BrettGC

Down here in Australia on both PC and Android, messenger however is working on mobile.

I just woke up and SAO has sent me no less than 15 messages about FB being down...

The Angry Midget whilst she's a filipina is a pragmatist, and she's always said to me have a look at Cambodia. She loves her country but she says they are better deals out there. Not so much with the ownership etc but with what we have to deal with when we're old. Certain countries have realised that there's a massive market to be tapped. There's already tiered retirement villages set up to cater to old white folk at a fraction of the price of our home countries. Anyway, when I can move there I'll be in PH, and when I'm old and infirm maybe somewhere else. There is no final destination.

They're an alright bunch I guess The outdoor bar was closed?? What is the world coming to??

I'm in an unusual situation financially. Right now my navy pension is about 75k a month and as most of you know I'll receive that for life. When I left the navy, there was a sizeable preserved lump sum that had to be rolled over into super (retirement fund) by law and I've been contributing to that amount (by law in Australia), well my employers have, at 9.5% of my gross. When I reach 60 and can access my superannuation (retirement fund), if I draw an income from it rather than take the lump sum the 75k will double based on projected earnings etc up until I'm that age. So if I was to leave for PI tomorrow, I'd be living relatively comfortably and upon turning 60 I'll be receiving, based on my research, what working professionals in PI earn. First time in my life since I was a kid that I've actually looked forward to growing "old"!

Pass on my congratulations please Kev :)

Misread the post, ignore me.

Seems a bit expensive to me. I'm not sure how different the cost of the visa is in the USA but when we used an agency based in Cebu for an Australian tourist visa I think the total with the application fee included was about $500AUD for a 12 month multiple entry tourist visa - maximum stay 90 days at a time. The application fee for an Australian visa is about $168AUD from memory. The agency we used were great, they covered all bases and we provided way too much information than was strictly necessary but now we're in a very good position for the residency visa with all the information we gathered. Personally I'd be emailing the agency in The Philippines myself for a breakdown of costs. We used Enhance Visa in Cebu and we couldn't recommend them highly enough. Great service and very thorough.

I hope it happens the way they want it to. Back in the day, when I was Aussie navy, and we were in Subic, we dreaded diving there for hull maintenance for fear of illness etc. I've been diving there in the last 5 years and it's actually great for WWII wrecks etc now. Having said all that, it's a massive stretch for the same to occur in Manila Bay given what it's still used for.... Anyway, the locals need to understand what they've lost or losing for anything to be done. I applauded when Dutarte closed Boracay to sort things out. This isn't about economics, it's about sustainability and conservation.... They're not mutually exclusive, in fact one could say you can't have one without the other. Preserve the planet and not trash it. Who woulda thunk it?

That's the point I guess, those that are covered by this new legislation probably can't afford it.. Yes, I see your point.. That's what make me wonder why it's in place to begin with <firmly puts his tin foil hat on>

As Jack stated, doing it the way he does - I'm assuming Balikbayan - is obviously cheaper. Well even tourist visa extensions are cheaper short to mid-term, but I'm just wondering if there's any advantage to citizenship/dual for those countries that do allow it? I for one, would much rather be looked after by an Australian or European consulate (I'm dual Aussie/Irish - where there's no Irish representation EU consular officials treat all EU members as their own) if something untoward occurred outside the Philippines.

At first glance I had my tin foil hat on and saw it as a scheme to flush out illegals, but then I saw the cost...

I was actually posted to the UK as an instructor whilst in the Royal Australian Navy, I was what variously known over the course of my career a ROES, EWT and finally, CTI. In the UK, Scarborough, in the US, Ft Meade were a couple of my postings as instructor, student and on exchange as a billet filler : . So yeah, very familiar with the real history of Bletchley Park. What amazed me was the audacity of the Hollywood to completely alter who actually captured U-571; it was actually the Brits, not the US . Anyway, at the time the Allies had already captured several Enigma machines so it wasn't that much of a coup. The movie was a combination of the sinking of both u-boats 571 and 110 with a large degree of artistic licence to the point it was mentioned in the British parliament disparagingly as an insult to British sailors. Take the movie for what it is, pure entertainment. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/25/u-571-reel-history

Is there any other way to drive?

The Angry Midget is jealous of my female friends, some that go back to high school. That goes up a notch for my Filipina friends, some I've known for years, and they're just that, friends. As for her female friends or relatives, she seems pretty secure on that front, and I've met most of them. My response to any jealousy or jealousy related tampo is "You're cute when you're jealous". This has varying reactions.