AboutBill and Lorna Collings Expertise Feel FREE to ask us about traveling, living, relocating, retiring and investing in the Philippines. Guests from 83 countries make our place in Manila an incredible meeting place for world travelers who exchange travel stories and information. We understand both the joys and the hardships of living and traveling in the Philippines.
Experience I arrived in the Philippines in January 1980 to travel for 2 months; I stayed 4 months before reluctantly leaving. I met my Filipina wife, Lorna. an incredible stellar, "one in a million" individual in 1983 in Seoul and we moved to the Philippines in 1986 and opened our 3BR house to world travelers on a budget. After welcoming thousands of guests from 83 nations our place has grown to 30 bedrooms but will never lose its "Home away from Home" atmosphere. Almost everyday at The Townhouse Hotel there's a party-like social scene with vibrant, almost magical energetic conversations between our guests who have the pleasure to meet each other and share their life's many experiences. Sometimes. three groups with conversations in different langauges are going on at the same time.
So we've been exposed to every kind of person from all over the world and shared their experiences.
Publications Suite101.com, eDreams.com, expertcentral.com ( who asked me to apply with allexperts.com since About.com has bought both companies and are in the process of integrating them)
Education/Credentials some college 2-1/2 years - no degree - I've been traveling since I was 18, almost 30 years.
Awards and Honors Luckily, my wife and I have been semi-retired since we were 30 years old, more than 15 years.
Expert: Bill and Lorna Collings Date: 5/7/2008 Subject: Finding a house to rent in Bulacan or ANYWHERE in the Philippines
Question I am looking for a house to rent in Bulacan (Malolos ideally) but anywhere around the Santa Rita area. 3 Bedrooms in a gated development preferably. My asawa has been looking around and asking everyone she knows, but no luck. What is the secret? Thanks
Answer It's really NO SECRET, you just need to form an image in your mind of LIFE as we humans knew it and lived BEFORE the internet, before the services based economies and before the modern "army" of marketing geniuses and tricky , borderline dishonest multi-national corporate polices and services were accepted as necessary my the majority of mankind.
So as your imagination kicks in, asking yourself what you would do if you had built a house in that area and for some reason had to leave. Usually such unoccupied houses are one offered ONLY by hanging a FOR RENT sign outside with a cell phone number or left looking abandoned because it was left with some relative to find a tenant and for their own private interest does NOTHING, possible hoping that the family member never returns so by slow motion evolution they will be given or inherit the house.
So what I advise people looking for house / apt rentals to do is FIRST scan the Manila Bulletin Newspaper Sunday CLASSIFIED ADS for a few weeks AND scan the BUT & SELL FREE CLASSIFIED ADS newspaper ( one or two editions weekly ) for advertisements. Second, to either take long walks or local transport around the neighborhoods you wish to live til you see one of these FOR RENT SIGNS hanging outside or some abandoned looking house with neighbors where you can knock on the doors and ask about the DETAILS of the empty house. GOOD LUCK HOUSE HUNTING!
