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[Charles Harman Company: XanGo, LLC Contribution Level: 1]

7 Reasons Why Retiring in the Philippines is Your Best Choice

Retiring in the Philippines - Like glittering emeralds in a sapphire sea, the 7,107 islands of the alluring archipelago of the Philippines sparkle with attractions to entrance both overseas travelers and residents in search of spectacular natural wonders and a unique cultural heritage. Lofty mountain peaks, glowing volcanoes, lush, pristine rain forests, peaceful, azure bays and an iridescent underwater world combine to create a multi hued canvas of breath-taking beauty. Asian, Spanish and American influences, together with the special qualities and customs of indigenous groups, have created a culture that defies comparison and is unmatched for warmth, hospitality and sheer enjoyment of life. Did you know you can retire here in the Philippines and bring your wife and family if you have one? I mean move here lock, stock and barrel! Just sell or liquidate and get rid of all that junk you have been storing all these years. Yes you can ship some of the things you really want here by using what is called a balikbayan box (6.0 cu/ft – 24″x18″x24″). You can put just about anything in them (except perishable foods) and the price is only about $100 for unlimited weight. Ihave shipped printers, bottles of juice, canned foods, clothing even a stage ready bass amplifier. these boxes come direct from the US to your new location, they do not go through customs either. and if you have no place to mail it to just send it to me and I will hold it here for you. look for a Filipino supplier in your location who can ship, this should not take more than 2 months to get here via container ship. Did you know that a retiree with an average social security check can easily afford a maid, they only cost about $50.00 a month, and they do everything for you, cook, laundry, by hand, clean and baby sit if you have children. A friend lives on a $700 pension and he has a nice home and a maid… Also remember the Philippines is a 220V 60hz country this means your appliances will only work on a conversion transformer obtainable here in a variety of sizes. I brought some of my better kitchen appliances and and that bass amp and just plug them into my little 100watt 220 to 110 transformer, works fine. You can even get all your dental work done here, for instance a crown will cost you around $100, $7 to clean you teeth. My wife had a baby here the hospital costs were under $200 and that was in a private hospital. You can buy a economical car here for around $13,000 or P599,000 and that’s new. Live your retirement and live like a king…

Hi! my name is Charles Harman my wife and I along with our two children moved to the Philippines from Texas last February 2010. Life here is like living a vacation every single day, the weather is great and we are surrounded by some of the greatest beach resorts in the world. My kids just love going to the beach and playing in the sand or water. This is an excellent place to bring your whole family and live for a fraction of what it costs in the US. This is also a great place for a missionary family to come and minister to the people. The missionary visa is for a longer period of time, something like three years, more on this later. You have everything you need right here and since English is spoken by just about everyone it makes this your top choice.

1. COST OF LIVING: The number one reason to retire in the Philippines is cost of living. I know a retired California police officer living on only $700.00 a month and he is making it just fine and that includes his rent, utilities, food and transportation. If he can do it, any one can. I rent a two story 2 bedroom townhouse for only $160.00 to $175 a month depending on the Dollar/Peso exchange rate. And this is not a bamboo building rather a Concrete and steel structure. Look at the following image taken from a spreadsheet titled “What things cost in the Philippines”, you can download it on the downloads page. The blue numbers are Pesos and the Green US Dollars. I think one of the nicest places to live is right here on Mactan island, situated just off the east coast Cebu with two bridges coming over from Mandaue City. There are plenty of fine gated neighborhoods all across Mactan island most of them are vary western looking, see photo insert. We planto buy here some day soon ourselves, already looking at a few really nice homes here and they are affordable. Homes in the subdivision in the photo to the left run from around P1.2 Million to around P15 million. You can get info on most of the newer subdivisions at any of the SMs or malls here just look for a Realtor handing out pamphlets. By the way, my 2000 square foot house in northern Cebu is for sale for P 3.5 Million or around $70,000 depending on the exchange rate. It is near the city of Bogo in northern Cebu in a pretty quiet neighborhood.

2. LANGUAGE: The Philippines is the only Asian country that speaks English, it is even taught in school as a second language from elementary school all the way to graduation. Most Filipinos can speak some English which makes it easier when shopping. The Official language of the Philippine Government is English. Street signs are in English and you drive on the right side of the street just like in the United States. Check out some of my other posts about this, and look at the photos below thinking about, “What if I were doing the Driving”. More later...

C