Ever since I was a little boy, I have always been a dreamer! Back in those days, in the 1960s, my dreams were not actually realistic and were child-like in some respects. As a teenager, a young adult and as a middle age adult, I still had dreams and the dreams became more realistic with time. I think everyone should have a dream because dreams have a way of making life more exciting. A prophet once said, “Without dreams, the people perish.” Luis B. Couto once said, “Without Dreams, there is no reality!”
Dreams are also a vision. Vision is also something we should all hold, as we map out our lives. Certain events sometimes change our course but it is up to us to get back on track or else change directions. It is all part of our overall vision! Some people do not
believe in fate and destiny but as I look back as to what led me to the Philippines, I can see where both have played a large role in my life!
I still recall back in 1986 when I decided to move to the Philippines for academic purposes. My dad was so angry when I told him and while he had never beaten me in my life, I thought he would that day! No, he didn’t beat me but he sure gave me a heated lecture! I was resigning from a State job with a pension and I had 11 years in at that time. My dad told me that people just don’t walk away from that but I did. I moved to the Philippines with only several pieces of luggage, as I had sold everything, except my Chevy, which I left with my brother for safe keeping. For the next year, I was immersed in the Filipino culture, as I lived with a Filipino family and I took academic courses at the University of the Philippines. I was also getting an education in life, seeing how Filipinos live day in and day out. I was hooked..for life! And as they say, the rest is history.
Once I returned to the States, I actually landed a better job than the one I walked away from because I had a higher degree. Things worked out perfectly. I met fate and destiny in 1986 and from that time forward, Filipinos and the Philippines have been a daily important part of my life. I not only got to vacation in the Philippines every year during breaks from my employment, I was doing it for almost free much of the time! My supervisor was a Psychiatrist from the Philippines and he handed me the keys to one of his condos every work vacation, refusing to accept rental money for my staying there. Other visits to the Philippines, a Florida businessman sent me to the Islands to buy items for his import-export business. It was fun traveling all around while searching for the unique items on his want list. All expenses paid!
I met my beautiful and lovely future wife in Hong Kong in 2002 and she is from the Bacolod Area of the Philippines. I was following another dream I had at that time and that was teaching English in China. We married on Christmas Day in 2003 and we began working together to fulfill my long time dream of retiring to the Philippines at an early age. In 2009, my dream became reality! Since I was married and we had a son, we had a lot more to move to the Philippines. We made a trip 6 months before our actual move and brought many things with us, since the 3 of us had luggage allowances. The rest of our belongings, we shipped via Balikbayan Box style. The Balikbayan Box is shipped according to box size and not by weight, so it is the cheapest way to ship. Even today, one can ship a Balikbayan Box from anywhere for about $100 USD.
If I had listened to friends and family, none of my dreams would have become reality because I would have stopped following them. However, I kept on following my dreams! There was no stopping me from fulfilling my dream.
I personally know several guys who keep pushing their dream back another year when they could make it happen today! They are letting life pass them by. While it is not nice to think about or nice to say to someone, they are actually just sitting around, waiting around to die!
Their move to the Philippines would add zest to their lives and most likely, also add years to their life. Personally, I think it is time for them to do a Steve McQueen and make the Great Escape..to the Philippines. Where everyday is a weekend and you will never see snow and ice again! How does that sound to you?
Thanks Gary, I really enjoy your articles! I find them entertaining and packed with good information and inspiration! Keep up the good work you are encouraging all of us guys to get up off our “rear-ends” and make this dream happen.
I am hoping you will write another article about how Christmas is celebrated there, the way you wrote about your Thanksgiving. Thanks again for sharing your life with us, it is a personal connection for me to my dream by proxy.
Steve Hayes
Hi Steve,
Thank you much for your compliments! I am happy that you find my articles entertaining, helpful and inspiring. I will be sharing about our Christmas celebration this year in the Philippines. Everyone had a great time, as usual, and we had a good size crowd on hand at our home.
Have a great day!
~ Gary ~
Sounds great Gary. You are so right. My partner and I are getting ready to live simply and get out of the rat race here in the States and be in the Philippines. We can’t collect social security nor any retirement money yet, but we’ll manage. It’s not going to be perfect I know, but where is perfect anyway? I envy you guys.
Hi Toti,
Thanks! That is great that you and your partner will be moving to the Philippines. I wish you all the best. Please keep us informed after you get here about how things are going. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the Philippines, you can always ask on the Retiring to the Philippines forum, which is always only one click away.
Have a great day!
~ Gary ~
Hello, just found your site, read your book, from Amazon.
Been looking at foreign retirement for awhile, mainly Ecuador. Philippines sounds better, semi-common language, history etc.
I’m single, healthy, will be living mainly on S.S.(2 divorces). Wanting to rent a small place, able to have chickens and a garden.
Just wanting to get away for a while and decide to stay or try something else. Will be able to take early SS in a couple of years, want to visit before anything permanent.
Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Charles,
Thank you for reading our book on Amazon and for visiting our site. There are many areas in the Philippines that you can check out when you visit. Since you want to have chickens and a garden, I would suggest visiting Negros Occidental. There are many small towns and small cities very near Bacolod City, the capital and where there is a lot happening.
There are also locations within the city limits of Bacolod, where you can have a garden, chickens, goats and even raise a pig or two! My family and I have lived in a rural area of Bacolod City since 2011 and we really enjoy it very much. You should not have a problem living comfortably here with early SS, provided you do not have a very expensive lifestyle.
I also suggest visiting our forum, which is only one click away on this site, so you can receive more feedback from other members.
Have a great day!
~ Gary ~
Hi Gary,
Thanks for taking the time to answer.
Hi Gary, really like the site, thank you. I have visited Cebu, Bohol, Manila over the years. Liked it very much and the thought of never seeing ice or being bitterly cold has its major appeal. At 42 years old seriously thinking of retiring in the next 3 years, with rental income and savings projected at $14,000 Australian a year. Sure I will be visiting your pages often, thinking about a furnished room, somewhere a swim in the morning, quiet and peaceful. Thanks and best wishes mate.
Hi Wayne,
You are welcome and thank you for liking Retiring to the Philippines.
i suggest checking out Bacolod City and Iloilo City in the future, as both have lower cost of living than in Manila and Cebu. I lived in Manila in the past and visited Cebu two times in the last couple of years. Much cheaper in the Western Visayas! We are along the coast, so a swim can be had every morning. You can rent a new townhouse in Bacolod for P6,000-P7,500 per month.
Cheers, mate!
~ Gary ~