Bruce spent over 30 years in Platteville, Wisconsin.
Small town. Cold winters that lasted half the year. Long hospital shifts on call for emergency surgeries. A big house on 13 acres of land that he eventually found himself living in alone after a divorce.
He had been thinking about retiring overseas for a while. He had visited the Philippines three times. He had done the research. And then one day he stopped thinking about it and actually made the move.
Today he wakes up on the 30th floor of a condo in BGC, sips his morning coffee on the balcony overlooking the Manila American War Memorial Cemetery, and walks five minutes to one of the best malls in the city whenever he needs anything.
He pays $1,000 a month in rent.
This is his story.
Why the Philippines
Bruce had been to eight countries. He kept coming back to the Philippines for one reason above all others.
The people.
Friendly, warm, almost always smiling. Genuinely happy to see you. He said you can go almost anywhere here and be greeted with a good mood, which is something he found rare in a lot of other places he had traveled.
The climate was another factor. After decades of brutal Wisconsin winters, the idea of year-round warmth was not a small thing. It was a deciding factor.
And then there was BGC itself. He visited Davao City and Cebu on that same scouting trip. Both had their merits. But BGC was different. In his words, it is like a city in the United States without the crime and without the homelessness. Western conveniences, reliable internet, no power outages, world class healthcare at St. Luke's Medical Center twenty minutes away on foot, and everything else within a short walk.
He said it best himself. You get the best of both worlds.
What $1,000 a Month Gets You
Bruce is living in a two-bedroom condo on the 30th floor in one of the most expensive cities in the Philippines. Over 80 square meters of space. A balcony with a view. Five minutes from a major mall.
One thousand dollars a month.
He regularly texts his family back in the States photos of his meals. A full dinner for two at a quality restaurant in BGC runs around $17. The same meal back home would cost $40 to $50. Even in the most expensive city in the Philippines the cost of living is dramatically lower than a normal American city.
He also joined a gym on a Father's Day special. $26 a month for 14 months. He hired a personal trainer on top of that for less than $20 an hour, one on one, fully personalized. In the States the equivalent would run $40 to $60 an hour and likely involve sharing the trainer with six other people.
He had a full body dermatology exam at St. Luke's Medical Center, out of pocket, for under $40. In the States with insurance it would have been hundreds of dollars.
Why He Used Our Services
Bruce almost tried to do it himself. He was glad he did not.
He had already encountered the bait and switch firsthand before working with us. He found a unit online at the Bellagio that looked perfect at a great price. He reached out. The realtor told him the unit was no longer available and immediately asked what he was looking for instead.
Classic tactic. Post an attractive listing, pull you in, then redirect you to whatever they actually want to sell.
He said there were so many little things that came up during the move that he simply was not anticipating. The paperwork alone, the SRRV visa process, the medical requirements, the NBI clearance, the postdated checks for rent, the bank account setup, all of it required navigation that would have been significantly harder without someone who had already done it dozens of times.
Our team member Sheila handled his day to day support throughout the process and went with him to the Bureau of Immigration to file paperwork in person. He said he could have probably done it but he would not have done it nearly as smoothly.
He also mentioned something that reflects what we hear from almost every client. The value was not just in the logistics. It was in having someone to call when something unexpected came up. A toothache and he needed a dentist referral. A medical follow-up and he needed to know the right specialist at the right hospital. That kind of on-call support is hard to put a price on.
The Life He Has Now
Bruce wakes up, takes his morning walk, hits the gym with his personal trainer, and explores a city with more restaurants than he can count. He is communicating more with his kids on WhatsApp now than he ever did when he lived in the same country as them.
He retired earlier than he planned. He has a trip to Bohol booked. He is looking at property for down the road. And when asked about his plans going forward, his answer was simple.
The Philippines is home now. The States is where he vacations.
Complete reversal. And he has never been happier.
If you are thinking about making the same move Bruce did and want to avoid the guesswork, the bait and switch, and the skin tax that catches so many expats off guard, we can help you do this the right way.
Travel Well,
Evan Lorezca
The Savvy Expat