How Many Expats Drive ? Your Pros And Cons

[Alby]

Scott and Jack... See how jpbago solves this problem?

By getting a taxi. It's still safer and cheaper!

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[scott h]

I hear ya guys...as always to each his own. Taking a taxi from Manila to Tagayatay, Vegan, Legazpi or Pagudpud would be so expensive that We couldn't afford a nice resort hotel room. Everything is a trade off, I personally prefer the freedom that a vehicle offers and am willing to accept the downside. :tiphat:

[Jack Peterson]

Scott and Jack... See how jpbago solves this problem? By getting a taxi. It's still safer and cheaper!

Nice if you have taxi Service, This is practically non existent here in DUMAGUETE.  :no:

 

Morning All JP :tiphat:  :morning1:

[Alby]

That's true. It's one reason I have dismissed Duma.

One would have to live outside it where there is no public transportation to get a nicer place.

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[Tukaram (Tim)]

 

I don't think I will ever drive especially here.

 

Get back to us when you take a jeepney  to the mall, get stuck in traffic in the middle of summer and you are surrounded by folks going home from the market with live chickens and smelly veggies.............me I'll take my air conditioned car :mocking:

 

 

Been here almost 2 years and take jeepneys all the time!  I think they are a great way to get around the city.  For long distance I use a bus.  I try to get the Ceres bus with aircon - but some routes don't have aircon.  (I will take the no aircon bus before an aircon van - kamikaze drivers ha ha)  My wife has said we need a car but living in the city I see no need for one.  Jeepneys are cheap and plentiful - and the occasional taxi is not too bad.  If I lived out in the province I would most likely get a car - like a Philtruck or Rusco (the used Suzukis)  but in the city I just think it would be more trouble than it is worth.  :tiphat:

[Dave Hounddriver]

I find that traffic 'norms' are different in every area of every country and you have to get used to driving in the particular area to find out what the traffic 'norms' are.  The traffic laws are similar everywhere but what gets enforced is different. (My experience is limited to driving in Europe, Canada, USA and Philippines only)

 

You don't have to like how the local people drive, but you do have to get along with them.  Some expats I meet prefer to leave the driving to someone else.  Some love to drive and bitch and usually get in accidents which are always 'the other guy's fault' and some drive and adapt and avoid most accidents.  There are no perfect drivers, either expat or local.

 

My own experience in Philippines is driving a pick up truck, van, and a few motorcycles over the last 7 years.  I have had 2 clipped mirrors as locals do not seem to use them nor respect them on other people's vehicles.  This does not mean I will never have an accident, it only  means it is possible to drive here for 7 years without one.  Good insurance is still a great recommendation.  (Not the insurance they sell at booths near the LTO that do not pay out.)

[OnMyWay]

I came here to relax, not get stressed out. 

 

When I am stressed, I like to drive.  It relaxes me.  I have been like that ever since I learned to drive at 16.  That is one of the key reasons why I chose to live in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, where there is some law and order to driving, and some roads where you can take a leisure drive.

[Jake]

 

I came here to relax, not get stressed out. 

 

When I am stressed, I like to drive.  It relaxes me.  I have been like that ever since I learned to drive at 16.  That is one of the key reasons why I chose to live in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, where there is some law and order to driving, and some roads where you can take a leisure drive.

 

Yeah, I had fun driving the ship's vehicle around Subic and Cubi Point.  The whole base complex is so vast with upgraded

beach resorts and family fun activities.  However, leaving the main gate into Olongapo City takes on a whole new meaning

about having a presence of mind.  You need rearview eyes and to be aggressive on the horn.  You also need bigger balls

to see who is entering the intersection first, regardless of right of way.  

 

Although, I do find that my hometown is much more disciplined than the drug induced paranoid-maniac bus drivers of Manila.

 

Hey Don, can you armor up your SUV.......he, he.     

[OnMyWay]

However, leaving the main gate into Olongapo City takes on a whole new meaning about having a presence of mind.  

 

Olongapo is not bad.  I'm used to it and is a small city, so I know it well now.  There is a trigger in my brain that changes when I cross over to the "other side".  What pisses me off is when the Manila drivers drive Manila style in the Freeport, which is not that often.  I love it when I see a Manila driver pulled over.  I can imagine  their explanation.  "But officer, at a 4 way stop it is against the rules to break a right of way train.  I was driving 3 feet behind the car in front of me and did not stop at the stop sign so I could keep the train solid.  The drivers in back of you will honk and become angry if you break the train!".

[Hey Steve]

Where I will be (near Davao), I'm scaling up from a motorcycle to a multicab eventually whereas I want to get the feel for the free-for-all driving techniques first that allow one to go with the flow in that particular area. I'm not going to drive any more than necessary though due to the difficulty in breaking my courteous driving habits.

If possible, I hope to be close by to places I want to go (wet market, sari-sari store), simply by hoofin' it to keep in shape and hopping on tricycles when practical.