As you are reading my site I’m assuming you are hoping to find love in the Philippines, or are at least interested in the idea. It’ll be well worth the effort, believe me. If you’re not finding the woman you are searching for in your own country, then I highly recommend giving the Philippines a chance. There are so many beautiful women in this country; beautiful on the outside and the inside. You won’t be disappointed.

Finding love in the Philippines is not hard. It’s just a matter of putting yourself out there and making connections. There are loads of single Filipinas out there just waiting to meet you, but you’ll never know until you give it a go.

 

Referrals Through Friends / Relatives

Perhaps you have some Filipino friends. It doesn’t matter if they’re men or women. They all have friends and relatives back in the Philippines looking for partners. These families are big, so there is plenty to choose from.

Many Filipinas are looking to meet a foreign man and possibly move to his country to be with him. You can read why here. With this being the case they often put the feelers out to their overseas friends and relatives, and those friends and relatives will only be too happy to recommend you as a potential match if they like you.

Chances are this friend or relative may come to your country for a vacation and you get to meet face to face that way, but more than likely if you connect with one of these available Filipinas, you’ll probably have to travel to the Philippines to meet her for the first time. Your Filipino friends will offer you plenty of advice about what to do when you arrive in the Philippines, and possibly even line up some places where you can stay when you get there. They’re a very helpful bunch and they’re always keen to play matchmaker.

 

Dating Sites

Easily the best way to connect and get to know some potential ladies in the Philippines is via internet dating websites. There are quite a few good ones that target Southeast Asia in particular, and a number that are devoted to the Philippines. I chose Filipino Cupid for my search and I rate this dating site very highly as I met the love of my life through Cupid. You can read my review here.

Most dating sites are free to join and set up a profile, but they’ll often charge you a subscription fee if you want to communicate via email or video. It’s well worth the small cost, though. After all, who can put a price on love?

When you set up your profile, include at least three or four recent photos. Don’t upload pics that are years old as you don’t want to create a false impression if you do end up meeting someone in person. Always be honest on your profile, with what you say and with your images. Once you have a profile set up you start getting contact almost immediately. It’s quite a different experience to dating sites in say the US or Australia, where the women wait to be contacted. On a site such as Filipino Cupid you’ll find the girls are willing to take the initiative and get in touch.

Like I said, you’ll need to upgrade your membership on most dating sites if you want to be able to fully communicate with the ladies. As a foreigner you’ll get plenty of attention; loads of profile views and interest, and you’ll receive letterboxes full of messages. Some of the women making contact will be as young as 18 or 19, even if you’re considerably older. It can be a real ego boost having all these young Filipinas expressing interest in you. It’s a lot of fun, too. There are so many women to choose from and beautiful profile pictures to browse through.

 

Take Your Time And Communicate

Whether you find someone you like either through a mutual friend or via a dating site, take you time in getting to know her. If you met online, don’t give out any personal details right away. Save exchanging phone numbers until you at least know her a little. Just chat with online messages for a few days or so, then I suggest hooking up for a face to face chat on Skype or a similar video chat platform.

Something like Skype is a great next step as it’s the next best thing to meeting in person. You also get to see her for real and know that she really does look like her profile pics. Not only that, hearing her voice is also a major bonus. Video chat is just a much better way to get to know each other more, gauge how well you connect, giving you some good feedback to decide whether she might be the one for you. The only way to really know for sure is to spend time with someone in person, but at least video chat can help you decide whether you like each other enough to take that step.

Once you’ve commenced video chat there’s no harm in swapping those phone numbers. Rich or poor, Filipinas are crazy about their cell phones and they’re always on them. In the Philippines they have loads of cheap prepaid phone deals, which also includes deals on overseas contact. About a third of the country’s population lives and works overseas, so the local phone companies cater to that market.

 

 

Arrange To Meet In Person

So, you’ve connected with a lady you really like. You’ve chatted online, spoken on cam and regularly send each other SMS messages. How much do you like her? How serious are you about taking things further?

This is the real crunch point. You have to decide whether you’re willing to fly to the Philippines and meet her for real.

This is not always an easy decision to make, no matter how much you like each other. There is an obvious cost involved and time off work. If you have children in your care then you’ll need to make arrangements for someone to either look after them while you’re gone, or take them with you. And possibly the girl lives in a remote part of the Philippines, which can be complicated to get to. Chances are, though, if she has a semi-reliable internet connection, then she lives in an area with some infrastructure. Remote areas in the Philippines usually don’t have a phone signal, let alone an internet connection.

As I’ve said, take your time. There’s no rush. If she likes you, she’ll wait for you. She’ll understand that travelling to meet her takes money and a certain degree of planning and logistics.

 

Do Your Research

Once the two of you have decided to take things to the next level and meet face to face, do your due diligence and research. Hunt for information about the Philippines – and in particular, information of dating a Filipina – on sites such as this one. There is plenty of great information out there written by guys who have done this; who have travelled to the Philippines to meet their potential mate.

Also do some thorough research on the city or town where you’ll be spending most of your time. Get as familiar with the area as much as you possibly can before going there. It’ll make you feel more confident, and you’ll definitely pick up some useful tips during your search for info.

While I’ve found the Philippines to be pretty safe for the most part (I’ve been here 3 times now and have travelled to quite a few areas), there are dangerous areas that you should steer clear of. Researching things like this should also make up a part of your plans. Foreigners stand out here, so if you can, always travel to places with one of the locals.

Just a quick tip: There are security guards everywhere in the country. Every store has one, they guard the mall entrances, banks, keep a post outside housing subdivisions, are all over the place at the airports. My point is, they’re not hard to find if you need one. Generally they are a great source of information if you’re trying to find something or need advice, and most speak pretty good English. They’re usually friendly and helpful, so don’t be afraid to approach one if you need help or need to know something.

 

The Meeting

The Philippines has two international airports, in Manila and Cebu. Manila is the main one and has four different terminals. Cebu airport only has the one and is much smaller. Chances are you will land at Terminal 3 in Manila. This is the main international terminal there and the most modern one. Many of the connecting domestic flights to other parts of the country also leave from Terminal 3. If you do have to change terminals, you’ll need to get an airport shuttle bus at a cost of 20 pesos. If you take a taxi to another terminal, or into downtown Manila, only use the designated airport taxis (ask a security guard to guide you). Don’t take a chance on any of the unofficial taxis there. If you get into one of those you could end up anywhere and be way over-charged.

It’s not a good idea to travel long distances over land on buses as a foreigner by yourself. If your lady of interest doesn’t live in a major town or city, arrange to meet her in one. It’s safer for you and there’ll be more to do in a major metropolis anyway.

Basically you’ll be expected to pay for everything while you’re with her; meals, transport, accommodation, entertainment. I wouldn’t say the Philippines is dirt cheap (it’s getting more expensive all the time), but it’s cheaper than the Western world for most things. If you meet some members of her family for dinner or something, usually you’ll be expected to cover the bill for that as well out of respect to them.

If you are invited to meet some of her family members be sure to bring a simple gift, like a cake or a box of chocolates. They really appreciate little gestures like this.

Take your time getting to know her in person. It’s easy to fall head over heels for a pretty and sweet Filipina, but you still want to keep your wits about you and make objective decisions. After all, you’re looking for the right one. You don’t want to travel all that way and make an error because of your emotions or hormones. And don’t feel obligated. If it’s not working out for you, just be honest with her and tell her gently. They can be quite sensitive, so always be gentle with them.

Hopefully she ends up being “the one” and everything progresses nicely while you’re there. Don’t be all serious business, though. Have fun together and keep it natural. Have her accompany you to see some of the sites. Things that are out of town can be a little difficult to get to at times, but she, being a local, should know how to go about it. Only go travelling around with her if you feel like you can trust her, though.

 

 

Plan Your Next Move

So you’ve met a girl online from the Philippines, you’ve gotten to know her a little, then taken the plunge and went to meet her in person in her home country. If all is still going great after spending time together in the flesh, then there will be more decisions to make if you’re serious about pursuing a relationship with this girl.

You might decide to invite her to spend some time in your home country for a holiday, get to know one another in your environment, where she can meet some of your family and friends and see if she likes the country in which you live.

If the relationship is going to develop into something serious, then one of you is going to have to move countries, and that person is most likely going to be your Filipina. This isn’t a decision you’ll be able to rush even if you wanted to. Visas can take a while to process and get approved, and for some countries are quite expensive. Generally you’ll have to marry your Filipina if you want to bring her home to your country to live. I won’t get into the complexities of visas here, as that subject is  probably a few posts all on its own.

If you and your new lady love each other and really want to have a happy future together, then love truly will conquer all and you will find a way to make it happen.