Most guys Google the Philippines. I live here.
Fishtank Media is a no-nonsense channel for men who are seriously thinking about retiring in the Philippines — or already here and figuring it out the hard way. No highlight reels. No brochure version. Just real numbers, hard lessons, and honest intel from someone who's actually in it.
I cover the real cost of living, retirement budgets that actually hold up, SRRV and visa reality, expat healthcare, banking, and money transfers — plus the relationship dynamics and in-law truths nobody else will say out loud.
I'm in provincial Samar with my Filipina wife and kids. I hold a 13a marriage visa. I've been here long enough to know what they left out of the brochure.
If you want the polished version, there are a million other channels.
If you want the brutal, boots-on-the-ground version — you're home.
New videos every Wednesday and Saturday.
Be excellent to each other.
Fishtank Media
Mexico almost won.
Getting my family in would've been easier than the US ever was. So why am I still here in the Philippines and not writing this from a beach in Quintana Roo?
New video's up — real numbers, no highlight reel. Link in the first comment. 👇
1 hour ago | [YT] | 1
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Fishtank Media
New video's up 🎬
This one's not about bugs or budgets — it's about the people. Getting stared at in the deep province, why locals laugh when you try the dialect, and the tricycle "tax" that nobody flags for you until you've already overpaid a dozen times.
If you're actually planning this move, the free checklist is linked in the description. Slap a like if this is useful — that's the only way it reaches the next guy scrolling at 2am wondering if he's crazy for considering this.
1 day ago | [YT] | 4
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Fishtank Media
Some YouTubers act like they've cracked the one true code on life in the Philippines. Everyone else is wrong, everyone else got played, except them.
New video's up — not calling anyone out by name, just calling out the whole idea. Because the truth is boring: some guys are doing great here, some are doing fine, some are struggling. All at once. All real.
Watch it, then tell me — good, great, or rough, where's your experience landing?
4 days ago | [YT] | 6
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Fishtank Media
Every expat gets hit up eventually. Knock at the gate, kid on the street, hand out like a toll booth. It happens. The question isn't if — it's how you handle it. Video up now.
4 days ago | [YT] | 3
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Fishtank Media
$1,200 a month in the Philippines — myth or reality? I went through every actual bill on my desk to find out. Not a guess. Not a ballpark. The real numbers. Video up now.
4 days ago | [YT] | 3
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Fishtank Media
My electric bill just told me it's going up 77% next month. "Because of the war," apparently.
New video drops Tomorrow 9p Philippines Time — I'm opening up every bill on my desk and what $1,200 a month buys in the province. Rent, water, power, food for five people, insurance, all of it.
Spoiler: it still works. It's just tighter than the thumbnail makes it look.
Drop your guess below — what do you think a family of five spends on groceries here in a month? Closest guess gets a shoutout when the video's up.
6 days ago | [YT] | 18
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Fishtank Media
Thank You For All The Support! Love hearing from 99.6% of You 😂 Stop By Anytime, Always Welcomed!
1 week ago | [YT] | 35
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Fishtank Media
First-timers — this one's for you. Bugs, TP, and yes, I went there. Everything your travel agent left off the list. Video up now. https://youtu.be/g4agW8S6v-o
1 week ago | [YT] | 14
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Fishtank Media
Everyone says it's cheap here. June made me a liar. New video just dropped the real $1,993 I didn't see coming, and the one insurance detail almost nobody tells SRRV holders about. Who's ready?
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 2
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