You’ve got questions, and I’ve got answers. Well, at least a few answers. If you have a question or want to send me your comments, please go to my contact page and drop me a note.
Us
Chien and I met on Cherry Blossom’s [blossoms.com] website. If you’re looking for a great place to meet a Filipina or you are a Filipina looking to meet a foreigner, I think it’s one of the best out there. There are some other popular options as well.
What’s most important is that you are cautious because there are scammers on both sides of the ocean. Some guys pretend they want love, but really just want to be a “sex pat” [a guy that just wants to boom boom and go] and there are ladies that simply want to get your money. So, maintain a reasonable level of caution.
We live in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines.
We met online at the beginning of 2018 and have been together ever since.
Philippines
I was chatting with different women on a dating website [Cherry Blossoms] and doing a lot of reading and research about where to meet a great woman, and where is a great place to make a home base for traveling around Southeast Asia. Since English is pretty common in the Philippines, and I know more than a few guys in very happy relationships with Filipinas, it seemed to be the best choice.
That depends entirely on how you want to live. You can live very cheaply if you live native-style here, but that means no aircon, just fans, local foods, and no expensive imports.
We live a more Western-style life, so it is more expensive, but still overall less expensive than living a similar lifestyle in the US. For example, we can go out to a very nice dinner at a great local Italian restaurant owned by an actual Italian from Sicily [his restaurant is named Sicily btw], and get great service, and incredible food, and be out the door for about $40, including a great tip for the waitstaff.
It’s worth noting that Bohol has been rated as the most expensive province to live in in the Philippines. Electricity rates are very high, gas/diesel prices are very high, and food prices are very high when compared to other places in the Philippines.
Wedding/Marriage
We originally planned to go to Thailand to get married, but that was before the Covid lockdowns changed all of our plans. We thought about getting married here in the Philippines, but we couldn’t get the necessary paperwork, again, because of the lockdowns. That’s when we heard about more and more ex-pats and Filipinas getting married online, so we did some research and found WebWedMobile.
WebWedMobile offers online wedding services through the state of Utah in the United States. Yes, these are 100% legal, real weddings/marriages, and they worked great for us.
Since we had to do a full international package, our online wedding cost about $1500. This included extra certified copies of our marriage license and wedding certificate, plus priority international shipping.
If you want to have a Philippines wedding, it is going to take more work to get to your wedding day. There is specific paperwork that you must have to get a marriage license in the Philippines.
Your fiance will need a CENOMAR [Certificate Of No Marriage] and other paperwork
You will need proof that you are not married, and/or legally divorced. The Philippines will accept a document known as a Legal Capacity to Marry that you can get at the US embassy. It’s just a sworn document that you are not married, and/or legally divorced and can get married. I think it cost us about $50.
Not easily. Divorce or annulment is a very long and expensive process in the Philippines. There is currently legislation being discussed that would make the process easier, but for now, it is not an easy or fast process.
Yes. They take marriage infidelity pretty seriously here in the Philippines. We regularly see news reports of a spouse and their paramour getting arrested while doing the dirty deed because the spouse being cheated on knew what was happening and called the police.
If you can’t stay loyal to your spouse, then marriage in the Philippines might not be the best choice for you.
Dating
Chien and I met on Cherry Blossom’s website. If you’re looking for a great place to meet a Filipina or you are a Filipina looking to meet a foreigner, I think it’s one of the best out there. There are some other popular options as well.
What’s most important is that you are cautious because there are scammers on both sides of the ocean. Some guys pretend they want love, but really just want to be a “sex pat” [a guy that just wants to boom boom and go] and there are ladies that simply want to get your money. So, maintain a reasonable level of caution.
I chose Cherry Blossoms for online dating because they have been in the business of helping Western men find Asian wives for decades. I have heard of some of the others, and checked a few of them out, but when it came to price, features, and trust, I went with CB.
Side Note: On most of the international online dating apps, Cherry Blossoms included, the women get a full-featured profile for free, and the men pay a monthly or longer-term subscription fee. The discounts for going with a longer-term subscription can be significant, so it’s worth considering.
The main advice I give to everyone that asks me this question be they another ex-pat or a Filipina is to use some common sense, be very cautious, and don’t be in a rush. There are good people and bad people on all dating sites and you need to separate the good from the bad, the scammers from the genuine, and the trash from the treasures.
Two Hours or Two Islands
This is the advice given to me when I first moved here and was single. It basically means that if you live here, don’t date women in your local area, date women that live at least two hours or two islands away.
Why? You ask. Well, dating a Filipina who lives at least two hours or two islands away is quite helpful if things don’t work out. It is helpful when it comes to family possibly living a bit too close. And, it helps keep your local reputation in check.