Here i go again!!!

[GLEN]

Hello to everyone, i think you know my name now..GLEN...if you missed it. As the title suggests i have been thru this once before, the difference this time is i am going to marry the girl of my dreams and i want to live in phil with her, not in the uk. The 1st girl i met was going to live here in uk with me, until her so called "friend" got involved and twisted her mind.But that is life!!
I met my new girlfriend thru the net, i have since been to meet her and her family, we got on like a house on fire,it was great.Unlike the 1st girl who came from cebu city, my new girlfriend lives near Kabankalan city in the mountians.What a beautiful place to live, so peaceful and relaxed i have decided to live there and to marry her there.I have already purchased a carabou for her father to earn more for the family,and to make his life easier,i am sending a crate with tools in it by sea freight so we can start a sawmill up in there garden, and when i finally go to live there i will purchase a taxi for working up in the mountains.
My problem is now, that i went thru all the redtape of bringing my 1st gf here and now i want to go there!! It seems to me looking thru the forum that it is more difficult moving me there than her here!! So any help and advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks Glen.

[KeithD]

You need a decent wad of cash to ensure you're going to setup and live comfortably..... over £100,000

[GLEN]

Hi Keith,when you say i need a decent wad to live comfortably,i run my own business here,as i said i have met and lived with my future wife. I find the simple unrushed way of life in the mountains suits what i am looking for now.There is no running water or sewage systems there,the only utility is electric, but it is what i am looking for,so i think that i do not need so much money.That is why i am setting up a small sawmill,and purchased a carabou,then just before i move there to live i will be purchasing a 4x4 small taxi to operate in the mountains.I am moving in with her parents and two sisters, i will be running my business over here with the help of my sister who is a director in her own business.
The main reason i joined the site is to seek help about "redtape"..problems getting permission to live there.As i mentioned before Keith,i met a girl in cebu,who should have moved here to the uk in december,but she decided with the help from her "friend" that she wanted to dictate terms all in her favour and i had no say.The only choice i had was to accept what she wanted or she would not come here.The terms were not acceptable for me so it ended.Now i want to move to PR i am looking for the right way to do things,and it seems there is more "redtape" for me to move there than what there was to bring a phil girl here.

[stevewool]

wow it seems you know what you want and going to get it, good luck

[Rosie1958]

You need a decent wad of cash to ensure you're going to setup and live comfortably..... over £100,000

You will also need medical insurance if you intend to live over there too

[blackcatbone]

You need a decent wad of cash to ensure you're going to setup and live comfortably..... over £100,000

and how long would £100,000 last if you didn't want to live like a westerner do you think? once i sel up here thats pretty much what i will have

[joebloggs]

and how long would £100,000 last if you didn't want to live like a westerner do you think? once i sel up here thats pretty much what i will have

probably not as long as you think
fred would have an idea, hes been in the phils for a number of years now, but a few on here have had to come back when they ran out of money

[Tawi2]

if you didn't want to live like a westerner

Could you live like a typical pinoy?What level or standard are you expecting to survive at?

[sars_notd_virus]

My problem is now, that i went thru all the redtape of bringing my 1st gf here and now i want to go there!! It seems to me looking thru the forum that it is more difficult moving me there than her here!! So any help and advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks Glen.

hello Glen welcome back!!
Its not difficult to live in the Philippines especially if u and ur partner wants to live a simple filipino life,a good source of income is very important(business,work,farm)..and dont forget about the health insurance..I've seen a lot of foreigners survived and succeeded in our country with the help of their loving wives...goodluck!!

[Manila_Paul]

Need a business really. Can't really rely on anything coming from back home in the long run. Especially given the way the exchange rate has been heading.

[blackcatbone]

probably not as long as you think
fred would have an idea, hes been in the phils for a number of years now, but a few on here have had to come back when they ran out of money

good question Joe & tawi2 well i'm not looking to live in a squatters camp i will be honest with you i will miss nothing at all about jolly old england (maybe decent toilet roll) so its not like i'm going to want a lot of imported goods and i want to invest in a business there if i can

[stevewool]

spend wise and have a good women behind you and £100,000 will last you a life time, it had better thats all i have

[GLEN]

hello Glen welcome back!!
Its not difficult to live in the Philippines especially if u and ur partner wants to live a simple filipino life,a good source of income is very important(business,work,farm)..and dont forget about the health insurance..I've seen a lot of foreigners survived and succeeded in our country with the help of their loving wives...goodluck!!

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and support,i have been to my future wifes house,Ging as she is known is a very loving and caring woman,and is very supportive of me now.As are her family!!
The way of life in the mountians is very simplictic,just what i have been looking for.I have looked at what will work there as a business,and the three things i have mentioned will work.I am not looking to live like a king,i will be very happy living as Ging and her family do,but i have to contribute to the household income and this is the way to do it i think!!..as i have already written i have purchased one carabou,and will be looking at purchasing more in the future.
thanx again for your support..Glen.

[GLEN]

Could you live like a typical pinoy?What level or standard are you expecting to survive at?

Hello Tawi2, Yes i can live like a pinoy in the mountains!! I do not need the trappings of most westerners needs,as i have written i have been to stay with my future wife and her family already, so i know what is available,and i am very happy to live with my wife and her family in the mountains,working for a living doing any work available aswell as run a small business from home there.

[GLEN]

spend wise and have a good women behind you and £100,000 will last you a life time, it had better thats all i have

Hello Steve, Thanx for your support,can you just clarify for me one thing... where do you live...derby or phils?

[GLEN]

Hello blackcat, my 1st gf lived in a squatters area in cebu,the hippodromo if you know it?
I found the way of life there was far better than anywhere here in the uk,as everybody helped each other,not like over here where not even your neighbours that have lived next door for 15 years want to speak to you never mind help you!! But as i said her so called "friend" who was jealous of her twisted her mind.So it ended otherwise i was going to live there with her and her family.Now i have met a girl from the province the way of life there is so peaceful apart from the "friggin cockerals" it is what i have really been looking for.So as the saying goes "don't knock it until you try it". The phils is a wonderful place to live if you want it to be.And if you look carefully you will find the right business oppurtunity in any area.

[stevewool]

derby at this and for a few more years hope to be all sorted out before i reach 60

[Sim11UK]

Around 3 years ago? I read on a website & it was discussed here also, that if you had a lump sum, of £100,000 if invested wisely, you could live reasonably comfortably in the Philippines.
It involved spreading your investments around...some in the UK & investing in rural Banks in the Phils.
These Banks, were paying up to 20% interest...If you invested, now I can't remember? whether it was 25,000 or 250,000 pesos in each Bank...if the Banks went phuttt! which quite often they did or do? you were guaranteed to get your money back, up to that limit invested.

(Now for the important bit)...Since then, we've had a world recession, terrible exchange rates etc. etc. So it ain't gonna happen now...That's why many have had to come back....But it's interesting stuff.

The thread was something like 'How much to retire in the Philippines'....It's back in the archives somewhere.

[jayzel]

Hi Glen, your right kabankalan is a beautiful place when you drive up the long straight road past the city hall that takes you into the city itself surrounded by the veiws of the mountains,i went there regularly to collect building supplies i lived in sipalay 2 hours by ceres.
To be honest i found the local cuisine hard to adjust to so i ate mostly hometown dishes which were 5 times the price of local foods i dont know what exactly you require to survive but i have some pigs and coconut ground which we harvest but to be honest i spent more than 40k monthly i decided to come back to uk and start the process of bringing Zel my fiance back here i dont know much about living there except you can renew your tourist visa every 59 days an wen you marry you can get another year visa its not easy and the immigration in bacolod or dumaguete city are very helpful good luck to you mate i wish i was on my way back there.
jon & zel

[Tawi2]

Wasnt Kermit in Zambo having difficulties withdrawing his money from a bank or something along those lines when he was intending to return to the UK?Wonder how his story panned-out

[Sim11UK]

Wasnt Kermit in Zambo having difficulties withdrawing his money from a bank or something along those lines when he was intending to return to the UK?Wonder how his story panned-out

Yeah Kermit was an interesting character, think he had money, from a motorcycle accident payout, in UK...& Yes I think he was having investment problems?

His wife was a bit trigger happy, so I hope she never shot him.

[Terpe]

Hi GLENN,

Firstly I will admit that I admire both your aspiration and your determination.
Unlike many, I think it's perfectly possible to live the kind of life you outline, provided you really want to, that it will make you happy, and you know just what it will be like.

I would guess you already know that the biggest things that can bite you are medical
(you and your extended family) and any emergency needs to return home.
If you feel the need, think about insurance.

Regarding finances, may I very kindly suggest you consider something like HSBC premiere account (offshore). Take a look at the benefits it offers you living abroad.

I believe there are many more experienced members can offer advice about immigration control and requirements in Phils. Please do a search, google it whatever.
Understand, that it is not diificult. Yes, there is red tape, but really not any problem.

Many many people have done it before you. The Phils immigration site has plenty of info.

[blackcatbone]

Hello blackcat, my 1st gf lived in a squatters area in cebu,the hippodromo if you know it?
I found the way of life there was far better than anywhere here in the uk,as everybody helped each other,not like over here where not even your neighbours that have lived next door for 15 years want to speak to you never mind help you!! But as i said her so called "friend" who was jealous of her twisted her mind.So it ended otherwise i was going to live there with her and her family.Now i have met a girl from the province the way of life there is so peaceful apart from the "friggin cockerals" it is what i have really been looking for.So as the saying goes "don't knock it until you try it". The phils is a wonderful place to live if you want it to be.And if you look carefully you will find the right business oppurtunity in any area.

mate i didn't mean to offend but Jane marie kept me away from the squatters areas so i have no real experience of it i was just saying that i dont want to live in total poverty and hopefully i wont need to but while i'm there i just want to help Janes family and friends with employment and the basics of life and i know what you mean about the cockerals it freaked me out the hear them in Manila every morning last thing i expected in a city lol

[Sim11UK]

Hi Glen
As well as getting info from this site, have a look at http://tropicalpenpals.com/blog/ he's a member here.

He's a British expat living in Cebu, who is trying all sorts of Businesses out there...some succesful, some not so?...But trying to live a simpler life & learning as he goes along. Sometimes, he returns to the UK to work for periods of time...Have a look through the archives, it's a good read.

[blackcatbone]

Hi Glen
As well as getting info from this site, have a look at http://tropicalpenpals.com/blog/ he's a member here.

He's a British expat living in Cebu, who is trying all sorts of Businesses out there...some succesful, some not so?...But trying to live a simpler life & learning as he goes along. Sometimes, he returns to the UK to work for periods of time...Have a look through the archives, it's a good read.

i agree mate i was posted a link to an article by Grahamw48 very interesting site from what i can see

[GLEN]

Sorry blackcat if i sounded offended,i was not offended at all, but there are people who i spoke to before i got there who said bad things about nearly all squatter areas. Filapino people i mean,who were lucky enough not to have been born in a squatter area!! I have worked in many different places over the years, and found that people in different towns and cities have plenty to say about the "rough areas" in there area, when i have worked there and walked into a local pub you tend to find that the "rough pub" i went to is notourious for fighting or something like that.But i can honestly say i have never had any problems and eventually made some good friends there.Just as i did in "the hipodromo".I do think it should be made mandatory that you kill a cockeral aday in phil..sorry only joking, hope i have not offended anyone saying that.

[GLEN]

Hi Sim11UK, Thanx for the link,i will still be running my small business here in uk,but am setting up business and work there before i move permanantly. Then i will be getting a regular income from the uk until i am happy that i can survive in kabankalan. As i said i can and have lived a simple life before,i do not need running water or a cooker to live, as long as i am happy with my wife and her family that is all i need!! After some researching whilst i was there the three things i am starting make good business sense,so i think it will work, if not i have a truck licence so could work driving a sugarcane truck if need be.

[GLEN]

Trust me Terpe,It is what i really want and i agree with you, it is "perfectly possible" some people want to have all the amenities they have at home.I on the other hand don't want or need them.I have run my own small business on my own now for years, and i have looked after other people most of my life. Now i have found someone who really loves me,and wants to "bury me" in her home, i could not be happier.

[Sim11UK]

Sounds like you are going about it the right way...good to keep the UK income, at least for the time being. I admire you for doing it, we all have our own comfort levels...I'd like a simple life over there too, but I don't really want to cut my ties with the UK...Would like to work here all summer & spend part of the winter over there ideally....Certainly not going to wait for retirement to move out there.

[GLEN]

Hi jon& zel, thanx for your response you say that you spent 40k monthly!! pisos ofcourse?..i have stayed with Ging and her family,i did buy a new roof and a few other things for the house,whilst i was there.Apart from a big party i paid for, i lived exactly the same as them,they ate more than me!! all i did more than them was drink water!! I found the local food fine, but everyone is different about food, on xmas day i made a huge chicken curry,they all said it was lovely but i could see they did not like it.There are two types of food i do not like in phils,one is "saltedfish with boiled banana"...and the other is "sea urchin" both are yuckk!!!!! Thanx for the info about the 59 day visa, so that is all i need to get married?..Hey ceres!! better than catching a bus here!!! more fun hanging of the side for an hour and a half!! hehehehe.