Mayon Volcano from Legazpi City,
Mayon Volcano from the air.

We are Americans and the families of Americans living in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. The Society is open to anyone who is genuinely interested in participating in such a group, who is interested in the mutual assistance we can give to each other, in socializing with other people with American connections, in sharing the special concerns and problems we have or may face, in helping newcomers to find their way in a foreign country and its culture. There is and will be no test of how American one needs to be, Filipino-Americans, "Green Card" holders, and family members are as welcome as native born Americans. Canadians, Australians, British and other expatriots are also welcome.

We are no longer meeting as most of our active members are presently outside Bicol. We will resume meeting when there are enough people and interest. Do join our Yahoo group (below) and send a message if you want to meet others.

Please contact us for more info by e-mail at bicolamericans@yahoo.com

Please see our Yahoo Discussion Group, Bicol Americans Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bicolamericans, and join it if you wish to be informed of our activities and concerns.

Click to subscribe to Bicol Americans Group

For more information, please e-mail us at bicolamericans@yahoo.com

There is a U.S.Embassy volunteer warden in the group, so if you need to contact the embassy or need assistance locally, send us a message at the same e-mail address.

Useful Links:

Bicol Expats Webpage at http://www.geocities.com/bicolexpats
Information for Expats living in Bicol. Gives information on meetings and social gatherings, living in the Philippines, etc.

Bicol Expats Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bicolexpats
Discussion group for Expats living in Bicol. Messages give information on meetings and social gatherings, and photos of past events.

Living in the Philippines at http://www.livinginthephilippines.com
Living, retiring, traveling, business in the Philippines where the mountains meet the sea in the land of smiles. Expats discuss opportunities and challenges of living, retiring and investing in the Philippines, cost of living, insurance, relationships, inter island travel, visas, culture and lifestyles.

U.S. Embassy in Manila at http://usembassy.state.gov/manila/wwwhmain.html
Choose the office you need, such as American Citizen Services, Immigrant Visa Branch, etc.

Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services at http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/index.htm
This is the new name for the old Immigration and Naturalization Service.

American Association of the Philippines at http://www.americanassociation.org
A society of Americans in the Philippines founded for "Mutual assistance and civic responsibility". See their Links for important and useful information, including government offices.

American Citizens Abroad at http://www.aca.ch/
Not for the Philippines in particular, but this group has a lot of valuable information of interest to Americans overseas, including immigration and citizenship info.

Filipina Website at http://www.filipinalist.org
Filipina is an online nonprofit organization for Filipinas who are the spouses or fiancées of Non-Filipinos. Tremendous number of helpful links.

ASAWA at http://filipinawives.com/
Information for those in or contemplating intercultural marriage between Filipina and Westerner. Many valuable links, a lot of information. A great site.

Kano Pinay at http://www.geocities.com/kanopinay/
Site specifically on marriage between an American man (Kano from Amerikano, Pilipino usage usually shortens to the end of words and names, not the beginning) and a Filipina woman (Pinay).

The Bicol Region at http://www.wowbicol.com/profile.htm
Bicol Region is the southeast of Luzon and surrounding smaller islands, where Bicolano or Bikol is mostly spoken. This site give information on all six provinces and several cities of the region.

Language Map of Bicol at http://www.geocities.com/bicolamericans/Language.jpg shows where Bicolano, Masbate and other languages of the Bicol Region are spoken. Note that eastern Albay Province (Legazpi City, Tabaco, Tiwi, etc.) speak Central Bicolano, while western Albay Province (Daraga, Camalig, Ligao, Oas, Polangui, etc.) speaks Albay Bicolano. The fact that Daraga and Legazpi City speak different languages helps explain why they do not merge even though they are contiguous.

Bicol and Bicolanos Online at http://www.gobicol.com/
Search engine and news service for Bicol.

http://www.whatson-expat.com.ph
Free travel newspaper distributed to hotels, restaurants, and bars, airlines, travel agencies, handicraft stores, apartments and condominiums, embassies, fitness centers, car rentals, etc.

Passport2Manila at http://www.passport2manila.com
The resource guide for expats. Offers you insider's tips and practical information from relocation to repatriation. Minimize the challenges in your new home by getting first hand knowledge from Expats for Expats.

Mag-Anak at http://www.mag-anak.org/
This group is dedicated to the discussion of all the issues faced by couples in any Filipino / Western relationship. A forum for Americans filing for fiancee and spousal petitions for their Filipina spouses and girlfriends. The forum offers help and suggestions for filling out and filing INS forms through various processing centers.

The Filipino Global Community at http://philstar.com/philstar/index.htm
Philippine Star newspaper on-line.

Filipino American Community Websites at http://www.thefilipino.com/
A list of many Filipino-American websites including many local organizations arranged by state or country of location.

Filipino Americans.Net at http://www.filipino-americans.net
This website provides information and resources about the immigration of Filipinos to the United States and their history, culture, traditions, and way of life. FilipinoAmericans.net also provides Philippine news from Filipino news sites around the world and original Filipino recipes from many websites.

Filipino Web at http://www.filipinoweb.com
This website's mission is to offer valuable information and good resources related to the Philippines, Filipinos, and Filipino Americans. This site is dedicated to all Filipinos in the Philippines and throughout the world, including Filipino Americans (the original immigrants) who found a new home in America and who are trying to maintain their pride in their homeland, its history, customs, and traditions.

Tanikalang Ginto Search Engine at http://www.filipinolinks.com
Good Pilipino search engine with a very useful directory.

Tanikalang Ginto Search

This site put online on August 31, 2003.