I have had too much Caffeine this morning in the Philippines

Caffeine Overload and Weekend Plans

0:06 Hey guys, what's up? I thought I would go live because I have had too much caffeine this morning in the Philippines. I thought I would just hop on here.

0:46 I have got a lot going on this weekend as far as stuff that I'm doing for content creation. So I'm setting up, hey, good to see you, John, welcome, welcome. Yeah, I've had a lot of caffeine this morning. So, yeah, so this weekend I've got a lot of interviews. Well, I've got multiple interviews to do, which is exciting. Some new guests, one guy who I don't think he's done an interview before. I think it'll be his first YouTube interview, and so that should be really exciting. I'll be scheduling that on Sunday, so it won't happen on Sunday, but I'll get a time and date locked down on Sunday.

1:40 Yeah, Paul, so I had, I think I had five cups of coffee this morning, and then I started drinking one of these, which has about the same caffeine as a cup of coffee. So something like six cups. A lot. I now, of course, the cups I had were kind of small, but yeah, I just knew I really wanted to get a lot done today. And I went running last night. I definitely felt it this morning, felt a bit tired because I ran a lot last night at the track. I go to the track here and do magetti and run three times a week now. I just started that a week or two ago, early last week, and so my body's adjusting and I definitely felt a little achy. So I thought, why don't I drink some caffeine and power through it? So that's where I'm at.

Nursing School Applications and Career Path

2:38 I just wanted to hop on here, trying to do these once a week to get together with everybody, get feedback, have some kind of Q&A type of discussion, and also just provide life updates, that sort of thing. One of the things I was going to do is mention I'm having a hard time deciding my next steps here. So my initial thought about applying to nursing school here was to just apply to Siliman, but I realized, well, one, I may not get accepted. I don't know what their expectations are. It's a very desirable place to study. But two, there's other great quality schools here in the Philippines as well, and they may offer me an opportunity to live in some other cities. So I think what I'm going to do is research and compile a list of places I'd like to go, probably the top schools, because those are going to be most likely to feed me into a role back in the US. But also, you know, normal schools. I'm not an elitist. I just want to make sure if I invest the time that I'm able to translate that toward opportunities.

3:51 So that's kind of a focus right now, compiling the list of schools I want to apply to. And then if I, you know, if I go back to the US to get my apostille documents, I'll know I can compile my list of schools and get, say, 10 sets of documents, come back to the Philippines, mail them all out, and then have a more solid answer rather than go back, get documents for one. You know, it doesn't make any sense to fly back and forth to the States for multiple sets of documents. I'd rather just get everything done in one go, send out my applications, find out if and where I've been accepted, and then proceed from there.

4:38 Philli says, hey Alex, good to see you, Phillip. How's it going? Dretti has been quiet for over a month now. Yeah, it's been refreshing, honestly. I, you, Phillip, you read my mind this morning. I was thinking, man, what's gonna happen next? Because there's always seems like there's always something wild going on.

5:00 Now, I will say the vlogging scene is kind of consolidated here. You know, obviously, unfortunately, Mark is gone. Gio has moved up to Bohol, as he's let everybody know on his channel. I think Paul Station Adventures has also moved up to Aid. And who else? Yeah, so several people have departed, and I think that reduces it somewhat. I mean, there's, which is, you know, I think the lack of drama is good.

5:37 Philip, I'm glad that the drama has cut back. I don't, I get that it gets clicks, I get that it gets views. I just don't think it's the most flattering impression of Daguetti. I'm pretty specific about who I spend time with because, to me, it's just a place to come relax and chill out. The Philippines in general is a place to relax and chill out. I've never understood the need for the drama. I mean, I guess, like I said, it gets clicks, it gets attention. But, you know, to me, there's a lot of awesome things about being here.

Professional Background and Healthcare Transition

6:24 And, uh, yeah. Hey D, good to see you. Oh, so John wanted, so John asked a good question, what have you done professionally thus far? So I've always done some kind of sales work. So I had an e-commerce store, I had several e-commerce stores. I did that for nine years, eight or nine years, where I sold stuff on Amazon, on eBay, on Etsy. And then I got into technology sales. Did that for a couple years. I suspect I'm washed out of tech. I tried to go back for computer science.

7:02 And, you know, tech is just not in a good place right now in the US as far as the industry goes. It's consolidating. Not much hiring going on. I did some applications, but it seemed like the companies weren't super serious about bringing people on board. So I've always done some kind of business or sales work. And, you know, I'm not opposed to getting back into it, but I also know that it's kind of boom and bust and very cyclical, whereas healthcare is just very steady. Like my mom went back for nursing in her mid-30s. Her first degree was psychology, and then her second degree was accounting. So she worked as an accountant, and then she decided to go back for nursing to have some higher earning potential. And I think that's kind of what I'm looking at.

7:57 You can do well in tech, but like I said, it's boom and bust, it's cyclical. And, you know, there's no healthcare bust or healthcare bubble like there is with tech. And like I said, I saved some good money when I was working in tech. I only worked in tech for a few years, but I was able to save a good chunk of my earnings. But I don't want to keep, people keep telling me, go back to the States, go back to the States. One, I'm not in an emergency financial situation. So I'm not in a position where, oh, I'm running out of money tomorrow, I'm running out of money next week. A lot of people would like for that to happen because they don't like me, or for whatever reason, but that's not the case. On the other hand, I'm not totally financially independent. So I don't have so much in terms of resources that I'm done working and I would get bored too, like being retired in my 30s.

8:55 So my thought is, how can I pivot to another career where I can earn enough to live like, not like live rich in the United States, but put away money every month? That's kind of a misconception people think is that, oh, you have to make a lot of money in the US because you want to live a super high standard of living. That's not my goal. My goal is, yeah, I could go get a warehouse job. I could get on a plane tomorrow and have a warehouse job on Monday. I'm not going to get ahead working a warehouse job in the United States for $15 an hour. I'm going to be going backwards financially. I've lived on that amount, and yeah, maybe you cover your bills, any extra expense, car breaks down, you need new tires, you need to buy something, whatever it may be that comes up unexpected, then all of a sudden you're in the red. And so it's not really sustainable to live on that kind of wage unless you're independently wealthy or you have family that will just put you up for free. Neither of which are my expectation.

Financial Independence and Overseas Education

10:08 Then I start to ponder, okay, what could I do where I could earn enough to be independent, also put away money every month? Like my goal, financial independence, move to Southeast Asia long-term. But to do that, I need to build up a dividend portfolio, an investment portfolio that can cover my cost of living independent of my day-to-day output. And so I thought, why don't I go into healthcare? There's a demand for it, the wages are high. There's demand all over the country, so I wouldn't have to go back to my hometown. I don't want to go back to my hometown. So I could go back to California, where I much prefer to live. California, if you earn enough money to afford it. I've never found any place that I like to live better than California. Money, not, you know, assuming I'm earning enough money to live there. I love the weather, I love the culture, I love the beaches, the mountains. The architecture is interesting. I meet a lot of really bright people in California, but you need to earn good money to live there.

11:15 So if not for tech, right, if tech's in a bad shape and I'm not going to get a tech job, then healthcare, I think, could be a good option for me to, you know, to be located out there. So yeah, John, that was a really long-winded way of answering your question. But I've always done some kind of sales or business development. And, uh, it, you know, it being in a bust, I don't want to count on getting back into it. I also don't want to get into a dead-end job that I'm going backwards financially. And I happen to have saved enough money so that I can have some time to plan my next moves. And, uh, now, could I go back to nursing school in the United States? That's a common question. Well, one, it's very, very competitive. It's typically one of the most competitive programs at many universities in the states. And so everybody, you know, because people know it pays well, and so there's a lot of people, and there's a finite number of seats.

12:24 If I have a healthcare background, do I want to teach healthcare professionals or do I want to go work in industries? So you have a finite number of people that could actually teach up to the standard. And then of those people, many would prefer to just work in a hospital. So it's very hard to get into education. And then when you do get into education, you're paying a lot for it.

12:46 It's not uncommon to rack up $100K in debt to get a bachelor's in nursing because it's not just your tuition, it's your rent, it's your food. People say, 'Well, just work.' But if you try to work while you're going to nursing school, you're competing against people who don't have to work. You're always competing against the best of the best in the United States, and that's in every element of life. So you're trying to work full-time while you have other people who, during the hours that you're working, are studying. They're able to get ahead, they're able to form study groups, they're able to maybe go and speak with the professor about questions they have. They're able to get ahead of you.

Philippines as a Nursing Education Hub

13:33 So then I was thinking, well, the United States hires a lot of healthcare professionals from other countries. How about the Philippines? So I started to research and look into it, and I made that video. I got tons of Filipino healthcare professionals telling me, 'You found the secret! The secret is to go and do your training in the Philippines, come back to the States, pass the examinations, the NCLEX exam, and then be employed.'

14:06 So now I would be able to pursue the education without working, without incurring a bunch of debt, get quality education, and then come back and earn where the wages are high. I can't legally work here in the Philippines; I'm a foreigner, so I would not be permitted to work here as a nurse. So that kind of solves itself.

14:30 D says, 'Welcome, D. Good to see you. I think a nursing degree is a fabulous idea. Nurses are in demand globally, a great way to travel and earn income.' I absolutely agree, D. Thanks so much for joining us today. Yeah, it's you know, it's a very much in-demand field.

14:43 And I've had people tell me, 'Oh, isn't it a calling? It's a calling.' I think of it, one, I try to be empathetic, but two, it's a very stable, in-demand role. You're helping people. Where in tech, I felt at times we have these solutions looking for problems, and the value is not evident. With nursing, the value is very evident in my opinion. Like most people will need healthcare, especially as they get older. They want healthcare services, and it's not like an optional thing for most people.

15:21 So it's something that there is a very clear demand, very strong demand. And I've had friends tell me, 'You know, hey, like it's not as cyclical. If you, for whatever reason, lose your nursing job, you can walk down the street and find another job.' Where tech is not really like that. Tech, it seems like when the industry goes into a bad time, like everybody's struggling, or many people are struggling.

15:53 So yeah, that's been on my mind. But um, cars, always remember we are foreigners here. We are used to getting special access in the United States where we're citizens, but are often denied because we're foreigners. Some foreigners, yeah.

16:03 A lot of people are coming here for healthcare education. So I've run into a guy several times here in Daggett. He's getting his medical doctor education here. And so that's kind of it. It is that basically, you know, assuming that they feel confident about your ability, your skill set, your ability to pay. I don't think they have student loans are a big thing here. Then they'll train you.

16:44 And also, I think on their part, there's an incentive because they know as a grad, like I'm not going to be working here, so I'm not going to be competing with their students for jobs here. You know, I'll be, assuming I go through with this plan, as soon as I finish, I'll be hopping on a plane and going back to the States to find work. But I've heard a number of people say they found jobs before they even completed the education if they went to a good quality institution here in the Philippines. They had something lined up before they even finished.

Vlogging Opportunities and Cost of Living

17:17 So I'm more concerned about getting in right now. That's the next step. After getting in, it's completing the education. And then after completing the education, it's getting a job. But I also plan to, if I get in, I plan to try to vlog this, and that will probably grow my vlog as well. A lot of people are curious about studying overseas because the university system in the United States is kind of a scheme where they want to get people trapped into a bunch of debt, and tuition is just far, far less overseas.

18:04 And you know, I've said it before, there's really three options for the American healthcare system because you have this relationship between supply and demand of services or service providers. You could let people go without healthcare, which a lot of people don't want. You could lower the standard, you could basically say we're just going to make it easier for people to get a healthcare education, we're going to lower the examination standards, we'll allow more people to become healthcare professionals. Both of these come with major downsides. One, if you don't give people treatment, that's the problem there. Two, you lower the standard, the problem there is obvious. Or three, we could allow people with education from overseas to come in and work in these roles or in these professions.

18:57 Most will agree that number three is the best option because the other alternatives are not good. Let's say, um, yeah, Paul, my rent is 8,000 pesos per month, so I pay about $137 US for rent for this studio apartment. It is furnished, that includes Wi-Fi. I pay about $5 a month for my water bill, and my electric bill comes out to around 2,000 pesos a month, about $35 for my electric. So all in, I'm around $188, $190 a month including utilities. So very good value for money.

19:43 I mean, if I was renting this in my hometown, Nashville, I'd pay probably $1,500 a month for this apartment. And you know, I would have crazy neighbors, you know, people looking to just, you know, have a good time. And the neighbors are generally quiet and respectful. It's fantastic. I mean, I really like being here.

Demand for Healthcare and Travel Nursing

20:16 And if I get a good education, that's fantastic. John says, 'Nursing is a solid choice.' Thank you, John. Yeah, super in-demand. Demand is not going anywhere. As the population in the United States ages, then there's just going to be more and more demand for healthcare and more and more resources in the United States will be dedicated to healthcare services, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

20:49 The average American is like 40 years old, the average European is 44 years old. So people just need more and more treatment, and they're going to be willing to spend their money on it and invest in it. Derek says, 'Don't forget to hit the like.' Thanks so much, Derek. I don't know why I'm kind of congested right now, guys. I need to use my inhaler.

21:24 Studying nursing in the Philippines? Yeah, so Paul, that's kind of my next goal here. Is to study nursing here. The tuition is far, far less than the United States. I think all in, I would spend about $6,000 for two years of nursing education here, where in the United States, you're probably talking more like $20K in tuition minimum, maybe $30 or $40K tuition.

21:50 And then monthly expenses, probably spending $3,000 a month in the US. So to do two years of education in the US, you're looking at like $100 grand, where here, more like $30 grand, maybe $35 grand, something like that. And that's a no-brainer. Plus, the quality of life is high, much higher for me here than in the United States.

22:16 I look at the US as kind of what I call an economic zone. It's a place to go and earn money. The quality of life is just not as strong as what it used to be for many people. I'll say not everybody, but for many people, the quality of life in the US is just kind of going into decline. And so, I see it as a great place to earn money, great place to get ahead financially. Once you get that money, you may try, you know, I think trying out some other countries is what I would like to do in the long term.

22:54 And I could do contract work, right? So if I got my nursing education, then, you know, if I got my nursing education, then I could do a six-month contract or a three-month contract and then go travel Latin America or travel Southeast Asia, do more of Europe. I want to see more of Europe because I haven't really seen much of Europe. That would be interesting to me.

Unique Vlogging Content and US vs. Philippines

23:28 And I'd really get to just have that kind of flexibility, and that would be really cool. D says, 'It would be so interesting to follow your life as a mature student studying abroad. I think it would be quite a unique theme. So many bloggers in the Philippines are covering the same topics.' I absolutely agree. You know, a lot of vlogs in the Philippines are covering dating, budget. That's it, like dating and budget.

23:56 And I try to avoid covering those topics, not because I don't think they're good topics, but one, I think they've been covered a lot. There are vlogs about every different angle of dating and budget. Two, I think other people do better than me. I think other people are better at covering dating, better at covering budget than I am. And so, trying to go into some uncharted territories, some topics that people don't really talk about, should be...

24:26 Don't really talk about. It should be really interesting and valuable to the audience who wants to learn more about the Philippines. But they feel like they've already learned as much as they can about budget, cost of living, cities they want to live in, whether it be Dagupan, Cebu, or Manila. Going into education opportunities should be a lot of fun.

24:57 I thought University of California schools were discounted for California residents. Yes, they are. So the big thing to call out there would be California's cost of living is very, very high. To rent an apartment in urban California, you're talking $2,000 a month minimum. And then your day-to-day expenses are probably an additional $1,500 a month. So just to go to school, even if the tuition was free, you'd be paying say $3,000 to $4,000 a month in monthly costs.

25:32 So you're talking like $40,000 a year before you get into tuition. And I technically could spend that, but it doesn't make any sense to me to spend that if I could spend a third of that. I don't believe, I mean, California one has quite a few Filipino healthcare professionals. You understand, you live in Orange County. The cost is not bad if you're working full-time, if you've got a nursing education, a programming degree, a Bachelor's in computer science, or a mechanical engineering background. The cost in California is really not that bad.

26:23 I did not find it to be expensive when I was working full-time. But if you're not working, then you're just spending a lot of money that is not replenishing itself through a paycheck. And it just doesn't work out. And you're also hoping it works out, right? Like, let's say I get through, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get through it. It's considered quite difficult. Let's say after a semester I decide, 'Ah, you know, this isn't for me. I'm not capable of meeting the standard for whatever reason.'

27:03 Here in the Philippines, I spent $1,400 tuition for a semester. I spent $4,000 living expenses for a semester. So $5,000 total for a semester. In California, I'm out, let's see, $25,000 for that semester that I messed up. So losing $6,000 if it does work out versus losing $25,000 if it doesn't work out. That's almost a $20,000 difference if it doesn't work out.

27:38 And that's pretty substantial. Not to mention the startup costs. If I wanted to go get an apartment in California, I'm putting down first month's rent, a deposit, and then paying the first month's rent. Could I have a car back in the states? Maybe. I'm having to go and get a parking spot, renting a parking spot. It's so cost-prohibitive that you have to really look at ROI, look at the likelihood of success, and evaluate what happens if this plan doesn't work.

28:21 In the Philippines, if the plan doesn't work, it's exactly as John mentioned. I'm not watching your channel because I want to retire in California. Yeah, it's, I absolutely agree, John. Most people do not want to retire in California for numerous reasons. You've got the wildfire issues, you've got substantial crime problems. I had my car broken into before I left California.

28:54 You have a really high cost of living in California. California has some challenges. It's a great place to have a career. I think it's probably one of the best places in the United States to have a career. But if you want to relax, you're not going to really. I don't find California to be relaxing. I find it a place where there's always something cool happening, always something fun to do, always interesting things happening in the tech industry.

29:24 But if your ideas are to slow down, no. It's a very fast-paced life in California. It's almost as fast-paced as it gets in the US, except for maybe Boston or New York. It's as fast as it gets. The good old US of the 90s is sadly over. It was a great place then with all the Silicon Valley startups.

Education in English and Filipino Remittances

29:44 I absolutely agree, Prodigalynn. I totally agree that that was really a lovely time back in the states. Is the course curriculum taught in English? Yes, John. The course curriculum is taught in English. There's really a dual path. So you've got the OFW program where healthcare professionals from the Philippines go to the Middle East in the overseas foreign worker program. And then the other path is, I think, to the United States.

30:23 So both are taught in English because they're wanting to prepare people to go overseas to get these high-quality jobs and then ideally be able to send remittances back. Something like 10% of the Philippines' economy is money sent from other countries. So Filipinos living abroad, I think it's 15 million Filipinos live outside of the Philippines, and many of those 15 million actually send remittances back here to friends, family, loved ones through money transfer services.

31:04 Where do you want to? Oh, dating, traveling. Sorry, I got ahead of myself a little bit. Traveling nurse program? Yeah, that's a good call out, Derek. Traveling nurses can do very, very well actually. Before I left California, I lived near Sacramento, and the guy I rented my room from, his other new rooms were occupied by traveling nurses. So they travel around California picking up these contracts. They rent a room for $1,200 a month. They're hardly there, they're working a lot of hours, overtime, earning that money.

31:41 And so that's kind of how they work this system. They don't go and rent a full-on apartment. They don't get into a lease. They get to travel around. They get a higher pay rate. I do think they have to cover things like their insurance separately. So they don't, you know, they make a higher pay rate, use a portion of that to pay for certain things that if they were employed at one hospital, that hospital would cover those costs, things like health insurance, for example.

32:10 Where do you want to work after you obtain your nursing degree? Make sure your degree is recognized. Yes. So with Simon, for example, 100% of people that graduate from Simon University that take the NCLEX exam, the American nursing exam, pass. So every single person that graduates from Simon's nursing program actually passes that NCLEX exam.

32:39 I talked to quite a few people too that commented on my video saying, 'I went to a no-name university in the Philippines, like ones you probably haven't heard of, and I just passed that exam and was licensed to work.' So you don't have to go to the top university. The bigger thing is get the education and then pass that NCLEX exam, that standardized test, and then you're good to go.

33:01 Now, as Filipinos, they have to pass a language test proving that their English level is at a level where they could work. I wouldn't have to do that as a native speaker, as a US citizen. That's something they would have to do. They would also have a harder time in the sense that they would be immigrating to the United States with maybe not the same amount of experience living in the US.

33:24 They might not have ever visited the states, whereas for me, I've spent most of my life in the states. So it's a system I'm pretty familiar with and not something that would be a major adjustment. I mean, it would still be an adjustment because I've been out of the country for almost two years now, but it wouldn't be the same as for a Filipino person who maybe is less familiar with the US.

Working in Hawaii and US Tax System

33:54 But yeah, after finishing work, I've had some people say, 'Hey, you know, you could go do contract in Hawaii.' I've never been to Hawaii, but that would be really cool to go and work in Hawaii and actually earn enough to enjoy some of the nice things that Hawaii has to offer. And I don't know that I'd want to live there long-term, but even just going there to work would be really cool.

34:18 But probably I'd only focus on high cost of living areas because those tend to be the areas that, for me, my preferences offer more of what I'm looking for. And as a bachelor, I'm not looking to purchase a single-family home in these areas. I found the high cost of living areas in the US or anywhere in the world, they're more so high costs if you want to have a family there. But if you're a single person, you're comfortable with renting a small space, then other things don't really add up.

34:55 Taxes are high, but I grew up in a low tax area, and they still get their taxes. So where I'm from, Nashville, they claim, 'Oh, we're low tax, we're low tax,' but the property taxes are very, very high. I have friends and families back there that are seeing 30% year-over-year increases in property tax. So where 10 years ago their property taxes were like $2,000 a year, it's up to like $4,000 or $5,000 a year.

35:28 So they're paying out $300-$400 a month just in property tax. That doesn't include maintaining the house, you know, needing a new roof, needing to paint, changing the flooring, paving the driveway, maybe the mailbox. These are all additional costs of owning a single-family home. They're part of what make high cost of living areas expensive. If you're just renting an apartment, oh no, the apartment's messed up, I guess I'll just go find a new apartment. Not a big deal.

36:04 Where if you own the property, you've got. And another thing is the sales tax is very high where I'm from. So it's, I think it's 10%. So if you want to consume, basically I look at it is the...

36:19 Consume, um, basically I look at it as the taxes in the United States. Taxes in the United States, people, um, people often don't talk about the bigger picture, the totality of taxes and the bigger picture, the totality of taxes and the fact that most states are going to get their taxes one way or another. Uh, they're not going to just let you get by without it, and in some ways, uh, you just pay for it in other ways, right?

36:44 So Tennessee has a very high crime rate, certain types of crime. Part of that is because, uh, certain parts of the state are very under-resourced, and they're not going to show you that, right? When they talk about Nashville, they're not going to talk about Backwoods Trailer Park, Tennessee, where people are living really rough. They're going to show you Broadway, that's perfectly manicured, heavy police presence, um, you know, down the street from the Predators' natural Predators hockey arena and the Titans Stadium.

Visa Compliance and Texas vs. California

37:21 Uh, so yeah, that's where I, um, I'm kind of critical is that there's a certain way of spinning things in a certain light to back up a person's opinion on that. Um, guys, I'll be right back. I drank so much coffee, I'll be right back.

39:03 All right guys, okay. Um, let's see here. Will you be changing your visa to a student visa if you get accepted? You're going to need bank statements among other things. Yeah, I, so I can get my bank statements, um, right now for my online banking, I get bank statements, let's see, I get four or five banking statements every month, uh, from my banks via email. And, uh, I could get those in person too. Bank statements are easy.

39:28 Um, but I'll definitely be changing over my visa to maintain compliance, make sure I'm following the rules and, uh, and do what I need to be doing.

39:50 Um, let's see. Taxes are oppressive there too, depending on your bracket. Texas has become more popular now, but I've never actually been there, so I am curious about Texas. But then all the people I've worked with and my friends who live in Texas tell me not to move to Texas, so I can't really figure it out.

40:07 Um, I've been to Austin and I liked Austin a lot. Austin's kind of the California part of Texas, you could say. I thought it was a cool town. I like the vibrancy, I like that there seems like there's a lot going on there. Uh, but my friends in Texas tell me that it's actually grew up there, not what you think it is. Austin is cool, but like Austin's more of a California light than it is a Texas.

40:34 A lot of my friends in Texas are not in Austin, they're in Dallas or Houston. And, uh, you know, maybe it's just one of those people or more critical of what they know versus what they don't know. Um, I'm not a post living in Texas, definitely not a post that, um, maybe I go try to contract out down there, but we'll see.

40:58 Um, we'll see. Uh, let's see. D says, I hope you're not squeamish. Thank you, D. Yeah, I think I could get over it. To me, I think it's one of those things like I could probably adjust to. Um, needles don't bother me, for example.

41:15 Um, both, I think maybe it's a genetic thing too. Both my parents were in healthcare, so, uh, my dad was a doctor and my mom was a nurse. So, uh, maybe it's just like in my DNA to want to be at healthcare.

41:34 Uh, I think it's something I could, uh, I could adjust to and maybe I'll research that. D, thank you for calling that out. Actually, I'm going to do some research on like how do people. Let me make a note of that. How do people adjust?

41:58 Yeah, because that's, that's a good call out for sure. And I may, I may look into studying it here. I'm a little bit more skeptical of that, but, um, it's, you know, it would be in line with my past experience. And I think tech is beneficial because there's less regulation there, um, so you have more innovation. I think more growth where healthcare is very much very regulated, uh, and there's more rules to follow versus in tech.

California's Challenges and Filipino Culture

42:32 Uh, John says, you know, the California governor relocated the homeless to clean the facade for, uh, the Chinese president. Nashville does not have a monopoly on window dressing. Oh, absolutely, John. I will agree with that. I met some out-of-touch folks in California, for sure, people that are like, what? California doesn't have any problems, um, because they, you know, they're very, very blessed in terms of resources and they can afford to just separate themselves from some of those challenges.

43:02 One of my stories about California, I remember coming out of a Michelin restaurant in San Francisco and, uh, this is in, uh, I don't want to specify the neighborhood, but it was in a, a decent neighborhood in San Francisco. And I walk down the stairs and I get to the bottom of the stairs and there's like four homeless people having a party at the base of the stairs of this Michelin star restaurant. Uh, and it was just a very stark, extreme situation.

43:31 You know, very like, where did I? Okay, so I came from that restaurant where it cost $300 to have dinner, and now I'm stepping over people that, uh, probably don't have $300 to their name. So it was, uh, yeah, I mean, that's that's certainly not a picture that people see very much.

43:56 And I find a lot of people too, they, they treat it as one or the other. California is either Armageddon or it's Paradise on Earth. Um, I found a bit of both in my time there. And I find that, you know, for most people that are busy working in California, they're focused on their job. They're, uh, you know, they're not hanging out on Skid Row, just like most of them are not living in a mansion in the Hills.

44:30 Um, most people seem to, uh, you know, they just do their job and they focus on work and trying to get ahead. And, uh, that's their focus.

44:42 Uh, Virginia Beach is awesome. Lived there for 35 years before moving back to California. Highly recommended. I think I've been to Virginia Beach actually. I like that area a lot. There's a lot to like about, uh, the East Coast. I've never lived on the East Coast, so I've always lived either in Tennessee or in the Mountain West or West Coast. And at some point, I'd like to try living on the East Coast, not forever, but, uh, you know, at least give it six months or a year.

45:10 I, through the channel, I've developed some friendships of people that live on the East Coast. And, um, I think it'd be interesting. I've spent a couple of summers in the Washington DC area, but maybe going further up the coast or further down the coast might be kind of cool too.

45:28 Cars says, after two years in the Philippines, I think it's best for my wife to be able to live in America. Um, you want to have shared residency. Yeah, I don't blame you there, Cars. There's some things I do miss about the United States that I didn't really think I would miss or didn't understand that I would miss.

45:46 And I think the Philippines is great for retirement. I think for people that are looking to slow down, uh, people that, they, what's the word, like they want to enjoy life, they're done working. Um, great option for people in their working years. I, I think that the United States has a lot to offer. I think there's a reason a lot of Filipino people for their working years, they want to work in the US, uh, they want to work in Australia, Canada, um, United Kingdom, New Zealand, these kinds of places, uh, just because there's, you know, they're set up for business.

46:24 I think the Philippines is, uh, more oriented toward relaxation, enjoying life, um, slower pace, that kind of thing, where the US is, is, you know, it's more set up to be getting things done and just a different lifestyle. So I, I don't blame you. I think that's the ideal. If somebody would ask me what's the ideal, I would say the ideal for a lot of people is to be able to come and go as they please, um, to go back and forth between the Philippines, United States, or if they're from the UK, go back and forth.

46:59 And not be stuck in one forever. Because when I'm in the US for too long, I just get stressed out, burnout, frustrated. People are very kind of combative and argumentative. Uh, but it's very convenient, right? There's tons of conveniences in the United States. I can go to Walmart, or go on Amazon, or, um, whatever convenience I want. I get my car, I go drive, and I can just have such convenient, comfortable, uh, way of doing things. But it comes with stresses. It comes with people having a, uh, an being angry, right? Their lives aren't working out the way that they thought they would in the United States, so they're very stressed out, very frustrated.

47:42 They feel like, uh, I think some of it is social media, where I think people in the US, you know, they weren't so able to have insight into the way other people live before social media. Now they see, oh wow, like this real estate investor, you know, seems to have some things I don't have, and I work my fingers to the bone, discounting the work it took for that person to get into that position, the risk that person took. Uh, vice versa, people can people who are doing well for themselves.

48:30 I don't know, they people just seem kind of detached in the US, where people in the Philippines, relationships seem more important to people. People seem to be, uh, just more oriented towards their social life and small talk, talking to people. Um, I like it here that I can joke around with people a bit more easily. I like that.

Philippines Trade-offs and US Lifestyle

48:54 Um, yeah, there. So conversely, like here in the Philippines, sometimes I go to the store, they don't have what I'm looking for, right? It's out of stock. Uh, sometimes I, um, give instructions to a service provider and they don't quite understand what I mean. They might say yes, uh, but they, uh, they might not still understand quite what I'm getting at.

49:29 Um, what else in the Philippines? Well, I, I don't have a car here, right? So I can't just hop in my car and go drive to town. Um, I could get a bike, but there's some, I have some major safety concerns about riding a motorbike. Uh, I've known several people tell me it's not a problem, and then those same people get into accidents.

49:52 Um, it's so yeah, there's, it's tradeoffs. I say there's no place that's perfect. You come to the Philippines, you're trading certain things about the US for different things in the Philippines, and vice versa.

50:12 Cars says, agree, the Philippines has what the US does not. Get the best of both worlds if you can. Um, yeah, I agree. Cars, absolutely. I mean, there's certain things that, you know, like I said, I.

50:20 Things that, you know, I like, I said, I miss a lot about the US. I one of the things I liked about working in the US is I had more predictability over my day-to-day life. I could basically predict everything that was going to happen. There's a dark side of that where it gets very boring and repetitive at times, but it was kind of nice to know, okay, Friday afternoon, I'm going to go home, I'm going to turn on YouTube, I'm going to pick up some takeout and veg out.

51:15 I worked hard all my life and I'm fortunate enough to afford to live in both places. You prepared well, I mean, you focused on getting things done, you live below your means. I think that a lot of guys out there envy you that you can go back and forth, that you could afford to live in the US or you could afford to live here in the Philippines.

51:43 And I think a lot of guys that can't afford to live back home envy you. And then there's also guys that live back home that are too afraid to leave that would also envy your courage. I think it takes courage to go to another country to live in another country.

US Issues and Critical Thinking

51:59 I get it a lot. I got it more in the past when I talked to people back home, but now with some of the problems in the United States, I meet more people that are curious about living overseas. Some of the issues in the US are becoming more apparent: cost of living, crime, political division. They're becoming so apparent, they're so obvious that you can't really ignore them.

52:29 And so I have more people I would call normal or normies that are curious about living overseas. And not necessarily permanently, you know, for not. I don't think it's I'm not my. I don't want. I try not to give any advice, but my insight is go try some other places out, learn about how people live. I think a lot of Americans would have much more gratitude for the US if they lived overseas.

52:57 To me, living overseas has taught me a lot of gratitude about the US simultaneously. I can be critical of the US. Some people would say, oh, you hate America. I don't hate America. Critical thinking is part of what makes the United States such an amazing country and the West in general, but the United States in particular is that we can criticize, that we can say this isn't good or this isn't good, and we fix it.

53:28 We elevate to the next level. You think about engineering. I know cars, worked in aerospace, and I have several friends here that also worked in aerospace. If you're building an airplane, you better be critical. You better figure out what's not going to work because a lot of people's safety and health is at risk.

53:46 We've seen some major incidents in the last year that have been very tragic, and some of those incidents are caused by a lapse in critical thinking. So anytime people say don't ever criticize us, no criticism is what has elevated the United States to a global superpower. It's that people don't just accept things at face value, but they have some doubt.

54:09 I think medium-trust societies are going to be the most productive places because you have enough chaos that new ideas come up, and enough criticism that people refine those ideas, they're trying to make them better. So I don't think it's unpatriotic at all to be critical of the US. I think that's what makes the United States an amazing place, is that people say, no, you're doing this wrong.

54:33 Think about a restaurant in the United States. If we didn't follow very stringent food safety protocols, oh no, whatever, drop the food on the floor, who cares? No, no, no, that's a problem. If somebody gets served that food that has been dropped on the floor, it can make them very sick. Throw it out.

54:52 I worked in my first job was in a restaurant washing dishes, and that's something I think about from time to time. And that goes for every element of life in the US. Criticism is not bad. I think there's a difference between nihilism or excess negativity and saying, no, there's a proper way to do this, there's a proper way to approach this problem, and we should do things the right way.

55:18 Because that's what ensures a high standard of living, that's what's good for people, like healthcare. I don't want to go see a doctor in the United States and them say, 'Ah, you'll probably be fine, probably not a big issue.' No, no, no. I want them to say, 'Hey, if you don't stop doing this behavior, it's going to hurt you.'

Criticism as Improvement and Daily Activities

55:38 I want that criticism because that, and in jobs too. Oh no, manager, leave me alone, I'm doing things fine. No, no, tell me what I'm doing wrong because I need to improve how I'm doing things. I learned that in sales, feedback is a gift. And so I think some people that say, 'Oh, you're negative on the US,' well, that feedback is what improves us in the US. That's why we have products that work, we have technology that works, we have software that works.

56:07 We have the standard of living that we have in the US. And I don't like the idea of not being critical. I think when you stop being critical, you stop improving, you stop growing. I think it could be taken to excess. I do think sometimes some people would try to make the argument, 'Oh, the US, that's the worst in the world.' No, no, no. It's not the worst in the world. There are far worse places to live than the United States.

56:36 Even in the parts of the US that are not very desirable, they're still more desirable than some other places. I could think of some places I wouldn't want to live: Papua New Guinea, Congo are some examples.

56:51 But yeah, that's a little bit of a rant, guys. I just tie that in. CBGB says nothing is worth breaking a leg or a hip, stay off the motorcycles. I agree, CBGB, I absolutely agree. It's, you know, I give credit to those who are able to pilot them safely, but for me, I just, I'm not super coordinated.

57:21 John asks, how do you occupy your time when you're not creating content? That's a great question, John. So a big one is fitness. I'm getting into running, so I need to start going back to lifting weights in the gym. So a big one for me is health and fitness. People tell me here all the time, Alex, you're too skinny. But I just love being healthy, I love physical activity, and going to work out.

57:50 And so that's a big part of how I spend my free time is trying to learn different fitness techniques. I'm trying to learn how to run because I've never been a runner before, so this is a whole new thing. I got these knockoff shoes, I'll show you guys. They're kind of dirty because it was raining last night, but yeah, I got these. I thought if I stick with running, then I'll get a nicer pair.

58:16 But those are just $10, and I take those to the track. The track is like 15 pesos, and you can just access that and go running. There's no cars, so it's a good place to get a run in. And they have some pull-up bars and a nice space to train and to run there.

58:46 And what else? Oh, part of what I do too, John, is trying to, I'm working on a book. So I've put the book on the back burner this week. It's been a little bit slow because I've been focusing on interviews, but a lot of it is scheduling coordination. So I found some people that do interviews.

59:05 They go and ask somebody, 'Hey, do you want to be interviewed?' And then the person says, 'No, I'm not interested.' And then, 'Oh, okay, bye.' Enough with you. Well, I like to develop a little bit of a friendship and try to work out if it would be a good interview, if it would be valuable for them. I don't like the idea of an interviewer channel being unidirectional.

59:26 Like, 'Hey, you give me your time and there's nothing in return for you.' I like to interview people that they've got a channel where we can talk about their channel, they've got a project they're working on, maybe they're a person who's written a book, maybe they're looking to connect with a certain type of people. I try to figure out a win-win situation where there's a win for me and a win for them.

59:51 So some of that involves just emailing. I just go through and find people that I think would be interesting to interview, and I reach out to them. Like, I'm going to go do an interview tonight. I'm really excited for this one. I don't know how much the audience will care, but I'll just drop this hint: keep an eye out for this one in the next week.

1:00:09 There's a new cafe here in Dumaguete catering to people who are neurodivergent, so people who have autism, people who have ADD or ADHD, which is very much me. I'm scattered, if you can't tell. And so the cafe caters to that, so I want to interview this person and ask them about it and learn about that.

1:00:33 So a lot of coordination happens, John. And I would say another chunk of my time is spent with other vloggers. I try to get together with Mike at least once a week. And Mike is very insightful, he's got a very good channel, Mike's Philippine Retirement. He's been very, very good to me, Paul as well, Chad as well.

1:00:54 But Chad left town, so Chad kind of bounces in and out of town. But I try to get together with my vlogger friends because they have taught me so much, they have been so good to me. I can't thank them enough for their input. My channel would not be where it's at today without them.

Vlogger Collaboration and Fitness Routine

1:01:10 not be where it's at today without the input, the feedback, and the guidance from these guys who are very, very good at what they do. So yeah, fitness, collaborating with other vloggers.

1:01:30 What else? How else do I spend my time? Oh, I do watch a good bit of YouTube. So just for fun, I like to watch YouTube. Yeah, those are the big things that I do. Car says, 'You have a good life too, always considering all options, listening and adapting, and prayers are strengths.' Alex, thank you so much, Cars, I appreciate that.

1:01:49 Yeah, I really enjoy my life here. I feel very blessed here to have this lifestyle. Sometimes I have a nagging feeling I'm doing something wrong, but I think some of that comes from being in the US where if we're not productive every second of every day, we feel kind of guilty. And I realize good judgment beats activity.

1:02:13 Some of the worst decisions I've made have just been from 'I've got to do something!' when with the really big decisions, I think we really have to think them through and really plan ahead and dedicate a lot of time to it. You know, I don't need to think that much about just like a random meal I have, but when it comes to education, that's a lifelong thing that impacts the rest of my life. When it comes to where to live, that's another big decision.

1:02:43 But you know, there's a lot of decisions that are not as important, and I try not to worry too much about them any more than I'm naturally inclined to. Kya says, 'Hi Alex, I'm watching you from Alberta, Canada. Welcome, Kya.'

1:03:00 HT, nice to see you. I think this is the first time I'm seeing you on the stream. It's wonderful to have you with us tonight. I think of several subscribers from Canada, and yeah, I always get along really well with folks from Canada.

1:03:15 Philip says, 'Is it possible for expats to date college students attending Simon? Are they solely focused on their studies?' Kya says, 'Dating with students is acceptable. I think it comes down to expectations.'

1:03:27 Philip, I have been on a date with a student who's, I think she's studying at Asian College. It's a really big commitment for them financially and time-wise, so you have to moderate your expectations. I think some guys want to see someone who is able to kind of bolt their life onto the expat's life, like, 'Hey, I need somebody who's going to be able to help me and to focus on my needs.'

1:04:01 Where if a woman is in college, I find her family is spending a lot of money for her to attend college. For her, it's a way for her to advance her life. She's typically going to be very focused on her studies and not have a lot of free time. So that's the kind of tradeoff I find there.

1:04:23 I'm not saying it's not possible; I definitely think it's possible to date a student. But I think the expectations have to be different than, say, a person who's not in college or maybe working a more modest job, let's say. So yeah, I'm definitely open to that if I go to college here, but I've also learned the hard way to moderate my expectations.

1:04:53 And think, 'Okay, she may be very busy with her classes, she may be very busy with her studies.' So it's not going to be something where we're hanging out all the time. Maybe you see them once a week or twice a week, something like that, for a short duration, as opposed to the person who's looking to have their partner move in with them to live with them full-time.

1:05:17 I think that's just a different lifestyle. D says, 'You look great, Alex. Really relaxed and healthy. Your fitness routine agrees with you.' Thank you so much, D.

1:05:28 Yeah, I'm loving running. It's something that's very new to me, but it's been fantastic. I didn't ever think I would enjoy it so much, but it's really good for me. It's really good for my mental health, and I just need to combine it now with lifting weights, and I think it'll be great.

1:05:48 I'm going every other day. So today I won't run, but hopefully tomorrow I'll run. Last night's run was so-so, so maybe I need to give an extra day for recovery. I definitely feel it today. Like I woke up and I felt like, wow, I feel like I ran last night.

1:06:09 So yeah, I don't want to burn out, but I definitely want to make sure it's a habit where I'm consistent because it's definitely something I have to be consistent about if I want to get good results.

Weekend Plans and Filipino Cuisine

1:06:35 What's everybody getting into this weekend?

1:07:23 Not running. Been there, done that. That's funny, John. I could appreciate that. I wouldn't mind getting into cycling. I thought about buying like a regular bicycle, not a motorbike, and that would be great for transportation, but also great for exercise as well. It's lower impact than running.

1:07:40 I don't want to run on concrete. I've heard that can be kind of hard on your ankles and knees, so I go to the track because the track has a little bit more spring and give, where it's not, yeah, I think it's a little bit better for ankles and knees. Super Bowl, so it's Super Bowl weekend. Let me look up who's playing in the Super Bowl.

1:08:02 Playing in the Super Eagles and Chiefs. Okay, cool. Yeah, that should be interesting. I hope everybody enjoys the Super Bowl this weekend and their team wins. Hey Ben, good to see you.

1:08:15 Ben, it's going well. I'm just enjoying my Friday midday. I'm actually almost done with a video that I'm going to be uploading tonight, guys. I interviewed a guy from Turkey who's traveling here in the Philippines. It's the first time I've met someone from Turkey in person, so that was pretty cool.

1:08:45 And he's had some interesting things to say about his experiences here. I've just got to film my intro to that and then plug that in, and that should be ready to upload. So yeah, that's mostly what I've been working on. I'm going to film an interview tonight. I've got an interview tomorrow, and I may be able to film one Sunday, we'll see how Sunday goes. I'd like to film one.

1:09:13 Yeah, I'll just have to see how Sunday goes. 'Hey Alex, watching from San Francisco. Have you adjusted to the food in the Philippines?' That's a great question, SCG.

1:09:23 So I've had to change it up. I'm definitely not eating the same food that I'm used to eating in the Bay Area. I think the Bay Area has one of the best food scenes in the United States. I definitely miss the food in San Francisco from time to time. It's incredible there.

1:09:49 So what I focus on here is I focus on the proteins. So a lot of what I eat here that I really like, because I think some people, they may not care for Filipino food, which I understand. It's not what a lot of people are accustomed to, but I really like the fish. I think the seafood here is so underrated.

1:10:12 I really like the seafood here. Seafood and rice, or like pork and rice, or chicken and rice. I eat a lot of that. This morning, I went to one of my favorite places called Lantau here in Dumaguete. And I'll throw the name in the description because it's a fantastic place to have food. It's called Lantau, and they do a breakfast buffet with coffee.

Filipino Tuna and Food Safety

1:10:34 They have like eggs and toast and bacon, usually a chicken dish, a beef dish, rice, soup. I forgot to get soup; they had egg drop soup. So I missed out on the soup today and coffee. Yeah, that was really good. So I had that and had eggs, bacon, toast. I had the beef dish, and they have some kind of vegetable. I think it's a root vegetable, but I don't know the name. It's similar to the name for potato, but it wasn't a potato. It tastes more like a zucchini.

1:11:37 Let's see, what else food-wise could I talk about? I love the tuna here. So the my favorite food here, SCG, is the tuna. And when I say tuna, I think sometimes people think of like canned tuna, and I'm not as much of a fan of like the tuna sandwich type of thing with the mayo, because that tends to make my stomach feel unwell.

1:12:07 But the tuna, they catch a lot of tuna here, and so that's like my favorite thing to have here is tuna sushi, like tuna sashimi, or grilled tuna, or tuna in the form of Kinilaw, where they put vinegar and citrus juice on it, and pepper and fresh onion, fresh tomato. It's kind of like ceviche if you've ever had ceviche.

1:12:41 So that's my favorite thing here. I think the tuna is super underrated in the Philippines. I don't ever hear people talking about it. I think a lot of American people prefer to have like imported beef. That's a really popular thing for a lot of people to have here is beef imported from the United States, which is good. But as far as local food, I also like the pumpkin here a lot. The pumpkin is really tasty.

1:13:13 Let's see, recovering from a minor surgery but healing more day by day. Yeah, I hope your recovery is going well, Ben. That sounds painful. Yeah, I definitely hope your recovery keeps rolling forward and you're feeling better soon.

1:13:33 John says, 'Have you experienced intestinal distress?' Fortunately, not much. I've only been sick here once in the last six months, and I haven't been back to that restaurant. It wasn't as bad as the sickness I got in Thailand. After I got food poisoning in Thailand, I did some research on how to prevent it because I don't want to experience that again. I felt awful, John.

Preventing Intestinal Distress and Self-Awareness

1:13:55 I was laying in bed for about 36 hours, with 24 hours being the worst of it, with like cold sweats and feeling very ill. Just not good at all. So the thing that I found is helpful is to only eat made-to-order food. So that's been kind of my rule since that food poisoning. I do spend a bit more to only do made-to-order food, but that's the way I found has helped me to prevent intestinal distress.

1:14:29 That being said, most people here would benefit from taking a dewormer every six months. Yeah, so that's one thing that a lot of people here do. Let's see. D says, 'I'm going to a will signing party. Three of us recently rewrote our wills. We're getting together to be each other's'

1:14:50 We're getting together to be each other's witness. Getting old sucks. That does sound stressful. I haven't yet written a will, but I probably should do that at some point. That's probably something I need to do because you never know what could happen, and that's a responsible thing to do. And I can imagine it's tough because nobody really likes to get old.

1:15:25 I feel old, but then I have many friends here that keep kind of elbowing me like, 'You're not old.' And I think you're such an upbeat person, and it seems like you're really optimistic and young at heart or young in spirit. It's admirable, and I hope to maintain that as well as I get older.

1:15:55 Sometimes I feel like I'm an old man trapped in a young man's body, but being around positive people helps me a lot. I was a little bit stressed yesterday morning just trying to get some errands done, and then I ran into a subscriber. He's just really upbeat; he's an older gentleman who's retiring in about a year and a half.

1:16:17 He's still working but kind of wrapping up his career. He's just such a positive, upbeat guy, and he told me about some of the struggles that he'd had when he was younger. It really brightened my day; he really helped me to just kind of be upbeat and positive.

1:16:37 Anytime if any of you are watching this either live or on replay and you see me, feel free to greet me. I may look kind of stressed; I have a resting bitch face, I'm not sure why that is, but I always like running into subscribers and people that enjoy the channel. You might just make my day.

1:16:57 Sometimes I just get stuck in my head, and I overthink things and get into this kind of circular worrying kind of pattern. Running into somebody I know that recognizes me interrupts my racing thoughts or interrupts my circular reasoning. It helps to kind of distract me from whatever I'm overthinking.

Controlling Effort and Van Life

1:17:22 I tend to overthink or overanalyze and make a small problem into a problem that's bigger than what it actually is, or to worry about something that's outside of my control. I'm trying to get better about that, not worrying about things I can't control.

1:17:40 There's a lot of life that I can't control. I'm trying to get better about focusing on things like effort, like I can control my effort. That's a big one that I can control. I can't control the weather; sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate.

1:17:56 I can't control other people. Sometimes I schedule an interview, and the person has something come up, and I'm like, 'Oh, I really wanted to get that done.' I have to realize it's out of my control, can't worry about it, and have to move on to the next thing.

1:18:10 Those are some big things that I've been trying to work on: worrying about what I can control and getting out of my head. That's something my subscribers can help me with, to kind of disrupt that overthinking by bringing me to the present.

1:18:29 It surprised me when that person greeted me. I guess for some reason, I'm expecting somebody to confront me and to stop me and say, 'Oh, I hate your channel.' I don't really know what there is to hate, but I guess I get a little bit paranoid about that.

1:18:48 John, I had read your comment. I hope I'm not out of place here to mention it, but you mentioned I seem wise. Thank you so much, John; that's so kind of you. I really appreciate that.

1:19:01 I think some of it's come through making a lot of mistakes. I think some of it has come too from observing people living in a way that I didn't want to live and trying to figure out how I could do things a bit differently.

1:19:15 I've made a lot of mistakes, and I continue to make mistakes, but I'm trying to learn, improve, and grow. I'm trying to have self-awareness. I think self-awareness is a big one that I've tried to adapt and learn and incorporate into my life.

1:19:33 I think that's something that a lot of people struggle with in the world. It doesn't matter what country they're in or what culture they're in, is having that self-awareness of knowing who they are, their strengths and weaknesses, and what they could improve on, what they could get better at.

1:20:03 Let's see. Oh, hey James Smith, good to see you. Good morning. Hope you're doing well. Derek says, 'I like van life YouTube.' Me too, Derek. I think van life is interesting, and one of my thoughts is if I get the nursing education, I've thought about doing van life.

1:20:21 I've totally thought about buying a van and parking it in the hospital parking lot, working tons and tons of overtime, and just stacking cash. There are a number of nurses that do that in the Bay Area that just work and work and work, put away lots and lots of money.

1:20:39 I've kind of committed to bachelor life for a while. I'm not in a rush to be in a relationship. That would be the main instance where it'd be helpful to have a like a rental, I think, or having a more traditional housing dwelling for me. I don't mind living in a van.

1:20:55 I could see why a significant other might not like that, right? Like, I'm cool with it. I don't expect other people to want to live that way. So, yeah, I think van life might be an interesting way to address the high cost of housing and to get around it.

1:21:14 As long as you've got a gym, you've got a place where you can consistently shower, you've got a laundry place, you can consistently do laundry, make sure your clothes are clean, your body's clean. Nothing's wrong with that.

Housing Costs and Van Life Vlogging

1:21:29 I don't judge people at all. That's why you'll never see me rail against people struggling with homelessness. Some of homelessness, I think in the past, homelessness is a function of some issues. These days, a decent chunk of it is just the high cost of housing.

1:21:47 People not wanting to spend such a large chunk of their income just for a box to sleep in, right? I don't need to show off a house. I remember growing up, my grandmother being desperate to have a nice home externally, like, 'I've got to mow the grass all the time. I've got to put all this money into making it look nice.'

1:22:13 And then she had to eventually sell it. When she sold it, within like six months or a year of her selling it, the people changed all kinds of stuff. So, like, all this work she put into trying, you know, of course, she struggles with narcissistic personality disorder, but all this effort that she put into it disappeared overnight.

1:22:36 Because, you know, the new owner of the house had different plans in mind. They put in an RV pad, they parked a big RV back there. They were dual income, no kids, so they lived a very fun lifestyle, or they live a very fun lifestyle and are not really concerned about keeping up a certain appearance or certain look.

1:22:55 So, yeah, have you been to Don Roberto's bar? Let me look it up. Don Roberto's bar. I haven't yet, but I'll go check it out. That looks really cool. It's next to, let's see here, it's near Simon University.

1:23:19 Okay, I think I know exactly where that is. I think I've walked by that before. Oh yeah, I've definitely walked by it because I shop downtown at Robinson's Pericas. So, yeah, I'll go check it out sometime. Ben, thank you for the heads up on Don Roberto's bar.

1:23:34 It was pretty good; it felt more like a locals' place. National Highway between Simon Street and San Juan Street. Okay, very cool, Ben. I'll definitely check it out. DJC says, 'Nursing and van life is a sweet combination. Go for it, brother.'

1:23:54 Yeah, DJC, I did van life for two years before coming to the Philippines and seriously considering going back with my partner to do it again. In the United States, you know, it's such a cool country for that. You've got really nice roads, you've got a ton of variety of landscapes, the infrastructure is very good for vehicles.

1:24:12 You could see so many cool places in the country doing that. You could go see the deserts, the high desert in Utah, Colorado, the Rocky Mountains, Coastal California, Coastal Oregon, Coastal Washington. You could see the plains.

1:24:33 I mean, you could see all kinds of cool things in the United States living in a van. And the infrastructure is such that you could get to, you know, like I said, laundry mat, showers. You can, I've seen people with all kinds of interesting setups.

1:24:52 And that would be a cool evolution of the vlog too, is like you gave me an idea where I could, if I went back, I could definitely vlog nursing van life. Let me look that up actually on YouTube to see if anybody's doing a vlog like that.

Van Life Infrastructure and US Landscapes

1:25:07 I could imagine somebody working full-time as a nurse might not want to vlog, but okay, yeah, there's some vlogs. Wow, there's somebody with almost four million views, solar camper. Okay, very cool.

1:25:28 Yeah, so I'll have to check that out after I wrap up the stream. Thank you for calling that out, DJC. Derek says, 'Cycling is easy on the knees.' I agree, Derek.

1:25:40 James says, 'I couldn't do van life now. Over the years, I have developed insecurities relating to hygiene that when I was young, I just didn't care.' I could appreciate that, James. It's certainly a more pressing need and not as easy to address those needs if you're living in a van compared to living in a more traditional apartment or house.

1:26:18 DJC: Hygiene is no problem with van life. A basin, wet wipes, and truck stop showers, and you'll stay odor and grime-free. Have you seen the channel Van City Van Life? I haven't, but I'll check it out. Thank you, SCG. I'll make a note of that.

1:26:31 D says, 'Love van life shows. Considering getting a Class B Sprinter van. I really enjoy driving, exploring, and spending time by myself.'

1:26:44 Win-win. Yeah, I think it's so interesting. One of my favorites, you guys have probably seen, and I haven't watched her in a while, but Nikki Delventhal, she does some really interesting stuff.

1:26:57 Does some really interesting stuff. Her channel is like really a huge channel, and it's been interesting to see the evolution of that. And there's, uh, she was living in a Prius, and I think now she's in a Sprinter van. I've seen some other people as well do it, but I think it really shows resilience, it shows humility, it shows adaptability.

1:27:20 And I think it also breaks stereotypes. That's something that I think is really cool about life is that people assume if you choose van life or you choose that kind of way of doing things, that you're living on the fringes of society or there's something kind of wrong with you upstairs. And I think it's cool that we live in a United States or Canada that are safe enough such that people feel comfortable doing that.

1:27:52 Not saying nobody runs into problems doing it, but it seems like a lot of people get a lot out of that lifestyle. I did a little bit of it when I was younger. I owned a property, but I did live in my car at the same time because I just wanted to go see other parts of the state. When I lived in Colorado, I wanted to go check out national parks, I wanted to go hike 14ers.

1:28:20 So I totally, I owned a property downtown Denver, but I also wanted to explore some places that were not like down the street from the property. And it was comfortable. I often slept better in the car than I did in the property because it was quieter where my property was kind of loud. It was just in a busy part of the city and very noisy, where parking in a national park is very peaceful and very comfortable.

Van Life Experiences and Retirement Options

1:28:52 I had a really high-end sleeping bag, so that could keep me warm in very, very cold temperatures. So yeah, I miss those days. I think about those days a lot.

1:29:09 D says, love. Oh yeah, that's right. D, that's really cool. I think van life shows are interesting, and I think too, it shows people they could see a lot of the country. One of the things that surprised me growing up was, you know, my family was a military family, my grandfather was in the military, and so they got to see a lot of the country.

1:29:31 But some people, and they spent time around people that had traveled around a lot through the military, where some people I knew didn't. And I always felt like, man, you're missing out. One of the coolest things about the United States, North America in general, is you've got such a variety of landscapes. You've got the coasts, you've got the plains, you've got the mountains, you've got deserts, and tropical or subtropical places like Florida.

1:30:00 You've got so much variety in the states, more so than many other parts of the world. And it's safe, it's relatively safe, and you have infrastructure set up so you could stop and get food anywhere. You can go big box shopping anywhere, you just pull into Walmart, you can get whatever you need. Costco membership, you can go to the food court. Truck stops have gyms and showers.

1:30:26 It's easier than I think it's easier than it gets credit for. That was just my experience. After a while, I had embarrassment about it because I thought this is weird. But now I feel less embarrassed about it and more open to talking about it because, you know, some people can be kind of judgmental, and I come from a shame culture where, oh, you're not living in a normal house. But there's nothing wrong with it. Who cares what people think?

1:30:52 That's something else I've struggled with, guys, is worrying too much about what other people think. And it really makes me feel better that so many of you are understanding of it and also curious about it. We're not here forever, right? So it's important for people to do all the things that they want to do in life and get what they want out of life.

1:31:17 For me, a big chunk of that includes traveling and seeing the coasts of the United States and exploring nature and meeting different people. All very, very important to me. My Ben says, my bill at that restaurant wasn't much for a pretty good meal, maybe five or six dollars. I gave the waitress a 50 peso tip, and she gave me the biggest smile. Another reason I think they get mostly locals.

1:31:46 That's not too bad at all. Yeah, I'll check them out, Ben. Thank you for the heads up. DJC, some nomads are living on the fringe, but the majority are awesome. Some humans. I agree, D.

1:32:00 DJC, John says, funny, as I too am considering van life, Sprinter 4x4. My struggle at my age would be the return on investment. As a retiree, I would overthink what's next. Got it. Yeah, it's definitely a major adjustment. I don't know if I'd want to do it at retirement age.

1:32:16 I think if I was retirement age, I'd look more at like Thailand or the Philippines. But there's so many different cool options these days. I think you can't go wrong. DJC says, Bob Wells of Cheap RV Living YouTube fame is the greatest of all time. Very interesting. I don't think I've.

Stream Wrap-up and Future Content

1:32:40 Well, I'll check Bob Wells out too, DJC.

1:32:54 Yeah, I'm going to subscribe. Very cool. Thank you so much for calling us out. I'm going to check these folks out and learn more about them. Thank you so much, everybody.

1:33:01 Well, guys, my voice is starting to go, guys and gals. My voice is starting to go, and I've got some stuff to work on. But thank you so much, everybody for joining. I think I'm going to go ahead and wrap up here to save the last of my voice for tonight's interview. I hope everybody has a really nice weekend.

1:33:19 Thank you so much, everyone for joining. D, Ben, DJC, John, James, Derek, Cars was in here earlier, Kuya Phillip. Ed stopped by, Prodigy, Lin, Sto by, Paul, Sto by. Excellent. Well, guys, thank you so much, everybody. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Call to Action and Farewell

1:33:46 If you're watching the replay of this, give a thumbs up. It helps with the YouTube algorithm. Comment down below: Are you interested in van life? Are you curious about education abroad? Finally, please subscribe to the channel down below if you want to see more content like this, and we will see you soon. Thank you, everybody.