why on earth ,philippines was choosen to be a permanent home of the retired foreigners?

Public Comments

1. what, are you tellin me anyone that retires and is a foreigner has to move to the phillipines, for some reason i aint buyin it
2. I don't know if the Phillipines is the capitol of retired people but it may be because it is beautiful, the dollar is equal to 49 pesos, and it is relatively peaceful and the people there are great. Something that nice cant' stay hidden forever. Someone who would be barely making it in U.S. as a retired person can live quite richly in a foreign country. I'll be doing it too myself one day.
3. really? are there any stats? Im a filipina and have read some of these blogs from Americans who are now retirees and living the goodlife there. Well, the answer is pretty much simple coz of our Peso to $ exchange w/c is like 50times more! il give u 1 clue: ur 1 dollar bill can take u to say 2 bars in a night of bar hopping (by cab if u dnt wana drive or walk a mile or 2) and ur $20 can buy u a big bottle of Jose Cuervo,equivalent to only a few shots here in America. Nice beaches all year long and the hmmmm....the good food! + the entertainment, Phil's have its own Access Hollywood drama hahah!................can't wait to be back home again!
4. My daddy was in the US for 30 years because of his job as a US Navy. Retiring is the best here in the Philippines. Relatives will take care of you when you get sick. If you dont have relatives here, you can pay for a maid and a driver which you cant do in the USA. You can live life simply here. Cost of living is lower here. You can get a house and lot over at Tagaytay and get a good climate. There are also disadvantages: The US is better for disabled citizens than the Philippines in these terms. When you are disabled & you are here in the Philippines. The drivers wont wait on you to cross the street. You cant ride the buses either. I had seen a black in wheelchair, the Muni bus in San Francisco had already passed by, but probably due to conscience sake, the driver waited for the disabled man to ride the bus. Disabled are given priority in terms of parking. Here you wont be able to do that. We just parked near the area with no sign board which says "No Parking" in the Immigration. When we went out our car was already in the area where they impound cards. When we explained that my dad was having a hard time walking, the man in charge said, he dont mind! We just accompanied him inside and will park in a better area. It took us only less than 5 minutes! In the supermarts, there are no wheelchairs or carts for the disabled.
5. The Philippines could be a major retirement site if property ownership and Visa laws were changed. The Philippines is a beautiful country, has good medical care, the majority of the people speak English, the road signs are in English., it is reasonably safe, cost of living is much less than First World Countries, entertainment and cultural events are available, educational facilities abound for those that want to occupy time learning, products from Europes and the U.S.A. are easily available and the list could go on. I have been retired here for several years. Thailand and Mexico would actually be more attractive to me but the Philippines won out because of the command of the English language the people in the Phlippines have. The Philippines could be a mecca for retired people from around the world and if it were it would boost the economy of the Philippines because of the purchases made by the retirees and the jobs they would create.
6. When I retire 30 years from now, I will surely retire in the Philippines because of the warmth hospitality no other nation can provide. The Philippines has been sending domestics all over the world, it's about time to reverse the trend. Let all retirees live in the Philippines. After all, these retirees have earned enough money and sure, spend that in the Philippines instead of living in the Home for the Aged. That will somehow help the Philippine economy and help these retirees live their last years of their life to the fullest. Again, I will surely retire in the Philippines. Unless of course, I die before I retire. Count my words on that.
7. the phil. gov't has a program for retirement for foreigners, they want to attract investors or retired people who wants a laid back life, aside from the beaches, the weather, low cost of living, the people are friendly and most of them speak english..
8. I think what jamito is trying to say is she doe not like the idea of us foreigners living in her country we are ok as visitors to come spend our money but would prefer us not to live there but as others have stated it is cheap to live there because of the exchange rate and people in asia are generally more warm and friendly
9. The weather and people are warm. Your retirement (pensions, IRAs Social security) is worth more. No hassle with USA laws. Some retire single and if you live around Subic Bay or Clark Air Force base there are still the old Girl-Bars where you can take a new gal home every night. Cigarretts are 50 cents a pack, beer is 15 cents a bottle (and much better then our American crap beer). And the housemaid is only $30 a month. Everybody speaks at least a little english to at least conversation level. Real estate prices where you can get a mansion for $20k. Make your retirement benefits go father, live in the PI.
10. basic economics... low cost of living
11. Are you serious young lady? I assume you're young since you obviously know nothing about the state of your countrys' finances. In fact, most Filipinos know nothing about the state of this countrys' finances. You should open your arms to anyone who considers living here and actually makes the move and commits himself to a life of 'normally' wonderful retirement in these islands, such as I have achieved, having been here for 14 years. What most of you don't know is that 75% of the Philippine GDP,(look it up) goes to pay off a very very small percentage of the money you owe to the Western economies who actually keep you alive! England probably owns Palawan and France probably owns Samar and Leyte if you want it put in perspective, and America and the others would lay claim to the rest of this lovely place. Grow up, this country needs every peso it can get, and as foreign nationals ( not bloody ALIENS as the government calls us-we are from the planet Earth!), we deserve a lot better treatment from the locals than we get. In UK, america, Canada etc etc. we give Filipinos jobs, housing,social security, medical care and everything else, which they do not get in this country. We also do not ever tell them that " if you don't like it, then you go back to your country. We are all equal in the civilized West, so start treating us with more respect instead of just seeing how many dollars you can get out of us. I, for one, have no problems here and spend around 20,000 dollars a year in Filipino establishments, and I love this place, but there are a hell of a lot of Filipinos who think of us as a fast scam, and I wonder what would happen if all the countries in the world decided to tell all the Filipino workers to 'go back to your country' and we accepted Bangladeshis to work instead! How would you find the land and food to accept another 8 million people coming back, you don't even have enough right now without us. Think about it!! Treat us with the respect that we treat you with in the western world, and let us live in peace and harmony-we're all humans, and you definitely need us........................... I would like to apologize if I upset anyone with my answer yesterday, especially 'momentous', who may have just asked a natural question. I had a particularly difficult day yesterday and shouldn't have been so aggressive. I'm normally calm, and I love it here, despite some frustrations. I was going to move to South America, but now have so many local and foreign friends, I'll probably die here, hope no-one wants to help me on way earlier than nature would like!!???? Be cool lady, I mean no harm.
12. They choose Philippines because their pension goes a long way and they can afford better comforts. If they're poor in their country's standard of living, once they've moved or settled here in the Philippines, they consider themselves as king. Stuffs they do by themselves before, they now got others to do it for them, example having maids, nanny, drivers, boy, etc. I guess there are other foreigners who likes the attention, like people's eagerness to serve them knowing they'll get a good tip. They live in style once they're here in the Philippines. Usually they're home bound while their wives go out and shop. To some they're just happy and content drinking San Miguel Beer and do nothing. Others they explore the country and widen their knowledge. Bottomline, it's purely economics.
13. Some people here are very confused. Just the fact the 50 of one accounting unit (peso) is worth one of another accounting unit (dollar) doesnt mean anything, it's like thinking 10 dimes is worth more than 4 quarters. If you buy something for $1 in the US, that doesnt mean that the same thing in the Philippines cost one peso, more likely it will cost close to 50 pesos if its imported. Also a beer costs 18 pesos in the supermarket, and 55 or up in most bars in Manila, this would be $US 0.35, ans $US 0.98 respectively. That means that your $1 will get you about one beer in a mediocre bar and be abte to leave a really crappy tip. A night of bar hopping even in the province will cost at least $US 5, and in Manila more like $US 20 - and thats not a lot of bars. This is still way cheaper than living in a first world country, and there are a lot fewer hastles in day to day life over here than in W. Europe or the US. The weather is nicer, the people are nicer, medical care is good, food is good, the nature is beautiful, the list goes on! Most Filipinos accept and welcome us, but unfortunately many do see us a walking ATM machines who just "have money" because we are "foreigners," what the same people don't see is that most of the retirees actually worked hard for 40 years to get here. I think it just breaks down to being able to lead a better quality life (however you happen to measure that for yourself) for the means you have at your disposal - which at retirement age are pretty fixed!
14. uuh,,.. hey thats kind of discrimination.. bcoz phil is beautiful places here are very relaxing.., like boracay, tagaytay, and pangasinan. bcoz filipinos are hospitable kind and very resourcefull..., filipinos welcome theyre visitors very much not just let them stand there!! bcoz it doesnt snow here!! becoz it is rich in natural resources where retired foreigners can relaz and enjoy themselves we respect our elders we show them love and much importance..!!! THATS WHY IM PROUD 2 BE A FILIPINO!!!!!!!!!!!! thanx for the space..
15. They can spend their money here double, triple or more than from other country because the cost of living here is low. Next is, Filipino ways of treating an oldies were very compassionate, caring, a lot of patience and loving that you cannot see on other culture in which they just put their oldies in a center and sometimes dont care to visit them.
16. First of all, the asker should have spent more time in school. Perhaps if her mom was dating a foreigner, or if she was, she could have afforded it. HA HA. My joke is meant to illustrate one of the benefits of having foreigners living in the Philippines. The situation of having foreigners in the Philippines is a tricky one. There are both good and bad consequences. First of all, any Filipinos who are bitter against them, should not be so, because they usually don't do any harm to the average Filipino. Yes, some are mayabang, but not nearly as bad as many Pinoys with a little wealth. Now to the foreigners, if you maybe don't act so cocky (and not all of you do, of course) then young girls like the asker of this question wouldn't ask such questions. Yes, you have a little more money than the average Filipino, but so what? It's a third world country. Another way to look at it is why in the world would anyone want to do the opposite of what most Filipinos want to do, which is leave the country? It's a reversal. The grass is always greener on the other side.
17. I do not think all foreign retirees make the philippines their permanent home. There are, however quite a number of foreigners making the Philippines their permanent home. I think it is because the climate's warm, the people are friendlier and life is much more subdued especially in areas of the country just outside urban surroundings.
18. More than anything else, retired people are old that need medical treatment, compasion and care. I'm a Filipino and I feel proud that we respect and take good care of the elderly regardless if they are our relatives or not. Our Nurses and Doctors here treat them with extra caring and compasion.
19. i dont know but your car exaust is horrible , but people there are nice and it is cheap to live, very beautiful country but i would not want to retire there, my wife is filipina very gwapa but with that exaust i dont know how she has stayed so gwapa lol