Posted on 03/26/2016 8:03:48 AM PDT by Lurker
I'm looking for information from Freepers residing in the Philippenes. My parents are retired and are considering a move there. The Pastor at their church is Filipino and recommended it. I mentioned that some folks on the forum live there so they asked me if I could dig around here for some information.
Dad is looking for info on the process, what are safe and friendly parts of the country to look at, that sort of thing. Dad is a retired IT guy, mom was a housewife but has a teaching background.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Best,
L
In the Philippines, my understanding is that you can own *some* firearms after getting a permit, but it is not a right, and a couple years ago during some kind of crime wave the police went door to door taking people's firearms.
I might be mistaken, or maybe someone in the Philippines will come along and say that in reality it's not so bad, but on paper I wouldn't want to move to a third world country and risk being defenseless.
I missed it so I have no idea what happened.
When WWIII starts you better speak Chinese.
Best way to know a place is to live there a month on a regular tourist visa. What is considered livable for one person may be too frustrating for another. I’ve been to many interesting places around the world that I enjoyed as a tourist, but only a couple of them I would actually want to live in.
.... when I was there .....didn’t ask about such but did see a few concealed handguns “print” on ex-pats shirts..... both mexico and the PI,.... but didn’t ask legality pros and cons.
Agree as to self defense issue. PI is a better place indeed on that regard.
He hasn’t had a post since 8/2014, and he never said nasty things. Maybe he just wanted his account deleted and chose to forgo the news.
If you pay no attention for a couple of weeks, you feel way less stressed. Michael Crichton made a good point about how newspapers 5 or 10 years old were full of names no one remembers, about stories no one remembers, but seemed so important at the time...
escape artist.com
You got that right; Americans in the Philippines will be rounded up and placed in hell-hole "internment camps" ala "Empire of the Sun", "The Railway Man", ""Bridge on the River Kui", and "King Rat" variety. Just watch any of these movies to get a "taste" or the luxurious accommodations and treatment Americans will "enjoy" at the hands of their Communist Chinese overlord "bennifactors".
There is no constitutional protection in the P.I.
Buy property at your own risk.
BINGO! We have a winnah; give that man a Cupie Doll!
Maybe Costa Rica instead.
That is complete BULLSHIT
I lived there for two years. We lived in Global City which is a private development. The official city name is Taguig i think. It was an international zone and highly patrolled area so I was able to walk around alone. In Manila I wouldn’t go out without my husband or large groups. Outside of Manila, when we traveled, I always had a body guard. It seemed necessary. The people always seemed nice but you inever know. There’s a lot of desperation and poverty. I know of a Filipina who was actually a California woman visiting who was kidnapped at gunpoint and made to withdraw money from her account and then left at a far away point without her car. Fwiw
Islam in the Philippines is a very small minority, sub-5%, and nearly entirely confined to their own regions in the far south of the country. They make a lot of noise but are irrelevant in general. They are vastly outnumbered by the Christians and have been losing ground for the last couple of centuries. There are a very few Muslims in Manila proper, but they don’t make trouble. Places to avoid, if it’s Muslims you are concerned with - much of Mindanao, though Davao and Cagayan de Oro are overwhelmingly Christian and very safe. Zamboanga is on the “bloody border” and should be avoided. Under no circumstances consider Muslim islands like Jolo, Basilan, or the Muslim provinces on Mindanao.
As for the rest, you can indeed live cheaply and well nearly anywhere, if you are a bit tolerant of third world things like poverty and often troubles with infrastructure, roads, bridges, water and electricity. Every island has its expat/foreign retiree community, even obscure places like Romblon. Avoid Manila as it is surprisingly expensive and the traffic is paralyzing. Filipinos are extremely friendly anywhere
Most certainly visit before you do anything irrevocable, see if you can adapt to life among strangers, see if the local US community are the sorts you can live with, etc.
1) Pensions stretch a long way. This is the primary reason for elderly folks to consider it.
2) You don’t own property in the Philippines because you’re not a citizen there. They don’t do what America does and allow Chinese or any other nationality to buy up the properties. This poses no problem at all because renting is a standard thing — and btw means you risk nothing at all if the Chinese do invade. You just up and leave.
3) Retirees often move to trailers in Florida and park BMWs outside their place. They can afford bigger, but don’t want to clean bigger. The standard pay scale in the Philippines for, say, a store clerk is about $7 PER DAY, and the same for a maid perhaps weekly. So there is no cleaning challenge.
4) It’s very hot and humid anywhere but up north.
5) Healthcare in the developed areas is mediocre. Not horrible. Not excellent. For 99% of problems an old person may have, you’ll get adequate care. For the 1% of bizzare issues, you are just a few hours flight to Guam, which has American quality healthcare. If you’re over 65, Medicare will NOT pay for any healthcare you get in the Phils. But the prices for healthcare are so low this often poses no problem at all — and there is very cheap international healthcare insurance that can be sought.
Sure, and that is why every gas station has an attendant and a guy holding a shotgun for protection. That is why you go through a metal detector, bomb sniffer and past three armed guards when you go into a store.
Oh, and the Phils is very long north/south. The muslim issues are down south on Mindinao. Distance from Mindinao to say, Manila, is 500 miles.
Distance of the drug wars in Tijuana to Los Angeles is 130 miles.
In Manila all my elderly female relatives (white) go around alone, and have done so their whole lives. It really isn’t a dangerous place if one learns the ropes.
You can pop me down there and I can run about all over on public transportation without a care, annoyed only by the incredible traffic.
By all means hire a driver/bodyguard, that is the expected thing and a good man can spare you a lot of cursing and help arrange things.
The Philippines is chock full of security guards and all sorts of security measures are typical in Manila and other big cities. There is a crime problem, armed robberies, but mostly a great amount of petty theft, purse snatchings, burglaries, etc. It is rarely directed against foreigners, who benefit from a social immunity, partly because of basic Filipino xenophilia, but also leftover colonial prestige, and the understanding that most local authorities will take crimes against Americans/Europeans very seriously.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.