That’s right, folks, today I am bringing you a new Podcast! Yes, it has been many, many months since my last Podcast, but I decided that I wanted to do a new one today, and wanted to do it with Feyma. So, for today’s Podcast, Feyma and I talk about our decision to move to and live in the Philippines.
Making the move to the Philippines was a major life decision for us, and it was not an easy decision for Feyma to make. It took probably a year or so of me talking about making such a move before Feyma decided to give her go-ahead. You know, such a decision cannot really be made without the approval from the “Big Boss” if you know what I mean (all of you guys understand, I am sure!).
So, without further fanfare, here is the Podcast with Feyma and myself.
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Thanks again for listening, everybody!
Hi Bob,
Been reading your site for over a year now and always get great insight from all of you that write. In Feb, my fiancee(now wife) and her two children came here to the US. We often talk and have plans to move to the Philippines when i retire in about 9 yrs.
I would really like to thank Feyma for this pod cast… It was very helpful and interesting to hear how she had changed…. I wonder what how it will go for us when we go to the phillipines. Right now my wife is just starting to not feel so home sick… It will be interesting to see how it goes when we return to the Philippines.. Agains just wanted to say Thanks to the both of you…
Brian
Hello Bob & Feyma, I enjoyed your podcast. I have a question for both of you to answer if you would. I know that you have a broad network of ex-pat friends and people that you have a lot in common with.from many different countries. I know that a lot of it is work related and the nature of your life, but how do you think it would be different if you did not have this network of friends and contacts? Do you think that your immersion into the culture or how you would view your life would be different? How important is that support system and how would it be different without them? Please kindly respond if you can.
Hi Brian- I'm glad that you've been enjoying the site, and I hope you continue to visit. Regarding adjustment for the lady coming back, I think that the longer she is in the States, the harder the adjustment here.
Take care!
Hi queeniebee- We do have a number of friends, both expats and Filipinos too. However, we have had periods where we did not have a big network of friends too, and we were fine. For Feyma and I, I think that as long as we have each other, we have all we need. Anything more than that is just extra.
I'm D/L ing right now, will listen later … could not be a more appropriate subject … I'm really looking forward to this and I am sure Mita will want to listen too.
This is a hard idea for people to really intelligently get their heads around … many people are 'hard over',either plannibng to move back to the Philippines come hell or highwater or vowing never to return no matter how things are going for them in another country.
The 'right decision' is different for most people and it's almost always somewhere in between those two opposing poles.
@Queeniebee: An interesting question you pose. It always seems people are asking me questions along the lines of "How can you live there all by yourself"?
The answer was my 'support network' here in the Philippines is 10 times the size and importance of my 'support network' back in the US. And while I have several expat freinds whom I value highly, they have their own lives an interests and live quite far away. My local support network is very much Filipino.
I think the idea that they will have nothing in common with their neighbors puts a lot of people 'off', when in point of fact they will have with a lot in common with many Filipinos, right in their own town.
I am much more 'connected' here in the Philippines than I ever was in the US.
Hi Dave- I hope you enjoy the discussion. It's not a detailed real specific discussion, rather just a general talk about our feelings when we moved here, how it affected our lives and the lives of our kids, etc. Nothing earth shattering, though. 😉
What was your main motivation to move there Bob?
Hi Bob
You did not mention finances. Did that add to Feymas initial reluctance? Being that you were not coming here with a pension or other source of steady income.
Hi brian- For me personally (not Feyma), my motivations were multiple. Firstly, I was tired of the same life all the time. Ready for a change. I wanted a sense of adventure. There were also family reasons, and especially the atmosphere for our oldest son, Chris (as we mentioned in the podcast). Also, owning the "Mindanao.com" domain name, I felt that there were business things I could do with that name here, which were not available to me there.
Hi Ray- Really, finances did not enter our minds much. We owned our house in the States (no mortgage), and felt like when we sold our house, those funds would make for a good life for us here in the Philippines. After coming here, we found that we went through that money a lot faster than we expected, but we also learned a lot regarding making money here. So…. finances was not a big concern… until after we had been here for a couple of years! 😆
Well done! I really enjoyed the podcast. In fact, Feyma speaks better English than I and I have lived in the states all my life. Hahahaha! I will listen again.
Great audio quality Bob!
God bless both of you; for thinking so much of your son Chris!
Having disabled relatives in Australia and having worked as a caregiver there, in the same situation as you I would not hesitate to live here in the Philippines.
I find people here somuch more inclusive and willing to help, with a genuine equanamity and generosity of spirit; I am sure you made the right move. Also the fact you have been able to do so much good here for other people, both directly and by your example; I see this as making the most out of life!
You are both most fortunate to have each other and such a wonderful family life!
Thank you so much for the insights you shared with us.
Do you think you could do a podcast a week???? 🙂 🙂
I am VERY concerned about the emotional tug on my heart that the poor will cause me.
I will want to help them all and wind up messing myself up.
How can I manoeuver around without hurting anyone's feelings???
Hi Ed Griffin- Ha ha… 😯 Feyma got a kick out of your comment, Ed!
Hi roy- Umm… thank you! I hope you enjoyed the podcast.
Hi Chris- Thank you. I do think that having somebody like our son is a strong incentive for living here. He is treated better by people here, gets better care, etc. than he could expect in the States.
Thank you very much, Chris, for your wonderful comment.
Hi Tyleen Reynders- A podcast per week? Oh… my…. I'll have to think that over. 😆 Sometimes, I wonder if people really like the podcasts or not, because they bring a lot fewer comments than written articles. I'll think it over, though.
Thanks for visiting, Tyleen!
Hi Bob,
I really enjoyed the podcast and it was great to hear Feyma's voice. Her English skills are really good! Thanks to your L.I.P. website, I continue to further my understanding of living there. You're insightful and a wealth of information.
Hi Henry- I'm glad that you enjoyed the podcast! I was thinking that you had met Feyma, but upon thinking back, I remember now that you didn't. Next time!
Thanks for your kind words about the site!
Oh Bob I enjoyed the podcast. I didn't comment on the content because reading from your blog fr quite awhile, I feel that I know most of why you moved there. I appreciated more the technical quality of the entry. Quite frankly, I don't know this ipod technology. I imagine both of you were inside a radio booth or something. I'm wrong, right?
Hi roy- No, my friend, we were not in any kind of sound booth. We were actually just sitting in our bedroom recording the audio into my laptop!
@ Bob. That was excellent quality. We've talkjed before about how you do these podcats but it come to my mind as an excellent subject for a 'how to' post one of these days. What do you use as a mixer/editor to tie in the theme music? And you run the raw files through Levelator, yes … how I wish many other folks who produce podcasts would do that …. I certainly appreciate the extra effort.
And for those who were suprised by Feyma's conversatonal skills, I can assure you she was nervous and a littl eintimidated, she speaks much easier in private conversations. She'll settle in after a recording or two … you two should thuik about more short 'casts like this … something like you ask a queastion about something very Filipino and 'different' to us foreigners and Feyma answers with an explantion of why some particular thing is the way it is. Sort of little mini-learning "capsules".
Hi Dave- Tyleen also commented that we should do a weekly podcast. I am not so sure, though, that Podcasts are liked that much by most readers. Whenever I do a podcast or a video post, the comments are way lower than normal. This is why I stopped doing videos several months ago.
I'll consider it, though. 🙂 Indeed, Feyma was a little nervous!
Hi Guys – Thank you so much for the positive response on the podcast. I enjoyed and nervous at the same time. I now know that its not really easy to make one. I'm glad Bob knows what to do and what to asked.
Really if you guys have questions and some topics to talk about just email us and let us know. Hopefully we could do podcast again soon.
Again thank you guys so much for the support.