Hi I Am T

[Travis]

Hi, I am T. I have traveled all over the world, well at least in my mind lol, and now I am reaching retirement age and I am looking for a place to retire to where it would cost me less and I could live on my SS check. I have lived in a few different places in the United States during my life and I live in Florida for the last few months and hope to stay here until I make the big move. I have been reading forums for years and this is the first one I joined because I do not see the bickering that seems to go on on so many others and I thank you for having such a great forum. Right now I seek as much information as possible about the best places to live in the Philippines, and any help would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to tell me where you live and why you feel it is the best place to settle down. Thank youT

[Mr Lee]

Hi T and welcome to the forum :welcome: There are many great places within the Philippines and my wife and I have been to quite a few but far from many, but from our experiences, I can tell you that Cagayan de Oro City is the most friendly that we have encountered and also one of the most reasonable we have found to stay in. We picked Cebu as our part time home and have a condo there and while Cebu cost a little more and is more crowded IMO than CDO, it has the feel of a big city while still also having the feel of a small city as well IMO.I guess it is going to depend on what you seek, shopping or would you be willing to travel, a lot of Americans or other expats or would you be happier among the locals, good transportation or would you get your own car or motorcycle and so many more that I am sure our members can expand on for you. Try to ask specific questions and I am sure that you will then get the answers you seek, since the members have a wealth of knowledge and many are from different places within the Philippines.My suggestion would be to find a base place to start and then travel around and see where you feel the most comfortable. If you are single and like to see a large expat community, CDO or Cebu would both be great. IMO, but I am just one voice, Guys and Gals, would you care to help T?Enjoy the forum :23_11_60[2]: BTW, I am also from Florida :D and still live there part of the year.

[Travis]

Hi T and welcome to the forum :welcome: There are many great places within the Philippines and my wife and I have been to quite a few but far from many, but from our experiences, I can tell you that Cagayan de Oro City is the most friendly that we have encountered and also one of the most reasonable we have found to stay in. We picked Cebu as our part time home and have a condo there and while Cebu cost a little more and is more crowded IMO than CDO, it has the feel of a big city while still also having the feel of a small city as well IMO.I guess it is going to depend on what you seek, shopping or would you be willing to travel, a lot of Americans or other expats or would you be happier among the locals, good transportation or would you get your own car or motorcycle and so many more that I am sure our members can expand on for you. Try to ask specific questions and I am sure that you will then get the answers you seek, since the members have a wealth of knowledge and many are from different places within the Philippines.My suggestion would be to find a base place to start and then travel around and see where you feel the most comfortable. If you are single and like to see a large expat community, CDO or Cebu would both be great. IMO, but I am just one voice, Guys and Gals, would you care to help T?Enjoy the forum :23_11_60[2]: BTW, I am also from Florida :D and still live there part of the year.

Hi Mr. Lee, I thought my post did not post and then saw it later after your post. Why was that? Thank you for the warm welcome and I will do some research on those and others that I hope other forum members will suggest. I will probably take your advice and settle in one place and move around, unless I can find the perfect place first by info provided by people. Yes, I am a single man approaching 62.Where in Florida are you? I am in Palm Beach.

[Mr Lee]

Hi Mr. Lee, I thought my post did not post and then saw it later after your post. Why was that? Thank you for the warm welcome and I will do some research on those and others that I hope other forum members will suggest. I will probably take your advice and settle in one place and move around, unless I can find the perfect place first by info provided by people. Yes, I am a single man approaching 62.Where in Florida are you? I am in Palm Beach.

T, I am South of you a ways, when we are here in the states, and once you become a full member, then we can private message back and forth and compare notes more.As for why your post does not show right up, new members posts need to be moderated to prevent spammer and yours and any other new members posts come up invisible to the members and to you and visible to the moderators on the forum and then one of the mods will approve the post as soon thereafter as we see them. I saw you join and followed you around, so to speak, so that you would not have to wait long for your posts to be approved.Enjoy the forum, post some more, and before you know it, you will become a full member. :23_11_60[2]: Edited December 4, 2008 by Mr. Lee

[Travis]

Thank you again and thank you for explaining that to me, I was concerned and a little confused and thought I could not post. Others, please give me your thoughts on different places within the Philippines. T

[Mike S]

Welcome T ...... read my post in the Cost to live in the Phils (or something like that) ...... I also came from Florida (Winter Haven area) ...... I am currently living on my SS for under $800 per month in the Cebu City area .... but I don't drink or smoke and I live with my SO ....... it can be done and I might add with out to much difficulty ...... before you move here you need a lot of planning to insure that everything goes smoothly ....... or at least as smooth as they can ...However not everything will be all peaches and cream ...... but good planning will help ...... example ...... I set up two bank accounts with visa dept cards before leaving ...... just last week I had to cancel one when I found out that it was involved in the US nation wide credit card fraud ...... it has effected thousands of people and the FBI is now involved in hunting down the hackers ....... an interesting note is that I have not used that card in 8 months ...... so expect the unexpected ....... If you want your mail forwarded and you will with SS you need to set up a mail-forwarding service ...... I suggest USA Box ...... out of Miami they issue you a street address rather than a PO box .......... also set up a GOOD bank to put your SS check in ....... you don't want it deposited to a bank here in the Phils ....... I use HSBC as it is an international bank with a few branches in the US but more in foreign countries ....... headquarted in England ...... they have an ON-Line account that pays you interest on you money and offers an a ATM card with no fees for bank transfers or ATM usage ...... When you get here open a bank account (we can tell you more on how to do that later) ..... we currently have 3 separate accounts with Bank of Commerce here in Cebu .....READ READ READ ....... everything you can about the life and customs of the people here ...... and yes you are going to be told you have to visit here before you can move here ...... maybe true ... but I didn't ...... and for two weeks all you are going to see is the surface of this great country ...... if you can afford to great but if you were like me and paying off all you debts (best idea you can do) before arriving and you can adapt to any situation and have the self-confidence it takes to take the plunge ....... you can and will make it ....... We enough for now ...... don't want to overwhelm you right now ..... you have a lot to prepare for and digest ...... but I personally from my meager experiences here ...... can tell you it is well worth the venture ....... after all ....... any thing worth while is worth pursuing ....... I have never had one second of regret in the 8 short months that i have lived here ....... (but then others will tell you that is not enough time to really know what is going on) ...... don't matter to me .... I'm happy ...... and with the love of a good Filipina all obstacles can be over comeSorry you don't have anyway to contact me should you want to at the preset ...... as I for obvious reasons don't want my email addy put on open forum ...... good luck and start doing your research now .......

[KeithAngel]

Im a part timer in Cebu city with a view to eventual retirement here and like it here fine on Mikes post as I am a dedicated smoker the Philipines must be saving me a fortune with local smokes at 60peso for 200 compared to 5000 pesos in the UK wish everything was so cheap lol and of course welcome

[Jollygoodfellow]

Hi, I am T. I have traveled all over the world, well at least in my mind lol, and now I am reaching retirement age and I am looking for a place to retire to where it would cost me less and I could live on my SS check. I have lived in a few different places in the United States during my life and I live in Florida for the last few months and hope to stay here until I make the big move. I have been reading forums for years and this is the first one I joined because I do not see the bickering that seems to go on on so many others and I thank you for having such a great forum. Right now I seek as much information as possible about the best places to live in the Philippines, and any help would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to tell me where you live and why you feel it is the best place to settle down. Thank youT

Hi TWelcome a board :23_11_60[2]: We are lucky so far that we have no bickering, glad that you have joined us.I have moved this post as the subject is now about living in the Philippines and Expat advice.

[Travis]

Thank you Mike S. I really appreciate the financial stuff, that gives me a good idea of what to expect. Maybe Citibank and HSBC might cover it. Great tips and some I would not have thought of. Thanks KeithAngel, I do not smoke but I do like my beer every now and again. Thanks for the welcome Boss Man and sorry if I posted in the wrong place. Keep em comin, all ideas greatly appreciated.

[tom_shor]

Something else you want to consider when you decide on a place to live is the state of your health and how close do you need to be to medical care. In Cebu there are several good hospitals. Not so much in provincial areas and smaller cities. So also keep this in mind. You might also look into medical insurance when you arrive. The cost for Doctor visits and hospital stays is considerably less than in the US but if there is a serious problem the costs will add up quickly. The hopsitals here expect to be paid in advance. If you are retired military Tri Care is available here. Medicare at this time is not. There are several companies here that offer medical insurance. Including Phil Health and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. I think Paul has links for several insurance plans. Not trying to scare you but something you need to think about.