How Did You Become An Expat Living In Philippines?

[Old55]

What was the event or epiphany in your life that caused you to become an Expat living in Philippines?

 

[Bellacissa]

My husband became an expat in the Middle East when he was offered a job there five years ago. I stayed in the states for the first four. I moved to Thailand last year with the expectation of starting to invest in some property and prepping for our retirement there ten years from now. But, the military coup happened and after a year of living there, I decided it was too oppressive for our lifestyle and security.

So, I moved to the Philippines and we're going to retire here instead. I've been here for a month and couldn't be happier with the decision.

[Old55]

Thank you Bella! Your perspective is awesome. so many of the members living in Philippines are retired men married to Filipinas but for sure there are others like yourself too.

[lyno 47]

If someone said to me 10yrs ago I would be living in the Philippines ,I would have said you are out of your mind.

I first came here in the late 60s on r+r,since that time I have been here 4-5 times and gradually coming to really like the people and the country .My wife was born in Cebu,but lived most of her life in AUZ . After  witnessing the decline of my home country and the high cost of living and realising that my pension at home would not be sufficient to live a decent lifestyle ,we decided to move to Cebu ,its a decision I have not regretted .

[Dave Hounddriver]

On my first vacation here I found out that I was treated like a king.  Its a nice feeling.  When I went back to work after that I lasted 2 months before realizing I had enough to live here on the cheap.  Been here ever since.

[luke]

Arrived here on an expat job in the 90's and managed to stay on till today.

Currently living & working in Makati, because of the right work environment, I plan to move to Subic or elsewhere after retirement, away from Metro Manila. 

[AlwaysRt]

Being an old timer here now, let me check the calendar... yup, almost 24 hours now, I can tell you how I got here.

 

First, I realized I had enough to live comfortably in another country. Decided on Central or South America and was flipping a coin between Panama and Columbia. Went down to Guatemala last year to meet a friend and as a trial run. Many expats there said I needed to experience the Phils before deciding where to land permanently. I liked Guatemala enough I went back home and sold everything last May, except for what I can carry in one backpack and one suitcase.

 

Fully mobile and with nothing but time I visited several US Parks out west, ending up in Alaska. Upon buying my ticket to the Phils I found stopping in Hong Kong was cheaper ($300 USD cheaper to buy separate ticket to and then from HK on Delta) than a layover in Hong Kong and ended up staying there a few months - which was yesterday. 

 

As a veteran I was going to go to Manila/Angeles but after much reading and asking questions I first switched to Cebu then to Dumaguete/Valencia as places that are a better match to my particular wants/needs/desires.

[DavidK]

I married a Filipina. :thumbsup:

[manofthecoldland]

I married a Filipina. :thumbsup:

:tiphat: Occam's Razor. /  Cause & Effect.

[Queenie O.]

I was a US Peace Corps Volunteer in the early eighties who met, fell in love and married a Filipino from my assigned town in Cebu province. After spending several years living in the States, and visiting Cebu often, we decided to take a leap of faith and with our savings relocate to my husband's town in Cebu. We have been here two years now and are happy. There is definitely a learning curve to living here permanently though. It isn't like a short visit no matter how long or often those visits are,

We live in a house that we had built by the sea. My situation is a unique one.

Queenie