goILOILO.com

Travels and personal perspectives on Iloilo and Panay Island

Category: Philippine Retirement

Our Philippine House Project: Windows

[ 3 Comments ] Posted on 02.28.10 under Our House Project, Philippine Retirement

Windows – a key part of our Philippine house building project. We decide to build our own steel casement windows. Here’s how.

Our Philippine House Project: Rebar Splicing

[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 02.28.10 under Our House Project, Philippine Retirement

What we learned about reinforcing bar splicing while building our Philippine house.

Our Philippine House Project – Spending Report

[ 3 Comments ] Posted on 02.21.10 under Our House Project, Philippine Retirement

Our Philippine house building project expense summary for first thirty days of work.

Our Philippine House Project – Septic and Drainage

[ 4 Comments ] Posted on 02.17.10 under Our House Project, Philippine Retirement

Our Philippine House project – septic system and drainage.

Our house Philippine project: concrete roof and lintel beams

[ 4 Comments ] Posted on 02.15.10 under Our House Project, Philippine Retirement

Our Philippine house building project: concrete roof beams. The roof beams support the large steel roof structure. Our site is especially exposed to typhoons so we want to be be sure things are done properly. Rebar splicing suggestions.

Our Philippine house project: walls

[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 02.04.10 under Our House Project, Philippine Retirement

Our Philippine house building project. Shopping for steel. Maintaining concrete quality. Doing our own welding.

Our Philippine house project: filling our lot

[ 7 Comments ] Posted on 11.28.09 under Our House Project, Philippine Retirement, Tigbauan, Iloilo

Our Philippine house building project in Tigbauan, Iloilo. Today we had 150 cubic meters of fill delivered to our lot.  This particular fill is in the area where we’ll have our garden so we were looking for top soil-like material as opposed to gravelly or stony fill.  We managed to find a fine sandy soil [...]

Medicare for Expats in the Philippines

[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 10.21.09 under Medical and Dental, Philippine Retirement

Medicare medical services may be available to expats in the Philippines through a new medical insurance initiative.

Banking Basics for the Expat in the Philippines

[ 4 Comments ] Posted on 09.12.09 under Banking, Philippine Retirement

What expats and foreign residents need to know about banking in the Philippines: credit cards, debit cards, checking accounts, Social Security and pension direct deposit, wire transfers, Internet banking.

Social Security Direct Deposit in the Philippines

[ 4 Comments ] Posted on 09.09.09 under Banking, Philippine Retirement

Americans receiving government pensions may have those pensions direct deposited to their Philippine bank accounts. Here are the details.

Getting a Driver’s License in Iloilo, Philippines

[ 3 Comments ] Posted on 07.17.09 under Iloilo City, Philippine Retirement, Services

Experiences of a foreigner getting a driver’s license in Iloilo City.

Our Tigbauan, Iloilo Apartment

[ 14 Comments ] Posted on 05.27.09 under Philippine Retirement, Tigbauan, Iloilo

We rented in Molo, Iloilo City for two and a half years.  Our new apartment is steps from the beach in Tigbauan, Iloilo, about 22 km from Iloilo City. During storms,waves will break over this seawall, sending coconuts and gravel over the wall. The pounding of the waves on this seawall is easily heard from our [...]

Telephone Services for the Expat in the Philippines

[ No Comments ] Posted on 01.07.09 under Philippine Retirement

When you live in the Philippines, or elsewhere overseas, you may wish to maintain a telephone number in the U.S. Here’s one good option

Using the Amazon Kindle in the Philippines

[ 32 Comments ] Posted on 12.31.08 under Perspectives, Philippine Retirement

KINDLE NEWS FLASH! October 7, 2009. Amazon has announced a new international version of the Kindle which, according to Amazon, works wirelessly in the Philippines and around the world. I have never found having to get my Kindle downloads through USB to be a major inconvenince.  To me the biggest news is that Amazon will ship [...]

Cost of Living in Iloilo

[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 12.22.08 under Iloilo City, Philippine Retirement

Our monthly expenses living in Iloilo City. We find that we can live fairly well in Iloilo City on about $1,700 per month.  The main cost of living questions you need to adjust for are: Prescription drugs and medical care.  A $1,700 per month budget may cover routine medical and dental care for a reasonably healthy [...]

Cost of Living in the Philippines

[ No Comments ] Posted on 12.22.08 under Philippine Retirement

Our budget in the Philippines. We find that we can live fairly well in Iloilo City on about $1,700 per month.  The main cost of living questions you need to adjust for are: Prescription drugs and medical care.  A $1,700 per month budget may cover routine medical and dental care for a reasonably healthy couple.  Someone [...]

Mike Mikesell – the tragic Philippine journey of an amazing American

[ No Comments ] Posted on 10.13.08 under Crime, Perspectives, Philippine Retirement

The on-line narrative of an American who came to live in the Philippines, who engaged himself in the culture and in extraordinary good works, who became disillusioned and finally was killed or committed suicide.

I-360 Widow’s Visa to the USA for the Filipina Widow

[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 10.11.08 under Immigration and Visa, Perspectives, Philippine Retirement

When the foreigner living in the Philippines with his Filipina wife dies, what happens to the wife and kids? There is one too little known alternative for Filipina widows who were married to US Citizens the I-360 Widow/Widower immigrant visa. The widow or widower can self-apply to immigrate to the US after her husband’s death.

Grocery/Food Price Inflation 2007-2008, Iloilo City, Philippines

[ No Comments ] Posted on 10.01.08 under Iloilo City, Iloilo Public Markets, Perspectives, Philippine Retirement, Shopping

We live in Iloilo City and keep quite close track of our food expenditures. We had read about soaring food price inflation in the Philippines so we decided to see how much our own food expenditures had risen.

Driving in the Philippines: suggestions for the foreigner

[ 7 Comments ] Posted on 09.29.08 under Perspectives, Philippine Retirement

Philippine Driver’s License. Your foreign driver’s license is good for ninety days in the Philippines. After that you’ll need to get a Philippine license. I’ve been driving in Iloilo City since February, 2008 when we bought a new, very basic  Toyota Innova. Most days the Innova stays at home. We take jeepneys in the city, sometimes [...]

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