Any Alternatives to Philippines?

I wouldn’t pin your hopes on the water or beaches. I read an article yesterday stating that the majority of the beaches here have high concentrations of human waste in the water making them unsafe to swim in.
http://philippineslifestyle.com/excreme … e-beaches/

People seem to have no qualms about trashing their own environment here.

CRAP!  (No pun intended)    Just when you think you've found the right place......

Hello fixfireleo
Tim is right, the amount of rubbish in the streets and waterways will astound most westerners. People will use any wall or pole in the street as a public urinal. Rubbish is just discarded where it is finished with.
Your other points
1/. Most people have an understanding of English but you will find it hard to have a conversation with everyday people on the street. 2/. Cost of living is cheap if you live like a local, no shower heater, no air con, rice for 2-3 meals a day  3/. Beauty ?  clean beaches are far from any habitation or on one of the small island.  4/. Yes the people are friendly but most only see you as a walking ATM.  5/. Again beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you are single (male or female) there will be very many people interested in you as you represent a way to easy wealth by their standards.  6/. Food ? if you saw the way street food was prepared, you wouldn't touch it. Think butchers cutting up meat on the street and then displaying it on just open tubs (no refrigeration).  Meals are also Philippino size, a "Big Mac" here is the size of a junior burger.
I hope this doasn't put you off, just opens your eyes.
Best advice,  VISIT for a month or more before committing to any thing.
regards   Bruce

Spot on Bruce. 👍🏻

Rose coloured glasses, every country has plenty to offer even Australia, mate it's up there with the best places to live in the world,,,,,,ha if you have plenty of money.
Vietnam has fantastic food, beautiful people, beaches and scenery and is a cheap destination..... Laos another, oops not much english.

I and one or two others have suggested putting your best friend in first class and savour the flavours once you rock up in PH. do the yards and get your hands dirty.

As said my reason and others I assume move to/retire in the Philippines, not because it is cheap or has good beaches, is somewhat slow or 95% speak english but because of love, comfort and commitment. As I have suggested to you before if I were a single man the Phills would be way down on my list, you already know that. Financial choices? I and other members offered you the tools for your early questions and wishes and now? Correct me if I'm wrong??? The goalposts have changed as it will for the next 4 or 5 years until you decide to live in what ever country. Being honest and yes somewhat cynical  here Rob, would appreciate a/the underlying reason for a move to a country that you have no idea about that can be harsh to the nth degree for the uninitiated.

Cheers, Steve.

That is all great input but is there anywhere else to go that meets my criteria and has fewer of the problems than you mentioned?  The problem of me not speaking any other languages is my biggest barrier.  I think that mostly rules out Central and South America.  Africa is out.  Europe is too expensive, I wouldnt live in India for all the money in the world....is Philippines the best I am going to find and I'll just have to deal with the things you mentioned if I want to retire early?

Steve.  I ABSOLUTELY PROMISE you that I will go there on a scouting mission before I actually move.  Maybe more than once.  I just cant go right now, so I am trying to get as much info as possible.  I looked at Vietnam since it seems to be safer than Philippines however people were saying the beaches werent very nice and I didnt see any pictures where the water looks like Tahiti like in Philippines (although, now that I read about all the human waste in the water, that kind of changes things) and they dont have nearly as high a ranking in English as Philippines so I moved away from looking there.

You keep asking for my underlying reason why I want to move, I have told you several times.  I DONT want to work.  I want to retire, sleep in everyday, get up when I want, go do what I want.  I want to be free from work.  But I cant do that here in USA until I'm 62.  In some place like Philippines, I can retire at about 54.  That is my reason.

Keep an eye also on inflation over here Rob. 6.7% is huge man. While the dollar is @ 54 to 1 against the peso, I doubt that it’ll remain so forever. Factor that into your decision.
Things are def. going up here compatred to Aug 2017 and for that matter, Feb 2018 when I was here. Food, gas, utilities, taxi’s, jeepneys, etc. are all on the rise.
Beaches I think is a non-factor after what I showed you yesterday. Hahaha
Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia all have nice beaches from what i’ve Read. Of course, before I actually came here back in 2017, Boracay was one of the top beaches in the world according to travel magazines only to be shut down as a cesspool. I guess none of those magazines tested the water. Hahaha....
Unless you are going to plunk down a bunch of money to remain in any of thse places on a retirement Visa, I would def. check out the visa situations of the other that I mentioned above. Seems things are tightening up on those wanting to stay on a tourist Visa whereas currently, PH has not. You def gotta come here though or anywhere for that matter. And not just once, I would recommend several times each lasting 3 weeks or more. You’ll notice with each passing trip that things tend to come into focus and things that weren’t an issue when you initially were here, suddenly can become overwhelming or unworkable. I can think of a hell of a lot more reasons to not come here, then to come here, especially if good internet if important to you. It’s all in what you want and can tolerate though I guess, which you won’t know till you get here.
In my case, if I want to be with my GF, I have to be here. I can’t get her into the US w/o marriage and I’m just not ready for that yet. Things that make you go hmmmmm...

Singapore.  Almost everyone speak, read and write English.

Singapore I’ve heard isn’t really cheap though, which I think may be an issue for Rob.  But I definitely agree with you as far as what you said.

I will go to the place I choose maybe twice but that flight is just too long and too expensive for 3 or more trips.  After what you told me, I spent all day yesterday exploring other options.  Nowhere stood out as "THE ONE".  Everywhere has it's downside.  The places that are closest to perfect are either unsafe or too expensive (Think Colombia and Italy respectively.)  I did find a few places that I want to look at more closely.  Hopefully one of these places will turn me on.  (Until someone sends me an article saying the whole place is contaminated by crap!)  lol 

Let me know if you have any experience with these places:

Phuket, Thailand
Krabi Town, Thailand
Pedasi, Los Santos, Panama
Ibarra, Ecuador
Loja, Ecuador
Mafra, Portugal
Bali, Indonesia
Da Nang, Vietnam

I agree with what others have said. I will add that in my experience all of SE Asia is crowded and polluted to some degree. Just too many people, too little environmental concern, massive corruption, etc. It's not just the Philippines, although they do openly  do it, much to our dismay. This behavior might not have been a problem 50 years ago with 20M people but it's a big problem now with five times that many.

It's the same story in the other countries by the way..  If you look at what has been done to the beautiful rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia (burning them down to plant massive palm oil plantations used in fast food, or the environmental devastation from mining) it's enough to make you sick. You wonder where it will stop. Clearly the path is unsustainable but greed is a powerful force and politicians keep accepting payoffs.

On the other hand, as several of us have mentioned, once you're in a relationship the options and relative value propositions shift. We tolerate more and do the best we can - for the relationship and for the people we love. Some people also have a higher tolerance for things, others do not and make their way back home eventually.

Ultimately, anywhere you go there will be a compromise required in terms of money, language, climate, crime, pollution, etc. You're not gonna get it all on a shoestring budget no matter how thorough the research.. you will have to decide what factors are most important and accept the compromise.

I have visited or lived in about 50 countries for the last 20+ years. I have found that the overriding factor for people that live abroad is money - because they have to work there and love. People come to Thailand - where I am now - and fall in love and get married and die here. It's cheap and there are lots of women looking for westerners.

Another key thing that happens is that there are these key factors like friendships or love that make a place 'home'. People ignore and defend the bad things.  They focus on the good only because they need to be content where they are. Thailand has so many things about it that are terrible, but none of them override love. Or economic necessity. 

So, in my humble opinion, unless you are a very analytical person without too much emotional attachment to anything, you can live anywhere and be happy if you decide to make it so.

I plan to move to Ormoc because I've flipped over an Ormoc girl.

fixfireleo wrote:

Steve.  I ABSOLUTELY PROMISE you that I will go there on a scouting mission before I actually move.  Maybe more than once.  I just cant go right now, so I am trying to get as much info as possible.  I looked at Vietnam since it seems to be safer than Philippines however people were saying the beaches werent very nice and I didnt see any pictures where the water looks like Tahiti like in Philippines (although, now that I read about all the human waste in the water, that kind of changes things) and they dont have nearly as high a ranking in English as Philippines so I moved away from looking there.

You keep asking for my underlying reason why I want to move, I have told you several times.  I DONT want to work.  I want to retire, sleep in everyday, get up when I want, go do what I want.  I want to be free from work.  But I cant do that here in USA until I'm 62.  In some place like Philippines, I can retire at about 54.  That is my reason.

Well Rob can I also tell you that I never wanted to work but unfortunately wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth so simple economics dictated that I would work, work very hard and harder again to be able to do what I want and that hard graft has taught me the value of money required to live the lifestyle we chose in retirement, doing what we want when we want that suits our given life. Yes we have a budget that we will adhere to (PHP economics and husband certainly dictate ours) and if you care you can read all about them on here or other sites. (my posts and a million others) Though our budget is excessive to some is not enough for others but hey I'm happy to drive a PHP 2M dollar set of wheels and not a PHP 8M drive.

If you, as others have mentioned want to live like a Filipino that can easily be achieved for the princely sum of PHP 15K per month or less, US 300 bucks per month, many westerners live comfortably on that amount in some countries including PH. but from my readings US 600 upwards. One simply needs to know their budget and what they can get for that around the world,,,,,, and what they will have to do without/give up to achieve the almighty "retirement". If (and I have said this before) I wanted to retire very comfortably in Oz I would need to continue working for the next 5 or 6 years to ensure our lifestyle level. We/I can retire to our property in PH and live like kings years ago. Live well we will and we will be with family.

No partner from PH? I would easily retire in Italy, central France or even Spain, last choice.
As said Rob you have 5 years before your expected retirement, perhaps you really need to get down and do some serious research as you have the time it appears,,,,,,,, get the paper out, do your figures and preferences, ask the finer questions only when needed. Perhaps you need to "work" a few more years, do you work?  Are you employed? Why PH?
So many better places to be if single.

We are self funded like many here and don't rely on a pension for retirement and I'm sincerely happy that I took control of my life/budgets 40 years ago so I didn't have to rely on a measly pension, those that have the measly pension live well in many third world countries and could teach us all how to manage money and live within the dictated budget. Those readings can also be found here and so many other expat sites.

If you are worried about the cost of many flights to PH. over the next few years or other countries then as suggested you are caught between a rock and a hard place financially and seriously need to rethink your budget big time before booking your first flight to a country you really have no idea about, only that it may be cheaper or not.
The Philippines has a lot to offer but is definitely not for the feint hearted as there are plenty of wake up calls and shocks, no different to other chosen destinations.

Google and learn before asking, don't rely on my or others input that would/could be totally irrelevant to your personal situation and again slowly slowly, as you have indicated 5 years before a potential move. Plenty of time for personal trawling and gleaning of information in the forthcoming years, do yourself this simple favour Rob. Go on not only Filipino sites but others, read and learn, again read and learn, nary a call from you with regards to Visas in PH. nor how much is a pound of chicken or electricity costs given that I will only run one fan, nor the costs of a jeepny ride to secure my groceries for the next few days, all this info is within this site, others and yes on the web and you simply need to get off your derriere and do the hard yards like the rest of us have done and stop asking what I see as simplistic questions. The info is there for the committed mate.

Cheers, Steve.

fixfireleo wrote:

You keep asking for my underlying reason why I want to move, I have told you several times.  I DONT want to work.  I want to retire, sleep in everyday, get up when I want, go do what I want.  I want to be free from work.  But I cant do that here in USA until I'm 62.  In some place like Philippines, I can retire at about 54.  That is my reason.

Rob, If you want to retire early, not work and not draw a pension or SS the first thing you need to do is sit down and figure out a hard budget and see if you can.  I myself delayed until I was 63 because I didn't have enough for what I want to do. Don't forget to include about $35 a month for Visa extension in the Philippines!  After 90 days here you legally cannot drive so include public transportation cost.  Electricity?  Do you use aircon 24/7?  Expect $100+.  Use a fan and relax in the shade?  Cut in half if not more.  Are you going to eat local or American?  At least double your food budget if you plan on eating American.

Those other places you listed?  Do you speak Spanish, Vietnamese or Thai?  The Thailand spots mention are tourist areas and are going to be more expensive unless you have a Thai sweetie.  Plan on making a border run each month to renew your Visa.  Vietnam is getting more expensive and outside the major cities English isn't spoken.  They are tightening up their Visas also.  Not as friendly in the cities either.  The place you listed in Panama has a population of 2500 and is a 5 hr drive to Panama City.  I'd try to find a shack in the Keys first myself.  And Ecuador????

You should have mentioned Belize and Costa Rica instead, more English spoken there.

You have time, do your own research.  You know what is important to you.  Watch YouTube videos and pay attention to what is not mentioned.  Watch people in the background.  Keep in mind most articles and videos are sales jobs, they are trying to sell you on the place.  I've spent 6+ years doing my research and am STILL doing research even though I am moving there in less than 90 days.

Peter

Yep, well said Peter. Though I have worked for 2 six month stints in Paniman Cam Sur and then the Cagayan valley and then rented a condo for 12 months in Manila, visiting family and friends once and sometimes twice a year for 3 to 5 week visits since we moved back to Oz some 5 years ago, have a Filipino partner that answers many of my questions I still from these sites glean plenty of info but my best friend google finds answers to at times silly things, how much does a concrete block cost or where can I buy a solar system for our house at a realistic price.
Even with all the time I have spent in PH. there are still thousands of questions but as said mostly google finds the answers I seek.

Tim raised a great point and one I also have been looking at, CPI increases and exchange rates, these two things can affect your living standard. the CPI increases that Tim mentions may only be this year and better or worse the following year but remember these costs most times have a compound affect on a budget and need to be taken into account. Our budget allows for a 5% increase annually. Looking at 10 and 20 years of historical data we have set our exchange rate @ 38 pesos to the dollar while the average over 10 years is 39.5 I always err on the lower side to minimise surprises.

We purchased our property 18 months ago but decided that it would take 2 years before the official move, selling a huge amount of collected stuff from years gone by, getting our farm in oz up to spec and ready to sell, offloading many cars and yes as peter wisely pointed out that he and also us would be in a far superior position if we worked a little longer, though not necessary for us 18 months ago has turned out to be a very prudent decision given the downturn with superannuation returns and high CPI increases in the Philippines in the last few months.

Rob, a scouting mission? Given the input from members here and perhaps other sites, your own personal research away from expat influences surely dictates many visits and not just one to cloud your judgement. Most countries are wonderful and exotic with the first visit.
I have to say that moving interstate is/can be difficult but to a country one is familiar with is a harder move and then we have the people moving to another country they have never visited mostly for work and a fat pay cheque and then we have those trying to escape to an inexpensive life because things are just too hard and often the realities are overlooked when it comes to dollars. Eyes wide open is a good catch phrase.

Cheers, Steve.
BTW only my observations.

penang, in Malaysia is a step up in price, but beautiful, clean, and many speak english, you can get a 2  bedroom apartment for 2 to 300 usd , it has that florida feel with philippine budget, penang is a small island connected by 2 bridges to the main land, Thailand is another choice, but i recommend penang, for that florida feel but 600 usd a month is all you need to live worry free

Have you considered Eastern Europe, prices are cheap there and places like Montenegro and Croatia give you the beach option. Also places like Latvia, Croatia and Serbia are reasonably cheap options.

Singapore is beautiful but is the most expensive city in the world... no exagerration.

Penang is a wonderful choice and is the next city on my list.

You’re absolutely doing the right thing in doing your homework ahead of time. I’ve read most of the replies to your inquiry here and agree with them regarding the Philippines, but don’t give up yet. I too researched the Ph. and found a Filipina there on a dating site before I left the US. I met her at the Cebu/Mactan airport and we hit it off.

I lived in Cebu City for 2 1/2 years in a condo we shared at Winland Towers for 25,000 pesos per month which today at the 53 to 1 exchange rate in US dollars is $469 for a furnished 2-bedroom. Utilities were extra. At the time it was expensive compared to other outlying areas but so worth it. We lived just minutes from Ayala mall just about the largest and most beautiful mall in the world with an outdoor park-like setting. We took a taxi there and everywhere else we went. The traffic is bad so we let our taxi driver handle that. It was about 80 pesos to the mall or $1.50 US. Not bad.

The downside to Cebu City is NO beaches. You have to take a taxi to the other side of Mactan Island to one of the resorts on CLEAN beaches. Try Tambuli Beach Resort. A day pass including lunch was about 200 pesos for the day. You can have lunch, wander around and swim all day for about $5. Not bad!

The food is good in the Ph. but like the other poster said, stay away from the street food stalls for health reasons. Also in Cebu City is S&R Stores. It’s a membership store exactly like Costco or Sam’s Club and has all the western items you could want including a huge assortment of groceries.

In my mind, Cebu City is the best (but not the cheapest) choice in the Ph. I’ve also been to Manila twice. It has crazy-congested traffic, and I’ve been to Dumaguete on Negros island... not bad but no taxis, just tri-cycles and only a couple of small malls. I didn’t care for it too much-just ok compared to Cebu City. I also visited Davao City on the island of Mindanao. I wasn’t impressed at all. Besides, that island can be very dangerous because of terrorism and Abu-Sayef so I wouldn’t go if I were you.

I also went to the island of Palawan to the southern end. It’s way less developed and beautifull. Puerto Princessa or El Nido at the north end may be a great and less expensive option for you. It’s worth checking out. I hope this has helped in your decision-making process, but nothing beats a boots-on-the-ground investigation of your own. Good luck!

Well all I can do is give you my own experience.
Tandang Sora, Quezon City, Manila....  Hot, clammy, no space, cheap food at Hypermart, cheap rent in Condo, reasonably safe for foreigners to walk alone to Shops. People nice and friendly. Swimming pool very well maintained. Very bad air... need mask at all times outside.
Tagayatay .... Wonderful place all round.  Cleanest air at 2000' above sea level. Good shops, Condo a tad more than Manila, Temps on average about 4 deg Celcius cooler, Gresat tourist places to visit, Great fun park, nice people, This is where I will live when I go there.....
Baguio, Benguet, Philippines.... Much the same as Tagaytay.  Prices a tad more and people there are more business like, which is fine by me. It was here where i got vilently ill from a fish burger at Mac Do 4am in the morning. Never got sick from other burgers all my travels there.
Sagada, Mountain Province... The best place to visit but could not live there for lack of Shops. It has limited shops and more expensive than the rest. People there are polite, but not as friendly as more populated areas I found. They like to keep to themselves more I think. Hired a motorbike there cheap though. The air is very good at about 3-4000'.  If you happy to drive to Bomtoc for supplies (40 mins) and you like the country atmosphere... you could live there.
Mabini, Batangas, .... reasonable beaches but smelly. People very friendly... maybe too much so lol. Very hot at sea level... Shops ok, but never seen a market there.  Batangas is close by for all you ever need. Not as crowed here which I liked. Too hot for me to live there.
Regarding food.... only buy from KFC, Jollibee, MacDo, and ChowKing, and you should be safe. Not saying there are not other good ones, but these I know to be 99% safe (beware fish burgers). ChowKing is my favourite.
Regarding language... I found everywhere in the Philippines hard to communicate except at some mainstream outlets. Even check out girls were not understanding me no matter how slow I talk. Its really weird cause most TV and politicians including the President speak it pretty good English to their own people, and all signage is is English, and yet 90% dont speak it haha. Yeh I know it dont make sense, but a lot there doesnt make sense... you just put up with it and get used to it.
Like Bruce said... you need a few trips there under you belt first before making any big decisions to move there. One thing for sure, its safer now than 5 years ago. ... Good luck mate.

Sir - I read each reply to your question and please think about what everyone has stated in their response. They are all correct, you need to visit here a few times before putting down any roots. Also, I would have a steady income stream. There is no safe place in the world and there is no great places in the world. They all have pros and cons.
Personally, I would make a trip to 4 or 5 destinations in Asia if thats where you geographically want to relocate. Its pretty cheap to fly in Asia these days. Find the country you like and study everything very carefully. Do not bring a bunch of material junk with you or have it shipped....... Its just not worth it and you will find you get buy without all the material crap we accumulate.
Just buy a nice camera, good dual sim cell phone and a great laptop....... and lots of T-shirts and shorts, that is all you need.
Set up a mail forwarding service in the USA, have an HSBC or Citibank account to do your banking, bring a full years supply of meds if you need them, get an International Sim card, a plane ticket and just go for it!! Keep your butt out of trouble, keep a low profile and TRUST NO ONE!!!
As one person stated..............you are a WALKING ATM..............there are a lot of scams and scammers and you are a foreigner.
Good Luck

Hello Fix Fire Leo,

You mentioned retire at 62......That's what I did but moved to Las Vegas, best move I made in my life.  Three years later met a wonderful woman from the Philippines (met in Las Vegas) and we got married (over 10 years ago). Three months ago we moved to Pasig City where she has a home. Believe me, living here takes some adjustment. Food may be cheap if you're a Filipino but expensive if you have American taste. Normal things that you do in the states takes all day to do here. Be prepared to pay through the nose on any medications you have to buy compared to the states (after 62 you will need them). We don't go out alone, I take one of our stepsons with us. The poverty everywhere will depress you. We belong to two membership clubs S&R and Landers both similar to Costco or Sam's Club lots of American products you are familiar with, but many are not the same. Yesterday I bought Klondike bars & ice cream sandwich's . . .  awful. Same name but different taste. Traffic is horrific makes LA freeway look like childs play. As far as expats. . . . I have not met or seen one American in our daily life, have seen some Aussies. Rainy season is a misnomer. . .Noah should have built his arc here. So enough of this negative stuff, I have never met people so friendly & kind. There hospitality is overwhelming. The best thing I can suggest is come here on a tourist visa good for 30 days before you have to leave the country, you can renew it for another 30 days. When you buy your airline ticket it has to be round trip, no one way tickets if you want to get in. Then decide for yourself.

Actually I am planning on retiring at 54.  At 62 I can start to get my pension, SSI and withdraw from my 401K.  That is the whole reason of going elsewhere.  If I stay in the states, I will have to work until 62.  My dad retired at 63 and was dead by 65.  Right now, I am planning on traveling around the world.  I decided not to just try to find one place and stay there.  My first stop could possibly be Albania, Croatia or Slovenia since they are members of the EU, it should be more westernized and a good trial run for expatting.    I am also looking at Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico (Playa del Carmen, I have been there several times), Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, Philippines, Portugal, and Italy.  Lots of places to see!

fixfireleo wrote:

Actually I am planning on retiring at 54.  At 62 I can start to get my pension, SSI and withdraw from my 401K.  That is the whole reason of going elsewhere.  If I stay in the states, I will have to work until 62.  My dad retired at 63 and was dead by 65.  Right now, I am planning on traveling around the world.  I decided not to just try to find one place and stay there.  My first stop could possibly be Albania, Croatia or Slovenia since they are members of the EU, it should be more westernized and a good trial run for expatting.    I am also looking at Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico (Playa del Carmen, I have been there several times), Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, Philippines, Portugal, and Italy.  Lots of places to see!

Like your spirit Rob but I am taken back to previous conversations where many members talked about several trips to PH before you make any firm decisions on a retirement destination and from memory you said it is too expensive to visit the Philippines many times over many years and now you quote visiting South American countries, Eastern European countries as well as other Asian destinations. Western European destinations to boot as well? Sorry Rob but the mind boggles.
Given your proffered budget within your initial few posts I would suggest going back to the drawing board and do some decent and serious research, as I and others have suggested 95% of your answers can be found on google,,,,,,,, and then some. Do the hard yards and "then fill in the blanks" I now wonder how many other country expat sites you are on. Find the country that will suit your needs and then ask the questions.

Work out your budget as a single man, the world could be your oyster, double it if you meet someone. Good luck Rob and as consistently said by me and others please do a lot more research and no pie in the sky stuff, good luck mate. Dollars first! All else will fall into place.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

That's what I've been doing, research, research, research.  That is why I havent posted for a couple weeks.  Plus talking to people.  I use Numbeo as a big resource.  I just wonder how accurate Numbeo is.  If you get 5 minutes, could you look at Philippines and Australia on Numbeo and just tell me if you think the numbers look right?  That will give me more confidence.  The things I look at are the price of restaurants, cheese, chicken, beef, utilities and rent.  All the other figures are not that important to me. 

As much as it would be a very wise financial decision to pick one spot and BUY a place, then sell it when I am ready to come home, it doesnt look like it is working out that way with my financial situation, plus that limits me to one spot.  I think renting is the way to go because if I dont care for one place, I can just pack up and move on to the next place. 

You were the one who tried to encourage me to look at alternatives, I am taking your advice.  Plus, if I am not planning on a long term stay, it kind of alleviates the necessity of traveling to these destinations and spending a month there seeing if I want to go there.  I can just do the research online, talk to a few people and just go there.  If I dont like it, I stay for 90 days instead of a year and go on to the next stop.  It becomes more like an 8 year vacation instead of early retirement.  Plus, I still have my condo at home, so if I ever decide I made a bad decision, I can just come home and go back to work.

Cheers Steve!
Rob

And a dog!

yes, I am looking at Slovenia, Croatia and Albania.  Georgia looks great except there is a problem I found that makes anything more than a short stay unlikely.  Have you been to these countries?  Any recommendations you can make??  Thank you for your input.

Rob

fixfireleo,

stop researching and get out there and do it.

Ahh yep in 4 to 5 years.  -  by the way, by then every thing will have changed.

All the online chats and research in the world will never allow you to know what a country is like, that will only come when you live in the country.

I have to work for about 4.5 more years.  I am just figuring out basic budget, availability to get by on English and climate right now.  I am not someone who goes off half cocked, I do a LOT of planning and research.  I am  sorry if that offends you.  Also, I have not been posting new topics, I am just replying to the people who answer this post from about a month ago.

I think both of you are right :-)

Research helps definitely but experience is the best teacher.

Fixfire gets my vote in the end because he has 4.5 years to make up his mind if I read his post correctly, which means plenty of time for research.

My opinion? I am in no hurry either, but I still had 5 trips there over 3 years, and have still not made my mind up fully. Probably Tagaytay... but possibly Palawan.

So do both... research all you like, but the sooner you visit the more you can trust your research.

Good luck from someone who is not sure himself haha.

Thanks man!  I hope you enjoy wherever you pick.  I have found that there are a lot of countries that have similar cost of living as Philippines, that (and some of the negative things people have told me) Is why I have decided that instead of moving to Philippines for the whole 8 years, I am better off to do ONE year in Philippines and then also go to Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, Georgia, Croatia, Albania, Portugal, Italy, Panama, Columbia and Ecuador.....maybe all of them, maybe I'll eliminate a few.  I'll live without a car and get to experience life all over the world.  Who knows, maybe I'll go back to USA when I turn 62 or maybe I'll fall so much in love with one of those places that I want to go back there permanently.

Thanks mate, yep agree.

The big consideration is that in 3 to 5 years time everything will be different.

i.e. inflation here in the Philippines is running at OVER 5.5% PA and this is forcast to continue. 
Here the other example will be when President Duetere has his last term who will take over after him?  Will the country slip back to the days of serious corruption?
Or in 3 to 5 years time will the NPA be running more terrorist attacks.

For Thailand we have already seen that things have in the last 6 months, and are changing for expat's, making it harder and more expensive for them to live there.

pej1111  ... very true and is also something I am considering as we speak. I am active in another Filo forum about Dyterte. I make no bones about how much I love this man who is making the Philippines safer for guys like myself to visit. I asked the question to another Filipino woman there... "what about after Dutertes time is up"... what then? She first mentioned the current Vice President my win/get the job who is not the most honest man around, and also mentioned his daughter who is Mayor of Davao who will probably be similar to her dad, might also be a chance. But one thing for certain that come out of this conversation was that most Filo's are worried because they fear the new President will undo all Dutertes work. I know this is not a political forum, but all the same, it is important to know somewhat the future where you want to live.  This is to say... today its fine to move there... but will it remain fine with new leader?

That is totally true but a country that I could afford to live in today is a country that I might be able to live in in 4 years whereas a country that is too expensive today will almost assuredly be too expensive in 4 years.  If I had been smart, I would have bought a condo 10 years ago in Playa del Carmen Mexico for about $85000.  Those same condos today are going for $150,000-$200,000....but I didnt.  I am hoping that, as the cost of living overseas increases, it increases here as well so my condo that I could rent today for about $1200-$1300 will rent for $1500 in 4 years.

fixfireleo wrote:

That is totally true but a country that I could afford to live in today is a country that I might be able to live in in 4 years whereas a country that is too expensive today will almost assuredly be too expensive in 4 years.  If I had been smart, I would have bought a condo 10 years ago in Playa del Carmen Mexico for about $85000.  Those same condos today are going for $150,000-$200,000....but I didnt.  I am hoping that, as the cost of living overseas increases, it increases here as well so my condo that I could rent today for about $1200-$1300 will rent for $1500 in 4 years.

Your premise is correct based on inflation being equal to the country you are comparing it to.  But it is not.

Let me explain:  USA's inflation rate for 2018 is 1.9%, while the Php is (Correction to my intital thought) 6.7%   If your pension is indexed to your home contries inflation rate you pension will only go up 1.9% while the cost of living in the Philippiines will grow by 6.7%, then quiet often based on this is that with the PHP having a high inflation rate, the currency rate of USD to PHP will change, drop.


So you need to ask yourself if the cost of living in the Ph goes up and say you can only buy 37php to the USD will you still be happy living here?

I am in no doubt that there will be many over the next few years that will go back to there country of origin.

strikemaster wrote:

pej1111  ... very true and is also something I am considering as we speak. I am active in another Filo forum about Dyterte. I make no bones about how much I love this man who is making the Philippines safer for guys like myself to visit. I asked the question to another Filipino woman there... "what about after Dutertes time is up"... what then? She first mentioned the current Vice President my win/get the job who is not the most honest man around, and also mentioned his daughter who is Mayor of Davao who will probably be similar to her dad, might also be a chance. But one thing for certain that come out of this conversation was that most Filo's are worried because they fear the new President will undo all Dutertes work. I know this is not a political forum, but all the same, it is important to know somewhat the future where you want to live.  This is to say... today its fine to move there... but will it remain fine with new leader?

Totally agree, and yes I also love the President Duterte, a great man and leader for the Philippines.

Hey Rob,

The numbers on Numbeo appear fairly accurate to me.  They are averages of the number of inputs over the last 18 months.  Check the bottom of the page to see how many supplied info, the more the better.

Find expat forums for those other places if not found here.  Try to find seasoned vloggers in those places also if possible, not just travel vloggers, there is a difference.

You are doing it right Rob and don't rely too heavily on just one or two sources.  Also remember that not everything you read on the Internet is true.

Peter