Taking the plunge

Interesting replies....."Living Modestly"
Perhaps I should of said Living Comfortably, I was certainly not referring to people who want a Film-star mansion with a large swiming pool. Perhaps the term "Average Joe, blue collar, retired expat income"would fit the bill.

 

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.

 

Don't tell me, he's got the pool to go with it!

 

Only a splash pool JB.

 

Hardly a mansion.

 

Passed by the other day - Elton was there, Ed was there, Beyonce was there, Dua Lipa was there, Lizzo was there, Charles and Camilla were there (for those who don't know these people they want to STAY IN More!).