Retirement in Philippines in 5 years time

Welcome Martin. Well, we are mostly expats in the Philippines so feel free to post away. There is also a search function on the main page for a wealth of information from prior posts. I agree about the importance of retiring as early as possible and did so at the age of 57, moving to Cebu at age 59.

Welcome Martin. Enjoy scouring the forum.

Are you looking for city or country life? Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao?

We live in the province by choice and though we have plenty of expats living in our area we give the passing chat and rarely socialize or live in each others pockets. Respect each others privacy etc. with few questions.

We were invited along many times to a regular gathering of expats down in Bauang la union about 50 minutes drive from our home, initially it was fine and very civil but I noticed from day one the wives waited hand and foot on these expats, drinks/food and the wives always sat religiously next to the husbands and never mingled with other Pinays. Third time we visited was like the inquisition with lots of personal questions regarding our living standard/finances how do you cope being a gay couple,,,,,, we never went back.

All these guys were in their late 70's/early 80's with 30 to 50 year old wives that I'm sure were simply biding their time and putting up with the sh1t.

As PNW stated 60 is a great age to retire if all your finances are sorted and ducks in a row. Like PNW I was 59 but was going to return to contract work for 6 months a year and Covid hit, put that to bed and not looked back as your finances go a long way here big time.

All aside I think I have a more enjoyable life here with the better half's family and friends, a quiet life on the beach suits me and the locals while sure (tsismis) gossip never comes into what goes on here.

Martin with 5 years planning left before retirement you have plenty of time to research/study, a few more trips along the way to cement things. It took us 6 years before we purchased here and 8 years before the final move, as said no regrets and for me better than Australia, same for the better half.

Good luck and as PNW mentioned post away, the best way to learn are from those that live here.

Cheers, Steve.   

Hi, thanks for your reply. It's been my long-term plan to retire early whilst I'm still capable of doing my own labour work, etc. I have been to the Philippines many times and got married there. My wife is Filipino we've been married for 11 years she's a few years younger than me and it's all working well... finances not an issue, I'm looking to stay in one of my condos in Manila however my main stay will be in the province of Legazpi where I plan to build my main retirement home. Anyway it's important to me to stay engaged with my fellow expats to ensure I don't go insane ie to hangout with people I can relate to. I'm going to try and learn the Tagalog language "basics anyway".

Hi Steve

Hi, thanks for your reply. It's been my long-term plan to retire early whilst I'm still capable of doing my own labour work, etc. I have been to the Philippines many times and got married there. My wife is Filipino we've been married for 11 years she's a few years s younger than me and it's all working well... finances not an issue, I'm looking to stay in one of my condos in Manila however my main stay will be in the province of Legazpi where I plan to build my main retirement home. Anyway it's important to me to stay engaged with my fellow expats to ensure I don't go insane ie to hangout with people I can relate to. I'm going to try and learn the Tagalog language "basics anyway".

I feel having my own independence is required to enjoy my life along with my married life.