Second Thoughts?

[Curley]

I had more or less decided on retiring/moving to the Phils, I'm chatting with two lovely women and yet somehow I am not convinced that the Phils is the right place for me. I love the fact that 20 something girls are keen to hook up with a silly old fart but the squalor and general behaviour really don't please me. If I want to live near the beach and have a little boat then I have to take it out of the water or risk losing it and anything in it. Golf? Too hot and humid and the courses are not in good condition. Hobbies? Walking in a shopping Mall..... no thanks. Safety and security...... there's so much negativity on here..... is it really justified? Cheap to live? If you rent a studio in an area shared by locals then yes rents are cheap but to rent something decent with decent furniture and the price is much higher. Hotels are far more expensive than say Thailand for both long term and short term. It seems that the internet is pretty poor and unreliable unless you live in the city and I'm not very keen on city living unless it's clean and welcoming. Is it just me getting cold feet?

I need an interest, I'm not a film or TV fan................. I have considered getting involved with the local community with a "helping" project..... something like community building of earthbag houses. Your thoughts and ideas please Ladies and Gentleman

I think I'll put off my retirement to the Phils until after a trip to Colombia, looking at flying to Medellin on 9th Jan for a month to have a proper look at life there

[stevewool]

its down to you where ever you want to be, not so long ago my ideal place was northern france, i love the area and i wanted to get back to growing and living of the land, but that was another life, my wife is from the phils and yes we go back for our holidays and one day its our dream to live out there too, lots of planning is needed before we make that last trip, and lots of money too, but so far nothing has put me off thinking bohol will be called home,things to do, building our home, growing all we need, playing a guitar, voilin or what ever i can get my hands on for cheap,who knows whether all these things will happen, its down to me to help them all happen know one else

[Curley]

I too love the land and growing fruit and veg organically, perhaps you should have a look at earthbag building, very strong and very cheap to build with labour in the Phils being so inexpensive. You can build small and simple or join several together. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-an-Earthbag-Roundhouse/

[JJReyes]

Curley, if you have experience in earthbag building, I may have a pro-poor project for you. Right now my focus is bamboo bungalows that can withstand earthquakes and super typhoons without sustaining damage. The treated bamboo is also fire resistant. Our plan is to construct an eco-village using bamboo for retired vegans, vegetarians and organic consumers in the Philippines. We will also supply residents with organic fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains from multiple farm sources.

Edited December 17, 2012 by JJR

[sjp52]

I had more or less decided on retiring/moving to the Phils, I'm chatting with two lovely women and yet somehow I am not convinced that the Phils is the right place for me. I love the fact that 20 something girls are keen to hook up with a silly old fart but the squalor and general behaviour really don't please me. If I want to live near the beach and have a little boat then I have to take it out of the water or risk losing it and anything in it. Golf? Too hot and humid and the courses are not in good condition. Hobbies? Walking in a shopping Mall..... no thanks. Safety and security...... there's so much negativity on here..... is it really justified? Cheap to live? If you rent a studio in an area shared by locals then yes rents are cheap but to rent something decent with decent furniture and the price is much higher. Hotels are far more expensive than say Thailand for both long term and short term. It seems that the internet is pretty poor and unreliable unless you live in the city and I'm not very keen on city living unless it's clean and welcoming. Is it just me getting cold feet?

I need an interest, I'm not a film or TV fan................. I have considered getting involved with the local community with a "helping" project..... something like community building of earthbag houses. Your thoughts and ideas please Ladies and Gentleman

I think I'll put off my retirement to the Phils until after a trip to Colombia, looking at flying to Medellin on 9th Jan for a month to have a proper look at life there

If you are a neat freak or everything has to be just so and organized then maybe its not for you. The first time I went there it was so different to what I am use to. But I had a great time and experienced so many interesting things and places and it was fun meeting new people that were friendly and did things different than I did. The only thing you can do is try it just like you are in Colombia ( im interested to hear how you make out there ). If you get frustrated easily than this place is not for you. I have lived 55 years in the same place with the same people and wanted a change and boy did I get it. I saw so many poor people laughing and enjoying life with out all the expensive items we work so hard to get in the west. When I got in my motorcycle accident there was around 35 or 40 friends and family show up at the hospital with in a half hour of me being there worried a bout me. Paying the bills and get stuff done can be a challenge here but there never seems to be a dull moment and I have never laughed so much with people as I do in the Philippines.You will not find a 1st world country life style on a 3rd world country budget no matter where you look.

Happy Hunting.

[i am bob]

Have you considered spending a bit of time as a Nomad? Live in one country for a while... Try another for a while... and then another.... Maybe go back and try a different place in one of the first countries... This will help you decide where you really want to be and how you want to live. I know of one guy who has been doing this for almost 20 years and is having too much fun to ever settle down.

[Curley]

Have you considered spending a bit of time as a Nomad? Live in one country for a while... Try another for a while... and then another.... Maybe go back and try a different place in one of the first countries... This will help you decide where you really want to be and how you want to live. I know of one guy who has been doing this for almost 20 years and is having too much fun to ever settle down.

Yes, I have considered it and have traveled to many places in the Phils and other parts of Asia over the last ten years. My main reason for wanting to leave my idyllic island and wonderful climate is to find myself a loving partner, I want a fixed abode, not a succession of hotels.

[Curley]

Curley, if you have experience in earthbag building, I may have a pro-poor project for you. Right now my focus is bamboo bungalows that can withstand earthquakes and super typhoons without sustaining damage. The treated bamboo is also fire resistant. Our plan is to construct an eco-village using bamboo for retired vegans, vegetarians and organic consumers in the Philippines. We will also supply residents with organic fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains from multiple farm sources.

I don't have experience of building earthbag houses but did build a high wall using them and I can turn my hand to any building work, it really is a very simple building technique that anyone with a modicum of common sense can learn, just watch some of the videos in the link I gave.

I wonder how your bamboo bungalows will compare with earthbag for price and ease of building, if they are super typhoon proof and earthquake proof they must be a lot better than many typical Philippine structures, will they last for thousands of years as earthbag structures will? What will happen when you Fillipino with a skinfull drives his truck into the bamboo bungalow?

[Curley]

I had more or less decided on retiring/moving to the Phils, I'm chatting with two lovely women and yet somehow I am not convinced that the Phils is the right place for me. I love the fact that 20 something girls are keen to hook up with a silly old fart but the squalor and general behaviour really don't please me. If I want to live near the beach and have a little boat then I have to take it out of the water or risk losing it and anything in it. Golf? Too hot and humid and the courses are not in good condition. Hobbies? Walking in a shopping Mall..... no thanks. Safety and security...... there's so much negativity on here..... is it really justified? Cheap to live? If you rent a studio in an area shared by locals then yes rents are cheap but to rent something decent with decent furniture and the price is much higher. Hotels are far more expensive than say Thailand for both long term and short term. It seems that the internet is pretty poor and unreliable unless you live in the city and I'm not very keen on city living unless it's clean and welcoming. Is it just me getting cold feet?

I need an interest, I'm not a film or TV fan................. I have considered getting involved with the local community with a "helping" project..... something like community building of earthbag houses. Your thoughts and ideas please Ladies and Gentleman

I think I'll put off my retirement to the Phils until after a trip to Colombia, looking at flying to Medellin on 9th Jan for a month to have a proper look at life there

If you are a neat freak or everything has to be just so and organized then maybe its not for you. The first time I went there it was so different to what I am use to. But I had a great time and experienced so many interesting things and places and it was fun meeting new people that were friendly and did things different than I did. The only thing you can do is try it just like you are in Colombia ( im interested to hear how you make out there ). If you get frustrated easily than this place is not for you. I have lived 55 years in the same place with the same people and wanted a change and boy did I get it. I saw so many poor people laughing and enjoying life with out all the expensive items we work so hard to get in the west. When I got in my motorcycle accident there was around 35 or 40 friends and family show up at the hospital with in a half hour of me being there worried a bout me. Paying the bills and get stuff done can be a challenge here but there never seems to be a dull moment and I have never laughed so much with people as I do in the Philippines.You will not find a 1st world country life style on a 3rd world country budget no matter where you look.

Happy Hunting.

Neat freak? No, not really although i like to live in a tidy house I am not a very tidy person, I have lived in Spain for 26 years and when I first left my friends all said that I would never cope with the laid back manaña approach but I have managed it. First world lifestyle on a third world budget? Nope, I'm looking at living on a reasonable first world budget.

[Dave Hounddriver]

there's so much negativity on here..... is it really justified?

You post some very real concerns and I will only answer this one. Yes. There are also postive posts and they are also justified. There is good and bad everywhere so do not come looking for paradise. For many of us the positive aspects outweigh the negative aspects and we will stay here until the balance tips.