Regrets

[craftbeerlover]

Does anybody else have some or a lot of regrets with regards to choosing the Philippines as your permanent home?   I was bored and was looking at many of my posts the last few months, and unfortunately I got carried away with expressing my "regrets" to moving here.  A whole lot of negative posts by me (my apologies).   The irony is, I dont walk around like and old fn curmudgeon everyday, I am a relatively happy person and I am always finding ways for me and my family to enjoy 'life'.  I have been around Filipinos most of my adult life, and have lived in Asia most of my adult life as well,  but to be honest, if it was not for my family, I would have been out of here many years ago.   So my regret is a mixed bag, I would not give up the family I have for anything (would not have them if I did not move here), but for f sake, this place drives me nuts sometimes.  Anybody else going thru similar emotions/regrets?

[stevewool]

Cannot really comment yet about what you are asking as we are not over there up yet but are going to give it a try very soon , could being bored be the problem , maybe a change inside the Philippines or even a hobby could help you along .

[hk blues]

Like many of us here, maybe most, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my wife but that doesn't quite mean I'm here on sufferance.  Sure, there are many things to grip about but I guess they're just that, gripes so I can put them aside and live a comfortable enough life.  

You gotta live somewhere! 

[Lee]

56 minutes ago, craftbeerlover said:

but to be honest, if it was not for my family, I would have been out of here many years ago.  

If it were not for my wife, I would have never come here to live. She dutifully followed me from different jobs in the US and Europe for over 35 years. When we retired, she suggested she would like to go home---so how could I refuse. She has regrets about this decision now as her family is about as sorry as they come.

IMO the country itself is not much better.

[stevewool]

13 minutes ago, Lee said:

If it were not for my wife, I would have never come here to live. She dutifully followed me from different jobs in the US and Europe for over 35 years. When we retired, she suggested she would like to go home---so how could I refuse. She has regrets about this decision now as her family is about as sorry as they come.

IMO the country itself is not much better.

Is there no chance of moving back to where you had left  if you both are regretting the decision that was made 

[craftbeerlover]

52 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Sure, there are many things to grip about but I guess they're just that, gripes so I can put them aside and live a comfortable enough life

I live the same way, I put them aside (we really have no choice).  We live in a third world country that really wants to stay a third world country.   Having a family here and knowing what they have to look forward to in the future, makes the pill a little more difficult to swallow.   We do our best, laugh, enjoy, see things when we can etc....   But I share Lee's sentiments. 

[Lee]

1 hour ago, stevewool said:

Is there no chance of moving back to where you had left

There is certainly a chance of this of this happening---we have been selling off land assets for the last few years to accomplish this.

I'm not sure---despite what the wife says---that she is ready to push the get out of town button. Whatever these family turds are--they are still her family.

She has wondered aloud about who would take care of us at the end in the US since we have no relatives there.

Health issues are also catching up with us. I fear the worse if we did stay here and had to depend on local healthcare to be of some use. They haven't been to date anyway. YMWV

Edited February 24 by Lee

[scott h]

1 hour ago, Lee said:

She dutifully followed me from different jobs in the US and Europe for over 35 years.

Like you my wife followed me for 20 years while I was in the Army. So upon retirement we decided that I would follow her for the next 20 lol. Besides I thought it would be nice for her to be near her family. But following Murphys law, with in 5 years of us relocating they all immigrated to Australia and the USA, go figure, but at least she has her friends and batchmates here.

2 hours ago, craftbeerlover said:

I would have been out of here many years ago

Not for me, besides my home country being in a complete state of unrecognizable chaos, which I have no desire to participate in, our money goes so far here, that we can afford and do things that would be impossible back "home", living in a complete state of comfort as we do so.

27 minutes ago, craftbeerlover said:

that really wants to stay a third world country

That is my biggest gripe, I could care less if the country actually improves, in fact the more backwards and noncompetitive it remains the better for us in relation to how far our money goes....No way could we afford to live like this in Korea, Japan, Singapore etc. etc. 

What just drives me absolutely bonkers is inefficiency, always has, always will (just ask my old soldiers). This place has so much potential that is could out strip its neighbors in a matter of years, but they just can't get out of their own way. That and that alone just drives me around the bend. 

[Jack Peterson]

 I don't really want to say why at this stage BUt and the is always a BUT I wish I had never told my wifes Mother I would not take my wife or  her daughter out of the Philippines to the UK and at the time all those years ago I could have.  

Edited February 25 by Jack Peterson

[craftbeerlover]

3 hours ago, stevewool said:

Cannot really comment yet about what you are asking as we are not over there up yet but are going to give it a try very soon , could being bored be the problem , maybe a change inside the Philippines or even a hobby could help you along .

Nope not bored at all, I keep myself quite busy, and have traveled to many many many parts of the country as well.   As Scott H mentioned much of is in the inefficiency, but more than that, it is the reasons for the inefficiencies.   Piss poor education, corruption at absolutely  every level everywhere, garbage everywhere (even in the so called nice tourist spots (I went to El Nido and could not believe that was (at least at one time) considered a paradise.   You could not swim in the water or eat the fish because all of the hotels etc... dumped the sewage directly into the water.  A complete lack of pride ("Filipino Pride") was nothing more than a slogan and was heard about when Manny was fighting or a 12 year old girl was discovered on youtube singing.   A wealthy class that abhors the rest of their fellow citizens, people in power doing anything and everything to stay in power...  no wonder it is inefficient.  Will catch another breath and press on