Don't know if they still have a stronghold, but Islamists had a big presence in the Phillipines a few years ago. Maybe you should ask the Burnhams. (I think that was the name of the missionary family who were held for months, and the husband finally killed brutally.)
My plan is to return periodically to the US to recharge financially. I run a seasonal business with a partner and would return during that season. In the long run, I hope the Internet-based business I start will pay dividends that will allow me to stay. However, building any business takes time and that's why I have a strategy to recharge year by year.
Exercise and diet changes don't seem to work well for me. I absolutely loathe exercise with a passion, so to become truly attractive would take literally years of misery and struggle, and even then I would probably become a sour, surly, nasty man as a reflection of that. I know you all mean well, but unfortunately I really don't think that's my path :-(. Far better to find someone who's attracted to me as I am.
The women are interested in older men because older men are respected in Phillipine culture, and because Filipino men apparently have a bad reputation. Going to a place where the market is better for someone like me seems like pure common sense. Why struggle with a highly unfavorable market when you can go elsewhere and find plentiful women? I know there are good women everywhere, but I think they would be much easier to find in a place where people like me are in demand instead of flooding the market.
Also, the other point is that I could live well on $20k a year, and if that's what I have, I can either get a job and stay on the treadmill, or move to another country. I think it's about time I tried stepping off the treadmill and see where it brings me.
The terrorist group seems to move almost exclusively in the South Phillippines, which I had already understood. I'm likely to go to Cebu or nearby islands, which do not appear to be affected. Nonetheless, I will be very careful and keep a low profile there.
Internet is definitely a problem in the rural areas and might keep me near a city. Might not be a bad idea considering the terrorists, either.
I think the Carribean has a higher cost of living but I will look into Belize.
Many thanks for the replies; keep 'em coming!
D