Seriously considering moving to the Philippines - Need More Info

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"P2"
Posted
Posted

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!  

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Jollygoodfellow
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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.

no need.jpg         no need.jpg

no need 2.jpg

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"P2"
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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!

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"P2"
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.... 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!

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