How about USA?

[Lady_Death]

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whats with the racist attitude though? and why all the negatives about the USA? why not keep an open mind, it is after all the DESTINATIONS forum. there are a lot of places to go and sights to see here

[EZRA]

Bisag asa ka mo adto naay BATI, naa say NINDOT ... pero naa sab gyuy mga lugar nga naglabaw ang bati kaysa nindot.

In contrast to Blongkoy's post... you don't have to go to Thailand or Sri Lanka to enjoy life, You need not to go to Maldives or Kiribati to get a tan and squish your toes on the sand, and Philippines is not the only place that you can fall inlove.

The thing about the U.S. is that you can find almost anything you want diri... and havng a good life isn't much of an obstacle.. unless you're allergic to WORK.

[Blongkoy]

I have never seen poverty so dehumanizing than in the USA. I have never seen people so rushing up to survive than in the USA. I have never seen people of monumental failure than in the USA. If your thing is to get pushed around in a snake pit, go to the USA.

[EZRA]

Dehumanizing poverty? ... My cousin works in Nigeria.. he said that instead of having animals as ROADKILL.. they have dead cadavers on the streets instead.

The world is all about survival, Blongkoy ... at least here, you work for your money. If you have a degree, then you have the less chances of being a failure. Even if you don't have a degree... you can still find work and earn a decent living.. you can even support a family if both you and your wife works. You work.... you earn, it's that simple. At least there's always places where you can find work.

In the Philippines (and any other third world countries) you can never do these things. A college graduate's future in the Philippines is uncertain... and a highschool graduate's chances of surviving? I guess that's a longshot. And Job availability?

You may come from a well-to-do family, BLONGKOY.. you seem well-traveled enough.... but for an ordinary Filipino, U.S. doesn't sound that bad at all.. even if you end up being pushed around in the snake pit. (Although it's always okay to push back).

[babyGuRL]

Blongkoy- well what can i say to that.. u put it so nicely. On behalf of all Filipinas- thanks.

but really in my opinion if i was given a choice to live/work between the US and the phils .. id choose the US thats it.

[irangejuice]

yeah cos your pay's got more buying power. fact.

[Blongkoy]

There is plenty of work opportunity in the USA. There is no question about that. What follows is a true story.

Juan (of course not his real name) was a hotel manager in Cebu way back. He went to the USA, New York City, to drive a close van to ferret his wife and other nurses to and back from the hospital. Another Pedro, a lawyer from Talisay, had a thriving law practice way back. His father was even a congressman. He went to the USA, to follow his nurse wife, where he now sells lumpia and empanada to other Filipino nurses. Of course, that is work.

The initials BSN --- this appendage for Bachelor of Science in Nursing nurses enjoy --- is now also attached to husbands like Juan and Pedro. This now means Binuhay sa Nurse. That is work too.

[Blongkoy]

Ezra, I do not come from a well-to-do family. If I and my family now fairly enjoy life, it is because we pulled our own bootstrings.

Oh, yes, I have travelled far and wide, prcesiely I could say, without batting an eyelash, that the Philippines is still the best for me. For me, Ezra, I am not saying for others too.

I have plenty of work associates in the USA until today. Many of them, though, now reside and work in places like Vietnam and Cambodia.

My only advice to those wanting to earn in US dollar is that --- earn them in anyway you want to earn them but please be prepared to spend in US dollar. What I am saying is that many of us want to earn US dollar but think of spending it pesos. This is not real.

[Blongkoy]

babyGURL, when you get to work in the USA, consider this lifestyle among many nurses:

Many of them work in as many shifts as possible. Then when they have all the money they worked for, they packed up their bags and blow it in Europe. Not bad, huh?

The bad part, though, is that you tend to work yourself to death. In Japan this called karoshi; in Thailand, people of this nature often resort to taking "horse medicine" or "bato" or "shabu" --- if only to keep themselves awake.

The last time I was in the State --- 7 months ago --- I was present in the burial of a nurse from around here in Cebu City. She died of overwork --- karoshi in Japan --- with no one from his immediate family here in Cebu knowing it. Of course, this is an extreme circumstance and does not represent the overall state of Filipino workers.

Work given to expatriates in the USA is often dirty, dangerous and low-paying. A US steelworker, he who romps up in skycraper steel beams with all the harnesses he can imagine, gets around $60 per hour. A Filipino in similar work situation gets around $14 per hour. Well, of course, that is still a lot of money.

[EZRA]

I have no idea about how much precisely those steelworkers gets paid but you also have to consider that UNION workers always gets paid highers.. but a Filipino Union worker would be paid exactly the same regardless of nationality. I guess it depends on the employment situation. I once talked to a Home Depot contract worker and he was telling about the difference between them and Union workers.. he basically told me that there's a $20 difference.

It's not unusual for nurses here to work double shifts but that's their choice.. like I said, they earn their money... they're not overworked since it's their choice to do it.. they're not underpaid either since a standard nurse's salary in the NY area is about $35/hr .. time and a half rate for overtime. Basically.. life ain't that bad for nurses here.
Physical Therapists even have it better.... they get paid a bit more.. their work is not as heavy (since they have PT assistants and aids).. and they have the option of opening their own clinic and earn even more.
A close friend of mine opened up his own clinic about 5 years ago... now, he has 6 clinics all across Florida... he drives a Lexus sedan, a Lexus SUV, and a Mercedes CLK (2 door sporty coupe). He also has a rather large house byt the lake... Not bad for working hard.
In the Philippines... most of the time, you don't find the fruits of your hard work.. here, it's guaranteed that you get what you worked for.


Blongkoy... it's true when People back home think about dollars and how much they're gonna be earning, they immediately convert it to peso and would say "damn! that's big money"... but regardless about earning and spending dollars, your $15/hr can still go a long way.

Baygurl.. are you a nurse? You planning on being one?