I would not be the first to admit, that something seems to draw you close to the Philippines and fall in love with the country, its people, and culture, if you visit, you rarely want to return home, that has already happened to me and its history as they say, its in my blood now, let us not paper over the cracks, it is true to say there is no doubting that the Philippines is hard hit with incredible poverty, yes, there are not enough jobs for the people, there is no income support or social security in the way that we know it.
Firstly lets talk about the Filipino people themselves, they somehow show the most incredible spirit of survival, they find the most imaginative ways of overcoming the most trying of personal situations, to be in a Filipino group is to see the Bayani spirit of togetherness that overcomes all things and endures for a lifetime, so wherever you travel in the world, there is sure to be a Filipino Community living somewhere, I want to tell you about this country of 7000 + Islands, Sa Mahal Kong pilipinas ( My Beloved Philippines ), the country where I am making my home
Why Should you live amongst the Filipino people ?
The question above is very easy to answer, firstly because the Philippines is an english speaking country as a native language, Tagalog, Ilongo, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and English are widely spoken by the Filipino people, but English is the language of business and a language you can easily converse in with the Filipino people.
Secondly, the Filipino people are very warm, and welcoming to foreigners who wish to settle amongst them. Providing their customs and traditions are respected, the Filipino people can be the most welcoming people in the world, for the first time visiting the Philippines as a foreign traveller is pretty exciting but living and retiring in the Philippines is said to be a dream come true.
Many dream of living an expatriate lifestyle, beautiful beaches, clear blue oceans, and amazing mountain views, can be the first thing you see when you wake up
every morning, but this is all to no avail if you are broke, cannot afford to put on the air conditioning and are living with your girls family because you cannot afford to live in your own house, the great thing about visiting and living in the Philippines is that the sun always shines there, and that can make a lot of difference to your state of mind, however your state of mind will be one of depression if you cannot afford to live to a similar life you have in UK.
I have found througout my travels, that almost all Filipinos and Filipinas adore foreigners, expatriates, (expats) who live here or retire here. And they welcome and appreciate the tourist visitor, wherever you travel around the Islands, you seem to attract stares, but not the negative stares you would expect in Western Countries, more of a admiring stare, I love to see beautiful Filipina's smile, no seriously, you cannot beat those beautiful bright smiling faces around the shopping malls, along the beach fronts, going about their business down a busy street, I also love to see the smile of the Filipino, that is the guys as well you find the smile is genuine and tends to come from their hearts, that is why so many foreign tourists end up in the Philippines, and sometimes just never come back.
I first arrived in the Philippines in early 2004, it was not long before the Filipino way of life was in my blood, Even after the first visit, I knew I would be back. But it did not take long before I went back, exactly 3 months, I could not stay away, I had to get back to my bit of paradise, and you will too become addicted to the sunshine, smile and laughter if you come over to this best kept secret in the world, or it was until the Internet gave people access to information about the joys and wonder of living in the Philippines.
You can make Philippines yours too !
Generosity is part of the culture in the Philippines. Getting to know the Filipino culture will greatly enhance your living or traveling experience. But it is not something you have to do.
The Filipino people are very tolerant of foreign culture and customs. They understand it's hard to adapt to another country right away. Filipinos have traveled the world as contract workers, and know the problems of acculturation, thats what I love so much about them, they seem to accept anyone, doesnt matter where you come from, you will be immedeatly accepted into the Filipino Community in which you visit or live in, they will treat you as one of them, if a Filipino makes friends with you, you are like a brother to him, if you are lucky enough to be married on in a long term relationship with a Filipina, then your very fortunate in deed.
The Filipino people make you feel needed and wanted here. Sometimes in the UK, I feel we have lost the plot, we have become consumed by our own greed
to clamour for materialism and acquisition of material goods, in the Philippines, its more about living a quality of life, rather than living to work. admittedly, you cant't be poor in the Philippines and expect to live like a King, but you can live like a King if you have a reasonable amount of income coming in, which we will discuss in future articles, so be sure to follow my blog and you will find some interesting ways to help in your quest to make a life in the Philippines.
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