Expatriate Philippines – The Beginning
Greetings to all my fellow Stickmanites and I hope 2009 brings prosperity and fulfilment to your life. I didn’t consider myself rich a year ago – but I am a hell of a lot poorer this year, my house and retirement account have been given
a hell of a beat down. But I have a steady income from my pension which I am very grateful for and in January 2009 I am off for 7 weeks in Cebu, Philippines.
I am aware this is a Thai centric site and I am grateful that Stickman permits us Philippines lovers access to this forum, there is nothing that begins to compare with Stickman’s site focusing on the Philippines.
Two years ago I planned to become an expatriate and live in Pattaya, Thailand. I spent a month there and decided against it, not the right time for me personally and an illness and some frustration with the Thai language kept me from moving
there. But shortly after I took a vacation to the Philippines and have been there for 5 visits over the past 3 years and I think I am ready for the expatriate lifestyle in Cebu.
This upcoming 7 week visit will be the first time that I have put myself on a budget, that is I will be living on approximately what I will have available to me on a monthly basis not living as a vacationer or “two week millionaire”.
I may have a rental apartment lined up for about $300 USD for a furnished studio apartment in a relatively modern and safe apartment building.
5 visits doesn’t qualify me as an expert – but I have learned a lot since my first experience with a Filipina, the story I told in Filipina Mirage is true,
pathetic but true. For a time I could not imagine ever going back here, but that expensive fiasco was a learning experience that I will not forget nor repeat.
My view on long term relationships in Asia is pretty simple – most of them don’t work. The reasons are varied and are related at length in this website daily. I will turn 60 in February and I love young Filipinas. I love to
date them, bed them and enjoy life with them. But I ain’t gonna marry one. The few men I have met who have successful relationships with their Filipina are almost always the same or nearly the same age as their spouse and these relationships
seem to have about the same chance of success as a western relationship, which is still only about 50% for second and third marriages which of course most of these are.
I am straightforward with the girls I date and they know I am not seeking a fiancée or wife and have no plans to bring them to America and only a possible intention to live with a lady in the Philippines at some point. I have had some
success with this, a few walk away because they seek marriage but many will settle for a short term relationship for fun. I treat them as girlfriends and buy them a few things and assist them. Enough said as we all know the GFE.
This is a somewhat rambling submission, the point of me writing this is to simply let readers know that I am becoming an American expatriate in Cebu soon and if anyone from any country would care to communicate or meet me in Cebu I would
enjoy sharing thoughts and experiences with you.
I am also interested in networking with any who have experience with the Philippine Immigration process. I have obtained a visa for up to 6 separate 60 day visits in that one year. Cost of this multiple entry visa is $90 and I obtained it
at the Philippine embassy in Washington DC which is near to where I live.
My question for fellow expatriates in the Philippines is this: I can renew for 60 days at a time for several times, say for 6 to 8 months but I don’t know how the return plane tickets figure into this. Do I need to change my ticket
every 60 days to establish to Philippines Immigration that I have a return ticket for the end of my requested 60 day extension? I am curious as to how I can work this as I don’t want to keep changing my return airline ticket every 60 days
but the Immigration process seems to provide for only 60 day extensions at any given request.
Another question that I have regarding the expatriate lifestyle is the payment of state income taxes in America. I currently live in Virginia and I understand from various websites that Virginia and California make it extremely difficult
to cease payment of state income taxes. I would enjoy connecting with any American who has gone through the attempt to cease paying state income taxes – any discussion is welcome as it is one of the many things that need to be addressed
long term.
Becoming an expatriate is not easy! I have an established a pretty good life here in Virginia, a social network of friends and poker games of Texas Hold-Em, doctors and family. My two children are adults with life partners and lives of their
own. I am truthfully a little bored with retirement and feel young enough to make this major life change. They say that age 60 is the new 40 and I truthfully feel as good today at 59 as I have at any time in my life. Now that I am retired I have
time to exercise daily and leaving a stressful job that I no longer enjoyed has given me a new perspective on life to an extent I could not have imagined 2 or 3 years ago.
People ask me why I am considering this move to the Philippines and I tell them it is for the weather which is fantastic most of the year, the relatively low cost of living and lots to do as Cebu offers most of what any city of 2 million
people offers and there are weekend getaways to Boracay and other islands which are fantastic. And I am honest with myself and some close to me that the opportunity for a relationship with a young attractive Filipina is a (I started out to say
“a major factor) when it is truthfully the major factor in my decision.
I want to invite any and all to come to the Philippines and experience it firsthand. I also wrote a submission titled “The Philippines Option” a while ago.
Most of us know what LBFM means and some find that a little crude. A national by-line in conversation in the Philippines is to ask someone to describe their Filipina and the response is invariably “little, brown, with a great ass”
as this serves as the universal description of a Filipina – at least it is a true statement!
I am looking forward to my upcoming adventure and I will keep you posted. The relocation is considerably more involved than moving from one state to another as the logistics of moving to a foreign country are quite involved. But overall I
think at this point in my life the Philippines is where I want to be and I hope I will feel the sense of belonging that I want.
Stickman, I love this site and admire the effort and love you have put into it. I hope you will continue to tolerate those of us who live in the Philippines the opportunity to use this forum. Thailand is a great place and while I can see
why many have chosen it, I do think that at this point in time the Philippines may be a viable option for some and I think at the least, it is worth a look. One major point for me is that the language problem goes away for many of us as the Philippines
is virtually an English speaking country.
To be honest, I don’t encourage anyone to come to the Philippines, this is of course up to you and there are many factors to consider, I personally love the Philippines and am glad to share this with anyone. Just don’t come
here and start overpaying!
Stickman's thoughts:
Good luck and hope it all works out for you. This site may be Thailand-centric but submissions from anywhere in South East Asia are very welcome also!