Retirement in The Philippines

Anyone arriving in the Philippines will need to have an ongoing ticket i.e. return to where you have come from or some other destination, but be warned ,if you do not have one you will be escorted to the nearest travel agency to purchase one as happened to a friend of mine. Given that you have your return ticket you will be granted a 21 day tourist visa.

This does not mean that you can only stay for 21 days, all you need to do is go to the immigration department and apply for an extension to 60 days. If after this time you want to stay longer simply go back and apply for a further 60 days. Of course you have to pay for these extensions, approximately 3,500 pesos. I have been doing this for the past seven years. The alternative is to get a residential permit but this is complicated and expensive but can be done through a local lawyer. Of course you could marry a local girl and automatically get a residential permit.

O.K. so now you are here and want to find somewhere to live, no problem, there are many properties available for renting, depending on size, location etc. One suitable for the average overseas visitor requiring air conditioning, hot water etc. can be had from around 10,000 pesos a month,(check exchange rates)

Thinking of buying, well strangely visitors without residential permit can buy property but not land so you would have to lease the land. As always here there is a way to get round this. One is by forming a company, complicated, another buying in someone's name who has residential permit providing you know them well and trust them ,or your local girl friend providing you trust her!!

Now you have your accommodation, what is it going to cost you to live. As an example I am living in a three bedroom house fully air-conditioned with hot water for showers, T.V. mains water and phone with broadband internet connection. My expenses are as follows; electricity average 5,000 pesos per month, water,500 per month, phone 3,500 per month, satellite T.V. 1,500 per month. Food for five people, I have a maid also, approx. 25,000 pesos per month and we eat well!!! I have no rent to pay but allowing a generous 5,000 pesos a month for maintenance total of 40,500 approximately £440, $900 at current exchange rates.
I do not believe you could beat that anywhere in the world and I have traveled extensively.

Climate.

In a word, HOT, don't come here if you don't like the heat. Temperatures rarely drop below 25c. and during summer months, April/June can reach 35c. The so called rainy season is September/December but it is not monsoon so although plenty of rain not continuous and still plenty of sunshine. Tropical storms hit the Philippines occasionally but we are fortunate here in the Visayas as we are surrounded by other islands and the storms usually travel up the eastern islands and finish up in the northern island of Luzon. In the seven years I have been here I have not experienced anything worse than a good old English gale, force 8. Luckily not in an earth quake zone so no worries about that.

Bugs and other nasties.

Yes plenty of mosquitoes but that's about all. Never heard of any poisonous snakes, spiders etc. probably are some in the remote areas. No dangerous sharks in local waters only the odd jelly fish which they call itchy fish here. I always wear diving boots when walking in the water to avoid standing on any sea urchins which have very sharp spikes.

Activities.

This is a paradise for anyone who loves the water. Sea temperatures are around 27c and I have snorkeled for hours without any wet suit. Its more important to protect yourself from the sun by wearing a top and long trousers. There are extensive areas for great diving either on wrecks or just looking at the coral reefs and tropical fish. Friends of mine have been in the water with manta rays and reef sharks, I have often been accompanied by dolphins.

Traveling.

There are over seven thousand islands here so I doubt you would see a fraction of them in a lifetime. The most memorable place I have visited is El Nido (Heaven on earth) in northern Palawan. Travel is cheap either by boat or air. Cebu Pacific flies to all the islands for only a few hundred pesos. Boat is of course a lot less but time consuming and not so comfortable.

Safety

Forget all the rubbish you may have read in your national newspaper about the Philippines being a dangerous place. O.K. in the southern province of Mindanao there has been trouble for years with local Muslims but this is in very isolated areas and they are a tiny minority of the population and well contained by the Philippine army.

In all the years that I have been here I have never felt in the least in any danger in fact I feel a lot safer than I do in any large city in the U.K. Never have I seen gangs of drunken louts shouting obscenities which seems to be the norm over there these days.
Providing you don't get involved in politics or family disputes and act like a visitor in any country should, you will be treated like a welcome guest.

Food and drink

The most popular food with the locals is spit roasted pork(lechon baboy) and spit roasted chicken (lechon manok) and believe me they are both great. Of course there are many other local dishes too numerous to cover here and as usual in large cities restaurants from many parts of the world.
The local beer is St Miguel lager and a 320ml bottle can be bought in super markets for 22 pesos and in local bars for 25 pesos. The super markets also sell a large selection of wines and a bottle of Hardy's Shiraz, my favorite, can be bought for 295 pesos. A bottle of locally made brandy which is excellent costs 50 (yes fifty) pesos!!! and rum about the same price.