Expat Guide to Living in Iloilo City, Philippines (Part 1)

I’ve been living in Iloilo City, Philippines with my wife, who was born and raised in Iloilo City (an Ilongga from Mandurriao), and son, who was born in Manila, since April of this year.

My first trip to Iloilo City was in February of 2007. We decided to move to Iloilo City to spend more time with our family members prior to us going to California later this year. Prior to moving to Iloilo City, we spent a year living in Makati, Manila. Prior to that I was living in California, New York and Virginia. Before immigrating to the United States, I was living in Cambodia — actually, I was born and raised in Cambodia. So, geographically, I’ve come full circle — Southeast Asia to North America back to Southeast Asia.

Having lived most of my life in the United States, I took convenience for granted. When I wanted cheap clothes I would head to Wal-Mart or Target or Kohl’s. For groceries, I would go to Safeway or Ralph’s (there’s also a Ralph’s here in Iloilo but it’s actually a liquor store and not a grocery store). For a quick bite to eat, I had my choices of McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, etc. And, for a whole lot of everything, I always ended up at Costco. Read more »