Manila

Manila is an incredibly welcoming city and cheap to live. Accommodation in ultra luxurious condos is reasonable, foot massage whilst tapping out emails (£7 per hour) makes working from here a no brainer. Agree living in the Greenbelt area is a no brainer. Vegetarian choices can be limited in some places but excellent (and so cheap!) Delivery services are available, including diet chef stuff which is unaffordable anywhere else. The streets feel safe inside Makati and the areas around greenbelt and I have never felt uneasy in good areas, which is not the same as London where you are constantly feeling at risk. Bureaucracy is tough in Manila though. Just chill, queue, take your laptop to keep you busy, and remember to be unstintingly polite - locals do not deal well with confrontation and you do well to empathise with them rather than get off by being "right" .

Not great, not terrible. Lots of scammers and dirty streets, but also great and cheap food. Mobility isn't a highlight, but condos have a huge infraestructure and you can easily do everything you need (working, groceries, gym etc) without even put your feet outside. Never felt 100% safe, as some streets are really dark at night. Anyway it's a good choice considering value for money if you find a nice place, otherwise Bangkok is way better.

Eastwood City hands down best places for nomads in Manila. Why? 50-100 mbps from Sky or PLDT. Closely guarded community where you can feel safe. Everything you could want is inside the community- condos for rent short or long term fully furnished, over 100 restaurants (both fast food and fine dining and some american franchises too), 7 screen movie theater, bowling alley, billiards. Many unique shops that are centered around activities. Pet friendly. Also, has 2 grocery stores, at least a dozen convenience stores, barber shops, massage and day spas (you can even get a professional massage right in your room), laundromat. The mall has anything you might need to buy for your condo.

If you stay in the area immediately around Greenbelt then it's great. There's a cafe called Antipodean that serves all day breakfasts, with excellent bacon and eggs, I stay 2 mins walk from there. I've stayed at Gramercy Apartments in Poblacion in the past and that wasn't good. That area is not very walkable and not much nearby except for some trendy bars.

Being close to Greenbelt means you have everything you need in the malls. Also, if you're a single guy, then it's a wonderful place for dating, especially if you have the courage to talk to locals that you see in day to day life.

Greater challenges are around eating nutritiously. I think Filipino food is underrated for its deliciousness but it's definitely not healthy. To better understand the Greenbelt area, it's a series of Malls (Greenbelt, Ayala, Glorietta, and some other mall). Collectively there would have to be upwards of 200 restaurants, so I'm sure there's a healthy option in there somewhere, just need to find it.

It's true that there's not a lot to do in the city outside of nightlife. And the infrastructure makes it a headache to get around. That's why I recommend staying in this part of town. In this part of Makati you can just walk everywhere. I've heard good things about BGC but have never visited.

Really bad city to live and to visit unless you have money to live in BGC.