# Expat in Philippines - Marriage Issues - Question?



## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

hi,

I got here 4 years ago to the Philippines. Fell in love heads over heel with a filipina a month later, stayed here, married her, and we have four kids (three from our marriage, one from her previous guy). I'm actually about to process papers to move the family to Canada when certain issues popped up within our marriage that are all giving me red flags. My family are now discouraging me to move back and hinting that I should pack up and leave.

I don't want to post the details here. 

However, I don't have many friends to bounce off, so I'm hoping there is someone here who has experience with the locals that I can bounce off. 

The last thing I want to do is act on an emotionally charged situation.

If you're willing to be an ear please PM me in private.

Much appreciated...


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

To illustrate one of the issues...

My wife x-flame and marriage prospect popped up again. They didn't meet, because he had a health crisis and he abandoned the marriage prospect. He is back now and he is planning to visit the Philippines and my wife is excited to meet him and wants me to tag along. She is upset that I'm upset with this and doesn't understand the issue because she is married so it's all ok.

In my mind, that isn't something the average Filipina will ask her husband to do.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

ezedek said:


> To illustrate one of the issues...
> 
> My wife x-flame and marriage prospect popped up again. They didn't meet, because he had a health crisis and he abandoned the marriage prospect. He is back now and he is planning to visit the Philippines and my wife is excited to meet him and wants me to tag along. She is upset that I'm upset with this and doesn't understand the issue because she is married so it's all ok.
> 
> In my mind, that isn't something the average Filipina will ask her husband to do.


If the situation were reversed and it was you that wanted to meet a female, she would likely have a far different opinion. It sounds to me that in this case she probably had little or no guidance and direction from her parents when growing up. Also, it sounds as if she is extremely young and lacking in judgment.

One thing that I have noticed or observed over the many years of living here is that many locals grow and develop normally until 16 or 17 years old. At that point, the body continues to grow but the emotional, judgment, and physiological development stops. This leaves the person forever an immature teenager no matter how old they get. In that case there is little change possible and puts you in a position of having to take the lead in all things.


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## pakawala (Sep 10, 2014)

Perhaps the Red Flag would be if you found out she was meeting or met him behind your back. Kudos to her for asking you to go with her. Why not meet the guy & put the issue to rest, especially if he is the father of the 4th child. Your wife may just want to show him how lucky she was to marry you (a foreigner).


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Because she is married and has a child this is what you will have to call "Baggage" and like you mentioned he had health concerns but maybe it's best he meet his son so they can get caught up without you, if wife wants to meet him she probably will find a way, it's a real drama and not so fun in the Philippines and nobody can tell you how to live your life or make it work so this will have to be something you work with because you have 3 kids that are counting on you.


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## louisbecke (Apr 23, 2016)

Get out. Run no kidding. Go to Thailand. I have a second home in Chiangmai. It's cheaper there, cleaner, safer. A month in the hotel I stay in is only $200.00usd a month with cable tv, aircon and wireless internet. Trust me on this. If your married in the Philippines and it's all wrong staying here will do nothing but cause you grief. You can divorce her in Thailand or back in Canada.


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## Billfish (Apr 13, 2013)

Mate, you have four kids, three of whom you are directly responsible for bringing into this world. 

Go to Canada and bring them all up in an environment which provides them with a good education and a passport that allows them to travel the World and be the best at whatever they choose to do.

It may not be the most comfortable choice however any issues between you and the wife are not the kids' fault.

Whatever choice you make you still have a duty of care towards your kids.


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## SierraMadreMe (Mar 26, 2015)

What a terribly painful situation to find yourself in.The fact that this happens far more than anyone realizes here,is something everyone should be aware of.The number of guys that fly over to find the love of their lives,only to get hosed over a few years later is something that is ever increasing.

Like has been said,no matter what the outcome is (and it is possible that his wife is on the level) that those kids are innocent and need to be cared for.

I wonder how many of us here realize how many kids here are simply abandoned?They may be left with family who cannot afford to feed them,and those kids are often turned out and sleep wherever they can,and depend on hand outs to survive.2 boys here locally who sift for shells in the river,in order to buy rice to eat.They are like 7 and 8 yrs old.

How very sad.


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## louisbecke (Apr 23, 2016)

Not just abandoned. A man can do nothing no matter how much support he sends. That money may very well go to the boyfriend of her family or she may take off abandoning her kids and live off the money. In any case there is nothing the foreigner can do about it.


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## mattwilkie (Mar 20, 2016)

ezedek said:


> To illustrate one of the issues...
> 
> My wife x-flame and marriage prospect popped up again. They didn't meet, because he had a health crisis and he abandoned the marriage prospect. He is back now and he is planning to visit the Philippines and my wife is excited to meet him and wants me to tag along. She is upset that I'm upset with this and doesn't understand the issue because she is married so it's all ok.
> 
> In my mind, that isn't something the average Filipina will ask her husband to do.


Difficult subject but as someone else has already mentioned if it was the other way around and you had an "old flame" I am sure she shouldn't be so accommodating. I wouldn't entertain a meet up as there is no positive outcome in this but also I would be cautious of any meetings that may have happened previously. Her "excitement" in meeting him is rather odd as that shows there is some connection that never changed.


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## mattwilkie (Mar 20, 2016)

louisbecke said:


> Not just abandoned. A man can do nothing no matter how much support he sends. That money may very well go to the boyfriend of her family or she may take off abandoning her kids and live off the money. In any case there is nothing the foreigner can do about it.


Very true, if the person is of that mindset they are normally being spoon fed it daily from others around them. As such its constantly being reinforced as normal.


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

pakawala said:


> Perhaps the Red Flag would be if you found out she was meeting or met him behind your back. Kudos to her for asking you to go with her. Why not meet the guy & put the issue to rest, especially if he is the father of the 4th child. Your wife may just want to show him how lucky she was to marry you (a foreigner).


No. He isn't the father of the child. The father of the child was an old man, a rich Japanese dude, whom she used to work for in her early 20's. The father of the child is absent in both their lives.

The man in question she hasn't met before. He is a love interest and her primary marriage prospect, before he told her he had serious health issues. When he popped up again we were already together and since then he has been popping up like once a year to check on our status. But, no, they haven't met yet.


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

Jet Lag said:


> If the situation were reversed and it was you that wanted to meet a female, she would likely have a far different opinion. It sounds to me that in this case she probably had little or no guidance and direction from her parents when growing up. Also, it sounds as if she is extremely young and lacking in judgment.
> 
> One thing that I have noticed or observed over the many years of living here is that many locals grow and develop normally until 16 or 17 years old. At that point, the body continues to grow but the emotional, judgment, and physiological development stops. This leaves the person forever an immature teenager no matter how old they get. In that case there is little change possible and puts you in a position of having to take the lead in all things.


I noticed that too. However, she isn't young and I'm not that old. I'm 41 and she is 34. We're not the old man young girl stereotype. I didn't come here because I had no options in North America. I was pretty active there. I came here really for medical treatment and of course why not just meet the locals while at it. I had no idea I'd fall in love like this


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

mattwilkie said:


> Very true, if the person is of that mindset they are normally being spoon fed it daily from others around them. As such its constantly being reinforced as normal.


I saw that with my own eyes. I know how common it is even when foreigners are not involved. I had one living with me who abandoned her kids (she had multiple children from multiple husbands) to come to Manila an within a few months was sleeping with 18 year old while she was in her mid 30's and having multiple online chat mates sending her money and they were all filipinos.


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

louisbecke said:


> Get out. Run no kidding. Go to Thailand. I have a second home in Chiangmai. It's cheaper there, cleaner, safer. A month in the hotel I stay in is only $200.00usd a month with cable tv, aircon and wireless internet. Trust me on this. If your married in the Philippines and it's all wrong staying here will do nothing but cause you grief. You can divorce her in Thailand or back in Canada.


How is that possible? When I was in Thailand the prices seems way way higher than Philippines. I didn't check out the rent, but from what little I saw it also seemed way higher.

I liked Thailand more, because my health would be better. I don't meat and I can't stomach their local diet. Just eating what little I could stomach here in the Philippines I gained 100 lbs in 4 years. I believe I'd lose that all living in Thailand. But then you have the visa problem for the whole family or even just me (visa run complicated?), higher cost of living , lack of English (what if I needed to see a doctor?), etc. I don't know how other expats do it.


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

Billfish said:


> Mate, you have four kids, three of whom you are directly responsible for bringing into this world.
> 
> Go to Canada and bring them all up in an environment which provides them with a good education and a passport that allows them to travel the World and be the best at whatever they choose to do.
> 
> ...


Billfish this is exactly what I was doing when this **** hit the fan. I had all the paperwork for the kids ready to go for their Canadian passport. I was making arrangement for my sponsorship and for her too. 

I admit going to Canada isn't my first choice. I had a boring existence there. For me at least, it is more fun in the Philippines on many levels, but there is no work here, health care is spotty, food is unhealthy and harming my body, etc Given a choice and if I was single I'd just shift to Thailand and tour around the areas making many visits to various countries in Asia.

However, now there are kids, this is all over, before it started. 

I'm making choices with their best interest in mind and that means going back home even if it is a struggle all around.

Then the red flags popped up. One of them she has been silently unhappy with my relationship with the stepson. He himself screams I love you daddy every couple of hours and we are pretty tight. However, she doesn't like it when discipline comes in when he does drama and misbehaves. He is almost 10 and acts like a spoiled five year old. She told me it was my job when she first brought him in, but now she doesn't like it.

Co-parenting would entail both of us sitting down and talking it over. Her reaction was to stay quiet for years until out of the blue she decided to evoke: "his is my child, you're not his biological father, I have all the legal rights" as an opener for co-parenting talk. In case you're wondering the trigger, I asked him to eat a tiny piece of tomato dipped in garlic sauce, because he had the flu and garlic is good for the immune system, but she can't stand the taste of raw garlic or anything spicy, so she took offensive. 

Ok, fine, she is right on legal grounds, but it was hurtful for her to throw that in my face so many times after I've taken care of the kid for four years. When I reminded her I treated him like my own and took care of all of his needs for the last four years without complains, she spat back, she'd have done it on her own anyway. Fine, but she didn't. She brought him in into our lives and basically asked me to surrogate because he never knew a father and she wanted someone to discipline him and give him structure.

Well going to Canada entails me being financially responsible for her for 5 years and for him for 10 years even if we are not together any more and even if she has a new boyfriend.

Well what the f*k man, what if she pulls that stunt over there? What if she pulls it as far as our other three kids. She decide she doesn't like how I raise my kids, so she bags them and leave and I'm left with the bill for her and him. She can go then go back to the Philippines with the kids and I've lost everything.

When I shared my concerns with her, she popped a smile and told me I'm being over dramatic and there is nothing there as long as you know I listen to her *hint* *hint* about what she wants. She'll go with me anywhere except hell. Though when I do mention moving to another country she bounces back: 'you can't afford it, not that easy with kids, blah blah'. She asked me to stop mentioning divorce, etc, because I'm putting ideas in her head etc and that isn't what she wants.

The other red flag is when we argue she reacts by locking herself in another room and not talking to me for days and when we do talk she complains that we fight a lot like everyday. However, I've come out of an abusive marriage where I was the one being abused and I know what fight a lot means. We have a heated argument once every six month at best. That is like 2 arguments a year, so why does she feel like our relationship is full of strife? Actually, I'm often bitching that she doesn't talk to me very much as it is. She says she is the quiet type. I say not when filipino friends are around. It is so weird to feel so lonely in your own marriage when you live under the same roof all day.:noidea:


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

mattwilkie said:


> Very true, if the person is of that mindset they are normally being spoon fed it daily from others around them. As such its constantly being reinforced as normal.


That is true and it is annoying. My wife hates it if ever I bring up the money I spend on her for her. Yet, she has no qualms asking me for this or that even when knows I've just spent the last cent in my bank making her happy and I'm now broke.

I usually ***** honey I'm not a money tree you can shake and she laughs and says I'm just reminding you of the other things I want etc.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Normal bad behavior*



ezedek said:


> Then the red flags popped up. One of them she has been silently unhappy with my relationship with the stepson. He himself screams I love you daddy every couple of hours and we are pretty tight. However, she doesn't like it when discipline comes in when he does drama and misbehaves. He is almost 10 and acts like a spoiled five year old. She told me it was my job when she first brought him in, but now she doesn't like it.
> 
> Co-parenting would entail both of us sitting down and talking it over. Her reaction was to stay quiet for years until out of the blue she decided to evoke: "his is my child, you're not his biological father, I have all the legal rights" as an opener for co-parenting talk. In case you're wondering the trigger, I asked him to eat a tiny piece of tomato dipped in garlic sauce, because he had the flu and garlic is good for the immune system, but she can't stand the taste of raw garlic or anything spicy, so she took offensive.
> 
> ...


Some expats will disagree with me on my comments or got another chance at a new relationship... but I feel that your relationship is pretty normal if not better than most here. Some of your comments ...that you are sort of left out of conversations and most here don't speak English and if they do it's limited understanding so the guests won't want to engage you in conversation unless they are drunk and smoking, I'll bet most smoke too and need you to buy them smokes? So a solitary existence other than the kids I know that feeling. What I've done is figure out new hobbies to get me away from drunks, low lifes and immoral in-laws and neighbors, I don't live in a private neighborhood.

Gaining weight, well you mentioned that the food isn't so good but it sounds like the wife is a good cook? You know meat has nothing to do with bad health it's how much you eat and your portions, I've lost 50 lbs living here and it's due to fresh cooking and yes he food here is horrible and salty for the most part or greasy. Ease up on the rice, potatoes and noodles and you will lose weight, if you are a iced tea drinker brew your own ice tea and then mix it with "Stevia" box of packets sold through Mercury Drug, stevia is calorie free and free of side effects and it's natural the ice tea packets and juices are all full of Splenda (synthetic) it can make you bloat and cause health issues, drink more water also add more hot peppers they are good for circulation and digestion.

I've had to basically make my home into and internet cafe and grow my own fruit tree's and garden to counteract the void in conversation and now my son won't follow the wife around to these various happenings he would rather stay at home with me, my wife is also jealous of my adopted daughter and her son or my grandson, I took care of him for 4 years and now my wife doesn't want my grandson around anymore it's caused me some loneliness also, Pnoys love these games and jealousy is number one here along with showing off and saving face it all adds to more unneeded stress for some of us expats, I'd stay here with your family don't bother wasting time bringing them to Canada it will be a disaster.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

ezedek said:


> I noticed that too. However, she isn't young and I'm not that old. I'm 41 and she is 34. We're not the old man young girl stereotype. I didn't come here because I had no options in North America. I was pretty active there. I came here really for medical treatment and of course why not just meet the locals while at it. I had no idea I'd fall in love like this


Yep, me too. I came here years ago just to see what was here and ended up finding a wife. My wife is 37 and very mature and responsible and still works a full time job that she enjoys.
I dunno but if my wife had had been in a situation as your wife/fiancee is or anything like unto it, i would have gone the other way or at the very least removed she and I from the area and problems. I moved here to these islands to be married and to stay here. But I also want a good, peaceful and non-stressful life too. 
You will have to decide if the relationship is worth the effort or not. You are the only one that could possible make that call. Almost sounds like something for "Dr. Phil" to get involved with but sure hope you can get it sorted out and in your favor.

Jet Lag


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

M.C.A. said:


> Some expats will disagree with me on my comments or got another chance at a new relationship... but I feel that your relationship is pretty normal if not better than most here. Some of your comments ...that you are sort of left out of conversations and most here don't speak English and if they do it's limited understanding so the guests won't want to engage you in conversation unless they are drunk and smoking, I'll bet most smoke too and need you to buy them smokes? So a solitary existence other than the kids I know that feeling. What I've done is figure out new hobbies to get me away from drunks, low lifes and immoral in-laws and neighbors, I don't live in a private neighborhood.
> 
> Gaining weight, well you mentioned that the food isn't so good but it sounds like the wife is a good cook? You know meat has nothing to do with bad health it's how much you eat and your portions, I've lost 50 lbs living here and it's due to fresh cooking and yes he food here is horrible and salty for the most part or greasy. Ease up on the rice, potatoes and noodles and you will lose weight, if you are a iced tea drinker brew your own ice tea and then mix it with "Stevia" box of packets sold through Mercury Drug, stevia is calorie free and free of side effects and it's natural the ice tea packets and juices are all full of Splenda (synthetic) it can make you bloat and cause health issues, drink more water also add more hot peppers they are good for circulation and digestion.
> 
> I've had to basically make my home into and internet cafe and grow my own fruit tree's and garden to counteract the void in conversation and now my son won't follow the wife around to these various happenings he would rather stay at home with me, my wife is also jealous of my adopted daughter and her son or my grandson, I took care of him for 4 years and now my wife doesn't want my grandson around anymore it's caused me some loneliness also, Pnoys love these games and jealousy is number one here along with showing off and saving face it all adds to more unneeded stress for some of us expats, I'd stay here with your family don't bother wasting time bringing them to Canada it will be a disaster.


Mark, I'll go along with that---live here and forget taking them to Canada or anywhere else. Living here is not bad and a darned sight less expensive. Wait a minute---I have to eat less potatoes. No! Anything but that-Hahaha. Still love my baked potatoes and real New Zealand butter but I see your point. 
Now, where did I put that banana cream pie:confused2:??? 

Jet Lag


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Eating habits*



Jet Lag said:


> Mark, I'll go along with that---live here and forget taking them to Canada or anywhere else. Living here is not bad and a darned sight less expensive. Wait a minute---I have to eat less potatoes. No! Anything but that-Hahaha. Still love my baked potatoes and real New Zealand butter but I see your point.
> Now, where did I put that banana cream pie:confused2:???
> 
> Jet Lag


I don't always practice what I preach  and have potatoes at all times and I do like something sweet with my Barako home brewed coffee, such as Buko "coconut" pie or chocolate candy bar even occasional lay potato chips, I can't afford that New Zealand butter anymore and now buy Butterlicious, I can only dream of banana cream pie I haven't seen that yet or pumpkin pie. :noidea: someday I hope .

Sure agree also that it's cheaper to live in the Philippines it just take time to find all the lower priced spots and learning to find alternatives.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

M.C.A. said:


> I don't always practice what I preach  and have potatoes at all times and I do like something sweet with my Barako home brewed coffee, such as Buko "coconut" pie or chocolate candy bar even occasional lay potato chips, I can't afford that New Zealand butter anymore and now buy Butterlicious, I can only dream of banana cream pie I haven't seen that yet or pumpkin pie. :noidea: someday I hope .
> 
> Sure agree also that it's cheaper to live in the Philippines it just take time to find all the lower priced spots and learning to find alternatives.


I don't use the coffee or tea but I sure love that Buko Pie that you have down that way. Good stuff that I cant get here. If ya get up here anywhere close to Angeles, have lunch at the VFW post. Good food and great pies- and that's to say nothing about the potato salad!


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Sorry Ezedek, We got carried away visiting about food-Hahaha...


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

M.C.A. said:


> Some expats will disagree with me on my comments or got another chance at a new relationship... but I feel that your relationship is pretty normal if not better than most here. Some of your comments ...that you are sort of left out of conversations and most here don't speak English and if they do it's limited understanding so the guests won't want to engage you in conversation unless they are drunk and smoking, I'll bet most smoke too and need you to buy them smokes? So a solitary existence other than the kids I know that feeling. What I've done is figure out new hobbies to get me away from drunks, low lifes and immoral in-laws and neighbors, I don't live in a private neighborhood.
> 
> Gaining weight, well you mentioned that the food isn't so good but it sounds like the wife is a good cook? You know meat has nothing to do with bad health it's how much you eat and your portions, I've lost 50 lbs living here and it's due to fresh cooking and yes he food here is horrible and salty for the most part or greasy. Ease up on the rice, potatoes and noodles and you will lose weight, if you are a iced tea drinker brew your own ice tea and then mix it with "Stevia" box of packets sold through Mercury Drug, stevia is calorie free and free of side effects and it's natural the ice tea packets and juices are all full of Splenda (synthetic) it can make you bloat and cause health issues, drink more water also add more hot peppers they are good for circulation and digestion.
> 
> I've had to basically make my home into and internet cafe and grow my own fruit tree's and garden to counteract the void in conversation and now my son won't follow the wife around to these various happenings he would rather stay at home with me, my wife is also jealous of my adopted daughter and her son or my grandson, I took care of him for 4 years and now my wife doesn't want my grandson around anymore it's caused me some loneliness also, Pnoys love these games and jealousy is number one here along with showing off and saving face it all adds to more unneeded stress for some of us expats, I'd stay here with your family don't bother wasting time bringing them to Canada it will be a disaster.



I don't actually want another relationship. If I did, well man, it would take me 48 hours max to register a girlfriend for the sake of having a woman in my life (not necessarily that we would be madly in love or anything). While it is harder in Canada now that I'm in my 40's, it sure isn't impossible. 

You're right that I do pretty much have a normal marriage and despite all those recent red flags my wife and I are tight in many other ways. I'm not debating leaving her, because if that was the case, I'd just leave.

My concern really with the red flags is the long-term health/risk of the marriage IN Canada. I'm saying this because of the legal requirements and financial issues that will pop up. Here in the Philippines, I'd think oh ok maybe she ain't happy with me, I'll wait and see and try to work it out, if she decide to leaves, my heart will be broken, but I got options, etc etc

In Canada, it would be, Oh ****, she is going to wipe me out, and I can end up in jail if I don't make payments for the stepson for the next 10 years, etc etc. 

The easiest would be staying here. I have a 4 bedroom house, 2 maids, and I'm more active socially and physically then I ever was in Canada. I've travelled here. Did water sports. Hung around friends. In Canada, for some reason, I just stayed home and beside my gf, had little social contacts. My highlight of the month was seeing a movie.

My money sure goes way more here than there. In Vancouver, a 3-4 bedroom house would wipe me out, but here I spend $350 a month on it and I got enough to even travel abroad every few months.

The issue becomes more complicated this way:

a) I'm mostly a vegetarian and thus my diet here is starchy. I was used to eating raw salads every day in Canada and access to veggie burgers. Good luck finding good stuff like that here in Cavite, and I don't trust most greens I find enough to eat raw. I'm also inclined to eat wrong, because my filipina wife loves her jollibee etc, so there is always temptations in the form of their fries or deserts. Not that it is helping her either. When I met her she was thin girl, now she looks 9 months pregnant and she hates her body for it. I at least managed to convince her to try brown rice, which she calls 'sad rice'.

b) Kids: Ok, I'm not Christian, I'm a pagan. How will my kids learn or go to school here? They'll come out speaking Tagalog, which I don't speak, they will come out Catholics, which I'm not, and most likely be taught their father is the antichrist. I thought maybe Thailand, because at least in Thailand, it is Buddhism, which is more pagan friendly than the Catholic Church, but visa and language would be a nightmare for a family like us. Maybe Vietnam?

c) Health: Canada has socialized medicine and excellent first responders. Here if either of us have a medical emergency and needed an ambulance, we will be DoA. Second, if for some reason my income isn't doing well, and either of us need hospital stay,we are in trouble. It gets really expensive to run tests and stay in the hospital. Recently, one of my kids got sick and needed hospitalization for a day. It cost me 30,000 in a cheap provincial hospital and I needed money from my family to cover it since I haven't been paid yet. Canada if I dial 9-1-1 they'll be there under 5 minutes and almost everything is covered by the government.

d) work:. I hadn't setup a bank account before I came here, because I was relocating cities in Canada and my trip was only for couple of weeks, oops. I'd need to fly back to fix all this stuff, so for now all my financials are done through friends in the US and Canada, all of whom are in their late 60's. Risky business. I'm a photographer and I have no chance at work here. My wife as a makeup artist doesn't have much work worth the effort either. She was a midwife before she met me. She retrained to help me out.I feel like I'm putting money on the table living here, when I could be in Vancouver or Ottawa and building a money making business or breaking in the industry there. I'm literally being a digital nomad for now. Ok, I'm making 1-3k a month doing it, but I feel like I could be doing more with my life over there. I don't want to get back in my 50's or 60's and start then. I'd like to setup my businesses now. Of course, there's no guarantee it will work out either with the economy being what it is these days, but it sure beats staying home in the Philippines and living like a retired person.


I can figure out a way around a to d in Asia (not necessarily Philippines) I would have no reason to go back to Canada. My mom and brothers are leaving Canada to Australia. They keep wondering why I'm going to canada since I know no one there anymore and I should be coming to Australia. I said my wife is eligible for Canadian citizenship. She ain't eligible for Australian and I don't think immigrating to Australia would be easy to do here since no spousal visa to help her with.


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

Jet Lag said:


> I don't use the coffee or tea but I sure love that Buko Pie that you have down that way. Good stuff that I cant get here. If ya get up here anywhere close to Angeles, have lunch at the VFW post. Good food and great pies- and that's to say nothing about the potato salad!


I've yet to visit Angeles. My wife keeps telling me I should go. I say why? She says cute girls. Go check out the girls. I said em not without you honey. I took her to a male strip club in Cebu for her birthday during our first year. It was the first for either of us. The irony is that many of my previous gfs/wives in Canada were either still active strippers or were retired dancers, but I've never been into one myself and never made a point of pursuing bar girls. Heck, the first time I've been in a female strip club was when we went into one with my filipina wife, who is also a stranger to the scene. She seems to like watching the girls, because she keeps wanting to go back. I guess I should take her to Angeles soon.

I think this is a bit opposite of most Expat stories.


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

Jet Lag said:


> I don't use the coffee or tea but I sure love that Buko Pie that you have down that way. Good stuff that I cant get here. If ya get up here anywhere close to Angeles, have lunch at the VFW post. Good food and great pies- and that's to say nothing about the potato salad!


Buko pie would be much healthier using a non-wheat based grain and using Stevia instead of their copious white sugar. If you'd that, it would be health food now :eyebrows:


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

M.C.A. said:


> I don't always practice what I preach  and have potatoes at all times and I do like something sweet with my Barako home brewed coffee, such as Buko "coconut" pie or chocolate candy bar even occasional lay potato chips, I can't afford that New Zealand butter anymore and now buy Butterlicious, I can only dream of banana cream pie I haven't seen that yet or pumpkin pie. :noidea: someday I hope .
> 
> Sure agree also that it's cheaper to live in the Philippines it just take time to find all the lower priced spots and learning to find alternatives.


There was a story of a guy losing like 30-50lbs on a potato only diet. Baked potato with avocado oil (instead of butter or cream) and garnished with malunggay, garlic, and lemon juice would be healthy food with nothing to feel guilty about.


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

M.C.A. said:


> I don't always practice what I preach  and have potatoes at all times and I do like something sweet with my Barako home brewed coffee, such as Buko "coconut" pie or chocolate candy bar even occasional lay potato chips, I can't afford that New Zealand butter anymore and now buy Butterlicious, I can only dream of banana cream pie I haven't seen that yet or pumpkin pie. :noidea: someday I hope .
> 
> Sure agree also that it's cheaper to live in the Philippines it just take time to find all the lower priced spots and learning to find alternatives.


Oh by the way, the market next to our house packs freshly based pumpking pies for months on end. It also packs pecan pies. Now when I see Eggnog and boca burgers, I'll scream the boat finally arrived!


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Locking away in a room for days and not talking is a national sport called tampo, better get used to it and look at it as a bit of peace and quiet.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

ezedek said:


> Oh by the way, the market next to our house packs freshly based pumpkin pies for months on end. It also packs pecan pies. Now when I see Eggnog and boca burgers, I'll scream the boat finally arrived!


That's amazing that you have or can get those items. I really miss the eggnog and would love to find some fresh buttermilk. Only in my dreams I guess-Hahaha..


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## ezedek (Jan 9, 2016)

Jet Lag said:


> That's amazing that you have or can get those items. I really miss the eggnog and would love to find some fresh buttermilk. Only in my dreams I guess-Hahaha..


I can't get eggnog, but I can get the rest locally in Manila. I'm not importing anything.


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