Retiring Happily Abroad; Cebu Rated #20 Out Of 21

[Czechman]

This is probably not surprising due to the PHIL's being a 3rd world status country, and being an extremely affordable place to live a fairly good and happy life too!  ~However, see where it says "Monthly cost of Living: $900," at the onset? I am sure there are areas in Cebu where this is possible but, do you notice it also states "spectacular beaches," "diving spots," "active nightlife," etc. and some of this (as you can see), they link to Cebu City too - which is going to be more expensive than the neighboring Cebu provinces of course - making you THINK that you're going to be cruising' on easy street when you get here... Ha, ha, ha, you'll be in for an extreme jolt dude, if you didn't bring extra money!!

 

So on $900 a month, is it possible to delve into the "spectacular beaches," "diving spots," "active nightlife," etc, in Cebu - like they state in the article - without going broke and/or borrowing funds? I would say that you could just get by as a single entity, on $900 a month in Cebu but, you're on a tight budget with few, if any, extravagances! 

 

The article lists 20 other "affordable retirement locations" also, with some lower than the "$900/mo in Cebu" figure and some, climbing into the $2,000+/mo zone as well. Here and below, the URL from The Street article: http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/retiring-happily-abroad-21-best-places/ss-AAdzFHq

 

Below is a small snapshot of the article:

Edited August 1, 2015 by Jollygoodfellow

[stevewool]

Some of the best beaches are free still so your $900 is still not used yet,

I think if you are single and looking for a good time then you will spend and they people you are with ( the young ladies) they will let you spend it all in one night,

But if you are married its a different matter, well to me it is , been there done that sort of thing,

[Mike J]

I think you could "live" on $900 a month in Cebu City, but it would be quite difficult to "Retire Happily" on that amount.  It would also be scary if you did not have sufficient funds in case of serious illness or other financial setback.

[Dave Hounddriver]

I think someone got paid to write an extremely optimistic viewpoint because that improves readership.  Very few people pay writers to write pessimistic articles.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Dave Hounddriver

[Gerald Glatt]

This is probably not surprising due to the PHIL's being a 3rd world status country, and being an extremely affordable place to live a fairly good and happy life too!  ~How

 

:kidding: Actually the Philippines is one of the few first world countries in Asia, the definition has nothing to do with infrastructure or income, rather political alliance. 

[Czechman]

 

This is probably not surprising due to the PHIL's being a 3rd world status country, and being an extremely affordable place to live a fairly good and happy life too!  ~How

 

:kidding: Actually the Philippines is one of the few first world countries in Asia, the definition has nothing to do with infrastructure or income, rather political alliance. 

 

 

Well pardon me!

 

For one, I meant it was not exactly a well-developed country in many areas... And who could argue that if they live here and experience the whole entity daily? It is definitely one of the most lowest cost countries to live in -that is for sure and it is documented everywhere you look it seems- and to add to this, It certainly holds more value for your foreign currency too!

 

Secondly, I still consider the Philippines a 3rd world economy/country/whatever today in comparison worldwide and not specifically Asia. So in regards to that, if you compare the Phils worldwide, I would think that it it fits into that tier 3 slot. - Even though things are changing and for the better (:-), I don't think that the Philippines is too far off from that 3rd rung on the status ladder currently, and maybe.., maybe, moving into that 2nd rung...

 

Also, it's nice that the PH's has this top-status among the Asian territories though, and thanks for that info!

[Czechman]

Some of the best beaches are free still so your $900 is still not used yet,

I think if you are single and looking for a good time then you will spend and they people you are with ( the young ladies) they will let you spend it all in one night,

But if you are married its a different matter, well to me it is , been there done that sort of thing,

 

True, true, many of the best beaches are free however, you need to consider transportation to get there and/also food, drink, amenities, etc. and this would definitely rip into your $900 budget for sure. But like you say, how far you let it (via: people/things/circumstances), drain your budget is to be considered as well.

[scott h]

"Monthly cost of Living: $900,"

 

Rename the article "monthly cost of SURVIVING" and ill buy into the article. But retiring on 900,,,not this cat :cheersty:

[Gerald Glatt]

Well pardon me!

 

 

:attention: Apology accepted.  

 

First world countries are those that aligned with the USA during the cold war, the Philippines has been with the US in every conflict since 1902.  Other Asian nation that qualify are Korea and Japan, and Israel. 

 

Second world nation are those allied with the Soviets, like China and eastern Europe.

 

Third world nations are neither. Think Switzerland, most of South America and others who had no dog in the hunt.

 

I don't know when third world came to mean poor, underdeveloped nations but it is a common misnomer whether you live in one or not. :th_unfair:  

[cyberbro]

I think the text book definition and origins of "3rd world country" have changed and evolved into a standard of living / economics association. Words and terms do that over time, the word gay comes to mind lol

 

I think everyone now views the term 3rd world as economics.