The “3 Cs”: Why the Philippines can make a good Asian homebase!
So, since I’ve started my “6 month contracting policy” I have been hunting for a country that’s fit to serve as my home base. As seen before, I did extended stays in Mexico, in Thailand, and in the Philippines to experience life in various countries: their culture, language, costs of living, safety, etc..and have come to the conclusion that the Philippines has the combination of characteristics that make it a solid long term “winter home”. I call it the “Three Cs +1”
Cost-
My previous posts had examples of the cost of living in these countries: including prices I’ve experienced for rent, food, transport, healthcare experiences; the usual living costs. My costs are similar to what they were in Thailand and Mexico. I’ll write a post with more details, but expect:
a decent apartment with all furnishings, internet, pool, security, community gym and utilities for less than $600 (often much less) in one of the more expensive areas of Manila (the most expensive region)
chicken and rice meals for $2
Grab (Uber) rides cross town for $8.
Rides in Jeepneys (bus) and MRT (subway) 14PHP ($0.25)
It’s possible to live a middle class lifestyle for less than $1,000 a month.
Convenience-
The bane of many a long term expat is the dreaded visa situation. Each country has its own rules. Thailand, for example, limits most tourists to around 2 months Sure, most of these places have retirement visas or digital nomad visas, but there’s age and income requirements and a lot of paperwork. I’ve known many long term Thailand visitors who would take the bus to Cambodia or Malaysia every couple of months for a “visa run”. If you do that too many times there's a (remote) risk that immigration won’t let you back in. Long term stay on an American passport in the Philippines without a longer term visa is simple :
You fly in and get up to 59 days approval to stay.
They may want you to have proof of a return flight home, or “onward travel”. Use this site https://onwardticket.com/ to “rent” a return flight ticket.
Go to immigration office and ask for extension in 1-6 month increments
Pay extension fee- around 1,900PHP/$35
Extend up to 36 months.
Moreover, it’s a central location for shorter trips through the Asian region. Exotic and culturally diverse regions such as South Korea, Japan, Bali Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and more are within a 4 hour/200 dollar direct round trip flight. That’s both faster and cheaper than roundtrip New York to LA tickets, only you can be in a whole new culture!
The other convenience factor for me personally is the seasonality. I think I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), where the shorter, cloudier days of the winter seasons drop my energy level and mood, while they skyrocket on the first days of Spring weather. The United States winter just so happens to coincide with the peak weather season in the Philippines. Most travel experts say the best time to visit is in the December to May timeframe, whereas the summer season has much higher humidity and risk of typhoons and frequent rain.
Communication- Imagine you just got off a 13 hour flight, spent another hour at Customs, and strapped 50 pounds of luggage to your back and made your way to the subway station. The maps app gives you 5 different routes, there’s dozens of lines, some of them skip stops or change routes mid trip and the map likes this:
Naturally, you’d ask a local or the station attendant for the best way to your location...but there is a problem. Everybody speaks Japanese. The signs are written in Kanji. Sure, the translation app is useful, but it can only process so much detail in a complex situation. The Japanese people are polite, gracious hosts and aim you in the best direction, but it’s easy to end up getting turned around, in the wrong lines, etc without detailed information. Your jet lagged hour subway trip becomes 2.5 hours. That was my experience when I landed in Tokyo. I’ve had similar experiences in Thailand, where I was in a small region and my Thai friend basically was my translator for days at a time, for everything. Mexico wasn't as much of a problem as I speak a fair amount of Spanish...if you don’t, I suspect some situations will be difficult there as well.
English is the secondary common language of the Philippines. Many things from street signs, to government forms, education, business, and media are in English. Most people speak English well - less so in the smaller towns - and many with ability greater than a lot of Americans. I’ve been in situations much more complex than the Tokyo subway experience and was able to ask somebody what I needed to know and move on.
This extends to other areas such as safety. Now, as an African American, there tends to be a little bit of tension in the US in regards to the police and security authorities. Many business and public areas here have semi-police security officers, often with large weapons patrolling around. Even with the guns around their torsos, I rarely feel “followed” or any tensions. Many actually open doors, start small talk and tip their hats. Most people in public facing jobs regularly use the “sir” and “ma'am” titles with their clients and thank you for your business. It’s quite the difference from American shops where employees often act like they don’t even want your money.
O and the last “+1 C” is cute. I find Filipina to be quite cute on average, with an endearing accent (in my top 3 accents, actually) and friendly personality.
This isn’t to say that this is a perfect place. All areas have problems, this is just the best balance of pros/cons for my needs. To be fair, here’s a short list of cons:
As a developing country, there’s widespread poverty and inequality
Susceptibility to natural disasters, especially earthquakes, floods, and typhoons
Unpredictable internet speeds, especially in the provinces
Crowds and traffic in the big cities
Some terrorism and instability in the southern regions.
Having spent 8 years traveling to 15 countries, and living in 8 states, plus D.C; I can feel comfortable in this assessment…for now
