Anthony was earning $12,000 a month at Microsoft in Seattle.

It did not feel like a lot of money.

He would walk into the office before the sun came up and leave after it was already gone. The rest of his income went straight back out the door — rent, cost of living, the endless grind of one of the most expensive cities in America.

He had done everything he was supposed to do. Marine Corps. Microsoft. Software engineer at one of the most powerful companies in the world. And somewhere in the middle of all of it he looked up and thought — what do I do next?

He did not want to be 65 years old and just starting to live.

Watch Anthony's full story here

At their highest point in West Seattle Anthony's family was paying $4,000 a month in rent. Just rent.

He now pays $850 a month for a two-bedroom high-rise on the 20th floor in Cebu City. With his two kids. Living entirely off his military pension of $2,600 per month.

The same income that felt like nothing against Seattle's cost of living now funds an entire family lifestyle in Southeast Asia with money left over every single month.

He chose the Philippines specifically because of his kids. English everywhere. American-style amenities. An international school where his daughter could take painting classes and his son could make friends from a dozen different countries.

In Cebu he enrolled his daughter in painting school. He is going to take the classes with her.

That was not possible in Seattle.

Anthony was stationed in Okinawa during his time in the Marine Corps. He remembered visiting the Philippines — the crystal clear water, the warmth, the people. It felt like a magical place.

Years later sitting in a Seattle office he remembered that feeling and decided he was not going to wait any longer.

He said it plainly. I didn't want to be one of those people that are 65 years old and just starting to live their lives.

Before the Marine Corps, before Microsoft, he had always wanted to be a filmmaker. The Philippines gives him the time and the financial freedom to go back to it. Not as a hobby. As the thing he actually wants to build.

He involved his kids in the decision from the beginning. They helped choose where to go. They were invested before they ever got on a plane. And when they landed they were excited — not reluctant.

He would not have brought them if they did not genuinely want to come.

Now his daughter is taking painting classes. His son is making friends from countries he had never heard of. And Anthony is rediscovering the version of himself that existed before the corporate grind took over.

He put the whole thing simply.

There is no price you can put on the confidence of knowing everything is taken care of.

He is right. The logistics of moving halfway across the world with two kids are genuinely daunting. But the cost of staying in a city where $12,000 a month disappears before you can feel it — that cost is higher.

Click here to start your move to the Philippines the right way.

Travel Well,
Evan Lorezca
The Savvy Expat