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The OP doesn't make it clear how he intends to finance his move to the Philippines. Most Americans there are retired with some kind of pension and or investment income.
The Philippines and USA have a bilateral agreement - any US citizen can collect their SS income there.
Despite the rather inaccurate characterizations of the high cost of living there, we have a family member who lives solely on SS income - and has, gosh, AC, and yet manages to employ a maid and cook on that money.
Its ridiculously cheap unless you end up in some penthouse in Makati. In which case, why live in the Philippines anyway? You might as well live in Battery Park City.
The comment about getting Western delicacies though is correct - like proper milk, butter, yoghurt for a start. Either adapt to taho and Yakhult or expect to pay $$$.
Personally, I like the taho guy coming by with his cart at breakfast time.
A US citizen can have their US SS direct deposited into a Philippine bank account but only into a passbook bank account, not an ATM or savings account, so they would then have to go into the bank to withdraw it, whereas if they have it deposited into Charles Schwab or Fidelity in the US, then they can use their US ATM card to withdraw the money at any compatible ATM machine and those companies will reimburse all fees, so that way is basically free.
Also, many expats write a US check and deposit that into their Philippine dollar account once a month and then have to wait 21 business days for it to clear and some Philippine banks charge a fee, the Philippine banks we use charge us $5 per US check we deposit.
As far as being able to live on Social Security, the amount people get varies a lot, I knew of guys trying to live on $1,000 a month and could not do it and others who get $2,600 a month and live pretty darn well, yet they could live in the US on that amount too, they are usually in the Philippines for the woman or women.
Each of us have different lifestyles, so some could easily live on $1,000 a month while others will not be able to. The one thing I see written on some sites is "Live like a king on $1,000 a month" that to me is total bs unless they are referring to having a lot of women and living native, that could be done but to me a king has any type of food they want and can do just about anything they want, that part would NOT be true on $1,000 a month.
Yogurt is available in the Philippines, just different brands than we are used to and big superstores such as S&R Warehouse, which is very much like Costco, have most items we are used to in the US, they just cost more than when in the US.
A US citizen can have their US SS direct deposited into a Philippine bank account but only into a passbook bank account, not an ATM or savings account, so they would then have to go into the bank to withdraw it, whereas if they have it deposited into Charles Schwab or Fidelity in the US, then they can use their US ATM card to withdraw the money at any compatible ATM machine and those companies will reimburse all fees, so that way is basically free.
Also, many expats write a US check and deposit that into their Philippine dollar account once a month and then have to wait 21 business days for it to clear and some Philippine banks charge a fee, the Philippine banks we use charge us $5 per US check we deposit.
As far as being able to live on Social Security, the amount people get varies a lot, I knew of guys trying to live on $1,000 a month and could not do it and others who get $2,600 a month and live pretty darn well, yet they could live in the US on that amount too, they are usually in the Philippines for the woman or women.
Each of us have different lifestyles, so some could easily live on $1,000 a month while others will not be able to. The one thing I see written on some sites is "Live like a king on $1,000 a month" that to me is total bs unless they are referring to having a lot of women and living native, that could be done but to me a king has any type of food they want and can do just about anything they want, that part would NOT be true on $1,000 a month.
Yogurt is available in the Philippines, just different brands than we are used to and big superstores such as S&R Warehouse, which is very much like Costco, have most items we are used to in the US, they just cost more than when in the US.
Virtually all of it is longlife yoghurt, like longlife milk. Not what any European or American is used to - that's more like camping food. Its not just a question of different brands.
You can get the proper stuff - you can even get kerrygold butter for example - but you do have to pay and arm and a leg for it.
The friend wants me too go with him but I have health problems like Diabetes on insulin shots and on blood thinners. I would need good hospital care also.
The friend wants me too go with him but I have health problems like Diabetes on insulin shots and on blood thinners. I would need good hospital care also.
Are you retired military? If not then health insurance could be an issue. There are good hospitals in most major cities, we live in Cebu City when there and there are a few very good hospitals within a mile of our condo and many more within Cebu. https://www.atonibai.com/list-of-hospitals-in-cebu/
I would add that in my opinion due to the heavy white rice with relatively sweet sauce diet that if there is any condition that Filipino doctors are familiar with it is diabetes. While there is the beginning of political push back against unlimited sugary drinks unlimited rice refills are also a selling point at local fast food restaurants
A US citizen can have their US SS direct deposited into a Philippine bank account but only into a passbook bank account, not an ATM or savings account, so they would then have to go into the bank to withdraw it, whereas if they have it deposited into Charles Schwab or Fidelity in the US, then they can use their US ATM card to withdraw the money at any compatible ATM machine and those companies will reimburse all fees, so that way is basically free.
Also, many expats write a US check and deposit that into their Philippine dollar account once a month and then have to wait 21 business days for it to clear and some Philippine banks charge a fee, the Philippine banks we use charge us $5 per US check we deposit.
As far as being able to live on Social Security, the amount people get varies a lot, I knew of guys trying to live on $1,000 a month and could not do it and others who get $2,600 a month and live pretty darn well, yet they could live in the US on that amount too, they are usually in the Philippines for the woman or women.
Each of us have different lifestyles, so some could easily live on $1,000 a month while others will not be able to. The one thing I see written on some sites is "Live like a king on $1,000 a month" that to me is total bs unless they are referring to having a lot of women and living native, that could be done but to me a king has any type of food they want and can do just about anything they want, that part would NOT be true on $1,000 a month.
Yogurt is available in the Philippines, just different brands than we are used to and big superstores such as S&R Warehouse, which is very much like Costco, have most items we are used to in the US, they just cost more than when in the US.
Some of the US yogurt brands I’ve seen cost around 4 dollars apiece.
Grocery prices are high. Almost everything is higher than in US supermarkets, except fish and some fruits and veggies. Some things you may be used to are simply not available at all, except maybe in specialty shops.
If you need a car, it is pretty cheap to own. You can buy a decent used car, never winter-driven, for $2k, cost of insurance is negligible, gas is about $4 a gallon, shop labor is very cheap if you need repairs or maintenance. Public transport is cheap and easy and safe and everywhere. Fore cable (mid-tier) and internet (5M, unlimited data) I pay $45 a month.
A very luxurious house in a nice location is possible at around $100k. Depending on location, $20k will get you a postage-stamp building lot in a subdivision, or 5,000 square meters of farmland with road access, water and electricity connections a couple of hours from a city. From my observation, trying to buy as an investment is not promising. Plenty of places for sale, few Filiponis can afford them so they sit empty for years.
If uninsured, health costs are not catastrophic. I spent three days in a good urban hospital, private room, excellent care, and the all-inclusive blll for everything came to $800. The room rate alone was $35 a day, which is half the price of a Motel 6. A tooth extraction was $16.
Books are virtually impossible to get. You'd need to have anything shipped from USA. But there is an e-marketer (Lazada) that is equivalent to Amazon, you can order nearly everything at very good prices, free or cheap delivery to your door, often with 48 hours. Always private courier, it appears to me that the Philippine Post Office has virtually ceased to exist, nobody mails anything.
No two people have the same metric for cost of living, but my wife and her teenage daughter and I are getting along just fine on a day-to-day budget of a little over a thousand dollars a month.
If you really want an idea of what is available and what it costs in the Philippines, you can check these three websites:
foodpanda.ph -- you can order and have them deliver your food from many restaurants (Metro Manila and Cebu only)
honestbee.ph -- similar to food panda, but can also buy and have them deliver groceries from various stores. The larger local supermarket on the site is Robinsons (also Metro Manila and Cebu only as of this time)
lazada.com.ph -- largest online retailer in the country
In general, American brands are more expensive (which should not be a surprise to anyone). You can buy/bring your Apple phones/computers, Gap shirts, and Nike shoes from the US. Electronics such as TVs are generally more expensive too unless you can make do with cheap knockoffs from China. But those are too heavy and the voltage is 220V rather than 110V, so better to just purchase locally.
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