If you’re over 55, a monthly income of $800 qualifies you to retire in the Philippines
I’m exploring Zambales province on the west coast of Luzon, the Philippines largest island. I’m staying in the Subic Bay area…but there’s more to it than the 262-square-mile Freeport Zone (SBFZ)—a U.S. Naval base until 1992.
If you want as close as it gets to an American lifestyle, the SBFZ is ideal. The area is clean, secure and has lots of facilities for tourism as well as residential needs such as supermarkets, schools, kindergartens and a medical center.
However, rents start at $550 for a two-bedroom house in the neat “sub-divisions,” essentially like garden suburbs.
Outside the SBFZ, rents fall steeply. In next-door Olopango City, I saw ads for a one-bedroom apartment for $135 a month, and a two-bedroom apartment for $170 a month. For a furnished bungalow at Baloy (Olangapo’s beach neighborhood) monthly rent was 15,000 pesos ($325).
Under the Philippine Retirement Program, if you’re over 55, a monthly income of $800 qualifies you to retire here. That won’t fund an ultra-high maintenance lifestyle, and you’d need more if you have dependants. But not everyone seeks to replicate the life they’ve left behind. What’s wrong with using public transport? Having ceiling fans instead of air-con? Drinking local beer instead of imports?
They weren’t in fancy places, but I had plenty of enjoyable meals for $3 to $5. And vices aren’t expensive either. Depending where you go, a San Mig beer costs between $0.77 and $1.31; a packet of Winston cigarettes $0.57. (Local brands are half that.)
I met an American expat married to a Filipina living in Olongapo City. Their monthly budget is around $1,100. With many retired U.S. military personnel living around Subic Bay, a number of veterans organizations are based here. One question posed by a prospective newcomer on the RAO (Retired Activities Office) website was:
“What is the amount of retired pay I will need to live in the Philippines? Will 2 million pesos ($43,000) be sufficient to build a two-story, 4-bedroom/2-bathroom house?”
As foreigners cannot own land, it means marrying a local (or leasing land) to go down this route. Many men do. Certainly for a western woman, it can be unnerving to see so many adverts on the lines of “Find Your Filipina Beauty” when researching anything on the Philippines.
From the size of the prospective house, I’m guessing the questioner had dependants. According to the RAO, “2 million (pesos) can build you a very nice house depending on the area and cost of labor and materials. $1,200-$1,500 should be enough to get by nicely depending on the budget you set for yourself.”
Along with the normal traffic chaos of jeepneys, moto-trike cabbies and jay-walking pedestrians, Olangapo City includes the popular expat hangouts of Baloy Beach and Barrio Barretto. Livelier—and noisier—than the SBFZ, Olangapo was where the U.S. Navy went for “entertainment”.
Those seeking female company still find it. However, the bars I visited were nothing like the sleazy fleshpots of Angeles City. (Forty miles inland, Angeles was home to another ex-U.S. military installation, Clark Airbase.)
North of Subic Town—not to be confused with the SBFZ—settlements in Zambales province get smaller and the countryside opens up to views of rice fields and mountains. There’s a lovely beach at Pundaquit, on a side road west of San Antonio. I didn’t spot any, but turtles come to lay their eggs here in winter.
Outside the SBFZ, rental agencies seem unknown concepts. You’ll need to look at classified ads, bulletin boards, or drive around seeking “apartment/house to rent” signs. Or, if you’re retired military, make contacts through the Retired Activities Office or the Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
