Women from the Philippines have long been tarred with the cliché of being gold diggers. Every myth, every cliché and every stereotype has an element of truth to it. That’s how they came into being in the first place. But seriously, while there certainly are some gold diggers in the Philippines (and there are gold diggers in every country and every society on Earth), that’s as big a generalisation as Filipinos thinking all Westerners are wealthy. That’s not true, either. Most Westerners are far from wealthy, many grinding out a modest existence from week to week.
What’s The Definition Of A Gold Digger?
Simple: Someone who is only after you for money and NOTHING else.
That’s it, short and sweet in one little sentence.
Many Filipinos Are Extremely Poor
While there are some wealthy people in the Philippines, the majority of people living in this nation in the tropics are dirt poor. A lot of family members usually all live together to save on accommodation costs, and the living conditions for your average Filipino household can be pretty ordinary at best.
Many Filipinas do seek a better life overseas, but not always through finding a foreign partner. Sometimes they’ll achieve this through sponsorship via a relative already living overseas. It’s true that some Filipinas marry for money, but then so do many women in Western cultures as well.
Most Filipinas who seek a foreigner to date and marry are generally hoping for a better life abroad. But can you really blame them? Most of us aspire to improving our lifestyles. It’s a natural part of being human, and it doesn’t matter whether you are 
male or female. Yes, these girls do want something better, but that doesn’t mean they are marrying for that alone. Filipinas love romance and having someone special in their lives. They want companionship and stability and to feel loved. So, just because she may want a better life for herself, doesn’t mean she’s not into you. Any guy who keeps his wits about him will be able to tell the difference if he takes his time and really gets to know the woman he’s interested in.
Wages Are Pitiful
Even someone with loads of training and a good career gets paid very little in the Philippines. And unskilled workers get next to nothing, maybe 400 pesos for a 12 hour day (that’s about AUD $12 at current exchange rates). On top of that, the country has become obsessed with education, to the point where you are required to have a college degree to get a job in a retail store.
A lot of people have the assumption that the Philippines is a super cheap place to live, and that the low wages are relative to the low cost of living. True, you can live cheaply here if you have no debts and want to live like a native; with no power or running water and want to run around the jungle searching for food. But if you want to live a regular life, in a house with water and electricity, TV and the internet, the costs go way up. I come from Australia, and some things in the Philippines (electricity, fuel and cars for example) are more expensive than they are in my country. Many things are around the same price, while some things are much cheaper (usually services, but not goods).
Overall, all things considered, I’d say the cost of living in the Philippines for any reasonable standard, is about half of what Australia is. Yet wages here are not half. They are about 1/10th to 1/20th of what they are in Oz. Huge difference.
You Pay Every Step Of The Way
There are little fees for everything in this country. While they may not seem like a lot individually, they all add up. Every sort of tourist attraction or local activity will have fees attached. Environmental fees are a common one, even though extremely little is done in using those fees to care for the environment. There are customs fees to receive personal parcels in the mail, fees to go to some beaches, terminal fees, all manner of paperwork fees if you ever need anything from a government department. There always seems to be some sort of add on costs for just about everything you do here.
There’s No Social Security System
That’s right, no unemployment assistance or government pensions in the Philippines. If you have no job or you’re too old to work or incapable of working due to injury or illness, guess what? No cash. That’s just the way it is in this country. For this reason younger family members usually look after their parents financially. Or at least help out as best they can.
This is one of the main reasons so many Filipino people seek out overseas employment. In fact, a third of the country’s population is working abroad at any given time. They can earn much more money overseas and are often paid in US dollars. Much of this money is sent home to their families in a bid to try and make life a little easier for everyone closest to them. It’s just the Filipino way, born out of necessity as much as anything else.
What Woman Doesn’t Want A Guy To Be Financially Stable?
So, are Filipinas gold diggers because they want a better life and want a man with some financial stability? Name me a country in the Western world where women don’t care whether their man has a good job or any money. How many women in America, Australia or Great Britain don’t care whether their potential partner in life has any financial security, or is at least working towards attaining that?
One of the very first questions a guy gets asked by Western women when first meeting is “What do you do?” or “What’s your job?”. It’s just the way it is.
Yes, there are some gold diggers in the Philippines, but there are in every country. The vast majority of Filipinas don’t deserve to be labelled with that title. They are just decent, humble women who pray to someday have a better life.
And who can hold that against them?
