⌛ Newbie from America

Hello all.

I am a single man about to retire and looking for a place to flop. I have some health issues but generally I'm ok. I have a buddy who loves PI and that is why I am interested in making my first visit in Dec or January.

He tells me everyone has a gun and there are lots of very desperate people. Is this true ? He lives in Manila but has taken several trips around PI.

I was once a diver and love water. I swim every week at home for excercise and would like to keep that up. I also love to walk. I have a drink from time to time. Any mescal to be had in PI ?

Just looking for quiet simple life in the sun and near the sea. My other retirement options are Costa Rica and Thailand. I have been to LOS (Land of Smiles) Thailand last 3 winters and it agrees with me.

I have yet to research cost of living. Can you tell me how much a man needs for a modest comfortable life in PI ?

Currently I live on W. Coast of Canada. Lovely in summer but dreary wet and dark in summer.


Thank you for your thoughts. Dharmabum

 

please don't take it as an insult, but reading that and looking at your Poll I think Caosta Rica and Thailand are way better retirement destinations for you

 

get a gun ....be afraid....very afraid. here is no worse than anywhere in the world and possibly much better. Manila is a large city and has the same problems as any other large city, the poor flock to them, to dig up the streets that are paved with gold, once there reality kicks in.


Dumaguete is fairly large by philippine standards, but to be honest in my view is a small town that's growing, not to fast i hope, but progress comes, weather you like it or not.

I really think you need to research a bit more and possibly visit before you "tool up" for the Alamo.
Best of luck which ever place you finally decide to "retire" to.

incidently my choice of weapon is the british SA80, can you get one here? lol maybe a few LAWS rockets to be on the safe side, should i need to do a pre-emptive strike on the perps b4 they come for me lol

 

I actually heard that there is also a place in town where you can rent cowboy-boots and ride up and down the boulevard on a karabow waving your guns in the air...

 

One cannot compare Manila to anywhere else in the Philippines. Crime is bad in Manila. Most things are bad in Manila for that matter! lol (Except the night-life...it's one heck of a party town, so maybe not a bad choice for a single guy!)

Dumaguete is MUCH MUCH safer than Manila or even Cebu or AC for that matter. However, I would say that Thailand is generally much safer and more peaceful than the Philippines. (At least in my experience.) Never been to Costa Rica, but my friend who lives there tells me theft is big problem.

I suggest you tour around and spend some time in different locations in all three before you settle on a spot. Thailand is cheaper (unless you like to go out and drink a lot), safer and has much better food; the diving and IMHO girls are better in the Phils...along with the smaller language barrier. But, I really like both!

 

Everyone has a gun and there are lots of very desperate people? Sounds like the U.S.

You can probably pick up AK-47's and rocket launchers from Abu Sayyaf or a similar group. Though those are some of the people you are likely trying to avoid.

 

Thanks flodis I will keep you in mind.

 

I can tell you this

dharmabum I lived in Thailand before I moved to Philippines. Thailand does have it's charms but I find it always unstable as far as the government goes. So I settled in the Philippines and for me it was the best choice. I married and happily. The average cost of living for a westerner is about a one thousand USD a month to maintain your standard of life that you know or more if have a high sytle of living. Manila is not a good place to live. Cebu is okay you can get anything you need. Living in Dumaguete may not be the place for you right now. Visit it check it out it is nice. But to live in a smaller town you need experience with the Philippines and the way of life there. It is nothing that can be explained by anyone you can only live it to know. But once you lived it. You will never want to live anyplace else.

 

Dharmabum, what does the "gun poll" have to do with your kind and gentle post?

 

My gun poll relates to a message I got from a buddy who lives in Manila. I had sent him a "House for sale" ad and asked him for some in country feedback. He replied that everyone and his brother has a gun.

He has been going to Manila, Thailand Hong Kong etc for several years so I wanted his opinion. When I joined this forum I decided to see if his statement had any validity.

I have 3 countries in mind for retirement. Costa Rica, Thailand and PI. I have spent most of my time in Thailand with a short visit to Costa Rica. In CR there are bars on every window, razor wire and glass embedded walls everywhere. Every buisiness in San Jose has a private security guard. If you go to a bank on a busy day there are usually 2 or 3 security guys with automatic rifles posted.

In Thailand you hardly ever see a gun even though it is mostly a military government.

I am not against guns. Guns don't kill people . People kill people. I would not like to live where having a gun is necessary for my health or safety. I also would like to live where people are honest. In thailand with a few exceptions I've found the average thai to be very honest. Of course in the tourist places they will charge all the traffic will bear but usually provide services at competitive rates if you know how to bargain. This is just buisiness.

Theft and violence do occur of course but you seldom see desperate poverty.
I live in a town where there are several killings every year. However it is a port for major shipments of soft and hard drugs so gang rivalry accounts for most of this. Yet I walk the streets unconcerned for my safety even in poor neighborhoods. I don't deal in drugs or criminal activities so I am not perceived as a threat.
Now I know the media is not a good source of information. As you know if it bleeds it leads so stories will always give you a scewed (sp ?) view. I am not usually too paranoid but then again I don't watch much news either.

Does that answer your question ?