Merry Christmas from the Philippines! September 1 officially kicked off the Christmas Season in the Islands of Paradise and it will not end until early January, 2014. For many, the Christmas season will not end until mid January, after the Festivals of The Three Kings, The Black Nazarene and Santo Nino. It really is more fun in the Philippines! The country is famous for having … [Read more...]
Retirement In The Philippines
Retirement In The Philippines is a dream of many people who have a Philippine citizen spouse and they have already visited the country a number of times over the years. It is not only guys who are retiring to the Philippines, as I know several American ladies who are married to Filipinos and they have also retired to the Philippines with great excitement. There are many … [Read more...]
The Land Of Wondrous Smiles
The Filipino people are simply amazing! Many face economic hardship daily, they often endure natural calamities and other disasters and life is a struggle for many if viewed from the Western logic, yet many are still happy everyday. They can still break out with such a fabulous smile even during tough times. The children in my article photograph live in San Nicholas, Cavite, … [Read more...]
Adios Daily Grind, Hello Paradise
Several friends in America asked me this week about retiring to the Philippines, as they are sick and tired of the same old daily grind and they are at the point of retiring a few years earlier than previously planned. As you can imagine, they had many questions about actually living in the Philippines. The burning question was, "How much money will I need each month to live … [Read more...]
Burning Down The House
Burning down the house is exactly what happened to this beautiful mansion during the early days of World War II to prevent the Japanese Imperial Army from making it their Headquarters when they invaded Negros Occidental. It is reported that it took days for the inferno to burn down the roof and the thick wooden floors. Today, this mansion and beautiful grounds on the border of … [Read more...]
A Personal Story of Life in the Philippines
I guess I first fell in love with the Philippines on my bus trip from Clark to Subic. I saw the poverty, and soon found out that just a small amount of my money went a long, long way in the Philippines. Gary, as you have said in many ariticles, it is not only about the low cost, but about the Filipino people. For me, the people are real, not plastic. They seem to be people … [Read more...]
The Good, Bad And The Ugly
Over the past 27 years, I have met many expats who are living in the Philippines. Some of the expats worked for foreign companies, some played basketball in the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association), some were engaging in business with their Filipina wives, some were military retirees who had spent time in the Philippines during their tour of duty and some were older retirees … [Read more...]
Diving Subic Bay
It was about 7:00 pm and very dark - the night was still; the stars were shinning above as I did a back roll into the water off the boat; still descending into the 12 meter deep, dark but crystal clear water; I turned on my flashlight and shone it into a rock crevasse - just in time to see a one meter eel take a small wriggling reef fish into it's mouth. The eel had a choice of … [Read more...]
Ready To Party, Diba?
Some expats have it in their minds that every bar in the Philippines is an exotic bar with dancing girls. This is far from the truth, as there are many exciting nightclubs with couples dancing to the pulsating beat of the latest hot music on the international scene. The Philippines is one place that on any given evening, you can tell your significant other to put on her party … [Read more...]
Show Me The Money
One important question that most expats have about retiring to the Philippines is how to access their pensions and/or their money in USA and other foreign banks. Since I am American, I am familiar with access to money in USA Banks from the Philippines and it is not a problem for my family and I. There are a number of banks in the many cities in the Philippines which have a … [Read more...]