⌛ Do we stay or do we go?

But what if he's just a dyslexic agnostic?

 

Well you can be what you want to but history shows that dictatorial regimes go the way of the controlling North Korea or the backward nations of Africa...

 

as much I would like to agree with that statement, but 25 years back the Philippines were one of the top notch South East Asian countries. After the "people got the power" this lovely country keeps falling behind almost daily compared to other south east asian nations.

Telling each other how great they are and how proud everybody is to be Pinoy does not change the facts.

i don't defend dictatorship, but this wonderful country needs a leader who really tells the direction with a strong hand. The last 25 years simply have shown that the system as it is now does not work at all and the gap is getting bigger ... daily ...

 

I agree....was better under Marcos in almost every respect - not to say he wasn't a world class thief - along with his compadres. But the country more or less functioned reasonably well. Only reasonably effective leader since was Ramos. Current president looks like a goldfish out of water, gasping and floundering, and not doing much else....Another waste of six years...

 

So I'm not trying to put words in you peoples mouths but are you all suggesting I take that trip to Vietnam just in case I find I would rather be there??

 

Echir, You made some good point's, but that last comment is that a quote for today. So to sum up this thread I would say that most people think
"The grass is always greener on the other side"
Sadly all to often dreams, are not quite what people imagine and I have found that we (human being's) are the same the whole world over
But I believe that if we stop dreaming, hoping and trusting this world would be a lot less happier place.....so keep smiling, go with the flow and if it get's to hot in the kitchen head for the back door.....JB

 

It certainly is...but in the wrong direction.
More than 10 % of the population is living abroad just to give their family a decent standard of living.
Tens of journalists and civilians where masacred and the whole world knows who the responsible are but no one is convicted.
A man (Honassan)who staged nine coup d'etat as a renegate military is now senator.
Scandals (Fertiliser scandal) was televised direct from the senate for days untill people where fed up but no resposible(first family) has been punished.
The same story with the gambling industry
Each election is tainted by vote buying, each election it is worse, but nothing is done about it.
This country is developing every day indeed.

 

I can afford to stay or leave. I leave annually for a month or two to keep my sanity as this place can get to you but I choose to stay permanently for a number of reasons. PEOPLE!!! they are nice and happy here unlike the miserable ones back in the states. It is a great place to raise my daughter so she has a happy childhood playing and having fun, something long forgotten in the USA. They are too busy watching TV or playing games there and growing soooo fat!!! The education is much better in elementary here and middle school and I can always supplement with tutors CHEAP!!! Massage $7.00 an hour versus $50 to $100/hr. in USA. It is cheaper by far to live here. Also much cheaper $60 sqf to build a house here. I can build a beach house including the 2500 sqm property for perhaps 300,000 USD what would cost upwards of a million to two milion dollars in Florida or California. All in all I love the PI and there are many other reasons I haven't mentioned.

 

So everybody here has their own opinion, so I'll throw mine in for what it's worth.
I think that the majority of those that leave were, and will be, those that expected too much before and after they came here.
I think that they wanted all of the comforts of "home" for a fraction of the cost. I think they expected to live like kings without loosing anything of what they had back "home". That is not going to happen anywhere on this earth.
If you move to a country that has a low cost of living, then you must learn to do without what you had before in many ways.
Over-expectation is the killer of many dreams about here.
So many of my former friends in the US can't live there financially, but when they question me about here, I get repeated "oh, I couldn't live without my (whatever)"
I have been here one year on Jan. 7, and I have learned to do without a multitude of things that I had in Houston. The list is too long to even list here, and it started with a long HOT shower every morning and every night. Not to mention not having my pillow-top king mattress.
But I expected all of this having spent between one and two hours on chat with Mae for 10 months every single evening. She told me what I would have and what I would have to do without.
To be honest, it was really better than the picture that my wife painted of life here.
I don't expect, therefore I don't miss.
Sure, I lost and/or gave up a lot.....a whole lot.....to move here. But it was ALL offset with my gains.
I have had to adjust to a new culture and new ways of doing things, but I have adjusted.
I have learned not to watch NASCAR every Sunday afternoon. I have learned that I really don't need 125 tv channels. I have learned that I really don't need to carry a concealed handgun every time I go somewhere. I have learned that my Kawasaki Rouser 200 is a great substitute for my Harley Superglide.
As for my gains, again, too numerous to list.
Of course, it starts with my wife. After 11 and a half months, I can't imagine having to give myself a bath. Or being alone. Or waking up without her next to me. Or eating in fast-foot joints 3 times a day. Or fighting Houston rush-hour traffic for almost 4 hours a day. Or not being loved very deeply.
As Manzanita said, the US is on a downhill slide in my opinion. It was time to leave for those of us that can/could, and those of us that can live "without" some must have items.
Sure, the Philippines have a LOT of faults, but compaired to what/where? Would anyone like to tell me that the US doesn't have just as many faults, but maybe of a different nature.
As for me, leaving here today, next year or 10 years from now never crosses my mind.
The Philippines is my home, and just like my wife and I said on Feb. 24, 2010 "for better or for worse"
again, just my personal opinion folks.......