Pulling up sticks for good

[stevewool]

Right, you have made your mind up - you are off for good. Well, you think you are, and the Philippines here we come.

Do you close everything down here in England? I know some say "don't do that, keep one bill at an address, so if you do have to come back for whatever reason, you will be fine".

But surely there is a time limit for doing this, isn't there?

If you do keep say, a gas bill for a house, does that mean you can always come back, even after say, 10 years and expect to live here like nothing has happened?

The NHS: Is there a time limit too, for staying out of the country? There are always rumors saying this will happen.

Most know that one day we are hoping to call the Phils our home, so why keep anything open here? "Yes, but if you are ill", you may say, but why come back here if it's terminal?

Anyway, is there a time limit that you have for coming back to England?

[Tawi2]

Never burn bridges,I know a woman over there at the moment whose mother in the last year has eaten up the best part of half a million pesos in medical charges and hospital bills,thankfully her mums fine now but imagine if those problems had ran for a number of years,how much is a heart bypass in pinas?People have strokes,paralysed,how much does that run in monetary value,the last pinoy I knew who had a stroke died bedridden having been in a semi-dark room for 3 years,thats no life,you need some form of care.
Some people who decide to upsticks go lock,stock and barrel severing all ties,others leave a lifeline,its down to the individual at the end of the day,its a personal choice.

[imagine]

depending on how sick a person becomes, perhaps too sick to be able to travel back to uk,

anyway upsticks, you can always use a relatives address as your uk adddress,

i use my eldest daughters address, for my uk banks and anything else she is also my acting attorny,

3 months away from uk you loose nhs rights, though they will treat you without charge as long as you say your back to stay,
i didnt tell my doctor im leaving though they may know i have because i need their prescriptions regular when in uk, the docs also use my daughters address,
i realy dont , if your mind is set , i would say theres no need to keep bridges in uk, theres always a way back if needed,
if i ever went back i would declare im homless go in the councils homeless hostel untill they rehouse me in council property

[London_Manila]

I would not want to get any medical treatment in the Philippines because once they get you in hospital they tend to use whities as cash cows with ridiculous unnecessary treatments and consultant fees

Always have at least one place where you can return to in the UK as you will never know when you might need it

[Michael Parnham]

You'll be ok regarding address Steve, if you are renting your house to your daughter, also if you have no address here and your away more than two years NHS could be a problem, keep your UK bank running as normal and when your debit card is replaced just get someone to forward it to you via DHL. My debit card was sent by normal post and arrived ok, took two weeks!

[imagine]

I would not want to get any medical treatment in the Philippines because once they get you in hospital they tend to use whities as cash cows with ridiculous unnecessary treatments and consultant fees

its not the case in my experience, perhaps its more likely to happen in the small out of town places

[Ako Si Jamie]

I think after two or three months you're not illegible for NHS treatment. I'm just going by a post made by Terpe awhile ago but I may have misinterpreted it wrongly or missed something out.

[imagine]

I think after two or three months you're not illegible for NHS treatment. I'm just going by a post made by Terpe awhile ago but I may have misinterpreted it wrongly or missed something out.

your right its 3 months

[Michael Parnham]

When I arrived home from Philippines I continued getting my Dental treatment at Charles Clifford after I had originally informed the NHS that I was leaving UK for good, they did tell me that I was ok as long as I hadn't left the UK for more than two years also they inspected my passport!

[Terpe]

"Pulling up Sticks for good" meant just that for me.
After the death of my dad I was the only one left living in the UK from our known family.
All but one of my childhood pals had also left UK

I pulled up sticks and left for the only place where I had 'family' to look out for me.
Didn't need to burn any bridges as there were none to burn.

I've taken advice from others and kept my UK bank account and debit card.
I've taken up a UK mailing address at an organisation that specialises in managing mail.
Everything is done online including any scanning, shredding or forwarding.

Concerning medical care and costs here in the Philippines well we all know it's not free.
Major requirements will be eye-wateringly expensive.
In my experience medical care here is variable depending where you live. It's a factor for many when finalising just where to live. For us we are within 15 minutes of 4 great hospitals including Davao Docs which is said to be world class.
(With a matching price tag too)

I've known only one person return for medical reasons. He was on dialysis due to renal failure but sadly didn't make it long enough to secure the needed transplant donor.
I've know a couple of people whose prognosis wasn't at all good and who decided to remain here and enjoy the best love and care anyone would want. Sadly both passed away recently.

Most of those folks who spent large amounts of cash on medical needs did so for their extended family or for their wives who didn't want to leave.
There was one Brit I got to know who spent over P5 mill on cancer treatment for his aged mother in law over a 4 year period. When she died they were virtually penniless and had to sell up the house they'd built and downsize in order to manage. Last time I spoke with him his health wasn't so good and he told me he had given up his medication as he couldn't afford the P9000 per month to keep up. He asked me not to say anything as he hadn't told his wife he'd stopped.
He said they had no intention of returning to UK since he felt that despite everything he was happier here and life was still good.

Personally I have no intention of returning.
Mind you if either me or my wife were told we needed some expensive treatment to stay alive and we thought we could only get that free on the NHS, who knows in all honesty just which way we'd actually jump. It all depends on the specific circumstances and impacts to everyone concerned.
Personal choices are just those and thankfully right now we do have choices. Maybe next year those choices are much less. Maybe in 2 years or 5 years we have no choice. C'est la vie.

My dad had poor health during his final years and got fed up with all the medications, side-effects and tests etc. He admitted to me often that he'd had enough of this world, he was tired and wanted it to end. Most days his pain was just too much.
I would never want to end like that.

I'm happier than I thought I could be. I'm content and lucky to be actually living my dream.

I hope I never have to prioritise whatever funds I have between me, my wife or another family member.
Sometimes it's better not to analyse that too much and focus on the day we have now and cross those other bridges when we need to.
Just my thinking

[imagine]

very good post peter

[mike1]

"Pulling up Sticks for good" meant just that for me.
After the death of my dad I was the only one left living in the UK from our known family.
All but one of my childhood pals had also left UK

I pulled up sticks and left for the only place where I had 'family' to look out for me.
Didn't need to burn any bridges as there were none to burn.

I've taken advice from others and kept my UK bank account and debit card.
I've taken up a UK mailing address at an organisation that specialises in managing mail.
Everything is done online including any scanning, shredding or forwarding.

Concerning medical care and costs here in the Philippines well we all know it's not free.
Major requirements will be eye-wateringly expensive.
In my experience medical care here is variable depending where you live. It's a factor for many when finalising just where to live. For us we are within 15 minutes of 4 great hospitals including Davao Docs which is said to be world class.
(With a matching price tag too)

I've known only one person return for medical reasons. He was on dialysis due to renal failure but sadly didn't make it long enough to secure the needed transplant donor.
I've know a couple of people whose prognosis wasn't at all good and who decided to remain here and enjoy the best love and care anyone would want. Sadly both passed away recently.

Most of those folks who spent large amounts of cash on medical needs did so for their extended family or for their wives who didn't want to leave.
There was one Brit I got to know who spent over P5 mill on cancer treatment for his aged mother in law over a 4 year period. When she died they were virtually penniless and had to sell up the house they'd built and downsize in order to manage. Last time I spoke with him his health wasn't so good and he told me he had given up his medication as he couldn't afford the P9000 per month to keep up. He asked me not to say anything as he hadn't told his wife he'd stopped.
He said they had no intention of returning to UK since he felt that despite everything he was happier here and life was still good.

Personally I have no intention of returning.
Mind you if either me or my wife were told we needed some expensive treatment to stay alive and we thought we could only get that free on the NHS, who knows in all honesty just which way we'd actually jump. It all depends on the specific circumstances and impacts to everyone concerned.
Personal choices are just those and thankfully right now we do have choices. Maybe next year those choices are much less. Maybe in 2 years or 5 years we have no choice. C'est la vie.

My dad had poor health during his final years and got fed up with all the medications, side-effects and tests etc. He admitted to me often that he'd had enough of this world, he was tired and wanted it to end. Most days his pain was just too much.
I would never want to end like that.

I'm happier than I thought I could be. I'm content and lucky to be actually living my dream.

I hope I never have to prioritise whatever funds I have between me, my wife or another family member.
Sometimes it's better not to analyse that too much and focus on the day we have now and cross those other bridges when we need to.
Just my thinking

Good post,What about medical insurance,is it expensive there or does it exist at all ?