sunnydays

Retirement is a great time to sit back and take life easy and if you choose the warm climates such as the Philippines, life can be much nicer …….or so we think?
During your working life most of the free time is spent doing shopping, DIY or involvement with the children, leaving little time for hobbies and interests.
At retirement you can see the kids more often …….if they want you! There is that house decoration or greenhouse you have always wished you had. If you get bored it’s a trip to the pub or walk round the park or shopping mal.
We tend to encourage our children to do well at their chosen profession and take promotion when it is offered, even changing jobs for a career move. It is a fact that when they move away, you grow away from them and they become more independent.
Visits are only holidays or special occasions.
Life can get boring and the cold weather adds misery with fewer walks and large fuel bills arriving through our letter box.
Retirement in the Philippines has its attractions, cheaper economy means luxury living and no more chilly days. However, what do you do with all this free time? You have a new house and maybe a new wife, a driver and maid to do the chores,……. paradise???? If you can find another foreigner with similar interests to spend time with then you are very lucky. 80% of those I have met are of a “different” nature and for one reason or another do not make bosom buddies. Some times it’s the wives who are incompatible.
Status and backgrounds are important to making friends. Most of us marry lovely ladies from an impoverished background and who feel intimidated when faced with ladies of higher class who would not socialise with their domestic staff. The will be your wife’s friends who do not have the same standards of living as you do and you find their presence offensive ie puddles of urine on your beautiful tiled bathroom floor and eating off your dinner service with fingers.
Occupying your time here in the Philippines takes some thought and also who you spend it with! I would recommend that you choose a partner from a similar background to yourself and also some one who will share your daily life and activities. The other option is to marry beneath you and spend time in different social activities……if you can find them! ..wouldn’t recommend this unless you are renting property.
Bored in the Philippines can result in drinking and a lazy life becoming fat and ending up with diabetes or worse. No parks or wandering round the town at 29 degs, only the shopping malls where you are a figure of curiosity for EVERYONE.
My Filipina wife and I have been married for 15 years and spent the last 5 years here in the Philippines; having travelled and worked in many parts of the world we prefer it here. People are surprised to learn that we will never return to the UK, what for I ask?

Forgive my lengthy posting but it may have a bearing on others intending to retire in the warm and give them something else to consider before making the decision. We have also built and sold 2 homes and in the process of moving again. The spare time I have waiting for a buyer has provided time to ponder and has prompted me to post this item.

Good luck to all retirees.

bakedbean

Great post sunnydays. It's good when you find the right place. And I agree with you about not wishing to return to the UK. The bakedbeans are much the same.

I'm just wondering, would it be worth putting in a link on this thread to the official website for the retirement visa? I know there's a link or two on this forum somewhere, but just might help folks looking for the info.

We're happy where we are now, but still might check out Cebu one of these days as a Plan B It's good to have Plan Bs, isn't it.

PeteinHongKong

Enjoyed your post Sunnydays - certainly a lot of truth in what you say, whether it's the Philippines or anywhere else. In just 7 months I shall be retiring after almost 30 years in my academic job in Hong Kong. I have tried to plan ahead in a variety of different ways. I am sure I will have plenty to do if I so choose after the middle of next year - considering some suggestions already, not for financial reasons but simply to ensure that I do keep occupied in some productive way.

My wife (from Cebu) and I will divide our time between HK and the Philippines. Like you I have no desire at all to return to the UK - I haven't been back there for eight years as it is - and my wife is not keen to be so far from family and friends.

I haven't had a chance to meet and get to know any resident foreigners yet in Cebu - my visits there are usually not particularly long and I am occupied with family things. But I am sure you're right that relatively few will be on the same wave-length. Actually, the same is true I think if I were to return to the UK. So many things there have changed dramatically after 30 years away that I would probably suffer from reverse-culture shock and would doubtless find that I now have little in common with most of those I would meet.

I believe we must all take life as it comes and make the very best of the opportunities we have. The thought of retirement does not fill me with trepidation - it's just another stage in life. Many of my retired friends in HK complain that they are busier after retirement than before it! I hope I can manage my time effectively but it will be nice to enjoy the freedom to choose how I spend my time.

I am fortunate to have married a Filipina who, while not from a high social position, is nonetheless very comfortable with western ways, thinking and even jokes! Her friends too are mostly well-educated, have professional jobs and are very comfortable in all kinds of social situations.

Just to finish I have to admit that I haven't experienced or noticed the curiosity phenomenon in shopping malls in Cebu. My wife and I hardly seem to get a second glance.

sunnydays

Hi Peter, interesting to read of others expats experiences in South East Asia, what would we do without the internet

The curiosity looks seem to miss you out in Cebu maybe its that more foreingers are living there, certainly there are many South Koreans from what we hear.
If i didn't look around me in Shopping malls or the streets the inspections would not be noticed but that's impossible. I'm used to it now but its someting to come to terms with. I suppose its like the VIPs and film stars who would get the same treatment and why you never see them around. My favourits are the little children holding onto mums legs and eye balling you at cheque outs....can't resist a smile or to pull a funny face.

I considerrd Cebu from the beaches and sailing areas but my wife does not know Cebuana and as I've dragged her round worldly places having to speak English, I though that it was time to retire in her home area to be more comfortable with Tagalogue. We chose Batangas for the beaches and Taal lake both for sailing and boating experiences. The soil is not that very good around here and the locals achieve results with over watering and chemical fertiliser......lots of tomatoes but small green ones
Moving to Laguna very soon and where the soil is richer and more normal. The soil here is 'Adobe" that is a hard sandstone, great for house foundations but not for growing plants. In the rainy seaon the plant roots fill with water because of poor drainage and the typhoon winds rock the plant out of the ground!! My fruit trees the first year leaned South west and then North east as the season changed.
Crikey I'm rambling again ...its my age of course..

bakedbean

Well I'm enjoying the rambling... you carry on