Art2ro Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 (edited) Yeah, I thought about the money, but forgot to mention it since I'm getting forgetful at my young age of 62 like you are Lee, no pun intended. As you well know, some retirees don't have pensions, but a lump sum asset setting in bank drawing interest in which they rely on the interest after taxes for their daily living expenses! The problem with that is in the fluctuation of the exchange rates and changing interest rates on the principal cash in their accounts, it takes a toll on their monthly living expenses if their cash assets isn't making the interests to live on therefore reducing their original principal they started out with in the beginning and is being depleted little by little! In my situation, I have an adequate monthly pension and if the dollar exchange rate goes downs just a few pesos it really doesn't affect me too much because I have set my baseline P10 to P15 lower than the going rate, but if it goes too low, it will affect what I can set aside each month! The dollar exchange would have to be at P20 to the dollar for me to loose my monthly savings I can set aside, but so far so good and the dollar exchange hasn't yet dropped drastically! And from the looks of it, it's now affordable again to live in the U.S. due to the drop in the housing market! You yourself have pointed out how cheap condos are in Florida, if one doesn't mind living there, but in California it isn't in the same situation, because the price of homes and condos there are still up there in price and is still out of our reach! Edited May 18, 2011 by Art2ro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 Yeah, I thought about the money, but forgot to mention it since I'm getting forgetful at my young age of 62 like you are Lee, no pun intended. As you well know, some retirees don't have pensions, but a lump sum asset setting in bank drawing interest in which they rely on the interest after taxes for their daily living expenses! The problem with that is in the fluctuation of the exchange rates and changing interest rates on the principal cash in their accounts, it takes a toll on their monthly living expenses if their cash assets isn't making the interests to live on therefore reducing their original principal they started out with in the beginning and is being depleted little by little! In my situation, I have an adequate monthly pension and if the dollar exchange rate goes downs just a few pesos it really doesn't affect me too much because I have set my baseline P10 to P15 lower than the going rate, but if it goes too low, it will affect what I can set aside each month! The dollar exchange would have to be at P20 to the dollar for me to loose my monthly savings I can set aside, but so far so good and the dollar exchange hasn't yet dropped drastically! And from the looks of it, it's now affordable again to live in the U.S. due to the drop in the housing market! You yourself have pointed out how cheap condos are in Florida, if one doesn't mind living there, but in California it isn't in the same situation, because the price of homes and condos there are still up there in price and is still out of our reach! Hi Art, I wanted to expand on this topic and you are correct that some homes and condos are much less in the US than now in Cebu or some other parts of the Philippines. I believe you and others might be surprised to know that the same situation exists in California and other areas of the US. If you do a search at THIS LINK and put in the city and state, then you and others might get a better idea of what I am saying. I check California for another friend and found condos and homes were pretty inexpensive there as well, but since I do not know areas of California and zip codes, maybe I might be off base in the better areas. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 Example San Diego, CA, condo search of up to $30,000 brought me up THIS page with 16 properties, but who knows if they are all current or even correct. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted May 18, 2011 Author Posted May 18, 2011 (edited) I've lived in Northern and Southern California almost my entire adult life and yes there are inexpensive homes and condos in California today due to the housing market slump, but they are usually in dumpy undesirable areas and the better desirable ones are still out of our reach! That's why we don't bother looking anymore! We're happy where we are living in the long term and possibly indefinite here in the Philippines since I'm getting to the point where air travel doesn't appeal to me anymore, hard on my back and the jet lag really screws me up! So yes, we're content the way things are with us here in the Philippines! As I always say, "different strokes for different folks", "life is what we all make it to be" and "que sera, sera"! JMHO! Edited May 18, 2011 by Art2ro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast&Furious Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 In the US real estate there may be unpaid taxes....plus the US will sink on their debt soon or later.....today was the news about USD no longer world currency by 2025 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredNavyGuy Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 In the US real estate there may be unpaid taxes....plus the US will sink on their debt soon or later.....today was the news about USD no longer world currency by 2025I'll be ecstatic if it lasts THAT long, because there will be huge changes in American lifestyle when the US can no longer print all the money it wants (and it can only do that now because it is the world's reserve currency). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted May 18, 2011 Author Posted May 18, 2011 It all just depends what one can put up with in the U.S. or in the Philippines! Just weigh all the facts, pros and cons to both countries and I'm sure you will come up with the answers you are looking for to make your final decision where to live! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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