I've been calling this site "Island of Sanity" for over 20 years. Of course that name is a metaphor: I am trying to present a small piece of sanity in a world that is going crazy. And in fact none of my posts were actually written on an island. They have all been written from Ohio or Michigan in the continental United States.
Until now. This is my first post written while I am on a literal island. I am writing this from the island of Mactan in the Philippines. I have just moved to the Philippines. (I have begun the process of getting a permanent residency visa.)
If you're wondering -- which you probably aren't -- it's very easy for an American to visit the Philippines. You don't need to get a visa. Just show up in the country and you get a visa on the spot good for 30 days. Maybe there are some conditions where they'd tell you no, but the only thing they've ever asked me is how long I plan to stay.
If you want to stay longer than 30 days, I'm told it's very easy to extend your visa for another 30 days. (I'll find out just how hard or easy soon!) After than you can extend for 2 months and then for 6 months, and you can keep extending up to 3 years. Then you have to leave the country. But many Americans just take a short trip to a neighboring country for a few days, then come back and the clock starts over.
The Philippines is very welcoming to people who want to retire here. I don't know what their reasoning is, but it makes sense to me. A retiree comes here with social security or a pension and spends money. This is a poor country so one foreigner with a pension can create several full-time equivalent jobs for locals. The average Filipino makes about $400 a month. So an American getting $1600 a month from social security -- about the average -- and spending it all here will create 4 jobs for locals. Not that the local grocery store, say, will hire a new clerk just to serve this one American. But if 10 Americans move into the area, the grocery store might hire a new clerk to handle the increased business. And the local department store may hire someone. And a restaurant or two. Etc. So one American spending $1600 contributes to the creation of a bunch of new jobs. In effect, he creates 4 jobs.
And as he's probably not working, he's not taking a job away from any Filipino.
The Philippines doesn't tax your foriegn retirement income, but when you create new jobs, they tax the people working those jobs. So jobs are created, tax revenue is generated, and everybody is happy.
In America I owned a 2100 square foot house full of stuff that I had spent a lifetime accumulating. To move I had to get rid of almost all of it, so that I was down to one checked bag and one carry on. The funny thing is, I don't miss it much. I gave all my tools to one of my sons in law and sent several boxes of books to my other daughter. Most of the rest went to Goodwill. I kept my laptop, a few clothes, and that's about it. Well, I kept my retirement fund, too.
© 2023 by Jay Johansen
billmill Jan 13, 2024
I agree with most of what you say but do not like where you are moving,"Mactan." I like Cebu but can't afford to live there and I like "country" better than city. mI live up country 69 KM from the main city on the island of Palawan. I like farm animals so we have 6 Hectares. I like fish so we live right on the shore and someone goes fishing nearly every day of calm seas. Though I bought the farm it is my wife's legally. That is fine with me. I don't care about owning since on one's demise you find out you never owned it, you just got to enjoy it, for awhile. GOD is great, beer is good and foreigners are crazy!
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Jay Johansen Aug 4, 2024
billmill: Sure. There are definite advantages to living in the country. Or as they say here, in the "provinces". Personally, though, I wanted the convenience of being near a shopping mall, so we could easily buy whatever we need, and a hospital, in case of emergency.
A foreigner is not allowed to own land in the Philippines. So yeah, we're in the process of buying a house, but it is in my wife's name. Which is just as well. Odds are that I will die before her, so then she'll have the house without any hassle.
billmill Aug 22, 2024
HiJay;
If Ilived in town here on Palawan I am afraid I would be drinking beer with my friends all day: NOT GOOD! Since I live about hour from town I can visit them,,, now and then. In town is an airport that I can be in Cebu or Manila in an hour. There are 3 hospitals and 2 big shopping malls. Since one can buy something not locally available by going on line, my favorite is Lazada, As I said before, I'm a country boy so I like farms and farm animals and the view from my front verandah is as good as I could ever want. I started looking for a place on Cebu, then Bohol, next, Negros. All too expensive: I am a country boy, a poor one! I am Stateside now but if I can get back to Palawan I will as soon as possible.
Jay Johansen Jan 16, 2026
Sure, I understand a preference for the country. Mactan is a little "too urban" for me, but as I say, I wanted the convenience of shopping malls and hospitals. Yes, anything you can't find locally you can order from Lazada or Shoppee or the like. I do that all the time. I've got an order for toner for my printer that I'm hoping to receive in the next day or two, and I just ordered some plumbing parts.