borntorock55 wrote:This is my first post on this forum having just moved here from the UK with the intention of permanently retiring here. I'm taking nothing for granted though and have made sure I have a financial escape route in place in case it's needed. For anyone considering doing this, do your research thoroughly first. Surprised to see a post from an Aussie I think who didn't know whether he could receive his pension here direct. No offence, but if you're thinking of retiring here isn't that a basic question to answer unless you've got capital to burn ? For any other Brits considering this move you also need to investigate and understand your tax position before you arrive instead of trying to unravel it once you are here. My tax position in the U.K. wasn't overly complex and it took weeks of research and toing and froing with HMRC before I left to get it straight. Trust me, trying to have conversations with them once you're here is difficult and expensive. For any Brits you can have your state pension paid to you if you are living here and even directly into a PH bank account if you have one in PHP if you wish. Also, courtesy of the UK/PH double tax treaty once you achieve PH rather than UK tax residency, any payment from a UK private or corporate pension scheme and also your state pension are free of both UK and PH income tax. Different rules apply for U.K. government pensions I believe.For me its early days and all work in progress and we'll see how it works out. Having worked in Manila on and off over the past 8 years, first impressions of Iloilo are positive. It's far cleaner, way less intimidating than Manila and the traffic moves most of the time !! Of course people's choices as to where they live are often dictated by their financial position but I for one wouldn't want to live in the hell hole that is Manila even if I could afford the relatively luxury of McKinley/BGC/Makati. I'm living in the Lapaz area of Iloilo with my Filipina partner. We have rented a nice 2 bed duplex in a quiet area (apart from the almost constant barking of dogs) for PHP 25k a month. I expect to be able to negotiate this down a chunk if we commit for a longer period. We get all our perishables, fruit, veg, fish and meat at the local markets where it is at least half the price of supermarkets. Electricity is of course very expensive so we made sure the place we rented is fairly shaded and we are sparing with the aircon. As others have noted, real estate advertising here is work of pure fiction. You have to get on your bike, look at places and deal face to face. Don't accept anything at face value and if it's something you want be prepared to haggle. On another topic I'm endlessly fascinated as to why any expat would want to own a car and drive here unless you are living in a rural area. The roads and standard of driving are atrocious so why use your hard earned capital on an asset that is going to depreciate at the speed of light after it's been scraped and knocked a few times by jeepneys and taxis. In western terms even living on a pension, cabs are dirt cheap so why not let them take the strain ? Other than that greetings to all (especially the Brits amongst you) and would be pleased to hear from any Iloilo Golf & Country Club members.
Welcome aboard mate, I just arrived yesterday from USA, living with wife and family in Santa, Ilocos Sur, an 8 hour bus ride from the Manila airport. Sounds like you have a good head start and know what you are dealing with in the Philippines. Best of luck on iloilo, sounds like you made a wise decision.
