My retirement here is Not what I expected

[stevewool]

So if its not what you thought it was , have you changed it to how you are wanting it, or gave up and gone with the flow, or moved ,

[Dave Hounddriver]

Another problem with retirement in Philippines is the difficulty of finding affordable, good, beef.  Its not impossible but the good beef is often imported frozen and sometimes they don't take proper care of it in the shops.

Here's what happened tonight.  My wonderful wife took a steak from the freezer and spent hours thawing, seasoning, cooking it and preparing the gravy. But when I sat to eat, the middle of the steak was a dark grey and it smelled off.  Having a sensitive, old, stomach I could not take the chance so I had to throw it out.  2 points to learn from this for those who have not made the move yet.  First, good beef is hard to find and Second, filipinas really don't know what it should look or smell like so even after teaching her to cook it properly it may still be horrid.

Looks like peanut butter sandwiches tonight.

[Nephi]

3 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Another problem with retirement in Philippines is the difficulty of finding affordable, good, beef.  Its not impossible but the good beef is often imported frozen and sometimes they don't take proper care of it in the shops.

Here's what happened tonight.  My wonderful wife took a steak from the freezer and spent hours thawing, seasoning, cooking it and preparing the gravy. But when I sat to eat, the middle of the steak was a dark grey and it smelled off.  Having a sensitive, old, stomach I could not take the chance so I had to throw it out.  2 points to learn from this for those who have not made the move yet.  First, good beef is hard to find and Second, filipinas really don't know what it should look or smell like so even after teaching her to cook it properly it may still be horrid.

Looks like peanut butter sandwiches tonight.

Throwing out that steak was a smart thing to do. This is surely not the place to take chances. Our open public market carries beef twice per week and a local meat shop has it when ordered. So far all has been good but like you, I have a sensitive stomach and am very careful of all food intake. I did buy a package of Pampanga's Best bacon that was bad but that was the first an only time. I've learned to enjoy a lot of the local food and only eat beef once a week or so.

 

Nephi

[Larry45]

On 3/6/2016 at 1:12 AM, Tukaram (Tim) said:

There is a lot of truth in that... but, on the bright side, when you DO fail... they will be there to have a beer with you, and a good laugh

(as a retiree - I got no problem with it. I am not trying to accomplish anything in particular ha ha)

Plenty of ways to fail in retirement, at least in their eyes.  Financial, relationship, legal issues, etc.  I never imagined a culture where it's so rare for one person to be happy for another's success and where win-lose scenarios are much preferred over win-win.  For sure, that aspect of society was unexpected by me.

[Jack Peterson]

1 hour ago, Larry45 said:

Plenty of ways to fail in retirement, at least in their eyes.  Financial, relationship, legal issues, etc.  I never imagined a culture where it's so rare for one person to be happy for another's success and where win-lose scenarios are much preferred over win-win.  For sure, that aspect of society was unexpected by me.

 I am learning now and after some Mishaps around my many Foreigner Friends, We really do have to keep our Eyes on the ball if we are to progress and at least Score some Goals. Own Goals can be many if we are taking our Eyes off the ball. (Think about it) 

[scott h]

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 2:30 AM, manofthecoldland said:

    What would you consider a few of your personal misconceptions that you had to revise your thinking on after retireing here ?   

Any dissatisfaction I have I believe to my own over optimistic expectations (hind sight being 20/20). That and even after being married over 20 years, really, really not understanding what my wife expected.

I had hoped to buy a sailing boat, but even though the distance to the marina wasn't that great, just getting there due to traffic wouldn't really justify the expense. (and it turns out my wife doesn't like boats that much lolol).

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 2:30 AM, manofthecoldland said:

  I also underestimated how quickly my wife learned to spend all my income on apparently rational expenses. 

Almost wish i had that problem. When moving here, we bought a car. I had envisioned mini vacations every couple of weeks. Driving first around the island of Luzon, then jumping on some car ferries and touring the other major islands. Wife prefers to stay close to home and save money against a rainy day. Me? I believe we should die with just enough money in the bank to pay the undertaker .

I had thought to get involved with maybe a local youth basketball team, coach and mentor them. Turns out they didn't really want my help, but they really wanted me to "sponsor" them with uniforms.

So the bottom line is that I have had to adjust my expectations and frankly just be happy not having to answer to the man anymore..

 

[Jack Peterson]

34 minutes ago, scott h said:

So the bottom line is that I have had to adjust my expectations

 You know, the more I think about this and the more I read some good and even unusual answers.  Lets ask ourselves the Question, What DID we really expect from our Retirement here?

For me, Life is just how I imagined it, same S...t Daily as we still need Money and Ideas to Live but now I have time, to deal with these things.  But then, What would we Expect and get, if we all stayed at Home where (Well most) will say I could not afford to Retire at home. So again for me it has to be Tomorrow is another day.

Maybe we should all just be thankful we can get up in the morning and have our daily moan. I know I will. 

[Tukaram (Tim)]

57 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

Question, What DID we really expect from our Retirement here?

Mine pretty much is what I expected. I have a 150 sq ft bamboo/nipa front porch, a dart board and a rattan rocking chair.  I look out over the rice fields, practice magic tricks, do some coding, and can eat fruit from all the trees in the yard.  Not too bad... if the stereos allow me to go outside ha ha. 

 

... my mint is dying, so the future of my mojitos is in jeopardy!

[Mike S]

In my humble experience the best scenario would be to not expect the whole pie but just a sliver of it .... that way whatever you get beyond that sliver you will be grateful for or happy with .... or at least you should be unless you are the type of person who is never happy about anything (even if you are hung with a new rope ) ..... I had the same attitude when I lived for 60+ years in the US and still maintain that attitude after living here for 9 years .... sure I get flustered sometimes at the way things are done here .... but I don't sit and dwell on it can't change them so why make myself sick worrying about it ..... 99.9% of the time I just shrug my shoulders and 5 minutes later forgot about the whole thing .... but that is me and everyone is different (thank god) ..... there are so many good things here (if we pick our friends and partners carefully) as far as I'm concerned they far out way the bad ..... BUT and that's a big but .... living here full time is a whole lot different that just visiting .... hence the OP's topic ..... JMHO ......

Where the hell did my "Cheers Emoticon" go ...... never mind I found it ... just do a search

  .....

[manofthecoldland]

17 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

Lets ask ourselves the Question, What DID we really expect from our Retirement here?

I think its fair to say that most people expected an improvement to their quality of life. An on-the-balance scale upgrade of what they would face if they were to retire in their home country. Lots of trade-offs, gains and losses either way, but the net result has to be positive.

   That either proves true, in which case they adapt and adjust, or false. In which case the pack up and leave, seeking to improve their lives elsewhere.

   The Law of Unintended Consequences comes into play for everyone in different ways, and later may tip the scale in unforseen ways.... sometimes in reverse...which is the point of the initial query. 

   Its impossible, with imperfect information, to know in advance, what factors about yourself or the situations you will find yourself in will prove to be critical, so its sometimes good to hear from others, what sort of 'unexpected' factors they overlooked that now seem important with hindsight.

   A lot of things people imagine themselves doing in retirement in their home countries prove more problematic here in unforseen and unanticipated ways. Replacement activities and alternatives often have to be found if you can't do what you expected to do.... hence...

"My retirement here is NOT what I expected."   This is not to be construed or read as a negative emotional exclamation, but rather a simple acknowledgement of unanicipated realities.

 Ever look back and wonder.... "What the hell was I thinking?

I'm quite content with how I live here now, but I had to shelve a lot of pre-conceived ideas.