Thanks J&Z....wow, heck of a site, guess it will give me something to do until June. I'm jumping way ahead of the gun here even considering the possibility of living in the phils with her or anyone else for that matter. But I've lived all over the civilised world and some not so civilised over the years, so I'm used to being portable. the property ownership deal is no worse than in Thailand for example, but it's a huge leap of faith to be sure. this forum has been a great help in many ways. It's like being alone in downtown Bulaweyo late at night and suddenly you see a mate from your unit coming up the street...relief!! Sometimes it just takes a few people to go HEY, sure been there done that.. Thanks for the reply and link.
cheers