Customer Reviews

A Man's Guide to Life and Love in the Philippines

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am recently retired and widowed and started planning to visit the Philippines in Fall, 2009. Like the first reviewer in this section I bought four books on the Philippines: a good guide book (Lonely Planet); Culture Shock, by A. Roces; A Long Way to Go for a Date; and Elterman's singularly unique guide book. I agree with Howp's views on the first three. But I am even more bullish on Elterman's book than Howp was...and I have now been in the Philippines for 6 weeks of a 12 week stay. I have three goals in being here. I want a warm place to winter every year, Jan to May; a good place for diving, snorkeling and sailing; and, hopefully to find a long term partner or wife. Any good guide book will get you around in the Philippines because the people are very friendly and helpful and most speak English. But Eltermans's book is indispensible. It contains practical information on almost every important aspect for someone with interests similar to mine. I am pretty tech savy but I found the section on cell phones and texting saved me time and frustration. And his explanation of the importance of texting and how to use it is helpful for anyone of any age wanting to meet and date Filipinas. Other sections on housing,transportation, getting an extended visa are also useful, going beyond a standard guidebook.

But the book's really strong suit is providing information on how to meet and date Filipina women. Elterman creates a typology of types of Filipina women who may be willing to date foreigners that has helped me manage a confusing situation. And he managed to do so while describing Filipino people in a positive and respectful manner which they certainly deserve. Any typology is just that, an abstraction and all real people are more complex than any description. But the guide provides rich and accurate description (in my limited experience) and subtle suggestions that are helpful to any foreigner who is seeking to date a Filipina or find a wife or companion regardless of age or how long they have been here. And Elterman does so in a fun and readable manner. I find myself consulting this unique book on a weekly basis.

This book is full of valuable advice, definitely worth the money!
Reading was enjoyable, I started it and didn't put it down until the end
I am married to a Filipina for 25 years in Australia, and have visited the Philippines many times
Still, I laerned a thing or two from the book!
The only negative aspect are frequent spelling mistakes (get a better proof reader, Larry!)
- hs

I have been going to the Philippines for many years, as I own a house there now, and plan to retire there. While I'm not into getting a new love -- my wife is a filipina, there is much informatin here about living in the Phiilippines. I know the Philippines very well, and I found much that I know to be true. And much that I still didn't know, but needed to. I can certainly recommend this book.

Some information in this book is not 100% correct, but I think it is an excellent effort and a very useful book. The main error I recall is that the author says a fiancee visa gives you 6 months to get to know your prospective spouse... in reality the time period is 90 days and the U.S. government specifically says that it is NOT supposed to be an introductory period but rather the final checks and arrangements on somebody you are already committed to marrying. It is a bit hard to understand how the author missed the mark like that on something so very central to what this book is about.

Also I wonder if the author hasn't been doing some rationalizing or wishful thinking on the subject of how completely accepted the young Filipina/old American relationship is in the Philippines. I was just over there and saw the 19/55 combinations and I was told they are viewed with a mixture of pity and displeasure... and the topic of considerable gossip. Well, maybe the person telling me that had motives to do so... I don't know.

One thing the author didn't hit was the subject of tipping. I have 3 books on the Philippines so far and none clearly state what the normal custom is there. I mean I'm sure they are happy to take my money, but do Filipinos usually tip at restaurants, and how much?

Another thing the book should have covered is diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. All the travel books and the U.S. government recommend drugs to protect from malaria for tourists, but I'm sure the native people are not taking any such drugs. What is the consensus among expats living in the country? Surely the expense and side effects of the drugs make it nearly impossible for long-term residents to continue taking them. A little insight here would have been really nice.

But overall I liked the book. The author comes across as a fairly decent person, and the book seems packed with useful information and good advice. I felt it was like having a long chat with a very knowledgeable yet regular guy.

I came across this book by accident actually! I was looking for a different book (which I won't name), but the title of this one caught my attention. After looking at the pages available to view on Amazon, I was intrigued even more (I think it was the acronyms.....very creative!)
I've spent a good deal of my life living abroad and I definately am not easily impressed this way (I've done alot myself)........However I love Larry's straight forward no BS approach to describing everything one needs to know if they are considering moving to the Philippines or meeting a lady there as well. He leaves no stone unturned.....I noticed that some other people who posted reviews were bored by parts of the book, but he covers everything that needs to be covered in the detail necessary! Not too little, not too much! It's like karate class! Though we want to, we can't start off like Bruce Lee! One needs to have an understanding of the basics before you get into a fight.......Larry shows he's not only knowledgable but thorough in his approach to the subject matter. Everything you will NEED to know at some point, he covers! He does it in such a way that doesn't make the Philippines out to be the "end all be all" best experience one will ever have (though it is clearly working out for him!!),nor does he make it a cautionary tale where one must follow his advice or fail miserably. He knows what to take from his own experiences and
research and just present it like it is.....no better, no worse. No embellishing and no grandstanding as if he is the consumate source of information on the subject. He puts it out there and you can decide for yourself!
That in itself is a very refreshing approach!
I definately think I've made a good purchase and I think you will to! I'm not in the market for a Filipina wife, yet I was able to thoroughly enjoy this book for what it is.......A very well written guide by a writer who has a personal interest in the subject matter and also the ability and presence of mind to present it in such a way that will benefit many people considering taking the road he took some 8 years ago!
Do yourself a favour and read this book...........You will be glad you did!

Although it may not have changed anything, I wish I had this guide before I started dating in the Philippines and finding and marrying my wife. It would have certainly flattened my learning curve. As it turns out I have a wonderful wife and daughter now so I'm more interested in using the section on retiring in the Philippines. This is really two books in one from a man's perspective. I read the first part of the book anyway and the author's observations about Filipinas are spot on and very analytical (my wife read it too and is in agreement). It helped me trust him on the advice about moving to the Philippines and he changed my views on some aspects of my plans to move there. The book far exceeded my expectations. If you're considering either dating or marrying a Filipina or moving to the Philippines, this book is indispensable, or at least worth many times its price and the time to read it.

Many people on here have already left great reviews of this book and ebook, so I am not going to go over points that have already been made. However, I will reiterate the fact that this book is a must for someone that wants to find love, romance, or simply a new life in the Philippines.

Larry Elterman is a no-nonsense kind of author that pulls no punches. He also doesn't market this book like a multi-level marketing, get-rich-quick scheme. Unlike the get-rich-quick scheme that screams all positive feel-good garbage, Larry tells you all the negatives of living in the Philippines as well, and how you can best protect yourself so that you are not left with any surprises.

As far as the positives are concerned, all that is discussed as well. I give Larry credit for the title of this book because in the end, most guys are interested in getting out of American for one reason: the wretched thing we call "The Dating Scene". Larry is very optimistic in that he assures you how much different life is in the Philippines with regards to dating, romance, and sex. Larry goes on about all the different types of women and what to expect in the long run. He spells it out from A to Z (at least in my opinion).

I did an interview with him for a podcast show I do called The Roller Steve Show. If you are interested in purchasing this book, I highly recommend you get a taste of what this author is all about.

[...]

One final note is that Larry is just like most of us. He is not rich, nor is he getting rich off of this book, which is one more reason why I give this book a 5-star review.

This book is a well-done book dealing with exactly what the title says. It has a colorful cover and a few key black and white photos inside. A real 340 pages without the scam of scrunched margins, super large type, adder blank pages, etc that you can find in some of these books from "little presses". Mr. Elterman is a longtime resident on one of the islands(7 years) and from internal notes by him the book was being put together Nov. 2008/Jan. 2009. It is current info. It is, as far as I can tell, the only book of its kind in English on PI. The style is very down-to-earth, interesting, and readable. The author seems like a normal over-35 year old with common general interests that probably co-incide with the average retiree or divorced-late-in-life male who is seeking serious relationship with a Filipina. Some info is nitty gritty detailed such as buying phone there and learning to text message communicate with it to your female friends. Because the Islands are 7,000+ in number the author can not go into detail about even the various spots of greatest interest; just short summaries. He mentions several on-line intro/dating/e-penpal sites, recommending one. He gives a page and a half of sampling of costs over there. He deals with scams, electricity brownouts, legal problems, recommends a good bank for money exchange, and on and on. Not a perfect book, but a very good one. For the travel info details in country look for the Jens Peters book, the newer edition--which somehow just went out of print(at least no longer available through Amazon.com). Quite a bit in the Elterman book deals in one way or another with "culture shock", so you may not need that book to ready yourself. Note: I have lived in Thailand over 4 years, Vietnam 3 years, and visited PI several times, for short visits.

Just finished reading Larry Elterman's superb description of retired life in the Philippines. As a foreigner looking to retire in the Philippines in the next 5-10 years I found Mr. Elterman's book to be very useful and informative. He provides advice on which cities to visit before committing to the purchase of a Philippine property. His suggestions allow a foreigner considering Philippine retirement to experience many different possible locations with each satisfying different aspirations and desires. I found his chapters discussing health care, road systems, various items cost comparison chart (US dollar Vs. Philippine peso), legal system and key cultural differences to be of particular value. I highly recommend this book for anyone considering either visiting or retiring in the Philippines!

This Book is maily for people who are over 40 years of age. It has alot of great information of just about every aspect of life in the Phillippines. Information included is also such as where somethings people can tend to get confused if they have never been in the Phillippines before. It makes it pretty simple to explain the differences. One of the best books I have ever read. I am under 26. So i am not saying if you are under 40 that this book won't be helpful or useful. It really can be useful and very intresting in my opinion. I am surprised that this book has not won any awards. I think is should have won a few already. When the exchange rate was mentioned, it is about the same as it is now when i am typeing this. I think if you are as young as me and thinking of traveling or you are who the book is actually meant for. Than this is a must buy for you. -Specter Lance