Philippines, Why

[Art2ro]

I never had to work a day in my life until i came to america.and worked every day since,trying to keep up with all that plastic and tomorrows cash. well enough of that, because its time to put that PATEK PHILIP back on my wrist and pick up where i left off in the pinas.why? cuz work sucks. took me 30 plus years to realize that i should have stayed home and took care of business there.but live and learn, i have, see you there.:36_1_68[1]: EJ.

Exactly my thoughts EJ! Worked to the bones to earn a lousy buck. And to turn around to waste the hard earnedmoney on pursuit of false happiness. Just for once, I would like to establish a savings account compounded withwith a few hundred bucks each and every month. And still enjoy a cold San Magoo or two, travel to exotic placesand completely retire on island time. See ya there my friend and have that pitcher of MoJo waiting for me......Jake

Me too Jake! We'll have a balut feast and farting contest, with you, me and EJ at his bullet proof fortress! Great topic, that's why we're in the Philippines! Balut anyone?

[Old55]

No offence taken Lee, we have talked this very subject face to face. You and Art have a lifestyle I envy. Soon I will retire and our family will spend the summers in Philippines but live in the States. Living in the States and visiting best meets our need for many reasons foremost our children’s benefit living here. It’s true my perspective of Philippines is lacking in comparison to our expat members.

[Art2ro]

I would also like to add, why the Philippines? It’s always a matter of money! A round trip airfare isn’t getting any cheaper and the price of gasoline even more so! Just to fill up one‘s vehicle is outrageous! So, instead of leaving the country every year, we now just do it once every 3 years, but once I get my dual citizenship, it maybe longer! My wife already has her dual citizenship since last year, so no problems there anymore with immigrations! If rent was cheaper in California, we would have considered living there 6 months out of the year and just make the Philippines our vacation home, but the problem is, that I’m getting older and traveling on a plane for 12 to 14 hours straight is getting to be too much of a physical hardship due to my chronic back ache and other joint pain due to gout and arthritis, unless we can afford 1st class tickets with comfy accommodations! So, living in the Philippines full time is a solution that works for us, because financially, we are better off here due to the low cost of living, even though others have difference of opinions saying the opposite! Our home will be paid off in a few months, we have no car payments yet, but I don’t drive that much except for our once a week grocery shopping in our 1979 Toyota! So, all is well for us here since we have returned to our roots, there’s really not a whole lot of negatives for us anymore, other than the negative comments I read about the Philippines on forums from malcontent foreigners who are still struggling with the language, customs, culture and behavior of the Filipino people!

[oldutot]

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?.

Bruce, WTF, The problem you have with Lee. Awhile back you insulted his wife. Then you are trying to drag him to a piss and moan war with him. I think you are showing no class at all .

[Art2ro]

Without girls in the picture, I still think the Philippines would be a great place to live or hang out. Scuba diving and beaches are top notch. The environment is very laid back. They share my preferences in sports. They have great live bands, and cheap liquor. I don't like life back home in the West because it's not densely populated enough. people are too far apart. It's not exciting and it's not very interesting. I'm from Canada though. It's pretty boring up there sometimes. More people often means more fun, businesses, and opportunities. Philippines is a nice balance for having people, but having quietness.

Without the beautiful Filipinas in the picture, life would be dull for a lot of older men still in their prime and the Philippine's economy would definitely be in jeopardy! Happy older men of means, do spend a lot of money on their beautiful girlfriends and young wives here in the Philippines or take them to their home country or just do a tour abroad where ever at their leisure just for fun, because they can afford it!

[ekimswish]

Without girls in the picture, I still think the Philippines would be a great place to live or hang out. Scuba diving and beaches are top notch. The environment is very laid back. They share my preferences in sports. They have great live bands, and cheap liquor. I don't like life back home in the West because it's not densely populated enough. people are too far apart. It's not exciting and it's not very interesting. I'm from Canada though. It's pretty boring up there sometimes. More people often means more fun, businesses, and opportunities. Philippines is a nice balance for having people, but having quietness.

Without the beautiful Filipinas in the picture, life would be dull for a lot of older men still in their prime and the Philippine's economy would definitely be in jeopardy! Happy older men of means, do spend a lot of money on their beautiful girlfriends and young wives here in the Philippines or take them to their home country or just do a tour abroad where ever at their leisure just for fun, because they can afford it!

Honestly, it's not really a matter of them having beautiful girls or not. Every country has those. The difference is that beautiful girls in the PI speak English and have a history familiar with outsiders. Take away that willingness to marry whatever foreigner jumps off the boat, and maybe they'd be better for it. Sometimes less is more.

[Inspector]

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?.

Bruce, WTF, The problem you have with Lee. Awhile back you insulted his wife. Then you are trying to drag him to a piss and moan war with him. I think you are showing no class at all .

:89::lol:Not to defend anybody as I sure am not Zorro, and I might be off here...but, I believe that was just some injection of board personality, and some simple sarcastic ribbing. I do believe they have met, and oddly enough...it was actuality, a compliment. Lee does look young, old. :yes:I do believe his secret is excessive masturbation ...oh wait, that's good for the prostate.Hey Lee...what IS your secret to looking young?...please a new topic people...I call for a poll!Lee, grumpy old timer..... or teenage social security scammer? :89:

[Art2ro]

Without girls in the picture, I still think the Philippines would be a great place to live or hang out. Scuba diving and beaches are top notch. The environment is very laid back. They share my preferences in sports. They have great live bands, and cheap liquor. I don't like life back home in the West because it's not densely populated enough. people are too far apart. It's not exciting and it's not very interesting. I'm from Canada though. It's pretty boring up there sometimes. More people often means more fun, businesses, and opportunities. Philippines is a nice balance for having people, but having quietness.

Without the beautiful Filipinas in the picture, life would be dull for a lot of older men still in their prime and the Philippine's economy would definitely be in jeopardy! Happy older men of means, do spend a lot of money on their beautiful girlfriends and young wives here in the Philippines or take them to their home country or just do a tour abroad where ever at their leisure just for fun, because they can afford it!

Honestly, it's not really a matter of them having beautiful girls or not. Every country has those. The difference is that beautiful girls in the PI speak English and have a history familiar with outsiders. Take away that willingness to marry whatever foreigner jumps off the boat, and maybe they'd be better for it. Sometimes less is more.

Women in general, especially smart and mature Filipino women know that more is better than less, it's just the naive ones that are blind and settled for less! That's why there's so many separations and divorces all over the world, because the naive women who married for less, became more mature, got smarter and finally woke up to the fact that more is better! So, that's the why of it in the Philippines for some Filipino women marrying foreigners, because they may get lucky and find gold at the end of the rainbow, just like some OFWs living and working in the life of luxury, because they found a rich and kind employer!

[ekimswish]

Without girls in the picture, I still think the Philippines would be a great place to live or hang out. Scuba diving and beaches are top notch. The environment is very laid back. They share my preferences in sports. They have great live bands, and cheap liquor. I don't like life back home in the West because it's not densely populated enough. people are too far apart. It's not exciting and it's not very interesting. I'm from Canada though. It's pretty boring up there sometimes. More people often means more fun, businesses, and opportunities. Philippines is a nice balance for having people, but having quietness.

Without the beautiful Filipinas in the picture, life would be dull for a lot of older men still in their prime and the Philippine's economy would definitely be in jeopardy! Happy older men of means, do spend a lot of money on their beautiful girlfriends and young wives here in the Philippines or take them to their home country or just do a tour abroad where ever at their leisure just for fun, because they can afford it!

Honestly, it's not really a matter of them having beautiful girls or not. Every country has those. The difference is that beautiful girls in the PI speak English and have a history familiar with outsiders. Take away that willingness to marry whatever foreigner jumps off the boat, and maybe they'd be better for it. Sometimes less is more.

Women in general, especially smart and mature Filipino women know that more is better than less, it's just the naive ones that are blind and settled for less! That's why there's so many separations and divorces all over the world, because the naive women who married for less, became more mature, got smarter and finally woke up to the fact that more is better! So, that's the why of it in the Philippines for some Filipino women marrying foreigners, because they may get lucky and find gold at the end of the rainbow, just like some OFWs living and working in the life of luxury, because they found a rich and kind employer!

I get what you're saying and agree on an individual level, that it's better for the woman to marry a foreigner with resources and opportunity. My point was more that if the "easy way out" didn't exist, people might be forced to double down and develop their OWN country, rather than everyone else's. I think 40 years ago everyone assumed that English was going to usher the Philippines to the front of Asian prosperity, but as it turns out, focusing on education in math and science was more important. While Filipinos race to work abroad or marry a foreigner, East Asians race to school. So by less, I mean if you took away foreigners / work abroad opportunities, Filipinos might have focused on their own development, and there might be a middle class left behind to hold the government a little more accountable. Less easy way outs means more need to keep working at it.

[Art2ro]

I don't think or write about in "what if " types of scenarios, but of the realistic day to day life of the Filipino people as I've seen it my entire adult life. The “easy way out” for a lot of Filipinos is the only alternative to attaining immediate results in order to support and feed their hungry families! They can care less about double downing for the benefit of a corrupt government who taxes their hard earned money by at least 40%! So, there’s no real incentive for them to work any harder unless it’s for their “live for the moment“ attitude and lifestyle! Screw the government! Anyway, how can the Filipino people hold the government accountable when the government is in full control of every aspect of their lives! Just being an OFW, marrying into money or scamming of foreigners & tourists sometimes is their only alternative to make a living! Since there are already millions of high school graduates at a stand still in their lives who can not afford to go to college due to poverty or even find decent employment, their "easy way out" is to became an OFW, garbage/recycle collector, sidewalk vendor of whatever, laborer of any anything, farmer, pedicab driver, marry into money, scam foreigners & tourists or just beg, borrow and steal! Those are just some of the few ways and whys of the Filipinos do what they do in the Philippines in order to survive! There's approximately 36 million Filipinos out of a total population of 90 million+, now living in poverty! Are we going off topic? It's still about the Philippines though and the why of sorts!

Edited June 14, 2011 by Art2ro