Manila...what's it like to live there?

[msjones]

Has anyone on these boards lived in Manila? We're looking at teaching opportunities at an international school there.

 

I know the city is enormous (15 million?) and that it's hot and crowded and polluted. I haven't heard much good about it other than the proximity to other travel opportunities.

 

Can anyone tell my why I would want to live in Manila? Or why I wouldn't?

[Heather in Neverland]

Well I have never lived there but I have been there for conferences and I would describe it as being like Detroit but with palm trees. Big, chaotic, dirty. I didn't care for it. Plus the Philippines gets hit with typhoons all the time. One hit while I was there and it was SCARY.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Has anyone on these boards lived in Manila? We're looking at teaching opportunities at an international school there.

 

I know the city is enormous (15 million?) and that it's hot and crowded and polluted. I haven't heard much good about it other than the proximity to other travel opportunities.

 

Can anyone tell my why I would want to live in Manila? Or why I wouldn't?

 

I've stayed in Manila. The longest I was there was a week.

 

Manila is a city of contrasts. There are nice neighborhoods which are gated (with guards with real guns) and have tall walls with barbed wire around the houses. Then there are the shanty towns which are "houses" of tarps and corrugated tin or plastic which grow up around the freeways and other spaces. Malls have tons of nice merchandise which is (by US standards) pretty cheap but you have to go by the guards at the door with automatic weapons and sawed off shotguns to get into the malls. Manila driving is legendary - lane markings? Those are optional! Most people who are middle class and above hire drivers to take them around.

 

The houses themselves are fairly clean and neat. They are fairly Western in their furnishings although Chinese style decor is very common. Most homes that are middle class and above hire maids, houseboys and cooks. It is considered almost a social duty to do so.

 

The biggest thing I had to get used to as a Westerner were the bathrooms! Even in middle/upper class homes, water is very scarce. You might have 5 min. of water - all freezing cold - before the water runs out. We would fill a bucket with the cold water (all the homes had a bucket in the shower), soap up, and then rinse ourselves off with a ladle in the bucket or with a quick burst of water from the shower head. While most toilets were flush, most were not hooked up to the water supply. You had to use water from the bucket to "gravity flush" the toilet. If you are out at a mall or a sightseeing place, you needed to bring toilet paper or money for the toilet attendant who would sell you a couple of sheets of toilet paper for a few Philippine pesos.

 

We went in February which was the dry season. It was in the high 90's with what felt to me to be fairly high humidity. When you hit the wet season, the water scarcity that we experienced probably goes away (not sure on this) but the humidity goes even higher!

 

Most educated adults and even children know some English. The people are very kind and generous.

[msjones]

Well I have never lived there but I have been there for conferences and I would describe it as being like Detroit but with palm trees. Big, chaotic, dirty. I didn't care for it. Plus the Philippines gets hit with typhoons all the time. One hit while I was there and it was SCARY.

 

Detroit with palm trees... Ick.

 

My friends who live there do say the heat and pollution and traffic are oppressive. But, they love the people and have been happy there.

[msjones]

I've stayed in Manila. The longest I was there was a week.

 

Manila is a city of contrasts. There are nice neighborhoods which are gated (with guards with real guns) and have tall walls with barbed wire around the houses. Then there are the shanty towns which are "houses" of tarps and corrugated tin or plastic which grow up around the freeways and other spaces. Malls have tons of nice merchandise which is (by US standards) pretty cheap but you have to go by the guards at the door with automatic weapons and sawed off shotguns to get into the malls. Manila driving is legendary - lane markings? Those are optional! Most people who are middle class and above hire drivers to take them around.

 

The houses themselves are fairly clean and neat. They are fairly Western in their furnishings although Chinese style decor is very common. Most homes that are middle class and above hire maids, houseboys and cooks. It is considered almost a social duty to do so.

 

The biggest thing I had to get used to as a Westerner were the bathrooms! Even in middle/upper class homes, water is very scarce. You might have 5 min. of water - all freezing cold - before the water runs out. We would fill a bucket with the cold water (all the homes had a bucket in the shower), soap up, and then rinse ourselves off with a ladle in the bucket or with a quick burst of water from the shower head. While most toilets were flush, most were not hooked up to the water supply. You had to use water from the bucket to "gravity flush" the toilet. If you are out at a mall or a sightseeing place, you needed to bring toilet paper or money for the toilet attendant who would sell you a couple of sheets of toilet paper for a few Philippine pesos.

 

We went in February which was the dry season. It was in the high 90's with what felt to me to be fairly high humidity. When you hit the wet season, the water scarcity that we experienced probably goes away (not sure on this) but the humidity goes even higher!

 

Most educated adults and even children know some English. The people are very kind and generous.

 

This sounds depressing. I've lived in a part of Mexico with similar guards and roads and plumbing. But it was outside the big city and it was beautiful -- no pollution or real traffic. The beautiful setting and small town feel made up for the amenities I missed. But I don't know how I'd feel about all of that in the middle of enormous, crowded pollution and chaos.

 

We'll have to keep doing our research. Thanks for the very helpful info.