Philippines, Why

[Mr Lee]

What do you see in the Philippines that you do not see in where you came from? There are positives and negatives to everything, so what makes the positives of the Philippines out weight the negatives for you. As for me it is all about making my wife happy, and I could be happy either in the Philippines, or in the US where I grew up and I am use to, so that is why we live in both places.

[Inspector]

English, and retired military to talk with .... with a "then" lower cost of living and cheaper corn flakes...but that has run it's course and I am now searching for a "developing" country that I feel comfortable being treated for medical reasons, and trust the doctors.Davao City, IMHO, is the best overall place to live there...but it lacks medical specialists, as I had to fly back to the US of A to get my retina attached again...they simply did not have the medical equipment or expertise to handle this ...and how could they, as most people could never afford this type of surgery to even have doctors gain any skills doing it. Medical tourism is something other developing countries thrive in, and doctors actually practice procedures, want to stay in said country, and thus able to afford the cutting edge medical equipment. If you are married, and happy, as Lee is...then the old saying a happy wife is a happy husband runs true. Same if you were born there, in the Philippines, and have family from there.Otherwise, it's a tough choice for reasons, after wife or family.Sorry if any of this went off topic at all I (i reviewed it it it seems fine to me)...but please chop anything that is deemed too off topic and accept my apologies.

[Dave Hounddriver]

What do you see in the Philippines that you do not see in where you came from?

In my country I see grumpy old retired guys who want to complain about everything while we sit around and have a beer or play some cards. Here I see the same thing but the beer is cheaper and the girls are prettier and the weather is nicer and it is cheaper to have a guy cut your lawn while you play cards.

[Bruce]

What do you see in the Philippines that you do not see in where you came from?

In my country I see grumpy old retired guys who want to complain about everything while we sit around and have a beer or play some cards. Here I see the same thing but the beer is cheaper and the girls are prettier and the weather is nicer and it is cheaper to have a guy cut your lawn while you play cards.

Ah... could you get back to the part about prettier beer and cheaper girls? Yes, we all want to hear about the cheap girls.... in detail.... please. Take your time and don't leave out any of the details....... I mean if Ralph Cramden can get la.... I mean find love...... well, it sort of gives us little guys some hope... so please get back to the prettier beer and cheap women....

[sjp52]

Flying in Country is a lot cheaperBuilding things is a lot cheaperMale ego stroked big time by lots of pretty young and older women ( priceless)People are more friendlier ( but harder to talk to )affording a maid for the first timeLaid back atmosphere ( perfect for retirement )My wife and her family ( so I have no choice )Its kind of like the wild wild west here in the Philippines ( good and bad points ) but its different than the west and I guess a change from my 54 years of living in the west

[Inspector]

What do you see in the Philippines that you do not see in where you came from?

In my country I see grumpy old retired guys who want to complain about everything while we sit around and have a beer or play some cards. Here I see the same thing but the beer is cheaper and the girls are prettier and the weather is nicer and it is cheaper to have a guy cut your lawn while you play cards.

You can get beer as cheap in the west, you can find better weather in the west (unless you enjoy sweating most of the time which you can also find here in Florida...can't speak for Canada or the UK) and you can get a riding mower or live in the desert, dry heat...and get rocks instead of lawn. :551:That leaves...younger, prettier woman. That explains it.... the why. :yes:Not that there anything wrong with that. :lol:Oh, and some old timers actually still DO laugh a lot, joke a lot and when they complain...they do so in a way that is more like a ...well, funny rant, instead of a bitter, cranky grumpy old man beer orgy. :508:Want to add...cheap maid and massage being the great things of any third world countries. So, if you have back problems...the cheap massage is a great thing, well.... until it stops working, and you need the actual surgery.Then...off to the west, or Thailand. :whistling:

[Art2ro]

Why the Philippines? 1. It’s our roots, home country and our haven when life in the U.S. became intolerable when the “Bubble Burst” due to the recession, when the “American Dream” shattered for a lot of people! 2. We built our own “ American Dream” in the Philippines! We now own our own home in a nice, clean and safe gated subdivision. When I was still working in the U.S., I could never for the life me, get ahead of our bills and couldn’t save a dime in the bank, because the remainder that I had left after paying mortgage and car payments, the rest of the money all went in paying off my huge credit card debts! Life in the U.S. was all just for show and trying to keep up with “the Jones“! The nice expensive things that we did have, a brand new car (two cars actually), our home and 2 to 3 week vacations came from using credit cards! Yeah, I had a good job and could afford the payments, but for the next 20 years! I'd have to work until I'm 70 years old!3. I retired at age 49 and we now live in the Philippines, debt free and no more credit cards, because we now have money in the bank! No more waking up to an alarm clock to go to work just to pay our bills! We now live outside the main stream of the human “Rat Race” society of life! I now wake up every morning with a smile on my face!

Edited June 11, 2011 by Art2ro

[Old55]

As a typical Kano I married a Filipina! Before we married Ann and I came to the understanding we would visit Philippines often as I would truly be a part of our family. One of the many reasons I married my wife was because of her family and over time I have become very close to my family members living in Philippines and several other countries. I have also come to have some very close Filipino friends. I truly like the Philippines and am able to overlook most of the negative aspects of visiting there.

[Mr Lee]

To OLD55 I say, visiting is not living, no insult meant, but believe me, even living there part time is not like when we used to visit for a few weeks at a time. To Art with no insult in any way meant to you, I say, living the American dream does not have to mean keeping up with the Jones and that even happens in the Philippines, and I think even more often. My wife and I do not keep up with the Jones, and I do not care what they think of us, and I never have done that for my whole 63 years. A lifestyle change can be done in any country and while I fully understand Filipinos who go home to live because it is their home country, many of us non Filipinos may have to rethink our lifestyles in other countries and adjust them to retirement rather than than trying to keep up living above our means and in debt. Apples and apples rather than apples and oranges. One of the biggest problems I see in the US is exactly the above, way too many people live on tomorrows money, thus using their credit limits on their credit cards and home equity to get them things that they probably cannot afford to have, or at the very least probably should not buy. So while that is perfectly normal thing to do in the US and maybe some western countries, it is not necessary and living below ones means could have kept them out of trouble. The bubble burst in the US destroyed a lot of the lives of such people who bought houses way more than they could afford, or refinanced, so they could buy more toys etc, instead of living within their means in the first place. That is the American way, I do not know if that is also the way in many other countries, but the lack of credit available to most of us while living in the Philippines, might be the necessary evil that helps some stay within their budgets, instead of having their own will power to do it on their own, so maybe that is yet another positive. To me what my wife said when she first arrived in the US summed it up, I asked how she liked Florida, and then again the US after we traveled around some, and she said " it is so organized, so clean, including the air, and has such good roads" so at least to me, I feel that the negatives of the Philippines mostly out weight the positives, yet the items SJP52 listed do make it hard to not wish to live there at least part of the year for us. I am guessing that if the economy in the US continues on its path, then my wife and I may be forced to pick between one or the other, and only time will tell which one we pick. I am sorry to be negative, but with all the bad things the US has, it is still home to some of us and way above the Philippines in so many ways, that IMO it does make a thinking person have to at least think twice about why we wish to move to the Philippines. Please keep up the posts all, I and I am sure others are gaining knowledge within them.

[Bruce]

To OLD55 I say, visiting is not living, no insult meant, but believe me, even living there part time is not like when we used to visit for a few weeks at a time. To Art with no insult in any way meant to you, I say, living the American dream does not have to mean keeping up with the Jones and that even happens in the Philippines, and I think even more often. My wife and I do not keep up with the Jones, and I do not care what they think of us, and I never have done that for my whole 63 years. A lifestyle change can be done in any country and while I fully understand Filipinos who go home to live because it is their home country, many of us non Filipinos may have to rethink our lifestyles in other countries and adjust them to retirement rather than than trying to keep up living above our means and in debt. Apples and apples rather than apples and oranges. One of the biggest problems I see in the US is exactly the above, way too many people live on tomorrows money, thus using their credit limits on their credit cards and home equity to get them things that they probably cannot afford to have, or at the very least probably should not buy. So while that is perfectly normal thing to do in the US and maybe some western countries, it is not necessary and living below ones means could have kept them out of trouble. The bubble burst in the US destroyed a lot of the lives of such people who bought houses way more than they could afford, or refinanced, so they could buy more toys etc, instead of living within their means in the first place. That is the American way, I do not know if that is also the way in many other countries, but the lack of credit available to most of us while living in the Philippines, might be the necessary evil that helps some stay within their budgets, instead of having their own will power to do it on their own, so maybe that is yet another positive. To me what my wife said when she first arrived in the US summed it up, I asked how she liked Florida, and then again the US after we traveled around some, and she said " it is so organized, so clean, including the air, and has such good roads" so at least to me, I feel that the negatives of the Philippines mostly out weight the positives, yet the items SJP52 listed do make it hard to not wish to live there at least part of the year for us. I am guessing that if the economy in the US continues on its path, then my wife and I may be forced to pick between one or the other, and only time will tell which one we pick. I am sorry to be negative, but with all the bad things the US has, it is still home to some of us and way above the Philippines in so many ways, that IMO it does make a thinking person have to at least think twice about why we wish to move to the Philippines. Please keep up the posts all, I and I am sure others are gaining knowledge within them.

You are 63? WOW! I mean I knew that modern medicine had made great strides in the past 20 years or so, but i had no idea that medicine had come so far. 63.... who knew?.