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Why do we become Expats

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louisbecke
  11/26/2015 12:24 EST

I'm interested to know why we chose to live in the Philippines. I know many are ex-military that just can't go home from our experiences. What's your reasons.

poochewer
  11/26/2015 12:41 EST

At the top of my list of reasons is Freedom. I found no freedom left in sydney australia, and getting worse every year. You cant do this you cant do that. You cant even have a bbq fire in your own back yard in summer without some lagger ringing the cops cos you broke the law. You drive to the shops to buy some milk and you get a $200 fine cos you missed putting your indicator on once. Its almost unlivable in Sydney now costwise, I know of nowhere in the world more expensive.

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louisbecke
  11/26/2015 15:12 EST

It's like that in the U.S. too. Last time I went back U.S. Immigration ask me why I'm not loyal to my country anymore by living in the Philippines. I had gone back because the Army brought me back to see my son wounded in Iraq.

I told him I was in the Marines for 10 years my cousin killed in Vietnam my brother wounded there then I produced the Army orders I was traveling on for my son and asked him if I was American enough for him now. They dumped my suitcase out in a pile and told me to leave.

standupguy
  11/26/2015 19:03 EST

Louisbecke - very rude of them asking personal questions & none of their business. Immigration in Canada is all automated. There are about 20 ATM-looking machines, but smaller that you put you put your passport in & zap it comes out. Then you put your declaration in and zap it comes out. It takes 5 minutes at most and you never talk to a person. I became an expat 47 years ago leaving to US because I am from the Quaker church and don't want to kill poor farmers and fishermen in Vietnam which I thought was a senseless war. 42 years later, I become an expat from Canada fleeing excessive taxation, cold winters, scamming adulteresses, and obsessive materialism. I go back during the warm weather since I crave the orderly, clean, unhurried, preprogrammed, plug and play culture with its politically correctness and cheap but excellent health care. I love gardening & drive a 92 Dodge Caravan, shop at Costco and Value Village, before craving the tropical chaos here in the PH, and the cheap booze, no taxes, most of all the beach with warm water.

Flopie133
  11/26/2015 19:40 EST

Burn out from my Nursing job--worked 12+ hours days, and had dreamed every night of work, so no rest!. I was a nurse in Chicago--trained so many in Neurosurgical ICU in the course of 30 years that I decided to retire/resign at 52, am turning 55 next month. Going back to the Philippines (I left at 12 years of age) allowed my husband and I to still live well financially on his pension and our savings until I collect annuity when I turn 60. Definitely can't do that in Chicago. We still have 2 homes in the US, one is paid off, so we have not cut off our ties yet.

standupguy
  11/26/2015 20:22 EST

louisbecke - meant to say after 42 years in Canada I come to the PH ...

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louisbecke
  11/26/2015 21:24 EST

Bravo for you standing against the war in Vietnam. I was in the U.S. Marines for 10 years. My cousin was killed and my brother wounded in Vietnam and for what. They won the communist war only to still become a capitalist society.

Seems like a total waste now.

charkee
  11/26/2015 21:54 EST

I came to the Philippines because I met a wonderful lady.

I came because I cannot in good conscience support the mass murder of Middle Easterners and North Africans over oil and opium.

I came as the others have also mentioned, because of the gradual erosion of freedom in the USA.

I'm an alternative health practitioner and my colleagues in the USA are dying one by one under mysterious circumstances.

I studied at a Chinese university and I was amazed at the medical freedom the communists enjoy, it makes the tyrannical American medical system look like something you'd expect from North Korea.

louisbecke
  11/26/2015 21:58 EST

Flopie I was much the same way. My last job at Jet blue Airlines we worked 12 hours a days for 7 days then 12 hours a day for 6 days. 1 day off every 2 weeks. I drove from Daytona Beach to Orlando Intl. Burn out to the extreme.

First 2 years here I woke at 4:30 am every morning thinking I was late for work LOL!

louisbecke
  11/26/2015 22:07 EST

charkee we know the American dream is nothing but an American nightmare.

Ive seen too many people play by the rules only to lose their jobs their retirement then their houses. Ive been on jobs where they assured employees they would be around forever so it's ok to get a mortgage then a year later sell out and put everyone on the street.

You work so much and so hard you don't know who you are and and Americans only identify each other by what kind of work you do. I noticed the last time I was back people asked your name then the second question is always what kind of work do you do.

Only by walking away from American society can you look back and see it. There is so much more to a person than just what kind of work do you do but in America that's all they know.

catabisis
  11/27/2015 00:16 EST

I am attracted to here for the cheap prices. Freedom is right there with it. The U.S. sounds like Austrailia. In my last neighborhood you could bbq, but no backyard campfires allowed in residential areas. Cops are like the military and you can get sued for anything. For all the griping I do on this board I would take this country to live in every way over the the U.S.

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catabisis
  11/27/2015 00:42 EST

Louisbecke, The way I see it is that if Vietnam is capitalist, then we won the war. However, in actuality it is not Capitalist. It is still communist in many forms. They are capitalist just enough for globalists to close factories in the U.S. and open them there for the cheap wages. So, yeah, the war was a waste of lives.

standupguy
  11/27/2015 02:34 EST

louisbecke - my regrets to hear about you cousins loss and your brothers wounds. Vietnam today has a higher standard of living, lower poverty and more employed than the PH. I got to give it to them for their resilience and hard working spirit. I want to visit there some day. My biological father was a master Sargent in the Marines & fought on Iwo Jima. He was their historian for that battle and I have some photos, the battle plan and a Japanese calculator used to calculate the aim of their 16 inch guns. He was a big Swede and a great guy. Many of my friends were wounded or killed there. A whole generation ruined.

louisbecke
  11/27/2015 03:31 EST

Their is no Republicans, Democrats, Communist, Capitalist, Republics or any other word to describe a system.

It's all rich powerful people running the world. The quest for money and power. Definitely can't call the Philippines Democratic any more than the U.S. It's just the illusion of it.

The masses through media are controlled by the quest for sex, possessions, fear and ego and most of all hate to anyone that thinks different.

Expats think different. We follow the beat of a different drum and claim real freedom for ourselves. Those U.S. Immigration Agents that harassed me hated me for being really free and living outside their little box they have everyone in.

louisbecke
  11/27/2015 03:37 EST

standupguy. Ive been to Iwo Jima 6 times during the 1980's. I was on a flight crew out of Okinawa taking Generals and dignitaries to the island for different ceremonies and commemorations.

First time we went to land there we nearly missed it the island was so small. I couldn't believe that many men were their fighting at once. It was still too dangerous to walk around with lots of live ordnance and mines. Landing craft and equipment was still everywhere.

chance2014
  11/27/2015 15:49 EST

So no one came here to be with their woman? Just came because usa and australia are so bad no woman involved?

pam6159
  11/27/2015 17:35 EST

chance--I'm in the planning/exploration stage of looking for somewhere to retire. I can honestly say the the criteria which I'm using are based on economic and financial factors. I have a modest retirement income. The way things are here in the U.S. it's going be enough only if I want to live in a run-down tenement and eat dog food.

As so many have commented he on the site, the cost of living in the U.S. is not one which lends itself to a comfortable retirement for one of modest means.

I can't see the percentage in continuing to live somewhere where the system is set up so the only thing the average person can look forward to after a lifetime of work to get the chance to work themselves into an early grave--guess from a big-picture point of view it is one way to reduce the overall costs to society.

Again, like so many have pointed out, living where the dollar goes farther necessarily means there will be trade-offs. Are the trade-offs worth it? That's a question answerable only at a personal basis.

Since I can only speak for myself, I can say my experiences in relationships (marriage, long-term, dating) I've become quite cynical and jaded about the whole prospect. Certainly, cynical and jaded enough to not have it be a factor in deciding where to retire outside of the U.S. And definitely cynical enough to figure that the women in other countries are no different from women in the U.S. That is, they see marriage as a means of financial security. The only difference is how much it takes in the respective economy to achieve an acceptable level of financial security.

donjepson
  11/27/2015 18:22 EST

1st time responder here. I do say thanks to this site for all the help I received just reading the forum for about 5yrs before I came here. have been here one and a half yrs so not the veteran some of you are. I have a wonderful fiance' and will be staying. For now am just (testing the waters here) so to speak.

standupguy
  11/27/2015 18:30 EST

chance - I came here to be with my woman and she goes back with me to Canada in the warm weather months. But I would have never found someone the likes of her in Canada, and I would have never settled for anything less.

CAteacher
  11/27/2015 19:02 EST

I'm on my way to the Philippines with my woman - ot because he U.S is bad, but because the cost of living the Philippines is more affordable. We will be keeping our house in California for a few years - just in case....

chance2014
  11/27/2015 19:21 EST

Standup i agree about the women here. I would never have a wife in the uk as i have now. And in reality she has way more money than me. I moan and groan about living here some things i really dont like. And i have met a good few really nasty filipinos, but on the other side i have met some of the nicest kindest generous people i have ever met. In uk i would really struggle on my pension big time, here i live comfortably, not like a king but ok. I have been visiting philippines since 1995, came to live here in 2013 with the most fantastic woman. I dont love it here but equally i dont hate it either.

catabisis
  11/27/2015 23:04 EST

Best wishes, donjepson. I have been here a little longer than you. I also studied this place a few years before I arrived. I am sure you know it isn't quite the same as coming here in person. I thought I had a good grasp of the place. Although I was not totally blind, I certainly was not as prepared as I am now.

nonievales
  11/27/2015 23:24 EST

Shortly after my ex-wife left the house due to some misunderstanding, I decided to venture out and test the waters outside of the US. Since I originated from the Philippines, left for America in my teens, I figured Philippines was the best place to start. Prior to that, I never considered living anyplace else. I was living a good life, 4,000 sq.ft. house in an upscale neighborhood in Orange County, California, driving the best cars around, but I couldn't bear the weight of my 35 year marriage breakdown and decided to leave my upscale neighborhood house, my business and all my cars. With whatever I could carry, I left everything to my wife and kids. Luckily, I have built up enough retirement nest egg to live comfortably, along with my above average Social Security benefits. Like all expats who come here for the first time, I found myself to be the target of all kinds of schemes to part with my money. I also found out that living alone can be dangerous to your health. One can accidentally slip and fall and no one would even know you keeled over until you are full of maggots. That's when I decided to find someone to spend the rest of my life with. After going through a slew of would be wife, I met a school teacher from the province. She was not actively looking and especially not looking for a foreigner to fleece. I am proud to say I am the first and only man in her life. Now, we have a smart 5 year old son who could read at 2, skipped Kinder I and started at Kinder II and averaging above 99% on his exams. He speaks straight American English and reads books faster than a sixth grader.

By the way, I, too, was in the military. I was going to be a career man, but was disillusioned shortly after joining. I only served for 5 years.

Nephi
  11/28/2015 04:48 EST

I made my first trip here to the Philippines in 1996 just to see what was here.
I wasn't looking but ended up finding a wonder woman. We only met in person two times in one day back then. After that we visited by phone and emails for 7 years before getting married. I'm retired on a pension and my wife is still working a full time job that she loves.
We decided to live here in the islands so that we could not only enjoy the tropics but to be close to her family as well.
Now we have four wonderful daughters that we are raising and I would not change a thing--except if I could have found my wife years earlier. We are here to stay.



Regards,

Nephi

ron503
  12/4/2015 19:54 EST

Our family moved to the United States in 1989 and I was 18yo. Its been a roller coaster ride for me, started in Hawaii, then ended up in Oregon.
I told myself if made decent amount of living and I'll be happier, LOL. I worked hard became a supervisor and later became a manager in the transit agency. I realized "is this it?"My wife and I worked 5 days a week, upkeep the house on weekends, grocery shop on sundays. Life was so mundane. Sold my 2000 sq ft house, took my retirement, wife withdrew her stock option, shipped everything that will fit in a LBC boxes, sold everything else.. Bought a 1 way ticket, and call it good. No regrets here, I cant even utter the words " i miss my work".

catabisis
  12/5/2015 01:49 EST

Ron509, I think that is the best get-the-hell-outta-there story I've ever read.

mrgpoet1957
  12/5/2015 12:42 EST

i plan to be there with my wonderful woman and her son. not counting that the expenses are lover and i can't seem to find a good woman in the us. i love the countryside and the people there. last time i was there i couldn't find anyone who wasn't friendly or helpful

Flopie133
  12/5/2015 17:48 EST

Just be aware, that help may come with a price, that you may be asked for a reciprocal payment in the future. Happens a lot in Poland, too. Hubby and his relatives would not ask for help or assistance on a lot of things in Poland, as there is an expectation that they would be asked to pay back the favor in the future. His aunt said that was how people survived during Communism but they still have the same mentality today.

donjepson
  12/18/2015 20:45 EST

Hello Catabis and the rest. Late reply for this subject but message I sent here posted way late. Clarifying one thing, when I said checking things out I meant this site, not on staying in the Phils. Some here, as we all know can get kind of nasty and that is just not my MO. That being said I do hope to post from time to time and I am staying here permanently without a doubt be it now or 3yrs from now. So greetings all and Merry Christmas.

TitoMike
  12/19/2015 08:38 EST

@louisbecke

I'm assuming you're a veteran of the U.S. Forces. I'm sorry you can't go home because of your military experiences, but I spent 22 years in the U.S. Armed Forces and my contact with U.S. veterans and military retiree expats the world over don't tally up to "many" or your collective "our" when considering why they don't live in the country of their birth.

In the collective sense "most" of "us" (veterans/retirees) in the Philippines emigrated because it's cheaper to live here or because we came to be with a partner or to find a partner. My long-term experience and observation shrink your "our" down to you and those I have yet to meet who live here because of bad military experiences.

Some people answered your question. Others chose the opportunity to invent reasons for being here. Nobody chooses to move to the Philippines because "freedom" means they can light a bonfire in their backyard, or drive around without signaling intent to turn while driving. Who trades that for the right to vote, own property, go to court without the wearing a "foreigner" sign when they're looking for "freedom".

There are hundreds of stories being told about expat life in the Philippines. When rancor and nonsense are distilled, 99% of what is said boils down to living without being employed and women.

Embodied in the responses to your question are things that happened with U.S. immigration after emigration to the Philippines and returning to the States, dodging the draft, oil and opium. Nobody lies. Right? Nevertheless, true or delusional, none of that has anything to do with moving to the Philippines.

There are two reasons sensible people emigrate to the Philippines: cheaper living, and because of a partner. Once here, some are stuck with no way to remedy the mistake. It's hard to own up to a mistake that can't be fixed, so they alternately praise and denigrate the existence they experience on a daily basis.

CAteacher
  12/19/2015 10:50 EST

Well said TitoMike. Thank you for stepping up to say it..

catabisis
  12/19/2015 16:16 EST

I would give up my right to vote in an oligarchy anytime for a place like this. I prefer this place because I can do virtually anything I want as long as I stay under the radar. Cops don't hassle me, I can burn down the road, even with my lights off if I want to be stupid enough. I can walk down the street drinking beer, 20-something women smiling at me everywhere I go. Cheap prices, cheap rent-don't care if I ever own property again, sunshine, emerald waters, Give me this place anytime before the crumbling empire of the United States.

louisbecke
  12/19/2015 20:53 EST

TitoMike,

Your wrong and right but then again that's the quandary we and the world we live in. We have Gulf War Veterans, Vietnam even WWII veterans here along with just plain old military retirees so there must be something going on psychologically.

Don't have to be a military veteran either to suffer PTSD. Guy here had his business condemned by the city of Cleveland so the city could sell the property to a national chain. Others did everything right by the American dream but had their retirement fund stolen by Wall Street or their jobs sold to China.

Figure out the American dream is a lie? Well then come to Asia and live the secret dream American men have. Hell that's all they have left.

standupguy
  12/20/2015 07:22 EST

Louis - What kind of chance does Bernie Sanders have against Wall Street and their puppet Clinton?

standupguy
  12/20/2015 09:29 EST

catabisis under the radar works well in Canada too. But not in big cities.

standupguy
  12/20/2015 09:49 EST

Tito - dogging the draft? You go to Canada for that, but then after too many years of the Canadian winters with 0 to minus 25 celcius and no sun during the very short winter days, you go to the Philippines to cure yourself of Seasonal Affective Disorder. It's almost impossible to live in the Philippines without having a p'nay partner. To be in love is to accept imperfection, but you will live a lot longer and happier if you can work it out. Canada is great May to September and doesn't have the socio-political baggage of its neighbor to the South. If you want to die debt free, like I do, the Philippines is the place for you.

louisbecke
  12/20/2015 17:41 EST

standupguy,

Obama got into the White House with donations from people not corporations. Bernie is doing the same thing and is raising money more than any other candidate.

Bernie will owe nothing to the Koch's, Adelson or any other rich tard.

CAteacher
  12/20/2015 19:49 EST

A note to Louis but really to all of us. The temperature of the political season is heating up. "tard" is "defamatory" language and violates the terms of the Membership Agreement. As Moderator, I choose not to be the arbiter of just how "defamatory" is too defamatory. Hence forth, any post that goes beyond the stated limit will be removed. Members who disregard the limit repeatedly will be 'benched' from further participation for an indefinite period from my end or until World HQ decides differently, and World HQ is incredibly slow. (It could be months and months. No kidding)
The Moderator

mrgpoet1957
  12/24/2015 17:42 EST

you've done a good job

TitoMike
  12/25/2015 07:45 EST

@louisbeck

Suggest you you move this down a notch or two. PTSD has nothing to do with moving to the Philippines. Perhaps you should start a new topic about Cleveland, Wall Street, China, and the American dream.

standupguy
  12/25/2015 22:49 EST

Singlelooking - Though this blog does not permit political comments such as yours, it really made me laugh. I have relatives who are stuck in the McCarthy/Korean war narrative. You are looking through the wrong end of the telescope. By your account of what a socialist or communist is, .then 100% of Canada and Western Europe are all socialists and communists. Your political navel gazing is backward. Canada has effective gun control, universal affordable health care, minority rights, Syrian refugees, the list goes on. Only 35 million people in Canada. Please explain how the communists and socialists are corrupting the USA. Or did you mean Wall Street, NRA, racism, xenophobia, exported jobs, multi-national domination of government, extremist GOP, Vietnam, Iraq...oh that list is too long.

HMcBride
  12/25/2015 23:21 EST

Standupguy...not only that long laundry list you mentioned but also foreigners who immigrate and bring their social beliefs and want us (a) to accommodate them by incorporating it into our system. I have talked to many foreigners who tend to vote Democrat because the Democrats want what europe, Australia and Canada have, a huge social system paid for by taxes. We, Americans, at least those of us who didn't mind working for forty plus years during our lives, believe that if you want to succeed and aspire to have something in your life, including a home and healthcare, then you should have to work for it. And, we believe that "welfare" should be a temporary "bandaid" go get someone past a hard time and not a way of life for lazy and or fat people. I loathe politicians who give social programs in exchange for votes. Don't forget that big business owners are not just republicans.but democrats as well. In my eyes, progressivism (the new socialists) are the elite, ungodly, of the world who prey on the weak to gain control over the mutitudes. Promises of benefits (free stuff) buys lots of votes.
Give a man fish and he will eat today. Teach a man to fish and he will eat every day. Keep giving him fish and he will get lazy and dependent.

CAteacher
  12/26/2015 12:34 EST

Standupguy and TitoMike have provided good examples of debating vigorously while staying going beyond the bounds of the membership agreement. If you must debate (and I really wish you wouldn't) this is the way to do it. Please note, I have no wish to play referee on the subject, and I am well aware that I may remove posting that seem innocuous to some people, and permit posts that seem out of bounds to others, but I'm the only ref you've got. Seriously, consider posting about politics somewhere else. I don't want the 'business, and we all receive enought unsolicited political opinion in our mailboxes as it is.

louisbecke
  12/26/2015 18:24 EST

TitoMike'

PTSD definitely has something to do with being an expat. There is a therapist at the VA in Manila just for PTSD and the recurring theme among alot of Vets is they just don't feel comfortable at home and feel they can't go back.

charkee
  12/26/2015 18:34 EST

There is a self help for PTSD, it's simple and free to learn on the internet and there are 1000s of youtube videos.

It's called EFT or Energy Freedom Techniques. I used it and got over my own PTSD and I used to use it in my practice and had very good success rates with clients, far better than what could be expected from conventional therapy.

BTW I never was in the military.

standupguy
  12/26/2015 22:47 EST

HMcBride Thank you for your comments. I know Canada best so I will correct some of your misimpressions about my Country. Canadians work more days than any other nation in the world. If you are destitute, social assistance (band aid) will provide you with an Emergency Hardship Grant for 3 weeks as long as you sign a repayment agreement. Unemployables, people with barriers to working, like physical and mental handicaps, get an unemployable rate based on the exact same system as you have in the US. This can only last for 5 years. After that you are cut off. Single parent mothers with kids under 12 are considered unemployable. As you probably know ,the Canadian dollar is only worth 80 cents on the greenback and food is a lot cheaper there. The minimum wage is $10.50 a hour. I have worked for over 40 years and paid my taxes which are greater than those you pay in the US. Canadians are not permitted to deduct the interest from their mortgage off their income. Health Care is the most profound contrast. For my wife and I we pay $65 a month for everything and anything, I have a supplemental plan that costs $26 a month through SunLife, that pays 80% of my prescription costs (well over $26) any any other medical aid as long as there is a doctors prescription for it. Gun control: There are strict background checks, for example they will ask your ex-wife if she doesn't mind you owning a firearm. You must pass a rigorous training program and then you get a licence to buy a firearm. Next you must join a gun club and you get a licence to transport your firearm to and from the firing range. Hunting rifles are transported during the hunting season only. The RCMP make checks on your storage of ammunition and your firearm. Compare the level of gun violence in Canada and that of the US. This is socialism or democracy as Canadians refer to it. The elite are those 1% who control 99% of the wealth. The Banks, government officials with huge salaries for doing squat. Dependency is a real issue, but more for those like Warren Buffet who pays no tax. In Canada, the Conservative Party under Steven Harper was just thrown out (our GOP) and Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party got a landslide victory (our Democratic Party). Words like Liberal and Socialist have attained different meanings in the US, quite unlike the reality in Canada. Follow the money trail. There you find the elite sucking the life out of America. It's not that much different in Canada though. It all comes down to Education and the insider fast track from the 1% elite capitalists families.

louisbecke
  12/26/2015 22:57 EST

standupguy,

Ive always admired Canada for their health care system and social systems. The U.S. should seek the best programs from Canada, England and France and incorporate them.

Nothing wrong with taking the best and trying it.

As far as PTSD goes here it's weird and the same story when we go back to the states for a visit. When we step off the plane every fiber in our body wants to get back on and come back. While their our insides scream from what feels like mundane nothingness of U.S. living.

standupguy
  12/26/2015 23:05 EST

CAteacher - I will stay within the bounds of polite comment in response to political comments of others. Just a bit of cultural exchange, but there are more fertile subjects concerning the Philippines I am sure.

standupguy
  12/26/2015 23:08 EST

Louis - You can get PTSD from enduring a toxic workplace as well, Oddly, Cannabis is used as a treatment for it, but only in those locations where it is legal.

HMcBride
  12/27/2015 00:01 EST

Yes, standupguy, we do have many different customs and I know we have different ways of viewing them. You are used to yours and I am used to mine. I didn't rant with any hate in my heart so, please, don't take it as such. I realize that Canada has some great programs but the US political system is screwing ours up.
I am here ,in the PI, to get away from a lot of that hate so will try to refrain from mentioning it again.
I do love my country, and what the founders meant for it to be, though.
Peace, brother!

HMcBride
  12/27/2015 00:15 EST

louisbecke and charlee, I served from 72 till 83 in the US Army not in conventional war but others. I was all over the world for short periods. I never thought about ptsd until a few years back when it really came into the "lime light." My psychiatrist says I have depression instead of ptsd. I also had a real bad accident in 2002 and have flashbacks many times a day. I know I have ptsd from that.
Yes, ptsd can be from non combat related events!
Getting away from the source of bad thoughts is good therapy. Being on a boat on the open water is my therapy and I had a 36ft sailboat until I sold it in Florida back in February. I want to buy a big banca sometime so, if anyone is interested in a 2, 3 or 4 day sailing/fishing trip between Batangas and Mindoro, I would enjoy some company. LOL And we will keep politics out of the chit chat.

standupguy
  12/27/2015 02:23 EST

correction - Warren Buffet pays less tax than his secretary. Additionally, 20 Americans control over half of the wealth of all Americans as a result in changes to the tax laws since 1980.

louisbecke
  12/27/2015 08:47 EST

standupguy,

Expat gives us alot of choices and we will need those choices. The Philippines is about to embark on a huge change after this election and it isn't going to be good.

If Duterte gets in Marshall law will come and alot of killing. Any of the others get in the country will be plundered down to nothing. The others Binay plundered and scammed everything in Makati. Roxas is responsible for nearly a billion dollars missing from Yolanda.

No it doesn't look good. What you may also don't know is the Philippines has been labeled as a Narco-State from the drug trade which is partially run now by the Sinaloa Cartel out of Mexico and Duterte has vowed this will be their last Christmas.

Flopie133
  12/27/2015 09:31 EST

For something less heavy or gloom n doom, my hubby was going through old pictures tonight---lots of pictures from my last winter in Chicago before moving to the Philippines, probably 2012. It must have been after a snowstorm; I am dressed like the kid from A Christmas Story, shovel in hand, and snow at thigh-level. Definitely a reason why I am here and not there!!!

standupguy
  12/28/2015 01:15 EST

Flopie133 you got to miss the restaurants and shopping,. I miss the Art Institute and Uno's Pizza (where Pizza was invented), but not the parking.

standupguy
  12/28/2015 01:20 EST

Louis = corpus delicti to the criminals or it only gets worse. It's very close to being a failed state. Shock treatments may be the only thing to save it.

Flopie133
  12/28/2015 02:01 EST

standupguy--my hubby and I play tourists Downtown when we go back to Chicago so we visit the Museums that are our faves; we take the Metra into the city. . But yes, we don't miss the parking--within the Loop, parking can be $30+ and sometimes that for only several hours. Restaurants downtown have valet parking for $15+ And the tip to the Park attendant. Don't forget the 10% tax, and the 18--20% expected tips for the nicer restaurants. No, that we do not miss at all!

standupguy
  12/28/2015 04:26 EST

Floppie133 I went to Roosevelt University (Congress & Michigan) and sometimes I can remember walking for hours in the underground parking where every floor looks the same trying to find my car. The Italian restaurants were the best. My mother attended Loyola Univ. for her MEd. I learned to swim there when they had the pool on the 10th. floor., My fathers offices were across the street from the Palmolive building, now the Playboy Club, I studied art at the Art Institute for several years too., I don't miss the smell from the Gary steel mills in the winter though.

RustlersRevenge
  1/24/2016 03:48 EST

I was an Expat, mostly Middle East and Indonesia for over twenty years. Move back to the U.S. and after five years there, well enough is enough and I still ask folks what they did to the country while I was gone. Didn't miss it while I was gone and won't when I leave again.

Beyond that I a married to a lovely Filipina, she having spent 16 years in Dubai.

Maybe it is just that moving is in our blood or it could be that we all, as a group, understand there is so much more to life. When folks ask me about this move I always tell them how terrible it is and what a mistake I made. I am only hoping they don't catch on that I am only trying to keep the riff-raff where they belong and that life is GREAT!! All this said because I love the Philippines and only wish I had discovered it 40 years ago.

House will be completed in April and the shipping container will follow. For the time being I still get away from the U.S. as I rotate 28/28.

standupguy
  1/24/2016 07:52 EST

RR It;s good to reinvent yourself and spread your wings. if you want to maintain the quality of life against the forces of gravity.

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