -- you are your own maintenance department. Skilled labor exists, but availability, timelines, and quality vary. When something breaks, waiting days or weeks is often not an option.
diy 21-12-2025
Non-Human Guests In Your Philippines Home
In many parts of the Philippines, a perfectly sealed, pest-free home is not the baseline expectation. Instead, there is a widely accepted understanding that some creatures will live with you, not because of neglect, but because of climate, architecture, and cultural pragmatism.
culture 21-12-2025
Essential Car & Motorcycle Maintenance Tools & Parts: Rural Philippines Edition
A car or motorcycle is only as reliable as the maintenance schedule the owner follows. In the rural provinces, you are going to have almost no choice but to do these activities yourself.
diy 21-12-2025
Security Cameras Around The House
So, you've gone to all the trouble of building a house in the Philippines. Even with the lower cost of living, there's still a notable investment that has been made. You want it to be safe. You want to be safe while you are living there. No guarantees in life, but one common approach to improve the overal security situation is to deploy a set of security cameras.
security 20-12-2025
The Filipino Fiesta
Filipino fiestas are community celebrations held in towns, cities, and barangays across the Philippines. They are typically tied to a patron saint, a religious feast day, or a local historical event, and they blend Catholic tradition with pre-colonial customs, family obligation, and social display. Nearly every locality has at least one fiesta each year.
culture 20-12-2025
My Latest Diesel Generator Issue
I was traveling for a couple of weeks in early December for work. One day after I left, the girlfriend texted me with a picture of a puddle of diesel fuel that was accumulating under the new generator we just bought two months ago. Insert profanity-laced, sarcastic tirade here.
diy 20-12-2025