The Ugly Australian Expat
Do Australian men generally behave well and make a great impression in the Philippines? Or are the ugly stories true?
I live in the Philippines. Yes, I’m an Aussie, but this is my home right now and I have no plans of going anywhere else. Yes, I like meat pies and yes I have an Aussie bluntness and “innocence” about me which is part of who I am. But this is home, and I love my home. I love the Philippines and Filipino culture. My wife is here with me, and we have a house full of noisy kids (semi-adopted and “borrowed”). We have staff in the office and staff at home. It’s a full life and I love it here! Yet there are some ugly Australian expats here who do nothing but complain.
http://www.filipinawives.com.au/moaning-whining-ugly-australian-expat-philippines/
Are the majority of ex-pats like me? Are most quiet family men who get on with living a good life, or are they “the other type”? No idea. What I do know is that the ugly expats seem to be more vocal, more’s the pity!
Who are the ugly Australian expats?
You will meet them on Facebook particularly, and probably on Twitter and other social media. You will find webpages and Facebook groups devoted slagging off the Philippines and Filipinos in the most shameless and insulting way possible.
Remember the classic “whingeing pom” in Australia? This is aimed at the ol’ blokes out there, so don’t get too rattled if you are under 50. This was the 10-pound pom who arrived in Australia from England and started complaining the moment he arrived. The response was “If you don’t like it? Why are you here? Go home!” Invariably they stayed, because they actually liked where they were. But it didn’t stop them complaining.
In the Philippines? You find the ugly expat has often been here for 8, 10, 15 years! And it’s not just Aussies. Americans, and those from Great Britain complain just as much as those from Great Australia. Why do they stay if they don’t like it?
I don’t know if I’m different to most, but I’ve always been a forward-looker. I never retrace my footsteps. If I was to go back to Australia, it would be to somewhere else in Australia and to something different to what we had before. More likely it would be to a different country altogether, but for now I’m pretty happy here and I’m settled. Life is good. And if it wasn’t? I’d MAKE it good! I have little time for whingeing and doing nothing to make things better.