Portugal recently ended their Golden Visa program. I have a close friend who seems to have gotten in at the very tail end of it, so i heard a lot about it.
I was an expat for about 28 years, 17 of which involved living in Indonesia and traveling extensively throughout SE Asia. Moreover, I was a moderator on a website for expatriates in Indonesia for many years, and had some exposure to the broader SE Asia expat community as a result.
With that background, I assess the OP’s chances of success as pretty high. He seems to have reasonable expectations, an open mind, a certain amount of healthy skepticism, and a willingness to consider advice. That, plus reasonable finances, is far better than what some wanna-be expats have.
Now, this is the Dope, where we LURVE to nitpick, so let me follow that with my less optimistic commentary, such as it is. I would not call these matters anywhere near “red flags,” but … light pink flags, perhaps?
If you are lonely, you may or may not end up being less lonely in a foreign country. There will be plenty of people who want to be your friend/lover, but they will virtually always have ulterior motives - not necessarily bad ones, but still, they will be looking at you as a foreigner first and a human being second. Believe me, this can be exhausting. Those ulterior motives include: a fascination with Western culture, a desire to improve one’s English, a desire for higher status (which foreign friendships may impart in a lot of circumstances), and of course, for romantic partners, financial security. None of this makes anyone involved a bad person, but it’s foolish to ignore the expat-local dynamics that almost always come into play.
Search your soul and be sure you are not doing something impulsive because of heartbreak.
Sounds pretty good, but be sure your “excellent package” will actually work. Read the fine print about what care is covered. Many private insurers are picky about which countries they will cover care in - for example, you might get great care in the Philippines but if you wanted to go to Thailand or Singapore, both of which are well known for their affordable great medical care, you might not be covered after all. And some policies specifically exclude coverage in the US, because we’re famously insanely expensive. This may not sound like it matters, but if you think you would ever visit the US, you’d want to be sure you had some kind of stop-gap coverage in case you had an illness or injury that prevented you from going back to the Philippines. And you might want to look into some kind of medivac insurance - Philippine health care is probably fine for routine stuff, but believe me, if you need complex treatment for anything, you want to go to Singapore.
Lol. Don’t forget the household staff who will keep your car insanely sparkling. Most likely you can afford them too.
You may not find it particularly comfortable or convenient, but more power to you if you are up for it!
To be honest this is one of the worst aspects of Western men living in SE Asia. Even if you find your true love, most people around you are going to assume you are in it for the easy sex and your girlfriend/wife doesn’t love you, she loves the financial security you offer. Which alas, is often the case. My advice is, just be prepared for that judgment and, if you want to prove it’s not true, find a girl friend your own age! No one, including me, is going to believe your soul mate just happens to be a gorgeous 26-year-old from a poor family. (Sorry.)
Don’t for a moment think that the Philippines has an idyllic social environment. People there are like people anywhere - some are highly moral, some are liars and cheats, most are somewhere in between. You say you won’t be following local politics - well, you can always just not follow them in the US, if that’s what it takes.
But you like Philippine food? (I think it’s the worst in SE Asia, but that’s just me. It tends to be pretty bland/mild, so maybe that is a plus in your book.)
That’s good! As you may already know, geckos and other house lizards, centipedes, roaches, mosquitos (that carry dengue and possibly resistant strains of malaria) and mold like tropical weather too. So it isn’t just the heat, it is everything the heat brings. For many people (including me), this is not a problem, but some people never adjust.
That’s it for now. Best of luck and let us know how you fare!
OP: You might want to check this site. That’s VisaGuide.world. Here is what it says about retiring to the Philippines:
Who Can Apply For a Philippines Retirement Visa?
You can apply for a Philippines retirement visa under the SRRV program if:
- You are at least 50 years old and have a pension; or
- You are at least 35 years old and make a deposit of at least $50,000.
- You have no criminal record.
- You can financially support yourself and any joining family members.
You mentioned Mexican heritage but not Filipino heritage, so I’m guessing you’re not Balakbayan or of Filipino descent. If you are, that changes some of the requirements.
You’re not me. But I’m a wary homebody. Davao City is probably the safest part of Mindanao, but as of May of this year there are parts of the island (specifically Marawi city) that are no go per the state department. They also recommend reconsidering travel to most of the island outside of Davao City and nearby environs.
Now granted Marawi in particular is on the other side of the island. But it’s an island. Personally this would bug me a bit. Not out of terror, but just out of due caution I’d feel I’d need to take on a daily basis if I wanted to stray too far out of town. I’m prone to island fever anyway. Feeling cooped up in one city or alternatively having to have my guard on a higher setting every time I ventured out of a “safe zone” would personally be wearisome for me.
I’m one who could never adjust to tropical heat. I spent my year in Vietnam back in the day and spent every day drenched in sweat (except for monsoon, when I was drenched in sweat and rain) and swatting away flies. And I wasn’t slogging through jungles like the grunts. Malaria is always a threat, so plan on being on meds for that for life, which may or not protect you. I find that climate to be completely enervating, but as you say, some people like it.
Yeah, i would never be happy living in a hot muggy climate. But I’m finding the other considerations of this thread very interesting.
Thanks for the links, I have been checking into this. I’ve checked and the pension I recieve from my former employer and a $10K depositi will qualify me for the SSRV program. I do not intend on getting dual citizenship.
Also my part of my plan is to live off of the procedes of my home and present pension , I believe and I can do that for at least 7 years (or more) and not pay any taxes since my pension is below $20K/year. Then start drawing from my 401K and other investaments along with SS when I am 68-70. By then I should be bringing in even more cash, but then start paying taxes on it. If, if I get married I’ll have a tax deduction there, so it may pay to wait and get me a golddigger while I have one foot in the grave. 
Either way I’ll still be very well off if no major medical issue come up.
You know, I look at my life now and I really don’t go outside as much as I used to. I have an air conditioined home, drive a air conditioned car, work out in an air conditioned gym and go to an air conditioned mall. I go outside for mostly yardwork and walks around the neighborhood. I don’t see that really changing when I get there and I will not miss yardwork.
But then again, they do have regular power outages, sometimes for days or even weeks. So I would have to be prepeared for that. Still some condo units have back up genarators, so I’ll be looking at those.
I actually am budgeting for maid service, but a maybe a personal assistant who drives and washes my car would be something to consider. lol
Yep, that looks to be my local travel zone. And also if desire I can hop a plane or boat to another location like Cebu or Manila or up into the mountain resort areas if I want to experiance a cooler climate during the hot summer months.
Some like it hot. 
Me, i can’t sleep if I’m sticky. (I struggled with summer heat in Massachusetts as a child.) I can’t enjoy waking around the block of it’s hot and muggy. Give me a nice crisp sunny day with fresh snow, though, and I’m happy.
I’m an anglophone who struggles to learn languages, so my “move to another country to retire” options are limited. I’m jealous of your flexibility.
It looks like the risk of malaria is pretty low in most of the Philippines, including Davao, so full-time medication probably won’t be necessary - trips to Palawan or Zamboanga (the latter of which I personally recommend if it’s politically stable enough, having been there years ago and loved it) probably call for preventive medicine.
We didn’t take anti-malarials while living in Jakarta, just when we traveled to more malaria-prone areas. (We were on them full-time in Mozambique, though. Very tedious.) Of course, the whole family came down with dengue once or twice - not fun.
Maybe it’s just me, but if you have a fear of ‘gold diggers on the internet’, maybe the Philippines will prove very much the challenge you’re actually trying to avoid.
Wishing Good Luck !
I don’t have to go to the Phillipines to find gold diggers. I am familar with the type and a little bit of gold digging is to be expected, most people are looking to improve their situtaion to some degree.
Myself, I am looking for a woman between 35 and 50 because they are mature and still can still be attractive in my eyes. Not that there are not exceptions to that, but in general I don’t want to date too young or too old if I have a choice, which I do. Also don’t want to date someone who has never worked a real job. Everyone is looking for something when it comes to relationships and to deny that money and looks is part of the equation is not being realistic.
We were on daily doxycycline for three years in Africa, which pretty much eliminates it for any routine infection use after that much exposure.
Avoid having to file US tax returns is good. Also avoiding the FATCA and FBAR filing is also good, but a bit more difficult.
In Switzerland there are very few banks that will offer accounts or mortgages to Americans due to FATCA and FBAR reporting.
Be aware you may have issues accessing your US bank accounts outside of the U.S. Certain bank apps only work when located in the US, and it’s not only small banks that have issues.
My parents wanted to add me to their safety deposit box. The bank, which is in multiple states, could not. They are not able to deal with non-resident Americans.
English might get you pretty far for certain things, but you might need a translator if you need work done on your home - nothing like a leaking pipe on Sunday morning.
If you live in a stand-alone house now, are you going to adjust to living in an apartment with shared walls/floor/ceiling?
When we moved here, we got input from people who had done the same move 14 years earlier. The changes in technology meant that some of the advice they gave was no longer valid. We never had to go into town to get the newspaper - we had internet. Zoom means no more expensive phone calls. Streaming means most television shows and films are available with a subscription.
We didn’t take any in Aceh and never got malaria, but my wife got dengue and I got typhoid.
Not true…you will still have to file US tax returns.
Even if you owe no taxes, you have to prove it to the IRS every year. The FBAR form is also required (not for the IRS–it’s for the FBI.) (it’s just a list of every bank account you have in a foreign country, to prove you aren’t engaging in money laundering.)
And the 1040 , plus a lot more, is also required. Even when you owe nothing. You have to file the usual 1040, along with the 2555 form (showing that you live overseas), the 8938 Form (repeating the info in the FBAR form).
(But overseas folks don’t have to do it all before the traditional ol’ date of April 15–you get an automatic extension till June. Ain’t the folks at the IRS nice? )
Yes, I have been looking into this and the tax issues as well. I fully intend to file, but my cash from my home will not be taxable so only my pension would get taxed. Which isnt enough to even get taxed. I like it. I’ve researched the banking thing and I have found options for moving large sums there once I am settled. Once I become a permanent resident I can open a local bank account that has branchs in the states.
I have been a project manager at Bose and now at Nissan for over 25 years, so I am treating this like any other project I have done. Initial risk assessment is what I am doing now, which is why I am here. To see if I am missing any major risk.
IIRC, for Americans it’s your worldwide income, regardless of source, that is taxable. I’m not a lawyer, and certainly not one who specializes in tax law.