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Younger men can successfully relocate to the Philippines by prioritizing financial preparation, securing multiple income streams, and understanding the lifestyle differences to avoid common pitfalls.
This video features an interview with Gio, a long-term expat in the Philippines, who shares his playbook for younger men considering a similar move. Gio, who relocated at age 45, emphasizes the importance of financial preparation, including paying off debt, building a nest egg, and establishing multiple income sources before making the transition. He highlights that unlike retirees, younger expats often need to secure employment or reliable income streams, as finding jobs in the Philippines can be challenging.
Gio discusses his experiences in Dumaguete, noting its amenities for expats, proximity to natural attractions like waterfalls and beaches, and central location for travel. However, he also points out drawbacks such as increasing traffic, pollution, and noise, and suggests that Dumaguete may not offer a truly immersive cultural experience due to its expat-heavy nature. He contrasts this with the significant personal growth and reduced stress he has experienced since moving, enjoying a more relaxed pace of life and financial freedom compared to his previous life in the U.S.
To maintain motivation and avoid boredom, Gio stresses the importance of travel, both within the Philippines and to other Southeast Asian countries, as well as annual trips back to the U.S. He also shares his favorite activities, including hiking to remote waterfalls, snorkeling, scuba diving, and motorbike trips. For those planning a 'discovery trip,' Gio advises a 'soft landing' by staying in hotels for a few nights in major cities like Cebu or Manila before committing to longer-term rentals, to gauge their suitability and avoid costly mistakes.
Relocating to the Philippines can offer a less stressful, slower-paced life with significantly reduced financial burdens compared to Western countries. It provides opportunities for personal growth and a different lifestyle. However, success hinges on thorough preparation, especially regarding finances and income.
Securing multiple reliable income streams before moving is crucial for young expats, as traditional employment can be difficult to find. This might involve remote work, online businesses, or other ventures that provide financial stability. Traditional jobs are often scarce for foreigners.
Thorough financial preparation is vital for moving to the Philippines. This includes having a substantial emergency fund, covering initial startup costs for housing and transportation, and ideally paying off existing debts. A solid financial cushion mitigates many potential challenges.
Dumaguete is mentioned as a location with amenities for expats and proximity to natural attractions, making it a popular choice. However, for a more authentic cultural experience, other locations might be considered. Major cities like Cebu or Manila are recommended for initial 'soft landings.'
Maintaining motivation while living abroad involves actively engaging in activities you enjoy and exploring new places. This includes travel within the Philippines and Southeast Asia, pursuing hobbies like hiking and diving, and taking annual trips back home. Variety and new experiences are key.
A 'soft landing' approach involves a gradual introduction to a new country, starting with short hotel stays in major cities like Cebu or Manila. This allows you to assess suitability and avoid immediate commitment to long-term accommodation, minimizing potential mistakes and costly errors.
Gio's primary source of income in the Philippines is vlogging. The video emphasizes the importance for younger expats to secure multiple income streams before relocating, as traditional employment can be difficult to find. Financial preparation, including a substantial emergency fund and covering startup costs, is crucial for expats.
Dumaguete offers amenities attractive to expats and is close to natural attractions like waterfalls and beaches. However, it also faces drawbacks such as increasing traffic, pollution, and noise. The city's expat-heavy nature means it may not provide a deeply immersive cultural experience.
To maintain motivation, expats should prioritize travel, exploring both the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, and taking annual trips back home. Engaging in hobbies like hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, and motorbike trips also contributes to a fulfilling lifestyle.
Yes, finding traditional employment in the Philippines can be challenging for expats. The video stresses that younger expats, unlike retirees, often need to secure reliable income streams or employment before moving. Vlogging and other independent income sources are highlighted as alternatives.
0:01 It's almost like a second chance at life. I think people forget about the startup cost. They go from being underappreciated and visible to all of a sudden having value again. Hey YouTube, Alex here, and in today's video, we're talking to none other than Gio from Gio in the Philippines. I'm sure most of you are familiar with Gio. If you aren't, you'll get to know a bit about him and his experience here in the Philippines. I can't thank him enough for coming on the channel to share some of his insight into life here in the Philippines.
0:35 Welcome, welcome. Today we have Gio. I'm sure there are only a few of you who are not yet familiar with Gio. I'm sure many of my subscribers have watched his channel, Gio and the Philippines. Gio has been here for a while. I would consider him one of the pioneers of vlogging in the Philippines. He's just got this long history of great content. He is part of the reason that I was able to come here efficiently, really saved me a lot of time and money and understanding of the Philippines before I could make it over here.
1:07 Without further ado, can you please introduce yourself, Gio? Thanks for that warm welcome, I appreciate that. My name is Gio. I moved here 8 years ago. I made a first trip a year before that, back in 2015 initially. I came out at a kind of an earlier age than most. I came out at age 45 or 46, right around there. I think that's an atypical age, right? Most of the guys that we're watching are at retirement age and they're collecting Social Security.
1:36 So with that in mind, the first question I have for you, a lot of younger guys, they're watching your channel, they're saying, 'Wow, you don't have to be at traditional retirement age.' And so maybe, you know, they're curious like, 'How did Gio do it?' My first question for you is, what is your best insight for younger guys who want to make the move to the Philippines?
1:55 That's very true, because to tell somebody to go find a job here, it's next to impossible. I just happened to be right timing and I was at the right place, you know, when it all happened. But it started being in the States, preparation. I mean, I was working actually three jobs at one time, just preparing, paying off debt, getting a nest egg put together, and getting to the point where I had multiple sources of income. If one dried up, I had a backup.
2:22 You know, I wanted to be very prepared. And I landed a job out here, and I was also teaching English online in the evening time. So I was basically making, I had two sources of income. Both would have been enough to support me, but I wanted to be very secure. You know, being overseas by yourself, you want to be secure.
2:44 Got it. I think the financial portion of the equation is super important for younger guys. They're not as worried about maybe having an emergent health situation. They're probably more concerned about the financial aspect. Very helpful, Gio. In that same line of thinking, what are the biggest missteps that you see younger guys who are not at retirement age making?
3:03 Again, starting at home, not having a big enough emergency fund if things go wrong. Or I think people forget about these startup costs. There are startup costs here as well, and you know, furnishing a place, deposits, maybe buying a motorbike. Not getting things like health insurance, and something medically happens. So I think you need to look into those things. And I truly believe you need more than one source of income if you're younger than Social Security or a pension age.
3:35 You've got to have a second source in case one dries up. That was always my biggest worry. What if this? What if I get fired tomorrow? I need to have a second. Or, you know, so I always maintained having a couple sources of income. I guess that would be my biggest advice. I always have a plan B and enough money left over to get back home if you have to.
3:57 You've been in Dumaguete for how many years now? It's funny, I've lived in three places in the Philippines, twice. I've lived in Davao twice, I've lived in Cebu twice, and I've lived in Dumaguete twice. So I probably have been in Dumaguete, I want to say 4 years total, between the two times that I've lived here.
4:21 Yeah, you've lived here twice. A span of four years. How has Dumaguete changed in those four years? And maybe you could speak specifically, some ways for the better, maybe some ways not as much.
4:30 So, I'll start with the better. The one thing I like is that because there are a lot of expats here, you don't necessarily have to see them and run into them all the time. So even though it's an expat-heavy city, you don't really need to be around them if you don't want to. There's stores that cater to us expats where I can get Western goods. There's Western-style restaurants. There's a lot to do. There's the mountains nearby with waterfalls, and then you've got the beaches in Dauin and Bong, nearby islands, very central. And you can hop over to South Cebu, and so it pretty much has everything all nearby, very centrally located.
5:10 Some of the things I don't like is that the traffic within Dumaguete is starting to get ridiculous. And I think in part, it has to do with 2,000 plus tricycles on the roads. Now, I don't know if they're all on the road at the same time, but it certainly feels like it. So the roads are becoming an issue here. The pollution, which happens around the Philippines, is kind of bad. Same with the noise, the air, and the trash.
5:38 Other than that, a lot of expats here. This is not what I call the real Philippines experience. So if you were to come out here and you're looking to be immersed in the culture, Dumaguete is really not the place for that. You're just another expat walking around. They're used to us expats.
5:55 How has living in the Philippines changed you? Well, I'm a lot more relaxed. Like, I have a lot less stress. You know, I wake up in the morning, I have no schedule anymore as far as even work. I mean, vlogging is work, you know, I make income off of it and other sources as well, but I don't have a schedule. I don't have a certain amount of hours that I have to put in.
6:17 You know, but the more you work, the more you can make, and the less you work, then the less you're going to make. Sometimes, so you do have to put some work. But I don't have a schedule, and I don't have a bunch of things I have to do. I don't have all these unnecessary bills, car insurance, car payments, just all these different things. I don't have that anymore. I don't have to really worry about when I go out to eat at a restaurant. I really don't have to look at the menu at the prices.
6:43 You know, in the States, that was like the first thing I would do when I walk in a restaurant. I'd be like, 'Can I see your menu?' You're thumbing through, looking at the prices to see if it's affordable for you before you sit down. You know, so here, you don't really have to do that. It's just a more relaxed, slower-paced, stress-free life. There's some stress with other things, you know, like traffic and organization sometimes, but I try not to let it bother me.
7:07 Absolutely. I can definitely appreciate that there are some minor challenges, but to compare them as though they were equal to the challenges we've dealt with in America is not accurate. It's an apples-to-oranges comparison. You moved here, you had work lined up. Some guys find that it's not for them for whatever reason. They decide, 'Hey, the weather isn't my jam. I miss X, Y, or Z back home.'
7:30 What has kept you here? Honestly, I would be really bored if I was just here 365 days a year. I like to travel. I like to go to Thailand and Vietnam, and we just came back from Japan. So I like to keep it interesting. I like to island hop and see different places. If I was just stationary and did MTI all the time, I think I would be bored, and I would probably be wanting to move off somewhere else.
7:55 And I just am constantly wanting to explore and see new places within the Philippines and outside of the Philippines. And now I do a yearly trip back to the US. So I'm always off going somewhere, doing something, and I just stay pretty busy. And that just kind of keeps me motivated. Plus the vlogging, without it, would honestly, I would be kind of bored. I think sometimes just my day would just not be so exciting.
8:26 Yeah, I know that you are a committed man now that you're married to your wife, Maya. Congratulations, by the way. Would you ever consider moving with your wife back to the US, and why or why not?
8:38 We briefly talked about it, and it really just, even financially, it just doesn't make any sense. The cost of living is going to be much more. We talked about the benefits of her becoming a citizen, weighed against, you know, the increase in the cost of living and things like that. And having to buy a car again, and all the things that go with it. And a big house payment, possibly, or rent, and it's just not worth it. So we are going to work on getting her a tourist visa, which we think we can achieve now. She's traveled outside of the country enough that we think she will be able to qualify.
9:14 And so she'll visit. And the beauty about the American tourist visa is it's good for 10 years, and she can visit up to 6 months at a time, which is phenomenal. So really, I don't see the benefits of moving there. We briefly thought about it, but we're happy here, and we're happy traveling around Southeast Asia, and here we will stay.
9:35 So, yeah. So last couple questions, why do so many men find happiness here in the Philippines?
9:41 I think they have a lot less stress here. Usually, just the cost of living is less, and they're able to find a younger, prettier, more traditional woman here. And it's almost like a second chance at life. A lot of these guys have gone through nasty divorces where they've lost their house, and it's just been a painful experience financially and mentally. And then they come over here, and they go from being underappreciated and invisible to all of a sudden having value again.
10:13 And I think that's like a big thing. Do you feel that the struggles or the challenges in your life help you to...
10:20 Challenges in your life help you to better savor or appreciate the life that you've built here. If you're still content in the U.S. and you never went through anything horrible, like a nasty divorce, maybe you're just a single guy. I don't think a lot of guys even think about looking outside of the U.S. They're looking for a blue-haired, gray-haired lady their age. They don't realize what else is available or that they could go live at a fraction of the cost of living.
10:53 They could live in a warm tropical place year-round. Now, again, you give up a lot of stuff. I had to give up things like I really loved mountain biking and freshwater fishing. Those things I just can't do anymore, but the things I've gained, I've gained a lot of things here as well.
11:12 What are some of your favorite activities that you've been able to get into here? Hobbies you've been able to develop that you wouldn't be able to do back home? I'm big into hiking and discovering waterfalls. I don't like going to the ones that are so publicly accessible. I like the ones that take like a hike and you've got to really trek through the jungle to get to that.
11:32 Those are the exciting ones, with beautiful crystal-clear water and refreshing. I love the snorkeling, the scuba diving, and I love driving my motorbike on trips. That's exciting for me to go up into areas maybe in the mountains that some of these Filipinos have never seen. Western people running out into the street to give you high fives as you're driving by; those are amazing moments.
12:04 You're living here, you put a lot of planning and time and effort into it. What are some of the things that guys should consider when they're trying to plan a discovery trip? Are there any cities you recommend for first-timers? Are there activities that they should do? What kind of steps should somebody take when they're thinking, 'Okay, I'm not ready like Gio was, but I want to get part of the way there?'
12:24 I recommend like a soft landing for guys who have never really traveled too much overseas. Places like Cebu, Dumaguete, BGC, Makati, and Manila are kind of a soft landing. You know, maybe stay there three nights in a hotel, see how you like it. If you like it, then you book something long-term. If you don't like it, you can have the freedom to move off to another place.
12:49 I think too many guys will book like a whole month Airbnb in a place where they've never been. They get there and maybe they're bored or they don't like it after five days, and they booked an entire month at an Airbnb. I think that's a mistake. I think you should do three nights in a hotel and then see how you like it, and then extend or move on.
13:09 Thank you so much for your time today, Gio. It's been wonderful to sit down and chat with you. You know, there's just so much insight. I feel like I have a million questions, but then this interview would be like four or five hours.
13:22 Where can people find you? How can people find your channel? Two ways: just search on YouTube, "Gio in the Philippines," and I have a website, GioInThePhilippines.com, that you can reach out to me and contact me there as well. It's connected to my YouTube as well.
13:37 Excellent. Thanks so much. Be sure to check out Gio's channel. Like I said, I've been watching his channel for years now. There's so much insight to be had there. I think he's got close to a thousand videos on there, so you have enough content to watch daily for a very long time.
13:53 I want to thank Gio again for his time today. He's been very generous to sit down with me. Hope everyone has a wonderful, full rest of their day. Thanks so much, Gio.
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