6 Ways I Plan To Adjust To Retirement In The Philippines

I married my Filipina wife in 2015 and at that time had no thought about retiring in the Philippines. I figured we would retire in the United States where we are now, with my wife continuing to work. Back then I would have said “no way” to retiring in the Philippines which is so far away and very hot and humid. However, I am very open to the idea but something I need to figure out is what am I going to do there when I am not going to my job six days a week? You will need to do the same if you ever decide to make the move.

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Why did I change my mind, was it unrelenting pressure from my Filipina wife? No, it was a growing love for her. She doesn’t want to stay in America the rest of her life. Initially the plan was for her to stay here until I die, then return to the Philippines. It’s hard to explain, but I have grown increasingly open to the idea of retiring with my wife to the Philippines. So much so that the second time I went to the Philippines with my wife, we bought some land to build a house on and construction began right when we left.

Five months later the home was complete, and my wife returned in January of 2019 to buy appliances and furniture. Lord willing, that’s what we’d like to do after I turn 62 which would be in 2023. That would be a sizable adjustment for me, but I have thought about what I might do in the period called “the golden years”. Here are six ideas.

Relax-I guess that’s the easiest thing to list. If I can make it to age 62 and retire, I’d like to get away from having to be at work early in the morning. Our home is very close to the beach, where it would be great to just walk in the water near the shore, or relax under the trees. We went to this beach when I went to get married.

Significance-Just relaxing would eventually get kind of old and wouldn’t provide much fulfillment. I want to find something to do in the Philippines that I look forward to doing that isn’t back breaking but is rewarding. An option might be to help Christian Filipina by taking to potential members. That’s where I met my wife and I have helped them in the past.

Another possibility is to continue this YouTube channel. That’s a long time away in YouTube years, but being in the Philippines, living with family, presents opportunities I don’t have here in America. Either one of these could involve as much or as little time commitment as needed. There would be more things to tape and I think would make the channel more interesting.

Wife’s interests-I have been supportive of my wife’s interests here in America and want to continue that in the Philippines. My Filipina wife is ambitious, she is a hard worker, and she has told me of her dreams in life and I want to do all I can to make them happen. That is a labor of love for me.
Church-We will need to pick a church together for worship and support. There is no reason we can’t invest ourselves in it also.

Family-Since we will be living with some of my wife’s family under the same roof, that will require a big adjustment for me, but we will have our own room and it is a big house that my wife designed. I do think this is best for her, to have her family around, and I am eager to know them better. They will be very important in my adaptation to life in the Philippines and I have met them on my three separate trips there and I think they treat me like family.

Travel the Philippines-There are many places in the Philippines my wife has never seen and I would like us both to experience them together. I am hopeful my wife will get dual citizenship which would make it much easier for us to travel abroad in my retirement years.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
James 4:13-15
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."
Proverbs 16:9
The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

I have long been fascinated by this concept. The Lord’s purpose, His will, He directs, yet He asks his children to pray, to ask Him for anything and if it be His will then they will have their request. All I can do is try to honor God in our retirement, and if he does allow us to move to the Philippines, we can know he has a good will for us there.

It is exciting thinking about going back to where it all began, taking our Love Beyond the Sea!