Choice - living in the UK or Philippines?

[paulgee]

Most British guys will visit the Philippines once or twice, or 3 times in my case, and then welcome their Filipina fiancee/wife to the UK where they will settle down.

My question to you is:- having seen life in the Philippines would you rather live there than in the UK? I know financial constraints and circumstances limit our opportunities, but personally I felt so at home in the Philippines I would love to spend more time there when I retire.

Some members already live there, and seem happy with their lot, but is it the Utopia some of us imagine?

Paul

[Tawi2]

I have been there 50 or 60 times due to favourable geographic location for a number of years(Manila was £70 return)and its not utopia,I think 11% of the adult population work abroad,and the other 89% of the adult population WANT to work abroad(slight exaggeration)thats got to say something I think if they had to live exactly,note that word "Exactly" like a typical pinoy most of the "I want to live in Pinas" crew wouldnt leave blighty Theres plenty of places in the world you can be comfortable with a few quid stashed under the mattress Its a decent enough country to visit,but once your living there you become embroiled in family problems and your always the panacea for monetary ills

[Jamesey]

I lived in the Philippines for a year when I was 24, as a single guy. It was probably the best year of my life!

But having said that, I was glad to get back to the UK. I found that I missed quite a lot of things, like cold, clear mornings, sunday roasts, family & friends, decent TV channels, custard......

Since then I have enjoyed many, many holidays in the Philippines and now that I have a filipina wife, that will continue. But I'd like to go back there again for an extended stay, but I think that will have to wait until I've retired!

But overall, I'd highly recommend living in the Philippines, even if it is only for a few months. It's the best way of properly experiencing the country.

[vbkelly]

if you are in your retirement age living in the PI is good i reckon

[Northerner]

To live there for a year or so, temporary stay! I think would be a nice idea. But reality would soon set in and like Tawi2 said...

But ask me when I come back in 2 months

[Tawi2]

Well,theres a big difference between a holiday and an extended stay,you have to be there for a while,get your feet under the table before the cracks start to appear Living there is a whole different ballgame from having a month in the sun,its like the difference between a honeymoon and 10 years of marriage But all of the wives will say its great because they want to retire back there but in 30 years time the countries population will have doubled and with double population comes double the amount of social issues and problems

[Northerner]

...but in 30 years time the countries population will have doubled and with double population comes double the amount of social issues and problems

As an Englishman, I think I should retire in spain somewhere and grow old and grumpy complaining about "that foreign muck they call food"

[Tawi2]

As an Englishman, I think I should retire in spain somewhere and grow old and grumpy complaining about "that foreign muck they call food"

Thats my gameplan,spain,but I eat "Foreign muck" so I will be cool

[somebody]

Well,theres a big difference between a holiday and an extended stay,you have to be there for a while,get your feet under the table before the cracks start to appear Living there is a whole different ballgame from having a month in the sun,its like the difference between a honeymoon and 10 years of marriage But all of the wives will say its great because they want to retire back there but in 30 years time the countries population will have doubled and with double population comes double the amount of social issues and problems

Indeed and sadly it would seem things in Phill have been to calm and peaceful for a while now. With GMA being booted out soon, you do just wonder whats round the corner. I bet all the top Manila Hotels will be nervously looking out for Tanks though the reception

Im not sure if all the Wifes want to go back my Wife is happy to go back whenever but i know for various reasons she quite enjoys the UK so i think it would be more a case of six months here and there.

[Northerner]

Thats my gameplan,spain,but I eat "Foreign muck" so I will be cool

I have a brother in law who is a typical brit abroad. Pizza is too foreign for him...

[ukgangster]

It's a bit of a no win situation really - it may be cheaper to live in the Philippines, especially in the provinces, but you do need a fair bit of capital to tide you over, buy a house, a business to generate income, etc. Then theres health considerations - its free in the UK, but not in Philippines, and what happens if it all goes wrong, you gotta come back and start all over again.

Having lived abroad in Malta and Spain for a period of 2 - 3 years and being a typical Sagittarius, I'd have no problem adjusting. Add to that Elsa and I already have a house and a small jeepney in Tacloban, it should be painless if we decide to go.

[somebody]

It's a bit of a no win situation really - it may be cheaper to live in the Philippines, especially in the provinces, but you do need a fair bit of capital to tide you over, buy a house, a business to generate income, etc. Then theres health considerations - its free in the UK, but not in Philippines, and what happens if it all goes wrong, you gotta come back and start all over again.

Having lived abroad in Malta and Spain for a period of 2 - 3 years and being a typical Sagittarius, I'd have no problem adjusting. Add to that Elsa and I already have a house and a small jeepney in Tacloban, it should be painless if we decide to go.

I can see your point soon we will have New Houses we are renovating or buliding three bulidings two in one location and one in another (not all for us i hasten to add!) on land we have plus plenty of income partly due to smart, petron and sm potentially plus farms and other smaller businesses paying rents on the Land the Wife has out there.

I think in five years we could live ok lifestle but i would never feel comfortable. Just as I didn't feel comfortable when the wife was on a spouse visa and then a ILR. From what i understand us Brits or "aliens" can never have the same rights as phills in their country.

[pennybarry]

As of now I prefer to live in UK to work and save.
Hubby also prefers to live in Pinas anytime.
Still young to retire.

How I wish to have a bigger house with big veranda overlooking Mom's farm, close to SM in a peaceful village.

[WillsG25]

I have been in the Philippines 4 years now, I love places like Subic, 100 Islands and Cebu, Puerto Galera, there are some amzing and beautiful places here. But unfortunately we live in Pasig City at the moment and I must confess it is a . I would happily set up shop in a nice peaceful place in the province, you can't beat Filipino hospitality, however what will happen if something goes wrong, who can you trust out here? At least the human rights record is good in the UK and life is valued quite a bit highier there to. Due to the weak pound, I wouldn't say I am any better off here, so roll on December, at long last I can enjoy driving on the UK roads again without having to put fenders around the car.

[johncar54]

As an Englishman, I think I should retire in spain somewhere and grow old and grumpy complaining about "that foreign muck they call food"

I have lived in Spain just over 20 years. My wife has been here just over 3.
I don't want to return to UK, probably ever. My wife says she wants to stay here for ever.

Of course, the fall in the euro is a problem at present.

I have a friend here, 87 yrs old, who only has his OAP, he is selling up to go to Pattaya (Thailand). Where there is a large ex-pat community and where his £400 a month will go three times as far. Having been there, its not that different from a town on the Costa del Sol, just cheaper.

We have friends there and a good 2 bed apartment is about £18,000.

[Ayjay]

Most British guys will visit the Philippines once or twice, or 3 times in my case, and then welcome their Filipina fiancee/wife to the UK where they will settle down.

My question to you is:- having seen life in the Philippines would you rather live there than in the UK? I know financial constraints and circumstances limit our opportunities, but personally I felt so at home in the Philippines I would love to spend more time there when I retire.

Some members already live there, and seem happy with their lot, but is it the Utopia some of us imagine?

Paul

I lived in the Philippines for many years, during this time I was working for a large multinational company. The pay was good, healthcare and administrative issues were dealt with by the HR people... we did not have the hassle of dealing with the local government for visas, etc etc.

In short we had a western UK/USA life style in the Phils... and yes it was a good experience.

However, if you are a loner, where you have to provide everything for yourself, then the Phils can become a nightmare. People experiencing the Phils for the first time assume that it is a cheap place to live, and a few quid under the bed will go a long way..

Well it will not if you want to maintain a decent lifestyle... car.. house.. healthcare insurance... day to day expenses etc....

The chances are that you will not find employment.. the Phils has thousands of degree qualified candidates for these jobs. In short there is no shortage of skilled and talented labor.

Think about the Phils when you are comming up to retirement.. you have a nest egg, a pension, a house in the UK etc...

Your independemt means will then remove you from some of the above risks. However, just keep in mind that you will never have the sort of health and social parachutes that we all have become used to in the UK..

AJ

[IainBusby]

I think 11% of the adult population work abroad,and the other 89% of the adult population WANT to work abroad

That adds up to 100% but there is another slice to this cake that you forgot to mention, the ones who don't work abroad, don't want to work either in Phils or abroad and are quite happy to just sit around and wait for the next remmitance to arrive.

Its a decent enough country to visit,but once your living there you become embroiled in family problems and your always the panacea for monetary ills

Very true and more often than not it's for wants not needs.

[scottishbride]

I prefer to live in UK for a change, now that I got my visa . My hubby and I have been in Manila for 4 years now and I guess its his turn to show me his country.

[JimOttley]

i lived in the philippines for 2 periods in my life, as he wife of an expat. I had all the luxury, driver, maids, manicurs, massage, etc, but it is a shallow existence. I would never have lived there as just a normal citizen. Foreigners are seen as rich pickings for all. and remember you can never own that house. Your spouses family will demand all sorts of favours, and the heat is really bad and , humidity is terrible.. Medical bills can be high, and electricity for aircon etc is astronomical , cars are also expensive.. So if you want to live like a local ie chicken and rice, fans, pinoy tv. and a jeepney, then it would be cheaper, but you are a long way from home my friend, and you will always be a foreigner........
Its a mans life there, but for me as a women, i found it shallow and degrading. with not much in common with the upper class filipino, who is 2 faced and only wants you as a friend, do get something out of you.....Done it got the T-Shirt, but never again

Electricity is as you say extremely expensive in Manila and second hand cars are stupidly expensive it's a sellers market over there I guess.

You can get a 50 year lease on a property such as a condo but as you say you can't own a house without some very fancy legal shenanigans to ensure that you have the right to live in it and to dispose of it as you choose, it can be done though just not easy. Same for owning a business you have to get the rights assigned back from named locals, I know of two software companies that are set up this way.

I don't know any upper class Filipinos, I do know one middle class guy that works for ebay and earns a western style salary (still low but very good) I also know a number of very educated Filipinos who earn about 300 quid a month two of them lawyers and one a computer programmer and they are all very decent people, the rest are poor, some of them have motives for being friendly but many of them don't and are just good people.

I'd do it, manok and rice, electric fans, pinoy tv, jeepney's don't scare me, that's pretty much our life just now when I'm there (the living room in the house we rent is huge and I could never afford to air condition it )

I also have no problem with going out to a local pub rather than a fancy restaurant / pub / night club in Malate or Makati, there are lots of cheap places with good music that we like to go to.

I would need an internet connection though that would be essential if I were there for a long time.

What does scare me is women in combination with shoe shops and malls and that's the main reason we'll be staying here for a good long time once I finally get Ana and the kids over here


Jim

[Arthur Little]

Most British guys will visit the Philippines once or twice, or 3 times in my case, and then welcome their Filipina fiancee/wife to the UK where they will settle down.

My question to you is:- having seen life in the Philippines would you rather live there than in the UK? I know financial constraints and circumstances limit our opportunities, but personally I felt so at home in the Philippines I would love to spend more time there when I retire.

Some members already live there, and seem happy with their lot, but is it the Utopia some of us imagine?

Paul

Filipinos are a very friendly people in my experience. And the hospitality and warmth of welcome I received from Myrna's relatives during my first visit of 3 weeks ... and again, throughout my subsequent three months' stay, was second to none. Youngsters too, seem on the whole, to be a great deal more respectful of their elders, it has to be said.

But, for all that, there's nowhere else I'd really want to settle, other than the country in which I was born, and where I've lived all my life. The UK has its faults - there's no disputing the fact - but free health care here, is available to all, regardless of financial status, and I for one have every reason to be grateful to the NHS - which has been around for almost as long as I can remember. Besides - and probably above all else - my immediate family all stay within reasonable travelling distance.

Last, but not least, the climate [apart from the incessant wind, rain and (occasional) winter snow] is more amenable to my lifestyle than the perpetual humidity of the Phils. And English food is much more in keeping with my taste.

So for ME it's Always HAS been, and always WILL be!

[IainBusby]

Electricity is as you say extremely expensive in Manila and second hand cars are stupidly expensive it's a sellers market over there I guess.

You can get a 50 year lease on a property such as a condo but as you say you can't own a house without some very fancy legal shenanigans to ensure that you have the right to live in it and to dispose of it as you choose, it can be done though just not easy. Same for owning a business you have to get the rights assigned back from named locals, I know of two software companies that are set up this way.

I don't know any upper class Filipinos, I do know one middle class guy that works for ebay and earns a western style salary (still low but very good) I also know a number of very educated Filipinos who earn about 300 quid a month two of them lawyers and one a computer programmer and they are all very decent people, the rest are poor, some of them have motives for being friendly but many of them don't and are just good people.

I'd do it, manok and rice, electric fans, pinoy tv, jeepney's don't scare me, that's pretty much our life just now when I'm there (the living room in the house we rent is huge and I could never afford to air condition it )

I also have no problem with going out to a local pub rather than a fancy restaurant / pub / night club in Malate or Makati, there are lots of cheap places with good music that we like to go to.

I would need an internet connection though that would be essential if I were there for a long time.

What does scare me is women in combination with shoe shops and malls and that's the main reason we'll be staying here for a good long time once I finally get Ana and the kids over here


Jim

That's one thing that wont change whether she's here or in Phils. She'll soon know where all the shopping centres and shoe shops are.

[Ayjay]

I don't know any upper class Filipinos, I do know one middle class guy that works for ebay and earns a western style salary (still low but very good) I also know a number of very educated Filipinos who earn about 300 quid a month two of them lawyers and one a computer programmer and they are all very decent people, the rest are poor, some of them have motives for being friendly but many of them don't and are just good people.

Jim

There are many Filipinos that earn or have an income that would make your eyes water..

Our Filipino corporate lawer (Harvard educated) was paid a retainer of $100,000 USD per year, plus time, travel expenses etc when representing the company. And we were only one of this corporate clients.

I agree that provincial jobing lawers doing business under a mango tree would pull in about $500 per month.

In terms of expats working in the Phils for multinational corporations; these guys are normally seconded from other overseas business units for specific projects, for well defined time lines. Normally, their home based salaries are paid into their bank accounts in their home countries. An expat engineering manager or specialist would normally have an in country allowance of 200,000 Pesos (2001 levels), car, driver, accomodation, medical insurance, kids education, yearly family return air travel.. etc..etc..

Prime locations for these expats are, Manila, Baguio, Santa Rosa, Marivelles Bataan, Limay Bataan... and other locations.

AJ

[Ayjay]

Filipinos are a very friendly people in my experience. And the hospitality and warmth of welcome I received from Myrna's relatives during my first visit of 3 weeks ... and again, throughout my subsequent three months' stay, was second to none. Youngsters too, seem on the whole, to be a great deal more respectful of their elders, it has to be said.

But, for all that, there's nowhere else I'd really want to settle, other than the country in which I was born, and where I've lived all my life. The UK has its faults - there's no disputing the fact - but free health care here, is available to all, regardless of financial status, and I for one have every reason to be grateful to the NHS - which has been around for almost as long as I can remember. Besides - and probably above all else - my immediate family all stay within reasonable travelling distance.

Last, but not least, the climate [apart from the incessant wind, rain and (occasional) winter snow] is more amenable to my lifestyle than the perpetual humidity of the Phils. And English food is much more in keeping with my taste.

So for ME it's Always HAS been, and always WILL be!

Absolutely the right approach... Most Filipino familes are only one serious illness away from total financial ruin..

AJ

[JimOttley]

There are many Filipinos that earn or have an income that would make your eyes water..

Our Filipino corporate lawer (Harvard educated) was paid a retainer of $100,000 USD per year, plus time, travel expenses etc when representing the company. And we were only one of this corporate clients.

I agree that provincial jobing lawers doing business under a mango tree would pull in about $500 per month.

In terms of expats working in the Phils for multinational corporations; these guys are normally seconded from other overseas business units for specific projects, for well defined time lines. Normally, their home based salaries are paid into their bank accounts in their home countries. An expat engineering manager or specialist would normally have an in country allowance of 200,000 Pesos (2001 levels), car, driver, accomodation, medical insurance, kids education, yearly family return air travel.. etc..etc..

Prime locations for these expats are, Manila, Baguio, Santa Rosa, Marivelles Bataan, Limay Bataan... and other locations.

AJ

Yeah there are clearly a lot of people making a lot of money, something has to support all the malls but your average degree educated bloke in the Phils is not on a spectacular salary, that's why everyone has sidelines

The lawyers I was taking about are good friends of ours in their early 30's one of them just about to finish his bar exams and will be fully qualified then, they both work for local law firms and that is basically what you get paid if you're not running your own practice.

The Filipino lad working for ebay is on about 3 million peso a year and for a local lad that is pretty good.

I also know a software company in Makati (foreign owners) that has become very successful over the last 10 years and employs a couple of lads from the UK, they are on around 15,000 GBP a year but they are happy with that as they are young and are enjoying the experience of living over there. The locals working for the same company are the ones on ~500 dollars a month.

Me I'm too old and unlikely to ever find a company that would employ me in the Phils an appropriate role for for my skills, they could get 10 good local guys for the salary I would be looking for, the only thing they wouldn't get would be my experience


Jim

[JimOttley]

That's one thing that wont change whether she's here or in Phils. She'll soon know where all the shopping centres and shoe shops are.

Yes but I'm the one with the car and she's not fond of walking

Actually when Ana was here last time she got some great deals from the local charity shop, brand new suede coat, really stylish, for a fiver, we did spend a bit getting her clothes for the winter but she was a bit shocked when we went round Matalan as a lot of stuff was cheaper than Manila, it was "James why you not tell me about this place before?"


Jim

[Ayjay]

Yeah there are clearly a lot of people making a lot of money, something has to support all the malls but your average degree educated bloke in the Phils is not on a spectacular salary, that's why everyone has sidelines

Jim

Indeed, the Philippines is awash with under utilised degree qualified talent. When the Americans pulled out of the Phils, principally from Clark Airbase, and Subic Bay; Bataan and Zambales had the dubious privilege of having some of the most qualified tricycle and jeepney drivers in the Philippines. Many of them having licences to work on many varieties of aircraft C130's C147's etc; and never found such work again.

Currently the Philippines continues to churn out graduates at an alarming rate, many of whom have very little chance of finding any employment, and do not have the experience to secure appropriate overseas work..

Hence the tendency to find teachers working as domestics; nurses are working as care assistants in retirement homes, engineers working as builders. The one thing they have in common is that they are all punching below their weight in terms of salary, and most are exploited by their employers..

AJ

[fred]

Here two years now without any UK pension to rely on..(Far too young for heavens sake)
The thought of having to go back to the UK where I would have to work for a living sends shivers down my spine!!
I couldn't possibly have the perks that I have here back in England and I am no longer prepared to do without them..Thoroughly spoiled and loving it.
Just built my wood burning oven that gets up to 900F on pizza nights..I can cook a family sized pizza in 59 seconds!!
In the UK the carbon tax would kill me.
Still love the UK and I might be back for the Olympics and a bacon sarny... only for 2 weeks mind!

Regards,

Fred.

PS...Brand new cars are pretty cheap now.

[Arthur Little]

Here two years now without any UK pension to rely on..(Far too young for heavens sake)

Fred.

Just collected my first remittance as an OAP, Fred. I can see, from reading your posts, that you're a happy man ... having obviously adapted well to the Filipino lifestyle. And that's great!

But how do you cope without seeing much of your immediate family in the UK ... ?

[fred]

Good question Arthur..To be honest as my family are spread pretty far and wide I only ever really got to speak with them via the phone or skype when I was in the UK so it doesn't feel that strange to connect with them in the same way here..Ive had two friends from the UK visit with plans to return next year..My cousin and sister are here for a month next year too.. The hardest thing is my son studying at Sheffield Uni..He says he can study part of his course in an Asian school partnered with Sheffield Uni so hes thinking Singapore which will mean lots of easy visits for us..Cant wait!
Cheers,

Fred.

[steadyfornow]

my boyfriend wants to stay here for couple of months and would love to try working here..i hope he will love it here..can you give him some suggestions of what he needs to do before coming over..