Hey,
We've spent a lot of issues on the money side. The dollar gap, the runway math, the currency plays. All real, all worth knowing.
But I realized something. If you're actually planning the move, none of that matters yet. You need to know what to pack, what to ship, and how you're going to have a place to sleep when you land. So this issue is just that. The practical side nobody talks about.
My sister just landed here for her first time. This is my fourth time doing this move, so I'm used to it by now, but watching her go through it fresh is what actually got this issue written. I posted some of her first few days here on Instagram if you want to see it → @ExpatBuildr. Everything below is what I wish someone had told her before she got on the plane.
◆ // THE PLAY
The Move Itself Is an Arbitrage Play
Most people treat moving abroad like logistics. Pack, ship, book, fly, figure it out when you land.
Better way to think about it: every decision in the move is an arbitrage decision, bring it, buy it there, or wait.
WHAT TO PACK VS. BUY HERE
I moved from Scottsdale, Arizona, already hot, so most of my clothes were rayon, doesn't hold sweat. Philippine clothes run 100% cotton, that'll burn you up. Hit Bench or H&M for synthetic rayon blends. If you're not coming from somewhere like Death Valley, just buy here, it's cheap and made for the climate.
Bring what's expensive or hard to replace: prescriptions in original packaging, your birth certificate and social security card, your last two utility bills in case you get locked out of a US account. Bring your tech too, it costs more here.
The test for everything else: would shipping cost more than replacing it? If yes, leave it.
WHAT TO SHIP VS. SELL
Furniture, don't ship it, the bill gets ridiculous and you can replace the basics locally. Shipping in general is brutal right now, you can't even mail a sim card in a paper letter without a $200 tariff hit.
Electronics, check the voltage first. Sockets here run 240v, America runs 120v, your blow dryer will explode on high. Just buy a new one when you land.
If it costs more to ship than replace, sell it. Don't let already owning something trick you into thinking it's still the cheapest option. eBay and OfferUp first, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for what's left, giving stuff away free on Craigslist earns you karma either way.
DON'T OVER-COMMIT ON ARRIVAL
The most important move arbitrage. Don't solve your first year before you've lived your first week.
Book 30 days in an Airbnb or serviced condo first. Ask the host for a monthly discount, $50/day can usually drop 10-20% for the full month, just ask.
Use those weeks to actually check things. Walk the neighborhoods. Test the internet yourself. See the real commute. Tour apartments in person. Stay a night and see if roosters hit you at 5am or the neighbors karaoke till late. If that's fine, check the stray dog situation too, a high rise dodges it, a cheap area won't. It's a real problem here and it wears on you.
You're paying a little more those first few weeks for staying flexible, that beats a year-long lease in a neighborhood you picked off Google Maps.
NEGOTIATE DIRECT. SKIP THE AGENT MARKUP.
Don't assume the listed rent is the final rent. Plenty of Philippine landlords rent direct and never touch international listing sites. Facebook groups, local connections, building managers, and just walking the block turn up what you'd never find from overseas.
That's the real arbitrage, not just a cheaper unit, cutting the middleman out of the local price entirely.
But you have to be there for it to work. Listing photos lie, sometimes it's an old shot from four typhoons ago, before the glass broke and nobody fixed it. Visit before you sign. Triple check the flood zone too, worst case is your stuff sitting underwater after one bad storm.
No photo tells you what the block sounds like at midnight, how fast the wifi really is, or whether the landlord's someone you want to deal with for a year.
◆ // THE NUMBER
Full breakdown, real numbers → expatbuildr.com/blog/geo-arbitrage/how-to-move-to-southeast-asia-remote-worker-checklist
◆ // THE TOOL
Facebook Groups, Not Just Real Estate Sites
The listings on international real estate sites are priced for people who don't know better. The real inventory, the actual local prices, lives in Facebook groups specific to the city you're moving to. Search "[city name] expats" and "[city name] condo for rent," join a few, and start scrolling. This is where locals and long-term expats post before it ever hits a paid listing site.
If you're past the packing list stage and actually trying to figure out how to stay here long term, not just land here, let's talk. I do 1-on-1 relocation strategy calls, one hour, built around staying, not just moving. No fixed package pitch, I want to hear what you're actually dealing with first → expatbuildr.com/consulting
◆ // THE MOVE
Stop treating the move like a someday idea. Pick an actual month, not "sometime next year," an actual date on the calendar. Once you have that, everything else works backward from it: flights, the three-pile sort from above, documents, savings.
Two things worth doing today, before you've even booked a flight:
Join two or three Facebook groups for the city you're considering. Watch them for a few weeks before you land, you'll learn more about real prices and real neighborhoods than another "best places to live" article will teach you.
If you haven't already, grab the Philippines Arbitrage Playbook, it goes deeper into the numbers and logistics than one issue can → go.expatbuildr.com/PHPlaybook
Tag me on Instagram @ExpatBuildr with your actual move month. Saying "I'm moving in November" instead of "I'm thinking about it" is what makes it real.
◆ // PROMPT OF THE WEEK
Paste this into any AI chat, swap in your details:
"I'm moving to [city] from [current location] in [timeframe]. Based on climate and typical expat life there, give me a realistic packing list split into what I should bring, what I should ship, and what I should just buy after I land."
— Galaxy (Tony Long II) 🌏
Building from Cebu. Earning in USD. Sharing the math.
P.S. — Free forever → newsletter.galaxyarbitrage.com/subscribe
P.P.S. — Know someone planning the move? Forward this one to them