Filipinas - Opinions and Advice

[Goferring]

Great point! This is something I often wonder about when I see some of the older expats that move to these places. At some point they're going to get hurt or just need longer term medical care as their health declines. How do they plan to manage that?

I don't think many do plan for getting very old. Guys in their 50,60, 70's are common but it thins out markedly after that. Many have accidents or illnesses that would be survivable back home but are not in cities with sub par medical response and treatment. Remember, have a stroke and most cities don't have a 911 equivalent and your first intervention will likely be hours not minutes away.

To be honest, sometimes I think it's a fair trade. The quality of life of a still mobile 70 yo is far better in the Philippines than in the west. Geriatric care at home is more about quantity than quality. My father is in an aged home and I see many others in there who are technically alive but have zero quality of life. They are literally lying in a bed waiting to die. Often for years. It makes a lot of sense to me to enjoy the active years a lot more even if you do forego the years where there would be no enjoyment what's so ever.

G.

[FutureDeadGuy]

I should add that I did look at going elsewhere, further away, but you're correct: start adding in $5-10 k flights and the cost per fuck goes beyond stay at home options..

For sure. I wasn't basing the ratios against "cost per fuck" though. Some places to fuck are way more fun that others. I was just addressing the transportation costs, which for me, tend to be more considerable than what I see for others on here. I still love going to SEA though, even though it's expensive for me to get there.

[WestCoast1]

Great point! This is something I often wonder about when I see some of the older expats that move to these places. At some point they're going to get hurt or just need longer term medical care as their health declines. How do they plan to manage that?

As best as they can. For those on SS, they get an asawa to do much of the dirty work, then make do until its over. For those with a better economic sitch-way-shin, they can afford to hire in-home 'caregiver' service. Philippines has a large population of OFW who have a modicum of geriatric / medical training for taking care of older folk, available here for hire. Preparing food, checking blood pressure, giving medicine, diaper changing / cleaning, sitz-baths, and so on.

"Dust in the wind. . . All they are is dust in the wind" -- Kansas.

There's less poon on the dark side, so I'm getting my share + eternity's share NOW -- Westy. See pic for last Thursday's share.

[Mr Enternational]

.Price in the USA? Haven't been to an American strip club in decades. But I bet $24 barely gets you through the front door.

Some years ago I went out to meet some friends at a strip club in my city. When I pulled in, the lot attendant told me it would be $20 to park. I turned my car around and went home. No fucking way am I about to go spend money in your establishment after paying you an exorbitant amount to park there. Good thing I have options.

Last time I got a haircut in the States it was $35. I understand that barbers have to eat too. Thankful that I travel frequently and can always do my grooming in a country where it is way cheaper.

[Goferring]

Your travel and visa fees are really cheap. I take it you don't fly business class? I fly from the US, and I need a lay flat seat. Travel is generally my highest expenditure.

I should add that I did look at going elsewhere, further away, but you're correct: start adding in $5-10 k flights and the cost per fuck goes beyond stay at home options.

G.

[Goferring]

And by reading and comparing all this from real people with no agenda or need for views and clicks, one can get an idea of the real living costs in PH, which is about the same as home but with the pussy benefit. The downsize is the danger of dying if you get seriously sick. Living on a low budget is the equivalent of living off the grid in US or the Bush People series.

Take out the flights and the nightly accommodation costs and my cost of living in the PI would me much lower than home.

I would still probably spend more on food as I can't do Phil food day after day. I need access to western dishes. Having said that, with a kitchen, I would probably cook more which is cheaper than dining out.

I agree with Joe that there are huge savings for things that are ridiculously cheap in the Philippines vs 00's or even '000's home.

Enjoy. G.

[Goferring]

Your travel and visa fees are really cheap. I take it you don't fly business class? I fly from the US, and I need a lay flat seat. Travel is generally my highest expenditure.

I fly economy and the best flights for me are actually discount carriers. The biggest savings is from avoiding holiday periods.

Visa costs are the same for everyone. Arrival is free and the 29 day extension is less than $100. That's why I stay 58 days and not 31.

Enjoy G.

[FutureDeadGuy]

And by reading and comparing all this from real people with no agenda or need for views and clicks, one can get an idea of the real living costs in PH, which is about the same as home but with the pussy benefit. The downsize is the danger of dying if you get seriously sick. Living on a low budget is the equivalent of living off the grid in US or the Bush People series.

Great point! This is something I often wonder about when I see some of the older expats that move to these places. At some point they're going to get hurt or just need longer term medical care as their health declines. How do they plan to manage that?

[Keen Eye Joe 1]

Great post.

2 questions if you don't mind.

1. How does this compare to a $1500 lifestyle back in the home land?

2. How much would this $1500 PH lifestyle cost in the home land?

Answering question #1 is simple. Let's say you're living in South Dakota. Using an online calculator developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a single person with no dependents would require an after-tax income of $37,000 (USA Dollars) per year to satisfy the requirement of a "Living Wage".

This is for a northern backwater state. If you want nicer weather, the number for Arizona is $42,000. For high-cost Seattle, Washington, it's $55,000.

Over $3,000 per month just to "get by" in a low cost of living area? Doubt there's much money left over for babes, boobs, and beer.

As for question #2, it's impossible to answer. But let me help illustrate the variance by describing events from my previous two days.

Got a haircut. On my last stateside visit, my trim cost $20, plus a $5 tip. Yesterday's local cut was P100 with a P50 tip, or $2. 50.

Received my monthly municipal water bill of P224, or $4. My American brother's water and sewer bill last month was over $100.

Ate a Quarter Pounder value meal at McDo. Price was P259, or $4. 40. Similar meal would run around $12 in my home state.

Took my car to a highly respected repair shop for a major tune-up. All filters and fluids (except transmission) replaced, with assorted other servicing completed. They even took a video of the buckets of liquid and pile of discarded filters sitting next to my vehicle before lowering it down the hoist.

Price for my turbo-charged diesel engine car with fully synthetic oil from South Korea was P12,439, or $210 (tax included). I shudder to think about the price at an independent American repair shop.

Yesterday I took the car to a wash shop for "the works" treatment. Attendant drove it in and told me to come back in two hours. Guy finished up when I arrived. Car looked darned near brand new. I was impressed.

P800 and a P150 tip, or $16. My last visit in the USA, a wash in a ferocious-looking automatic drive through car washing machine was $15, plus tax. Price for a full cleaning by hand? I reckon the bill would be at least $100.

Last night, I started the evening at a strip club. Sat with a 28-year-old blah-looking but wonderfully chatty, cuddly and "handsy" dancer for about 90 minutes. Three lady's drinks (330 ML bottles of San Miguel Pilsen) plus two customer beers for me cost P1,400, or $24.

Price in the USA? Haven't been to an American strip club in decades. But I bet $24 barely gets you through the front door.

I ended the night picking up a streetwalker I have not seen in over a year. 20 years old, says she's just "out of a relationship".

Cute-faced, short with a tiny thin body, and wearing a short-cropped boob top with "Daisy Duke" denim shorts. Appeared enthusiastically happy to see old Joe again. P1,000 for well over an hour of entertainment in the clean P270 3-hour hotel room. Big spender Joe bought her a P35 bottle of bottled water. Tipped her P300 for a job well done and gave her some coins for local transport when I dropped her off on the way home.

World-class kissing and sucking, then eff-ing with a condom (my choice), but she's a headcase with a shitty past and a shittier present.

The cut marks on the undersides of her forearms are a dead giveaway of past mental trauma. She was great for the moment, but not worth storing in my phone.

Well over an hour of quality girlfriend-like nookie time with a tight young thang for P1650, or about $28.

Price in the USA? Dunno. Heck, is it even available for old guys like me?

I suppose it is somewhere. But passion always costs extra.

[Old And Ugly]

Where I live, $1500/ mo would cover your rent and maybe your utilities for a very basic lifestyle. Certainly no eating out, rental pussy or social life. Most financial advisors peg a basic retirement at $30 k per year. Anything above subsistence living will be closer to $50 k at least. Again, no financial planners seem to include fucking 19 yo students in their spreadsheets.

I enjoy the Philippines but living there full time would drive me nuts. I've also got commitments back home. Hence, I fall into the category above the two week warrior but short of the full time resident. A 58 day stay cost me about US $5 k per month inclusive of everything:

$1000 International travel & visas.

$250 Domestic travel (P100/ day taxis and P1000/ week for bus or flights).

$2000 Hotels (2 star but good location).

$2000 Food & Drinks (P1500 per day for Western meals for me plus the occasional guest. I'm not a big drinker nor barfly).

$2000 Girls (P2000/ day province babe + 15 k Makati / Burgos blow out before leaving).

$1000 Sourcing costs (first dates, meals for her friends, finders fees, internet subscriptions etc).

$1000 Entertainment & Non mongering (P4000/ day diving plus tourist trips etc).

$500 Data & Incidentals.

Generally, I travel light, live simply but move around a lot. Relocating has its costs as I don't get cheaper monthly rentals but has the advantage of if I like somewhere, I stay, if I don't, then I move elsewhere.

As a comparison, a domestic holiday would cost the same weekly, not monthly and there would be no pussy included. Certainly no 20 yo pussy.

Enjoy. G.

And by reading and comparing all this from real people with no agenda or need for views and clicks, one can get an idea of the real living costs in PH, which is about the same as home but with the pussy benefit. The downsize is the danger of dying if you get seriously sick. Living on a low budget is the equivalent of living off the grid in US or the Bush People series.

[Old And Ugly]

Fascinating. I guess most of the pig is moved on for bigger returns; one wonders how the lechon parties work. But carving up a pig is no biggie,......................................................................................................................................................................................................................

For the lechon parties they buy the whole pig directly from farmers.

When they chopped it in pieces (I don't really think they know what they're doing) it's usually an older bigger pig with meat that doesn't taste good.

[Old And Ugly]

Your travel and visa fees are really cheap. I take it you don't fly business class? I fly from the US, and I need a lay flat seat. Travel is generally my highest expenditure.

Stay longer, or fly cheap for few hours only and stop in Hawaii, and Japan for a day or 2 each, better spending the $5 k on airfare.

[FutureDeadGuy]

Where I live, $1500/ mo would cover your rent and maybe your utilities for a very basic lifestyle. Certainly no eating out, rental pussy or social life. Most financial advisors peg a basic retirement at $30 k per year. Anything above subsistence living will be closer to $50 k at least. Again, no financial planners seem to include fucking 19 yo students in their spreadsheets.

I enjoy the Philippines but living there full time would drive me nuts. I've also got commitments back home. Hence, I fall into the category above the two week warrior but short of the full time resident. A 58 day stay cost me about US $5 k per month inclusive of everything:.

Your travel and visa fees are really cheap. I take it you don't fly business class? I fly from the US, and I need a lay flat seat. Travel is generally my highest expenditure.

[Goferring]

One weekly session will be with a $25 / P1,500 streetwalker from the sleazy bar area north of downtown. Quality varies from cute 19-year-olds to washed up scuzzy hags. Depends on your luck. As the old saying goes, "Eating chicken one day and feathers the next". Luckily, I have a few gals on speed dial when the street quality is terrible.

Or you can up your game and scour the internet dating websites to find a $34 / P2000 cutie for a few hours of fun. Potential for higher quality with higher reward. A couple of my local friends go this route and collect contact numbers, and it works. I used to do this, but as a local, I got tired of them blowing up my phone every time they ran into a financial jam. Irksome.

Session #2 will be at Butuan City's lingam massage spa, where you receive the body massage / hand job combo for $11.

I'm an old guy. My motor doesn't run as hot as before. Sex twice a week is fine for me. If you're more of an eager beaver, up your budget to $2,000.

Yeah, it's not an opulent lifestyle.
...

Joe's Philippine motto: It's much cheaper to rent than it is to own.

You're doing well. Everyone I know that lives in the provinces followed a girl there. They have all built / bought her a house, most are raising children by another father and quite a few are also paying her considerable medical expenses as she ages. These costs never appear in the YouTube budgets.

If it flies, floats or fucks, rent don't buy.

Enjoy. G.

[Goferring]

Great post.

2 questions if you don't mind.

1. How does this compare to a $1500 lifestyle back in the home land?

2. How much would this $1500 PH lifestyle cost in the home land?

Where I live, $1500/ mo would cover your rent and maybe your utilities for a very basic lifestyle. Certainly no eating out, rental pussy or social life. Most financial advisors peg a basic retirement at $30 k per year. Anything above subsistence living will be closer to $50 k at least. Again, no financial planners seem to include fucking 19 yo students in their spreadsheets.

I enjoy the Philippines but living there full time would drive me nuts. I've also got commitments back home. Hence, I fall into the category above the two week warrior but short of the full time resident. A 58 day stay cost me about US $5 k per month inclusive of everything:

$1000 International travel & visas.

$250 Domestic travel (P100/ day taxis and P1000/ week for bus or flights).

$2000 Hotels (2 star but good location).

$2000 Food & Drinks (P1500 per day for Western meals for me plus the occasional guest. I'm not a big drinker nor barfly).

$2000 Girls (P2000/ day province babe + 15 k Makati / Burgos blow out before leaving).

$1000 Sourcing costs (first dates, meals for her friends, finders fees, internet subscriptions etc).

$1000 Entertainment & Non mongering (P4000/ day diving plus tourist trips etc).

$500 Data & Incidentals.

Generally, I travel light, live simply but move around a lot. Relocating has its costs as I don't get cheaper monthly rentals but has the advantage of if I like somewhere, I stay, if I don't, then I move elsewhere.

As a comparison, a domestic holiday would cost the same weekly, not monthly and there would be no pussy included. Certainly no 20 yo pussy.

Enjoy. G.