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Some More about the Philippines (Jun 2006)
Here's a letter I just received which gives the lowdown on
retiring to the Philippines. The author says it's OK to write with
questions.
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Hi Rick,
I belong to a number of large Philippines Yahoo Groups that have
many men who are living in the Philippines right now on them. The Phils
do have their share of problems but most of these guys are pretty happy.
Primarily because most have found wives over there who treat them like
princes. It is true that these women are marrying them primarily for
economic reasons. But most Filipinas are religous, and believe once
married always married, so they try very hard to create a loving home.
And for many of them it doesn't matter what your age is, only that you
can take care of them. When you do read of a marriage that didn't work
out it's usually because the guy married a girl that worked in a strip
joint. Even those work out but it's not necessary to go to those kind
of places to find women. One guy said he never knew what it was like to
be a rock star until he walked thru a mall in the Philippines. Because
of so much poverty, and the difficulty of finding work that pays
anything, an American with a small pension is seen as a very wealthy
man. Working in a mall in the Phils is seen as a very good job that
requires a college education and work hours are usually 6 days a week,
10 hours a day. And for maybe the equivalent of $100 to $150 a month
U.S.. Many people work every day, 12 hours a day just to survive. So a
"rich" foreigner can offer a life most can only dream of.
The second reason, and a close second, that 10's 0f thousands of
foreigners are there is the cost of living. There are many smaller
cities other than Manila that offer a great lifestyle where you can be
comfortable on $700 USD a month. That's for a couple with a nice home,
fulltime live-in maid that costs $30 a month plus room and board, eating
out regular, going to American movies at huge malls, travel around the
country. If you've got more income than that your lifestyle can be that
much better.
Filipinos are pro-American. They love malls which are described as
complete small towns where you can find anything while in air
conditioning. And due to the U.S. controlling the Phils for 50 years
most speak English, many in the bigger cities speak it very well. All
business is conducted in English, streetsigns are in English, newspapers
too. The reason for widespread English use is that there are several
main Filipino languages and well over 100 dialects. English ties them
together.
Are there problems? Sure are! It's hot and humid most of the
time. The islands are earthquake prone. There are scam artists looking
to fleece you. If you marry a Filipino it's expected that you'll give
some money monthly to her parents to help them out. $100 is usually
enough but some want more. Other relatives of her's will want money too
and you might have to put your foot down which will cause bad feelings.
You can only buy land in your wife's name. Since she's usually much
younger most guys don't mind that. You can buy a condo however without
being married to a Filipina.
But generally most are happy living there. You can get out of the
heat by moving to Baguio, a city of 300,000 at 5000' altitude with a
near perfect climate. Many Americans there. You have to watch out for
theft, but most Americans can afford nicer, secure neighborhoods. These
Yahoo Groups have thousands of members, and most report feeling very
safe there. One way to get hurt is to take the virginity of a young
woman. Most Filipinas will be virgins going into marriage. It's a big
deal there. But many will go to bed with an American if they're
engaged. If an American tells her he'll marry her just to get sex, and
then dumps her, most likely he'll either get severely beaten by her male
relatives, or he'll flee the country. Some have even been killed for
it!
As for terrorism, stay out of the west end of Mindanao, the major
southern island, plus the Sulu area, and you'll be fine. Those are
majority muslim areas. Since the Phils are 7000 islands and most are
poor, the Muslims don't have the ability to easily travel to other
areas. The army keeps an eye on them too.
The Philippines aren't perfect, but for an English speaking single
man with a small pension, they are as about a good a deal as can be
found. Beautiful islands full of beautiful women hoping to meet a white
man who'll give them a better life!
Sorry for the long winded letter.
Regards,
Wade Kilpatrick
kwadek@webtv.net
P.S. Most say to stay out of Manila. It's horrendous. But if you can
afford a nice condo in some extremely nice areas of Manila, as Art Bell
can, then it's pretty good.
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