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Many aspiring expats fail to relocate to the Philippines due to external influences, personal setbacks, unrealistic expectations about cost of living and lifestyle, and unaddressed health concerns.
The video explores common reasons why individuals planning to become expats in the Philippines often fail to make the move. One significant factor is the influence of friends and family who, due to their own fears or 'crabs in a bucket' mentality, discourage relocation by focusing on negative stereotypes or horror stories. This can create cognitive dissonance, making it difficult for aspiring expats to pursue their dreams without understanding the realities or considering a preliminary visit.
Another major hurdle is personal heartbreak, often stemming from online relationships with Filipino individuals that end badly. These negative experiences can create a strong negative association with the Philippines, leading individuals to abandon their relocation plans and seek a fresh start elsewhere. Additionally, unrealistic expectations about the cost of living are a common pitfall; while some aspects are cheaper, maintaining a Western standard of living, frequenting high-end establishments, or expecting a perpetual vacation lifestyle can be as expensive as in Western countries.
The video also highlights that visiting a place and experiencing it firsthand can sometimes lead to a change of mind, especially when the reality doesn't match the idealized portrayal often presented by content creators. Challenges like traffic, year-round heat, and the general differences from one's home country can be significant deterrents. Finally, health concerns and the accessibility of adequate healthcare services are critical factors. Individuals with pre-existing conditions or specific medical needs may find that the healthcare infrastructure in their desired location is insufficient or too risky compared to their home country, preventing them from making the move.
Expats often fail to move to the Philippines due to external pressures from friends and family, as well as personal setbacks like relationship heartbreaks. Unrealistic expectations about the cost of living and lifestyle can also be major deterrents. These factors, combined with potential health concerns, can prevent individuals from making the relocation successful.
Common challenges for expats in the Philippines include navigating family and friend discouragement, dealing with the emotional fallout from local romantic relationships, and facing the reality that a Western standard of living can be expensive. Additionally, the idealized 'vacation' lifestyle often portrayed online doesn't match the everyday realities of traffic, heat, and cultural differences.
The cost of living in the Philippines can be surprisingly high for expats if they aim to maintain a Western standard of living. While some expenses are lower, frequenting high-end establishments, desiring luxury services, or expecting a constant vacation atmosphere can make it as costly as living in Western countries.
Romantic relationships with local individuals can significantly impact an expat's decision to relocate. When these relationships end badly, it can create a strong negative association with the Philippines, leading the individual to abandon their relocation plans altogether. This emotional turmoil is a key reason why some aspiring expats give up on their move.
Yes, health concerns are a critical factor for many aspiring expats. Individuals with pre-existing conditions or specific medical needs must thoroughly assess the accessibility and quality of healthcare services in their target Philippine location. If the local healthcare infrastructure is perceived as insufficient or too risky, it can prevent them from making the move.
A discovery trip is highly recommended before committing to a move to the Philippines. Experiencing the reality of expat life firsthand can help temper unrealistic expectations and reveal challenges like traffic or climate that might not be apparent online. It allows you to assess the lifestyle and healthcare options before making a significant life change.
Getting sick in the Philippines can be very expensive, especially if you have pre-existing conditions or specific medical needs. The cost of healthcare services can be substantial, and it's crucial for potential expats to consider this factor. Adequate financial preparation and understanding local healthcare costs are essential for long-term stays.
The cost of living in the Philippines can be comparable to Western countries, particularly if you aim to maintain a Western standard of living. While budget options exist for daily expenses, high-end amenities, frequenting upscale establishments, or expecting a perpetual vacation lifestyle can be as costly as in Western nations. Comparing like-for-like experiences shows that the price differences may not always be substantial.
Several factors contribute to individuals failing to make the move to the Philippines. These include discouragement from friends and family, negative experiences from online relationships, and unrealistic expectations about the cost of living. Additionally, the reality of daily life, such as traffic and heat, and concerns about healthcare accessibility can deter potential expats.
Downsizing and decluttering are important considerations before relocating abroad. Holding onto possessions that haven't been used in years can anchor individuals and make the transition more difficult. Embracing a minimalist lifestyle can greatly facilitate the process of moving and settling into a new country.
Visiting the Philippines firsthand is highly recommended before making a permanent move. Experiencing the country directly can reveal whether the reality matches idealized portrayals and help assess potential challenges. A preliminary visit allows for a realistic evaluation of the lifestyle, environment, and personal suitability for expat life.
Healthcare accessibility and quality are significant concerns for potential expats in the Philippines. Individuals with pre-existing conditions or specific medical needs must thoroughly assess if the local healthcare infrastructure is sufficient and meets their requirements. The cost of medical care can also be a major factor in the decision to relocate.
0:01 Hey YouTube, Alex here. And in today's video, I answer the question: Why does some expats fail to reach the Philippines? There are a number of different reasons as to why a guy may fail to come here to the Philippines. Let's go ahead and get into these.
0:12 The first reason is that they're listening to their friends and family. Their friends and family, they're well-meaning, they care about them. They've heard all these horror stories about other countries, and they think every single country except for the United States or the UK or Canada is Armageddon. And they are worried about you. They think that you're going over there and it's going to be the end of the world, you'll never come back.
0:35 Well, some of you may never come back, but for different reasons. You may enjoy it so much you don't want to go back. But that's a side note. And others have a crabs in a bucket mentality. They're unhappy in their life, they're stressed out, they don't like their life. You try to sit down with them and show them videos of expats living their best lives, getting a fresh start, getting a second chance, and they don't want that. They don't want to have this thought in their mind, this idea that, hey, maybe if I go over there, my life will get better.
0:59 There's this sort of cognitive dissonance that they experience where they don't want to be confronted with information that conflicts with their beliefs, that may force them to change. Two things can be true at once. Two things that are seemingly contradictory can both be true. Your friends and family may care about you, but they don't understand. They haven't watched all these videos of guys like my friends Mike of Mike's Philippine Retirement, Paul, Paul Old Dog New Tricks, Chad of Chad Foster Explorers, who step-by-step break down how to get over here. The stories that really make this place come to life, that help you to understand the dynamic, the complexities of living over here.
1:37 They don't have all that insight. They're not dreaming of a better life. Fundamentally, they don't understand. In some cases, they don't want to understand. So maybe they're toxic, maybe they're not toxic. Ultimately, you have to make the decision for yourself. Am I going to listen to them? Am I going to live the way they want me to live, or am I going to live the way I want to live? Am I going to at least do a discovery trip?
1:54 I may not move over there forever. I may go for a month, I may go for two weeks, maybe I go there for three months. Maybe it turns out it's not for me. But until you come over here, until you actually experience it, you can't let other people decide for you. It's ultimately on you.
2:09 Now, the caveat here is that if you have small children, I think it's better to wait back home. I think it's better to help them to grow up. Even if you're split up from your significant other, you're a single guy, take it from somebody that did not grow up with strong male role models. Young guys, young gals, they need strong male role models.
2:25 The next reason is that they experience heartbreak. They meet a Filipino online, they chat with her for a while. They maybe send her some money for load, maybe they send more money than that. And time goes by, and then one day she goes silent on them. She goes radio silent, and he keeps persisting, sending her messages, texting her. Finally, he gets a message: 'I want to break up.' Or maybe he finds out that she's actually married, she's actually seeing somebody else, she's got other American boyfriends, or British boyfriends, Australian boyfriends.
2:57 And he realizes, wow, this isn't what I thought it would be, and he's heartbroken. He is so disappointed. Maybe he has some baggage before her, and that experience is just added to it. And they get into this mindset where the only thing they associate with this country that they want to move to is heartbreak.
3:15 I've been there before. I've sworn off a country temporarily after I came to my senses because I realized there's more to that place than heartbreak. But some guys never make it past that stage. They think, you know what, the only thing I think about when I think about that country is my broken heart, my sadness, my relationship struggles, the pain and suffering that I've experienced from learning about that country.
3:40 And they decide, I'll never go back there. I'll never go back to visit. I don't ever want to live there. They research some other country they've been curious about. They decide, you know what, instead of country A, I'm going to go live in country B when I hit retirement age. I don't want to be reminded of that. I have no stress associated with this other country, and so I'm going to use that other place for my fresh start, and I'll set this other place aside.
4:05 And that tends to be, and I think that's more common than we think, where guys meet a nice woman online and they want to go over there and they feel good about it. They feel like it's a solid option, but then they get this emotionally difficult situation, and all they think about is the pain, and they don't want to give it another chance. They feel like, why would I set myself up to get burned again? Why would I set myself up to experience heartbreak again?
4:27 I could just look somewhere else for love. And I'll give them some credit here. There's 8 billion people on the planet. I personally think there's somebody for everybody that wants somebody. Naturally, we're going to filter down, and that's one of those criteria where it's like, okay, you know what, maybe it ain't going to work out for me over there. For some guys who experience heartbreak, they just never make it over here.
4:47 For some guys, they realize they can't afford it. I know this sounds crazy to a lot of you who know that it costs less to live over here. For some guys, they want a certain standard of living. No longer can you live like a king for $1,000 a month. Month here, if you want to live a Western standard here in the Philippines or in comparable places, you could easily spend as much or more than what you'd spend in the West.
5:11 Now, I know there's some disagreement about this, but I've got some high-end coffee shops here that I like to frequent. I could easily spend $3, $4 on a cup of coffee. I know that maybe some high-end spots in some places in the US, they may charge $7, $8. But at the point you get up to $3, $4 for a cup of coffee, that's beyond the budget of most Americans. Most Americans I know, they make their own coffee at home because Starbucks is pretty expensive.
5:35 Now, I know many people do go to Starbucks, but not everybody's going to Starbucks, certainly not every day. Another example: steaks. There are some places where I can get steaks at a moderate price point, but if I want to go to a name that is recognizable, I'll pay the same price there that I would in the US.
5:50 I remember reading a thread where somebody was complaining about the quality of their accommodation, and the responses were something like, if you want a high-end experience, you can spend $400 a night at a five-star hotel. But if you're not spending those kinds of prices, be prepared for a more normal experience. And don't expect that you're going to have the Bora Bora style or Bora Bora level experience, and you're going to get that at a much more modest price point.
6:20 I personally think that the Philippines offer some of the best value for money of any country I've been to, as far as what you get versus what you're paying. But you have to have reasonable expectations. I think there's so much on offer here, but you have to have an open mind. There are resorts I've stayed in that have doubled in price because they make improvements every year. They upgrade the lighting, they upgrade the beds, they upgrade everything about it, and so it's a better and better experience, and they charge a higher price in line with that.
6:47 Yes, this country is more expensive than it was five years ago. To live in a way that's approximately a Western standard, you're going to pay for that. You want to live in a gated subdivision, have two big SUVs in the driveway, visit Boracay, Palawan? That's going to cost a lot. When you hear guys living on these very modest budgets, they're living in a small apartment, they're eating more affordable cuts of meat, they may not be dating, they may not have their own transportation. They're not living large by Western standards.
7:20 They're actually living what most would describe as lower than Western standards, and there's nothing wrong with that for the people who think, I'm going to live like a king over there. I think some will come over here expecting to live like a king on $1,000 per month. And then when they realize, wow, I can't, I actually live a fairly modest life and I'm not really getting a deal on goods like buying a new iPhone, buying a new laptop, purchasing a vehicle. These aren't really deals, especially import taxes have to be paid. Gasoline ain't cheap. It's not cheap to ship gasoline here. All these things cost money.
7:52 And so if you want to live a high-end lifestyle, be prepared to pay for it. And I think for some guys, they're going to be unpleasantly surprised by the numbers. The next point is that they visit and change their mind. A lot of vloggers only show the positives of anywhere they go. This includes the Philippines. They're in sales mode. They're trying to sell you on the two-week millionaire lifestyle. Oh, every single day is going to be a vacation. You're going to have women surrounding your car at the airport, beating on your windows to get in.
8:22 And the reality is far from that. Unless you are a famous actor, actress, famous musician, you're not going to get this kind of response. It's a wonderful place, but there are challenges here. There are many ways in which it's not going to be like your home country. We're talking about an archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. You're not going to go on a cross-country road trip here very easily. For example, there are things that are going to be a challenge in the popular parts of the Philippines. Expect traffic.
8:50 Parts of the Philippines expect traffic. You're not going to go to the most in-demand, desirable parts of any country and it be traffic-free. There are a lot of really nice places here, and those places tend to be popular among a lot of people for many reasons. They tend to get a disproportionate amount of the attention.
9:06 They're going to have some challenges that you're not used to. The heat is a big one. I think some people may love sunny, hot weather on vacation, but are they prepared to have sunny, hot weather year-round? I think some people love the idea of living on a tropical island, but are you prepared to live on a tropical island year-round?
9:25 There are very few things I don't like here, but if I only ever said positive things about life here, you wouldn't be able to trust me. That being said, I feel that a bad day in the Philippines is better than a good day in the United States. But there are some things here that will bother some people.
9:41 I think a lot of people will come here and enjoy it a lot. Some people won't. Some people will fail to stay here. So for some people, they might reach the Philippines, but they'll fail to stay in the Philippines. They'll move on to another country, they might go back to their home country. Not everyone that comes here will stay here.
10:00 There are people that do stay here a long time. I have a number of friends who have been here for years, but there's this sort of survivorship bias, right? Where if you only pay attention to the guys it works out for, you might think, well, everybody loves it, everybody wants to stay here.
10:13 For some people, something comes up like a health issue. That'll be my next point here is that for some people, they fail to reach the Philippines because they have a health issue. I actually have a friend back home in this position where he debated moving over here.
10:25 He's had some health issues. He's talked to his doctor, and he's ultimately come to the conclusion it's not for him to live here. He still thinks about visiting here, but a permanent move is not in the cards because his healthcare in his country is fully covered. He doesn't have to pay a co-pay, he doesn't have to pay an extra fee, he doesn't have to search for a doctor, he doesn't have to do research. All that's cut out for him.
10:48 All that work is done for him, and for him to come over here, he'd have to be starting from zero. He'd have to really be taking a risk that he doesn't have to take back home. That's scary.
10:59 And when it comes to health, I think that's an area most of us want to minimize risk. We don't want to take big risks when it comes to our health. For some, they're going to research their target town and realize, man, I'm not sure if there's specialists in that area. I'm not sure if they can provide me with individualized treatment that I need.
11:17 I'm not sure if I'm going to get the services that I demand, and that really goes for any country. I mean, I think your mileage may vary. A lot of guys fly to bigger cities in the Philippines if they're living in a smaller city. This is why a lot of guys don't live in the province.
11:31 Some guys have this romantic idea of the countryside, oh, I'm going to be rural, it's going to be just like being in a rural part of the United States. Well, just like in a rural part of the United States, there's simply not as much infrastructure and service providers. So if you need healthcare, you may be limited to larger cities, and you may not be a big city person.
11:51 You may be thinking, I need healthcare, but I want to live in a smaller town. I can't do that over there. So that's another area which they may fail to reach the Philippines. That person may do a lot of research. They may know they can afford it budget-wise. They may know a friend that's moved over there.
12:07 They may have a buddy that's moved over there, but they're not in a position to where they can do it themselves because they are concerned about their health. They are concerned, is the medication I need readily accessible? Am I going to be able to afford the medication I need?
12:21 In your home country, you may have insurance that subsidizes your medication, where that medication may not be covered under a relevant healthcare plan abroad. So that's another reason why some would-be expats will fail to reach the country of their choice because they have a demand for certain kinds of healthcare treatments that are simply not available.
12:40 This is why I tend to push back when I get these comments, you need to go home. There's no guarantee I'm going to be in good shape when I'm older. Cardiovascular problems run in my family. I'm not guaranteed to make it to typical retirement age. I hope I make it there, I hope nothing bad happens to me, but I'm not counting on it.
12:59 And so I believe in a mix of living in the here and now and also planning for the future. But this idea that your health is going to be in perfect shape when you get older, everything is going to go to plan, you're going to go over to Southeast Asia and nothing is going to go wrong, is not entirely accurate either.
13:14 So anyway, comment down below what do you think about these reasons? Did you change your mind about coming to Southeast Asia? Have your plans not panned out the way you thought they would? It helps for us to generate an interesting discussion to talk about expat plans not working out, maybe where we've gone wrong.
13:30 Give us a thumbs up if you want to help us in the YouTube algorithm, and finally, subscribe to the channel down below if you want to see more content like this, and we'll see you soon.
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