Visited it last summer. Do not go there without a gun or a bodyguard. Very dangerous place for Americans with the Islamic terrorism and poverty.
Ask 2ndDivisionVet. He has discussed moving there (albeit during a contentious thread).
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Visit EscapeArtist.com.
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I know there is at least one here who is a regular that lives there. Sorry I can’t remember his screen name.
Area around Clark AFB has a load of retired USAF / USN / USMC living there still .... I was there a year ago for a 3 day visit on my way back from Roi Namur in the Marshall’s ....... They are very happy with life there .
Also down in Guymas and San Carlos on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico there are ExPat havens of retired Americans living very well.....
Communist China has also been stepping up their game in the area, building new military airbases, like static air craft carriers on "islands", that are nothing more than coral and volcanic out cropping which they have been adding fill to in order to expand and develop them as well as building on islands that are in dispute with the Philippine government: Communist China isn't doing this for no reason, they want to ultimately ave influence over and subjugate the entire region. And what is the American government doing to stop this? ...Nothing.
On top of this you face the very real possible threat of typhoons and tsunamis on the coastal areas and volcanic eruptions in some interior areas. Apart from all of the above, the place is great. The people are by in large, very friendly (except for the Muslims who want to cut your head off, and some anti-American nationalist or communist Philippinos who 'hate American Imperialism' and Americans).
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.
There is no constitutional protection in the P.I.
Buy property at your own risk.
Maybe Costa Rica instead.
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
Most Filipinos are among the nicest and politest people in the world. Love ‘em! But Manila has maybe the world’s worst traffic. Also, lots of typhoon danger everywhere except maybe in the extreme southeast around Davao. Cost of living extremely low outside of Manila.
Taking it all into account, I can’t see why an American would want to retire in the Philippines unless he had Filipino relatives living there. If I were dead-set on a foreign locale for retirement, I think I’d rather go to some place like Costa Rica.
I've lived in Manila, Baguio, Subic, Angeles and Leyte. I had a friend who lived in Dumaguete and he loved it as there is a fairly large American community there.
But again, no one in my opinion should consider moving there without having spent considerable time there first. It's impossible to really describe what it is like without experiencing it yourself. Most Americans would hate it there
but for folks like me it can't be beat. Feel free to Freep mail me if you want more specific info.
I have a house there and a farm ,, I’m going back this summer to buy more farmland and plant cocoa trees... I don’t like the big cities myself. If they’re on a limited but reasonable budget , I’d say at least $2k USD/month , they can live very well there and travel around asia cheaply... I would suggest this mans YouTube channel for a Californians take on living there ... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3PDv7F4Uex3ii9zdMbvWQ
He says the local thugs think because he is an American, that he has money and therefore is fair game for their petty crimes against his residence all the time. He is constantly having things stolen from his home and the local police are no help.
He worries when he travels within the country because the Muslim terrorists in the south have been known to kidnap Americans. He says as an American, he sticks out like a sore thumb.
He has a Filipino wife and is trying to get her a visa to come back to the states with him. But he has been on that case for several years with no success yet.
So he stays for now but it ain't paradise pal....
Social life here is with family, or with the church. So going to an area where there is a lot of foreigners to socialize with would help.
you can live cheaper in the provinces, but it would be riskier and a bit lonely. I live in the provinces but my husband is Filipino so I live with his family.
Medical care in Manila is first rate. But medicare won't pay here...I have a local policy.