"P2" Posted August 21, 2019 Posted August 21, 2019 Greetings Everyone... I've been lurking on this site for a little while now. So I thought I would pick your brains for more info... A little about me.... I live in Virginia with my wife whom I met while vacationing in Hawaii back in 2015. She is a Filipina and we hit it off right away. I convinced her to leave Hawaii, where she had lived for the past 18 years, and come with me to Virginia where we got married in November of 2016. Now I am considering retiring early and moving to Cebu, Philippines. Not in the city but, somewhere on the out skirts, maybe near the water. I would take what money I have saved and the money from my companies 401k and then in 10 years add my SS retirement to it. I am by no means a "rich" man but I have enough liquid cash to live comfortably on, say about $2500 a month. What sort of things do I need to be aware of when transitioning to the Philippines? Hidden costs? Travel documents/passports. My wife is a green card holder (18 yrs now) and we are working to get her a US citizenship before moving. Is this wise? Looking to make the move in less than 4 to 5 years but I am unsure of the process or what it takes. So I'm reaching out to you guys for some input. Also, is $2500 USD per month a livable amount? Need more or less? Talk me into this or talk me out of it. Thanks for all of your help! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gary D Posted August 21, 2019 Popular Post Posted August 21, 2019 $2500 sounds a good amount but in the end it's all down to expected lifestyle. Yes get your wife's US citizenship but then reaquire her Philippines citizenship to become a dual citizen. You also need to consider your own visa status, there are several options. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Popular Post Old55 Posted August 21, 2019 Forum Support Popular Post Posted August 21, 2019 Welcome to the forum. Gary’s exactly covered the important issues. Have you visited Cebu yet? Living well north or south of Cebu city with a water view is very doable. The farther out of the city cleaner air and lower housing costs. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Popular Post scott h Posted August 21, 2019 Forum Support Popular Post Posted August 21, 2019 2 hours ago, "P2" said: no means a "rich" man You will be a rich man here . Unless you visit the casino daily(and lose lol) or have an extravagant life style 2500 should be fine. IMO your largest monthly expense will be housing. Which brings us to tactics. Depending on your timeline for your move here, I would STRONGLY recommend that you do not move until your wife is a Filipino citizen. either wait until she becomes a US citizen and gets her dual citizenship or wait until you are here to get it (she has waited 18 years lol). Her being a Filipino citizen will make life a whole lot easier, like opening bank accounts, getting utilities or buying a house things like that. But your bottom line concern about income, you should be fine Welcome to the forum 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post robert k Posted August 21, 2019 Popular Post Posted August 21, 2019 Welcome to the forum. What you ask should be doable. Of course as always, I would suggest trying it out for an extended time, up to a year before getting in too deep. I agree with the others that your wife should get US citizenship before moving to the Philippines. I presume (18 years) she has already met the residency requirements for the US, what I don't know is if she would have to start over if she resides in the Philippines any great length of time. I think it would be a good thing to take care of in any case. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Hobbit112 Posted August 21, 2019 Popular Post Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) Welcome to the forum P2! I agree with what the others have already said but will add a couple of items. Housing and electricity will be your main costs in addition to food. Cebu has some of the highest electricity rates in the country so depending on how much you run your aircon your bill could be high. A buddy of mine here on Panay who owns (lol, his wife owns) a good sized 3 BR house with split-type inverter aircons has had recurring electricity bills of $240/mo. He is in the process of replacing his security lights with solar led types to hopefully reduce that figure. He does run his aircon pretty much 24/7 btw. By all means get your wife's US citizenship and then reacquire her Philippines citizenship before you come. Also before you relocate here apply for and get a Philippine 13A visa while in the US (after she gets her Filipino Citizen back, that is). That should take care of any visa issues you could encounter. Set up at least 3 methods of getting access to your money while in the Philippines. Pre-setup bank wiring procedures, credit and debit cards and money transfer accounts such as Western Union, Remitly, etc. DO NOT tell banks and credit card issuers that you are moving to the Philippines! Just tell them you will be traveling in SE Asia for an extended period of time. Set up mail forwarding procedures. Some people use family members others use mail forwarding companies and some use both. Again, Wecome! Edited August 21, 2019 by Hobbit112 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Popular Post Mike J Posted August 21, 2019 Forum Support Popular Post Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) Welcome PT. I have read the above posts and would agree with everything written here. You ask about hidden costs. Medical care here is all pay as you go. So you would need have good insurance or funds rapidly available in case of medical emergency. Also many expats recommend that you rent, not buy, for a period of time when you make the move. This gives you time for both you and your wife to adjust to life here and determine what area best suits your needs. You did not mention in your post if you had visited the Philippines. If not, you really should try to find the time to visit and make each visit as long as possible. Is $2500 enough. Yes, you should be fine at that number. You may need to adjust your budget and expectations based on exchange rate and inflation rate here in the Philippines. Hidden costs. Medical as mentioned above. Expense for "start up costs" of living here. Things you will need to buy when you arrive permanently. For example all your basic food items, spices, condiments, etc. Additional hot weather clothing, possibly furniture if you rent/buy an unfurnished place. Entertainment equipment TV, radio, small appliances, etc. The only requirement for travel documents is your passports. In addition you will need an "ongoing ticket" that shows you have the ability and means to leave the Philippines. This can be a return ticket to the USA, or just a cheap on going flight that you can just throw away. When you arrive, have you marriage license available and ask for a Balikbayan stamp in your passports. This will allow you to stay for one year with no additional requirements. As mentioned by other posters it would be an excellent idea for your wife to attain USA citizenship, and reacquire here Philippine citizenship prior to the move. You can also apply for the 13A visa (married to a Philippine citizen) while in the USA. Your wife's reacquisition of citizenship and filing for 13A can both be done after your move, but they tend to be faster and easier if done in the USA. Final bit of advice. Not everyone who makes the move ends up liking life here. A rough estimate is that 50% of expats who move here leave within five years because they cannot adjust to the life and culture here. Have an exit plan, and try not to "burn bridges" when you leave the USA. If you have a house, consider renting it out instead of selling it for example. Keep reading the site my friend, much of the information you need is here somewhere in the archives! Wishing you lots of luck in your future. Edited August 22, 2019 by Mike J I sure wish I could spell rite the first time. LOL 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollygoodfellow Posted August 22, 2019 Posted August 22, 2019 11 hours ago, Mike J said: In addition you will need an "ongoing ticket" that shows you have the ability and means to leave the Philippines. This can be a return ticket to the USA, or just a cheap on going flight that you can just throw away. When you arrive, have you marriage license available and ask for a Balikbayan stamp in your passports. This will allow you to stay for one year with no additional requirements. You actually do not need an onward ticket if traveling with Filipino spouse. I asked the BI about this twice over the years but the issue is the airlines. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
"P2" Posted August 22, 2019 Author Posted August 22, 2019 Thanks for all of the replies! My wife and I are planning a trip to the Philippines sometime in July of 2020 to visit her relatives and for me to meet them. I'm looking forward to it. We are hopefully planning to visit a couple of different places to see where we may want to settle down at. I'm leaning towards Cebu, from what I have read about the place it has a mixture of just about everything. Big city and rural environment all together. We will be working on getting her US citizenship ASAP. Should we wait a little while before trying to get her dual citizenship or will doing right after she gets her US citizenship cause any issue? I do own my house here and I understand the recommendation about not selling it and that I should rent it out... Have any of you guys had any issues of living abroad and trying to maintain a rental in a different country. I can only imagine the headache that would be.... especially if you encounter bad renters who don't pay the rent properly and become squatters. Getting rid of squatters, especially in the US, can be a nightmare and a very lengthy process. I can't imagine how much more of a problem it would be to deal with it from being on the other side of the planet. Again... your advice is greatly appreciated! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
"P2" Posted August 22, 2019 Author Posted August 22, 2019 .... oh and also, is there anyplace or areas we should be aware of that are not friendly to westerners? I heard Marawi City is a "No Go" place and most of the southern islands because of the muslim terrorists in those areas. Thanks again! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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