The Countdown Rut

[virginprune]

I have nearly completed my run up. I started in earnest in January, when I put my house up for sale. I should have everything finalized by this Friday, well I sincerely hope so, because I fly on Sunday.

All I can add to this good advice on here is, think about it fully but beware procrastination, the thief of time.

I wish you all the best with your plans.

[bows00]

Kind of surprised you can't come up with money for perhaps 2 visits during the next 2 years. 2 years 4 months is one hell of a stretch, no vacation time meanwhile

Money is not the problem for me, but it's getting time away from work. I currently have plans to visit Mindoro, Tagaytay and Subic Freeport in December for about 3 weeks.

[bows00]

What do you intend to do when in the Philippines? You can start learning Tagalog, for one

Most definitely will learn Tagalog. In fact, with my mechanical engineering background, I am looking into what it would take to teach at a university.

Thanks for the feed back.

[davewe]

My current countdown is at 2 years and 4 months until my retirement kicks in and I set my sails for the Philippines.  And it is a good thing to have something to look forward to, like the days before an ultimate vacation.  I have heard that it is a good idea to plan a vacation at least a year in advance – the anticipation is just as exciting as the actual vacation itself. 

 

But I find myself looking too much into the future to the point I am not living in the moment.  Being single, my social life is pretty dead - I really have no interest dating US women anymore.  I find myself thinking what’s the point in establishing a relationship now, when the American girl will not fit into my near future plans in the Philippines.  So basically, my life is currently on hold – hum drum life which consists of work, exercise and an occasional beer with close relatives.  Pretty boring huh?   And I have a concern because I realize that living in the Philippines may not be the answer to my prayers.  I have heard many expats advise that you have to be happy and fulfilled in your own country first… 

 

I would appreciate any advice from any expats that have gone through this chronical lackluster pre-retirement stage…

My situation is very similar to yours, except I am married to a Filipina. I too will be moving in 2 - 2.5 years, so we should arrive at the same time. And I too find myself sometimes struggling to live for today, as I anticipate the move. Frankly, my wife is similar - we both work hard and both can't wait to move to PI.

 

Here's something that happened recently that helped - at least a little. I work for a very large corp. I was watching our CEO give a speech online. He was advising employees to make a 5 year career plan and how to do it. A few days later I met with my manager, who is well aware of my retirement plans. I said to him, "How can I make a 5 year plan. I won't be here in 5 years." He replied, "that's your 5 year plan. Approach it the same way. Make your goals, set a timeline, hit your targets, and end up on the beach."

 

So now I view everything I do as part of my "plan". And frankly there's at least a year of stuff for me to do to get ready to go (sell the house and much of my things, etc.) So that two years will hopefully go by quickly.

 

But I can very much relate. Each time we visit the Philippines we look at towns and properties, not because I am going to buy anything now, but because it maintains our enthusiasm for our "plan."

 

Good luck!

Edited May 26, 2015 by davewe

[MacBubba]

Most definitely will learn Tagalog. In fact, with my mechanical engineering background, I am looking into what it would take to teach at a university.

 

You don't need Tagalog to teach at a university.  English is fine.

[Thomas]

Each time we visit the Philippines we look at towns and properties, not because I am going to buy anything now, but because it maintains our enthusiasm for our "plan."

Yes.  That's good to check where you want to settle,

and get to know the market there, so you know what's good price there.  It's a HUGE price difference between different regions.

[chris49]

 

What do you intend to do when in the Philippines? You can start learning Tagalog, for one

Most definitely will learn Tagalog. In fact, with my mechanical engineering background, I am looking into what it would take to teach at a university.

Thanks for the feed back.

 

 

I think you could give some private tuition, and it might pay lowish, But it could be a great opportunity to meet locals. Check out

MAPUA, top engineering school in the Philippines. Located at Intramuros, 500 metres from the Bureau of Immigration.

 

For many reasons I don't think you would be accepted as a lecturer here. Happy to be corrected however. If you are actually qualified you might offer your services as a guest lecturer and try to pick it up from there.

[bows00]

I think you could give some private tuition, and it might pay lowish

I won't be doing this for the money, just something to keep me conveniently busy and increase my opportunity to make friends.

After reading some of the feedback from this thread, it got me thinking... within two years, I could take courses to get a general education degree here. That may increase my chances of getting a teaching gig there.

Thanks again for all your helpful insights.

[chris49]

 

I think you could give some private tuition, and it might pay lowish

I won't be doing this for the money, just something to keep me conveniently busy and increase my opportunity to make friends.

After reading some of the feedback from this thread, it got me thinking... within two years, I could take courses to get a general education degree here. That may increase my chances of getting a teaching gig there.

Thanks again for all your helpful insights.

 

 

 

I think you could give some private tuition, and it might pay lowish

I won't be doing this for the money, just something to keep me conveniently busy and increase my opportunity to make friends.

After reading some of the feedback from this thread, it got me thinking... within two years, I could take courses to get a general education degree here. That may increase my chances of getting a teaching gig there.

Thanks again for all your helpful insights.

 

 

Did you see something in the thread that indicates you could get a teaching job here? 99/100 you can't. Degree or not.

 

I can think of several reasons. Number one and primarily, you cannot get a job which a Filipino can be hired for, In teaching you will find a few thousand ahead of you.

Edited May 27, 2015 by chris49

[Dave Hounddriver]

Did you see something in the thread that indicates you could get a teaching job here?

 

My good friend is a retired teacher from Los Angeles.  When he took early retirement he was offered a position at an International School in Cebu at 50,000 pesos a year.  It was his intention to take that to supplement his early retirement income but he found that his $2,000 a month budget went far enough that there was no need to work and he did not have the time with all the fun things he found to do.

 

He and his wife are going swimming with us this afternoon and I'll tell him that its a good thing he did not want that teaching job as Chris said there was a 99 % chance he would not get it.  He gets a laugh out of stuff like that.