Moving to the Philippines - this is the more relevant forum :)

[Simon43]

That's the thing, surely at 60 one has lived their life and done everything they've ever wanted to do, has no real responsibilities, unless they fathered in their 40s, so it's time to kick back and enjoy whatever is left without worrying (and paying silly amounts of money into something they may never need, or even be able to use should they need it). Put the money into investments for the kids/grandkids instead while chilling out.

I don't even know if I have grandkids 'cos my kids cut off all contact with me yonks ago - even blocked my e-cards on their birthdays....

The premiums from the insurance agent in PI are very reasonable TBH. At 65 years old, I still have loads that I want to do Sure, I don't want to spend 50% of my pension on insurance premiums for a policy that I might never claim on, or that might refuse to pay out. But unless I have a wad of $$$ to put aside (which I don't), I think it is rather selfish to have no medical cover at all and to hope that friends and GoFundMe etc will step in when they scrape me off the road...

[Simon43]

Checking flights to/from Bangkok to PI, I note that there are cheap direct flights to Cebu. So perhaps I should concentrate my efforts to find a cheapish, nice location with a beach close to Cebu.

Mr Google tells me that actually it is a little expensive to live in Cebu City itself. Perhaps Katie can advise me if there is somewhere that's not too long travel time from Cebu Airport that is a nice place to live long-term, rural, close to a beach etc. YouTube shows many beautiful beaches, but apparently not close at all to Cebu City/Airport.

[cyrille]

She already advised you to steer clear of Cebu and head west because of cyclones.

[cyrille]

I think it is rather selfish to have no medical cover at all and to hope that friends and GoFundMe etc will step in when they scrape me off the road...

As previously mentioned, (and that's becoming a thing) a credit card in your wallet will see you scraped off the road in style.

[malmomike77]

Get your credit cards sorted before you retire for the best offers and credit limits.....as one of my sisters found out. She retired at 52 with an £80k per year pension but had issues getting a decent credir card. They like people working when you apply. Sort your cards out now Simon

[Simon43]

Get your credit cards sorted before you retire for the best offers and credit limits.....as one of my sisters found out. She retired at 52 with an £80k per year pension but had issues getting a decent credir card. They like people working when you apply. Sort your cards out now Simon

I live in Thailand. Almost impossible to get a credit card. The banks insist that you keep the same balance in your account as the limit on your card. Useless, not a real credit card at all. I used to have UK credit cards 20 years ago, but one by one the UK banks refused to renew the cards since I had emigrated...

[Simon43]

She already advised you to steer clear of Cebu and head west because of cyclones.

Dr Google says otherwise:

"
Does Cebu get typhoons?

The wettest months of the year are from June to September. A positive point with Cebu province is that this area is usually spared any tropical cyclones. The typhoon season in the Philippines is in July/August, but they usually pass further north (through Luzon Region) or south (Mindanao Region)."

In any case, heading west only gets to land masses of Negros or Palawan. I've already been told to avoid Palawan since it's too remote...

Are you suggesting I live on a boat west of Cebu?

[malmomike77]

I live in Thailand. Almost impossible to get a credit card. The banks insist that you keep the same balance in your account as the limit on your card. Useless, not a real credit card at all. I used to have UK credit cards 20 years ago, but one by one the UK banks refused to renew the cards since I had emigrated...

Its about plannng. I will use my cards to buy "stuff" in the UK for the kids, they will pay me back thus keeping them used. I'll use them for flights, hotels etc when I retire. Hindsight is a terrible thing when it comes home to loost, Cards are force for good when you are living outside Kansas.

[Simon43]

Its about plannng. I will use my cards to buy "stuff" in the UK for the kids, they will pay me back thus keeping them used. I'll use them for flights, hotels etc when I retire. Hindsight is a terrible thing when it comes home to loost, Cards are force for good when you are living outside Kansas.

I agree! But UK banks will usually not renew your CC if you live outside the UK, unless you have an offshore bank account ($$$). Since I live outside the UK for 22+ years, my UK CC have not been renewed by the banks as each card expired... Not my fault, just the rules.

[malmomike77]

I agree! But UK banks will usually not renew your CC if you live outside the UK, unless you have an offshore bank account ($$$). Since I live outside the UK for 22+ years, my UK CC have not been renewed by the banks as each card expired... Not my fault, just the rules.

i get it but you have had 22 years to think about these "problems". You managed resolve your prostate issue tout de suite when you needed to, as i said its about planning and you are still earning and have time to sort these things. More important than your trivial short term locational issues imo

[Stumpy]

as i said its about planning and you are still earning and have time to sort these things. More important than your trivial short term locational issues imo

Mike is spot on. There are ways to establish CCs in your home country. All you really need is an address. You don't have any friends you can ask?

Please excuse my blunt comment but from your posts Simon, you appear to be winging it and moving around a lot which should be limited until you get yourself squared away. As mentioned you will never get a CC without being employed. Banks won't do it so you should get something going. I agree though that getting a CC in Thailand might be a stretch based on your earning but a lot will ride on how much you keep in a bank here.

It's for the exact reasons/issues you are experiencing that I kept 2 active CCs in the states, a savings acct I pay them from, an address in California then established a CC in Thailand. It was, and still is, a big part of my long term plan and back up to cover my wife and I.

Hindsight can be brutal but it appears you still have a small opportunity to improve your options.

[cyrille]

There seems to be a bit of a lack of focus.

[malmomike77]

Hindsight can be brutal but it appears you still have a small opportunity to improve your options.

yep, sage advice.

think abouth your exit options, what to do finicially when you have issues, health etc. what are your fall back plans.

CC, banks, health all in UK are easier and the hinges on planning and your family in the UK makes that easier?

I don't want to pry but maybe resolving whatever issue you have with your kids might help them too - a parent dying without a kid resolving issues they have just lingers. I have spent over 35 years wishing i'd spent more time with my dad understanding what a cvnt he was. Do you know when that regret started, after he died. They won't regret not getting together with you until its too late.

[Edmond]

There are ways to establish CCs in your home country. All you really need is an address. You don't have any friends you can ask?

Well, there's an ex-wife in a house he paid one million pounds cash for 3 decades ago.


#what.could.have.been

[Topper]

Cebu is a crowded, polluted Bangkokish hellscape from my brief experience there. Dumaguete is quickly becoming the same as is Iliolio. There's tons of expats living south of Duma up in the hills in Valencia and in Dauin. The beaches suck there though from what I've seen. If you don't need a nearby beach, I'd recommend Bacolod. If it's the beach that's a box to be ticked, I recommend Roxas City on Panay.

I really don't recommend living up north, they get fooking pounded by storms every year. Less so here in the central part of the PI.

[malmomike77]

Cebu is a crowded, polluted Bangkokish hellscape from my brief experience there

your advice might be useful if only Simon had his shit sorted but he's far from that.

Living overseas requires planning and he's not sorted the basics so you are wasting your time.

Simon, we've been through this before, several times, what are your fukin priorities? list them FFS else we are just responding to rubbish

[Simon43]

...
It's for the exact reasons/issues you are experiencing that I kept 2 active CCs in the states,
...

Wait a moment! I pointed out how difficult it is for me to get a UK CC nowadays. But I never said that I consider this a problem. I've lived 20+ years outside the UK without having any CCs. I owe no money to anyone. I have 'my shit' sorted out, in that I've got my plan together to maximise my UK pension by moving to the PI. I have private medical insurance, I have money in the bank. Not really sure what is missing for you to whinge about.

As for my UK family, what my ex and kids decide to do is up to them. That's 20 years ago and if they don't want to acknowledge me, then there is little that I can do about that. I have absolutely no plans to return to the UK for health reasons (I left the UK because of that very reason 22+ years ago!).

How many of you are in your mum's basement writing your crap? I think it's perhaps pure jealousy that I've been able to live and work in so many interesting countries - and you haven't...

@Topper - you must be a mind-reader! I've been slogging through YouTube vlogs and info about cheap places to live etc. Bacolod seems to be right up there as a pleasant and cheap location, just a short flight from Cebu. Nperf.com also shows that it has fast mobile internet. What I need to do is to fly over for say a week or 2 and see what it's like on the ground so to speak.

[cyrille]

How many of you are in your mum's basement writing your crap? I think it's perhaps pure jealousy that I've been able to live and work in so many interesting countries - and you haven't..

We seem to be getting close to the nub of things here.

Your rampant egotism is quite astonishing.

You really do like a good prounce around, don't you.

[Edmond]

How many of you are in your mum's basement writing your crap? I think it's perhaps pure jealousy that I've been able to live and work in so many interesting countries - and you haven't...

Can you imagine living and working in, say, the UK until 67 years of age. Divorced, kids not interested in you, but you gotta stick it out, so you can get 5 or 10 years in SEA or somewhere else nice and warm.


On the other hand, there's arriving at 67 and not owning one property or home after 50 years of adulthood, or having any real security.


Something's gone wrong somewhere on both accounts.

[cyrille]

Something’s gone wrong when he doesn’t realise everyone replying to him has been living overseas on and on or on and off for decades.

Ridiculous.

The male phuketbound.

[Salsa dancer]

Cut him some slack, Cy...Simon is quite different to many people, and very geeky. He used to design satellites, and could not read womens' intentions.

[Stumpy]

Something’s gone wrong when he doesn’t realise everyone replying to him has been living overseas on and on or on and off for decades.

Indeed then included a clip from my response saying I was whinging when I wasn't, just merely pointed out sustaining CC's in the states. Some how he then drifted off wondering how many posters responding are living in a basement. This from the same guy that shags or shagged rubber dolls and kept its head when he moved???

Many have given Simon constructive advice having lived abroad for years or on and off for years.

Anyway, Good Luck Simon. Seems like you have it all covered.

[misskit]

In the long run the credit card thing may not work. It is hard not to imagine presenting a credit card for a huge overseas transaction and having the charge questioned or declined. Better to have money in the bank.

[Simon43]

So sorry if some of you don't like my attitude to life. I haven't lived in the UK for decades and prefer a more nomadic lifestyle, not tied down by owning a property nor consumer items. Some of you have given me really useful advice - Topper, Misskit, Katie23 especially. Others.... not really - you're giving advice based on your own perceptions of what you want or have in your particular lifestyle. For me, so long as I have the practical aspects sorted (medical cover, sources of cheap healthy food, a cheap roof over my head, healthy climate), then I'm happy.

[Stumpy]

In the long run the credit card thing may not work. It is hard not to imagine presenting a credit card for a huge overseas transaction and having the charge questioned or declined. Better to have money in the bank.

I agree with cash in bank MK. As for my CCs, I go online and set up my usage in Thailand, same with my Thai CC when traveling to other countries. Just call the bank and tell them your usage area to protect yourself from fraud. Very easy online.