It's a Boring Day in the Philippines

Boring Day in the Philippines

0:18 Hey guys, kind of an impromptu live stream. It's Tuesday night here in the Philippines, and it's a boring day in the Philippines. Nothing super eventful happened today, and that is totally okay with me. I take that back, I had a stream this morning with Captain Trucker, and that went well. But other than that stream, it was a pretty boring day, and I like it that way. It's a really calm and chill lifestyle that I lead here.

0:57 Feel free to chime in chat. I'm a little bit tired. I can't remember what day it is. It's Tuesday. What did I do yesterday? Yesterday, I had a lot of conversations, so I brainstormed a lot for the channel and just thinking of ways to improve and workshops and ideas. I've got some ideas that I've been working on, and yeah, mostly just that.

1:33 Feel free to chime in, guys. Any questions or thoughts that you have? I'll try to think. Yeah, I guess I could talk a bit about boredom. You know, sometimes I do get that critique or that thought, 'Oh, it must be boring.' And you know, for me, being boring is totally okay. There's nothing wrong with being boring.

1:57 There's a lot of expats around the world that they lead boring lives, and they're not particularly... I'm gonna message a friend of mine just to let him know I'm live streaming now. They're not living a wild life.

Boredom and Expat Life

2:20 Hey Edwin, freezing from Kansas City, Missouri. Yeah, I've been hearing the US is super cold. So that's the thing, like even back in the US with the extreme cold weather, a lot of people are stuck back home and they got to stay inside and stay warm. So, yeah, it's to me, boring. I've had a lot of exciting and stressful days throughout my life, so if I'm having a boring day, to me, that's totally fine. Much better than a crazy and wild day.

2:49 And so, you may find that in your journey overseas that you have some very mundane days where nothing really major happens. It's not like the US, in my opinion, where back home in the US, it seems like there's crazy news all the time and the world is ending. You know, like just all kinds of crazy stuff.

3:16 The Antichrist got elected. And here, it's like, 'Ah, you know, nothing really much happened. Some people went to the grocery store.'

3:35 You know, I... what else did I do? I am working out a video. Well, I need to edit, but the video covers some ideas for the future outside of the channel, more in my kind of professional life.

4:05 That's a good point to talk. The best direction is any direction that involves the ladies and everything related to that. It seems to be what brings the views and subs. True, that's a good point. I've got something related to that with a sponsor, an upcoming sponsor of the channel. I just have to figure out how to present it. I need to reread through what they'd like for me to do.

4:30 But yeah, I need to talk more about the dating thing. It's what a lot of people are curious about. A lot of guys are curious about. A lot of people, they're not happy with dating back in the US, and it's a big appeal of living overseas is that they could pursue romantic connections.

4:53 Pursue dating and enjoying that part of their life in a way that they can't back home. And that's a fair point. That's totally a fair point.

5:12 And I think too, like women drive a vast majority of consumer spending. So that's part of it too, from an advertising perspective, that's certainly part of it.

Travel Plans and Southeast Asia

5:28 Are you going to visit some other countries in Asia? I might visit Indonesia later this year. It kind of depends on what happens for my next steps. So, my next video that I'm going to be dropping, guys, is this idea of me going back to school, so going back for further education here in the Philippines. You guys heard it first here. I'm editing it. I'm like halfway done, but I may go and film some more to add to it tomorrow.

5:59 But Edwin, for right now, Indonesia's somewhat on the radar for later this year, but it may or may not happen. If I go back to school here, probably not going to happen. If I don't, then yeah, it's more likely. But I visited most of the countries in Southeast Asia and several countries in East Asia.

6:24 But I just feel like Southeast Asia is the best for what I'm looking for. Can you go cheaper? Yeah, I think India is cheaper. I think probably Bangladesh is cheaper. Can you go nicer? Yeah, you can go nicer, like Japan or Korea, Taiwan, but those are more expensive. So I find Southeast Asia to be the sweet spot in terms of cost of living versus quality of life.

6:54 I spent a year in Thailand, spent some time in Vietnam. More recently, I like Cambodia a lot. I'd like to get back to Cambodia at some point.

7:04 Exactly. Yeah, there's, you know, for me, there's a reason Southeast Asia is so popular. Like most people you talk about living overseas or expat life, most people are talking about Latin America or Southeast Asia. Used to be Eastern Europe before all that went down.

7:27 What's going on in Eastern Europe right now? So most people talk about Latin America or Southeast Asia. Most people are not talking about like South Asia. Most people are not talking about East Asia, just the cost of East Asia. The quality of life in South Asia tend to be some major issues for a lot of people.

7:46 But yeah, plus I slow travel. I way prefer like live in a country for three to six months a year because then I get a stronger sense of what it's like to live there. And I don't feel like I left as much of any stones unturned. Plus, I built friendships and relationships.

8:09 Like I have several friends trying to talk me into coming back to Peru. I don't think that would happen if I was just in Peru for a week. So I'm not in a rush. I look at it like I've got, hopefully I live for another 30, 40 years, and I have a lot of time to go explore some new places. And I'd rather leave here feeling like, ah, I did most of what I want to do. I don't really need to go back.

8:36 And that's with anywhere, right? That's not like Philippines specific. I love the Philippines. I'd be happy to come back here. But it's like, yeah, like I said, if you told me I had to spend the rest of my life in Southeast Asia, I'd be totally fine with that. I would not have a problem.

8:55 If I had to live between Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam. Not a big deal for me.

Returning to School in the Philippines

9:09 Las Vegas is very cold. Yeah, everybody's talking about how cold it is in the US. Like, it's fun to hop on here. It's great because I'm sure I get a lot of people in the US watching tonight.

9:21 And yeah, Sudan is cheap. Good point. Edwin, I think uni starts in March or April there. Yeah, so I talked to the international student advisor, and she said it would actually be end of July, early August. So for the program I'm looking at, then I would have six months until... and that's assuming I go through the admissions process, I get accepted, I enroll.

9:50 I have six months. And so I'd just be vlogging the whole time, right? If for some reason things lined up, I'm not counting on it. There's a lot of hoops I have to jump through. There's more research I have to do. But let's say I jump through all the hoops and I got accepted for the fall semester, I'd have six months to prepare for that. I would just vlog a lot.

10:10 Maybe I would go to Indonesia. Maybe I'd leave for a few months and then come back, knowing I'd have two years in the Philippines. But yeah, I'm too late for the spring semester, and I don't think they offer coursework in the summer for the program I'm looking at.

10:32 Let's see, go around, go to El Nido, Cebu, Deval. I was just in Cebu and I loved it. If you haven't yet, Paul, check out my recent video from Cebu. I spent 36 hours in Cebu. I planned to stay longer, but I couldn't find reasonably priced accommodation.

10:51 By the way, guys, please give us a thumbs up if you can. We got 20 folks in the room, and it helps with the algorithm if we get more thumbs up. No cost to you to give me a thumbs up.

11:02 Yeah, so I'd like to check out El Nido and Deval. Those two are high on my list. I like Cebu a lot. I've debated on the idea of moving up to Cebu. I'll probably do at least a month up there. Maybe I go, if I don't do Indonesia, maybe I go up there for a month. I didn't get nearly enough done of what I wanted to get done.

11:24 And I found a good place to live in Cebu for like a really modest price point, like a condo, not that much more expensive than this condo here. I pay a modest price here. And so maybe I go up there and stay for a month, do knockout collabs, meet up with some folks, show more of Cebu because to me, Cebu is freaking cowboy town, man. It's wild.

11:49 I mean, it is wild. There are gorgeous women everywhere in Cebu. There's just the intensity of the lights and the smells and the sounds and the people. It's, you know, I love big cities. I've always been a big city guy, and I still love big cities. And so Cebu has that.

12:08 Where I think I think Deval is probably a little bit more subdued. Still a big city, but not quite as like wild, kind of frontier vibe. I mean, Cebu is just wild. I mean, there's so much history in Cebu. It was like the first place to get foreigners in the Philippines when the Spanish landed, and it's just such a cool city.

12:34 Hey, good to see you, Mark. It was good to run into you. I ran into Mark. For those who don't know, Mark was recently interviewed by several of the vloggers here, including Mike from Mike's Philippine Retirement. And Mark is a kind subscriber to the channel.

Nursing Career Path

12:49 Edwin, what are you interested in taking college? Yeah, so I was thinking about going to Simon for nursing. Nursing, you know, it's not the most glamorous job in the world, but it's stable. My mom had an RN like when she was around, and I could get the RN in two years and then go to the US. I'd have to pass the ENLEX, which is basically a lure exam for nurses to practice in the US. And so I'd have to do that, and then I could go make...

13:25 I have to do that and then I could go make really good money in California. You know, like I said, save every penny, live far below my means, maybe do that for like 10 years and then just be done with the US. I'm trying to figure out my last stretch in the US. If I want to go back, I need to make a lot of money while I'm there to make it worthwhile.

13:45 Nursing is very practical. There's a high demand for it. I think I wouldn't have a problem finding a job. I also wouldn't have to deal with some of the headaches of being on social media full-time. It's unpredictable.

14:10 That's the difference between nursing and being an influencer or a content creator. Content creation is unpredictable now. It can be very lucrative, but it can also be nothing at all. Where nursing, okay, you go in, you work. Even if you have to work a lot of hours, there's a direct, it's simple.

14:29 You don't have to like, yeah, you have to be on, you have to think, but from a budget perspective, it's like, okay, I sell this amount of time, maybe I get some overtime as well. If I qualify for overtime, I get, you know, X amount of output basically.

14:46 And I think for some people, they're in a different position where they don't mind taking the risk. But there's this kind of thing hanging over my head of like, if I don't, I don't know. It's just, maybe it's self-doubt, and maybe I should just get over it.

15:07 But I also look at it like, there's the US isn't all bad. Contrary to what some people may feel about my feelings, there are some things I like about the US. There are some things I miss about the US. It's very convenient. I like the weather in certain parts of the US.

15:28 I know it's stressful. I know it's not in a good place right now. I know things have kind of been going backwards, but there are times I miss some things from back home. And I think the big thing is just like, 10 years, okay, now I've maxed out, or not maxed out, I shouldn't say maxed out. I paid into social. I've completed my 40 quarters of Social Security, so now I know I'm going to get Social Security one day.

15:53 You know, I max out my Roth IRA every year. I put away a bunch of money in investments. Maybe, you know, basically like that would be the goal.

16:08 And what I don't want, and this is kind of the fear in the back of my mind, I don't want to be an English teacher. I don't want to rely on teaching English in Asia. I don't want to be one of these people that the only thing that they can do or qualified to do is to teach English over here because that's not one, you're not going to earn enough to get ahead. You can tread water financially as an English teacher.

16:33 Nobody's getting ahead financially teaching English, at least not these days. There's just too much competition. They're kind of in a recessionary environment. And I've been doing English tutoring, and I don't particularly, it just gets redundant. It gets repetitive. You have the same conversations over and over and over again.

Practicality of Nursing vs Content Creation

16:55 And I know you probably have that with nursing too, to some extent, but it's, yeah, it's just far more reliable, far more predictable. And it's, you know, anyway.

17:23 See, Brun says a silly man, they kind of follow the US school system. Yeah, so I consider Silliman almost like an American university because it was founded by Americans, and they have certain standards. It's a beautiful campus, and the people I talked with today were super friendly, super professional, super kind. I enjoyed talking to them a lot.

17:48 Very helpful, provided me the information I need. I have to get some documents at PELED, which has to be done on US soil. By the way, guys, please give us a thumbs up if you can. So, you know, that might involve going to Guam or back to the US. Maybe I go back to the US for like a month and get all my credit cards have expired. I have a perfect credit score, my credit score is like 800 or 801.

18:14 But my credit cards have all expired, and I don't want to deal with having to try to get them to mail me the credit cards here. So maybe I go back and I get all my credit cards done, just to have them as backups, right?

18:27 I mean, to me, like you can never have too many ways to send your money or pay bills when you're abroad. I don't anticipate using them. I rarely use any of my payment cards here in the Philippines, but you never know.

18:39 I'd also thought about selling my car. I have a paid-off car back home. I thought about getting rid of my storage unit. I don't know if I could do all that in a month, but getting a bunch of this stuff knocked out, it would definitely be some of the stress off my shoulders.

18:57 And I get those documents attested and then send them to Silliman and complete the application process. I'm not sure how long it takes them to let me know if I were to be accepted or not, but it would be, you know, it would be something to try to knock out.

Financial Planning and Future Investments

19:22 The next kind of steps for me, I'm not in a desperate situation where I'm going to run out of money tomorrow. I can afford to pay for this education out of pocket. It's not the affordability factor. It's like, okay, do I want to make this investment? What's the ROI going to be? Is it going to get me to my goal of living exactly...

19:50 My driver's license expires two years from now. Yeah, two years from now. So let's see. Let me get caught up here. Doug asks, will you need to go back to Subu to get the new stamp in the passport? That's a good question, Doug.

20:07 I have a visa service provider here in Dumaguete, and what we'll probably do is probably just hire him, and he'll take my passport to Manila, transfer the stamp from my old passport, which, shoot, I thought I had it within. Okay, it's, I put it up there. Let me, it's, so my old passport probably shouldn't show that on camera. My old passport has been invalidated, so I have to transfer the old stamp or the stamp on the old passport to the new passport.

20:41 And I can hire him to do that, or I could go to Manila to do it. But yeah, that should go fine. I won't have to go back for that. I could go to Manila and do it, but then I've got to deal with Manila traffic and getting a condo. And I think the more, like, efficient way would just be to have him do it.

21:02 And be vlogging. I can vlog in Manila, but it's, you know, Manila is just a lot. And it tends to be a little bit overwhelming. But hey, Buick, good to good day. See you in April. Yeah, man, safe travels. Hope to see you in April. You come down here to do meetups.

21:21 Mikey L, Mikey Al, a wonderful subscriber. I see him a lot on Mike and Janet's channels. That's how I got introduced to Mikey. Mikey says, yes, nursing will be in high demand as more Americans grow older and need care. Absolutely, Mikey. That's a big reason for me to look into nursing.

21:43 That more and more of the United States's budget, I think, will be directed at healthcare with an aging population. A lot of people will need treatment. They'll need, you know, all kinds of different healthcare. I mean, you notice it, I notice it when I see videos of people back in the US. It's, yeah, it's just an older population.

22:04 I mean, my last two relatives left that I speak to in the US, one is 72 and one is 93. And they still call me a kid, even though I feel like an old man. They still call me a kid. Thomas Mes, yes. F, I'm not sure what you mean, but thanks so much for being with us tonight.

22:23 Buick Hosia says, might change with Trump. Good. With an RN degree, you can pick whatever country you want. True. Edwin, one of my buddies was telling me about that earlier tonight. He said, hey man, you might look at Singapore. Well, I mentioned Singapore, but he said, you might be able to live in other parts of Asia. You might not have to go back to the US because healthcare professionals with those kinds of qualifications are in high demand.

22:49 And that would be cool. Like, that would be really cool to be able to live in Asia, still live in a country with a solid pay rate for healthcare professionals and not have to go back to the US. Braun says, good planning, bro. Thank you so much, Braun. And like I said, it's something to have in the back pocket.

23:07 I mean, maybe tech picks it back up. I just think I'm washed out of tech. I don't see myself getting hired back into tech. I think the tech industry is too wishy-washy right now, and it's unclear to me that I'll get hired back in a reasonable timeframe.

English Teaching vs Nursing

23:24 So yeah, with the SS Fairness Act, government workers get paid the same amount for jobs that did not pay into SS. As a result, all will be reduced by about 30% by 2035. Yeah, so if it's reduced by 30%, that's a pretty sizable hit, and I have to keep that in mind.

23:48 Mr. Dave, I like that. Alex also thinks that the vloggers, Mike and Janet, are handsome. Thank you, Mr. Dave. Mr. Dave is hilarious. Ty Fly, for sure, nursing is a far more interesting and rewarding job than being an English teacher. I agree, Ty.

24:03 English teaching, I think is fine to do for a year or two. You want to have the life experience, you want to go try out Japan or Thailand or Korea for a year, maybe two years. But try to do it for 10 years or 20 years, I just, when I see long-term English teachers, they almost always seem bitter, jaded, beaten down, frustrated with their life choices.

24:28 And they end up not liking the country they're in after a while because they don't get any respect. The people to get respect in those countries are entrepreneurs and business people and entertainers. English teaching, it's also got a shelf life. I mean, eventually AI is going to drive a lot of jobs. You're also going to get people from cheaper countries willing to work for lower wages.

24:59 And so I just don't see it being...

Healthcare Demand and Opportunities

25:01 I just don't see it being lucrative long term, and there's no shame in it. I think it's honest work, obviously. I've done a decent chunk of it, but it's not something that you're selling your time for money at a very low rate. Welcome, Michael! Michael's a wonderful member of our channel and a great friend too. I had to drop him a note because he, I did a stream earlier today with Captain Shucker, and he missed us. So yeah, it's great to see him on here tonight.

25:39 But yeah, Mark, I think it's a good idea to have, for myself anyway, some additional income or additional investments aside from Social Security.

25:59 Yeah, security guards used to let me in when I wanted to go, and I would act like I was a student doing student stuff, apart from the learning. Ah, nice. Yeah, they've been really nice. One gentleman who's a security guard there asked for my ID more recently. I told him I wanted to apply, so I'll just keep coming up with excuses to go on there.

26:38 I like to film down there too. It's fun to film at Siloam; it's a beautiful campus with a lot of interesting buildings and architecture. It can be quiet, I mean, peak hours not so much, but you go off-peak hours, it's quiet and it's a beautiful campus.

27:00 Edwin says, 'You yes to renew your driver's license while you're in the US?' I agree, Mr. Dave. I believe the Eastern Dreamer is handsome with a limited amount of facial hair. Thank you, Mr. Dave. I need to shave again; I'm starting to get a little bit of a rash. My skin issues are popping up a little bit on my chin, but I wouldn't mind getting another shave, so we'll see if they go away. My skin calms down, maybe my diet. I haven't been eating the best diet, then yeah, it wouldn't be a bad idea for me to get that trimmed, go back to my barber and get that shaved.

27:38 Nursing is a skill in the Philippines which people know is in high demand in the West, and therefore they immigrate abroad. I doubt you'd be with... yeah, I would not be a nurse here. You have to get a work permit first to even consider that. You'd have to get the visa, your visa would have to change over. I have no interest in working as a nurse here.

28:04 Yeah, to me, the advantage would be to take this education, get the education at a budget rate, and then take the education to a country with a higher wage rate. It's kind of the geoarbitrage idea where you get the education at a budget-friendly price, quality education, and then you go to a place where the wages are much higher, where there's higher demand and there's more of a need for it. Here, the population's really young, so you just don't need as much.

28:37 I don't think there's as extreme demand for healthcare like there is in the West, where you have a lot more people that are older with health problems.

Passport Renewal and Financial Independence

28:48 How did your trip turn out? Get things done like planned? Yeah, Michael, I was able to go to the consulate. Fortunately, a friend of mine put in a good word for me and helped me get an appointment. I went after their normal allotted hours; they let me in anyway, and I got the passport renewal the ball rolling. So I went and got my photo done, and then got a letter. Show the letter to the guard, the guard let me in, and we were able to get the renewal going. So they said they'll mail it to me in six to eight weeks. I should have a new passport in six to eight weeks, and then I'll have to do some additional steps, but shouldn't be a big deal. I'm just happy to have that done for now and have a little bit of a break from worrying about it.

29:30 I'll still be worrying about it, but a little bit less for tonight.

29:58 Mark, I need to find another source of income myself. Not sure what options I have at my age and situation.

30:04 Yeah, it's tough, Mark. Inflation is definitely a thing. The cost of living is definitely going up around the world. You may look into tutoring online. You've got your baseline income, but you might consider tutoring English online. Cambly is one I've done off and on for a while. I've heard of some other platforms you might consider looking into, but those could be done with just a laptop and from your place, as long as you have internet.

30:37 Sabu International Academy is always looking for teachers. I met a Taiwanese actress and former K-pop idol studying there.

30:46 Yeah, the challenge with teaching is teaching doesn't scale very well unless you do it online, like with the power of the internet. Not online, it's like one-to-one. It's like, okay, my hourly rate, let's say my hourly rate with teaching is $10. Well, when I run out of hours, I run out of income. Where with other avenues, unless you're in healthcare where your hourly rate is super high, much higher than the amount of resources you can consume, then you're constantly in a battle to try to sell more time, which is finite, to get more money.

31:29 Yeah, so with teaching, it can basically almost never be lucrative unless you do like a YouTube channel where you teach certain subjects and then you serve lots and lots of people. That's basically one of the primary paths forward to wealth: to do something at scale. With teaching, it's like a few steps beyond customer service.

Teaching Careers and Work-Life Balance

31:54 I think it's not bad to supplement. I think it's not bad if you're already wealthy. I had a number of teachers in my high school that they already had full-on careers, lucrative careers, and then they got into teaching because they wanted a pension, they wanted healthcare. They already had a big, paid-off house, cars in the driveway. It wasn't something that they... it was more about the insurance and the pension than it was about the income.

32:29 I've had a couple of people tell me, 'Go be a teacher in America.' Absolutely not. Nobody with a brain wants to be a teacher in the United States. They're underpaid, they're treated terribly. Most of the people that I noticed successful in teaching in America, they didn't need the money. They could kind of just check out mentally, or they had a wealthy spouse where it's like, 'Ah, whatever, I just do this to have something to do during the day. We live in a gated community, and my spouse's income is so substantial, my little pittance pays for our vacations or pays for us to have a good time.'

33:17 Teaching is not, unfortunately, a way to... it's more about the work-life balance, right? It's knowing I don't take my job home with me. It's knowing I get a bunch of holidays. It's not a way toward financial freedom for most people, not in a timely manner anyway.

33:38 Yeah, exactly, Braun. Kids are not supervised in America often. They're encouraged to behave poorly. Parents have to work all the time because it's so expensive, they don't have time to monitor their kids. America is not a family-friendly country. A lot of people would be offended or bothered by that, but I think America is not a family-friendly country at all. It's designed for business success, and it's not designed for people to be successful in raising their families or staying in relationships.

Dividend Stocks and Financial Freedom

34:16 If anyone has money in investments options, yeah, I think dividends. I'm looking at dividends. I think dividends are a solid path forward for me, better than real estate because with real estate, you've got to be more involved. Where if you have dividend stocks, it's basically the definition of passive income. You have to do some monitoring, make sure the companies aren't doing anything too crazy, but you collect your dividend check. You don't have to work for the company, and it's predictable. A lot of these dividend stocks, they grow their dividend; they're able to produce more and more dividend income over time.

34:51 Yeah, I think that's a solid, solid idea, Michael. That's one of my goals. With healthcare, let's say I work in California as an RN and make $10K a month. I pay $3K a month in taxes and am left with $7K. Then I live on $3K, which is hard. It's a stressful life, or maybe even more than that with overtime. You probably make more than $10K, and then just put away like $4K every month and do that for 10 years in dividend stocks. You're financially free because they're going to grow. You're going to get bonuses. I heard of travel nurses making like $150 an hour. Your hourly rate's really high, you work a lot of hours, so you don't have time to spend it. And you also just, like, I don't know, focus on financial freedom, which for me, I don't care about toys anymore. I just want to be financially free.

Healthcare Background and Aging Population

35:53 If I can get the degree for, say, $20K or $30K, considering cost of living, then yeah, I think it's a solid option. I took an online CNA practice test for fun and passed it. Shows it's not very difficult, but you need to know some things about medical sciences. I was a caregiver for years, so I learned a lot.

36:24 Yeah, that's a good point, Michael. I agree. It comes naturally to me, I think, because my dad was a doctor and my mom was a nurse. It's just like a genetic thing for me that I've always found it interesting just to try to sort out my own health issues. To me, it's like, what's the word? I've always lived around older people complaining about their health problems. I grew up in a retirement community, and so all I ever heard was...

36:57 Growing up, all I ever heard was, 'My leg hurts, my arm hurts, I have high blood pressure, I get headaches, my back hurts.' It felt like I encountered people with every single different kind of health problem. I met so many people that had every single health problem you could imagine, across the spectrum. It was always, 'I'm going to the doctor for this, I'm going to the doctor for that.' Doctor time to go to the pharmacy. Everybody I know is at the pharmacy every other day. Friends' parents are going to the pharmacy, my mom's going to the pharmacy, grandma's going to the pharmacy, her boyfriend's going to the pharmacy. We've got 30 pills on the table to take today.

YouTube Channel Growth and Skill Development

37:41 That was my life growing up: people trying to keep themselves going. I'm so accustomed to being around that, it's not that intimidating to me. People, I think people freak out more about getting old than I do. I'm like, whatever, screw it. It's not avoidable; we're all going to get old.

38:17 Have you considered creating another YouTube channel which is not travel-related? That's a good point. One of the reasons I'm doing this channel is to learn skills like video editing and presenting on camera. I've definitely strongly considered doing other channels talking about other topics because once you get the skill set of learning how to edit, talk on camera, create good audio quality, you can do channels on all kinds of topics.

38:48 There's so much blue ocean out there for a person to make quality content. There are some niches that may be oversaturated, but even with like, I'm a big fan of MMA. MMA YouTube has been going really well for the last year; there's been so much growth. I've seen several channels grow rapidly because certain YouTubers make their money and they're done.

39:17 Some people make a bunch of money on YouTube and they're like, 'You know what? I got my money, I want to do something else.' I have a few friends that are talking to me about how they're in the home stretch. They've gotten bored of it; they want to do other things. I think there's always going to be room on YouTube for quality content creators in many different niches. You just have to work at it; it's not an overnight thing.

39:50 For me, I posted my first video about seven years ago and I'm just now putting a lot of time into it. I'm getting around guys way more talented than myself who can critique me, give me feedback, and help me improve. They help me see where I'm messing up and what I need to do better.

AI in Creative Work and Authenticity

40:14 The cool thing about AI is that ideally, in the future, we all have creative jobs. We all do creative work, and the AI is doing the repetitive stuff. We just interject the human element. Maybe that's a bit idealistic, but I don't know.

40:46 Michael says, 'Alex, as a friend, I think you look best with the goatee and shaved sides, cheeks, and teaching American teens.' Yeah, I agree with you, Braun. Totally. Mark says, 'Being a traveling nurse in the US is very lucrative. I had a friend that spent six months in Alaska and bought a house and two cars cash.'

41:07 Absolutely, Mark. There's extremely high demand for healthcare professionals, and they've got two options: lower the standard or bring in more healthcare professionals. Most people's top priority is to stay alive, and one of the primary ways people can stay alive is by spending their money on healthcare.

41:40 Braun laughs. Yeah, I try to have a filter, but sometimes it just wears off. Some days I just get in that mood where I just rip the filter off and say what's on my mind. That's another goal of this channel: to get me to be seamless between who I am in real life and who I am on camera, at least as much as I can. I still have to follow basic etiquette.

Natural Health Solutions and Daily Walks

42:13 Yeah, that's a big thing. Let's see. I'm a believer in natural solutions. Michael says, 'I've seen so much this past year in the Philippines where they use nature to cure or help issues.' Yeah, I think diet and exercise are really underrated. I think a lot of people around the world would benefit from just eating a better diet, reducing sugar and processed foods, and exercising more.

42:46 I walk a lot today. How many steps did I walk today? 22,000 steps, about 10 miles. It was fantastic. Nothing too crazy, but for me, it's good to get fresh air. It's good for my cardiovascular system and makes me feel better. I think I feel less depressed when I walk. My legs are sore, but it helps me to process my thoughts.

43:23 Jumaggetti is nice for that. One of the things I love about Daggett is I can walk around and I get to run into people. I was surprised today; I didn't see anybody I knew, which is really a rarity for me. Of course, I didn't check in with a couple of businesses I normally frequent, but usually, when I go out and do meet-ups, I see people.

Coffee, Confidence, and Public Speaking

43:48 Today, maybe it was looks like it was going to rain a lot, so people kind of stayed inside. A lot of people, like I consume too much sugar, I drink too many energy drinks, and I should probably switch to coffee. I keep meaning to look for a coffee maker. If anybody wants to send me a coffee maker, I normally don't ask for much on this channel, but if you've got an extra coffee maker or want to help me out with ground coffee, or you know of a coffee sponsor, that would be great.

44:28 It would be great for me to swap to Michael. I think it would be good for my health to swap. Michael says, 'I suck at being on camera and I'm not a big talker, but somehow I'm slowly getting better just by continuing to post vids. It helps build confidence.' I sucked at being on camera; I was so nervous the first few times. It took me years.

44:52 Even when I was in Peru three years ago, I was like, 'Camera? Oh gosh.' Public speaking is the universal big fear for people around the world. If you ask people their biggest fear and they're honest, a lot of them will tell you their biggest fear is public speaking. They don't ever want to speak in public.

45:14 There's something about this where, in effect, you are speaking in public, and it can be nerve-wracking. You wonder how your voice sounds, what you're going to talk about, you don't know who's watching, you may feel a bit self-conscious. It's taking me a long, long time to get to this point.

45:28 Some of what helped me was doing sales meetings. I used to do like eight to 10 meetings a day, every day, for like two years when I was in tech. I went through so many meetings with so many people, so many strangers, people I didn't know who they were, where they were from, what background they were coming from. People from all walks of life.

45:47 From basic tech professionals to like hedge fund founders. It just desensitized me. I realized like everybody goes to the bathroom. I think I can't remember what comedian said that, but that was something that helped me. Watching a comedian talk about how they got over their fear of public speaking, they're like, 'Everybody wipes their...' and so yeah, it's fun too.

Building Friendships Through YouTube

46:16 I've met so many nice people, Michael. I think you have too. Met so many nice people through the internet. I met some jerks, but way more nice people that enjoy my content, enjoy what I'm doing, and we have a lot in common, a lot of shared experiences.

46:41 Yeah, I mean, I met really great friends. If my channel had to wrap up tomorrow, I'd be fine with it because I met so many people I like so much, admire so much, that I'm far better off for having had this channel. Now, I'm going to continue; I'm going to keep it rolling, keep making content, but I've met so many cool people through the channel that inspire me.

47:04 People that have not had luck but have made their own luck, have just had the will to win and just keep pushing forward. So yeah, Michael, I think as long as you persist at it, you'll get better and better at it. You'll learn more and more.

47:19 The difficult part of YouTube is that you're using like 10 different skill sets. You've got marketing skills, sales skills, video recording skills, audio skills, editing skills. You've got to figure out what your niche is, what you like talking about, what your audience is interested in. I'm still not that great at it; I'm in the early innings.

47:46 I think it'll be probably four or five years before I'm like, 'I'm super, I'm doing what I want to be doing on YouTube' because I've got years I need to put into getting better, making thumbnails. There's so much I have to do. I'm so early on in this and I have so much to learn, so much to work on, trying to flesh out certain ideas, being willing to take risks.

48:10 There's some ideas I have that are things that I've never done before, but I'm like, 'Okay, is this going to be a dice roll? Is anybody going to care about this? Is this going to be interesting to people?' I have no idea if anybody's going to watch this because you put a lot into a video and you're like, 'Wow, this wasn't really valuable for people.'

YouTube Content Creation and Audience Engagement

48:30 I'm still trying to figure out what the audience wants. I have an idea of some topics that help people, but it's really a long game for sure. Braun says, 'I work in the AI space, kind of. What do you do, Braun? Tell us more about what you do if you don't mind sharing.' I understand if you want to keep it private. Mark says, 'I just watched a video about blue zones or the natural diet of the people living there. They regularly live 90 to 100 years.' Japan is like that, Mediterranean like Greece is like that, Coastal California where I used to live is like that.

49:05 There are certain parts where the diet is good. Some of it could be like in Japan, could be traced to a genetic mutation, but some of it is diet, some of it is exercise. Like Okinawa in Japan, some of it is definitely the sun and the seafood, and a lot of vegetables.

49:28 Mark says, 'Must have missed you. I did a long walk along the Boulevard and then back up to my hotel today.' Yeah, I must have missed you too, Mark. I've been kind of cautious around the Boulevard lately because there's been some stuff happening down there. Mark, I would caution you to just look into it. I'm not suggesting to not walk down there, but there have been some incidents lately on the Boulevard and in Queens on Park.

49:50 So I would be cautious down there. Not trying to steer you away from that, not trying to stop you from exercising, but please do look into it so you know what to look out for. I'm happy to take that conversation offline at some point or meet you down there at some point.

Fitness, Health, and Lifestyle Choices

50:15 Braun says, 'I hate long, slow cardio. I'd rather do burpees at home. Short but intense is way more time-efficient.' Braun, and I need to get back to the track. So one of my buddies, Colin, he recently won a big race in Manila, the Master's race, and he's injured right now. But when his injuries heal up, he's going to come out. I just normally see him around town a lot, but he's going to come back out. I plan to go to the oval, it's called the Masus Complex, and I plan to start getting back into running, Braun, because I need it.

50:53 Another one of my thoughts is what requires me to get in good physical condition. I'm in okay condition, not terrible, not fantastic, but I'd like to get back into good shape because some of the happiest times in my life were when I was working out all the time. In my mid-20s, I was really crazy about fitness, and I'd like to get back to that because it's fun. It's fun to be in good shape, way better than being in bad shape.

51:25 Michael says, 'I drink too much and smoke, but it's a choice I made and I'm retired, so I'll probably pay some consequences in the future. There's longevity in my family though.' Hey, you know what? If you're living a low-stress lifestyle, Michael, I think that's what's important. And you know, it's what's right for you. I enjoy talking to you and I would never judge you. I think that all of us have stress and we deal with it in different ways, and I'd be hypocritical if I said I never did any of those things in my life. I've done plenty of that in my life, and if you enjoy it, I have no judgment.

YouTube Workflow and Monetization

52:14 I think you worked a lot and you earned your financial freedom, and you've earned this life that you lead in the Philippines. And if that's what you enjoy, that's what you enjoy. I think you're having a good time. I think a lot of people wish they were enjoying your life in the Philippines.

52:40 Michael, Braun says, 'That's all it is, just got to get the reps in.' Yeah, YouTube is like anything else that's worthwhile. Like anything that's worth having or doing is difficult, and YouTube can be difficult at times, but it's a lot of fun. I mean, it's really a lot of fun.

53:03 One sec guys, I'm going to drop the link to this stream on my Facebook page. Just trying to do more about sharing the links out there. Workflow automation consulting, okay, got it. Very cool, Braun. Yeah, that sounds complex. I'd be happy to chat with you about that at some point. That sounds really interesting.

Audio Tools and Supplementation

53:56 Mark says, 'I always have my radar going when I'm out walking.' Good call, Mark. Yeah, you got to keep your head on a swivel. Most of the time, it's not an issue, but I think more specifically in the evening, like during the day, I don't think it's that big of a deal. But definitely more in the evening, like dark, after dark, it's... I say that not in a condescending way, but rather that there's just been a few incidents lately, and it's just not the best feeling to hear about some of those challenges.

54:31 Braun says, 'Gotcha. You enjoy improving overall cardiovascular health.' You know, I don't like running, but it's what I need to do for my cardio health. I prefer weightlifting; I just enjoy the feeling in my muscles. One of my like, my buddy in Thailand, my male Thai friend, he is hardcore into bodybuilding, and that's one of my regrets when I was in Chiang Mai is I didn't work out with him more because he is hilarious, he's such a positive, uplifting person, he's funny. He's just a good friend of mine.

55:08 He's unapologetic about weightlifting, and we've talked about it a lot. Anyway, he's a nice guy. For cardiovascular health, I implore everyone to look into N-acetylcysteine, dihydroberberine, and also CoQ10, finding in a mix of vitamin D. That's a good call. Yeah, I need to get back into supplements. You know, that may be something I do when, if I go back to the US and work for a while and I've got more disposable income. I think vitamins are great.

Meeting Viewers and Travel Plans

55:47 I think it's great to add those in and supplement, because I think a lot of us are deficient in vitamins and nutrients. By the way, guys, I'm going to just turn up the air on the... I use a light here now. I ordered a light to light up my face, and it's definitely putting off a lot of heat.

56:35 Rebels, good evening. Good evening to you as well, Rebels. I hope you're doing well tonight. James says, 'Hey, enjoy your videos.' Welcome, James. Nice to meet you. Yeah, feel free, I know you mentioned before, feel free to send me an email if you're planning on coming next month. If you come to Dagat, I'd be happy to meet up.

Channel Style and Unique Content

56:54 J Rebel says, 'I hate running, but I enjoy cycling. I think it's a good alternative to running, also smooth on your joints.' Yeah, I agree, Mark. Cycling is... I do see a lot of people cycling here in Dumag, and I think it's fantastic. It's low impact and it's... Yeah, Mark and Rebels, I agree. I was an average runner when I was younger, but now my knees can't handle it. Cycling is much better on your joints. I agree. If I stay here long-term, I came to do M expecting to stay a month and now I'm here almost six months. So maybe I'll buy a bicycle soon and just ride it around town. Wouldn't be a bad idea, and it'd be a good way to stay in shape.

57:40 James says, 'I like your style, man. It's very different from the typical retiree videos.' Thank you so much, James. Yeah, that was one of the things I set out to do with the channel was like, what could I talk about that nobody else is talking about? Because there's certain topics that have been worn out. And I also think there are plenty of topics where people do a better job than I do. They can talk about a certain topic better than I can; they're more experienced in that subject than I am. They know how to... Storytelling is something I want to get better at, but some of my friends are really good storytellers.

58:23 I mean, you look at Mike. Mike's Philippine retirement, he is an incredible storyteller. He is able to tell these stories that happened, but in a way that protects the identity of the people involved. He doesn't want to defame people; he doesn't want to get people bugging them about, 'Did you really do this?' or, you know, blah blah blah. That's a skillset he's got. But for me, I try to talk about things I'm more... I've noticed that other people aren't talking about.

Expat Life and Alternative Lifestyles

58:56 And now I notice some people are starting to talk a little bit about some of the topics that I talk about, and that's a good thing for me because if more people push me to make better videos, to get into subjects that are unique. I have a bunch of ideas. Earlier in the video, I mentioned I'm looking into going back to school here. Now I'm thinking, what if I go and talk to more people about that? And maybe I try to meet some international students, like, 'What prompted you to try to study here?'

59:31 There are so many topics. It's all about combinations. There are so many topics you could talk about here and combining different topics. There are people living here in the Philippines from all over the world, and it's interesting to me to find out what brought them here and why they come here. Certainly a lot of retirees, but there are a lot that are here because they're here for adventure, they're here to see something different, live an alternative lifestyle.

1:00:09 Braun says, 'My guy brought a beauty dish, no wonder he's glowing.' That's funny. Yeah, it's... I could show you guys real quick. It's got a stand on it, but this is what I use. It's got a stand, but I put the stand away. I think it looks better here, but it's also to help me... There's a certain type of content I want to do. So I have another idea. I'm not going to share this other idea because this other idea, I think, could be a pretty big video, but I want to work on this other idea. It's going to require me to show some stuff on screen and do like a... a screen recording.

1:00:53 And do like a screen share, so that was another reason I bought this. I enjoy your authenticity. I also watch Philippine life through the eyes of an expat and a grumpy British expat in the Philippines. They're also both authentic and talk your thoughts.

Philippines Heat and Noise Challenges

1:01:18 Let me see, Philippine Life Through The Eyes of an Expat. Oh, I think I watched those guys too. Yeah, I think I watched, but I think the former is a guy in mind now, and the latter, you know, he's unfiltered. And yeah, and definitely like they're not apologetic, and I respect that. I do respect that as long as people aren't vulgar, it's refreshing in the modern era.

1:01:48 But you're a very interesting younger dude and very measured, very thoughtful, super interesting. Keep up the hard work. Thank you so much, James. I appreciate that.

1:01:53 It's, I think the hardest part about it for me sometimes here in the Philippines is the heat and the noise. Sometimes there's background noise here, like with engines or music. And the other thing is, Dagupan can be a hot city. I noticed when I went up to Baguio, I was like, wow, it's so cool up here. I really like that weather in Baguio.

1:02:20 So if there's one thing that makes me leave Dagupan, part of one of the reasons might be the heat. It's a hot city. It's hotter than I realized, and it can be difficult to do much during the day. I get out and in anyway, like I don't, it's not so hot that it's going to stop me, but it is sometimes where I'm having to like, okay, brace yourself dude, you're about to go out in the heat, especially from like 10 AM until like 2 PM. That tends to be peak heat.

Audio Filters and Content Production

1:02:53 And so the walking around part is fun for me. But sometimes having to stop or repeat myself. Pause, I could get a noise filter, but I think it makes the voice sound a little bit tiny. So maybe I could play more around with audio filters to filter out background noise, because that would be, I would be able to turn out content. I'd be able to do a video every day if I could use an audio filter.

1:03:21 But yeah, that would be turning out a lot more content. I watch them also. John has two channels. He's friends with my British friend, Ian. Mark says, I'm off to get dinner. Get a hold of me for some offline discussion. Hey, enjoy your dinner, Mark. Great to see you, man. Have a good evening, and we'll catch you later, buddy.

1:03:45 You need a limiter. I'm an audio guy, and then an expander. Let me make a note of that, Michael. Limiter and expander. Thank you for the heads up. Michael, your quality to quantity ratio seems good. No complaints about that. Thank you so much, James.

1:04:07 I always feel lazy. I feel like no matter how much I put out, it's not good enough. And so I'm constantly trying to get better and more productive and just be better and better at it. And I have tons of ideas. Like I've got a pool of ideas that I add to, and I usually do like one video a day. I try to record at least one per day.

1:04:45 That's a brilliant idea, James. Let me make a note of that.

Dating in Dagupan and Women

1:05:07 Rebels says, Dagupan is a hot city. What makes it so hot? The girls there? Yeah, there's a lot of good-looking ladies here for sure, Rebels. I meet good-looking ladies every single day. Unfortunately, some of the ones that I've been meeting have boyfriends because I always ask. I met one today, I got her Facebook by Uniqlo there, a Uniqlo store downtown, and she works in Uniqlo.

1:05:29 And I just noticed her, and she made eye contact, and then I talked to her a little bit, and then I asked her, are you shy? And she says, yeah, I'm shy. And so I'll follow up with her later, but I meet so many nice women here. There's, Dagupan is a fantastic city. Like even though I say it's one of the worst cities for dating in the Philippines, it's, I mean, that's not really saying much.

1:05:55 There's a lot of lovely women here, but a fair amount are taken, right? Like I'm not a guy that wants to date a woman that's taken. I'm not one of these guys. I've got to have her. So, you know, there's a lot of nice women here, and I mean, I meet women all the time that are really lovely people.

1:06:16 Definitely contributes to the heat. Rebels, DaVinci Resolve has a great audio compensation tool. You know, I think I have DaVinci, but I haven't played with it in a while. I used to edit on DaVinci. There was a while where I edited on DaVinci, but I went back to iMovie. I can't remember why I went back to iMovie.

1:06:37 Eventually, I'd like to invest in like Final Cut Pro or a more complex tool. James, have you ever thought about doing a Q&A? I wondered even a basic question like, do you work? You're retired? Yeah, James, so I made a note of it. That's going to go in the queue. I'd love to do a Q&A and handle a bunch of basic questions because I get tons of questions all the time about this stuff.

Q&A Video Ideas and Audience Questions

1:07:01 And I think it would help a lot with people to better get to know me. I try not to talk about myself a lot more than I have to because I find that I'm not that interesting. And it makes me happier to talk about like what I think would be good for you guys.

1:07:25 But yeah, that's a good question. And you know, once you answer those, you could always share. I could always share that video because when I get the same question, I just share the video. Hey, if you want to know this about me, then you can watch this and get a sense of how I respond to that, right? You can get a sense of my thoughts about that and know the answer to that question about me.

1:07:55 Because I get a lot of the same questions too, as I'm sure you can imagine. James, like I get some of the same questions over and over again. And so being able to answer those would be fantastic. Sometimes people don't like my answer though, too. Some people really get upset at my answers, not for legitimate reasons, but because my answer pushes their buttons in a way they don't like. And that's their problem.

YouTube Tools and Content Improvement

1:08:29 You know, that's the audio tool. Oh, let's see. HOSA says, use the free Audacity software to sample and filter car traffic or background noise. Let me make a note of that too.

1:08:53 That would help me a lot, guys, because there's, I want to put out a video every day. To me, there's, I feel like at this point, there's not really much excuse other than it's hard for me to come up with a good thumbnail every day. But I've got topics. I've got more topics. I've got enough topics right now, I could do a video every day for a year.

1:09:15 And by the time the year rolls up, I'd have topics for two years. I don't know that I'll ever run out of topics because more topics come up, more interest. And I could redo certain videos that I felt like I didn't do them justice when I did them the first time around. My opinions like change on some things. The way I think about things changes sometimes.

1:09:39 But yeah, these tools are super helpful, guys. Thank you so much for sharing these ideas for tools. They're, you know, I could, I'm always happy to add more tools to the chest to make a better end result. I don't like listening to background noise. To me, listening to too much background noise, like I've seen videos where somebody has, you know, I'll just be honest, like a engine revving the whole video or a dog barking the whole video. I just turn it off. I can't. It gives me a headache, and I can't focus. I can't pay attention on the content.

1:10:21 And I also look at it like, I want my content to be the best it could possibly be. And anything less than the best is insufficient. Not the best in a competitive way, but the best of my potential. I want to be at the edge of what I'm capable of doing all the time. And what I'm capable of producing keeps improving. So, like, yeah, I just want to keep making things better.

YouTube Business and Automation

1:10:45 I use DJI mic too. So I use these. I need to charge mine because I used them today, but I use these. They're wireless and I just clip them on. So I don't use the lav mic.

1:11:05 Braun. I, um, let's see. I make a note.

1:11:20 It's not for everyone. It takes a long time to get rolling, and it can be stressful. It can show up all of your time. Like, I sometimes I'll go into town and I'll sit down and talk with my YouTuber friends for four hours, and most of our conversations revolve around YouTube.

1:11:44 It's good. It's a blessing. I never thought I would be so blessed, but it can also be like, wow, did I really just sit down and talk about YouTube or YouTube related topics for four or five hours? And we also talk about other things, dating, joking around, having fun. But it can like take over your life because it never turns off.

1:12:07 Right? You can always get better. There's always something to do to get better. There's always tools to improve on. There's always ideas to come up with. I call it workshopping an idea where I have an idea and I try to flesh it out more. Chat GPT takes things to another level because you start using that to help with descriptions.

Living Abroad and Vietnam Travel

1:12:28 And until you get to a level where you can hire a team, you're doing like 10 jobs at once. But it's a blessing, right? I mean, to be able to make money, to make US dollars outside the US, spend pesos, spend Thai baht, Indian, Indonesian rupiah. Like, yeah, I'm very, very fortunate to have so many ways to create value for people.

1:12:52 How do you make your? Oh, what's up, bro? Here in Vietnam. Hey, Stoic, good to see you. Stoic's been a longtime supporter of the channel. And how's Vietnam, man? How are you enjoying your time there? Are you in Da Nang or Saigon or Hanoi?

1:13:07 I'm doing well. Yeah, I'm just enjoying my time here in the Philippines. It's been a wild ride. I can't believe I've been here almost six months. I'm really glad I came here. I feel so blessed to have been able to spend time with people that really made a positive impact on my life. Connect with a lot of nice people.

1:13:32 The Philippines is just a really. I'm in Saigon, making this my base. The.

Thumbnail Creation and Audience Privacy

1:13:38 Making this my base, the visa run thing is a headache. Saigon seems really cool; I've heard it's like Bangkok 20 years ago. You got to do a visa run every 90 days, right? It might be a cool opportunity to check out Thailand or LA, or even come back to the Philippines.

1:14:16 How do you make your thumbnails? I use Adobe Express currently, but I may switch to Canva. Mike uses Canva and likes it a lot. Canva is a fantastic tool; I've used it in the past and should be using it now because I pay for Adobe, whereas Canva is free. That would save me $10 or $11 a month.

1:14:43 James says, "Dude, you're very interesting. The creator is always the most compelling part of a channel, but it helps a secondary pull like being in the Philippines." I also get that a creator may want to retain privacy. Yeah, James, you know, 99% of the audience is freaking awesome, but there's that 1% of people that are not awesome.

1:15:05 I've gotten some weird comments and messages. Some people engage in stalker behavior, so certain elements of my life I have to keep very private. Most of it, I'm fine to share, but certain things I try to speak in generalities because I'm always shocked at who's watching.

YouTube Journey and Creator Community

1:15:25 I've had people from high school reach out to me, saying, "Man, I saw you on YouTube." I'm like, "Dude, I've got 4,000 subscribers." And I've had like 12,000 unique viewers in the last month. 12,000 people is really not that many people. I mean, I've been to concerts and festivals with well over 100,000 people.

1:15:48 So like 12,000, I mean, I'm grateful. I don't mean to disparage the audience; I'm grateful all of you guys are interested, but I'm just shocked that there's that many people interested. And it's weird because I watch some really big channels, and that can also make you feel like you're early in your journey.

1:16:07 I watch some of the really big channels, like even my friends here: Mike's at 45k subs, Paul's over 100k, Chad's over 60k. These guys are very, very established, putting out incredible quality content. So I really appreciate you saying that, James.

1:16:28 And you know, happy to meet in person. Like anybody that comes to do meetups or is in a city I'm going to reach out. I'm happy to meet up in person. I'm not big on doing calls; I'll do consults, but I do get a lot of people sometimes asking me to do phone calls, and the time zone difference, it's just a lot.

1:16:49 If you're not also a content creator where we could help a bigger audience, it's just hard for me to justify one-on-one. But in person, yeah, I mean, people come to town, they want to grab a coffee or grab a meal or something like that. That could be a lot of fun.

Learning from Other Creators

1:17:05 Michael says, "I've never made a thumbnail, just let YouTube automatically pick a frame." Yeah, it's fun to do, you know, use some of these tools, Michael. They can really help you out a lot to make a fun thumbnail. It's, um, and you get better.

1:17:20 My thumbnail, I started it for a long time. Michael, until a year ago maybe, I just let YouTube do the automatic picking. But now I started to work with them more and started to like, um, yeah, I started to pick more.

1:17:40 It took years to get good; it wasn't an overnight success, and you worked hard at it. Yeah, and a big part of it too that took me to the next level was coming here and having friends that are really good at it because they hold me accountable and they also teach me a lot that I would never know.

1:17:53 Like you're MrBeast. MrBeast talks about this. I know MrBeast is running a lot of controversy lately. I'll set aside the controversy to focus on what he does well. He said, "You want to get around other creators because you guys share mistakes." If all 10 of you each make a mistake, now you learn from 10 mistakes.

1:18:11 Where if you're off on your own, you're making a mistake here, you're making a mistake there. It's a social platform, so it's designed to bring people together. And I met some of the people I consider among my closest friends through YouTube, and they get your pains and your struggles and the creative journey.

Thumbnail and Title Optimization

1:18:35 James says, "Yeah, MJ, some don't care about the thumbnail at all. Can have millions of subs, but generally said that title and thumbnail will multiply your views." Absolutely, James, you're spot on. I need to go and redo a bunch of my thumbnails and my titles. Every time I do that, I get a boost in views for the same video. The video didn't change in any meaningful way, but changing the title and the thumbnail somehow made it work better.

1:18:59 Braun says, "No need to hire too many people. So easy to make automations and agents that do the boring, predictable work for you." That's a good call out, Braun. Like ChatGPT can lift, do a big lift for me. Like, basically, one of the things that I'm going to be doing more of is take the transcript from my video, feed it to ChatGPT, and then tell it to give me a YouTube description. I've already been doing that, and I'm going to keep doing that because to produce as much as I want to produce, I've got to have robots doing some of the work for me.

AI Tools for Content Creation

1:19:36 James says, "Humble suggestion for your future Q&A video: Make a community post." Let me make a note of that. Thank you, James. I appreciate that. Yeah, I can do the answers. Even just doing 10, getting 10 solid quality questions would be fantastic.

1:19:59 Hey, what's up, Vano? Good to see you, man. He's another Dumaguete buddy, and it's fun to see him on here because we chat in person and meet up in person here in the city, but it's always nice to see him on here as well.

1:20:22 Rebel says, "DaVinci can use VST." Mikey says, "Fair warning, Mike's team won the championship. He was singing every time the Buckeyes scored." Singing every time the Buckeyes scored. I gotta congratulate Mike. Yeah, Mike invited me to join him this morning, and if I didn't have a pre-existing obligation, I would have.

1:20:40 I'm gonna try to go see Mike on Thursday. Thursday, I'm gonna try to make a trip up to Valencia. We'll see how tomorrow goes. If I get everything I need to get done tomorrow, then I'll try to head up to Valencia because I want to film something up there, and I'll run into Mike at the same time.

Dealing with Negative Comments and Trolls

1:20:57 James, yeah man, there are psychos out there. Wow, stalkers. Yeah, it's bizarre.

1:21:16 Michael says, "I'm a very small channel and already have had weird or negative comments. I just thank them for watching and taking their time to comment. You're such a chill dude."

1:21:25 1100, sweet. Can I join that 1%? Chris Ramsey says, "What's up, bro? Hello from Dubai." Good to see you, Ramsey.

1:21:35 James says, "Good advice by MJ. Will check out your channel." Hey, you're back. Hey, welcome or awesome. James, thank you so much for the heads up. It's funny when I said stalker, the screen went black. That's like horror movie stuff, right?

1:21:55 And I gotta stress too, like most everybody is awesome. But the expat niche naturally attracts some oddballs. You got people that don't want more expats; they feel like if expats move to a place, it drives up the cost of living. They want attention, right? If you go to a place with a bunch of expats, you ain't special. You're not going to stick out in town; you're not going to be the cool foreigner; you're just another foreigner.

1:22:27 If you want a date, you want to play the foreigner card, like, "Hey, you want to date a foreigner? I'm the only game in town." Where you live in an area like Dumaguete with a bunch of foreigners, you're no longer as exciting.

1:22:45 And they really don't like YouTubers because they feel like, "Wow, you guys are teaching tens of thousands of people, millions of people, about what it's like to live over there and opening the door for all these people to start moving over there." And so they feel like if we can get them to quit, through trolling, if we can get them to quit through harassment, especially if they find something they don't like about you.

1:23:13 Some stalker types, they don't like Americans. Any American, point blank, they don't like. Some people don't like young expats; they're frustrated that a young guy is able to enjoy this lifestyle. Some don't like the older people; they're like, "Oh, I don't like the older people." So they find something they don't like and then they try to pick you apart on it.

1:23:44 I just hide it from the channel. They take a lot of work to try to bug me, and they just... I just send them on their way. It's far easier for me to just boot them. I look at it like my channel is technically a business, and you can't walk into any business and start yelling at people, "Why are you eating here? The food's terrible." You can't do that.

1:24:06 In many countries, you're going to be trespassed, and in some countries, you're going to get arrested and taken to jail. And so, you know, some of it's envy as well. Like I said, I don't consider my channel a huge channel, but if you're a troll and you can't produce quality content, and my channel is a huge channel.

YouTube Platform Gratitude and Morning Routine

1:24:31 So I agree, James. It's unfortunate, but most, the vast majority of the engagement I get is positive. Most of the people that I talk to on here are wonderful and a pleasure to talk to, and I've made a lot of friends through this platform. I've enjoyed a lot of great conversations, and I have a lot of gratitude toward YouTube for providing this platform.

1:24:57 I've been watching YouTube since I was in high school. One of my buddies in high school got me into it in middle school. I've always thought, "I wish I'd started creating 10 years ago." But I've been watching YouTube now for over half my life, so to be able to participate is super cool.

1:25:21 What wakes you up in the morning? The noise? The sun? Something else?

1:25:24 It's the sun. So usually the sun wakes me up in the morning. It comes through the curtain. Occasionally, it's the noise, but my aircon drowns out a lot of the noise. I use my aircon as a noise-canceling device, but mostly the sun, right around, I'd say like 6:30 or 7 AM, the sun comes up and I get out of bed.

Trucker's Channel and Unique Content

1:25:53 Then I have one of these right here. Speaking of which, Cobra, if you're watching this, feel free to sponsor me. So I have one of these, and that's how I start my days, kind of groggy. Then I get a shower, then I throw on clothes and do some chores, like usually I sweep in here, I clean up a little bit, I throw some stuff away.

1:26:25 I'll go out, usually I'll go out and film a video, try to head to a filming location. And, um, yeah, thanks for joining Trucker. So I addressed that early on. I mentioned that this is a really boring day except for talking to Trucker guys. Check out Trucker's channel. I joined him for a live this morning until my phone ran out of battery.

1:26:51 Yeah, Trucker is great, guys. Like, Trucker has been really encouraging, and I really appreciate his encouragement. He's one of these guys I think thinks we can all win. He's also one of these guys that does unique content, so he does a little budget talk, a little bit of relationship talk, but most of his talk is about adventure, and he's showing Bid, which is refreshing to me because I've seen every freaking DUMTI blogger. I've seen every corner of this town.

Exploring the Philippines Beyond Dumaguete

1:27:22 I've seen tons of this town, and so when Trucker shows Bid, it's like, wow, I'm not looking at yet another DUMTI vlog. Not that there's anything wrong with Daggetti, I mean, but Daggetti is a very specific place that gets a ton of attention. And M, it doesn't get as much attention. I think that's going to change with Trucker being there, also with Gio moving up there. I think Paul's Asian Adventures has moved up there. A number of guys have moved up there or are looking to move up there.

1:27:57 If I could find a place up there for a month, I would consider staying up there for a month. I don't want to commit to five months. I found one place in Bola that would be in budget for me, but she said she wants at least five months, and five months is a long time for me to commit to a city I've never been to. But I also don't want to just go for a day, like I have several friends up in Maka that I want to catch up with.

1:28:21 Like, just for a day, I know my buddy Buick, he's an Australian gentleman. He's told me, man, when I come to the Philippines, he's been coming to the Philippines for like 25 years. I go straight to Bid. He's like, Bid has a lot going for it. It's not discovered, really. That's going to change. I think that's Bid is on the radar now that Gio's moved up there and Trucker's up there vlogging from there as well. Not a bad thing, spread the love.

Thinkers and Authentic YouTubers

1:28:50 There's a lot of places people should go in the Philippines. Dumagetti ain't the only game in town. I love Dumagetti, but it's not the only awesome place in the Philippines. Let's see, Shay and Kuya Storm, maybe you can all meet up. I'll definitely look into that, Michael. And yeah, please PM me later with that.

1:29:21 It's always interesting to talk to Trucker. I think he's a thinker, and it's refreshing to me to be around thinkers. I think that Chad is a thinker, I think Mike is a thinker, I think Paul is a thinker. Admittedly, not all vloggers think a whole lot. You know, there's some that are going for it. I think most bloggers have some amount of intelligence and risk-taking.

1:29:49 But thinking combined with self-awareness, let's say. Yeah, we had a great conversation for an hour, and I look forward to chatting with him again in the future. I think he's doing some interesting content, and I think he's got a bright vlogging future ahead. His channel is growing steadily, and I think a lot of people pick up on his authenticity and his self-awareness.

Generational Differences and Digital Nomadism

1:30:14 And being a character, right? Trucker is just entertaining. He's just an entertaining guy. Some people just have that charisma where they could be talking about anything and get an audience, get people watching. So yeah, shout out to Trucker for sure.

1:30:31 Chris says, "Some older guys with pensions seem envious of younger guys who are digital nomads. Heard some blokes grumbling about it in Paya. Seems like the Papi Old Balls Club don't care for competition." Yeah, well, you know, and that's sad because, like, I don't know, to me, they should acknowledge how stressful life is in the West. I mean, for a lot of young guys, we don't have any hope or dream of like owning a home, especially not in anywhere we'd want to live.

1:31:04 So going overseas, you know, like going overseas is not, uh, not what's it called, not the opportunity to own a home, right? I'm not going to own a home here in the Philippines or in Thailand, but it's adventurous, right? Like I talked to Boomers, particularly Chris, that grew up in the '70s, and they talk about how wild America was, like there weren't any rules and you could just go do whatever you want.

1:31:31 And we're missing that. Like, I missed out on that. By the time I grew up in the US, there's rules about everything. Every little inch of life is organized and regulated, and you can't really take risks. Cost of living is so high, it's not that easy for people to go start a new business unless you're heavily capitalized and you've got a lot of connections.

1:31:54 So we come to Southeast Asia where our rent doesn't chew up half our income, where the women are beautiful and still interested in relationships. The weather's nice. Like you feel like you're on the frontier again, and I love it, man. It's such a cool time to be alive and to be in these parts of the world that their economies are growing rapidly, and there's this sense of excitement in the air.

1:32:27 And like the sense things are getting better, and in a lot of these countries, you go into some places that look a little tired, and you're like, wow, like they never really came back from COVID. And that's kind of interesting because there's some parts of the US that they haven't really come back from COVID, still look kind of tired and run down.

1:32:52 And, you know, I look at like everybody can win, right? If you're a guy on a pension, isn't it a wonderful thing? You could go to Southeast Asia and stretch your pension dollars. And then isn't it a wonderful thing too, young men? Like we can all win. It's my attitude, and I know you feel the same way, Chris. I know you're not a grumbler. You're happy to see people of all ages and backgrounds live alternative lifestyles.

Blue Marlin and Resemblance to Louis Theo

1:33:16 And I think that's what's beautiful about the modern world is we can find the places that we can find the place we fit in, right? Uh, I'm eating Blue Marlin fish. I love blue marlin. I know exactly what you're eating, Trucker, and it's about time for me to go back to. I like to have that here at S. Reval. So there's this big chain here in Dumagetti. I don't know if you have a S. Reval in the Calid, Trucker, but I love that blue marlin.

1:33:43 I only let myself have it once per month because of mercury content, maybe once every other month. But blue marlin is delicious. It's meaty. They do the soy sauce with it here, and I like it a lot.

1:34:07 James says, "I'll check out your channel. I like your thumbnail." Yeah, Trucker is a creative guy for sure. Nicholas, "Anyone ever told you you look like Louis Theo when you shave your beard?" I think I've heard that name before. I'll have to look him up. I agree with you, Nicholas, for sure. I definitely resemble him.

Leaving the US and Cost of Living

1:34:23 White Shark Traveler, "Are you already moved completely out, and do you still have your residence in the US?" Yeah, so I gave up my apartment in the US. I may have to go back and work. That's something I talked a little bit about earlier in the stream is that this has been like, it's taken some time to plan my next steps in life. I think I'm washed out of tech. I don't know if I'll ever get another tech job again without going back for expensive education.

1:34:49 So I said, screw it. I gave up my apartment, bought a one-way flight to Thailand, landed, and that was a year and a half ago. And I thought, well, maybe I'll build a YouTube channel. Maybe I'll ponder my next steps. I thought I wouldn't get washed out of tech. I thought I didn't realize what it would be like to be unemployed for a year and a half. That's been kind of stressful, but I also saved a lot.

1:35:14 I lived below my means in California, saved like 70% of my income. And so every dollar I saved has like triple or 5x the purchasing power over here. And so that's, yeah, that's what I did because my rent in California was like $1,000 a month, which is very cheap by California standards. My rent for this place is like $140 a month.

Tech Industry Flux and Healthcare Pivot

1:35:44 So my burn rate is like 20%. I spend about 20% of what I used to spend in California, and it's a much better lifestyle. I'm just a lot happier over here. Um, hey Tony, good to see you, Tony. Welcome. Tony's been a longtime supporter of the channel, guys. He's another guy who's really encouraged me to pursue this creative outlet, and I really appreciate Tony's presence.

1:36:35 James says, "I also work in tech and not sure if I can get back in. AI is coming anyway." Yeah, I think AI is going to be kind of a hammer for a lot of tech jobs. And, um, it's tough, you know, it's like, what are the next steps if a lot of people go through job loss? I think it's going to be difficult. A lot of people are going to have some major obligations financially, and they're not going to be sure how to pay their bills, how to pay these big mortgages, how to stay on top of different responsibilities if they no longer...

1:37:11 Different responsibilities if they no longer have those incomes, right? Those incomes that you need if you have a big mortgage. That's one of the reasons I'm looking at pivoting to healthcare, going back and studying nursing. I feel like nursing is a little bit harder to automate compared to tech.

Nursing Education and Career Stress

1:37:34 Yeah, that's just kind of been my thought is pivoting to nursing. So I've got to look into that. I've got to look more into that application process. I got to get some documents, APOS is what they call it.

1:37:46 But yeah, if no more tech industry, which industries are you thinking about? Great question, Tony. So yeah, healthcare. I'm thinking about going back and studying nursing.

1:37:55 Nursing tuition is very reasonable here in the Philippines. Like here in Dagupan, we're talking $900 a semester. Four semesters works out to about $3,600. And I could spend a grand a month here. I spend less, I spend about $600 a month here.

1:38:11 But let's say I budgeted a grand a month and the education takes two years. Okay, that's $24 grand for two years of living expenses. Once again, probably less than that, probably get it down to more like $20 grand in living expenses for two years and then $4 grand for tuition. Okay, I spent $24 grand and got an RN.

1:38:36 That's quite a pivot. Lots of training will be involved. I've worked with nurses, it's really stressful and high turnover for sure. But I just feel like I don't have much of a choice as far as finding a new career, right? Because it's, uh, yeah, it's exactly, I agree with you, James.

1:39:02 It's very versatile. It's stressful, but I look at it like I haven't found any job that's not stressful. Like in tech, there were jobs that were not stressful, but they tended to be very low-paid. The ideal job would be a high-paid job with low stress, but I don't know, I'll be so lucky. I can handle stress decently well.

1:39:26 And in nursing, I think it's not manufactured stress, maybe it'll be more meaningful. I found in tech, there was a lot of manufactured urgency with the deadline, the deadline, the deadline. Nothing's going to fall apart if they don't get their freaking software.

1:39:44 We're not like medical professionals in tech. And I did have a boss admit that to me. He was like, nobody's life is going to fall apart if they don't get software like the software that company was selling. But you know, we still got to do a good job.

Deception in Tech and YouTube Grind

1:39:59 He was very transparent in that way. Other bosses, no, this is the end of the world if they don't get this. He wouldn't admit, I just want my bonus, dude. If he just said, dude, I just want my bonus, I just want my performance bonus, it would have been way better. But now, you know, there's a lot of deception.

1:40:18 In all industries, there's a lot of deception, but I found in tech, there was a lot of deception.

1:40:39 I agree, James. It can be a low-paid manual job unless you do ICU. And yeah, it's almost like it can be almost like a doctor in the US, and you know, people have a really high expectation for quality. And in the US, people who are very well-resourced, they'll pay for that quality. They want to stay alive.

1:41:05 Yeah, they want to stay alive. Let's see, nursing is a, oh, entrepreneur, maybe you're already on that road with YouTube. That's my top of mind for me right now is just keep rolling forward with YouTube.

YouTube Momentum and Ideal Lifestyle

1:41:16 My friends that are YouTubers that make enough to live on and then some have all said, just keep pushing, dude. Don't slow down, don't stop. You've got the ball rolling, you've got momentum, keep moving forward, keep progressing, keep getting better, keep working. And so I'm just going to keep working at it.

1:41:33 Growing up Asian, you're taught, don't take risks, be safe. Don't take risks. And that's what I default to. And I feel like, ah, nursing, it's not really as risky. Healthcare is always in demand. Wouldn't be hard for me to find a job. But YouTube, I'd be more fulfilled, I'd be happier.

1:41:50 I love living in Asia. I like the idea of moving around Asia once my income gets past a certain threshold. Then I'm able to bounce around Asia. And that would be my ideal is just bounce around Asia for the rest of my life. I mean, I love living over here. I love the interactions I have with people.

1:42:10 I need to get better at making videos. But yeah, I've been there and done it in the past. But back to the grind. Yeah, it's a grind. It really is a grind.

Living on a Budget in the Philippines

1:42:24 Is it possible to live with $1,000 a month in the Philippines? That's a big maybe. Why, Char Traveler? I live on under that, but I'm a very experienced traveler. I've traveled to around 20 different countries. This is the Philippines is the fifth country I've lived in. I can live on that.

1:42:43 I live on much less than that, but you may not be able to. I live in a studio apartment. It's a basic studio apartment. I don't have a vehicle. I just kind of just use different kinds of transport, like public transport.

1:43:03 I spend a lot of time like working on creative projects.

1:43:25 So yeah, it depends. And I also live in a modest city, right? I think if you're in like Manila, it's thousands a month. It's going to be harder. If you've got like, if you want to date a lot, if you want to party, that's going to be a lot more expensive. I think a lot of people are not going to be happy on that budget long term.

Outsourcing and AI in Tech

1:43:43 I'm happy on it, but my expectations are very, very low. Tony says, would be great if you can get something that allows you to work, promote online and keep living abroad. I guess that's unlikely. It's just hard right now, Tony. The tech industry is in flux.

1:44:01 It's Tech is shifting toward AI, and so a lot of these jobs are going to be replaced by AI. They found out with outsourcing, like why hire an American at a high price when I could hire in Poland, or I can hire in India, or Bangladesh, or Colombia, any number of countries I could hire for a much lower wage and still get things done.

1:44:30 So there's a lot of outsourcing going on right now, and I think it's just going to be a while before tech comes back in any big way. I can learn how to use tech tools more effectively. I could use ChatGPT more effectively than I do now.

1:44:43 So that's something I'm going to be doing, is trying to get better with ChatGPT to improve the channel and to continue to just like keep grinding away at it. I mean, I have several people that are successful enough with YouTube that they could sustain their lives on it. So I just need to do the work.

Scotty Bear and Living Below Means

1:45:06 I just need to keep doing the work. I've got a runway. I'm not, you know...

1:45:28 As an introvert, nursing might be hard. Always around people, lots of noise, commotion, yelling, fast pace, high stress. That's a fair point, Tony. Tony, there's a broke guy in the Philippines I watch called Scotty Bear. Oh yeah, I watch Scotty Bear occasionally too. It's kind of like a guilty pleasure of mine to watch Scotty Bear.

1:45:47 I suspect he may not be totally broke either. I think he's milking it for views, and I'm embarrassed to say it works on me. I watch that guy sometimes. People are fascinated with the broke guy thing. I could play it up more.

Stress Management and Low-Stress Lifestyle

1:46:05 I mean, like I said, I live on $600 per month, but that's a conscious choice. I don't have to live on that amount. I could probably spend more, but it's, I'm in flux right now. And I look at it like, until I know one, until my channel covers all my expenses consistently, or two, I get a solid path toward my next steps, I'd rather underspend than overspend.

1:46:30 Why would I want to overspend and be stressed? You know, there were times when I was younger, I was making $10,000 a month and I'd spend $10,000 a month and I was miserable, even though I had a nice apartment in the city and I was out, entertainment, eating takeout for every meal, and traveling around the country. I was really stressed out, really burnt out.

1:46:56 And was spending time around people I didn't like for business reasons and just stressed out all the time. Wound up. And so if I could make good money, but also living a lower stress lifestyle, that's the ideal because stress is not good for our minds, it's not good for our bodies. Over-the-top stress is just not good for us.

Mundane vs. Exotic Experiences Abroad

1:47:24 I felt myself aging when I was in tech. These are, um, these Vicks inhalers are fantastic. I know that looks, yeah.

1:47:44 Hey, let's see. Hey Alex, on my way to work, I think the biggest attraction to living overseas is the change from the mundane. I also work in tech and feel a bit burned out. Yeah, it's anything but mundane.

1:47:52 I was walking in Robinson's Mall earlier today, and there was a guy sitting in front of Dunkin Donuts playing a bass guitar. He's just like practicing guitar, and I looked at him like confused. And he looked at me like, what's so funny? And you just see all kinds of wild, weird stuff that you never see back home.

1:48:08 One, I wouldn't ever go in a shopping mall back home. Two, if a guy tried to bring a guitar in there, security would be coming up, 'Sir, you're not allowed to bring a guitar in here. This isn't a concert hall.' Probably mocking the guy, telling the guy he's an idiot. Here, you see all kinds of stuff that you just never see your experience back home. I love it.

Tech Leverage and Low Expectations

1:48:26 It's such a good place for creative juices. Only nice thing about tech is when you get the occasional buzz while deep in code. Otherwise, it's unhealthy sitting on a screen, intense all day, in my opinion. Oh, and the money too. Yeah, the money is the big thing with tech.

1:48:43 It's the leverage you get, right? You're able to serve a ton of people with your work in tech. And so, you know, I charge 10,000 people a dollar, that's better than charging two people a thousand bucks each, right?

1:48:59 My expectations are pretty low. That's actually a good motto to have. We were programmed to always be go, go. But if we lower expectations, we can live a good inner life. Yeah, I have a high expectation for myself. I try to have low expectations for other people.

1:49:12 Low expectations for other people seems to result in me being happier. I expect very little of others, so I'm rarely let down. Braun says, "You're back. Do you know anyone interested in buying land in Valencia?" Not where is the best place to advertise it, but you might try Facebook Marketplace. That's what I would do if I were in your position.

StrengthsFinder and Self-Insurance

1:49:30 If you're not sure on your next direction, I can recommend doing StrengthsFinder. It's really good for discovering what makes you tick. I'm not saying it's a cure-all, but it's definitely worth the money. StrengthsFinder, I'll check it out. Thank you, James.

1:49:45 Thanks, Braun. People feel proper or free. Also, guys, I'm going to wind down in the next five minutes or so. My voice is starting to go, and I've got some editing to do before I crash out tonight.

1:50:01 White Shark Traveler asks, "So I currently self-insure. I just keep a substantial emergency fund, but I live a low-risk lifestyle, right? I don't ride a motorbike, I don't go diving, and I don't really even go hiking here." I just self-insure. I'm not recommending that for everybody, but I don't have any dependents, and it is what it is.

Farming in Thailand and London Stress

1:50:30 I walked away from my job in tech to farm in southern Thailand. That sounds really interesting, Nicholas. Very cool. What kind of stuff do you grow in southern Thailand?

1:50:55 Wow, you have my respect. Thank you, White Shark Traveler. Yeah, I mean, I want to partner with Michael on that. I was working for a hedge fund in London. The stress level was insane.

1:51:13 Yeah, I could imagine working for a hedge fund would be very stressful. I know one channel I subscribed to, Economics Ethan, he also worked at some large banks in London. Probably similar, just a high-stress job, high expectations, extremely fast-paced, you know, a rat race kind of feeling.

1:51:33 London is an amazing city, but I mean, you're that's the most expensive city I've ever visited. I spent like 150 pounds in 24 hours, maybe it was 200 pounds in 24 hours. Money would just like liquid, just falling through my fingers. And that was trying to be moderate in consumption. I wasn't super cheap, but I was like, wow, how did like I don't understand how people survive in London other than, I guess, having something like a hedge fund job or living with 10 roommates.

1:52:08 I don't see how anybody could afford London. And I was living in San Francisco at that time too. So to come from San Francisco and be shocked by prices, it was...

Vlog Camera and Editing Software

1:52:24 Yeah. Do you hang out in that high-high area? I film around there. I don't hang around there a ton, but I film around there mainly. Palm oil.

1:52:33 Oh, got it. Nicholas, actually, White Shark Traveler, actually, I'm in Baguio. Much cooler here than the beach cities like Subic. I'd love to check out Baguio at some point.

1:52:41 White Shark, feel free to send me an email if you come down here to do meetups. And I'll feel free to reach out to you if I go up to Baguio, because I've had a few friends tell me Baguio is awesome. I'm looking up your channel now.

1:52:59 White Shark Traveler, I just see stuff about great white sharks, which is freaking me out. But uh, what vlog camera do you use for YouTube?

1:53:12 So right now, I use this to, I use uh Action 4. So I use a DJI Osmo Action 4. I used to use an Osmo Pocket, but I dropped it and it broke. And then I fixed that, I paid for repair, and then I spilled iced coffee on it, and that fried it.

1:53:36 You earn a lot, but you also spend a lot. Got it, Nicholas. Yeah, that was how my life was in tech in San Francisco. It is I earned a lot, but it was very easy to spend money in San Francisco. I mean, it is an extremely convenient city, but like, and you could spend money on anything. And they got rid of a lot of budget-friendly options over the years that I lived there.

1:54:01 Like after COVID, a bunch of the cheap places, cheaper places to eat went out. Some places raised prices. And then, you know, it's just hard to stay in business. Rents are so high, and taxes are so high, and hard to find labor because everybody's there trying to work a high-end job. How many people want to serve ice cream there? Not that many.

YouTube Growth and Community Engagement

1:54:24 What vlog? So yeah, answer that. Which editing program I use? iMovie. White Shark, I was thinking about making YouTube content. Buying the DJI. DJI has been very good to me. I have been very happy with the DJI products that I've used. I like the Action series.

1:54:41 Probably I want to get the number five. So maybe the channel gets bigger, I'll buy the uh Action 5. Maybe I get a video to take off and hit that, you know, 100k views or something. That would be pretty cool.

1:54:57 Yeah, any last questions or thoughts, guys? I think here in a couple minutes, I'll go ahead and call it. Be it two hours. And so yeah.

1:55:34 It's been a good stream. Yeah, great chat with you, James. Thanks so much for joining us tonight. It's been a great stream, everybody. I appreciate you all joining so much and supporting the channel. And I'm going to get back to editing. I've got something coming down the pipe. I'll upload it. I'll probably get it up in the morning. I'll probably finish editing it tonight and then I'll just upload in the morning because I did my round trip to Subic. I finished it last night.

1:56:00 Outdoor exercise. Might try the boulevard. Phillip might try the boulevard. It's uh, or uh, Msus, the oval complex, or the M. Yeah.

1:56:12 Yeah, I would check out the oval as well. But yeah, guys, if you're watching this on repeat, please comment down below. Give us a thumbs up. It helps with the YouTube algorithm. Finally, if you enjoy this stream, whether live or on replay, please subscribe to the channel down below. And thank you all so much for your support. I appreciate it, everybody. And we'll see you soon. Bye-bye.