If Not The Philippines Then Where?

[Garpo]

We all know that retirement in the Philippines is not what it was five, ten, or more years ago. That being said, other than to find a good Filipina, is there any other reason why other parts of the world would not be a better place to retire too? I hear about places like Costa Rica and Ecuador, etc. etc. but was wondering what other places you would consider other than the Philippines? Would also be interested in the reasons to consider a different country and what would make them better than here.

[Old55]

Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico (yes there are safe places to live or visit in Mexico), Argentina, Vet Nam, Thailand would all provide a good location to live on a modest budget. Cuba will soon open up too.In our case we have children and will retire here in the States. I love Philippines but for us is not a good choice.

[Art2ro]

The Philippines is better now than it was five, ten, or more years ago! My wife and I are both Fil/Ams, we've been living here going on 13 yrs now and have no plans on leaving anytime soon! Where else could you take your Filipina wife or girlfriend to another overseas country and fit in? They may have a better chance for their future in the U.S. if one's source of income is adequate to live in the U.S., which I read often that it is doable during the U.S. recession!

[Mr Lee]

We all know that retirement in the Philippines is not what it was five, ten, or more years ago. That being said, other than to find a good Filipina, is there any other reason why other parts of the world would not be a better place to retire too? I hear about places like Costa Rica and Ecuador, etc. etc. but was wondering what other places you would consider other than the Philippines? Would also be interested in the reasons to consider a different country and what would make them better than here.

Great question.I often wonder why Americans do not think about just moving to another less expensive to live state within the US rather than moving all the way across the world. Some examples might be Arkansas, Alabama, Florida (no income tax state), Oregon, Nevada (no income tax state) and others. There are blogs all over the internet listing which places cost less and why. Here is one, Cheapest places to live in American to give people an idea of costs, and for those Americans with small incomes, there is government assistance and free emergency care that they will not find anywhere else in the world.The US is far from perfect but when I compare overall costs for my wife and myself, I find we can live in Florida or Cebu for about the same cost when taking out the cost of rentals because we own in both places, yet I see in the newspapers every week efficiency apartments for rent with cable, wifi, water and electric for $500 to $650 a month, so I am sure they must cost even less up mid state. One of my friends was renting a mobile home up in Ocala for $300 a month but he then had to pay his own cable, water and electric, so deals are out there to be had. I also see homes to share all the time and rooms to rent in homes for as low as $200 a month, so possibly a place to start while getting settled in.Once the women are taken out of the equation, or once a US citizen finds a great wife, then parts of the US might be another option, but of course situations will be different for all of us and one thing which must be taken into account will be health insurance costs for ourselves and our ladies, since healthcare within the Philippines should cost much less and they have inexpensive PhilHealth to help.

[Dave Hounddriver]

One stumbling block that occurs to me is: Does any other place have green mangos and dried fish? Without which my wife gets very grumpy.I know how much I miss western foods and I have eaten a huge variety of cuisine over my lifetime. My wife has only experienced a vary basic menu and even taking her to expensive restaurants in Hong Kong is a heartbreaking experience. The bill is huge but she finds nothing she likes to eat. Where's the dried fish and green mango? She asks.

[Garpo]

One thing that I would consider more if I was looking to relocate again would be a country or place that I could own and operate a small business. That is almost impossible here in the Philippines.

[MikeB]

I've heard pretty good things about Panama, they seem to have one of the best retirement incentives and still relatively cheap, unlike Costa Rica. However, If you go beyond all the marketing hype that all these countries push and read the blogs and comments from the expats and people living there, most are complaining about the same things we are: poor infrastructure, price gouging, crime, rising expenses, corruption, etc. If you blacked out the country name you couldn't tell one from another. I guess no place is perfect, maybe it's mainly what you make it.

[JJReyes]

Approximately 60% of American retirees will need assistance from a caregiver sometime during their lifetime. Our preference is to live in Hawaii, and my wife and I are saving money towards this goal. If we should ever need 24/7 care, there is no choice for us except to relocate to the Philippines. Custodial care is not covered by Medicare. We would have to pay out-of-pocket $350 per day or $10,500 per month for a professional caregiver. This is for home care, not a nursing home. While there are a few less expensive locations in the United States for retirement, you need to add the cost caregiver services when calculating your potential future expenses. Why the Philippines? The main advantage is the language. Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Panama and soon Cuba are excellent and caregiver costs are equal to or possibly even cheaper than the Philippines. But you better speak fluent Spanish. JJR

[MikeB]

I've got the Espanol covered, I lived in Florida for 6 years.

[Jollygoodfellow]

I know we have a much higher number American nationals on our membership but it always amazes me in many topics about the now depressed cost of living in the states,here in Australia where we have had not much affect to the global economic problems as yet the Philippines is still a cheaper option and in years to come when the world is back to normal again the posts here will change to its so expensive to live in the states so in my opinion it might be better for some to stay where they are now or even return to their home countries but one day the door will be revolving again.Go back 2 years and most would be saying its great in the Phils, good exchange rate compensates for perhaps having to pay for medical insurance so one has to weigh up the pros and cons for ones own situation so as of now, the Philippines is still a good choice for me and if not perhaps Malaysia might be worth looking at.