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 Well Worth the Price Nov 01, 2009
I have visited the Philippines several times and plan to retire in the Cebu area in early 2011. The book contains a lot of practical and invaluable information about the different visa options, banking, cell phones, rent vs buy, legal aspects, etc. The author obviously knows the subject and has done a lot of research but I wish he hadn't spent so much time on his view of Filipina women and all the acronyms (YSA, YWC, NWG, etc). There is certainly truths in these generalities but I feel it cheapens what is otherwise an excellent resource.
 Great and informative read Sep 01, 2009
Hello Larry,
I just finished reading your book "A man's guide to life and love in the Philippines". I found the book to be very helpful. It has lots of information I think I will need when visiting and ultimately moving there to live. The book has loads of insight into the culture of the country that I find helpful. I also like the humor you inserted to keep the book upbeat and entertaining. I also appreciated the way you had the book chapters broken down into categories.
Larry, to be honest, I have read several books recently concerning the Philippines. I hope to visit there in October. If I like what I find during my 3 week visit, I hope to be moving there in January for an extended stay, possibly forever. Most that I've read will be just placed on a shelf for possible future reference. Your book, on the other hand, will be re-read before my trip and most likely taken along for reference as needed.
This book was a great help to me. You did wonderful and informative work, while keeping it entertaining, keep up the good work.
many thanks,
Gary
valuable advice Aug 17, 2009
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
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Comparing Four Books About the Philippines Jun 23, 2009
I hope to visit the Philippines in the near future with an eye towards possible retirement in the Philippines. To educate myself I have ordered and read four books about the Philippines, namely:
Philippines Travel Guide - by Jen Peters
Culture Shock Philippines - by Alfredo Roces
A Long Way to go for a Date - By Henry Makow
A Man's Guide to Life and Love in the Philippines - By Larry Elterman
"Philippines Travel Guide" is just that, a Travel Guide, pure and simple, and an excellent one at that. It will tell you about all the places to go, where to eat, where to stay, where to have fun. However it does not offer a lot of insight or practical information about what it would be like to live or retire in the Philippines.
"Culture Shock Philippines" is a book written by a Filipino, from a Filipino's point of view, describing Filipino culture, customs and history. If this is what you are looking for it is an excellent book. However, it is written from a Filipino's point of view, not a Westerner's point of view. It does not offer a lot of practical advice about what it would be like to live or retire in the Philippines.
"A Long Way to go for a Date" is a short and light weight book about a man's quest to find the perfect Filipina bride to bring back to his home country of Canada. It describes his visit to the Philippines to meet and date his potential bride and his experiences in bringing back and living with his Filipina wife in Canada. Ultimately it describes how it all went wrong and turned into a nightmare. This book is written in the first person by the author, Henry Makow, and although Henry sometimes comes across a bit pompous and selfish, I never-the-less like what he did, which was to "put himself out there". It is a very personal account in which Henry is not afraid to say who he is and what he wants, even if you don't agree with it. This book is very light on practical information, but it will give you some nice insight into the process of finding a Filipina wife. However, it was Henry's goal to find a wife to bring back to Canada, not to live in the Philippines, so it did not correlate perfectly with what I was looking for.
"A Man's Guide to Life and Love in the Philippines" like "A Long Way to go for a Date" is also written in the first person, but unlike "A long Way" the author does not "put himself out there". He describes things from more of a distance, so that you never really get to know who the author is. This is my only criticism of the book. Perhaps it would have been a bit more entertaining if it was a bit more personal. That being said, the book never advertises itself to be a book about the experiences of the author, it claims to be a "Guide" about life and love in the Philippines, and on that level I think it succeeds very well. It contains a great amount of information both about what it's like to live in the Philippines and about the practical side of making a life for yourself in the Philippines. It also describes in much detail the process of how to go about finding a Filipina girl friend or wife. In this regard it is interesting how he doesn't just lump all Filipina together as homogenous. He describes a number of different types of Filipina women and what each of them is like and what they are looking for. In terms of my goal of possibly living and retiring in the Philippines this book was by far the best match.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Fun to read May 20, 2009
With the exception of a few chapters like: How to use internet applications (zzz), how to buy a house in the Philippines (not interested) and how to buy a cell phone in the Philippines (I'll cross that bridge when I come to it) I found most of this book pretty entertaining and interesting.
The book provides plenty of information without taking itself too seriously and has a nice sense of humor to it. The book also doesn't shy away from any topics, the kinds of things you wanted to know but were afraid to ask.
This is not a "travel book", this is a "what's it like and what you can expect" book.
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