My Move to the Philippines

Sticking with the same theme of our moving to Philippines blog I have updated my album of pictures of our house construction in the Philippines. We are still working hard on the interior and these pictures are showing some of the additions with paint. Included in the latest pics are the downstairs bathroom which is the room that is now painted checker board style and also the kitchen sink and part of the work is done on the counter. I think it looks pretty good and will continue to post updated pictures. To link to the total photo album click on the following link: Pictures of Our House Construction in the Philippines.

In other news there is a video out making the YouTube rounds of our favorite singer from the Philippines, Charice. It seems she is getting ready for an appearance on the show Glee and she is getting Botox treatments. In my opinion Charice you are beautiful as you are but it’s your body do what feels comfortable. Until next time Salamat Po!

For any of the interested readers of my blog on my Move to the Philippines I am including a link to some of the interior pictures of our house construction in the Philippines. This project is coming along very well and we are pushing it as quick as possible due to rainy season but since it is a very big project we are also watching the quality of work. Thanks to all of our neighbors and relatives in Binan Laguna for what you are doing in our absence, that is what I like most about the Philippines.

Here is a link to the Facebook album of the remaining pictures Our House Construction in the Philippines

Terrace Under Construction

Just received some updated pictures of work done on our house construction in the Philippines one of which is at the beginning of this post. Suddenly it’s shaping up to looking like we want it even though there is still a ways to go. I promised I would keep updating as it progressed not to show off but to let people see what goes on with house construction in the the Philippines. I will entertain any comments or questions concerning what we are going through. If you’d like to see the all the pictures just click on my Facebook button to the right.

I recently received a comment on the post I wrote awhile back about my wife becoming a U.S./Philippine Dual Citizen and I want to clear up any misconceptions others may have gotten. I’ll just post the the comment and my reply in this post with an important link for you all to read. Here is the comment string:

Comment: i know this article has been a few years already…but im confused. i was looking into getting the dual citizenship but when i took my oath for my US citizenship…i know i read somewhere, that although the US allows dual citizenship, an individual can be stripped of their US citizenship after naturalizing. and one of those ways was if the individual swore an oath to another country. from what i’ve read on the requirements for the DC, a naturalized US citizen is in danger of getting their citizenship revoked because of having to take another oath to the Philippines. im just wondering why it’s not like other countries that even though you get your US citizenship, you automatically retain your citizenship from where you were born. no submitting forms or re-taking an oath of allegiance.

also…as far as i know, as long as you were born in the Philippines, even if you naturalized as a US citizen, you will be able to buy as much land as you can. i know so because my mom was a naturalized citizen born in the Philippines. but throughout all these years, she’s bought numerous parcels of land without any problems.

My reply: “If you do a little Googling you will see that there are court cases and legal summations on this subject. The rulings have always determined that for anyone to lose their U.S. citizenship they must appear before an official and VOLUNTARILY give it up. Here’s more info: Advice about Possible Loss of US Citizenship and Dual Nationality”

The way I look at it is if someone becomes a dual citizen the worst case scenario is they get a call from an Embassy official asking if they took the oath of another country WITH THE INTENT of giving up U.S. citizenship. If the dual citizen says no, then no problem.

As far as I know this has never happened and if it has please someone let me know the details. Again if you are considering dual citizenship and feel uncomfortable with it you make the decision that makes you feel comfortable.

Disclaimer: I am not a legal professional and only provide this as general information. Please consult a legal expert for a professional opinion.

July 2010

If you’ve been following the story on our moving to the Philippines you know that we are still working on our house construction in the Philippines. We fully lived in it the last time we were there and decided to start another phase which is making a bigger kitchen and adding a terrace and expanding my office. The picture at the beginning of the post is from about two weeks ago. As you can see, many times Philippine houses are built by manual labor with very little automation at all. It’s been really interesting watching our Philippine house and seeing the unique ways the the Filipino workmen use common items as tools and construction material. Keep checking back to see when we get the completion pictures.

On another note I would like to thank the loyal readers who have been following my blog. I never intended this to be a profit making site but did add some advertisements to pay for hosting and such. I am surprised to see that although I don’t spend nearly as much time as I do on my other projects this blog is picking up much more traffic than I ever expected. If there are any questions on my experience as an American moving to the Philippines please leave me a comment.

An internet friend Louden recently wrote on his blog Life in the Philippines about a trip to the dentist where he lives in the Philippines. He covered the visit very well and covered the major advantages and disadvantages of getting his work done there. This got me thinking about medical tourism in the Philippines and getting healthcare in the Philippines.

Medical tourism can be defined as when a person travels from their home country to another country for the specific reason of getting medical, dental, and surgical care. More often than not, the medical tourist travels from a more developed country to a lesser developed country due to currency exchange rates. Economic conditions such as a recession also factor into the rate of medical tourism. When an economy is suffering, as the U.S. is experiencing right now, you will see more examples of medical tourism.

Most of the procedures that are performed are done with the latest technology in hospitals and clinics that rival the ones in their own countries. Some of the most common procedures are cosmetic surgery, dermatology, weight loss, and dentistry. One example I’ve read about is knee replacement surgery, which could cost you up to $50,000 in the United States. The price is around $5,000 in the Philippines and this surgery is done by surgeons usually trained at the same place as the U.S. doctors.

My wife and I have not needed any major surgery lately but since we spend time between the U.S. and Philippines we try to schedule our dental and optometry visits when we are in the Philippines. Not only are the check- ups much cheaper but our eyeglasses are half the price that we can get them for, even at the discount eyecarewebsites.

Medical tourism in Asia is on the rise with countries such as Thailand and Singapore trying to lure the medical tourists to their own countries but the Philippines is still considered the best due to their facilities. Check out the various websites that are specifically targeted towards medical tourism for more information.

With the state of the United States economy and the growing dissatifaction of the job our Government officials are doing more Americans are choosing to retire overseas. I come across a great article in the New York Times newspaper giving some tips on how to retire overseas and what to look for. I believe some of these helpful hints and tips can assist an American moving to the Philippines. Such tips as maintaining a bank account in your homeland to facilitate transfer of money or making sure the health care system is adequate to help you in old age. I’ve already considered and made plans for these as well as other concerns but if someone were considering doing as I am this would be a very good article to start out with.

If you’d like to read more on this subject and maybe get a few tips the entire article can be read at the following link: Americans Who Seek Out Retirement Homes Overseas

A question for my friends who were born in the Philippines but have migrated to the United States later in life. What do you call yourselves? I have some friends who refer to themselves as Fil-Am (Filipino American) and some just refer to themselves as Filipinos and others refer to themselves as Americans. One of the greatest things about being a U.S. citizen is that you have the right to label yourselves as such. I’ve seen many people from other countries that take on the label American but obviously they were not born here. But they have become U.S. citizens and now they ARE Americans and proud of it.

Not many other countries allow people to come in and become a citizen of their countries so it would be rare for someone born in the U.S. to refer to themselves as anything other than Americans. The same goes with my friends from the UK, Germany or any other countries. It may happen but in my travels around the world I have never experienced it.

What I’ve been leading up to in the previous paragraphs is there is a controversy going on in certain parts of the U.S. about dual citizens from the Philippines and why they have did it. Some Filipinos believe that it is for the benefits of unlimited purchase of real estate or being allowed to own businesses in the Philippines while enjoying the benefits of living in the U.S. These people who are against Filipinos obtaining dual citizenship for the previous reasons argue that many people who obtain dual citizenship don’t even teach their children how to speak Tagalog and refer to themselves only as Americans, leaving their Filipino heritage behind. Still others obtain a dual citizenship and refer to themselves as Filipinos confusing some who want to know where their allegiance really lies.

My wife is in the group of people who while obtaining dual citizenship has embraced both countries. She and I plan on moving to the Philippines to live out our later years only returning to the U.S. to visit with family sometimes. We have made our children (and grandchild) aware and proud of their Filipino heritage. We also have encouraged them to visit the Philippines as often as possible. My wife votes in Philippine elections and pays her taxes just as she does in the United States so I would hope that many Filipinos would respect her as she chooses the label of Fil-Am.

One of the videos concerning this controversy is on YouTube and I am including it at the end of this post Please comment and tell me how you how you refer to yourself and why.

We were very honored to be invited by our niece Zyra to her school’s day of dancing and celebration recently. She attends Colegio San Agustin in Binan Laguna. 

This school is owned and managed by the Augustinian Friars of the Province of Sto Nino de Cebu and located on five hectares in Binan and houses more than 600 students. This is the second time I’ve visited the school and I have been impressed with the staff, students, and parents associated with this fine school. Check out the video I made (excuse the jumpiness and shots of the ground) the day we visited last.

One of my favorite activities is visiting the Malls around Manila and the surrounding areas and I’ll have to admit that my favorite mall is Mall of Asia or MOA as it is sometimes called. The best feature is the ice skating rink where I watch skaters of all ages and skill levels. I made a video recently of the rink and I’d like to share it with you now. Yes that is me speaking in the video. Notice my hillbilly twang?