Fil-Am considering retiring in Philippines after 50 yrs in US

@Kidrome48

Welcome to the Forum Belen. My hunch is that 9 out of 10 readers of your introduction will advise you to 'stay put' for a plethora of reasons. Some of those such as climate you are aware of.

At the moment the Philippines as a country is in reverse gear. Expats and visitors like myself would say thats its been like this for many years using other A.S.E.A.N countries as comparables.

Coincidentally I shall be flying out to the Philippines in early November and staying in Iloilo for a week. My first visit to this city which is probably in the top 3 places to live in the country using a broad 'quality of life' measure. I'm attracted to the walking and cycling opportunities . The term pavement in most cities (sidewalk to our American friends) is anathema to Filipinos in general.

Ironically a long term senior member of this Forum whose wife sadly passed away recently and has been resident in Manila for 10 years is moving the other way back to the states for reasons that I am sure he will espouse on this feed. I hope he will continue to post his laconic contributions when he is back stateside.

Lotus Eater said . . . Ironically a long term senior member of this Forum whose wife sadly passed away recently and has been resident in Manila for 10 years is moving the other way back to the states for reasons that I am sure he will espouse on this feed. I hope he will continue to post his laconic contributions when he is back stateside.

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I guess I'll contribute my P2 worth.

My wife and I were living in Las Vegas which has an extremely large Filipino society. Incidentally my wife had a friend named Belen.

She also had a distant cousin living in Las Vegas, the cousin also had a partner. They both worked in the Casino industry and retired with good pensions, plus their house was worth several times more than the original purchase price. Needless to say they were very well off when they moved backed to the Philippines.

I had a Filipino cardiologist (Ernesto Chua), he was about 75 years old, then he retired and moved back to the Philippines. (BGC)

When we moved to the Philippines one my wife's girlfriend made the trip with us. She lives near Roxas City. She has a beautiful house and two maids.

My wife was Americanized living the good life in America (Las Vegas) My wife, her cousins, her friend and my cardiologist  moved back because it was their birthplace & family.

Humans can adjust to their environment "Maybe your good American life may be able to adjust" to the Philippines. You will be leaving many good things behind which will only be a memory.

Many species internal clock implicitly directs them to their birthplace to die.

To the OP. The main reason I chose to retire/live here was for my partner, single no way, it would have been southern Europe for me, already retired in a country I spent 50 years in? OMO but best to stay put with a system you well know. Golly I'm only 67 and living here since 59 and these days I'm feeling it. At 77 if I live that long I'm glad we have a wheelchair ramp built for an aging soul.

If you want cool perhaps look at Baguio or higher up the range but quality hospitals? Most cities are a nightmare when it comes to traffic, perhaps BGC or Makati and run the A/C 24/7, close to St Lukes and other quality hospitals. Single? Stay with what you know. I'm sure we all wish you luck with your choice.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

@Enzyte Bob

Just to add a rider to Bobs post. To the OP you say one of your main reasons for relocating back to the Philippines is a lack of close friends near to where you reside in Oregon. Yes there is a very large Filipino expat community in Las Vegas. "If the mountain won't come to Mohammed" is your current situation but the mountain in Las Vegas is a lot closer than the Philippines.

I'm sure you could join Filipino expat groups there without the attendant loss of lifestyle and initial stress (not to mention the debilitating long flight) that a move half way across the world would entail.

Depending on your budget this would be an option. Condo prices in Las Vegas have recently declined since the property bubble burst in 2024.

Vegas not a good choice for people looking to avoid hot weather.  If I were a citizen of the Philippines I would move to Baguio.

Just to add a rider to Bobs post. To the OP you say one of your main reasons for relocating back to the Philippines is a lack of close friends near to where you reside in Oregon. Yes there is a very large Filipino expat community in Las Vegas. "If the mountain won't come to Mohammed" is your current situation but the mountain in Las Vegas is a lot closer than the Philippines. I'm sure you could join Filipino expat groups there without the attendant loss of lifestyle and initial stress (not to mention the debilitating long flight) that a move half way across the world would entail. Depending on your budget this would be an option. Condo prices in Las Vegas have recently declined since the property bubble burst in 2024.

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The metro population of Filipinos in Las Vegas is 200K, surpassing every city's total populations in Oregon except Portland.

My wife joined a Filipino dance group, her church was all Filipinos, hospitals have many Filipino Nurses.

We shopped at a very large Filipino Supermarket, "Seafood City" They have balut.

There are two Seafood Cities.My wife has had her Filipina friends over playing playing Mahjong or Filipino Poker all night long.

How about some Red Horse or San Miguel Beer, Jollibee's or Balikbayan Box Shippers, it's all there.

At Seafood City I purchased a Barong Tagalog dress shirt for my wedding at one of the shops inside Seafood City.

The Philippine Consulate of Los Angeles comes to Las Vegas twice a year to handle Filipino problems.

One Las Vegas Casino buffet has Lechon, Liempo on Tuesday night. The go through a dozen pigs."

I do not work for the Chamber of Commerce". -

- @Enzyte Bob

Vegas not a good choice for people looking to avoid hot weather. If I were a citizen of the Philippines I would move to Baguio. - @mugtech

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Yes the weather gets very hot. Average rainfall Per year 4.2 inches so humidity is low, average days of sunshine 310.

It's not the temperature that gets you, it's the humidity.

110F is hot, no matter the humidity.

mugtech said . . . .110F is hot, no matter the humidity

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Having lived in both 13 years in Las Vegas and 8 years in Manila I'll take 13 years of no sweating.

Vegas is only hot for two months, while Manila's humidity drops to 71% in March the dry season and then peaks to 85%.

mugtech said . . . .110F is hot, no matter the humidity
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Having lived in both 13 years in Las Vegas and 8 years in Manila I'll take 13 years of no sweating.
Vegas is only hot for two months, while Manila's humidity drops to 71% in March the dry season and then peaks to 85%.

Average yearly temperature for Las Vegas 83 degrees.

Average yearly temperature for Manila 82.5 degrees.

Average yearly humidity for Las Vegas 30%

Average yearly humidity for Manila 76%

I doubt I could live here full time without A/C, as Bob states it's not so much the temperature but the humidity, Here we average 30 to 35C similar to Queensland Australia and the dryer heat is far easier to deal with. Something the OP needs to consider.

Cheers, Steve.

Belen said . . . .I am a 77 year-old Filipino native, female, American citizen, single, who is considering moving back to the Philippines for retirement, specifically Iloilo City.versus Tagaytay. I was born, raised and educated in city until fourth year college when I transferred to UP Diliman. After finishing medical education in the Philippines, I moved to the United States to do residency training and work as a physician and have been retired since 2012. I am considering moving back because I find life in the US. Pretty lonesome ias a single person and think it might be different in the Philippines where I have family and friends and the lifestyle is different. I have a very close cousin and her family who have a home in.Tagaytay and I grew up in Iloilo where I know the dialect and still have a couple of cousins and high school friends.
I currently live in a small town in western Oregon, where I have a home I really like and friends in church and in the Filipino community here but no really close buddies and no family. I have two closer friends who live in other states. My concerns are that I do not know what the medical facilities are like since I do have some medical issues, how difficult it is to make new friends at this age in the Philippines, what the infrastructure is like, especially regarding brownouts and the Internet and how I will adapt to the climate because I do not like hot and humid and I know what it is like there. So I am planning a scouting trip to both Tagaytay and Iloilo in Jan-Feb 2027 for 4-5 weeks assuming my body can still handle the travel. I have not been back since 2023 and in the meantime have had back and joint issues progress more severely.

I would like to get in touch with other Balikbayans who have returned to the Philippines and stayed there happily, others who are considering a similar move, and still others who have considered it seriously but decided to stay put in the US. It would be also good to hear from Filipinos already living there who are knowledgeable about the medical care available in Iloilo City and the rental housing situation. And numerous other topics a big move like this would entail.

thanks very much for your input.

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Belen . . . . We have similar problems but in opposite ways. Reading your age and when you retired you must have taken early ss & maybe you have some other source of retirement income you've also been drawing on for some time.

So with me not going through the fuzzy math you've live in the states approximately 45+ years.

At your age of 77 being lonesome also carries other baggage, people getting older doesn't have the mental & physical attributes they enjoyed in the past. Slower thinking comes to mind, physical tasks becomes more difficult (for me) if not impossible.

Old friendships of the past, now become a old burden to those friends. The hour glass for you & me is running out of sand and we are try to make plans for what little future we have.  But you said you have a home you really like, friends in the church and in the Filipino community. Selling your home and leaving your cherished possessions behind is something to think about. Also you said you have two close friends who lived in another state, maybe you could live with them?

In the states you have Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan and you have medical issues. In the Philippines you are not covered and buying medical insurance at your age is too expensive and the limited coverage would be useless. You are seven older than my wife who has passed. Since we moved to the Philippines her four hospitalizations ran about $40K USD.

As you being in the medical field in the states you know a hospital can not turn you down. Not so in the Philippines, so many die because they cannot afford prepaid treatment.

With all the years you've been in the states and the degree of your success, you've been Americanized. Some interpret the Philippines as a third world country, compared to other S.E. Asian Countries, it has a long ways to becoming a third world country in comparison to what you've adjusted to the states.

Just because you were born and educationin the Philippines doesn't make you a Filipino again, you are am American citizen now, with American habits and tastes.

Now if on the other hand you have a close cousin & family, if they would take you in, that would be a game changer. Somebody to assist you by picking up an pills you dropped on the floor or picking up & cleaning something you knocked over.

Simple things that can be done in the states in an hour, takes a day or longer here.

Thank you for your response Enzyte Bob. I have lived in the US since 1975, so 51 years, far longer than I have lived in the Philippines. I have cousins in the Philippines, but no one I can really live with esp since I don’t handle stairs well anymore. I’ve always disliked Manila even when I was going to school there and much preferred Iloilo which at that time had the ambience of a small town.  I simply don’t like big cities and always gravitated towards smaller cities. My finances are ok and I’m comfortable barring huge economic upsets.

I've looked into eventually transitioning to assisted living here and was shocked to find out how expensive it is and going higher all the time. I think independent living in the Philippines with a maid or caregiver would be cheaper and preferable. Even independent living residential homes are expensive and living quarters are limited size wise.

I also need to look into global health insurance since Medicare does not cover us outside of the US. Going back to the Philippines would likely result in culture shock again like what we experienced when my family went back to the Philippines, after several years in the states when my father was getting his residency training. I was 14 then it was definitely a culture shock. This may be worse after living here so long. I am thinking a four or five week trip in January – February may not be long enough, especially if I’m checking out two and possibly three cities if I include Baguio as well. These are all issues I have to consider.

thanks again for your response and would love to continue this another time.

Belen

I live in Tagaytay,

Tagaytay is the Second coolest city in Philippines central area (Calabarzon) behind Baguio. Tagaytay has a nice cool climate, Many times it’s Windy, especially by the Wind Residence Complex. Very often there is a thick fog layer. Tagaytay has a nice hospital where you can get annual check ups or anything else needed. I just save premiums, no Insurance, Just Pay as I go.

Its cheap and reasonable for out patient services.

Never been to Illoilo, so I cant offer a comparison.

For me It would be difficult to choose between a cool location and family but if you have family in Tagaytay, then it would be at the top of the list.

Tagaytay is only 1-1.5hr from Manila/Naia.

Sta Rosa in Laguna and Alabang/Mutinilupa are some nice modern close by cities to go shopping or hang out for short trips. S&R and Landers etc

Batangas beaches in Nasugbu/Lian area are only 1hr away.

For foreigners or Americanized Filipino’s it should be on the must consider choice list if the weather is a top priority in where you will be choosing to land.

Good Luck and enjoy once you've made your choice.

@vehicross100

Thanks so much for your comments. I really appreciate the time you took to respond.  I do have a few questions. Are you a Filipino native retiring back from overseas, or are you from abroad? Do you live in a house or a condo? Do you own a car, if not how do you get around? I used to drive in Manila, but can’t handle it now - there is just no way. I may be able to drive in Iloilo, I’ll have to see what the traffic is like. After living 51 years in the US, I’ve become  independent and a big part of that is being able to get around on your own.  My first cousin has a house in one of the subdivisions and I would have to go visit her. If I choose Tagaytay and I’ve been at her house many times. The last time was in 2023.

I am planning a trip to check things out, a scouting trip if you will, in Jan- Feb. 2027. Are you male or female and may I ask how old? You don’t have to answer all the questions, just the ones that you feel comfortable answering.

Thanks again,

Belen.

@Kidrome48

Apparently Iloilo is one of the most driver friendly cities in the Philippines. I say this with an advisory in that I have never actually visited the city but will be there in early November. Minimal congestion with one major artery exception during rush hour.

I have attached a link to one of the more cerebral well read vloggers who travels around the archipelago. Suffice to say that Dee gave the city a score of 9.2 out of 10. Some members on this Forum would probably give her that score too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc9jYYwryvw

@Kidrome48

American

House (10 years)

Car

Mid Sixties

Driving around Tagaytay is not difficult unless it’s a Holiday or busy weekend. Since You visited your cousin there many times you are somewhat familiar with area and know how the traffic is.

@Lotus Eater

Thanks for the link.

@vehicross100

Thank you for the information. I wonder if I would be considered an expat if I came back there to live, or would I be classed as a Balikbayan since I am a Philippine native. Having lived in the US twice as long as in the Philippines, I may have more in common with experts than Balikbayans. What do you think?

Personally I don’t think that being identified or “classed” by any name really matters here and that you probably would fit in with any crowd regardless if they were expats, locals or balikbayans.

To me the Locals and Expats here don't really mind what you or are from, especially if you rub shoulders with them by sharing a meal, some beer or attempt videoke etc…

Well said vehicross, for us as a same sex couple the locals don't give a sh1t but seems some expats can be judgemental, we mingle with the locals and direct family and don't suffer snipes nor opinionated big headed single minded thinking from blow ins.. This is our home and will be my resting place and very happy to call this home. A word for the OP, @ 77 consider your health and constitution for the future, A quality private hospital not too far away. I'm only 67 and put all that inplace when we moved back some 7 years ago. Renovations and extensions included all one level and a wheelchair ramp. I do hope you find your place here in the future Belen.

@Enzyte Bob

My two closest friends are Caucasian not Filipinos. I do not speak Tagalog well at all and have a hearing problem so I’m more more comfortable speaking English. I have considered moving to North Carolina where my closest friends lives, but if something would happen to her, I would be stranded there without any connections. I also think the weather in topography here in Oregon is better, but it is a bigger city with more shopping, restaurants, and Better healthcare available. I visited once and need to go back again. I’ve been to Vegas and do not like it at all, I’m not into gambling and casinos, the numerous tourists and heat, even though it’s dry. The best option might be to stay in Oregon, but I have no one here when I get older and more feeble. So it is a dilemma for me and I feel I have to look at the options in the Philippines.

I’m referring to larger city in NC with more amenities and better medical care.

Just a thought Belen. Rather than a major upheaval in your life from what you know have you considered getting involved with community or church groups where you live? Me? we moved to a small rural farm in Australia and I found myself involved in the local community hall and became the treasurer and at times secretary at the same meetings but I and my then wife met many wonderful people over some 20 years living in the area. Friends maybe not but plenty of interactions and a fulfilled existence in a community environment, a simple ask always got a response and was reciprocal from us.

Very different here in PH. as the hand seems to be out all the time for payment, Shallow yes, reciprocal no. You want to find yourself tied up in that mentality?

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

@bigpearl

Thank you Steve. I am not familiar with the acronyms OP and OMO. Pls explain.

OP= Original Poster

OMO= Only my opinion

Thanks!

Thanks! - @Kidrome48

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Allow one to say, with your delightful communication

courtesies here, you will be an ornament everywhere

happy trails ppl