Leaving What You Call Home To Your New Home In The Phils

[stevewool]

what is the time differance when making your mind up to leaving, has anyone just got up one day and said thats it i am off, or is it years in the planning, and do most of you cut all links to the old home,do you ever get use to living the dream as many calls it or do you have doubts,has anyone gone to the phils without knowing anyone there or your future partner has not been found yet, my plans, well yes we are going to be there one day but saving hard at the moment so no hard plans other then in 6 years i would like to be retired and sitting in the sun rather then the bloody rain thats constant here at the moment

[Tukaram (Tim)]

Although I have not left yet I am in the process. Retired early, house for sale etc. I have wanted to retire overseas forever but never really gave it any serious thought until about a year ago. Until then it was "one day... soon... maybe... I want beaches...." But last year I went to Cebu for Christmas and was planning on moving within 4 -6 years. Now barely a year later I will be going as soon as we finalize the sale on the house. The decision was made with knowing almost no one over there, and picking Cebu mostly because it was a big city but not Manila. That is fairly spur of the moment(ish).

After the decision was made to move I was introduced to a girl from the province, by a friend over there. We seemed to have hit it off well online and I am planning on moving to Panay, instead of Cebu. Hopefully we do well in person - or I have a lot of stuff to ship to Cebu! She already has a house so that would a plus.

I left my job on good terms, I gave 8 weeks notice. And laughingly said i may be back in a year begging for my job back - I certainly hope not! But selling the house and getting rid of 48 years worth of crap in the house is kind of final. If I was smart I would wait until I was 60 and actually retire. But life is short so I am going now. I may live to regret it and recommend better planning to others.... we shall see... :tiphat:

[stevewool]

thanks for your quick reply, well it looks like you have done in such a short time what takes others years,good luck and i wish you well,a new adventure awaits

[Dave Hounddriver]

Let me start by saying this is not for everyone. Some people do not fit well here. But for me:

My plan to retire in the Philippines was already a year into the planning stage. At that point I took a 6 week vacation to Cebu as a recon mission. When I got back from that I worked all of one week. I woke up that morning and said: Screw this! I was 52 and I had planned to work until 55 which would have given me an extra $1000 a month on my pension. That was 5 years ago. I might regret that decision one day but not today.

[tiger31]

Its all about personal circumstances I think ,If say for instance you have no or few family ties then leaving for good may work for you and are able to cut ties from your mother country quite easily.This place is,nt for everybody thats why I personally won,t be cutting the strings altogether i,ve been here 2 years and I still don,t quite feel right at the moment don,t ask why coz I can,t quite put a finger on any particular reason ,but its very hard to adapt to another country,s ways of doing things .The language thing is a problem for me even though many speak english ,its not being able to join in local conversations that i miss the most .Its easy for people to say well learn the language its not easy for everyone not only that ,you have local dialects too which makes it even harder to learn.Boredom is a big problem too after working since the age of 16 until 49 and all of a sudden i,m doing nothing its driving me nuts .The g f won,t let me roam about saying its not safe does,nt help my confidence either lol.Like i said everyone has different views maybe i,m not ready just to sit about till i die lol I know i,m in a lucky posistion where i don,t need to work as i use my house back home as an income provider and should,nt complain but thats just me.I also don,t drink which does,nt help blend in with the locals as they are quite friendly but always want you to join in their drinking sessions lol.maybe its me thats the problem lol

[Dave Hounddriver]

The g f won,t let me roam about saying its not safe

:hystery: Yeah I used to get that a lot. Its not safe for her in that she may lose her meal ticket if you find someone else while roaming about. My spouse feels better about it now as I insisted on my freedom and after 5 years she knows that if I go walkabout for a week I am still coming home at the end of it. And despite all the stories to the contrary, it is safe enough roaming around here if you have a bit of street smarts and are good with people. (Example: Some filipino has been drinking and he and his buddies say: Hey Joe. What are you doing in our neighborhood? Fools say: Screw Off and then the fight starts. A wise man need only tell them he is out for a little exercise and they will either say OK or tell you to exercise in someone else's neighborhood next time.)

[Jack Peterson]

I had 1 ( One year to go) I had the stroke and it changed my life, my company made me an offer i did not refuse, rightly or wrongly I bit. The amount was far more, than I could have sent home in that year, so it seemed the right thing to do. We did what we said we would just this 1 year early. I finished working in April, went to the UK to have the work done on my arteries 3 weeks later. I got up one morning and decided I had had enough, Hospitals, Medication, all on my own. I called the landlord,( rented House) did a deal on the rents and bills coming in.

The following Thursday I got up, locked the door, took the keys to the landlord after feeding the the cat ( he would be picked up later, by my Cleaner who's house he would go to live.) got a lift to Malaga airport and that was that. 15 years in Spain and nothing to show for it. my Wife and daughter were waiting at Dumaguete Airport on the Saturday Morning at 8.15am. My new life had started. Not the way I had intended ( I will pay for this I know, My pension will not kick in till may 2013 and money is now, very very tight. Seems there is no benefit, I can call on, Even though there is, a Social Insurance Agreement. You can only get sick, in the UK

Am i happy? YES :lol:

Am I Worried ? YES :unsure:

Do I sleep at night?. YES :bedtime2:

Would i do it again? Most Probably :bonk: maybe wait 2/3 weeks longer,

Will I survive? I will do my Damnedest :89:

No point worrying, it is past the turn back point. :morning1:

:tiphat:

[stevewool]

wow great stories so far, Brian i understand what you are saying, i find it diffecult to learn there langauge so many meanings , i too dont drink , ok a bottle can last me all night but i love to talk and listen, people watch i call,