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blog Places

Feb. 14, 2023

A short guide to the Philippines. Part 2. Boracay Island

Part 1 here.

Food
Purchases at the store, the best supermarket - Robinsons): carrots - 220 pesos/1 kg, eggs 12 pcs - 114 pesos, feta cheese - 417 pesos. The prices of oranges were surprising (1 pc - 50 pesos), carrots - 281 rubles per kg, and onions are even more expensive than meat!

An example of a basket of 1626 pesos: bread, mandarins 8 pcs, mint, shampoo, apples 6 pcs, ground beef 300 gr, cream, 1 kg potatoes, 10 eggs, Gouda cheese, small watermelon, sauce for pasta bolognese, 2 yogurts.

Shopping at the fish market Talipapa: 2 large tuna steaks - 350 pesos, 0.75 kg of medium shrimp - 350 pesos (by the way, you can also ask to cook it all there for 150 pesos).

Tasteful places
The Pig Out,
MOMO,
Cyma,
Lemoni Café,
The Sunny Side, Nagisa,
Tita Magz.

I ordered Cacao oatmeal - they brought some soup with cheese floating in it and next to it they brought fish (!) and condensed milk in plates separately to the “porridge”😱.

Lodging
There are different promotional offers from hotels for 1700 pesos/night, but mostly the cost of a hotel night starts at $60-80. My husband and I rented a one-bedroom apartment on Airbnb with a washer and kitchen for a month in a condo, roomtur here for $38/night. Wi-fi is great, the view is of the golf course and the sea, it’s quiet and peaceful.

If you can’t work at home, there’s even one for the whole island co-working.

Sports and Massage
Private kite or windsurfing lesson 2500 pesos/1 hour, 5 hour course from 14000 pesos. Yoga from 600 pesos at [EatPlayHeal] (https://maps.app.goo.gl/mQGiN1NH6AJmLdG48?g_st=ic).
Golf - at Fairways and Bluewater Resort, for example, game - 8000 pesos 9 holes for two.
Massages - from 350 pesos at so-so places, from 900 at good ones like Hello Spa, Kabayan Spa.

Communication
A SIM card with 5G unlimited Internet for a month costs 799 pesos.

Money
They accept payments in a bunch of different ways - from ApplePay to exotic GrabPay or AliPay. The local GCash app is in use. I was able to transfer rubles into pesos in 10 minutes via crypto at p2p.

Beaches
A small and cozy beach on the territory of the most expensive hotel on the island Shangri-La, you can just come to the bar or restaurant there and hang out quietly on territory.
Puka beach is the most deserted and cleanest beach on the island, it is just perfect for reconnecting with nature, there are no stores or cafes.
A nearby attraction is the Cujo’s Keyhole.
White sand beach at Station 1.
I recommend Sea Wind Boracay - here you can lie on a beach chair, ordering something from the bar.
Another deserted beach Ilig-Iligan, I haven’t even met such a beach in Hawaii!

Hospitals (may not be useful, but just in case)
Scandi Medical Clinic - very decent clinic, there are both pediatric and adult doctors (cost of consultation without tests, etc. - 300 pesos).
Boracay Alert Medical Clinic - a consultation here costs about 600-700 pesos, the list of services is even wider than in Scandi, there is a 24-hour ambulance.
Ciriaco S. Tirol Hospital - normal municipal hospital without super service, but good doctors and cheap.

Transportation
Everyone takes local tricycles or electric coaches, it costs 400 pesos to get from one end of the island to the other. You can buy a “tourist card” for Hop on-Hop off buses for 300 pesos. Rent a motorcycle from 6500 pesos a week if you rent it for a month, 2500 pesos if you rent it for a day (you can pay with crypto, by the way!).

Community
All speak English, many foreigners, there are super friendly Russian chat rooms where they answer the questions of newcomers. By the way, this is the first country all year where no one I know hangs out at the moment, even in Albania I managed to meet a subscriber, and here - the silence, so beep if you are here too!

Pics do not fit into the post, see the live atmosphere of Boracay and how here outside the “paradise” beaches including here!

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blog Relocation

Feb. 14, 2023

How to legalize in Portugal

Moving to Portugal is like a Netflix series - everyone has already moved and is actively discussing it, and you do not understand what is happening, but the whole tape is just about it.

What are the ways to get a coveted residence permit in Portugal:

📍Digital Nomad Visa.
- Requirements: permanent remote income outside of Portugal, proof of income from 2800€ + rent or own real estate.

  • The residence permit is issued for a period of 1 year with multiple extensions, as long as the applicant continues to meet the required criteria.

  • It is possible to transfer family

📍Visa D7
- Requirement: proof of a stable passive income of 800€ or more per month outside of Portugal and the ability to support yourself and your family.

The source of income can be a pension, rental income or income from intellectual property. Must spend at least 183 days in the country during the year.

D7 visa is issued for 4 months. In Portugal, after a visit to the SEF Immigration Service, a residence permit for 2 years + extension for 3 years is issued.

📍Opening a sole proprietorship.
Suitable for freelancers, self-employed and entrepreneurs. Applied within the country, i.e. already in Portugal + need to open a European bank account.

This way of moving provides regular payments: the tax about 30 euros a month in the first year (the average minimum profit tax). Further 100-130 euros per month. If the IP will not be used - about 50 euros per month.

❗️Через 5 years of permanent residence you can apply for permanent residency or citizenship. Portugal recognizes second citizenship, so you don’t have to give up your country of origin passport.

Source

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blog Lifehacks

Feb. 14, 2023

A detailed guide to local job search sites

📌 Armenia
- Careercenter.am (Russian, English, Armenian)
- HR.am (English, Armenian)
- Job.am (English, Armenian)
- Staff.am (Russian, English, Armenian, app in Google Play, App Store)

📌 Georgia
- Jobs.ge (English, Georgian)
- HR.ge (English, Georgian)
- Jober.ge (Russian, English, Georgian, app Google Play)
- Myjobs.ge (Russian, English, Georgian)

📌 United Kingdom
- Reed.co.uk (English, Google Play, App Store)
- Timewise Jobs (English)
- Totaljobs (English, Google Play, App Store)

📌 Germany
- Arbeitsagentur.de (German, partly English)
- Connecticum.de (German)
- Stellennanzeigen.de (German)
- Stepstone.de (German, app Google Play, App Store)

📌 Kazakhstan
- GorodRabot.kz (Russian language)
- Enbek.kz (Russian, Kazakh, application Google Play, App Store)
- Qyzmet.kz (Russian)

📌 The Netherlands
- Nationale Vacaturebank(Dutch)
- Werk.nl (Dutch)

📌 OAE
- Bayt.com (English, French, Arabic, app Google Play, App Store)
- Chatru.com (Russian)
- Dubai Careers (English, Arabic), app Google Play, App Store)
- Dubizzle (English, Arabic, Google Play, App Store)
- GulfTalent (English, Arabic, Google Play, App Store)

📌 Portugal
- ITJobs.pt (English, Portuguese)
- Net-Empregos (Portuguese)
- Sapo (Portuguese, app Google Play, App Store)

📌 Serbia
- Lako do posla (English, Serbian, app Google Play, App Store)
- Nzs.gov (Serbian)
- Poslovi Infostud (Serbian language, AppGallery application)
- Poslovi.rs (Serbian language)

📌 USA
- CareerBuilder(English, Google Play, App Store)
- CoolWorks (English)
- Ladders(English)

📌 Turkey
- İşkur (English, Turkish)
- Kariyer.net (Turkish, app Google Play, App Store)
- Secretcv (Turkish, Google Play, App Store)
- Yenibiris (Turkish, Google Play, App Store)

📌 France
- Leboncoin (French, app Google Play, App Store)
- Pole emploi (French, app Google Play, App Store)
- Qapa (French, app Google Play, App Store)

Source

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blog Places

Feb. 10, 2023

A short guide to the Philippines. Part 1

The guide is based on monitoring a bunch of information and personal experience of being in the country right now (and until mid-February). Resource
.

How to get to
There are cheap tickets to the Philippine capital, Manila from Kuala Lumpur ($80), and many people race here for a vizaran from Bali ($125), Vietnam and Thailand ($136). The way to Boracay, for example, looks like this: Manila-Caticlan plane ticket (from $25), tuk-tuk from airport to pier ($1), payment of taxes on stay + boat ticket ($10) to Boracay, tuk-tuk from pier to hotel ($5).

At entry, you need to fill out a form (scan the QR code at the airport), where you enter the details of your vaccination certificate, no one else checks anything, masks are canceled. It is important to have a return or ticket to a third country.
General rules of entry here.

Local vibe
A sedate life, chickens, dogs and kids running around, roosters howling at all hours of the day and night - in short, a village, with fancy “barber shop” signs at the entrance to the dilapidated garage. Locals live pretty poor, lottery tickets are sold everywhere as a chance to win a better life, main religion is Catholicism (Philippines is the only Christian country in Asia).

Security
Unfortunately, various disasters are not uncommon for this region - typhoons, tsunamis and earthquakes. Literally every year, the Philippines finds itself almost underwater as a result of hurricanes. Last year, a storm hit Boracay, and many buildings are still in ruins, the owners clearly have no intention to rebuild them, and their appearance is often “decorated” by many coastal areas, whole complexes of buildings are in complete disrepair. About the robberies and other horrors - everything is very quiet here, at least on Boracay. No one is trying to cheat you, and the thefts are very rare on the island, which is only 7 km long.

Entertainment
My husband is into windsurfing (by the way, that’s the real reason we flew to Boracay!), so catch the bonus track: how the wind, surf stations and instructors are here. The main windy spot is Bulabog beach, there are kite schools right next to the beach that rent all the necessary gear and dudes who give private kite and windsurfing lessons. The wind can be pretty brutal (up to 20 m/sec!), so it’s hard for beginners. Surfers hang out from all over the world, mostly kiteboarders who, when they hear they’re here to do windsurfing, reply with a smile: “Nobody is perfect.” This place is considered as one of the most beautiful in the world - the water is clear, the sand is white and the wind is stable.

For those who do not skate - do not worry, when one side of it all flies, on the other - the calm and smooth, quietly, you can swim and sunbathe without sand in the face. And they say that the love of the Philippines starts with diving, I really want to try it here!

The island from a helicopter flight - Boracay Helicopter Adventures(11 thousand pesos or 14000 rub for two for 15 min)

The most accessible of the neighboring islands for excursions are Panay,
Tablas, Carabao.
As far as Coron and El Nido you can get there from Caticlan, tickets must be bought in advance, they sell out fast, best in the port, online tickets are rare, but you can check on 12goasia or rome2rio. The rest of the beauty is only available by plane from Caticlan or Manila.

My noted spots in the Philippines that I will definitely get to one day are
Taal Volcano,
Puerto Princesa,
Palawan,
Balabac,
Mayon Volcano,
Mount Canlaon,
Oslob,
Panglao,
Siargao,
Mount Apo,
Miniloc.

More about the places on Boracay itself in the next episode!

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blog Lifehacks

Jan. 26, 2023

Cities where travelers feel safe

In a report by the British insurance company William Russell you can find the rating of “the safest cities in the world”, based on the perceptions of travelers themselves. It turns out that people feel safe in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan (which is the only city with more than 80 points), Tokyo, Prague, Copenhagen, Singapore and Vienna. Lisbon and Madrid are slightly behind. They are followed by Sydney and Toronto.

William Russell’s insurers have also published a list of the 20 safest countries for expats. The list was formed on the basis of the Global Peace Index, which ranks countries according to their level of “peacefulness”. Iceland, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Singapore and Japan were in the lead. According to the data of recent years, these countries have the best security of life, work and movement, a high standard of living on average, good indicators of environmental and digital security, decent medicine, low levels of militarization.

The GPI evaluates countries according to 23 criteria on a scale of 1 to 5. The lower the number, the better things are. So, the leader of the ranking - Iceland - has an overall index of 1.107. For comparison, Belarus scored 2.26, Ukraine - 2.97, Russia - 3.27, Poland - 1.55, Estonia - 1.66, Latvia - 1.67, Lithuania - 1.72, Armenia - 1.99 and Georgia - 2.06.

Sourse

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blog Relocation

Jan. 26, 2023

A guide to Spain's new digital nomad visa - all the important stuff

What does the Nomad visa give you?

  • Ability to live and work legally in Spain for 5 years. Important: You cannot be absent from the country for more than 6 months in a calendar year.
  • The right to work for your spouse in the country and the possibility of family reunification.
  • Preferential tax status (15% instead of 24%) when filing the appropriate return. (https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ca_es/irpf/tengo-que-presentar-declaracion/regimen-fiscal-aplicable-trabajadores-desplazados/regimen-especial.html)

How to get a visa?

  • The Spanish Immigration Service (https://extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es/UnidadGrandesEmpresas/es/requisitos/teletrabajadores/index.htm) accepts visa applications (https://prointerweb.seg-social.gob.es/iley11/inicio/showTramites.action?procedimientoSel=200&proc=1) - you have to be in Spain to apply (in this case you can ask for a visa for 3 years at once) or you can go to your country’s consulate. Need to provide: a contract with your employer and a letter from him that the work can be done remotely, local insurance, housing contract, a balance statement from a bank account (calculation - monthly income x 12 months), a copy of diploma or resume with relevant work experience (at least 3 years), a certificate of criminal record from the countries where lived the past 2 years. You will also need a local NIE number, which can be obtained by appointment (https://icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus/index.html) in the country or at the Spanish Consulate in your country.
  • The required monthly income must be at least 2,200 euros, for a family of three - about 3,300 euros per month.
  • The applicant must have no more than 20% of clients in Spain.
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blog Relocation

Jan. 26, 2023

Instructions on how to quickly obtain citizenship of another country

Give birth to a child in the country where the child will obtain citizenship by right of birth and then obtain documents as a parent of a citizen. Options and speed of acquisition:
- 1 year - Uruguay
- 2 years - Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil
- 3 years - Ecuador
- 5 years - Panama

Through investment in the country’s economy. For investments from 100 to 400 thousand can be obtained a passport of the following countries: Vanuatu, Grenada, Cambodia, Saint Lucia, Turkey, Montenegro, Greece, Georgia, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Serbia, the Philippines

Marriage to a citizen of another country

Naturalisation, when you legally reside in a certain country for a certain period of time and fulfil all your obligations and abide by the laws. Important: sometimes the qualifying period for citizenship may start when you obtain a permanent residence permit (Australia, Canada, Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic).

Timeframe for obtaining a passport of a country by naturalisation:

- 3 years - Armenia, Canada, Ecuador, Israel, Honduras, Paraguay, Serbia
- 4 years - Australia, Poland
- 5 years - Portugal, Belgium, Latvia, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Malta, Finland, France, Sweden, Ireland, United Kingdom, Panama, New Zealand, USA, Taiwan, Uruguay, Turkey, South Korea

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blog Relocation

Jan. 11, 2023

What to pack for 3 months

A pressing question when packing for any long trip or winter stay - what to take, what it all fits in, and do I really need this “house on wheels” - a suitcase?

A little travel addict’s know-how:

A comfortable backpack is definitely better than a suitcase! It weighs less, saves from 2 kg, you can fit more things. It frees your hands if you need to eat on the go, take a photo, go through passport control. On arrival it is convenient to walk to the bus stop, in the hotel you can put some things and take for a walk around the city. How to choose the right backpack: the attention to the strength and water resistance of the material, the quality of fittings and seams, the volume of 30l, several compartments for sorting things (we put a laptop separate from the food), the ability to transform to a compact size with the top flap and braces, anatomical back ventilation, wide straps, a few handles for easy grabbing, pockets in the belt, rain cover. Options with good reviews: Osprey, Gregory, Deuter, Ortlieb or Tatonika, Hunter, Humtsman, Trek planet. Low-quality backpack can easily be identified by a cheap interior trim, protruding threads, chemical odor inside, flimsy zippers and lack of frame on the back.

If you can not do without a suitcase - look at the size and volume: S - up to 45 liters, looks like hand luggage; M - up to 90 liters, the suitcase for 1 person; L - up to 120 liters, family option; XL - up to 180 liters, suitable for moving. Try to figure out if it will be convenient to lift the suitcase on the escalator, 4 wheels should be made of thick rubber on a metal rod, recessed into the body of the suitcase, plastic ones will definitely fall apart, reliable hardware that will hold up if it is crammed to the limit. Reliable options in the price/quality segment include Proffi, Swissgear, Francesco, Xiaomi.

Traveling as a couple, you can save money and take one large L suitcase instead of two backpacks, for two (23 kg for economy and 32 kg for business class).

If you’re planning a weekend trip to a neighboring country by low-cost airline, prepare in advance a proper bag/backpack for hand luggage: usually you must check beforehand not more than 115 cm in the sum of all dimensions or 554020 cm. Before the check-in desks is a calibrator, where you can check the bag or not, if not - put some things on yourself, scatter in his pockets.

Share your best finds in the world of suitcase and backpacking in the comments!

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