So my first year in Cebu (Argao), Philippines is complete. I'm going to forget some things, but for the newer or future expat, especially Americans, I'll give a long winded write-up on things that I've learned, gone through, and observations.
The setup: I was 63 already with a fiancé (10 yrs younger) in the province in Cebu, Philippines. She already had her own home, and small back-yard piggery as well as a profitable sari-sari store. Nothing special. But she built it herself over the years on 700sqm property, so it will be our home. She's never been married and no kids. But as normal, a large family in the area as she grew up here (mostly).
I worked my ass off to save as much money as possible to help our retirement when I'm on Social Security after Jan 1 2023. I planned accordingly and retired in early October 2022. I spent the next 5-6 weeks getting everything together. Including fulfilling a butt load of requirements to bring my dog, a trained Belgian Malinois not only on the trip, but in cabin on the plane. Not an easy task to convince an airline on international flights to allow your dog in-cabin. Plus all the pet import requirements. I won't go into detail, feel free to ask if you want to know.
I planned the previous 5 yrs to not load a container. Bringing only the minimum, and I loaded up a balikbayan box for things I wanted but was too much to carry on the plane. Such has new same brand batter powered hand tools like drill, air pump (highly suggest), angle grinder etc with multiple batteries and a charger. Extra large bottles of shampoo because unlike you, I have beautiful hair 
, six-pack of toothpaste, twenty pounds of my favorite coffee beans (It may take a while to find real coffee you like), about 12 dozen replacement blades for my shaver, some hand tools but minor because of weight. I also packed extra sandals, tennis shoes, new Levi's (not needed), some things I wanted just for memories. I really pared down my life in this box and my luggage. Plan on two months minimum for delivery to Phils a Balikbayan box.
I bought two new largest I could find full rolling suitcases to go along with my largest allowed carry-on. My luggage did include some gifts for my honey, including a full set of Wusthof kitchen knives which are very expensive. Obviously for check-in luggage only. I wouldn't suggest loading into balikbayan box. But basically my luggage was everything else I would own entering the Philippines.
When our day to depart finally arrived we drove from Las Vegas (sis-in-law drove us) to LAX for our evening flight. This took extra planning for Buddy in regards to feeding time and limited water before flight. I had some pills that would relax him if he got too antsy. But he's been in my semi on the road with me for 3 yrs and has "working dog training" and is tagged as a service dog. So I didn't expect an issue. But I planned just in case and brought pet pee-pads just in case. They weren't needed. We arrived LAX WAY early because of Buddy. Extra things have to be done, airlines check-in included. We were flying Business class for three reasons. 1. more comfort for Buddy. 2. More comfort from the airlines with our "service dog" internationally (forget US laws on this folks). 3. My comfort, reward and enjoyment for a long working life moving into retirement.
Boarding, I used the extra priority of "disabled" with service dog & business class seating to be one of the 1st three to board. This was a good choice as it gave us time to setup Buddy to be comfortable with so many people walking by to board. No issues. The first leg to Taipei was easy. Buddy relaxed the whole time, about 14 hrs. He'd accompany me to the head and this was a non-issue as the heads in first class are much bigger than herd-class. Taipei airport has no "pet areas" like LAX does. But they had a outdoor smoking area. I took him out there and found a spot for him to pee. But that's it. The flight from Taipei to Cebu was almost empty in business class. The stewardesses loved Buddy, even taking selfies with him. But they also rolled out and made up the bed in the seat next to us, blanket, sheet and all for him to lay on. I love EVA airlines! Easy 5 hr flight, no issues.
Arriving Cebu 6am, even before Immigration, I was pulled aside for Buddy's clearance papers and fees. I had all the proper paperwork so it was no issue at all. Except they wanted php for the fee. I left my bags with the officer and he let us walk out (beyond immigration) to forex and get php and return. Once we cleared everything, and walk out to be met by my fiancé and our ride I gave them the bags and for anyone that knows Cebu international, I knew there was an open field 50 yards from the building. I cut Buddy loose over there and he happily went to do his business. Basically 24 hrs+ since his last poop. Our 3 hr trip to home from the airport was only interrupted by a stop at S&R for dog food and a few supplies.
So this year started November 26th 2022. Finally in Argao. Our home is on a 700 sqm plot. It's a small two bedroom home. The only AC was in the bedroom. An old window type AC unit. One of the first things I bought was a replacement window AC for the bedroom, and moved the old one into the dining area to help cool the front room. It wasn't great, but it was something. She had 5 dogs. One wanted to attack me constantly (he was chained up) and anytime he was loose he'd start a fight with Buddy. Buddy was actually avoiding the fight for some time. But eventually he got fed up with that shit. A Belgian Malinois is not the dog you want to get mad. We had that dog removed and sent to her mom's house. Otherwise it would end up dead, and possibly Buddy injured too. Rabies? They don't pay for rabies shots here! (I do with Buddy of course)
Our first "improvement" was to add a flushing type toilet vs bucket type. Before I came out, she had purchased a heated shower and had that installed too. But to use it all other water on the property must be off. The pressure is weak, but it's warm.
Next up was a car. I decided that going to Landers or S&R every few weeks would be worth a car. Delia's cousin (mom's sister side) works at Mitsubishi in Talisay. I literally bought a new 2023 Mirage (don't need more) for cash via Facebook Messenger. We agreed on color, equip, price, and they sent me the dealer's banking info. I had a wire sent from my US bank to the dealership account. This took one month to clear. But during that time we had a cement pad made in front of the house and gate to park the car when it arrived. January the car arrived. No more busses to Immigration for visa extensions. City trips become doable in more comfort.
Next was replacing the lousy fencing that's always getting torn up by weather, dogs, etc. So we started around the back. About 2 foot high hollow block topped with 6 feet of interlink, topped with 3 strands barbed wire. It's the norm here to top with barb wire. Around the front we went with 3 meter high hollow block, topped with 3 meters of polished stainless steel. We added a stainless steel rolling gate (sideways rolling). Manual for us. No need to pay for motorized. We had the gate also built with a man-door. During all of this I also added a new dual inverter split aircon in the front room where I am mostly.
Once the walls and gates were done, we tore down the old porch bamboo benches in front of her store. We had a steel girder roof and cement benches and table installed. This gives some comfort to people especially when it's raining. Or they just want to relax with a beer in the shade. It's also in front of our Piso Wifi machine.
We added PLDT fiber internet! YAY baseball and football (NFL) games live stream! Delia's gotten hooked on Netflix! lol
We added a cement pad continuous from the parking pad/driveway along one side of the home. This really cleaned up the property. No more muddy mess during high rains.
Our most recent home improvement was a bladder type 1hp water pump with a 1000 gal tank. This is only hooked up to the CR for the shower and toilet at the moment. We didn't add it to the rest of the pipes because the little piggies don't need to get hit with 41 psi when they put their mouth around the drinker. lol We'll look at changes as needed.
Smaller additions are a deep freezer. This allows me to get more meat and bigger meat when I go to Cebu City every few weeks. I bought a offset smoker and have been making smoked brisket (USDA choice beef), pulled pork, Carribean Jerk chicken. So getting a better price to buy 3-4 frozen briskets makes it worth while to have. One brisket takes up the kitchen freezer pretty well and gives little room for other meats.
I like BEEF. I like good quality USDA choice or better beef. I like good pork! Filipino beef is not good quality. I have been to the wet market when the beef carcass arrives. It's terrible quality. Tough, no marbling, skinny ass cows. Unfortunately, Landers and S&R are really not much better with the imported beef they have! The most often used term to sucker people into buying those frozen steaks are "USDA Certified Angus". I can show you Wagyu that's low quality. Just because it has a name (Angus or Wagyu) does not mean it's quality. And adding USDA alone means nothing. None of those things signify a GRADE of meat. So if you want Choice or Prime, you have to shop. And it's expensive! Double US prices, and then some sometimes. However, I can buy a USDA choice beef brisket for a bit over $100 US and smoke it, slice it up and bag it in meal sizes, and freeze it. Drop it in the bag in boiling water and it'll heat up and be juicy and tasty as ever! Buying pork. We raise pigs for the meat shop! But she doesn't want to eat the piggies she's raised. We buy pork at Landers, the quality is ok, and recently I got them to custom butcher a pork butt for smoking pulled pork. But remember those nice knives I brought? I can also cut up meat the way I want. I can get landers to sell me larger pieces, (they're refrigerated) and I can cut up how we want and put into the new deep freezer. Worth the effort. Wet market butchers are terrible at it mostly. And it's important to get there when they bring the carcass in or it may have been sitting there amongst the flies for hours.
Customer service in the Philippines. It's basically non-existent. Hotels in the city and resorts will offer some customer service. But beyond that, to say it's limited, might be an exaggeration.
To wit: I ordered a top of the line USA made KitchenAid stand mixer via Lazada. This comes from the actual KitchenAid store in Makati. It sat in the store for a week while they had my money (Basically $500 US) and hadn't shipped. I sent in a chat, when will it ship? Apologies, sir will ship soon. It sat for another three days. I now see they have the same model, different color, for about $60 us less! I canceled the order, and ordered the sale price different color unit. They refused the cancelation and the original suddenly shipped! So I successfully canceled the sale price unit. Five days later the unit arrives. The mixing bowl has a dent and crack in the top of the stainless steel! Ok, stuff happens. I got on Lazada chat with the store to get a new bowl sent to me. Two hours of conversation and back and forth and they insist they must actually receive and inspect before sending me a new replacement bowl. Mind you this is a bowl that they sell for less than 5000p on a 30,000p mixer. They say they'll pick up the broke bowl and send me tracking info and everything. I ask to BUY a new bowl and when they get the broke one they can refund me. NOPE! TWO WEEKS later and they still haven't had the bowl picked up. But worse is we're bumping up into the deadline for full replacement. Screw this. I chat directly with Lazada customer service and they agree to take my return of the entire unit. I take it to the local J&T and they have the tracking label there and everything. One week later I have full refund! Over a stupid mixing bowl that's broken. I then found the same product on sale for 3000p less with free shipping and ordered that! It has shipped and should be here by Friday. Two months to get a $500 mixer! You'd expect slightly better customer service. It's normal here!
Money: Ok, so I arrived here with $9800 USD. No need to declare, and cash to exchange as needed. I was blowing through that kinda fast. I mean Buddy's dog for (he has to eat top grade US food) costs over $100usd per 35lb bag. That's about 3 weeks food. And I eat too good. Buying imported meat mostly. Except chicken and pork. I tried using ATM's to get cash as needed. Works fine. Except when it doesn't give you the money but you get charged for the withdrawal of 10,000p. Good luck with the bank if it happened on a weekend. And the charges. Paying 250p for each 10,000p withdrawal when we have all the construction stuff going on. Plus the small amount of vig on the exchange rate. ouch. But thanks to folks here, I tried Remitly. Now I just send $1000 US to myself as needed for $5 and small vig if I need cash.
Mail: I use a mail service in Las Vegas. I get bank mail and basically that's it. Debit card arrives, they send me an email, and I pay $150 to have it in a few days. Too much, but whatever. Official gov mail goes to my sister-in-law in Vegas and she shows me what it is. Haven't needed to respond to anything so no big deals.
Overall, I've spent roughly $50,000.00 in the year. However, I'm not wealthy. I expected to spend a fair amount on property improvements and did. Plus $13k of that was the car. And a 4 day trip to Thailand for Delias first trip abroad. We stayed in nice hotel and spent some money there! Over $3k including airfare and hotel. Our home is now very comfortable for me. And she likes it too. She basically works 7 days a week with her store and supervising her piggery. I pay all electric and food bills. She gets to save money in the bank and pay the water bill. She's very frugal. Mostly very protective of where I spend and how much. She doesn't want anything. I got very lucky. No need to build a home, and no rent to pay. We live comfortably.
I know it's a very long post. Not exciting. But it's meant only to give an idea of things I've run across or dealt with in my first year to help the next guy.
I hope this gives small bits of insight for the next person to prepare themselves.
Larry
