Best Posts in Forum: Off-Topic Forum

I have read and heard more about people going to Zanzibar now than I ever heard about before the fatal event. Just goes to show there really is no such thing as bad publicity. For me, I'll continue to boycott it on the grounds that killing the customer whose purchases pay the salaries can never be justified and should not be rewarded with future profits.

 

Even that "Average Joe, blue collar, retired expat income" depends heavily on individual circumstances.
The country of origin matters a lot, more so with regards to the level of your state pension.
But there's also big differences between private pension systems, even within one country (just think about the difference between "defined benefit" and "defined contributions" systems).
For those interested, here's a link to a fairly recent international comparison of pension systems.

From my personal perspective (so very subjective), a retired couple could live fairly comfortable in the Philippines with a budget above 100k a month (1,400 pounds), excluding the cost of health insurance and/or expenses.
However, if one insists on eating the same things as "back home" then count on groceries expenses much higher than would fit in that budget (imported stuff is typically silly expensive here, if at all available). If the fish in your "fish and chips" has to be cod, stay where you are.

My suggestion would be that when desiring to rent in a nice location, drive a car rather than a motorbike, go out for a meal regularly and to have some protection against exchange rate changes, a budget around 2,000 pounds a month is more like it.

In short, yes there are savings to be had here compared to much of Europe, no heating bill, cheaper to rent or buy a house, cheaper to dine out, but there's also pitfalls like the one about groceries mentioned above, but also the rising cost of electricity (of which you'll use a fair bit more because of aircon), and the latent risk of high health related expenses.
Better not to move here without a fair sized nest egg.

And aside from the financials, the willingness to adjust to life here and accept that things here don't work like in most first world countries is vital to a successful move. The other day we had 3 brownouts (blackouts) in 24 hours, one causing me to wake up sweaty in the middle of the night, the other causing us to order food delivery rather than prepare food, and the third to hit me in the shower. If you can't smile over things like that and say "more fun in the Philippines" when untoward things like that happen, don't live here. Frustration is not healthy.

 

i have lost forty pounds since coming here but have a long ways to go. more importantly to me is that i came here on ten prescription meds and i am now down to three, with two of those now being half tabs.

i ride a bicycle almost every day to market and my diet has shifted markedly towards fresh raw vegetables.

i once might have been within hailing distance of mr rye's fitness, having a 28 inch waist, weighing 140 pounds and running every day. wore a three piece suit to work, closed the discos at 2 a m three nights a week and my s*** didn't stink!! but those days are long long gone.

the most important change for me here is that i love every day. i am happier in my personal life than i have ever been. every two years when i go back to the states i reach a new level of loathing for that life i used to live. (tho i still miss the biscuits and gravy but even when i go back i don't eat them anymore)

i am always on the lookout for those things we expats have in common here and will offer the opinion that generally speaking we appear to be and or claim to be happier and more self satisfied here. i know it is markedly true for me.

this is probably a good time to say that my daily dose of dumaguete info is a positive for me and i enjoy the humor, observations, assistance to each other and electronic repartee!

 

My wife told me a sad story the other day regarding a distant relation in Siquijor, this woman was standing at a corner when a drunk on a motorbike managed to run into her and break her arm, it turned out that the drunk had no registration or insurance or money (only money for tanduay) so her arm was never fixed, this happened over 1 month ago so the woman has all sorts of complications to the injury now but the drunk is still on the road with the motorbike as the police feel sorry for him as he would not be able to carry out his business with no motorbike.
So it seems that if Dumaguete is the wild west then Siquijor is the wild wild west.

 

Genuine people often show conpassion to the less fortunate, but it has often been said and I include myself " I care but I can't feed the world"
Sadly sometimes foreigners are look upon as ATMachines, taken advantage of and cast aside when the well runs dry.
As pointed out 57 million people in poverty, it's survival by any means, including some "Fat old men" who provide a meal ticket in return for some comfort they couldn't find elsewhere.
Each to their own reasons and choices, life is a one way ticket for us all, whatever your desires or actions may be. I have been blessed with reasonable good health and have always had food in my belly and a roof over my head, 57 million people in Philippines alone, can't say that. Am I lucky?....... you bet I am!