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Retirees Attraction to the PH
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Why do some foreigners like to come and stay in the Philippines, but many Filipinos want to leave?
kevinabreu
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I lived in Boracay island for 5 years and was always surrounded by a lot of expats and their stories so i think i can shed some light on this. Most foreigners when they are in their own countries and they are looking at countries like the Philippines to move to, they are usually thinking 3 things. 1) beaches – they think the Philippines has nice beaches so it would be a good place to live. 2) weather – most foreigners are typically looking for a country with nice weather (warm/hot) if they come from cold climates. 3) price – most foreigners think the Philippines is cheap. There's other things too like language, if the people are friendly or not etc. Before foreigners move to the Philippines, most think that it will be a little bit similar to their countries, but they have no idea what is waiting for them! lol 🙂 When i was living in Boracay island i owned a internet company in the UK which i could manage from anywhere in the world as long as i could connect to the internet. I ended up in the Philippines because i went backpacking around the world and ended up in Boracay island because the beach was one of the nicest beaches i've seen, i could drink for 30-50 pesos for a beer/hard drink in a bar in the evenings, right on the beach and it was hot and the people are friendly. I had no real interaction with the real Philippines though, i was living in boracay which is like a paradise bubble, i was only renting an apartment on the beach for a good price compared to uk rent (no buying or anything), i enjoyed mingling with the locals and other expats, my income came from the UK (i wasn't doing business here or interacting with the Philippine government). Also, my british pounds converted into a lot of pesos (because of the exchange rate) which meant i could suddenly live to a much higher standard, in a better climate, on a paradise beach, whats not to like? Most people who move to the Philippines and who simply head out to some of the amazing beaches and use their income from their own countries i think they usually end up really enjoying the country 🙂 However, the expats around me in Boracay Island, who were usually more involved in the Philippines in terms of they had a business there, or property, paying taxes, or had a job and or kids, and have complicated/expensive immigration visas etc, many of them seemed to NOT like the country as much as i did, infact many hated the country and would be complaining non stop until they simply packed up their bags and left. Many also seemed to move to the Philippines and watch their lives fall apart for various reasons. As soon as foreigners move here and start to interact with the government or try to make a living in the country then many of them start to realize the Philippines is not what they thought it was and many leave and they quickly realize why Filipinos want to leave. Don't get me wrong, some people set up really nice family businesses here and are very happy, but these are the few good stories, the rest of the stories are people loosing their life savings in property purchase scams which even often involve the government (government workers faking documents etc) or loosing their savings in setting businesses when they don't understand the buying habits of Filipinos and more reasons. When i moved to manila and started to live like a Filipino, eg trying to earn a living in the country and send my kids to school etc, i opened a business in manila and suddenly i learned why so many Filipinos are trying to get out, everything changed, suddenly i saw the real Philippines and i was very very disapointed 🙁 The below is specificly manila but it applies to most of the Philippines, not just manila….. Heavy heavy soul crushing traffic – the government seems to not spend its own money on infrastructure, ever! The traffic means the pollution is dangerous, meaning you can't walk around or cycle on the streets and theirs a genuine health hazard. The heat – The sun and heat is fun when you're on the beach, but if you're not, the extreme heat of the Philippines becomes a burden. Mass poverty – living in manila you suddenly realize how much EXTREME poverty there is here. Very ugly/depressing structures – many building owners dont take care of their properties, if you go outside of makati/fort/ortigas then the scenery becomes very depressing to look at. No lifestyle/culture/hobbies – the government doesn't spend money on recreational parks, sports area, areas for hobbies etc. Everything is privately owned by businesses and you need to pay to do pretty much anything. Even the beaches near manila, most are privately owned by expensive hotels. The government is a money making machine – taxes are high for employees and in return they get no free schools, no free healthcare, no infrastructure, nothing. so i really don't understand why Filipinos would pay taxes if they get nothing in return. The Philippine government doesn't seem to understand that they are suppose to take taxes and then spend those taxes on services that the people need and want, not just spend the taxes on their salaries. If you want to start a business in the Philippines for some reason you need to pay the barangay, the mayor (mayors permit), fire department, and so on. You will end up paying the government a lot of money just for the basic human right of being able to earn a living through owning a business. The government makes EVERYTHING complicated, difficult, lots of paperwork, lots of ques and moving around to different offices and puts a tax on everything too. Relationships – A lot of older foreigners who come to the Philippines do so specifically to meet Philippine women, they usually end up meeting the women in bars or online, many of the foreigners think they have hit the jackpot at first as they marry their beautiful, 20 years younger wife after 1 month of meeting, they cant believe their luck at first but a huge percentage of these foreigners end up supporting their GF/wives entire family (business ventures, hospital bills, medicines, loans) and just generally getting used for money until they have nothing left (it's amazing how blinding love can be for some of these guys), i'm not sure why so many foreigners expect the bar girl they picked up to become an amazing wife and then get surprised when their new wives end up scamming them or abusing their bank accounts, not because these bar girls are bad people but desperate conditions (poverty) can make people do all kinds of unpleasant things. So many foreigners stop using their brain when they arrive in the Philippines, but just remember just in any developing or even rich countries too, there is a small percentage of the female population in the Philippines that is actively looking for foreign husbands purely for financial reasons and many of them do not care what so ever about the guy. Needless to say the vast majority of Philippine women are not like that though, all the thousands of couples i've met (expat with Philippine wife) who met each other under normal circumstances are very happily married or long relationships (myself included). In summary, when foreigners move to the Philippines and live like Filipinos eg they try earn a living from the country they quickly learn the many many problems/corruption caused by the corrupt government that is disabling the country and they quickly leave, even if the regular Filipino people are awesome which they are, and the beaches are nice, the negatives outweigh the postives by far. The foreigners who go to the Philippines and enjoy the people and the beaches by using their own incomes from their own country though will be very pleased that they live in the Philippines. If i was a born Filipino and just finishing university i would do one of two things…. 1) All these problems and inefficiencies = a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs, despite the bad business environment the government has created there is still a HUGE amount of opportunity here for daring entrepreneurs. 2) Get out of the country as fast as i can and never look back.
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I’ll answer for myself here. I like the change of pace. Life in the Philippines is slower paced than America. Especially, the traffic. I like the food. Adobo is the ambrosia the Greeks were looking for. I also like that many American restaurants are in the Philippines so that if I really wanted a cheeseburger (McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s), pizza (Shakey’s, Pizza Hut, Dominos), or something vaguely like Mexican food (Chili’s, Taco Bell), I can find it easy. Well. easy in Manila. I like the beaches. This is actually surprising for me. I hate beaches. I am as white as Frosty the Snowman. I am so white that children in rural villages thought that I was the white lady. When, I am at the beach I burn. I also wear glasses so I am blind. There is nothing worse than being sunburnt and blind. However, I can adapt. I can wear a longsleeve shirt, swimming trunks with legs below the knee, and swimming shoes. I can wear a good pair of goggles and contacts to counteract the blindness. I only have to put sunblock on my neck, face and lower legs. Do I look ridiculous? Yep. I really like the green. My childhood was spent in the American South. Everything from late spring to early fall was a vibrant green. I like how the Philippines is even more green. I like the people. Yeah, there are somethings here that drive me crazy, but otherwise, the people are kind. I thank God often for sending me on a two year mission to the Eastern Visayas from 2011 to 2013 and letting me know them. Heck, my fondness of the Philippines lead me to meeting my girlfriend through her brother. However, I could never live there. The government is more corrupt than mine and I could never be a citizen due to how citizenship laws are set up. So I would want to complain all the time, but wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. No thanks. I’ll stick to visiting. Edit: Why do Filipinos want to leave? From the many thousands of Filipinos I talked to over my two years as missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, they want to leave because they see America as a land of opportunity. They would tell me that the only way to get ahead in the Philippines is to become an Artista, have a once in a generation talent, be born into a powerful and rich family, or marry into a powerful and rich family. There are many, many artista in the Philippines that have rags to riches stories, but I rarely follow American celebrities, much less foreign ones (cough…cough Twice is awesome…cough…cough). Though I do have Parokya ni Edgar and Glock 9 in my playlist. However, I know nothing about their backstories. In regards to the talent, I am referring to people like Manny Pacquiao. Man grew up in the slums. However, due to his absurdly talented fists, he was able to literally fight his way to the top of Filipino society. There is a reason so many Filipinos hold him in such high regard. And as far as the rich and powerful, in Tolosa, Leyte, I noticed that the Marcos family still had a lot of power there and I was told by many of the poor that they pretty much controlled the town and had for a long time. Heck, the mayor of Tacloban is the wife of the former mayor of Tacloban who is the nephew of Imelda Marcos. I am told this is not unusual. If I remember right, one of the reasons Duterte gained so much popularity is because he was not part of the Tagalog elite that pretty much ruled the country. Although, I also remember reading somewhere that his family has a similar dynastic situation back in Davao city and is closely related to the ‘Cebuano dynasties’ of the Durano and Almendras. I also know that due to the protective economic laws that prevent foreign companies from fully entering the Philippine economy, the Oligarchs are able to hold onto power. If foreign companies came in and stirred up the competition then they might lose their money then their influence and then their political positions that they earned through power and influence. Also, when I was in Borongan city, Samar, I remember a group of political advocates coming to my door and offering me money if a signed some list and promised to vote for so and so. I had to point out to them, that as a white man, I was not likely to be a Filipino citizen with the ability to vote. So anyway, due to a couple dozen or so families refusal to give up power, the whole nation suffers. However, I do hope Duterte is able to get a federal system in place. That would help to break up the power of the Oligarchs. To what extent I am not sure. America is a little different. There are so many stories in my country of poor people making it out of poverty into the middle class or higher. My family is one. My paternal grandparents grew up in rural West Virgina and Pennsylvania. The family did not have plumbing or electricity. Education was substandard. Poverty was every where. However, one day my grandpa got drafted by the Army to fight in Korea, joined the Air Force instead, and gained skills that brought his family right smack into the middle class. All our relatives in West Virginia? Most of them struggle to get by, but then that’s West Virginia. At least they all have electricity and plumbing now. My mom’s grandma grew up in a one-room shack on a crick in rural Georgia. One of her daughter’s developed a series of businesses with another Georgian who used the organizational skills and drive he gained in the Navy to develop a carpeting manufacturing business that made him a millionaire. That daughter developed a side business that supplemented her husband’s and made a lot of money too. One of her brother’s owns a successful construction company. It almost died in 2008, but it made it through. He’s not rich, but he’s good. One of her other daughter’s, my grandma, was a successful Gas Station manager and due to her frugality has been able to put away a pretty penny. She is not rich, but she is definitely not poor. She goes on vacations all the time now that she is semi-retired and has the time. My step-mom’s family is pretty similiar, my step-grandad grew up on a rural farm in the middle of nowhere Idaho. He hated it. He worked hard to make sure he never would have to do so. He retired a decade ago after spending decades working as a highly-paid economist. He came from a very poor, farm family and now has a very comfortable retirement. This dream is not limited to native-born Americans. Elon Musk made it big in America with the invention of Paypal and acquistion of Tesla among many business enterprises. Michelle Malkin is Filipino and is a very successful writer, TV personality, etc and she is Filipina. Here is a list of a bunch of foreigners who moved to America made it big here: 13 People Who Came To America With Nothing And Made A Fortune We also allow foreign companies into America. Our economy has not collapsed. If done carefully, the Philippines could make it work too. China was much more closed and had a limited-opening up to foreigners and look what happened there. America is also less, politically corrupt. Yes, there is some corruption, but much less than many countries. Also, family dynasties are much more rare or have much less influence compared to similar families in the Philippines due to the sheer size of America. Also, no one buys votes here. At least, not directly. They offer social services instead. Which have mostly been a force for good here. Also, politicians commonly rise from nothing. Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley are all Americans that rose from nothing and gained high-level political power. Three of those four have parents from overseas. Heck, the main reason my girlfriend, a Filipina, wants to move to America, besides me, is that she could easily make double or triple with her computer science degree here in the States then she could in the Philippines. That ramble above is my opinion why many Filipinos want to move to America. More opportunities to become middle-class or rich, more access to political power, less corruption in the government, etc. You might get fat though.