So What Planted The Seed For You?

[OnMyWay]

All of the above! The big one for me was that medical costs are completely out of control in the U.S. with no end in sight. Retiring at age 56 was not an option if I stayed in the U.S. If you want to retire early and stay in the U.S., you need a really big next egg!

[stevewool]

All of the above! The big one for me was that medical costs are completely out of control in the U.S. with no end in sight. Retiring at age 56 was not an option if I stayed in the U.S. If you want to retire early and stay in the U.S., you need a really big next egg!

i want to go at 60, retire i mean not drop dead at 60,as everyone seems to remind me about the free NHS you are mad leaving here because of that, well there is more to life then thinking i better stay just in case, i do beleive that some day soon the NHS here in England will not be free to the working class you will have to pay some sort of insurance to get the treatment you want,so why stay, if i get ill over there, break a leg or so on there is ways to get that sorted, but if the big C comes well not matter where you are you got it, do you stay in England going to the hospital with everyone else just waiting, or go to the beach, silly some may think but again in England, crap weather, crap stress, crap money, crap work, makes your life shorter, now get ride of all those crap things , life becomes a little better, so life may come a little longer, you may have the big C but i know where i would rather be, just my thought on this

[lyno 47]

same here stevewool it dont matter where you die its the time that you spend in a place you love and with a woman you love that counts

[Will]

same here stevewool it dont matter where you die its the time that you spend in a place you love and with a woman you love that counts

Kinda reminds me of a song lyric:

"Can't take it with you when you're gone,

but I want enough to get there on...."

[JJReyes]

All of the above! The big one for me was that medical costs are completely out of control in the U.S. with no end in sight. Retiring at age 56 was not an option if I stayed in the U.S. If you want to retire early and stay in the U.S., you need a really big next egg!

I like Hawaii. We have the sun, sea, surf and sand. It reminds you of the Philippines without the pollution, traffic, heat, noise, humidity, filth, etc. My wife and I did the math and there is enough for a modest, comfortable lifestyle as independent seniors. As mentioned by OnMyWay, the problem is cost for healthcare.

If you hire caregivers from a placement agency for in-home care, the cost is $350 a day, $10,500 a month, $126,000 a year. That is for two caregivers - 12 hours shifts. Medicare does not reimburse for custodial care. The comparative cost in the Philippines is $50 a day, $1,500 a month, $18,000 a year. In Hawaii, you don't need a high school diploma for eight weeks training to receive a state certificate. In the Philippines, the caregivers are registered nurses receiving P1,000 ($25) for a twelve hours shifts. This is good pay because each of three nurses needed will be paid P20,000 a month in my budget. Bruce will tell you government hired nurses are lucky if they receive P12,000 a month.

Here's the best part. Because of the cost difference in the standard of living, my wife and I can have a comfortable life with caregiver services using the same budget as independent seniors. After doing the numbers, I realized there is a tremendous business opportunity in providing Americans with overseas retirement care in the Philippines.

Philippines is part of my contingency plans. I won't relocate except for medical reasons. It will probably be long stay programs like one or two months every year.

Edited January 18, 2013 by JJReyes

[GregZ]

Simple mathematics for me.

If i remained in Australia i just could not afford to stop working

i think thats the world over at this moment, who can afford to stop working

Being a business owner, subject to the 'wonderful' economy, I could NOT AFFORD to keep working. So, ditch the business, live on pension and investments. I guess that is why I planned on retiring at 39 since I was 20. :540:

REFERENCE ORIGINAL POST: No seed here... a sledge hammer or my friend EVERY day TELLING me to talk to this 'girl' in the Philippines. My head hurt so bad I finally gave in to find that HE WAS RIGHT and pretty much EVERYTHING about the Philippines is a match for me. I started talking to her and reading about the Philippines in November 2011, came over April 2012 and am staying until the visa is straight for us to travel together to the USA for "a while" then see where we end up. :cheersty:

Edited January 19, 2013 by GregZ

[Retired in Samar]

In view of the continued decline of culture in the U.S. (and similarly everywhere else), and after "working to live" for the last 27 years in the U.S., my asawa has finally come to see eye to eye with me....it's time to relax! t's not that it took that long for her to come around, but as with any OFW, they will choose to live, work hard, and lead a relatively lonely life so that their family back home can live better.

I give her all the credit for the sacrifices she has made, but now it's time to go. 

[Ynot]

For me it was not disillusionment with Australia, but a number of factors!  Being married to a Thai and experiencing life in Thailand, divorcing a Thai and still enjoying the visits to Thailand, and a realisation that when I retire, I can enjoy a better lifestyle in Thailand or the Philippines more so than Austraia thanks to having gone through a divorce.  I tend to think had I not been divorced, I still would of ended up retiring overseas. No matter where i live overseas, i will always return to Aus to say hello to friends and family, but I am committed now to the Philippines because of my girl!!!

[jon1]

I realized about 8 years ago that I was getting nowhere fast. Everything in the US was geared towards keeping you in debt (keeping up with the Jones' mentality, banking schemes, etc.). I decided to cut my costs and work overseas to get rid of my debts and actually save money for retirement and retire. My goal was 5 years, aggressive and unrealistic. Since then, I have managed to get rid of my debts and saved a decent amount money. I have found the woman of my dreams and have a very stable, relaxed lifestyle. My goals now are to get passive income coming in so that I can truly retire. The math to stay here was too easy.

[robert k]

Thailand was at the top of my list a decade ago, before I got disabled and saw all I had worked for go down the tubes. I made a pretty decent recovery both physically and financially but neither are what they were. I remembered an unintentionally overheard dinner conversation at a resteraunt between two men of apparent retirement age and one of whom had just returned from the Philippines. He was very animated in his conversation. It was about 7 years later that trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, I looked at the RP. Before then I didn't know that english language was common in the RP, sort of. I came. I saw and liked what I saw, warts and all. Have to take the bad with the good. All started with a conversation that I could not help overhearing in a resteraunt.