Hotel Living

One of the perks of being an OFY is the opportunity to travel more and see the world. Having been in and out of hotels in the past few years, it's hilarious (and horrifying) when a hotel does not live up to its photo and you just have to live with it.

The upsides of hotel living = no cleaning up after yourself, 24 hr room service, wake up calls, etc. The downside is getting used to these all and getting lazy to do the chores again back home. Thought it might be good to share some of the most interesting places i've checked in to.

Palm Beach Larnaca, Cyprus - This resort was amazing! Really calm , quiet and relaxing. Good for lounging around and just staying in. Not for the young crowd as there's a lot of senior citizens!

Oakwood Marina Del Rey, California - I stayed here for 4 weeks in 2009 and it was practically home. The studio type hotel room has its own mini kitchen with electric stove and a big fridge which allows you to store food and cook. The downside is there's no daily housekeeping (only weekly) and no wakeup calls. Also close to Venice Beach but really far away from other tourist attractions in LA.

Park Hotel Clark Quay, Singapore - The moment I walked inside, I was shocked at the smallness of the space considering the price tag for a night. Very efficient, clean , accessible and comfortable though. Good for a business trip but not so much if you're looking to spend a holiday lounging around.

Palihouse,West Hollywood California - The hotel room interiors are worth raving about. From the decor, the ambiance, the location, the bathroom, -everything looks perfect. And in terms of convenience, there's a big fridge, a microwave, a stove an oven, pots and pans...name it! There's even a food weighing scale and a washing mashine inside the room! a bit on the pricey side but worth staying in here at least once if you're in this area.

Dusit Thani Bangkok - Nothing better but a soft bed in a luxury 5 star hotel after 5 hours of nonstop bargain shopping. Book through asiatravel.com crazyrate promos to get a good price. This is in the Silom area, right in the middle of the city. It's beside a Skytrain station and it's near some night markets and cheap food places

City Inn (now Mint Hotel), Manchester UK -On the downside the room and the bathroom are very small, but on the upside- very clean, very near to everywhere and has an Imac for free internet connection.

Park Lane Mews, Mayfair London - So what if it is in the exclusive Mayfair area? It is still the worst hotel experience I had. Surprisingly though,it has one of the best hotel beds ever, or maybe I was just suer tired that day?

Palms Las Vegas, USA- Hands down, the best, most luxurious hotel room I've stayed in with 600 square feet of honest to goodness wow. Too bad this room is in Vegas and I never really stayed inside the room long enough to enjoy it.

Any interesting hotel photos and stories? Share it here!

Email ofyuppies@gmail.com or post the pics on the OFYuppies facebook wall!

Just Always Pray at Night

The recent events in the first quarter of 2011 left overseas Filipinos across the globe stunned and panicked. To date, OFWs living in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, New Zealand and Japan are facing difficult times. Thousands have been repatriated while a lot are still in these countries trying to cope.

The Philippine government is trying to do its best to offer assistance to OFWs by providing flights , free calls and money. All these to make sure the OFWs safety is secured. But there are still those who chose to stay in these countries amidst the danger... thinking that the worst is over and the risk is better than going home and facing unemployment.

At this point, the best thing to do is to pray for our fellow Filipinos' safety and for them to have a better life back home. I guess, this is also a wakeup call for all of us OFYuppies. Life abroad is not permanent... we must always be prepared emotionally and financially just in case we need to pack our bags and say hello to home.

Billionaire

Admit it. One of the top perks of working abroad is earning much more than any company in the Philippines can probably afford to pay you. This is a reality any OFY should never brag about but at the same time should never be ashamed of. In exchange for being miles away from our families, I say, we deserve it.

I recently attended an event held by a Real Estate company who sells condos to OFWs and I found one statement in their presentation really funny. It goes something like "Invest now.. Don't come home with just a photo album..."

I don't blame this statement because many families of OFWs sort of expect anyone who worked abroad to go home a millionaire, bringing with him gifts like the delayed Christmas Maggi. Coming home with almost nothing is frowned upon and gives the impression that you havent worked enough.Well, this does not automatically ring true because aside from the money most OFYs send home, there's also the higher more expensive standard of living that an OFY needs to be able to survive in. Okay, enough with the excuses.... this "photo album" statement made me wonder and ask around... what are the top things an OFY commonly spends on (aside from the monthly padala and basic necessities)? Here's your top ten

1. Electronics (Laptop, TV, mobile phones)
2. Shopping for clothes and shoes
3. House repairs and renovations of parent's house
4. Pasalubong and balikbayan boxes
5. School tuition for younger siblings
6. Holiday trip or Vacation (Boracay and Bangkok anyone?)
7. a Louis Vuitton
8. Real Estate in the Philippines (lot for parents or a condo unit)
9. Start-Up business
10. Family Car

Pinoy Cravings

"you'll never really know how much you love something until it's taken away from you..." This saying is so spot on for us OFYs the first few months we leave the Philippines and no, I'm not only talking about family, friends or boyfriends/girlfriends here.

Growing up, there are a lot of things we got used to that are readily available to us in the Philippines. We can eat green mangoes with bagoong whenever we want to, buy kakanin (or better, make mom cook kakanin) when we feel like it, or even get a cheap haircut or pedicure whenever we want with an F salon or Reyes Haircutters in every block. This list of things we are used to taking for granted just goes on and we don't really care because most of the time, it didn't really cross our minds that we will lose them.And admit it, back in the Philippines we'd probably choose anything MADE IN USA or MADE IN ITALY or MADE IN BANGKOK than buying something out of Divisoria or the local palengke. Why go to Reyes Haircutters when you can save up for those Korean owned and staffed hair salons?

But as with every alamat, there comes a twist to the story. We find ourselves miles way from home and craving for that fatty tocino or disease-prone kwek kwek sold at the street corner. So it is not surprising then that in countries/cities outside the Philippines with a high population density of Pinoys , a lot of Filipino speciality stores are continuously attracting a massive following. Obviously applying the basic economic law of supply and demand, these stores sell these imported Filipino commodities 300-500% more expensive than the products' original selling price in RP.

And who are we to complain, paying a couple of extra dollar for that Choc-Nut is way cheaper than shelling out at least thousand bucks for a two way ticket to Manila and back.

I myself was so surprised at my own uncontrollable delight the first time I discovered that I can buy Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs and Eng Bee Tin Hopia without having to bargain favours from friends going back home. Who cares if the TJ hotdogs cost twice than the American brand hotdogs, I'll take my Alvin Patrimonio-endorsed hotdogs anytime, thank you very much. The funny thing is that back home, people think Pinoys who go abroad generally become snobs with all the branded stuff around but in reality, it is us OFYs who become more appreciative of Pinoy products.

But do we yearn for Pinoy products because they are really better in quality, taste better or lasts longer? Well maybe in some cases yes, but I think it has more to do with the feeling we get when we buy these products. Having these things around us makes being away from our families and everything familiar to us less difficult. Maybe having Lily's peanut butter and Lucky Me for breakfast somehow substitute for the fact that mom is not the one cooking it for us...maybe the reason we're dabbing on Baby Bench or Lewis & Pearl cologne is because it brings us right back to our highschool barkada memories,which somehow lessens the sadness of missing all the barkada get togethers and reunions we missed while being abroad.

Drama aside, I'm sure having these Pinoy products available abroad will not stop the never ending "pakipadala" mentality we are all so used to :)

OFYuppies came up with a list of top 15 Pinoy products that are most likely available in Pinoy stores around the world.

1. Mama Sita / Knorr Sinigang sa Sampalok Mix (and other Mixes)
2. Lucky Me Pancit Canton
3. Datu Puti Suka and Toyo
4. Safeguard Soap
5. Barrio Fiesta Bagoong
6. Century Tuna
7. Boy Bawang / Ding Dong
8. Sky Flakes
9. Purefoods TJ hotdogs
10. Moddess Sanitary Napkin
11. ChocNut
12. Likas Papaya Soap
13. Magic Sing karaoke system
14. Marca Pina/ Rufina patis
15. Pampanga's Best Tocino and Longganisa

How about you OFY's, What Pinoy product would you love to have available abroad?

Who is an OFY?

OFY stands for Overseas Filipino Young Professionals. "Yuppies" is a colloquial term to refer to young upwardly mobile professionals belonging to an age group which is roughly 21– 35 years old with independent spending power.

So what exactly is an OFY? Is it not the same as an OFW?

The answer is yes and no. Overseas Filipino Yuppies are indeed Overseas Filipino Workers but it is a more specific group of younger professionals who go abroad to seek for better career opportunities.

Gone are the days when only middle aged parents travel abroad to work for their families.Now, more and more younger, recent graduates fly outside the country to find jobs and start a life abroad.

Of course, stories of moms and dads working miles away, sacrificing for their families and then coming back home to settle are still happening but there is also another side to this OFW story– the much younger and dynamic world of young Filipino professionals who chose to have a better career abroad to help out their parents and younger siblings– these are the flight attendants, graphic artists, doctors and nurses, marketing and advertising executives and even young entrepreneurs to name a few.

Are you an OFY? Welcome and read on...