# Moving To Butuan



## malcolmedward (Mar 23, 2016)

I am planning to come to Butuan in May/June to research and decide whether life after marriage to my Filipino fiancée in August would be better in the UK or the Philippines. Keen to correspond. <Snip> Questions? Hundreds! Visas, marriage, work and business opportunities, property ownership, business ownership, adoption (my fiancée has a nine year old son), etc., etc.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

malcolmedward said:


> I am planning to come to Butuan in May/June to research and decide whether life after marriage to my Filipino fiancée in August would be better in the UK or the Philippines. Keen to correspond. <Snip> Questions? Hundreds! Visas, marriage, work and business opportunities, property ownership, business ownership, adoption (my fiancée has a nine year old son), etc., etc.


many of these answers are in archives.......cabadbaran is nice. Its near butuan.Its smaller. Moving here is a big step,it requires more than a visit,in my opinion. Welcome!!!!


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## malcolmedward (Mar 23, 2016)

lefties43332 said:


> many of these answers are in archives.......cabadbaran is nice. Its near butuan.Its smaller. Moving here is a big step,it requires more than a visit,in my opinion. Welcome!!!!


I appreciate your reply, I was there for Christmas and spent time in Cebu 2010. Lots of research before I make a decision. Pros and cons, Philippines or UK? The In or Out European Union Vote in the UK in May will affect how easy or difficult it is to bring my fiancée and son into the England. Maybe the Philippines but not necessarily Butuan? I respect the advice of the people that have done it all before me.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

malcolmedward said:


> I appreciate your reply, I was there for Christmas and spent time in Cebu 2010. Lots of research before I make a decision. Pros and cons, Philippines or UK? The In or Out European Union Vote in the UK in May will affect how easy or difficult it is to bring my fiancée and son into the England. Maybe the Philippines but not necessarily Butuan? I respect the advice of the people that have done it all before me.


i lived in mindanao. I loved it but with a family in tow i wouldnt go back there.


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## malcolmedward (Mar 23, 2016)

*Butuan or elsewhere*

Thanks for a further response. I have read reports and listened to returning expats at Manila Airport about the "dangers" of Mindanao. There are different points of view and I cannot really comment yet because when I spent Christmas there, I was almost always with my future wife's brothers and sisters so somewhat protected. Together with her 13 brothers and sisters, my wife, our son John, parents in law and it seems like dozens of nieces and nephews  were all born and raised in Butuan so I am really the only outsider. I have lived in regions which the Embassy considered "at risk" before, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, Africa and adhering to sensible rules can help reduce the risk.

But it is not simply about safety and security as important as these things are. If we decide to make a permanent move to Philippines then I want to give my new family a certain quality of life. I need to be able to provide for them, perhaps a job, a business and although the family will not be growing further, John's education is a major consideration. Lots to research and think about. I will look through the Expat Forum archives and will always any welcome advice from those with relevant experience and a love of the Philippines.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

*Security Considerations*



malcolmedward said:


> ..... I have read reports and listened to returning expats at Manila Airport about the "dangers" of Mindanao. There are different points of view and I cannot really comment yet because when I spent Christmas there, I was almost always with my future wife's brothers and sisters so somewhat protected. Together with her 13 brothers and sisters, my wife, our son John, parents in law and it seems like dozens of nieces and nephews  were all born and raised in Butuan so I am really the only outsider. I have lived in regions which the Embassy considered "at risk" before, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, Africa and adhering to sensible rules can help reduce the risk.
> 
> But it is not simply about safety and security as important as these things are. If we decide to make a permanent move to Philippines then I want to give my new family a certain quality of life. I need to be able to provide for them, perhaps a job, a business and although the family will not be growing further, John's education is a major consideration. Lots to research and think about. I will look through the Expat Forum archives and will always any welcome advice from those with relevant experience and a love of the Philippines.


Malcomedward, you are right in that life is not always about safety and security. Most of us don’t like to be dictated to, nor do we like to give terrorist organisations the impression that they may have gotten the better of us. When governments advise citizens against travel to certain areas, to places where perhaps we were planning to travel or reside, it can sometimes feel as if we are kowtowing to the demands of terrorists by not going.

However, another important aspect of life, especially when you have a family to consider, is to * ‘Try not to put yourself into a situation that could be difficult to get out of.’ * Whilst you may well have the support of your large Filipino extended family, it does not automatically follow that they could prevent something untoward happening to you, i.e. kidnapping or worse. In such a situation, there are other factors a reasonable person should consider. For example, not only would it be horrendous for your immediate and extended Filipino family if you were kidnapped, but in effect, you could be putting the life of members of the security forces at risk too; those that could be sent to patrol dangerous areas trying to locate you, or sent on dangerous missions trying to extract you.

You may well have lived in regions before which the ‘Embassy’ considered "at risk" and I have no reason to doubt your ability to minimise the risk, nor do I question your ability to look after yourself. But there are times when no amount of professionalism / streetwise / experience can help us; sometimes we are simply overwhelmed by the situation or the forces against us. 

Based on what I’ve said above and the fact that the UK Government, in additional to others, is advising against:
(a) all but essential travel to an area of which Butuan is part of (attached PDF refers), and
(b) all travel to south-west Mindanao, 
my advice would be to give these areas a wide berth when it comes to choosing a place of residence. They may be fine for a short holiday, but after a while you may find yourself constantly looking over your shoulder or getting complacent, neither of which is conducive to a safe and healthy lifestyle for you and your family. Having said that, I appreciate there are some members who manage to live in these areas quite happily, so I’m not suggesting that it can’t be done.

Put simply, there are so many other wonderful places to live in the Philippines that are not on Governments' warning lists that my advice would be to concentrate your efforts on looking at all these other areas first. Follow up your plan to search the forum archives and you’ll find loads of options. At the end of the day, none of us can predict the future. As such, I believe there is no requirement for you to *‘Put yourself (your family or others) into a situation that could be difficult to get out of.’* Just saying.

As an afterthought and a serious consideration, most forum members are married to Filipinas and many strongly recommend living as far away as possible from their in-laws. No matter how friendly everyone is in the beginning, there appears to be a high risk of expats being regarded as the local ATM, especially after he becomes ‘family’. For some expats, being on the same island is still too close for comfort. Perhaps the avoidance of living in close proximity to in-laws is a stronger deterrent than anything I could say about security. Good luck on both fronts. :fingerscrossed:


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