Why We Move to the Philippines Well it’s almost the end of 2008, and Mita and I are still here in the Philippines. As we move into the second quarter of our third year here I still have no regrets at all about making the move. In fact when I get trapped into watching news from the US or find the Sunday Philippine paper with nothing on the front page but US economic news I find myself more and more glad that5 we made the move and have not a single second thought about going back to the US. If it were to happen that something in the future made us want to leave the Philippines I doubt, at this time, that the US would even be in the top ten destinations of choice. There are so many countries I want to live in an experience and so little time left, why would I go back to the land I already know well and put up with being lumped into the ‘baby boomer’ generation (actually I am technically older than the baby boomer generation, and made to go sit in the corner and lick my wounds as everyone in the US age-discriminatory society expects me to do? photo credit: asteegaboHere I live on an ordinary street with ordinary people who don’t consider me an idiot for being old or force me out of work I love because my hair is gray )oh yes indeed that happens in the US, even in government jobs). This country is young and vibrant in many ways, and yet it is steeped in tradition and much more predictable society mores. Many Americans don’t even consider the fact there was a civilization and a booming economy here in the Philippines when the US wasn’t even yet a rag-tag group of British colonies, Why do I enjoy it here aside from the fact everyone (probably lying) tells me I look young i9nstead of making a pint to ask me if I’m supposed to get a senior citizen’s discount? well there’s no sense denying the fact that living here is cheap. I often try to tell people weighing the decision to move here that they need to think about much more than the cost of living. But once you make the move, the cost of living is certainly a big plus factor. Recently I found that inflation has crept into our local hospital where I make most of my doctor visits. One specialist, an ophthalmologist who just came on staff is now charging PhP 400 pesos for a visit and exam instead of the standard PhP 300 all the other doscs have been charging. About $8 instead of $6 USD … do you see why I don’t spend much time worrying about commercial medical insurance here? In the 26 months we have lived here we have yet to spend more than $1200 USD for thee two of us (except the month two years ago when we bought our car). Two weeks ago I just paid the annual full-coverage insurance bill for that car still valued at about PhP 700,00 … the premium? Equivalent to $212 USD for the whole year. But I don’t live here just because it’s cheap. I live here more than any other reason because I’m happy. My wife is happy, her family, which is very much part of my family too, is happy. I’ve never enjoyed my life more. Not much else that I can say except that you might … or you might not … enjoy it here too. You won’t find out unless you come here and try it for yourself, though. I’m amazed at the agonizing so many prospective residents go through, year after year, agonizing over the decision. Making a move to the Philippines isn’t like taking the vows of the priesthood, you know. It’s not a sacrament like marriage, or signing yourself up on a one-way colonizing expedition to Mars. Just buy a ticket, get on a plane and come here (or buy a boat and sail it here, as my friend Ellen did) and see how you like it. There are more than 200 other countries in the world aside from the Philippines and the one you are living in now, so if you don’t like it here after you give it a try, pick one of the other ones. Life is really, really not nearly as hard as so many people try to make
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 05:27:24 +0000
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