The poorer countries of the world are attractive to many looking for an affordable place to call home. Somewhere that their retirement dollar will stretch to provide them with a decent standard of living, close to what they were used to back home when they were making a regular living. Sadly the burgeoning baby boomer retiree population is finding life in the First World a tad too expensive on what is left of their 401Ks, superannuation, pensions and what not.

So their attention turns to the third world where they can get more bang for their buck. The cost of living has risen in the Philippines just as it has everywhere else in the world. Risen sharply in many ways. I wonder how the average Filipino family manages, but then they have managed for generation after generation, so why should the current fiscal situation be any different?

If you want to live like a white rajah, then expect to pay for it! If you are happy living on a basic diet of dried fish and rice then you can get by on very little indeed. For most of us, though, we need to tread the middle path. You can live on US$500 a month in the provinces but it will be like camping in many respects. Forget airconditioning, driving your own car and going out to dinner all the time. This is you and the Filipina of your choice living in a small, rented house or apartment, shopping mostly at the local market and rarely buying supermarket items. You don’t travel around, you might have cable TV or internet access but perhaps not both and you don’t call home very often.

For US$1000 a month you get to enjoy some imported foods, turn on the airconditioning, drive a small, used car and go out a few times every month. For US$1500 you can live pretty much wherever you want to and live well and for US$2000 a month I’d say you can live in Manila and live well. Nice apartment, domestic helper, good food, lots of entertainment, everything you want.

How much do you live on now? How well do you live on that? How would you like to live in the Philippines?

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1. Internet Income Ideas
2. Direct Savings – The Most Important Habit To Acquire
3. Saving Money

The Philippines has a reputation as a fun filled island nation that has Filipinas on tap and available, yet can also be a dangerous place for the expat or tourist. As is often the case the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

It can be a dangerous place but no more so than any big city in North America or Europe and a lot safer than most. Unless you go out of your way looking for trouble you can spend a lifetime in the Philippines and never experience anything more traumatic than a ‘brown-out’ (what they call a power failure or blackout).

The Filipina, as the female Filipino is known, is a loving and loyal person indeed, yet there are plenty who are ever ready to part the naive and the gullible rich ‘Kano’ (Amerikano) from his many dollars. Even if you are not at all well off by your own country’s standards, in the Third World you are richer than they are and that is good enough for some!

How do you identify the scammers and the cheats? The danger signs and the cultural indicators? Follow the links on this page to a treasure trove of experience and wisdom because forewarned is forearmed.

This English speaking country nestled between Asia and the Pacific is not the place for a first timer to choose to settle in or retire to unless they have done their research and due dilligence, perhaps even spent a few months there on vacation. For those old Asia-hands though, that first cold San Miguel will barely touch the sides and you will enjoy the familiar ‘I’m home!’ feeling just an hour after leaving Nino Acquino International Airport in Manila. Even if you are just waiting in transit to fly on to Cebu or ‘Fly The Bus’ to Angeles, you will immediately start to relax and feel those years roll off your shoulders. Welcome to da Pilipeens!

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1. Cost Of Living In The Philippines
2. Latin America
3. Relocation