Question Best Posts in Thread: Why we leave

I leave for the Philippines to live in 10 days so my prospective is from someone going to live there. Last year I was at the end of my marriage and I knew a change was needed. I made the decision to live closer to the ocean. I looked into Florida but the costs are too high for my meager pension. I looked into Mexico, Panama, Ecuador but didn't find anything on the internet that suited me. I've always liked Asian women and wanted to visit Thailand . Thailand's visa situation didn't look good so I looked at Cambodia next, I read somewhere it's the most landmined country in the world so no thank you. Vietnam didn't feel right because of the war even though I joined the military after the war in 1979. When I found out the Philippines had 7,107 islands and spoke English I wanted to try it. Then I found out about the girls being willing to date older men I said bonus. I'm 55 and dating a filipina who is 47. So I'm not interested in 20 year old girls but to each their own. A 3 month test run convinced me to try living in the Philippines. I will take a one month vacation in Japan before heading to Dumaguete. That's my boring story of why I'm moving there.

 

I think for most it comes to the same reasons while may flip around which is the top reasons depending on who.

For me, I'm a disabled veteran on disability compensation. My compensation every month was enough for decent food and a nice apartment in the states but that is about as far as it would stretch most months due to costs of living. If I wanted to go to the movies or out to eat I had to budget it carefully. Due to by status it was very hard finding a decent gal as while I got a check I wasn't moving upwards financially, didn't have a car, and pretty much seen as undesirable to western women unless I wanted an older woman with a couple of kids who was desperate.

So the top two reasons for me in the Philippines was financial freedom where I can do things within reason whenever I want without always having to look and worry on the bank account and then a woman that didn't have all the big materialistic and financial demands most western women do. Beyond that it was also wanting to see and experience something new and different.

 

Well I think that every one has touched on part of the reasons that most of us come here. I was " stationed" in South America for 20 years out of 30 and spent most of the other 10 overseas here and in asia and europe so when I finally returned stateside in 2004 I felt out of place. i had learned to live a simpler less materialistic life and had spoken other languages for years. I had a four year relationship with my wife before coming here permanently to live as I couldn't afford to take the family back stateside. My wife has two brothers who are now in the university and an 8 year old daughter and her mother. Just trying to take my wife to the states and our daughter would still be more than my income could justify so I opted to come here. I have been here over a year now and feel comfortable and we are doing fine but not as elegant perhaps as I lived in the states but equal to what I lived in South America. We have our chickens and our pigs and we live in the countryside and we are happy. I dont miss Florida traffic and all the costs associated with living there, I dont even need a car anymore. Yes I'm trying to learn Tagolog and Bisaya and at least when I try it makes people laugh. Just wish I had saved a little more than I did but as long as the Eagle flies we are fine. I hope to contribute to some of my neighbors and friends through teaching for free and offering what knowledge I have. After all these years I think of myself a Citizen of the World. I served Uncle when he needed me and he has treated me well. Adventure? Well I dont know about that but life is what you make of it and people everywhere can be wonderful. Of all the places I could go in this world I think the Philippines is one of the best choices.

 

I CAME TO MARRY THE GIRL HER COUSIN INTRDUCED TO ME 8 YEARS AGO!! SO I MOVED HERE AND NEVER LOOKED BACK!! THE BEST DECISION GOD GAVE ME!! NOW WE ARE LIVING ON A DIME & LOVE EACH OTHER VERY MUCH!! SHE IS MY PARTNER, CONFIDANT, BEST FRIEND & SOUL MATE!! OH I CAN NOT SURVEVE IN AMERICA ON MY RETIREMENT, BUT HERE IS EASY!!

 

I'm not here yet lol, But I intend to take early retirement next year and live here. Why ? Because my wife is from the Philippines and I love her and the Filipinos. Plus I hate where I live (UK) the people I detest, the government I hate, plus the City's look like Pakistan/ Afghanistan with all their mosque. So that's why I'm leaving the UK.

 

Why we leave?, should be why we come, they are separate questions with sometimes a different answers...
Unless you have met a girl and plan to move here to retire and live in eternal bliss.(won't happen), We may leave the US or another country for one reason, and choose the Philippines to emigrate to for quite another.
Deciding to go to any Asian country and bring your American lifestyle and tastes with you is a big mistake in my opinion. I see guys doing this all the time. refusing to eat Filipino food, never go out in the province, or have all the middle class baggage they should have left behind. They only hang out at Mcdonalds or some other expat haven, only socialize with fellow expats, and lock themselves up at night in their compounds.
This is no paradise, it is cheaper to live here if you are willing to take lessons from your hosts, and live simply. You will always be a "foreigner" held at arms length to varying degrees, Viewed as a cross between a martian and a rich patron who should give away all his money, we are an alien life form here.
I lived here 11 years, I like it, but not for the reasons I came here for. It is always warm, It is easy to live here for many reasons, Most people are friendly and helpful if you find the right groups and invest time in trying to understand their culture. I like the food, For the first couple of years it is flattering to have 18 year old girls(and boys) treat you as a sexual object. That wears out as you realize it is all a hustle, even your wives have probably hustled you cleverly. But not to say it is not a reciprocal agreement that gives both parties the things they want, or think they want. I realize many come here to be Peso millionaires, and if you can afford it, like to live in the style to which you had in your former country, it is all good, but I feel you miss out on something if you don't embrace, at least partially, the local culture.
It is always a love hate relationship living here, but for me I have absorbed most of the negatives and embrace the positives, none of which I had a clue about before I came here.

 

I retired at the end of April and am planning to go there in the near future, so my perspective is one not living in the Philippines yet.

First, I am worried that if I stayed here all I would do is stay at home, thinking of me not working!

Second, although my retirement income is sufficient to live a more modest lifestyle, I would expect to have a comparable standard of living for less, although I know if I try to duplicate a USA lifestyle it would be very expensive.

Third, going to the Philippines will be a good CTR-ALT-DEL going from a work life to a retired life.

Fourth, allows my wife to partially retire also (does an asawa ever truly retire?) by getting part-time help.

Fifth, an opportunity to give back.

Sixth, experience other cultures and countries nearby.

Seventh, maybe this old Kano can learn Bisaya!

Eighth, live a simpler lifestyle.

Ninth, enjoy and appreciate the Philippine land, culture and people!

Got many more. We will do a trial run of about two years and if we thing the positives outweigh the negatives then we may make the Philippines our permenant home. We feel that two years is about the right time.

Gary

 

I left looking for a cheaper and simpler lifestyle, away from all the fakers watching/judging who is and is not "keeping up with the Joneses", and the holier than thou politically correct nonsense. I also wanted to return to an adventure seeking out, living among, and understanding different cultures.

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