Is Moving to the Philippines the “In Thing”?
It’s not every day that I discover two new blogs about my favorite subject, living in the Philippines but this is one of those days.
A fellow named Mike just gave what we call a “ping back” in the blogging world to PhilFAQS from his own blog,
Hi Mike,
thanks for linking to my PhilFAQS blog. I hope everything you are hoping for comes through for you.
I’m the guy who lives in Marilao, and we are now less than a week from beginning our third year here. So far, it’s been all that I hoped for and more.
I noticed in several places you are concerned about the seemingly huge variations in prices. Which can be true? The answer is, all of them in one form or another.
You can spend (almost) as little as you wish or more than you can ever afford. It’s likely you’ll compromise as most of us expats have and spend something in between.
January is a fine time to come. Do make a trip and see some things for yourself. I can tell from many of your comments that you are way more concerned with money and way less concerned with the non-monetary aspects of living here which is what will make or break you.
feel free to contact me any time for specific questions, I’ll help if I can.
Dave
Here’s a copy of an intro message I sent to him. If you happen to go to Mike’s blog and read some of his thoughts on making the move you’ll see why I phrased some of my thoughts the way I did.
By the way, it’s almost time for another “Questions” post and I don’t have many questions in the “in box”, so feel free to fire off a few.
Related posts:
- Moving Plans — Permissions
- Moving Plans — Phones
- Moving Plans — Introduction
- Blogging And Real Life — In The Philippines Or Elsewhere
- What Part of Living in the Philippines Interests You?
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October 29th, 2008 at 3:43 am
Hi Dave - Email to me made your front page and the subject of your post, am I big time now? Thanks for the pub..
I have enjoyed reading many blogs about the Philippines but I have to say many of them are poorly done and give me a headache trying to read them with goofy back rounds and even animations. Even so every blog I read I gain something from, yours and Bob’s are the ones I enjoy the most.. well mine too!
You are correct, my biggest concern is about money and the Philippines. I know there is an adjustment I will have to make and it is concerning but the way I figure it is if I don’t have the money, well actually a steady income stream while I live in the Philippines then I will have to come “home”. If that were to happen I would have no other concerns of what I may or may not encounter in the Philippines. Hope that made sense because just writing that last sentence made me a little dizzy.
Cheers!
Mike
October 29th, 2008 at 11:12 am
@Mike: well let me ask you this, Mike … and welcome to the group here, by the way … if you were to run out of money in the Philippines and ‘go home’, then what would you do to make money at home that you wouldn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t do here?
That’s kind of a rhetorical question and you certainly aren’t on the spot to answer it in any detail, but the answer you make for yourself might help you solidify your planning better.
This is not a good country to be broke in … as if there is really any country where being poor is fun … but there are a lot more ’safety nets’ in the US than in the Philippines … especially for things like medical exspenses … the kind of things you justcan not treat as an option. eeven eating is somewhat optional … looking at myself and many of my fellow Americans tells me it’s an oprion we are alittle too fond of … but if someone sya has a heart attack in the US, even if he’s broke, he’s probably going to get airlifted to a traunau center and kept alive and if he really is destitute, MedicAide or some other program is goingto pay for his drugs and some sort of living expenses. Won’t be fun, but it won’t be a life-ending experience.
But here, medical care is pretty much a cash business. Even with insurance you are going to be expected to pay first and seek reimbursement later. I would not live in the Philippines if I was poor. I have medical insurance that pays here, a credit card with a huge limit that I keep only for a true emergency as well as an icome. If I didn’t have all three of those, I might not move, but I certainly wouldn’t sleep as well.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Evening Dave ~ My plan is to not run out of money while I live there, this is why I am working on other business developments. Everything I do here I can do there but I want more things to do, well not to do but more things to make money on. I don’t have comfort in moving to the Philippines with one source of income, this is the reason why I am not moving tomorrow.
Are there good insurance plans to purchase for medical there? If so how much?
October 29th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
@Mike: I write on medical care often, Mike. This is agood starting point:
http://philfaqs.com/them-thats-living-there/questions-questions-questions-3-2/
Good insurance … I don’t know ’cause I don’t use it, but some plans are certainly cheap enough.