Florida vs Philippines

You sound a bit insecure to make this transition.  I assume that you have visited both Florida and the Philippines. I attended college in Tampa in the 60s and visit there twice a year.  I have traveled all over Asia since 1977, I see most Americans suffer culture shock, things are done different in the Philippines.  You have to be a patient person that is humble and friendly to all.  The sense of immediate access or any process, you can forget about.   If you are not prepared for third world events, do not go to the Philippines!  If you are a light sleeper you may not want to go! If you are not in good health don't go! You must prepare for bad storms in either place, but you can avoid bad storms in the Philippines if you select Cebu or a few other places.  If you want to meet the friendliest people on planet Earth, go to the Philippines. If you and the Mrs. practice your faith seriously, go to the Philippines.  Its not free to live in the Philippines and many folks could never cut living in the countryside wherein costs are low, the two of you to live in the cities, plan on $1500.00  and up, don't count on high living with that number.  Cities of 50,000 people, the prices will drop once you are out of the reach of the larger cities. 

Consider the cities that are facing sea rise and some that are sinking.  Living on higher ground with "a good get away plan" is essential   You may want to have a plan"B"  in your back pocket. If you own a property here in the US that can be managed by family or commercially, that you could fall back on, in the event the two of you want  or have to return is a good idea.  Know the health risks of living  in the Philippines, but by measuring your daily activity and knowing the local medical situation, you can be good to go.  There is great quality medical in the cities and its much cheaper than the US.  I would say in some instances, its superior to the US, though in some province areas, its very lack luster. 

Most of the You Tubers are straight shooters, listen to the ones who spout common sense and that can tap you in to the good life.  I would suggest that any one going to the Philippines and many other parts of Asia be of an" inclusive mind".  Smiles are very contiguous in the Philippines and so many people there count their blessings.
Respectfully submitted,
Chuck

Hi Filamretire, interesting questions and observations. While I have never been to the east coast, only west coast and not for over 10 years I liken what I see there as similar to Australia but cheaper cost of living/property even with exchange rates last time I was there.
For us (my better half, filipino and I living/working in Oz) when I looked at retiring about 5/6 years ago at age 55, realised that if we wanted to live/retire in Oz I would be working for another 5 or 10 years to maintain our lifestyle there. We live very comfortably here for a quarter of the costs of living in Oz. No Mortgages or debts in Oz nor here. 4 years ago we purchased absolute beachfront house and lot. 1,700M2 titled lot, 866M2 tax declared lot to the high tide mark, 3 bed, 2 bath concrete and brick home, 40M2 studio, extremely quiet area with 90% expats from all countries around the world in our street, not a gated community, a very quiet beach, no karaoke, roosters or barking dogs, the wandering goats from time to time though that dropped off after Christmas. Total price including taxes, lease, a run away to Manila attorney, appoint another,,,,,,, everything all up under PHP 6M or say US 125K.
We are in La Union, 5/6 hours from Manila, 25/30 minutes from a great private hospital, 30 minutes to 2 malls and new Robinsons mall opening soon also 30 minutes away. The local supermarket (Puregold) is 5/6 minutes, the local refill/sari/smokes/grog/groceries and a plethora of info is 3/4 minutes away. The neighbours keep to themselves as we do. More than happy to date moving here. The bank balance keeps growing given C-19 and no international travel. English is the second language here though at times things get lost in translation it works.

The interesting and important thing here is your wife, your children and perhaps grand children and the values placed on those relationships, her family here in PH. economics, research etc etc. What would your wife like?
US 300K will but you a pretty decent home and lot here depending on the area.
If you have millions in the bank? Stay, move to Florida as long as your Asawa is happy.

Sorry for the waffle on and good luck with your decisions.

Cheers, Steve.

Filamretire wrote:

Has anyone from the US retiring to Philippines considered Florida?  I am weighing the pros and cons of both. Florida has similar weather and calamities. House prices about the same..pretty decent place for $300k/15m pesos. Florida has no state tax so theres that. Florida allows you to move a pet, move a car, and other things that might be difficult to bring overseas. Yes food will be more. You wont be treated as a foreigner and you can speak the language ( no jokes needed here!) Im just struggling to find a motivating reason to move to Philippines and deal with the visa hassles and other things that we take for granted in the US. Rationale is that I can still travel to Philippines (wife same age is Filipina) and enjoy is as a vacation destination than a homestead.

An other important thing to consider, US Medicare or a HMO cannot be used in the Philippines.

Pertinent observation Bob but I suggest and OMO as an Aussie that was spending AU 6K a year on private health cover in australia,,,,,, middle of the road cover, some PHP 220K annually and got diddly sh*t, Medicare in Oz was 1.5% (I think higher now) of taxable income,,,,, another AU 3K plus every year so 9K a year for what? If we saw a doctor the gap in Oz was about 40 bucks, some 1,500 pesos. Here I can see a good doctor and costs me 300 pesos, a specialist is 400 pesos. Our private hospital is 25/30 minutes away and the savings for a heart/lung transplant? 3 or 4 years what I paid annually in Oz for nothing,,,,,, put the money in the bank and prosper. Possibly cheaper in other countries private hospitals.

I have no idea but how much is decent private hospital cover in Florida? My Daughter born 32 years ago with private health cover in Oz cost us about 80 Aussie bucks, we dropped the health cover for a few years,,,, My son, same hospital, same doctor under the public system (yes our 1.5% taxes paid for that) was free, go figure.
Research and do it well then do it again.
After AU 50 or60K over 8 or 9 years I had a double hernia operation, private hospital etc. the bill was AU 2,500 bucks paid for by my health insurers, not a bad profit for them. That amount of money here is 2 bypass operations, perhaps 3. Crunch the numbers for sure and make an educated decision based on your health needs and requirements and not panic mode.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl ~ What part of La Union are you in? I've been here for 13 years and have always thought about moving there. (I'm currently in Manila) Thanks ~

bigpearl wrote:

Pertinent observation Bob but I suggest and OMO as an Aussie that was spending AU 6K a year on private health cover in australia,,,,,, middle of the road cover, some PHP 220K annually and got diddly sh*t,
OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

Five weeks before moving to Las Vegas, using a HMO provided by employer, I had coronary bypass surgery. My cost $200 USD.

Years later using a HMO in the place of Medicare I had three coronary stents, cost $100 USD. In the states you can opt out of Medicare and Medicare will pay a monthly fee to a HMO for your complete medical care including Doctor visits, Hospital, a copay for prescription drugs and diabetic supplies. My only cost is $148.50 taken out of my ss.

In the state dialysis is free for everyone including illegals. As a side note many pregnant Chinese women come to the states just in time for childbirth, as a result the newborn is automatically a US citizen, even though the mother and child returns to China.

When my wife and I arrived in the Philippines we both had cataract surgery, my bill was $2200 my wife actually got paid for her surgery because she was part of a study. Before the surgery I couldn't read street signs, now my eyesight without glasses is 20/15.

Now in the Philippines my wife had two lengthy stays in St. Lukes Hospital (Private), in Manila. Each time the cost was more than $8,000 USD. For her kidney stone removal operation I had to pay 80,000 php up front just to schedule her operation.

In the Philippines, If you don't have the money you are S.O.L.  How many diabetics have died because of the expense of insulin and test strips and do not have the money?

My stepson & wife are diabetic and it costs me mucho dollars for their supplies.

FortuneFavorsTheBold wrote:

bigpearl ~ What part of La Union are you in? I've been here for 13 years and have always thought about moving there. (I'm currently in Manila) Thanks ~

Bacnotan, near SFC La union, San Juan is 20 minutes south. there are plenty of better places but family 40 minutes away was the compromise.

Cheers, Steve.

Filamretire, My wife was bitten by a mosquito and she aws admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Angeles with Dengue fever. She spent 3 nights in a semi-private room, Total cost for doctors, 3 sets of complete bloodwork, drugs, and Hospital room came to 30,600 pesos or $638 US. Mediscare in the states would cost us $138 each per month. Since we live in the Philippines I see no reason to donate money unnecessarily to Uncle Sam. so for less than 3 months of mediscare premiums we paid the bill out of pocket.

I was told Scred Heart is one of the best hospitals in Angeles City. My wife's Dr. was trained in the states and speaks excellent English.

The two main reasons we chose to retiree in the Philippines are 1. My wife partents had 9 children, and we enjoy spending time with them. More than just 2-3 weeks every other year. 2. All in our cost of living in the Philippines is only 40% of what we were paying to live near Seattle. We sold our house in Washington and used the profits to pay cash for a 240 Sq. meter house in Angeles. We have no mortgage and no car payment or auto insurance payments. We are saving over $2,300 a month living here and our standard of living has gone WAY UP over the way we lived in the ridiculously high cost of living area outside of Seattle.

Thanks Steve. Somebody told me they lived near the coast where a LOT of expats live. What are the nicer areas you mentioned?

carlisom78 wrote:

Filamretire, My wife was bitten by a mosquito and she aws admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Angeles with Dengue fever. She spent 3 nights in a semi-private room, Total cost for doctors, 3 sets of complete bloodwork, drugs, and Hospital room came to 30,600 pesos or $638 US.

Mediscare in the states would cost us $138 each per month.

The first time my wife was hospitalized was 10 days, the second time two weeks (surgery) both time she was in a private room. St. Lukes in Manila is affiliated with the Mayo Clinic. Yes Doctor visits run between 800 and a 1,000 php, cheap by US standards.

I kept my Medicare and have the premiums, $138 deducted from my ss. I keep it because at my age I could run into serious problems and may have to return to the states for life saving treatments, hopefully not.

My plan in the event of anything really serious is to buy a plane ticket to Maylasia where I can recieve BETTER care than in the US at about 30-40% of the cost I would pay in the states for the same procedure. Plus I would save hundreds on a plane ticket to Malaysia vs. a plane ticket to the states. Then I can take the money I save on the airline tickets and apply that to the bill in Maylasia.

Charles, Thanks, you make some very good points. I should have mentioned that yes I have travelled to both several times and live in a Filipino household so I am well versed in the culture. I was all set to retire in the Philippines but of course Covid has delayed all that and now I find myself thinking that it would just be a bit safer and easier moving to Florida (Im from NE lol)
BigPearl, wow sounds fantastic, glad it all worked out for you. I worry about legacy ie its easier to pass down a house in the US, and in PI only my wife would own the house, which is ok, but selling is (probably) more difficult, I have no experience of it. One big draw is the proximity to the rest of Asia and Australia, Id love to travel further afield than stuck in the US far away from anything. Might look at scaling back my ambition and getting a modest place in PI so we can stay here and there.
MEdical care Im so glad you mention that, I forgot to put that in the post, important consideration. I was considering keeping Medicare for major stuff and using healthcare in PI if I can get a SRRV visa with the health care plan. Original plan was for Tagaytay or Cavite area. Wife is from Ilocos Norte but its too hot up there (although lovely time there, also too close to family LOL, you know w hat I mean)

carlisom78 wrote:

My plan in the event of anything really serious is to buy a plane ticket to Maylasia where I can recieve BETTER care than in the US at about 30-40% of the cost I would pay in the states for the same procedure. Plus I would save hundreds on a plane ticket to Malaysia vs. a plane ticket to the states. Then I can take the money I save on the airline tickets and apply that to the bill in Maylasia.

Now Carlisom. . . you have me thinking, if you had anything serious you said you would buy a plane ticket to Malaysia.

I was thinking is the medical care better in Malaysia?

Would there be any savings by having treatment in Malaysia instead of the Philippines?

If you had anything life threatening would you have anyone accompanying you like family members? If so, you would have to factor in the cost of them staying with you for a possible extended time.

Myself, if I was to return to the states, I would choose to be hospitalized in a city close to my family members to look after me during my recovery, if I recovered. The extra cost of an airline ticket to the states would not enter into consideration.

Before I left the states I had my HMO make a complete copy of my medical history on a CD. When I had to visit with my eye surgeon, cardiologist and urologist in the Philippines, they had my complete medical history.

As far as medical insurance I think $138 a month for medicare might be cheaper and better than Philcare. Medicare is an expense that you hope you never have to use. If a Medicare Hospice team determines you need short term hospice care they will arrange for it and Medicare will cover your stay in the facility.

Now for the cons (omo)....Lets just assume we are talking about a 60yr old fart with a sweet 30yr old small/sexy petite lady.
I think it may be frowned upon by many in any well developed city.

I never had that problem when we lived in Australia nor here. Is Australia under developed? When we lived in Manila?

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

BobEnzyte, Check out back issues of International Living Magazine. They have listed Malaysia in the top 10 overseas nations for expats looking to relocate for the past 5 years (that's as long as I've been reading their mag.) Malaysia also has a booming "Medical Tourism" industry that specializes in treating foreigners for serious medical conditions. You can book your procedure, and they will take care of reserving a room and, if you want they will book you a flight. With your approval of course. And you have the added bonus of saving hundreds of dollars on plane tickets as well as thousands of dollars if you should need, let's say a hip or knee replacement. Versus what you would pay to fly back to the US and then you get the Privelege of overpaying hundreds if not thousands of dollars at the ridiculous US medical rates.

Carl

BobEnzyte, Malaysia has some of the best rated hospitals in the world, according to the JSI or JCI ratings for hospitals.

Carl

carlisom78 wrote:

BobEnzyte, Check out back issues of International Living Magazine. They have listed Malaysia in the top 10 overseas nations for expats looking to relocate for the past 5 years (that's as long as I've been reading their mag.) Malaysia also has a booming "Medical Tourism" industry that specializes in treating foreigners for serious medical conditions. You can book your procedure, and they will take care of reserving a room and, if you want they will book you a flight. With your approval of course. And you have the added bonus of saving hundreds of dollars on plane tickets as well as thousands of dollars if you should need, let's say a hip or knee replacement. Versus what you would pay to fly back to the US and then you get the Privelege of overpaying hundreds if not thousands of dollars at the ridiculous US medical rates.

Carl

Sounds like a good deal for some, but for me I would like family members around during my recuperation and medicare picking up most of the bill.

I'm with Bob, I keep my private medical coverage, but funded by Medicare. You never know when you might need some expensive treatment. Interesting about Malaysia medical, though. Thailand is the same, in fact I go there for any dental needed beyond basic cleanings which I get done in the Philippines for about $15. Here in the US it would be $150, $300 with x-rays.

Now to the OP question. You simply cannot compare living in the US to a developing country. They are so different. The Philippines is cheap, the girls are cute and friendly, and there are a zillion beaches, islands, etc.  It is a constant tropical adventure! But it's noisy, the cities are congested and polluted, and the transportation system is archaic. The infrastructure is crumbling in many places and it takes forever to get things done.  If you need medical care you are often the one managing it, and looking for specialists, but admittedly they are not too expensive usually.

I'm personally not a fan of Florida, but I get that the climate is tropical, nonetheless it is developed.  In most parts of the US and I assume there, the 911 system will have you to a hospital in half an hour or less if you have a heart attack or stroke or something. In the Philippines, good luck. In the US I bike on beautifully maintained bike paths, camp in national parks and wilderness and generally don't need to worry about my safety. You can't take any of that for granted in a developing country. In the US I can buy real estate and know I am protected by proper title insurance, disclosures and the rule of law. In the Philippines good luck. But the US is expensive in comparison, especially to eat out, which is cheap in the PI.

They are just so different. I love the adventures I have in SE Asia, My younger GF.  I especially love the food in Thailand and Malaysia. But I'm not willing to pack it all up and move there full time. I find ways to keep a foot in both places. When I'm here in the States I have a good life, but it's boring. When I'm there the action and adventures are non-stop.. but all of the hassles, noise, pollution and scams wear on me after awhile. That's why I rent there, plus it's really cheap. I keep my real estate and investments here in the US. And I split my time between the two.

What are your personal priorities? When did you last visit? That's a must.

I left Washington state just before Christmas 2020. My wife and I saw that the Philippines was allowing Philippinos living overseas to return for the holidays. I researched what was required and since we met all the requirements we bought our plane tickets. Landed at Clark Christmas Eve. Got the Covid test and went into quarantine. 24 hours later we were told we could leave the hotel and go to our home here.

Retiring overseas full time isn't for eveyone. But it is what I and the wife wanted. We plan to return to Texas to visit out daughter and our son in San Antonio onve a year. AFTER the Panic Porn industry collapses. I can't tolerate all the virtue signaling, mind numbing sheep blindly following directions without questions.

There are other states that I like better than Florida, but if that is your two choices I would definitely pick Florida. I've been in the Philippines for 13 years. The Philippines made the cover of Time Magazine for the longest and harshest lockdown in the World. Florida has a great Governor who ended the lockdown MORE THAN A YEAR AGO.

carlisom78 wrote:

BobEnzyte, Check out back issues of International Living Magazine. They have listed Malaysia in the top 10 overseas nations for expats looking to relocate for the past 5 years (that's as long as I've been reading their mag.) Malaysia also has a booming "Medical Tourism" industry that specializes in treating foreigners for serious medical conditions. You can book your procedure, and they will take care of reserving a room and, if you want they will book you a flight. With your approval of course. And you have the added bonus of saving hundreds of dollars on plane tickets as well as thousands of dollars if you should need, let's say a hip or knee replacement. Versus what you would pay to fly back to the US and then you get the Privelege of overpaying hundreds if not thousands of dollars at the ridiculous US medical rates.

Carl

I don't doubt what you said about how good the medical treatment is Malaysia, after reading your post I decide to do some research, everything I found is in agreement with you.

After digesting your post and I realize it's a business model used by many types of businesses. For example agencies in Australia booking inclusive R&R trips to Angeles City.

Another agency books inclusive trips from the US to the Ukrainian for men looking for a wife. The women in Ukrainian outnumber the men. When the men arrive they go to several social events to meet women who signed up to meet them, hoping to find a future husband. At one event there were many women siting at a round table with one man. After a short time the men rotate to the next table to meet a new batch of women.

Thailand has inclusive programs for gender reassignment surgery, but many countries are copying that business model.

Even in border cities close to Canada there are inclusive bus trips for Seniors to get their prescriptions filled at lower cost.

Hi, Filamretire - sorry, as usual, I'm late to the party.

My Filipina wife of 35+ years and I (no kids) lived life well in the US, not saving a lot for retirement. So we knew for a while that we would end up retiring to the Philippines in order to afford a decent-to-good lifestyle. Like you, we were living in the Boston area, and we made the move to Florida (W. Palm Beach area) in 2014. It was a lot slower than NE, but the weather was fantastic, I played a lot more golf, and it was considerably cheaper. I found that living in FL made it a lot easier to tolerate the temperature and humidity difference when we visited the Philippines.

Thanks to the pandemic (forced retirement), we made the move to the Philippines about a year ago. We had already bought a small lot in a nice gated communicated and were almost done with construction by the time I got here in July 2020. The all-in cost was under $150k - a third of the value of the house we were renting in FL. The cost of almost everything else is much less, although I'm usually feeding 10 instead of 2, so that's a wash.

Lots of great info on the medical options above. We signed up for Medicare Part A (no cost) and opted out of everything else. Doctor appointments here have cost $8 or $10. A huge new hospital is being built outside our development, so that will be comforting.

Good luck on your decision.

-- Rich

A lot of

carlisom78 wrote:

Malaysia also has a booming "Medical Tourism" industry that specializes in treating foreigners for serious medical conditions. You can book your procedure, and they will take care of reserving a room and,l

There were such in Phils too before covid. At least in Cebu.  But I dont know what they did

Wow, interesting reading above. Informative and well balanced.

I do live live in the Philippines and travel (privately) a lot in the region and beyond. On balance we are happy there.

However the notion of retiring in the Philippines with a retirement VISA has totally changed when we look at how The Philippines has treated those in that group of people who were unlucky enough to be overseas when the pandemic broke lose.
The SRRV comes with residency for an indefinite time and with travel privileges that include waiving of exit end re-entry permits, all "by law" in the shape of an executive order (1037). To date, SRRV is the only visa that requires extra permits to return to the country and the process of requesting and issuance takes months.