Do you have ambition to live or retire abroad? (1 Viewer)

[Mr. Blue Sky]

After Vietnam. Thailand was and probably still is more popular with Australians and Europeans. When I was there it was mostly people from those countries, with some Americans, but that number has grown.

The Philippines used to be extremely popular, especially when we had a bases there, but 39 ended that so now it's a lot of the older crowd who is still around since then and others who have moved over. There's also a lot of Australians there as well. Koreans have a huge presence in the Philippines mainly for some of the Universities. If they can't get into one in Korea, they go down to the PI, especially the Bagio area.

The Koreans have quite a few businesses in the PI as the Americans have moved out after the base closed in 1991 when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. The Filipinos like it better when Americans had a larger presence and businesses as they money would go back into the local economy, the Koreans take the money back to Korean.

I am retired AF and can live at my compound for minimal cost since we already own it. We choose to live in the US right now b/c we have good jobs and all of the kids are in the states, if we move over there, I highly doubt they'd visit due to the cost and time off requirement. My wife really misses her family there around the holidays and nobody is getting younger, so I do think we'll be there at some point, whether it is full time or not is TBD.

We've thought about Thailand and Vietnam as well, but with us already having a place in the PI and her family is there, it makes sense just to go there.

As mentioned earlier, there is no perfect place that exists .. it’s probably good that there isnt, or else it would be overrun… that said, i think Thailand is the closest to perfect that ive found .. i think the ‘perfect place’ title would potentially go to the Philippines if they could somehow get a handle on the food situation.. they do a lot of things that appeal to us as Americans- they speak English, they drive on the correct side of the road, etc- but i struggled, i mean really struggled to find anything edible in my time living in Cebu City… western food, or Filipino food.. but if youve got ur own compound and if you have a Landers or an S&R nearby , you would probably be ok just cooking everything on ur own .. somehow though, Thailand knocks the food thing out of the park.. it reminds me a lot of NOLA, in that it’s hard to find a bad meal- but here it is a fraction of the cost .

 

[bclemms]

As mentioned earlier, there is no perfect place that exists .. it’s probably good that there isnt, or else it would be overrun… that said, i think Thailand is the closest to perfect that ive found .. i think the ‘perfect place’ title would potentially go to the Philippines if they could somehow get a handle on the food situation.. they do a lot of things that appeal to us as Americans- they speak English, they drive on the correct side of the road, etc- but i struggled, i mean really struggled to find anything edible in my time living in Cebu City… western food, or Filipino food.. but if youve got ur own compound and if you have a Landers or an S&R nearby , you would probably be ok just cooking everything on ur own .. somehow though, Thailand knocks the food thing out of the park.. it reminds me a lot of NOLA, in that it’s hard to find a bad meal- but here it is a fraction of the cost .

I haven't tried PI yet and want to. Also heard so much good about Bali and will visit.

For reference to the people that haven't visited. I'm currently in a 900 square foot suite with a king size bed, wifi, balcony overlooking the river, free breakfast (not the BS hotel breakfast in the US either), fridge, couch, living room and it is costing me $22 per night. I went out tonight and had seafood salad that had shrimp, crab, squid and scallops. All very fresh for $3 and a BBQ with pork, chicken, beef and vegetable soup for $6. The dinner was $10 after a tip with enough left over for lunch tomorrow. Finished it off with a double expresso (they do coffee really well here) for $1. I did take two rides on a TukTuk today for a total of $9. Total expenditures $42.

Meds are about 90% less here, doctors are pennies on the dollar. Want unlimited 5G, it'll cost you about $15/month. Want fiber internet then add another $20. Don't want to own a car? A two hour taxi ride costs about $30.

The airfare is offset by day to day cost of living in 7-10 days if in the right spots. Each day after that you literally make money by not being in the US.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

i'm beginning to hate you people

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

@CapitalCitySaint fwiw i have not done as much international travel as you have .. ironically the only two places ive been outside of America (besides Canada) ive been in my life are the two absolute farthest places a human can fly from America- Australia , and Asia… and even more ironically, I despise flying with the white hot passion of 1000 suns… i have not been to Europe, or South America or the Caribbean - i have never even been to Mexico ! But what i would tell you is that , for me, it’s not worth the 25 plus hours (give or take) of flying you need to do to get to Sydney, or even Melbourne, just to experience another big city and take pics of a bridge and an opera house… just not worth it, imo .

I lived in South America for almost 2 years. Have been to Colombia, Ecuador & Brazil.

I would consider Spain, too, since I already speak Spanish but Italy is just

I have also been to a shirt ton of places in the Caribbean (& Puerto Rico) but I could not live on a small island. I love the beach and warm weather but I need the freedom to travel distances without having to get on a plane.

Also been to Canada to a few places. Too cold. Africa & Asia I have yet to explore but will likely be going to Africa this year though it’s not really for reconnaissance for places to live lol. Just for vacay.

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

about 45 minutes nw of melbourne. i'd personally take it over sydney, but if you love your austin, you would probably like it better. melbourne is a combo of nj, ny, and several boring arse cities. at least sydney has culture, but i'd prefer the simple life of bogans.

also, you mentioned london earlier. i'd take it in a heartbeat. i was there for 3 months at 10 years old, went to primary school, and even with that not being a vacation, i loved everything i saw in england and scotland.

I don’t live in Austin anymore.

I could do London if the weather was different. Cold & gray is not for me. Maybe climate change will make it more appealing place to live

 

[Snakehead]

As mentioned earlier, there is no perfect place that exists .. it’s probably good that there isnt, or else it would be overrun… that said, i think Thailand is the closest to perfect that ive found .. i think the ‘perfect place’ title would potentially go to the Philippines if they could somehow get a handle on the food situation.. they do a lot of things that appeal to us as Americans- they speak English, they drive on the correct side of the road, etc- but i struggled, i mean really struggled to find anything edible in my time living in Cebu City… western food, or Filipino food.. but if youve got ur own compound and if you have a Landers or an S&R nearby , you would probably be ok just cooking everything on ur own .. somehow though, Thailand knocks the food thing out of the park.. it reminds me a lot of NOLA, in that it’s hard to find a bad meal- but here it is a fraction of the cost .

Okay, so I wondered why you hated Filipino food so much, now I know. You have not experienced it. The Philippines is like the US and the food varies significantly where you are at. You're experience was essentially eating a basic meal in Iowa and never tasting New Orleans Cuisine. I eat Filipino food probably 1-7 times per week, depending on if my wife is cooking Filipino food, but sometimes she'll cook Thai, or pretty much anything else she has tasted and can recreate. My wife is from Angelest City, Pampanga, which famous for its cuisine to the point where people travel there to eat it. Whenever we meet other Filipinos or someone finds out my wife is from Pampanga, they say "Oh, she can cook". I have people at work constantly asking me for my wife to cook lumpia or pancit for them and most recently at my Squadron's Christmas Party, we brought a couple traditional Filipino dishes, those were the first to be cleaned out while all of the American stuff just sat there. I have not been to Cebu, but I have been to Bohol, both are Visayan islands and the same food. There was not a lot of options there and most things were seafood, so we had great food, but if you were looking for something different, it probably was not there.

English is taugh in the schools there. It's pretty much Tagalog in Kindergarten and English the rest of their school years. Tagalog is then just taught at home. Most Filipinos speak 3 languages, Tagalog, English and their dialect. The dialect in Manila is Tagalog so people from Minala may only speak 2, English and Tagalog.

FWIW, I love Thai food. I probably eat Thai food as often or close to as often as I eat Filipino food.

 

[soupcan dan]

live, or retire abroad?

i wanna live.

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

Ok “Sunshine”…. I just went and re-read ur post, you said this ‘has been a thing since the early two thousands’.. i was pointing out that it’s been ‘a thing’ since much earlier than the two thousands.. as you said in your following post, no secret.. explain to me what im missing

Sometimes it is better to just avoid engaging on here with people who clearly are looking for arguments and conflict no matter the topic.

 

[Semper]

I lived in South America for almost 2 years. Have been to Colombia, Ecuador & Brazil.

I would consider Spain, too, since I already speak Spanish but Italy is just

I have also been to a shirt ton of places in the Caribbean (& Puerto Rico) but I could not live on a small island. I love the beach and warm weather but I need the freedom to travel distances without having to get on a plane.

Also been to Canada to a few places. Too cold. Africa & Asia I have yet to explore but will likely be going to Africa this year though it’s not really for reconnaissance for places to live lol. Just for vacay.

I personally thought Italy was an armpit. I found some decent food for sure but I didn’t find anything overly “OMG” about it.

Greece…. Amazing loved it. Same with Israel.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Sometimes it is better to just avoid engaging on here with people who clearly are looking for arguments and conflict no matter the topic.

NO THEY'RE NOT!!

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I personally thought Italy was an armpit.

of all the things we've disagreed about - this is the biggest one x1000

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

I personally thought Italy was an armpit. I found some decent food for sure but I didn’t find anything overly “OMG” about it.

Greece…. Amazing loved it. Same with Israel.

Aint nobody trying to go to Israel right now!

When was the last time you went to Italy and where did you go?

I went to Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre & Bellagio/Lake Como. Florence was my least favorite place. It wasn’t bad per se.. I just didn’t understand the hype. It felt like the Dallas of Italy.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Aint nobody trying to go to Israel right now!

When was the last time you went to Italy and where did you go?

I went to Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre & Bellagio/Lake Como. Florence was my least favorite place. It wasn’t bad per se.. I just didn’t understand the hype. It felt like the Dallas of Italy.

ok this is weird
Florence is my favorite and maybe top 5 city worldwide
(like Barcelona, I felt the complete synthesis of architecture as living art)
Rome, otoh, I found just ok

other than Florence, Lucca and Bologna - also Taormina, Sicily were standouts
Torino & Milan (industrial North) were least favorite
and clearly we hit Loano at wrong time bc I was very excited by the idea of Italian Rivera (the crushing amount of Germans tempered that excitement quickly)

 

[Semper]

of all the things we've disagreed about - this is the biggest one x1000

Naples.

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

ok this is weird
Florence is my favorite and maybe top 5 city worldwide
(like Barcelona, I felt the complete synthesis of architecture as living art)
Rome, otoh, I found just ok

other than Florence, Lucca and Bologna - also Taormina, Sicily were standouts
Torino & Milan (industrial North) were least favorite
and clearly we hit Loano at wrong time bc I was very excited by the idea of Italian Rivera (the crushing amount of Germans tempered that excitement quickly)

I still have so much to explore there. Want to check out Portofino, Dolomites, Sicily. Sardinia, Puglia, Bari. I suppose I’ll go to Venice just to say I’ve gone but not expecting too much other than a tourist trap. Also have to to got Turin where my grandfather comes from.

I’ve heard Naples is dirty & sucks.