Need Help On Costs

[ITSMRBILL]

Hi Everyone!

I'm Bill

Thinking about moving to Thailand but the expats there told me on my limited income it would be "harsh". they also told me I would have no medical coverage "like I would at va facilities in the phillipines". I was aware of VA  coverage in the P.I. so here I am lol.

 

I  know ZERO ABOUT LIVING ABROAD never even been out of the U.S.  I am a navy vet who gets 868.00 per month on disability 10.416.00 per year. the poverty level in the u.s. is 11620.00. I,m tired of living at the bottom. I figured if I have to it might as well be in a paradise of my choosing lol.

 

I will take ANY ADVISE FROM YOU EXPERTS THAT IS GIVEN  this is a scary proposition :/

 I can liquidate my total assets and come up with between 10-15.000.00 and can get my benefits of 868.00 per month while still in the phillipines and yes I know I could get tier 6 va coverage still too. I  am 54  years old and in decent health. will look for a wife wherever I am just not the U.S. lol

 

already know a lot of nice girls on facebook etc. don't drink do drugs or have any weird vices ..just a normal christian guy. I was in security and an ex cop who can still take care of myself....just not monetarily lol I am in California at present but going back to florida at the end of September.

 

any help will be appreciated

 

Thanks to all of you!

 

 

 

[MikeB]

Split post from Introductions to this thread. Welcome.

[robert k]

Welcome.

 

I think you could live a decent life, provided the medical works out, I would not assume that it will, I recommend more research on the VA subject. I don't believe it would be a permanent vacation though. I think you would be better off in the province where rent and utilities without or with sparing use of airconditioning could be less than $300 per month. Personally I would do without the airconditioning alltogether because the things seem to go bad if you don't use them enough. Fans. Unplug anything you are not using. Automatic voltage regulator and surge protectors are highly desirable as poorly regulated power is hard on many appliances and you don't want to have to buy more. Keep it unplugged if not in use, if I followed this in the states I could save probably $75 a month in electricity. Keep it simple, if you can get internet and net TV, Netflix or what have you and VOIP communication for a base fee or base and one add on fee, if you get more it costs more and how much do you really use at one time? Phone load and a dumb phone shouldn't break you. I find it cheaper to buy P40 load to text or call someone on their own network than to call them from a different provider. Raise chickens, if you are going to be woken by a rooster, it might as well be your rooster. Chickens are good at converting leftovers that you were going to throw out into eggs and more chicken. You might start a small garden, that chicken poop has to go somewhere, be sure to compost it first. Stay away from cheap cars, unless you really like to work on them and are really good at it. A trike could be a good option for getting around and hauling a certain amount, same with an owner type jeep, reliability and cost effectiveness come from simplicity. Start small, limit your budget and acclimatize, then add to your expenditures until you are comfortable and you will figure out the things you are willing to pay for and possibly some things that you really don't or rarely miss that you have been paying for your whole adult life.

 

If I lived in the city, I would try to do without owning a car, just use trikes,  jeepneys and ride busses for longer distances

 

I would pin down the VA thing, I don't think it is a given and might be a nasty shock. Otherwise, I would say you will have to try it. I don't know exactly how much insurance would cost in the Philippines, I saw a guy on youtube from a couple years ago and he said then it cost $375 a year, I would guess $500 now as an estimate. Add to this the just under $800 a year to stay on tourist visa, I think it's still doable, if you are single with a "friend". If you are married, it might save you the tourist visa costs but since all foreigners are rich, you will be tested, possibly quite severly, if you don't marry an orphan.

 

Don't expect savings just because you are married, I think it will be an ebb and flow kind of thing, save on some things and it costs extra for others. Two of the greatest lines I have heard in the last couple years are one guy saing his girlfriend saves him alot of money. And another guy asked if the girlfriend saved him so much money, how many girlfriends would you have to have to show an outright profit?

 

I just covered my take on a popular topic here. You should search past threads because there are others who I don't agree with on all points but I respect their opinions and freely admit that had I been raised in an upper middle class lifestyle instead of being raised by wolves, my opinion would differ from theirs not at all.

Edited July 23, 2014 by robert k

[frosty (chris)]

Hi Everyone!

I'm Bill

Thinking about moving to Thailand but the expats there told me on my limited income it would be "harsh". they also told me I would have no medical coverage "like I would at va facilities in the phillipines". I was aware of VA  coverage in the P.I. so here I am lol.

 

I  know ZERO ABOUT LIVING ABROAD never even been out of the U.S.  I am a navy vet who gets 868.00 per month on disability 10.416.00 per year. the poverty level in the u.s. is 11620.00. I,m tired of living at the bottom. I figured if I have to it might as well be in a paradise of my choosing lol.

 

I will take ANY ADVISE FROM YOU EXPERTS THAT IS GIVEN  this is a scary proposition :/

 I can liquidate my total assets and come up with between 10-15.000.00 and can get my benefits of 868.00 per month while still in the phillipines and yes I know I could get tier 6 va coverage still too. I  am 54  years old and in decent health. will look for a wife wherever I am just not the U.S. lol

 

already know a lot of nice girls on facebook etc. don't drink do drugs or have any weird vices ..just a normal christian guy. I was in security and an ex cop who can still take care of myself....just not monetarily lol I am in California at present but going back to florida at the end of September.

 

any help will be appreciated

 

Thanks to all of you!

Hi Bill, first welcome to the forum, there is loads of info here on living costs, best you spend sometime reading through them and I think you will get a better idea. One of your countrymen (Tim) I think lives on around the amount you are talking about, some say a thousand is enough and it goes on from there, depends on where, what and how you want to live, me I can get by on a thousand a month but if any unexpected expenses come up I am usually over that amount. Good luck to you.

Edited July 23, 2014 by frosty (chris)

[scott h]

Welcome Bill. As a retired vet myself welcome. I am afraid you will not like most of the answers you will get but I won't sugar coat it and give it to you straight like I would one of my troops. As said above, others live on that amount. I would not want to, but it could be done. Now if you are service connected disabled, you can get medical treatment at the VA here in Manila. However I am 98% sure that it only covers those disability that ARE service connected. If you break your leg, you on your own. There is Tri-care standard here, $300 a year premium and then they will cover 75% of the cost, you pick up the rest. The VA is a double edge sword, if you need regular care, it is only provided in Manila which naturally has the highest cost of living.

 

Again as said above there are a lot of topics with price comparisons that you can search to get an idea if you can really afford to live as you expect to. Pay close attention to what is expected of you if you hook up with a local girl and the expectations of her family. Read the scare stories and believe them.

 

Having said all this please remember another thing "THERE IS NO SAFETY NET" here in the Philippines. If you run out of money or run into an unforeseen expense there is no SSI or SSDI or unemployment or welfare assistance. Even the embassy will not be of much help. They will help you make a phone call to the states and that's about it.

 

Again welcome and do some searching in the forum and ask specific questions if you have them. You might not like the answers but the members here are always straight with other members.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

Yeah, I live on $800 a month... and would recommend $1,200 ha ha.   It is pretty tight and there is no safety net.  My wife and I are discussing possibly going back to the US for 5 years - until I can actually retire, then come back.  I don't really like the idea, but it is a possibility.  (I am on 50% disability only)

 

The VA has only one clinic, and it is in Manila.  Scott is right - it only covers service connected issues.  I hate Manila, and live on a different island, so I have never been to the Manila VA.  But I hear a lot of bad things.

 

But if you are surviving in the US on $868 then you should be able to better here on the same amount.  My rent is only p6,500 (about $150 USD)  That is a big help!

[ITSMRBILL]

thanks guys geez I'd rather jump into a black hole without a chute lol odds look better....I'm not looking forward to being homeless in florida. I get ssdi and im in pretty good health just have a bum ankle and require a cane on bad days... im 100% but its not service connected its drunk driver hit me on my motorcycle in 1980 connected lol. would like to talk to tim or anyone living on that amount...I'm not happy with my level of 'existance' in the u.s. it pisses me off to no end that I ended up like this after working hard for 33 years. all while the border is being flooded...there goes any hope I have for even getting section 8 assistance all those programs have dried up...for some reason haha. I figured if I gotta live like a dog live where the dogs play haha. looks bleak but everywhere I look looks bleak I think my only solice would be that im not getting kickedaround in the us anymore.....just somewhere where I expect to... I could sawallow that better..if you know what I mean. im a discrace here ..there I could be that funny blonde guy lol.

 

theres gotta be a way... my options here are gonna force me to take the plunge....I literally have nothing to lose.

I will do all my homework with your help...and check all the boxes before I jump....but no matter how I land..its always gonna be ruff for someone on my means.....hope the beaches are nice and the ssurfboards cheap haha any help with intel will be used to reach the objective

 god bless you guys! and thanks!

[ITSMRBILL]

thaaats what I need to hear tim!!... I have a nice 34ft bounder rv its on my facebook page the problem is. I cant even afford to park it in an rv park in florida that is around 4-500 a month and my bills are that much!...so I go around from parking lot to parking lot.. the problem with that is every parking lot within 20 miles of Clearwater beach florida knows my rv by now and immediately boots me even if im their best customer!..in 2 months I will have to go back into that mess from my  hometown sacto. ca. im  NOT  looking forward to going backwards...I figured if I could just get over there and pay 150-200 for rent? then im far far better off than ANYWHERE HERE IN THE U.S.!  that is the kind of info I need to digest......150.00 PER MONTH FOR RENT WOULD BE LIKE WINNING THE LOTTERY TO ME!..... JUST NEED A PLACE TO HANG MY HAT WITHOUT ANYONE TELLING ME I CANT OCCUPY THE SPACE I AM...WOW HOW COMFORTING THAT WOULD BE MAN! could you guys send me numbers and contacts etc/ if I knew what I could get....I'd be on a plane in a minute......to go from the airport to my shack and pay 6 months rent would be the breather I need!! HOOOAAAHHH!

[ITSMRBILL]

awesome info!.. as for the medical I get the bottom feeder special here... so if I didn't have it I wouldn't be missing much at all. and I figured the girls and family expectaions would be what you say etc. they think all foreigners are rich..we are...by their standards.. but by our standards they don't live up to theirs lol= college?....uh... no way in hell lol. so I guess steady gf is out:( ive been married 3 times=part of my financial-no ALL of my financial nightmare haha. I think I could also live much better there on 900.00 a month because I know its impossible here... ive tried every way possible=same result sorry your credit sucks-duh and my favorite 'YOU DONT MAKE AT LEAST 3 TIMES THE RENT"...... tired of hearing all that. I'D RATHER HEAR ' ME LIKE BILL HE PAY RENT 1 YEAR IN ADVANCE HE LIKE MY SON" from the landlord everytime I see her  haha I will check out ALL  the frum topics but geez if you guys are dishing out hope......I'm getting stuffed lol thanks.....positive in a sea of negative is the only thing that floats you.

 

BOOM!

[SubicSteve]

My advice.... Do NOT come here.  Your $800 a month will not be enough to live on with ANY level of comfort.  You have never been out of the states and want to move to a 3rd world (non)developing country????  Forget air conditioning, forget having a car.  EVERYTHING here is expensive except beer, cigarettes, women and labor.  Food, electricity, gasoline will all cost more than back home.  It will cost thousands of dollars to get yourself set up in an apartment and that will leave you with NO safety net.  Do you have $10,000 to put away, NEVER to be touched unless you need to repatriate yourself?

 

If you find a girl and she moves in, you must feed 2 people and take care of her medical needs.  99.999% of the time you will also be supporting her family.  If you can't support them, they will put pressure on her to find someone who can.

 

Think.  Think long and hard.

 

Good luck.