Why Did You Come To Live In The Philippines???

[cebuexpat]

Thought I would ask everyone why they come to live in The Philippines. OR Why they are wanting to come to live in The Philippines. You hear alot of this and lot of that, and some people criticize others for the things they do here. So thought it would be interesting to see why you come here to live.......Mine is simpleI come here for the girls, i stay for the girl, i love the nightlife, i am considered rich, i get respect, i can pay my way out of trouble, cheaper place to live, even when i get old and ugly ( already there) the girls will still smile and flirt with me. If i said anything else, i would be a hypocrite and a lier.... So how about you, why did you come??? or why do you want to come and live in the Philippines.???

[jamesmusslewhite]

I am a Horticulturist/ Agriculturist who retired at the age of 50 and moved with my family in Oct. 2008 to Surigao City; which is on the Northern point of the big Island of Mindanao. We have lived in the Us for over 24 years and moved just before my son's 14th birthday. We wanted him to attend school here and learn about the Pinoy culture. My wife and son are both Dual-citizens, and we wanted to be able to enjoy the last few years before he is off to college. I also volunteer as a consultant working with local officials and Agricultural department in a test program with local farmers on Dinagat island in organics crop production and square foot gardening techniques. I am presently designing and building the facility, on our farm, to process virgin coconut oil on Dinagat Island. I and another expat are partnering on this venture. He will hopefully be able to establish a small warehousing facility in California to help sell our product to US markets. Basically I am having a blast doing what I enjoy doing, and play with my son before he sets off to go out on his own. It is a good life.

[Inspector]

I was divorced and retired...and when I was separated, I began looking for a place that age did not matter as far as dating, still realizing that I was able to have "one nighters" with decent looking younger woman in the USA, but the gf/bf relationship never works there with ladies who have DILF fantasies) Any decent looking middle aged man that takes care of himself and has a few bucks to spend on a weekend can still get laid by younger woman in the USA...and BTW, any person who complains about age differences is living in a denial...ALL men would love to have sex with younger woman, and here is a newsflash...older WOMAN fantasize about having sex with YOUNGER men. Amazing...no? :yes:I wanted a steady one woman that treated you with respect as she took your money (unlike western woman who take your money and act like bitches...well, the majority)...and a cheaper place to give them this need...so a smaller need.I visited many other places, and was almost ready to settle in Panama, but as I made my arrangements to move there, I received an email from a friend that was living the Philippines, a now retired Sonar Tech from the Navy that I used to be very close with while in the service. I lost touch, but he found me somehow, and asked if I remember the Philippines, and told me to visit. I did, and then explored other Asian countries that I used to visit during my Navy days...and liked it enough to at least settle here for a while, and see where it takes me. I still have a thing for Thailand, and I can see myself there in a few years as well.Fecking woman was not my purpose of being here, it was a visit to meet a very very close old friend from my ship...and to be honest, I was surprised to see that Clark was still a haven for whores and prostitutes. I ended up at Subic, which was cleaned up a lot...and actually liked it. Stayed there a while, but here I am in Cebu hoping at some point to settle down with one woman in some quiet gated community for life (no roaches), but in Luzon, and a 2-3 hour drive from Manila where I can do some serious shopping, and live out my dream...appearing on Wowowee.

[Art2ro]

My wife and I are both Filipino born, but I grew up in the U.S.. When I retired at age 49, we were broke, no money in the bank and we were over extended on credit on our home, household stuff and vehicle in California! Well, after a few months, we got rid of everything that we owned, paid all of our debts and we just got on a plane and headed for the Philippines in 1998 with a few a bucks in our pockets and with a $1,400 a month government pension!Well, 12 years later, we now own our home in a nice subdivision and we havemoney in the bank! All it took was patience, watching the budget, saving what wecan and planning for our future! I won't go into any details how we went about it, because everyone has their own success story or not so of a success story!It's just as the saying goes, "different strokes for different folks!". Luck has nothingto do with it! Life is just what you make it to be in your own way the best wayyou know how, but it was easier to do it here in the Philippines after retiring from my life long career of 30 years which was enough, because to work any longer just didn't appeal to me! I just wanted to relax and kick back while I'm able to enjoy the retirement life in a 3rd world country like the Philippines which is sort of a paradise to most expats and can truly afford living here instead of in the depressed U.S. of A.! It ain't all that bad living here in the Philippines! It just has a few drawbacks that you would have even by living anywhere else! We're here to stay for the long haul! We're content with our lifestyle the way we made it!

[Gold Heart]

Thought I would ask everyone why they come to live in The Philippines. OR Why they are wanting to come to live in The Philippines. You hear alot of this and lot of that, and some people criticize others for the things they do here. So thought it would be interesting to see why you come here to live.......Mine is simpleI come here for the girls, i stay for the girl, i love the nightlife, i am considered rich, i get respect, i can pay my way out of trouble, cheaper place to live, even when i get old and ugly ( already there) the girls will still smile and flirt with me. If i said anything else, i would be a hypocrite and a lier.... So how about you, why did you come??? or why do you want to come and live in the Philippines.???

After annual visits here with my wife who is Cebuano over the last 10+ years, I learned many things that I liked. I had passed goals of retiring at 40 and 50 but continued to study costs and quality of life. While quality of life is individual assessment based on how you weight factors that are important to you, I believed the quality of life for our family of 3 would be better here based on my factors. It is not for lower costs as others find a reason to be here. Here are my quality of life factors: 1. Year round tropical climate. (I hate cold weather)2. The cost of service and support. (with helpers we are free to come and go and are not burdened with chores and housework)3. Quality and diverse education for our son (He is in one of the best schools with classmates from around the world)4. Social costs (eating out, social events, parties, etc.)5. Family - (my family in the US is spread out from AX, GA, Illinois) -- none in NC where we were living. we have nearby family here.6. People here are welcoming, courteous, and friendly7. Opportunity for interesting / exciting / new travel to other countries in ASIA.We agreed only to a year trial and continue to maintain our home in the US. I also continue to work. After 9 months, my wife leans toward going back to the US, but my son and I have the current majority vote and we love living here. Applying weight to the vote -- we are tied and at least agreed to try it for another year. Maybe she will come around.

[Mr Lee]

I guess I have a little bit of a different story than Gold Heart. My wife who is Bisaya and from Mindanao and Cebu wishes to live in the Philippines and after much consideration of places, we picked Cebu for now. You see, it is I who does not wish to give up my lifelong friends in the states but also love it here in the Philippines and I love the respect that I seem to get while here, and I would be lying if I told you that I do not enjoy the girls flirting with me all the time and often smiling directly at me and trying to catch my eye, but since I would never cheat on my wife, it is more about the good feeling of being wanted, rather than the feeling or need to fool around. You see guys, I have been there and done that during my pre-marriage to my first wife and during my interim term before marrying my current and hopefully final wife (God willing), so while some women bend different ways and one women will be better at one thing and worse at another, what really counts first to me is being close friends with my woman and then all other things fall into place. Now with that said, I have found that many of those other things often do not fall into place when there is no commitment which might explain how some others may feel differently than I do.Many guys tell me how jealous their gf's are and I fully understand why, because until they have you locked in, there are way too many beautiful women in these Philippines flirting with us, for any lady to be totally comfortable. Now I am not telling you that marriage to the wrong woman will work, but I am telling you that marriage to the right woman who is self confident will solve many of those issues. If a woman knows she has you and knows how to keep you happy, then she is no longer that jealous or my wife would never wish to live in the Philippines because ladies flirt with me even when she is with me, so she has to be comfortable knowing I am hers and hers alone.Now did she get a bargain, no way but she did get me totally except for my roving eyes which likes to admire the many other beauties around me at times. Life is all about what a person makes it and it would seem to me that most older people in the Philippines stay home and do not go out to the malls or restaurants, thus making walking around a view of paradise and beauty, and those beauties often appreciate us, unlike how we are treated in our home countries. I would be lying if I said that I am happy with the US and where it has been heading for many years, but since I still have friends there, I guess we will continue to enjoy both places for a year or two or three or? and we are taking life one day at a time and at any time in the future the Philippines may become our only home or we may just keep doing what we are doing and it that makes my wife and I happy doing it because we now have the best of both worlds and a way to escape the hustle and bs that I feel the US has become. So why do I like the Philippines, because my wife loves it here even though she is a US citizen, mainly because of the closeness one feels from friends and family and even those around us. Make a new friend here or even a person you just smile at and those friends and smile buddies give off vibes and warmth that can be felt more here in the Philippines than back in the US, because it seem many people in the US try to keep their distance for fear you might want something from them, and beyond that I really do not know how else to explain it all. The Philippines can be paradise for a person who tries to see the good in things here, yet can be balanced in their views of the bad things in not only the Philippines but also in their home countries.

[Singers]

I guess I have a little bit of a different story than Gold Heart. My wife who is Bisaya and from Mindanao and Cebu wishes to live in the Philippines and after much consideration of places, we picked Cebu for now. You see, it is I who does not wish to give up my lifelong friends in the states but also love it here in the Philippines and I love the respect that I seem to get while here, and I would be lying if I told you that I do not enjoy the girls flirting with me all the time and often smiling directly at me and trying to catch my eye, but since I would never cheat on my wife, it is more about the good feeling of being wanted, rather than the feeling or need to fool around. You see guys, I have been there and done that during my pre-marriage to my first wife and during my interim term before marrying my current and hopefully final wife (God willing), so while some women bend different ways and one women will be better at one thing and worse at another, what really counts first to me is being close friends with my woman and then all other things fall into place. Now with that said, I have found that many of those other things often do not fall into place when there is no commitment which might explain how some others may feel differently than I do.Many guys tell me how jealous their gf's are and I fully understand why, because until they have you locked in, there are way too many beautiful women in these Philippines flirting with us, for any lady to be totally comfortable. Now I am not telling you that marriage to the wrong woman will work, but I am telling you that marriage to the right woman who is self confident will solve many of those issues. If a woman knows she has you and knows how to keep you happy, then she is no longer that jealous or my wife would never wish to live in the Philippines because ladies flirt with me even when she is with me, so she has to be comfortable knowing I am hers and hers alone.Now did she get a bargain, no way but she did get me totally except for my roving eyes which likes to admire the many other beauties around me at times. Life is all about what a person makes it and it would seem to me that most older people in the Philippines stay home and do not go out to the malls or restaurants, thus making walking around a view of paradise and beauty, and those beauties often appreciate us, unlike how we are treated in our home countries. I would be lying if I said that I am happy with the US and where it has been heading for many years, but since I still have friends there, I guess we will continue to enjoy both places for a year or two or three or? and we are taking life one day at a time and at any time in the future the Philippines may become our only home or we may just keep doing what we are doing and it that makes my wife and I happy doing it because we now have the best of both worlds and a way to escape the hustle and bs that I feel the US has become. So why do I like the Philippines, because my wife loves it here even though she is a US citizen, mainly because of the closeness one feels from friends and family and even those around us. Make a new friend here or even a person you just smile at and those friends and smile buddies give off vibes and warmth that can be felt more here in the Philippines than back in the US, because it seem many people in the US try to keep their distance for fear you might want something from them, and beyond that I really do not know how else to explain it all. The Philippines can be paradise for a person who tries to see the good in things here, yet can be balanced in their views of the bad things in not only the Philippines but also in their home countries.

:565: Excellent Mr LEE :thumbs-up-smile: thank you.UK Tom Edited April 16, 2010 by Singers

[Travis]

Thought I would ask everyone why they come to live in The Philippines. OR Why they are wanting to come to live in The Philippines. You hear alot of this and lot of that, and some people criticize others for the things they do here. So thought it would be interesting to see why you come here to live.......Mine is simpleI come here for the girls, i stay for the girl, i love the nightlife, i am considered rich, i get respect, i can pay my way out of trouble, cheaper place to live, even when i get old and ugly ( already there) the girls will still smile and flirt with me. If i said anything else, i would be a hypocrite and a lier.... So how about you, why did you come??? or why do you want to come and live in the Philippines.???

simple so i can live on my social security & not have to go on welfare to survive

[Singers]

I was divorced and retired...and when I was separated, I began looking for a place that age did not matter as far as dating, still realizing that I was able to have "one nighters" with decent looking younger woman in the USA, but the gf/bf relationship never works there with ladies who have DILF fantasies) Any decent looking middle aged man that takes care of himself and has a few bucks to spend on a weekend can still get laid by younger woman in the USA...and BTW, any person who complains about age differences is living in a denial...ALL men would love to have sex with younger woman, and here is a newsflash...older WOMAN fantasize about having sex with YOUNGER men. Amazing...no? :yes:I wanted a steady one woman that treated you with respect as she took your money (unlike western woman who take your money and act like bitches...well, the majority)...and a cheaper place to give them this need...so a smaller need.I visited many other places, and was almost ready to settle in Panama, but as I made my arrangements to move there, I received an email from a friend that was living the Philippines, a now retired Sonar Tech from the Navy that I used to be very close with while in the service. I lost touch, but he found me somehow, and asked if I remember the Philippines, and told me to visit. I did, and then explored other Asian countries that I used to visit during my Navy days...and liked it enough to at least settle here for a while, and see where it takes me. I still have a thing for Thailand, and I can see myself there in a few years as well.Fecking woman was not my purpose of being here, it was a visit to meet a very very close old friend from my ship...and to be honest, I was surprised to see that Clark was still a haven for whores and prostitutes. I ended up at Subic, which was cleaned up a lot...and actually liked it. Stayed there a while, but here I am in Cebu hoping at some point to settle down with one woman in some quiet gated community for life (no roaches), but in Luzon, and a 2-3 hour drive from Manila where I can do some serious shopping, and live out my dream...appearing on Wowowee.

Good Luck

[Singers]

My wife and I are both Filipino born, but I grew up in the U.S.. When I retired at age 49, we were broke, no money in the bank and we were over extended on credit on our home, household stuff and vehicle in California! Well, after a few months, we got rid of everything that we owned, paid all of our debts and we just got on a plane and headed for the Philippines in 1998 with a few a bucks in our pockets and with a $1,400 a month government pension!Well, 12 years later, we now own our home in a nice subdivision and we havemoney in the bank! All it took was patience, watching the budget, saving what wecan and planning for our future! I won't go into any details how we went about it, because everyone has their own success story or not so of a success story!It's just as the saying goes, "different strokes for different folks!". Luck has nothingto do with it! Life is just what you make it to be in your own way the best wayyou know how, but it was easier to do it here in the Philippines after retiring from my life long career of 30 years which was enough, because to work any longer just didn't appeal to me! I just wanted to relax and kick back while I'm able to enjoy the retirement life in a 3rd world country like the Philippines which is sort of a paradise to most expats and can truly afford living here instead of in the depressed U.S. of A.! It ain't all that bad living here in the Philippines! It just has a few drawbacks that you would have even by living anywhere else! We're here to stay for the long haul! We're content with our lifestyle the way we made it!

Hi Art,Great and honest post which is very helpful. All good wishes for a LONG and happy future.UK Tom