Live in the Philippines

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Goodbye, Philippines

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Goodbye, Philippines

Our Move is quickly approaching

We will miss the Philippines

So, as I told you a couple of months ago, Feyma and I are moving back to the USA. We have settled on living in Logansport, Indiana. I thought I’d post more today about the pending move, when it is going to happen, what I am going to do there and other such loose ends.

I am basing the topics that will be included in this post on what questions I am frequently getting from people. So, if I don’t cover something that is of interest to you, let me know what you are curious about, and I will address it.

Who is moving?

Well, our family consists of:

  • Bob (me)
  • Feyma (my wife)
  • Chris (our oldest son)
  • Aaron (our 2nd son)
  • Jared (our youngest son)
  • Aaron and Jared

Aaron and Jared are already living in the United States.

Aaron has been spending at least half of each year in the USA since 2015. Jared spent several months in the USA in 2017 and spent most of 2018 in the USA. The two boys are living in Atlanta, Georgia now. Jared’s job is actually in Alaska, but he has 2 months of each year off, and during those months, he makes his home in Atlanta. Aaron and Jared share an apartment there.

Bob, Feyma, & Chris

The three of us live in Davao City, Philippines. Feyma has spent 6 months of 2017 and 2018 in the USA, working in Alaska. Chris and I have both been in the Philippines the entire time.

After being a significant time in the USA for each of the past 2 years, Feyma had a real desire to move there. I was a bit reluctant but decided it was her turn to choose our path, so I agreed. Now that I have made the mental shift, I am very excited to exit the Philippines and set up a new life in the USA. Mentally, I have already shifted to the USA, and can’t wait to make the physical shift as well.

When will we move?

Originally, we were thinking April or May of 2019 for the move, but many are surprised when I tell them, we plan to make the move in mid-January, just a few weeks from now.

The reason for the earlier move is because we feel it fits in better with the work that Feyma will be doing there. Most likely, she will be working for Tyson, processing pork, and this is a busy time of the year for them. In a few months, things slow down. Because of this, if we wait, it may be more difficult to be hired there.

Yard Sale

The past 4 to 6 weeks we have been actively selling our belongings. We can only bring 2 suitcases each with us (plus carry-on). Shipping our belongings to the USA is cost-prohibitive, so we won’t be doing that. Instead, we are selling virtually everything we own and will be off to a fresh start in Indiana.

As of now, the vast majority of our belongings have been sold. Some items are still here in the house but will be picked up in the next couple of weeks before we depart. There are still things to sell, but we are not too worried about getting it done. We really have only one or two significant items left to sell, and the rest consists of just small things. If we end up having to give some of the things away (likely) that is fine too.

Shopping for Airline Tickets

Right now, we are in the mode of shopping for our airline tickets. We have made a commitment to each other that by the end of next week we will make the purchase. Maybe quicker than that if we come across the right deal.

Part of selecting airline tickets includes finding the best route. Finding the right cost is important, but the best route is probably the most important. We want to choose a port of entry into the USA that is friendly, quick immigration procedure, etc. Also, we would like to arrive well rested if possible.

We are looking at three different routes right now:

  • One would take us from Cebu to Seoul to Seattle. We would have a 20-hour layover in Seattle, get a night sleep, then go to Indianapolis.
  • Another would take us from Cebu to Shanghai to Los Angeles. Another 20-hour layover there would allow us a night of sleep before heading to our final destination.
  • The third route we are considering would bring us from Cebu to Seoul, on to Toronto, and our port of entry into the USA would be in Indianapolis, near our new home.

Each of these looks pretty good to us.

What kind of work will I do?

A LOT of people are asking me what kind of work I will do in the USA. Well, I have been self-employed since 1991, and I intend to continue doing that. I enjoy the freedom and independence of the type of work that I am currently doing. Much of what I do now is location independent, so the things that I like I can continue doing. Things that I am tired of.. well, I can move on from those.

Retail Arbitrage

One thing that I will be jumping into completely is doing retail arbitrage. I have been wanting to do this for years.

For those who don’t know what “retail arbitrage” is, read my post over on my new website.

I actually was doing retail arbitrage (before it was even called that) back in the mid to late 90s. I was good at it too. Retail Arbitrage has become a lot more mature now, more tech tools to assist with doing it better, etc. I am very excited to take advantage of the opportunities in this area. For me, this kind of challenge is fun, and I think it will also be very profitable.

Bye Bye Philippines

So, it looks like about 2 to 3 weeks from now, we will be flying out, waving goodbye to the Philippines. We have mixed feelings, but overall excitement. We have loved our life in the Philippines but look forward to a new adventure.

We are at a different stage of life, of course, after nearly 2 decades in the Philippines. Living here has been great for us, but at this point in life, we feel that the USA serves our needs better.

It will be exciting to see how things work out!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fair winds, following seas…Keep the wind to your back and your eyes of the prize. Wishing a wonderful future ahead for the Family Martin. You will be missed!.

  2. Good luck Bob and Feyma!
    Wishing you all the best wherever you go. Hope to see you one of this days sa States. Willie, Emee and Drew.

  3. Hi Bob,
    In my 13 visits to Philippines over a period of 10 years, I have used Korean Air, Cathay Pacific and China Air. For me ( New York to Manila ) Korean Air was the best although I had no problems with the others. For me, price and departure / arrival times was the deciding factor.

    Many thanks for all these years for this website and your articles and those provided by others. Happy New Year to you and the family and a big welcome back to the USA !

  4. Good luck Bob, wish you all the best, I envy you as I don’t think I could do it as I am very settled here in Cebu. Bon Voyage…Regards, Norm

    • Thank you very much, Norman! I didn’t really want to make the move, but once I decided to give Feyma her desire, I really started getting excited to do it. So, I am really on board now!

  5. Safe travels Bob. Hope all goes well for you. Thank you for your advice in the past. And please enjoy your adventures to come..

  6. All the best Bob & happy New Year to you & to your family.
    Thanks very much for the great information you provided through LIP.
    No doubt any good news about you & your family will make your loyal readers very happy.
    God Bless.

  7. All the best Bob. It has been great working with you. Will this site simply shut down? I have gotten used to the routine of sending articles to you but no more? Please let me know. Also, now I can refer people to the web site to see my past articles. Will they just disappear? -Rob

    • Hi Rob. No the site will not be shut down. I have a lot of work into it, and shutting it down would be a waste. 🙂

      I have put together an email for all of the writers. I am still refining it a bit, and will send it out soon.

      Thank you for your effort on the site.

    • Thank you, Mike.

      I don’t expect to return here, I’ve been here and done it already… I prefer to move on to other adventures. But, I won’t say never. 🙂

  9. Best Wishes Bob. I moved back to the USA a few months back after being in combinations of (Cebu, Angeles, USA) for many years to be with my wife (MaBelle) and children. While I expect to live in the USA — I also hope to start looking at visiting and eventually living perhaps in Mexico.

    • Hi Robert, nice to hear from you! It’s been a while. I hope you and MaBelle are doing well. Yes, Feyma told me that you had moved back so the States, although she thought it was more of a temporary thing. Maybe we can see each other there at some time! I’d like to reconnect!

      Take care.

      • Hi Bob! Yes, I hope to reconnect with you as well! Originally I was planning on staying in the USA for less time. But plans change, and now it looks like I am just going to do some touristing in Mexico. I think my wife (Filipina) is likely to want to retire in the Philippines. I have already spend so much time in the Philippines, I am ready to look at other options.

        • Hi Robert – Two things you said wrap up my sentiments exactly…

          1 – Plans change. Yep, that is where I am too! I always thought I’d spend the rest of my life here, but, as you say… “plans change”

          2 – I spent so much time in the Philippines I’m ready to look at other options. Again, bingo. I have loved living in the Philippines, but I’ve been here a long time and am somewhat burned out on life here.

          Good luck, Robert!

  10. Bob,
    Good luck to you and your family! I’m sure all will work out great for you in Indiana. We will be flying out on Jan 25th on Japan Air to Narita, Japan and on the Boston and finally flying into Detroit. We are getting excited about getting back there as you guys are and will get started working on Anne’s Permanent Residency so she can work and I also want to work at least part time also and we will be able see my parents as my Mom is not doing too well right now.

  11. The very best of luck, Bob! You have given so much to the expat community over the years. I wish you continued success and every happiness as you start a new chapter in your lives. Coincidentally, my wife and I are also moving back to the U.S. (probably in March, after finalizing her immigrant IR Visa in just a few weeks~ fingers crossed. For me, after six years in the Philippines it mean a return to Florida. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get that shared coffee at Starbucks back over there. Keep us informed our your travels and progress. BTW, I’m intrigued by your stopover-on-the-West-Coast idea. How do you swing the long layover? Did you pay extra for the stopover(to rest)? All the best, Doug Heller

    • Hi Doug – Thank you very much for your kind wishes. Best of luck to you as well on your journey.

      No, we did not pay less for the long stopover on the west coast. That is just the way we found several routes on Hipmunk and other sites. Look for the very long flights like over 50 hours, those are the ones that generally include a long West Coast stopover. 🙂

  13. Mr. Bob Martin, good luck to you..stay healthy. I will never forget the day when we had coffee at the Gran Menseng and spoke about who could be the next president of the country you’re about to leave. Great conversation… you’re very intelligen. Some “corporation” should employ you. Thanks for many years of good advice and good reading articles. Hasta la próxima.

    José

    • Hi Jose! We had several nice in-person meetings, and I always enjoyed it. Hopefully, we can meet up again in the future. I doubt I would go for a job from a big corporation, I like the freedom of being self-employed. LoL

      Thank you for your kind wishes! If you are ever in the midwest, let me know!

  14. Hello Bob,

    In some ways your new path mirrors ours. When I was in the army, Marlyn had to leave her job and start anew each time we moved. When I retired, we moved to where she could make a career for herself. It was a good move.

    Best of luck to y’all. I’ll be watching for that email.

    Take care,
    Pete

    • Hi Pete,

      I sent an email to you last night about the future path of the site, you didn’t get it? Many have already emailed me, so I know that others got it… check your Spam box in case it ended up there.

      I am sure that this will be a good move for us. We are very excited. Time to refresh our lives a bit. Thanks for your support.

  16. All the very best to the Martin family, may your new adventure meet with success and most importantly good health.

  18. Shocked Bob. You’ll be missed.

    You’re such a hard worker I know you’ll be successful at whatever you do

  19. If you have not bought your tickets yet, you might want to look at flying in to Chicago and then driving to Logansport. Though it would be a longer drive by an hour, the tickets could be cheaper. We live in Noblesville, IN and I know some people who don’t mind the drive in exchange of the cheaper airfare. I work remotely from home and my office is in Anchorage! Some parallels there. 🙂

    • Yes, indeed, there are several parallels. 🙂

      Sometimes flying to Chicago is cheaper, but we were able to buy a ticket to Indianapolis, and it was as cheap as Chicago. So, we are good to go!

      • Awesome! I love visiting the Philippines, I just hate the travelling part. I am one of those who have difficulty falling asleep on the plane, and if I do, normally it’s on the last hour of the trip. Probably the fatigue catching up.

        On another note, Indianapolis Airport is definitely one of my favorite airports. Always quick to fly in and out of.

        • Ha ha.. yes, traveling is always a hassle, but the destination usually makes it worthwhile!

          It will be my first time to land in Indianapolis, so thank you for sharing that good information!

  20. Oh, and I forgot to mention, that my husband is considering living in the Philippines – at least for the next couple of years while he uses his GI Bill. Depending on my employer, I might be able to join him year round, or few months at a time. Anyway, I am so tired of the cold weather and eager to escape to the tropics. Though even if we are able to live in the Philippines permanently, we won’t give up residency in the US.

  21. Good luck and I wish you all the best, I’m sure you and your family will enjoy your new experiences.
    Thanks for all the advice in the past.

  23. Big surprise this Bob, I thought we’d be drinking Pina Colada’s on the beach on IGACOS one day, but our needs change with time I guess!

    Best wishes and best of luck in the future!

    Whatever happened to Jean Jean, is she still in the Pinas?
    Jim, Vangie & Family

  24. Bob, I understand you’re moving back to the states. But now that you are in your 60s, and I’ll be 68 in May. I starting planning for our retirement in the PI. We now live in Hawaii, with 2 sons, our eldest married a gal from Laguna, so they go home for vacation once a year or every other year, with daughter 8 years old. Our youngest son is courting a girl from Tacloban, and works at Philippine Airlines, but that will be to be seen. I am retired mechanic from Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Federal Employee, and VA Compensated for Vietnam services. I am also a Real Estate Investor since 1978, so we were able to diversify, some of our investments here, and set up our retirement in PI with 4 properties, a family house, a commercial lot w/rental, 11 unit apartment rental, and a luxury condo, at Serendra 2, BGC Bonifacio Global City. We have been to PI about 4 times, since last Christmas, and just got back Feb. 27, for month and half vacation. Right now, my wife and I, can travel, so we go back and forth, to take care of business as well as enjoy. But later on, when I get to the age where it will be difficult for me to be active, or move around easy, we plan to be there more months at a time. And long term care will definitely be there, in PI. With the cost of long term care here in the states, can cost $8000-$10,000.00 a month easy especially here in Hawaii. Anything can change, but for now our plan for me and my wife, long term care will be in PI. So I am wondering that your move back to the states is permanent for now, until a later date when you feel the need to be there in PI, for your own long term care, or will not return to PI anymore.
    I have 2 boys, so I don’t want to burden my kids, their wifes or grandkids. I have a coursin 86 years old, living in BGC, wiith wife, and goes to Solaire Casino, at least 2-3 a week, and enjoying himself. He says he goes to the doctors there at Makati Medical, and the medicines are
    affordable. I have a senior card, and get discounts whenever I can, that surely helps. My wife and I are always out to the malls, or walking around, and the Piazza, and High Street, the food are much more fresh here. Hope all is well with you and your new business venture.

    • Hi Jerome,

      I have been living in the USA for 2 months now, after 20 years in the Philippines.

      By the way, I am not in my 60s. I am in my mid-50s. Not sure where you got the idea that I am in my 60s.

      Our move to the USA id permanent. We have no plans to return to the Philippines.

      Good luck to you, I hope you enjoy your new location, as I am.

        • Actually, I never said that we won’t visit. I am sure we will. It is not on the horizon right now, but I am sure the time will come when we visit. Right now, if we travel, we have other parts of the world that we would like to see.

  25. Dear Bob

    I just wanna thank you very much for giving genuine information and advice to people wanting to relocate / retire in Philippines.

    I must tell you I have immensely benefited from your blogs on the subject of opening Bank accounts, Residence permits, driving license, ACR (Alien Certificate of Registration) to name a few, which has paved the way for my eventual relocation in due course.

    I must sadly say, that those of us who are familiar with you, as well as many who wish to relocate to Philippines will miss your valuable, well researched information based on your own experience that you were giving us “For Free” for so long, which is not available even in Philippine Govt. websites until now!!

    You are qualified for a prestigious award both by Philippine Govt., as well as expats that have benefited from your 20 long years of experience living in the Philippines.

    I hope and pray that you succeed even more as you return to USA.

    God bless!!

    • Thank you so much for your very kind words. I am glad to have been of help to you and to others. Although we are now living in the United States, I do continue to help those who have questions. we are really enjoying your new life here, and I’m very happy that we decided to make the move. We did love living in the Philippines, and it was a great part of our lives. Thank you again, and good luck to you.

  26. I have been enjoying “ghosting” on this site. I have approx 3 more years to go with MSC (and retired USN) and plan on living in Cebu with my wife (Negros and Cebu family mostly) I have been learning alot and trying hard to avoid the common mistakes. Glad the site will still be around!

          • I am sure you would be sad to see it get nullified. I assume the Philippine authorities nullify it based on the fact there is no annual report any more, and you would have stayed out of the Philippines for long. Some years back the immigration officer told me, that I have to atleast visit Philippines once a year and do the annual report in case I go overseas with my 13(a). In case I stay out longer than that, then he suggested I check with the Philippine embassy in my country about my records, and they will be able to confirm if it is nullified or not. In case it is nullified, then I was suggested to apply for a 13(e) visa and re-apply again for the acr-i card if I am going to return to Philippines longer.

            Another friend of mine decided to downgraded the 13(a) before he departed back to Australia for long and instead applied for the SRRV, which is permanent as long as $300 is paid annually.

            Just some thoughts.

            • Actually, I am not sad at all about leaving or giving up my resident visa. It was time to move on. I can go back anytime that I like, and I can easily get another resident visa if I ever want to live there again. Read this article and perhaps you will understand why we felt it was time to move on.

              • Anyway, good luck to you. Keep your Acr-I card safely with you. Let the officer decide at the airport if it has expired or not next time you visit. Until then keep everything with you, after all, that visa helped you to live all these years, which in turn gifted you good memories of Philippines. Something to be grateful for always. You got nothing to loose.

  28. There are some major changes coming to Philippine immigration laws which were framed in the 1940s to a new one framed in 2019. The detailed new immigration Bill can be found here
    http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/first_17/CR00801.pdf

    Your readers are advised to take a printout of it and read through it carefully. The bill is scheduled to be passed this year.
    https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/03/13/new-immigration-law-pushed-amid-foreign-workers-influx/

    Some interesting changes are there. 3 new requirements
    (1) Those who depart the Philippines permanently will now be required to surrender all their documents /ACR-I card and secure a new clearance certificate
    (2) The new improved board will be able to decide on citizenship applications via marriage or via birth (for foreign nationals born in Philippines)
    (3) Every permanent resident must visit the Philippines once a year, in order to keep their visa

    You or your readers may go through the first link above to read through this carefully.

  29. I just saw this that you probably have already left the philippines. I bought some of your materials. I don’t know you bob personally but i use to love your articles when I would read them. I have since moved to philippines 4 years ago. I thought i would still find you here. I use to talk with you about me retiring and coming to live here. I had to return to the USA from May August. Our daughter had cancer stage 4. she has since ben healed. the 4 months i was there i didn’t like it. Was in San Diego and the life there is to fast for me. How are you doing now bob? Hey I will be honest with you. I think you will be moving back here again. If and when you do let us know. I wish you all the best in world.

    • Thank you very much for your kind words, Morris. I have been living in the States now for nearly 10 months.

      No, I will never go back and live in the Philippines again, most likely. We lived there nearly 20 years and it was enough. I had a great life there, but I have a great life here as well! I was ready for a change, and I am liking the change that I found here in Indiana.

      You can follow my new journey on my new blog: Bob in the USA:
      https://Bobintheusa.com

      Take care.

  30. Hi Bob – thanks for your information you have complied on your web site . Terrific . Can you explain why you have evacuated the RP , and have no plans to move back there? It sounded liek you very much enjoyed living there !?
    Best of luck in your move and adjustment period .