What is your daily routine like being retired in the Philippines

For me I scheduled a lot of sporting events on satellite tv, every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night football live on Friday, Monday and Tuesday mornings.  During NBA season there were double headers every morning.  I would take a 35 minute walk every morning right after sunrise to get started.  I also ordered in many books to read between tv shows.  The tv company did not have a contract with the NBA this year so I watched some Hawaii 5-O and Magnum PI plus 2 day delays of the Late Show with Steven Colbert.  Weekly we would go shopping and to the bank in Vigan, 15 clicks north of our barangay plus plenty of parties in our house or in other family members houses.  We have about 80 family members within 15 km and a 15 seat van.  Our niece had her first child last August 28, she does not work and the father is in Canada.  On the 28th every month we had a birthday party celebrating how many months old the child was.  There was always an excuse, plenty of weddings and funerals.  About once a month we would take a long road trip from early morning to late night to visit neighboring provinces such as the surfing spot in La Union, beaches in Ilocos Norte, Angeles in Pangasinan or a day in the mountains at Baguio.  In 8 months I gained 14 pounds, but back in the USA for 10 weeks I have lost 10 pounds.  A lot of white carbs and very sweet deserts was the key.

I get along very well with my missus and we hardly ever argue, think we argued once in the past 2+ years, communication is key. That and the occasional bottle of Jack or Tequila. Tolerance and Patience is the key walks of life.

Her parents are very understanding and respect our boundaries and space, we don't live together.

The rest of her family, we distant ourselves. Not in a arrogant way, but in a we have our life, our family, our problems kind of way. We use to do social gatherings on holidays or bday prior to covid-19.

not a big sports fans but love episodes, K Drama and a good horror movie, so Netflix and whatever online media we can get our hands on.

Food Food Food, a hungry wife is a grumpy wife.

I think the biggest part of my success of relocating to PH and being happy is much in part of the missus being understanding and we tell each other everything while respecting each other. I don't check her FB and vise versa and I don't care when she's chatting it up with her friends on messenger. Boundaries

Jackson4 wrote:

What is your daily routine like being retired in the Philippines? How do you keep yourself busy and fight boredom? Don't you get depressed or irritable? It must be a challenge keeping a level head. Do you get into your spouse's/partner's skin? What are common challenges?

Wake up, check mail, coffee, smoke. Routine work stuff, semi retired. TV, Episodes, Food, hang out with the kid, missus does her thing, nap time in the afternoon if I really need, sometimes I wake up at 5AM just to feel productive, more Food, More TV Episodes. We use to go out for walks or hang out in a local Mall before covid-19 but now we stay indoors most of the time. Oh and yes, read up on expat.com and stalk some of you.

No depression as I always try to keep a leveled head, irritated YES, happens to the best of us but it's all how you control it, deep breaths and self mental meditation.

I guess to some degree we both do get under each other skin at times and I can tell just by her reaction or mood, but being able to adapt to the situation and handling it well really plays a good role in bringing her mood back up.

As for Challenges, I guess my biggest challenge right now is where to buy food stuff as we stopped going to the supermarket months ago due to some people are oblivious to the danger covid-19 presents. Lack of social distancing, wearing face mask wrong or just under the chin, touching everything with gloves, people not disinfecting their hands on a regular basis, take your pick. First world problems (lol)  .

oh and a psychologist once said and I quote, "A happy sex life makes a happy couple" and from the words of comedian Chris Rock, well I'll let you figure out the rest.

if you are really interested, google "Chris Rock's Two Rules for Being in a Relationship".

Soon as read this I watched Chris Rock on YouTube. Funny as he11. I did not expect the two rules would come out of his comedies.

i work on my house, i always tell my family back in the states i don't want it to be finished,then what would i do? I usually have several projects going at once so i always have one i feel like getting back into and others i put off for later, LOL
right now i have a big tree trunk for the post on my staircase,took weeks and weeks to grind and sand it down smooth and varnished it many coats. it sits on the little landing at the bottom of the stairs and looks like its holding up a concrete beam. no handrails yet, gotta get those done before i'm old enough i need to pull my way upstairs!

other than a constantly changing flow of projects, i like to go out in the boat and putt around, we have a tiny filipino style boat thats good for one american size person and paddle it around, and we have a larger filipino style boat with a motor thats fun to zip around in, i have a four year old boy with way too much energy, he likes to go for boat rides, and he seems to use up a lot of my energy too.
we go swimming ,i brought a nice full face type swim goggle from the states,its fun to look around at the fish and coral and stuff.

since covid i mostly pace the terrace, have a few coffees in the morning and a smoke, try to get wifi signal then shower and water the plants on the terrace, and watch fox news and inspect the vines over the roof to see if they need trimming. watch naked and afraid, get my 1 yo daughter to sleep which always puts me to sleep for my nap.
wake up and have another coffee,chat with the wife about the latest rumors and find out the latest plots in the neighborhood...who did what to who and why so and so now hates so and so..
listen to her funny story,she always has one..discuss food options.
walk the terrace and look at the ocean..i dont get too bent out of shape about anything, me and my wife get along good, we have a 17 year old girl we have raised since she was 9 and she always makes me smile.
you cant get bored with a 1 year old a 4 year old and a 17 year old around the house...and my wife is always hammering something together that makes me smile,... she never wants my help.

Soonretired wrote:

<SNIP#1> and watch fox news

<SNIP#2> chat with the wife about the latest rumors and find out the latest plots in the neighborhood...who did what to who and why so and so now hates so and so..

<SNIP#3> i dont get too bent out of shape about anything,

<From SNIP #1> First thing in the morning shower, then drink my coffee reading emails. I also watch Fox news but on Youtube, so it's always a day late. Where do you watch Fox? It seems many parts of the world they only get CNN. (That maybe one reason Trump has a negative image throughout the world.)

<From SNIP #2> I thing your ongoing problem with the squatter may be the gossip in the neighborhood.

<From SNIP #3> Are you sure about that? Need I mention squatter? If I had that problem I would really be bent out of shape and go to war.

Enzyte Bob wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

<SNIP#1> and watch fox news

<SNIP#2> chat with the wife about the latest rumors and find out the latest plots in the neighborhood...who did what to who and why so and so now hates so and so..

<SNIP#3> i dont get too bent out of shape about anything,

<From SNIP #1> First thing in the morning shower, then drink my coffee reading emails. I also watch Fox news but on Youtube, so it's always a day late. Where do you watch Fox? It seems many parts of the world they only get CNN. (That maybe one reason Trump has a negative image throughout the world.)

<From SNIP #2> I thing your ongoing problem with the squatter may be the gossip in the neighborhood.

<From SNIP #3> Are you sure about that? Need I mention squatter? If I had that problem I would really be bent out of shape and go to war.

we have cignal dish..i have to pay the second highest rate to get fox, its the only reason i do since everything else is movies and shows from the 70's 80's and 90's..they rerun all month then a new batch of reruns come in...

yeah the brngy issues suck but me and my wife are in it for the long haul, we have our paperwork straight, our title, typhoons will come eventually..here in our home we still try to stay upbeat

when you have kids you have to be cool about things that may upset them or make the feel anxious so we dont talk about the squatter or other neighbor issues around them.

the day we had engineer here measuring there were 10-20 onlookers and 4-6 of them were acting angry, my 4 year old boy hid at a good neighbors house the whole time, when he came home i had alot of questions to answer.

Enzyte Bob wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

<SNIP#1> and watch fox news

<SNIP#2> chat with the wife about the latest rumors and find out the latest plots in the neighborhood...who did what to who and why so and so now hates so and so..

<SNIP#3> i dont get too bent out of shape about anything,

<From SNIP #1> First thing in the morning shower, then drink my coffee reading emails. I also watch Fox news but on Youtube, so it's always a day late. Where do you watch Fox? It seems many parts of the world they only get CNN. (That maybe one reason Trump has a negative image throughout the world.)

<From SNIP #2> I thing your ongoing problem with the squatter may be the gossip in the neighborhood.

<From SNIP #3> Are you sure about that? Need I mention squatter? If I had that problem I would really be bent out of shape and go to war.

While I agree with 2 and 3 Bob I and probably others will take umbrage at "many parts of the world only get CNN" and N and N Aussie joke sorry. Thinking people source both sides of any argument and make their own decisions. While I am an Aussie and see the many problems in my own country, as an outsider I really have no right to comment on the goings on in the US but watch it all going down with dismay as I'm sure many others do. OMO.
My daily routine is watching several hours of world news so I know when to duck for cover and in between chill.

Cheers, Steve.

Well then, being near the cliff to my retirement, it is quite interesting to find retirement has so much to offer between drama, detective experience, lawsuits and maybe gore. Just like the movies. My fear is boredom, nothing to do and possibly tear my spouse's head off.
There is something to look forward to after all. And maybe, buy myself a motorcycle too.
One thing for sure, I will not let squatters on my property.

Soonretired wrote:

when you have kids you have to be cool about things that may upset them or make the feel anxious so we dont talk about the squatter or other neighbor issues around them.

the day we had engineer here measuring there were 10-20 onlookers and 4-6 of them were acting angry, my 4 year old boy hid at a good neighbors house the whole time, when he came home i had alot of questions to answer.

Yes children are precious and innocent and do learn with hard knocks, mine are grown and gone.
Can I ask when did you get the engineer/surveyor in to measure? just recently? I had a surveyor here before we purchased our lots prior to signing the sale contract with permission from the then owner, that was well over 3 years ago, the markers are there for all to see. (I watch and wait for some fool to dig them out, time will tell.
I dearly hope we never end up in your situation but back on topic we daily observe our boundaries, any and all that encroach gathering feed for their goats get the short shift as do the goats when they arrive, good practice for the air soft toys. News, goat herding, hot breakfast, and all in-between.

Cheers, Steve.

Jackson4 wrote:

Well then, being near the cliff to my retirement, it is quite interesting to find retirement has so much to offer between drama, detective experience, lawsuits and maybe gore. Just like the movies. My fear is boredom, nothing to do and possibly tear my spouse's head off.
There is something to look forward to after all. And maybe, buy myself a motorcycle too.
One thing for sure, I will not let squatters on my property.

There is plenty here to keep one amused.

Cheers,Steve.

bigpearl wrote:

Enzyte Bob wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

<SNIP#1> and watch fox news

<SNIP#2> chat with the wife about the latest rumors and find out the latest plots in the neighborhood...who did what to who and why so and so now hates so and so..

<SNIP#3> i dont get too bent out of shape about anything,

<From SNIP #1> First thing in the morning shower, then drink my coffee reading emails. I also watch Fox news but on Youtube, so it's always a day late. Where do you watch Fox? It seems many parts of the world they only get CNN. (That maybe one reason Trump has a negative image throughout the world.)

<From SNIP #2> I thing your ongoing problem with the squatter may be the gossip in the neighborhood.

<From SNIP #3> Are you sure about that? Need I mention squatter? If I had that problem I would really be bent out of shape and go to war.

While I agree with 2 and 3 Bob I and probably others will take umbrage at "many parts of the world only get CNN" and N and N Aussie joke sorry. Thinking people source both sides of any argument and make their own decisions. While I am an Aussie and see the many problems in my own country, as an outsider I really have no right to comment on the goings on in the US but watch it all going down with dismay as I'm sure many others do. OMO.
My daily routine is watching several hours of world news so I know when to duck for cover and in between chill.

Cheers, Steve.

***

Jackson4 wrote:

One thing for sure, I will not let squatters on my property.

LOL... that and the old saying "neither a borrower or a lender be" will save you from most pitfalls!

But being the owner of the land and vigilant/assertive will.
As always we are off topic, my bad.

Cheers, Steve.

Soonretired wrote:

***

Such political opinions about the USA are not appropriate on the forum.

mugtech wrote:

Soonretired wrote:

***

Such political opinions about the USA are not appropriate on the forum.

dont know how we got off on that...LOL

Like most we need to worry about our own back yards and failures before politics or religion rear an ugly head on an expat site.

Cheers, Steve.