Are You Really Happy

[Jollygoodfellow]

The other day I asked a friend if he was happy living in the Philippines rather than the USA,the first couple of replies I got the impression that he was not to sure but after a day or so thinking about it he came up with the reasons he is happy living there.The longest that I have stayed in the Philippines is one month and I felt near the end of that month that I had just about had enough.So the question today is ,are you really happy living in the Philippines?

[Mik]

Keep working at a stressful, stupid, boring job with petty, psycho supervisors or retire to a life of ease in Cebu? It was a simple choice for me."Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." - Milan Kundera "They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time."- Joe Walsh, Life's Been Good

[Mr Lee]

IMO in order for a person to be 100% happy in any new place, it would require not badly missing the things they might have back where they come from, family, friends, hobbies, etc. That is if a person has those things and if they don't, then the transition would be even easier. With the advent of all the new technology, such as the Internet, computers, web cams, VOIP Phones, slingbox etc, it makes the transition much easier for me because I can still keep in touch with friends..So for me, yes I am and can be happy here because I have no real family back in the states but I do have friends that I will surely miss, but one has to do what they have to do and therefore I think I could be totally happy living in the Philippines once some details of everyday life are worked out. Finding good doctors, if I am able to continue my hobbies, and find where to buy things and how to do things. As time goes on, things seem to fall into place and more things seem to make living in the Philippines easier for me and of course forums and the information found on them is invaluable to make the transition easier IMO.

[Markham]

IMO in order for a person to be 100% happy in any new place, it would require not badly missing the things they might have back where they come from, family, friends, hobbies, etc. That is if a person has those things and if they don't, then the transition would be even easier. With the advent of all the new technology, such as the Internet, computers, web cams, VOIP Phones, slingbox etc, it makes the transition much easier for me because I can still keep in touch with friends..So for me, yes I am and can be happy here because I have no real family back in the states but I do have friends that I will surely miss, but one has to do what they have to do and therefore I think I could be totally happy living in the Philippines once some details of everyday life are worked out. Finding good doctors, if I am able to continue my hobbies, and find where to buy things and how to do things. As time goes on, things seem to fall into place and more things seem to make living in the Philippines easier for me and of course forums and the information found on them is invaluable to make the transition easier IMO.

Whilst all that is true, Lee, Expats also have to feel a certain level of security within their surroundings - and no, I am not talking about guards or guns. There's an increasing anti-foreigner sentiment and I think the current impasse over the "Nicole"-Smith case may serve to exacerbate that. BI fees for extensions have doubled and "long nose taxes" are becoming more and more evident. My fear is that as OFW Remittances decrease, ways will be found to extract more Pesos from all Expats or generally make their life less convenient. Also, one has to factor in that next year will be an election year and quite how unstabilising the hustings on the country and its various factions will be will be remains to be seen. Whilst I would prefer to continue living here, there's only so much bullsh&t I'm prepared to tolerate so perhaps I might start looking into alternatives for Leah and myself.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Keep working at a stressful, stupid, boring job with petty, psycho supervisors or retire to a life of ease in Cebu? It was a simple choice for me."Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." - Milan Kundera "They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time."- Joe Walsh, Life's Been Good

But that is the reason you moved to the Philippines,it does not answer if you are truly happy living there :)

[volstateguy]

Keep working at a stressful, stupid, boring job with petty, psycho supervisors or retire to a life of ease in Cebu? It was a simple choice for me."Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." - Milan Kundera "They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time."- Joe Walsh, Life's Been Good

But that is the reason you moved to the Philippines,it does not answer if you are truly happy living there :)

The way I took his reply is that he's happier in Cebu than he would be if he were still working at his stessful, stupid, boring job. I will have basically the same choice when I retire from the Air Force in a few years...start another job to make ends meet in the states, or move to Cebu, or elsewhere in RP and retire permanantly to the easy life. I'm sure when that times comes it's not going to be a tough decision for me either. Leaving behind the fast pace and stress of a job for beaches and good weather sounds like and easy decision to me. Of course I think you have to make the best of any situation and make yourself happy. If you constantly think about and see only the negatives in your individual situation there is no way you can be happy. :)

[TheMason]

Whilst all that is true, Lee, Expats also have to feel a certain level of security within their surroundings - and no, I am not talking about guards or guns. There's an increasing anti-foreigner sentiment and I think the current impasse over the "Nicole"-Smith case may serve to exacerbate that. BI fees for extensions have doubled and "long nose taxes" are becoming more and more evident. My fear is that as OFW Remittances decrease, ways will be found to extract more Pesos from all Expats or generally make their life less convenient. Also, one has to factor in that next year will be an election year and quite how unstabilising the hustings on the country and its various factions will be will be remains to be seen. Whilst I would prefer to continue living here, there's only so much bullsh&t I'm prepared to tolerate so perhaps I might start looking into alternatives for Leah and myself.

I think you nailed it Markham. Its difficult to be truly happy in a country that so obviously resents your presence. I'm very happy with my life in the Philippines but I'm less than enchanted with the country itself. For me, the happiness comes from my marriage not the location. Aside from my wife, I have found nothing positive about the Philippines that cannot be found in many other countries. Between the upcoming 2010 elections and the worsening economy I think the Philippines is going to be a very unpleasant and dangerous country for foreigners. Everything I have seen from an economic, social, and political standpoint tells me that the Philippines is moving rapidly towards failed state status. If that happens, nobody will be happy, locals or foreigners.

[Panserhansen]

Whilst all that is true, Lee, Expats also have to feel a certain level of security within their surroundings - and no, I am not talking about guards or guns. There's an increasing anti-foreigner sentiment and I think the current impasse over the "Nicole"-Smith case may serve to exacerbate that. BI fees for extensions have doubled and "long nose taxes" are becoming more and more evident. My fear is that as OFW Remittances decrease, ways will be found to extract more Pesos from all Expats or generally make their life less convenient. Also, one has to factor in that next year will be an election year and quite how unstabilising the hustings on the country and its various factions will be will be remains to be seen. Whilst I would prefer to continue living here, there's only so much bullsh&t I'm prepared to tolerate so perhaps I might start looking into alternatives for Leah and myself.

I don't see any hostility against foreigners at all, but we keep a low profile and usually hang around the same places. Also remember the foreigners here don't pay any tax, except VAT. I can truly understand they want to tax people making from 500-1500 % more than the regular income of a local. And that's a local that works 6 days a week, not with 5 weeks paid holiday, while hardly any foreigner work at all. On the other hand of course, they do greet the money we bring in. That's why a former filipina citizen like my wife can show our marriage license and we both get a one year balikbayan visa before we've collected our luggage.What other countries or places do you have in mind, Mark? Some of the other countries on our list was Italy and Malta. Italy if we could afford it, as I would love to explore the italian kitchen, culture and history to the fullest. Malta could be an interesting choice too, apartments are very cheap to rent. A cheap flight away from anywhere in Europe. Maybe Italy April-June, Norway July-September and Cebu October-March could be the perfect solution.We'll see what time brings for us. We truly enjoy our stay here, and I've really found peace in mind on this la Isla Bonita.Walk on,Lars

[Mr Lee]

Whilst all that is true, Lee, Expats also have to feel a certain level of security within their surroundings - and no, I am not talking about guards or guns. There's an increasing anti-foreigner sentiment and I think the current impasse over the "Nicole"-Smith case may serve to exacerbate that. BI fees for extensions have doubled and "long nose taxes" are becoming more and more evident. My fear is that as OFW Remittances decrease, ways will be found to extract more Pesos from all Expats or generally make their life less convenient. Also, one has to factor in that next year will be an election year and quite how unstabilising the hustings on the country and its various factions will be will be remains to be seen. Whilst I would prefer to continue living here, there's only so much bullsh&t I'm prepared to tolerate so perhaps I might start looking into alternatives for Leah and myself.

Mark, I cannot argue with you, and I think everyone needs to feel a certain level of security, no matter where we are in the world. I also think that level of freedom and security is eroding away from us no matter where we are in this new world and even when we are in our home countries because we are now living in a very different worldI too am concerned about how this Nicole-Smith situation will play out, but it does seem like it is heading more in the direction where even government officials now realize that they may have wrongly convicted an innocent man and that may actually help to calm things down IMO.Now, as far as the elections, I guess we will have to wait and see if an honest election actually takes place and if so, who gets into office and how they feel about foreigners in their country......... I feel with the downturn of the economy all over the world, that the Philippines has to eventually wake up and realize that they cannot depend on just OFW to support their economy, and therefore will have to look to other means to stabilize it............ IMO, what better way, then the expats they already have living here and spending foreign money here, and for them to encourage even more to live and visit here to help offset the money that will not be coming in, with the money that is spent within the country by us......I just hope they see the obvious and make life easier for us all because over the years we have been going back and forth, things have gotten better for expats married to Filipinos and one such example is the balikbayan visa privilege which IMO shows that they do sometimes take some of us into consideration when making laws.

[mike]

Whilst all that is true, Lee, Expats also have to feel a certain level of security within their surroundings - and no, I am not talking about guards or guns. There's an increasing anti-foreigner sentiment and I think the current impasse over the "Nicole"-Smith case may serve to exacerbate that. BI fees for extensions have doubled and "long nose taxes" are becoming more and more evident. My fear is that as OFW Remittances decrease, ways will be found to extract more Pesos from all Expats or generally make their life less convenient. Also, one has to factor in that next year will be an election year and quite how unstabilising the hustings on the country and its various factions will be will be remains to be seen. Whilst I would prefer to continue living here, there's only so much bullsh&t I'm prepared to tolerate so perhaps I might start looking into alternatives for Leah and myself.

Mark, I cannot argue with you, and I think everyone needs to feel a certain level of security, no matter where we are in the world. I also think that level of freedom and security is eroding away from us no matter where we are in this new world and even when we are in our home countries because we are now living in a very different worldI too am concerned about how this Nicole-Smith situation will play out, but it does seem like it is heading more in the direction where even government officials now realize that they may have wrongly convicted an innocent man and that may actually help to calm things down IMO.Now, as far as the elections, I guess we will have to wait and see if an honest election actually takes place and if so, who gets into office and how they feel about foreigners in their country......... I feel with the downturn of the economy all over the world, that the Philippines has to eventually wake up and realize that they cannot depend on just OFW to support their economy, and therefore will have to look to other means to stabilize it............ IMO, what better way, then the expats they already have living here and spending foreign money here, and for them to encourage even more to live and visit here to help offset the money that will not be coming in, with the money that is spent within the country by us......I just hope they see the obvious and make life easier for us all because over the years we have been going back and forth, things have gotten better for expats married to Filipinos and one such example is the balikbayan visa privilege which IMO shows that they do sometimes take some of us into consideration when making laws.

Happiness like most things is a state of mind. I am far happier in the Philippines than I ever was in the Uk earning over 100GB thou a year. I have far less income but a great family and life is more relaxed and easy paced. As I accepted that we have no part to play in the philippines, save as law abiding non resident visitors I discerned I have nothing to lose.yes there are many things i do not like here and yes places like Malaysia have far better programes for long term immigration etc. Indeed if my lady coukld find it in herself to leave here i would prefer kota Kinabalu area of sabbah, Malaysia.I like the more relaxed, easy going way of life here, it is a compromise against those things i do not like. Suppose life will always be a compromise no matter where we end up.